I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts... But I Can't Help It.

I'm working on a piece right now for my friend Brian's site -- Rupert Pupkin Speaks -- about my picks for "Underrated Films of 1986". One of my film picks for the article is X: The Unheard Music, a documentary about one of my favorite bands of the '80s (and of all time, actually). But before I wrote about the film, I wanted to give it another watch, mainly so I could listen to X's amazing music again.

Near the end of the film, the full video for the song I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts (off of their More Fun in the New World album) is shown in its entirety. It is a song that I often sing to myself when I go on my walks (if I have not brought the iPod), if only because I sometimes find the mantra in the chorus, "I must not think bad thoughts," helpful when I find those moments when the day or life or whatever has gotten me in a bad place in my mind. Which is quite often these days.

The irony (fully intended) in the mantra is that, when read along with the lyrics, the bad thoughts that the lead singers (John Doe and Exene Cervenka) are reminding themselves not to think are actually thoughts one should be thinking about and using to seek out solutions in our world. Concerns about the harm we are doing in the world with our endless wars and hatred for others ("Both sides are right/But both sides murder/I give up/Why can't they?/I must not think bad thoughts"). Concerns about the poor in our streets. Concerns of guilt in being complicit in the propagation of wars in foreign lands. Concerns about the superficiality of pop culture when faced with social issues that are never corrected ("Woody Guthrie sang about b-e-e-t-s, not b-e-a-t-s. I must not think bad thoughts").

It's a powerful song, and X even works in the lyrics to the theme song from an old forgotten '60s sitcom (It's About Time). If you have never listened to X, do yourself a favor here.

RTJ

The lyrics:

"The facts we hate
We'll never meet
Walking down the road
Everybody yelling,
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
But I'm waiting for you
I must go slow
I must not think bad thoughts
When is this world coming to?
Both sides are right
But both sides murder
I give up
Why can't they?
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts

The civil wars
and the uncivilized wars
Conflagrations leap out
of every poor furnace
The food cooks poorly
and everyone goes hungry
From then on, it's dog eat dog,
dog eat body and body eat dog
I can't go down there
I can't understand it
I'm a no good coward
An American, too
A North American, that is
(Not a South or a Central or a Native American)
Oh, I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts

I'm guilty of murder of innocent men
Innocent women,
innocent children,
thousands of them
My planes, my guns,
my money, my soldiers,
My blood on my hands,
it's all my fault!
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts

The facts we hate
You'll never hear us
I hear the radio is finally gonna play new music
You know, the British invasion
But what about the Minutemen,
Flesh Eaters, D.O.A.,
Big Boys, and the Black Flag?
Will the last American band
to get played on the radio
please bring the flag?
Please bring the flag!
Glitter-disco-synthesizer night school
All this noble savage drum drum drum
Astronauts go back in time
To hang out with the cave people
It's about time
It's about space
It's about some people in the strangest places
Woody Guthrie sang about b-e-e-t-s not b-e-a-t-s
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts

The facts we hate
We'll never meet
Walking down the road
Everybody yelling,
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
But I'm waiting for you
I must go slow
I must not think bad thoughts
When is this world coming to?
Both sides are right
But both sides murder
I give up
Why can't they?
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts"

Songwriters: John Doe & Exene Cervenka. Published by Lyrics © The Bicycle Music Company

New Pylon Guest Wonderfulness Over at the Rupert Pupkin Blog!

It has been a little bit since I have posted here. This has been due to an ongoing illness of which I am just now starting to recover, thanks to a series of helpful doctors and any number of medical procedures and prescriptions. I am not yet 100%, but I seem to be working my way back to health, and will hopefully at least have a firm grip on learning to live with my particular disease in the next couple of weeks. There are still some doctor visits ahead, which will hopefully include the formulation of a plan of attack that will see my feeling much better soon.

