Smash Your Head Against the Wall (Music)

 

(1971)
John Entwistle (vocals, bass, keyboards)
Dave "Cyrano" Langston (guitars)
Jerry Shirley (drums)
Vivian Stanshall, Keith Moon, Neil Innes (percussion)
Wikipedia Page

It can be difficult when, as a member of a rock group, you can't get your songs on record. George Harrison was frustrated by it, and it was something similar for John Entwistle of the Who. He could have one or two songs on the albums. Pete Townsend recognized his ability, especially in creating dark characters and images, but Townsend was the main songwriters and Entwistle's music was not featured. So, in 1971, he did a solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall.

Entwistle was an odd songwriter, concentrating on dark and disturbing images. His two songs on Tommy, for instance, are "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About," both describing disturbing events. Smash Your Head Against the Wall is in a similar dark vein. Songs were about bullying, the devil, eternal life, and other dark subjects. It also includes the group's stage opener, "Heaven and Hell," which didn't get a studio recording by the Who until several years after.

Of note to me is the appearance of the primary songwriters of my favorite band, The Bonzo Dog Band: Vivian Stanshall and Neal Innes.

The Best (music)

 (1990)
Members Keith Emerson (keyboards), John Entwistle (Bass), Joe Walsh (guitar), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar), Simon Phillips (drums), Rick Livingston (vocals)
Wikipedia Page

In the mid-60s, the idea of a "supergroup" began to take form. It was coined to mean a group of rock musicians who had already been successful with other groups and who came together. Cream is probably the first example of this, and the term was probably coined to describe Blind Faith. These usually are short-lived, since the musicians involved end up going off in their own directions. But one lesser known example is the Best.

The name wasn't just bravado. The group consisted of Keith Emerson (the Nice, ELP), John Entwhistle (the Who), Joe Walsh (James Gang, the Eagles), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers), and Simon Philips (Jeff Beck Group). They added Rick Livingston, a Canadian singer who was not well known on vocals.

The group didn't stay together long, but did a tour of Japan which is available online. They didn't write any new music, but instead performed songs that they written individually, with new solos.  The joy is listening to how they chose to interpret the songs.

The tour was a success, and there was talk of an American tour but it never happened.  It was just to hard to keep together.

Dept. Q (TV)

 (2025)
Created by Scott Frank, based on the novels of Jussi Adler-Olsen
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Jamie Sives, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Katie Dickie, Tom Bulpett
IMDB Entry

I generally prefer cozy mysteries to dark ones, but something dark is well worth exploring.  Dept. Q is clearly one of those.

DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) has returned to the force after being shot and nearly killed and his commander, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie) gives him a special assignment to look up and try to solve cold cases. Morck hates the assignment, but a Syrian refugee and former policeman, Akram Salim (Alaxej Manvelov) starts to help, despite Morck not wanting him. Akram stumbles upon the case of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), who vanished off a ferry four years previously. Everyone things she drowned, but she had left her brother William (Tom Bulpett) -- who has aphasia due to a brain injury -- behind. Akram thinks it's more than just a suicide and prods Morck to look into it. Since he has to do something, he looks into the case, expecting to find that Merritt is dead.

Of course, it turns out she isn't and is trapped in a horrific situation. They are soon joined by DC Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), who suffers from PTSD and wants to do more than just paperwork.

Matthew Goode is superb as Morck. He's super smart, but also sarcastic and insulting to other detectives. In many ways, he reminds me of Dr. Greg House. He carries the show brilliantly. Also excellent is Alexaj Manvelov as Akram, soft spoken, polite, and not one to be trifled with. He could be a star on his own.

The show can be hard to watch, especially where Merritt is involved. But Morcvk, Akram, and Rose are fascinating to watch. It's currently streaming on Netflix.

Secrets We Keep (TV)

 

(2025)
Created by Ingeborg Topsøe
Written by Ingeborg Topsøe, Ina Bruhn, Mads Tafdrup
Starring Marie Bach Hansen, Excel Busano, Danica Curcic, Simon Sears, Lars Ranthe, Lukas Zuperka, Frode Bilde Rønsholt, Donna Levkovski, Sara Fanta Traore 
IMDB Entry

Netflix doesn't limit itself to English language shows and movies and I love to see what's being done in other countries. Secrets We Keep is a Danish production that shows an intriguing mystery with deep characters.

Cecilie (Maie Bach Hansen) and Mike (Simon Sears) are a wealthy Danish couple who have an Filipino au pair Angel (Excel Busano) to take care of their pre-teen son Viggo (Lukas Zuperka). Katarina (Danica Curcic) and Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) are their friends and neighbors, also with a Filipino au pair Ruby (Donna Levkovski). One day, Ruby vanishes and Cecilie becomes upset because the night before Ruby asked to stay with her; Cecilie sent he back. She worries that something bad might have happened to Ruby, and becomes more alarmed when she discovers the box for a pregnancy test near a trash bin where she had spotted Ruby nearby. She takes her concern to the detective Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), who begins to look into the case. Katarina and Rasmus do act suspiciously, but nothing is clear.

The mystery unfolds slowly. Cecilie keeps wondering what might have happened, but finds little satisfaction or any nead clue.  Aicha is stymied by the Rasmus and Katarina, who use their wealth to put up roadblocks. The mood is dark.

There is excellent acting throughout and the mystery is slowly revealed.  Maie Bach Hansen is excellent at Cecille, the only one with a conscience.

Worth seeing out.

The Cadaver Princess

 (2025)
by Chuck Rothman

My Novel, The Cadaver Princess, has been published.

London, 1831. The city teems with secrets, science, and shadows—and one of those shadows just opened her eyes on an anatomist’s slab.

She says her name is Victoria. She insists she’s a princess. But she’s missing her teeth, wrapped in a burial shroud, and undeniably… dead. Or was.

Thrown together with a streetwise orphan named Pablo, a skeptical doctor, and a tavern keeper with secrets of her own, this strange girl unravels a conspiracy that stretches from the slums of London to the halls of Kensington Palace. Someone is stealing bodies—not just for science, but for power. And someone else is playing a dangerous game with the soul of the British Empire.

Part gothic mystery, part alternate history, The Cadaver Princess is a gripping, witty, and darkly magical tale of resurrection, rebellion, and identity. If Mary Shelley and Terry Pratchett had collaborated on a Victorian version of The Princess Bride, with fewer weddings and more corpses, it might have looked something like this.

“…it is equally clear that vile plots are afoot. The ensuing tale is engrossing and satisfying. Recommended!” — Tom Easton, coauthor of ESPionage: Regime Change and Boondoggle.

Allen Steele agrees: “A dark mélange of fantasy, horror, and history, The Cadaver Princess hooked me on the first page. Like Dickens crossed with Poe, there isn’t anything else quite like it.”

Get it today!