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Weekend Butler: Garland Jeffreys is so much more than “Wild in the Streets.” Rolling with Tom Cruise. A weekend movie that’s fun and smart. Shrimp that’s not boiled to death.
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Published: Jun 01, 2022
Category:
Weekend
GARLAND JEFFREYS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN “WILD IN THE STREETS” — LIKE A DOCUMENTARY FILM
For the final New Year’s Eve party in the old apartment, we invited a great many people — people we knew and loved, people we kinda knew and might love if we knew them better, people we superficially knew and wanted to meet. Garland Jeffreys was in category three. Imagine our surprise when he and his wife Claire showed up. A wavelet of recognition in the room, followed by pleasure that they were so “regular.”
Midnight arrived. My wife was elsewhere. Which is how it came to pass that my first kiss of 2013 was with Garland Jeffreys.
Years passed. Life changed. I ran into Garland and Claire in Costco. I watched him dance on a table in a New Jersey club and thrill at Joe’s Pub.
The last time I saw Garland was at City Winery, after the show, selling merch. I introduced him to K. He had a question for her: “See a lot of this guy?” She deadpanned: “As little as possible.” He grinned at K. Nodded approval to me. Not a blessing from the Pope, but a definite affirmation.
If you know Garland Jeffreys outside of my raves on Butler, it’s for one song: “Wild in the Streets.” If you’ve never had the pleasure, watch the video. And consider the lyrics — NYC was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he found joy on the streets.
In the heat of the summer
Better call up the plumber
and turn on the street pump
to cool me off
With your newspaper writers
and your big crime fighters
You still need a drug store
to cure my cough
Running wild in the streets
We got a gang called Shady
And a midnight lady
And two transvestites
To beat the band
You better not touch us
You best believe us
Your teenage Johnny’s
Gonna be a man
Runnin’ wild in the streets
Mrs. America
Tell me how is your favorite son?
Do you really care
What he has done?
Runnin’ wild in the streets
Garland Jeffreys is a legend — in Europe. Here’s he’s a cult legend. Bob Marley called him the only American who could really sing reggae. Springsteen duets with him. Watch him destroy Hail, Hail, Rock & Roll. And I could offer a dozen more links.
It’s time — it’s more than time —for a documentary about Garland. “Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between” will be a feature-length documentary “exploring the challenges and late stage triumphs of a Brooklyn-born biracial singer songwriter over the course of his fifty-year career.” Director Claire Jeffreys has spent forty years as Garland’s partner, more than ten of them as his manager. She brings with her access to a private archive of photos, articles and performance footage, scenes of family and professional life, and interviews with peers and admirers.
There’s a Kickstarter. The goal is $50,000. As of today: $16,000 raised. If music that lifts your spirits has ever lifted yours, consider supporting this.
TOM CRUISE: ROLLING INTO THE PART
We have become accustomed to Tom Cruise jumping off skyscrapers or climbing up glass-walled hotels and breaking the sound barrier. I remember a different Tom Cruise…
Tom Cruise sent Tina Brown a note of gratitude before Annie Leibovitz and I started work on his Vanity Fair cover story. Even in 1988, that was trademark Cruise: excessively polite, every detail noted. But when I went to meet him at the Galleria in Dallas, he was nowhere to be found. Mystifying. I waited. Paced. And then a gaunt guy in faded clothes and a sketchy mustache rolled over — Tom Cruise, preparing to star as paralyzed Viet vet Ron Kovic in “Born on the Fourth of July.”
I walked. He rolled. We talked. At one point, we crossed paths with a kid who was in a wheelchair — for real. He and Cruise chatted for a few minutes. A Hollywood moment? Great for the piece? Yeah, all that. But much more: a meeting of equals. I watched Cruise. He wasn’t acting. He was with that kid, one hundred percent. Me, I had to turn away.
We ended the interview at the car that was waiting for Cruise. I expected him to stand. No way. He lifted himself out of the wheelchair and made the transfer to the passenger’s seat. Then he lifted himself out and returned to the chair. Then he transferred again. Because maybe he could do it better.
THE WEEKEND MOVIE: “NO”
In 1973, in a coup supported by the CIA, the Chilean military overthrew the country’s first Socialist government. President Salvador Allende committed suicide (or was killed); Augusto Pinochet, General of the Army, became dictator. The cleansing of progressives began immediately. Before it ended, 3,000 Chileans had “disappeared,” 130,000 had been jailed, and 28,000 had been arrested and tortured.
In 1988, there was a referendum on Pinochet’s government. It was a straight “yes” or “no” proposition, and few believed that a majority would vote “no” — or vote at all.
“No” won.
How? The “no” team brought in a consultant, Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal), a skateboard-riding advertising hotshot from Mexico who couldn’t be less political. What was needed, he said, was to treat the referendum like a commercial product and sell it to viewers. Like cola.
“NO” is a number of films in one. It’s a romp: the clever young ad man making fun of the staid Establishment. It’s a thriller: Pinochet and his goon squads do not sit idly by as the ad man gains market share. And it’s a primer: It suggests approaches we might use to make change in our own country. But beware: “NO” may give you ideas that, ninety minutes earlier, would have struck you as ridiculous.
To watch the preview: click here. To stream the movie on Amazon Prime: click here.
ROASTED — NOT BOILED TO RUBBER — SHRIMP SALAD
from Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft: Craft a Sandwich into a Meal — And a Meal into a Sandwich
Roasted Shrimp Salad with Tomatoes and Olives
Makes 4 open-faced sandwiches
With no boiled shrimp and no mayo, this shrimp salad is immediately set apart from its traditional counterpart. It’s actually closer to a scampi sandwich. Eschewing the mayo keeps the contents light and the flavor assertive. Throwing a party? As the shrimp are particularly beautiful, this recipe could also be used to make canapés.
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic plus 1 (peeled) clove
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup pitted Niçoise olives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped green onions (white parts only)
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tablespoon dried Sicilian oregano
8 slices multigrain bread
Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and the sliced garlic to a large skillet placed over medium-high heat. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Add the red pepper flakes and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Pour the white wine into the skillet and stir to dissolve bits stuck to pan. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Combine the shrimp with the tomatoes, olives, parsley, dill, green onions, lemon zest and juice, the remaining 1/2 cup oil, and the oregano. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Grill the bread on both sides and lightly rub with the garlic clove. Place the shrimp salad on top and serve open-faced.
