Line Out Music & the City at Night
The Stranger Suggests
Critics' Best Bets
Music Arts & Food
Slog
News & Arts
@SEAshowsTwitter feed of Seattle shows on sale now
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
History / Classic / Genius / 206 Purple Haze
Posted by Jason Josephes on Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 1:16 PM
Jimi Hendrix,the former soldier turned guitar genius would have been 70 years old today, which is a good enough reason to watch Little Richard circa 1973 wearing a Hendrix costume waxing imperial on Seattle's greatest musical export.
But Jimi's infliuence transcended music and bled into the other arts as well. For instance, here's comedian Michael Winslow covering Jimi's most famous song. You know who Winslow is even if you don't know his name.
That's right, it's the guy from the Police Academy movies who made all the funny noises. In an alternate universe, no Jimi means no Michael Winslow. Which means Police Academy tanks. Which means no sequels. Which means Steve Guttenberg never gets to prove that sci-fi and heart aren't mutually exclusive, and Bobcat Goldthwait never makes it big enough to do "the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies."
On the plus side, no Jimi means you'd never, ever have to watch a video of Gary Sinise getting down with his side project, The Lt. Dan Band. I love how the camera stays on Sinise the whole time, because what everyone wants to see during a live rendition of Purple Haze is whether or not the guy from CSI has the Noel Redding part down.
Aaaaaaanyway, that aside, it's good that we live in Jimi's universe. Enough of my pithy words. Here's the man himself performing "Machine Gun."
Most Commented on Line Out
-
The Song I Listened to Over and Over Again After I Had My Heart Broken for the First Time by Megan Seling
-
Ivan & Alyosha's Gear Gets Stolen, Rhapsody Gives 'Em $10,000, but They Still Want Your Cash by Megan Seling
-
NOT EVEN JOKING: Michelle Shocked Is Playing 2013 San Francisco Pride by Kelly O
-
What You're Not Wearing: Vito's Edition!! by Timothy Rysdyke
-
Lou Reed's "The Original Wrapper" vs. Dee Dee King's "Funky Man" by Emily Nokes
-
That Chilling Moment When a Song’s Lyrics Smack You Right in the Feelings by Megan Seling
-
Playing Void For the Children of Grunge by Mike Nipper
-
The Most Badass Record Covers Featuring Aviator Shades by Dave Segal
-
Macklemore Martial Arts Paper Doll Fantasy Kit™ by Derek Erdman
-
Blondie Is Coming to Seattle! (With X!) by Megan Seling
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (0)