Ramblings:-->"Comanche Moon" - Brownsville Station - An Urban Legend Experiment

"You can always count on about one hundred
to five hundred people...
down at the very front row screaming
one word at the top
of their lungs...BOOGIE!!!"
Brownsville Station


NO SPOILERS:
Just finished watching "Comanche Moon" and...having read the book...I was pleased. Good westerns are few and far between...so if you missed this three night mini-series...saddle-up and go get it.
The story, written by Larry McMurtry, takes place in the 1850's...when Gus McCrae (Steve Zahn) and Woodrow Call (Karl Urban) were Texas Rangers. Gus and Woodrow are soon commissioned as Captains by the Governor of Texas and forced to take on one dangerous mission after another. Good stuff.

To be perfectly clear...Texas Rangers were oft-times a motley crew of tough, loyal, whiskey drinking and woman poking cowboys. And, because Rangering was such a dangerous and much-needed occupation to fill in the West...their sometimes wilder extra-curriculum were more easily forgivable.

A terrific cast in this old-west tale, to be sure...but two actors stand out and steal every scene they're in.
Steve Zahn nails his role as a less-than-glamorous cowboy who balances his toughness and his vulnerability to perfection.
Steve Zahn as Gus McCrae
His relationship with Clara (Linda Cardellini) is almost breath-taking in its honesty and sweetness. It is Zahn's role as Gus that makes this 6 hour mini-series so enjoyable and believable.

The other actor is Val Kilmer (the Ice Man)...who takes on an unbelievable character...Inish Skull...and nails it to the wall.

Val Kilmer as Inish Skull
Skull is a respected war-hero...eccentric to the extreme...and Kilmer is certainly having a blast stretching the boundaries. Kilmer obviously appears to be channeling this unique character, seemingly from the very mind of the creator...McMurtry, himself. Good stuff!

Add some great actors playing good and not-so-good Indians that are allowed to show individual personalities for a change...and you have a pretty fine mix for adventure. The only thing missing...but totally unnecessary...are a few cowboys sitting around the campfire blasting bean farts. Highly recommended.

AND ANOTHER THING:
Note: All my regular readers may ignore the following...as I'm sure pocket jingle-jangle is equally as hard to hold on to for you...as it is for me.

Consider this post an exercise in propagating an Urban Legend...or putting the Kibosh to it.
-->Do wealthy strangers surf the net answering the call from worthy requests?<--

In order to pick up all my necessary foreign language requirements in the shortest amount of time...I am considering joining a group of other students who will take a college sponsored trip to Guatemala this summer. And, by living with a family for 6-weeks...I'll be totally immersing myself in the language. In this instance, of course...Spanish. Rather than 18 weeks of class time.
The rub is that it will cost $4000 out-of-pocket. So...if anyone stumbles upon my blog by chance...and has some extra green paper they happily would be willing to part with...please notice my PayPal link to the side and contribute to your heart's content.

Postcards...on requests. Thanks stranger.

And Another Thing:
Plenty of bands may have played their instruments better and delivered better vocal chops than the guys in Brownsville Station. However, very few had as much fun.

Led by Cub Koda...Brownsville Station wasn't trying to make you think. Or send you on a mind trip. BS wasn't about that. They were into providing a much-needed break from all the other serious crap going around.

Brownsville Station was about putting some "smiles" back into the music. Cranking the knob to ten. Passing around the Boone's Farm and having some skin-on skin with the gals...while the boys from Michigan delivered some terrific cover songs and original Brownsville boogie.

"School Punks" (1974) was their follow-up to their 1973 release..."Yeah".
Below is Brownsville Station doing a couple of jams from their '73 album. Fun times!

Quite simply...Brownsville Station was one of us. Good stuff!

Casey

Brownsville Station:-->"Kings Of The Party" (School Punks) (1974) (Must Own)

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