Newmark's Door

Like a Rolling Stone

Four years ago, on the 40th anniversary of Dylan's release of Like a Rolling Stone, Ben MacIntyre of the London Times paid tribute:

“Come writers and critics who prophesy with your pen,” he invited. So, here goes: I predict that 40 years from now Like a Rolling Stone will still be voted the greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine; that we will still be arguing over whether Dylan wrote anything of comparable brilliance after 1966 to what had come before. I also prophesy that Professor Ricks will have written an Empsonian exegesis on Dylan with more footnotes than text; and that Dylan will have inspired more PhD theses than the rest of pop music put together. 

Hollywood Reporter "industry poll of the best scores in 100 years of film music"

They don't have enough from the incredibly talented Thomas Newman, but otherwise it's a pretty good list.

"Homes of the Rich and Famous"

One of life's little mysteries: among the large--and seemingly growing--number of people who are furious at "the rich", there seems, to me, to be little resentment of leading entertainers.

I could conjecture about the reasons why, but instead I'm going to link to some purported pictures of entertainers' homes.

(If you're in the market for a big house, now might well be a good time to buy. A new, 27,000 square-foot home on two acres in Beverly Hills, originally listed for $45 million, just sold for a mere $31.5.)

"5 Massive Hit Songs That Almost Didn't Get Released"

#5 is the Stones's "I Can't Get No Satisfaction".

Anyway, the story goes that Richards got up and recorded the riff and the phrase "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" before dozing off. The next day, Keith and Mick fleshed out the track, and immediately Keith began to hate the shit out of his late night inspiration. At first his complaint was that the song was too "folksy." And we all know that the last thing the music buying public of 1965 wanted was "folksy" sounding rock music.

"10 Best Head-Scratching Stories, Explained"

From 2001 to The Wall to Infinite Jest.

Time for the Door's readers to cast another movie

Martin Scorcese will direct a Frank Sinata biopic. Who should play the Chairman of the Board?

UPDATE: the New York Post reports the favorites are Johnny Depp and James Franco.

UPDATE, PART DEUX: the Telegraph quotes an unnamed source that Jamie Foxx is in the running.

UPDATE, PART TRES: the Sun reports that Leo is Scorcese's choice

"Peggy Sue," Buddy Holly and the Crickets, live, 12/29/57

Complete with an introduction by Kathryn Murray in which she says "rock and roll" with the same tone that somebody today might say "septic tank backup".

"Every Album Ever"

Brutally funny, and one reason why the record companies got into trouble.

The Allman Brothers band

Forty years after their first album, they're--some of them, anyway--still playing.

Madge is still money

The Material Girl was "the highest-earning pop star on the planet in 2008."

She grossed more than £185m, nearly all of it on her Sticky & Sweet world tour — more than twice what Coldplay, the hottest rock band on the road at the time, made from theirs. 

Tickets for the next leg of her tour, in July, are selling for an average of £200.