The past seven weeks or so has been pretty much a wash for me, and I have been largely unable to sit at a computer for more than a few minutes at a time. Thus, there has been zero output across any of my numerous websites. Luckily, many weeks ago at the outset of my illness, my pal Brian Saur asked me for a new list for his Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog. The topic was "Underrated Films of 1996". A few films came to mind right away, and because I was not yet quite in the pain and state of fear that I would be a handful of days later, I was able to churn out a short piece featuring four favorite films from 1996 of which I was particularly enamored and that I wish more people had paid more attention to at the time.

Rik Tod Johnson's Underrated Films of 1996

http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2016/03/underrated-rik-tod-johnson.html

Check out the list on Brian's blog, and while you are there, please check out some of the other lists provided by our fellow cinephiles, some of whom are fairly well-known (and sometimes quite well-known) directors, writers, and critics. And some of them are just regular Joes like me. What we share is a great love of cinema (both highbrow and lowbrow) and a need to shout out loud when we find something we love. And for goodness sake, please leave comments!

Brian recently posted a couple of other lists that I created and wrote about for his site. Here are the links:

Film Discoveries of 2015
http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2016/01/film-discoveries-of-2015-rik-tod-johnson.html

Underrated Films of 1945

http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2015/12/underrated-rik-tod-johnson.html

Also completed (primarily) before I got sick was the next installment of Visiting and Revisiting, a shared column with my writing partner, Aaron Lowe. The new column is about the 1978 Italian sci-fi cult classic, Starcrash, starring the voluptuous (and sadly dubbed) Caroline Munro. I will probably post my opening half of the column tomorrow (Wednesday, March 23) and then Aaron will follow suit on his blog, Working Dead Productions, with the second half. We will announce on our social media pages when the posts are live.

Take care, and it is good to be (mostly) back.

Thanks!

RTJ

Head On Over to Rupert Pupkin Speaks for More Pylon Goodness!

A short post here where it seems like I am tooting my own horn (which I am to a large degree), but mainly I want to direct anybody that frequents my blog to visit the Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog instead.

My friend Brian, who runs the site, has posted a piece today that I wrote on the topic "Film Discoveries of 2015". These are films, older than the year 2000, that I saw for the very first time in 2015 and that made an impression on me when I watched them. I selected five that I felt were of high and enduring quality that pleased me greatly, but then threw in a really Grade-Z, ultra low-budget monster flick from the '70s at the end of the article that I found to be particularly memorable and entertaining.

Rik Tod Johnson's Film Discoveries of 2015

http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2016/01/film-discoveries-of-2015-rik-tod-johnson.html

I hope that you enjoy my article, and while you are on Brian's site, please check out many of the other writers who have contributed their articles on this same topic since the start of the year. There are directors, screenwriters, critics, and many other fellow cinephiles who have written of their favorite new discoveries. The most incredible part is that, because everyone's cinematic journey is entirely different, there are few (if any) repeats mentioned across all of the lists.

Brian posted an earlier piece of mine in December that you can also read here:

http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2015/12/underrated-rik-tod-johnson.html

I hope that you enjoy my article, and please leave a comment on Brian's blog while you are at it.

Thanks!

RTJ

More Cinema 4 Pylon Goodness on the Rupert Pupkin Speaks Blog!

Just a heads up to any of my regular followers about an article that I have put together for another website...

My friend Brian has a blog called Rupert Pupkin Speaks (and if you don't know who Mr. Pupkin is, boo on you). Apart from telling the world about new blu-ray and DVD releases, Brian has a regular group of fellow movie obsessives submit articles based around various topics that he sends out to us.

After a couple of years of promising him that I would take part but not getting back in the game of writing regularly, everything is a go. Today, he posted my piece on "Underrated Films of 1945". 

If you are interested in reading my selections for that year -- or even if you love me, or mildly like me -- follow this link:

http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2015/12/underrated-rik-tod-johnson.html

That is all,

RTJ