Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 The Conversation was born from a special deal the director leveraged with Paramount that got Godfather II made, is my second favorite Gene Hackman film, and almost my favorite San Francisco film.
Hackman, one of the greatest actors on the planet who passed away in February, plays the character Harry Caul, an SF surveillance expert and loner whose private life centers on honking a terrible saxophone along with records in order to unwind in his lonely flat that matches his lonely life.
He leads a cast packed to the gills with ’70s film star wattage: John Cazale, in one of the magical five films in which he appeared before his untimely death; Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robert Duvall in an uncredited appearance.
This is a quiet, shy, slick Hackman. Not loud, boisterous, over-the-top, The Royal Tenenbaums (my favorite of his films, by the way) Hackman. Coppola shoots the city like it’s a cold, unfeeling, and very foggy New York. Everything rolls in and out with aquamarine layers and the utmost of secrecy.
The Conversation was in the rotation of films that I’d have a bar or restaurant play while I was DJing, because it was hard to look away from, even with no volume. Just a lonely Hackman with a bad mustache, in a cheap suit and a flimsy plastic raincoat. There is a final scene in which Caul, convinced that somebody is bugging his home, tears apart his apartment, pulls up floorboards, tears down walls, and has a complete breakdown. We’re left with the image of him playing a sax, in his boxers.
The movie premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, the fest’s highest prize, and was released theatrically on April 7, 1974 by Paramount Pictures, to critical acclaim. For all the big movies in his canon, this might have been Coppola at his best—and it was Hackman, not De Niro or Pacino, giving the film’s challenging lead performance. Go check it out.
RIP Gene Hackman.
But hey, it’s Under The Stars, babe. A quasi-weekly column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, opinions, and other adjacent items. We keep moving with the changes and thinking outside the margins. We’ve been doing this for five years… Spend some time with us…
‘PAUL MCCARTNEY PHOTOGRAPHS 1963–’64: EYES OF THE STORM’ AT THE DE YOUNG, THROUGH JULY 6
For anyone schleprocking their wowsy wowsy woo-woo around Cloud City these days, you have encountered a joyful photo of Ringo Starr outside transit bus stops, enraptured in sideways, hair-shaking joy. It’s a stunning, movement-induced moment from The Beatles’ lives circa December 1963 through February 1964. Images from this time abound—the band’s journey to superstardom, from local venues in Liverpool to The Ed Sullivan Show and worldwide acclaim, was being tracked in real time by excessive fandom.
But this shot has no weight, heaviness, cynicism, irony, controlled caption, or even a taint of financially driven performative energy. It’s just Paul catching his mate—bandmate as well—Ringo, in the throes of young man ebullience. The intimate print comes fully loaded with silliness and executes the idea McCartney was hoping to give Beatles fans and the world in 2025: just a bunch of snapshots from behind the scenes.
Tickets and more info here.
REVIEW: LOS MIRLOS, COMBO TEZETA AT GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, APRIL 15
Never underestimate the power of psychedelic cumbia music. I’ve seen it make crowds erupt as if everyone in attendance won a Powerball ticket, or merely make the Great American Music Hall venue floor dip and bend at max capacity, taking everyone in tow on a simulated rollercoaster ride.
There is another otherworldly spirit working in these rhythms that can change with a guitar lead indication, or a new breakbeat from the drummer, pushing the mania, the good kind of crazy, musical exhalation in the highest state of charging frenzy.
Oakland-based outfit Combo Tezeta had purchased their tickets a month in advance to see their idols, Los Mirlos, the psychedelic Peruvian cumbia band clad in colorful outfits that blend traditional sounds with so many inflections.
“They’re the OGs of OGs of cumbia amazónica or selvática, which is a more jungle-inflected style, in contrast to the urban styles of the other progenitors,” Combo Tezeta told us here at 48hills over a month ago.
Then luck, destiny, and good music collided, and Combo Tezeta, whose biggest success was once playing a few sell-out shows at the East Bay clubs (Eli’s Mile High Club and the Ivy Room), got the call to open for their most inspirational band. Consequently, GAMH refunded all the band members’ money for their purchased tickets, and it was on.
So to see these brothers in sound: Franklin Aguilar rocking the congas, Abraham Aguilar on bass, Jonathan Rodriguez lighting up the timbales, Tony Bald on bongos and güiro making the place sway, Santiago Ruiz on guitar laying on that thickness, Cesar Flores on vocals and guitar leading the charge, and Danny Snyder on guitar and organ, just twisting this party into other parameters—with every member smiling or grinning… And to see the line down O’Farrell, and patrons coming in, some not knowing who the local band was, and just immediately breaking into dance, giving into the good energy on general principle… Man, those charging, switching breakbeats. Spiritual.
After Combo was done and Los Mirlos came on, all the camera phones immediately went up. This legendary band that has been doing it to death in Peru for over 50 years made the sold-out crowd at GAMH go into absolute hysterics. People were dancing, snapping, clapping, and stomping everywhere, including members of Combo Tezeta. They were out in the audience, taking in this moment, too.
MARY SUE AND THE CLEMENTI SOUND APPRECIATION CLUB, “ORACLE BONE SCRIPT,” PORCELAIN SHIELD, PAPER SWORD (RUCKSACK RECORDS)
For the past five years or so, Rucksack Records has been the vessel from which really-weird-yet-very-much-banging boom-bap hip-hop has been coming. Just peep their Southeast Asian samples, jazz, and blues references, and the Taoist folklore going on here with Clementi Sound Appreciation Club. Rapper and producer Mary Sue disfigures sounds into the livewire milieu happening here. Heh. Yeah, mang.
It’s just Rucksack once again, going out there and getting the dangerous creatives to link up on their roster, causing some type of good melee.
Album Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword, out around June 13, keeps this ever-special label extra-legit, even by this label’s standards.
Pre-order here.
TOMU DJ, “FIRM GRIP,” MTP
So there is this interesting, cool, different, and very active thing going on here in the Bay Area. Bass music, techno, and club-inspired tracks—electronic music is popping out from so many creatives. TOMU DJ has been steadfast in blitzkrieging anything that may be a trend and then breaking it down, or, for that matter, breaking it up, into original matter. “Firm Grip,” their recent release, does just that with collaborations with Brooklyn rapper Petty Getty and YoungLove Erix.
While we were remiss to not be able to make it to Oakland Secret, part of the TOMO-presented West Oakland Music Festival, we are hopeful the new owners of the newish nightclub Ceremony reach out to these creatives, who seem to be dominating major international dance music trade publication. As of now, the festival seems to be a hand-sewn matter. Which is very cool; it means it is self-run and involves less business-tomfoolery for the performers. But if the local venues refuse to reach out to the sparkling talent that is literally down the street from where shiny new dance clubs are opening, well, that’s just very unfortunate.
Pick up “Firm Grip” by TOMU DJ here.
