POV
20
FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
Thismonth, EltonJohn
releases his 33rd studio album,
WonderfulCrazyNight
.
To celebrate, wegoback to
where it all startedwith a look at
threeof his earliest LPs.
ALBUM
:
EltonJohn
(1970)
BESTDEEP CUT
:
“TakeMe to thePilot ”
WHY
:
It’s anup-tempogem,
much likehis new album’s first
release, “LookingUp.”
ALBUM
:
MadmanAcross theWater
(1971)
BESTDEEP CUT
:
“MadmanAcross theWater”
WHY
:
Lyricist BernieTaupin
gives amaster class in
epic-poembrilliance.
ALBUM
:
HonkyChâteau
(1972)
BESTDEEP CUT
:
“MonaLisas andMadHatters”
WHY
:
Themost beautiful scene in
Almost Famous
—PennyLane
dancing in anempty concert
hall—uses this gorgeous
ode as abackdrop.
–
ERICCELESTE
RocketMan
Rewind
It’s time toprepareyour ears
forSirElton’snewalbum
BacktoBlack
KungFuPanda3
is in theaters thismonth,but that’snot theonly thing that
JackBlackhas in theworks.Here’s the latestonhispolkaskills, counterculture
parenting techniquesandwhyhemight justbe thenewHasselhoff.
—A.K.
ONFUTUREFILMS:
“I’mdevelopingamovieaboutapolka
singer. Ithaselementsofmusicanddark
comedy, similarto
Bernie
. It’sthedark
andthe light; themixtureof thetwo.”
ONHISPOLKASKILLS:
“Rusty.ButI feel likeI’vegot it inmy
blood. I’maquarterPolishandIcan feel
it—therewasacalling.”
ON
SCHOOLOFROCK—THEMUSICAL
,
NOWONBROADWAY:
“I’mamusical-theaterguy, soobviously
Icanappreciate [composer]Andrew
LloydWebber’sbodyofwork. In
particular,
JesusChristSuperstar
,oneof
thegreatearlyrockoperas.Thatand
Tommy
areduking itout forthegreatest
rockoperasofall time.”
ONMAKINGMUSICVS.ACTING:
“Goingoutandplayingagig isamuch
better jobthanacting, tobehonestwith
you. It’ssortofpure joy.And it’s justa
couplehoursofconcentratedeffort,and
theconnectionwiththeaudience is
somethingthat… it’salmost likedoinga
play. It’sverytheatrical,andIgetthat
theater jonestakencareofaswellasmy
musicalrock-starneeds.”
ONTENACIOUSDFANDOM:
“RecentlywewenttoAustriaandplayed
in frontofabout10,000people.You
knowhowbands,whentheystartto fade
fromtheUnitedStates, they’llsay,
‘Yeah,butwe’rebig inJapan!’?We’renot
big inJapan.Butwearebig inAustria.
It’skindof likeourJapan.Mostof
Europe,actually.Scandinavia isour
stronghold. Idon’tquestion it.Maybe
I’mthenewHasselhoff.”
ONPLAYINGVIDEOGAMESWITHHIS
OLDERSON,SAMMY:
“Thenewparentingmagazineswillall
callmethedevil,butyouknow,aside
fromthehand-eyecoordinationthat it
canhelp, there’salsosomebondingthat
canhappenwhenyouplaytogether.And
let’s face it:Partof thereasonIhadkids
wasbecauseIwantedtohavesomeone
toplayvideogameswith.”
ONNEWVOICES IN
KUNGFUPANDA3
:
“IamveryexcitedaboutBryanCranston
playingmy father.He’supthere forthe
bestactorontheplanet.Eversince
BreakingBad
,you’vegottotipyourhat
totheman. I’mequallyexcitedabout
J.K.Simmons jumpingon. Iguessyou’d
havetogivehimsecond-bestactor inthe
worldbecauseeversince
Whiplash
,he is
theterrifyingvoiceofageneration.And
KateHudson, she’sthecherryontop.”
PHOTOS
COLINDOUGLASGRAY; STEVEJENNINGS/WIREIMAGE
