fake zombies follow-up

 

You might remember I grizzled about this a few weeks ago. Well, I've continued to listen and the pace has picked up, which is a major plus, and the content has become more engaging and sophisticated, too, which I like. 

I guess when it comes down to it it's pursuing an impossible dream, what was it like to be in a band that pretended it was the Zombies. Everyone's memories, before they died anyway (3/4 of the fake Zombies are dead) are or were messy and scrambled, and when it comes down to it the whole thing seems to be this: the group was assembled, they toured as the Zombies, they were fairly different from the Zombies though so being called the Zombies was really just a device to get people to come and see them, and in the final analysis, they just wanted to go out on the road. I would come this (---) close to saying, well why not. It's not like they were taking ticket money away from the real Zombies, who had quietly split up. 

Still, the lives of Americans who were once part of a semi-cool scene in Texas or wherever, who then either became megastars (Frank Beard, Dusty Hill) or obscure (everyone else) are pretty interesting, the obscure people more than the megastars. So, I recommend it more than I did before. 

the true story of the fake zombies

 

I don't even know why I started listening to this. Basically it's an investigation of a situation in 1969 when some manager in, um, Bay City, somewhere? hit on the idea of creating a band of Americans to pretend to be the Zombies (who were from the UK and had just split up) and tour. 

The spirit of investigation is really appealing and the person who put this together - and did so over a long period of time, which is brought home when you realise how many of the people he spoke to have died since - knows his stuff (although he doesn't quite get ZZ Top, that's clear) and has put the work in. 

What really bothers me is that the people involved in this podcast series are really beholden to the This American Life approach to spoken word audio.

There are a lot of quiet spaces where I suppose you're meant to let things sink in.

Just digest that for a while.

The quiet spaces are so you can let things sink in.

I mean it.

I am guessing that the people behind this podcast had some issues with music, as well. They seem to have been enabled to use real original Zombies music. There are a few other vintage bits and pieces. But when it comes to ZZ Top, for instance, they don't even try to provide a soundalike (maybe they were warned). 

Why do they talk about ZZ Top?

Because two of the men, later to become famous as members of ZZ Top, played in the 'fake Zombies'. 

So, essentially, what you get with this series is a bunch of episodes that crawl through the material and really stretch it out with a lot of repetition and even quite a bit of - not quite outrage but a passive version of it. Seriously, the music industry is as much the realm of shifty pricks now as it was then, though obviously you couldn't pull a stunt like the fake Zombies now because, like, people have the internet. But on the other hand, you do have a man touring the USA talking about how much Hannibal Lecter was (or is?) wonderful. 

Anyway, I semi-recommend this podcast. I've only listened to three eps. I hope Frank Beard comes on board before the end. 

army of the dead

I am currently as I write watching Army of the Dead really only for the entire reason that Tig Notaro is in it, not being funny or anything, just being herself but I am kind of up for anything with her in it. I was also entranced by the idea that apparently she shot all her scenes alone and was either cut and pasted into scenes or is just alone. 

Anyway, I don't have much more to say about it, I'm not that thrilled by it so far but it's fast-paced and seems to take on tropes I am pretty used to. That said, I have a feeling I'm going to be looking up the plot on wikipedia before too long. 

The music used in the film is contemporary covers of old songs. What's that about.