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Saturday Odds & Sods: Stop Breaking Down

Golconda by Rene Magritte

I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on an epic piece I’m writing for the Bayou Brief about movies set in the Gret Stet of Louisiana, which is why this week’s outing will be relatively short. Hey, stop cheering out there.

The Jazz Fest merry-go-round keeps on spinning out of control. Stevie Nicks has pneumonia and Finnwood Mac have cancelled the rest of their US tour including Jazz Fest. They’ve already been replaced. That means Jazz Fest has descended down the rock evolutionary scale from the Rolling Stones to Fleetwood Mac to Widespread Panic. The last band’s name aptly described how promoters must have felt upon hearing about Stevie.

This week’s theme song was inspired by the Jazz Fest mishigas. Robert Johnson recorded Stop Breaking Down aka Stop Breaking Down Blues in Dallas in 1937. God only knows when it was written. Johnson was not big on record keeping.

I have two versions for your listening pleasure. Robert Johnson’s original and the Exile On Main Street version by noted Jazz Fest drop-outs, the Rolling Stones:

Ordinarily, I’d call a tow truck after breaking down but let’s hop, skip, and jump to the break.

One thing I learned about Widespread Panic after they were added to the Jazz Fest bill is that they’ve been known to play a certain Stones classic. Here they are with New Orleans’ very own Trombone Shorty:

Since they tidied up the lyrics, here are the Stones with the original nasty lyrics:

We begin our abbreviated second act with a wee discussion of one of the more interesting things I’ve seen on teevee recently.

Mrs. Wilson: This is not about the spouses of either Woodrow or Brian although a fascinating flim could be made about Edith Wilson who was effectively co-president after her husband’s stroke.

The Mrs. Wilson in question is Allison who married the man of her dreams during World War II. He was a spy, a novelist, an inveterate liar, and a bigamist but she didn’t learn most of this until shortly after his death in 1964.

A 3-part mini series based on the Wilsons recently aired on the BBC and PBS. Adding to the wow factor is that Allison Wilson is played by her grandaughter, Ruth who is best known to me for playing the charming psychopath, Alice Morgan on Luther starring Idris Elba. Iain Glen co-stars as Mr. Wilson but it’s Ruth’s show.

The series bends the truth a bit BUT only in service of the story. After finishing it, I consulted with Mr. Google and came up with the following links:

What Is The Real-Life Story Behind Ruth Wilson’s New BBC Drama Mrs. Wilson?

Ruth Wilson: It’s Daunting Making A Drama Out Of My Family’s Mysteries.

Here’s the trailer:

I give Mrs. Wilson 3 1/2 stars and an Adrasos grade of B+.

The last word of the segment goes to the Jayhawks with a Gary Louris song that has nothing to with Alexander Wilson or the obnoxious neighbor in Dennis The Menace.

It’s time for our third act, which begins with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth: I stumbled upon this image on the tweeter tube. It comes from the feed of the eminent British music writer, Steven Hyden. I’ve featured several of his pieces in this space. It’s time to feature one of his tweets:

Fassbinder is, of course, the eminent German director of such arthouse classics as Veronika Voss and The Marriage of Maria Braun.

Eminent seems to be the word of the day. I hope you don’t think I’m just putting up an eminence front, an eminence front.

Saturday GIF Horse: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, dark times like these call for comic relief. Mr. Bean, come on down:

We’ve gone from Mrs. Wilson to Mr. Bean. Hmm, I wonder if Rowan Atkinson is one of the Wilson brood? Probably not but, as a good Catholic, Alex Wilson did not believe in condoms or divorce for that matter. He was really into marriage.

Weekly Vintage Music Video: There’s been a lot of British stuff in this week’s post. Let’s keep it up with one of the Kinks biggest hits:

Dig the crazy pencil thin mustache and pinstripe suit Ray wore for the video shoot.

Saturday Classic: I went on about Fleetwood Mac and Robert Johnson earlier. Here’s a 1998 album of Johnson tunes by founding FM member Peter Green. Stop Breaking Down is the fifth track if you’re keeping track:

That’s it for this week. The last word goes to Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson in a rooftop scene from Luther. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t go on a roof with Alice: she’s apt to push you off.