Songs and the City

Odes to Oil: A slick set of songs

"With Lasers" by Bonde Do Rolê
Mark Knopfler's "Get Lucky"
"12 Songs" by Randy Newman
Sparklehorse

Houston has a lot to offer, as this site clearly shows, but it's probably best known around the world as the home of a massive energy industry. For better or for worse, Houston lives or dies by the barrel. So in honor of the black gold, this installment of "Songs and the City" focuses on tracks about oil and gasoline. Cue it up (and turn it loud) the next time you're cruising down the Energy Corridor.

"Only So Much Oil in the Ground" by Tower of Power

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This funk burner from the "Urban Renewal" album was recorded during the energy crisis in 1975, but its message is as timely as ever. Lead singer Lenny Williams warns us about our wasteful habits ("no excuse for our abuse") and demands more sources of renewable energy. But this isn't your typical didactic protest song, it's a deep soul vibe that's sure to get even the staunchest "drill, baby, drill" proponent on the dancefloor. "Can't cut loose without that juice."

"Marina Gasolina" by Bonde do Role

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I'm not sure what the hell the loonies in the raucous baile funk combo from Curitiba, Brazil are going on about (other than a call-out to the legendary Afrika Bambaataa), but it's hard to resist the charms of "Marina Gasolina." Judging by the sick beats and manic grooves, this is one type of fuel that can keep a party raging all night. If we were just able to harness the energy pulsing from the track, our dependence on crude would be significantly diminished. Besides, if the lyrics are any indication, who wouldn't want an encounter with Ms. Gasolina: "Meet me after school and I'll beat you like gorilla/Bite you like piranha, vem brigar com a minha aranha..." (That last part is apparently Portuguese for something to do with fighting a spider.)

"I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" by Howlin' Wolf

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The good news is that gasoline is much more valuable than water (my sources show a 1,000 gallons of tap water costing a mere $1.50). The bad news is that Mr. Wolf's woman has up and left him and he's feeling downright blue. And although he may be in possession of a relatively pricey liquid commodity, you can't put a price tag on the love of a good lady. Howlin' Wolf's raspy wail, a volatile compound if there ever was one, perfectly serves this dark tale.

"Before Gas and TV" by Mark Knopfler

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Former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler tries to imagine a simpler time before we were distracted by a gaggle of television stations hocking sleazy reality shows and the luxury of high speed travel. "Before gas and TV/Before people had cars/We'd sit 'round the fires/Pass around our guitars," Knopfler sings over his signature guitar shimmer and Irish flutes and whistles that recall the sounds of the old country. The introspection of this track, and the entire 2009 "Get Lucky" album from which it's taken, suits Knopfler well, proving that although he's mellowed with age, this consummate musician hasn't lost his touch. "If heaven's like this/Well then here's where I'll be/On the edge of the field/On the edge of the world/Before gas and TV."

"The Energy Blues" by Biz Markie

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Find me a thirty or fortysomething that doesn't smile widely when you mention "Schoolhouse Rocks" and I'd be stunned. A staple of ABC's Saturday morning cartoon programming, these animated musical educational short films were pure genius. Recalling the clever wordplay and bouncy rhythms of "Conjunction Junction," "Three Is a Magic Number," "I'm Just a Bill," and "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here" still makes me giddy. Taken from a mid-1990s Atlantic Records compilation, Biz Markie's cover version of "The Energy Blues" finds the irreverent one-hit wonder lecturing the kiddies about the need to conserve oil. Written in 1979 at the height of the energy crisis, the song traces the rise of crude from its discovery in 1859 ("Now no-one knew, when that gusher blew/The petroleum years were on us...") to the looming shortages of the day ("So don't be cross when momma says turn that extra light out/Just turn it off till we find us a fuel that never runs out..."). Take a listen and you'll be longing for the day when ABC finally brings back the "rock" to the schoolhouse!

"I'll Oil Wells Love You" by Dolly Parton

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The ultimate ode to gold-digging, this classic track from 1968 is pure Dolly. Exuding strength and conviction via her powerful voice and matter-of-fact delivery, Dolly doesn't hold back when relating the real reasons for marrying her husband. Although she's downright cruel in her candor ("He looked in to my eyes and thought he saw a love light shine/Little did he know that that light was dollar signs"), there's something charming about her scheme, as if she's truly deserving of her good fortunes (and I mean "fortunes" quite literally). Perhaps it's the pedal-steel and fiddle-fueled shuffling country gallop that tempers her callous plot, or maybe it's just because she's Dolly.

"Fried Chicken and Gasoline" by Southern Culture on the Skids

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Peanut butter and chocolate. Abbot and Costello. Fried chicken and gasoline? An odd pairing for sure, but it conjures an image and one that aptly fits the band's name of Southern Culture on the Skids. The music is equally evocative: greasy, country-fried rock and roll with some high octane cowbell to kick things into high gear.

"If You Need Oil" by Randy Newman

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You can always count on Randy Newman for some pointed social commentary, but "If You Need Oil" isn't a wry statement about the ills of our petroleum dependence. Rather it's a desperate plea from a lonely gas station attendant who's longing for some loving. It's certainly the best use of a routine fill-up as sexual innuendo: "Baby, please come to the station/And I'll wipe your windshield clean/If you need oil, I'll give you oil/And I'll fill your tank with gasoline."

"Gasoline Horseys" by Sparklehorse

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What's more "Texas" than gas-powered equine. It's a marriage of old and new Texas, of the Wild West and the Energy Corridor. The R&D folks at ConocoPhillips should look into this. I'd be the first in line. Taken from Sparklehorse's awesomely-titled 1995 debut, "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot," "Gasoline Horseys" is vintage Mark Linkous, a spooky lo-fi rattle with esoteric allusions that are somehow pleasingly poetic: "They charge forth with fiery manes/And bellies full of clocks/Four ton deaf and dumb/We poor old dogs of God."

"The Backbone of America is a Mule and Cotton" by Abner Jay

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There's nothing I can write that'll match the wonder of Abner Jay's own lyrics. I'll give you the intro to this 1976 eccentric blues classic, then you have to promise to listen to the entire song: "Folk, don't worry about energy crisis because Standard Oil, Shell, Gulf, Mobil, Texaco, Amoco, Esso, Sunoco, Exxon, Nixon, Standard Oil, General Motors, Chrysler, George Wallace and Ford is not the backbone of America. The backbone of America is a mule and cotton."

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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