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By Peter Cronin Dr. Strangelove With early less-than-no-budget classics like Pink Flamingos, Girl Trouble and A Dirty Shame and later mainstream hits like Cry Baby and Hairspray, John Waters did more than any modern filmmaker to give bad taste a good name. Whether a person sees his movies as “good” bad or “just plain” bad, one has to admit the music is always right. Mining a bottomless collection of pet songs from his pompadoured Baltimore youth, Waters always displayed a knack for matching the music and the moment, the pointedly perverted scene with the perfect song. Indeed, anyone who’s seen Pink Flamingos will never hear “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window” the same way again. With the success of last year’s A John Waters Christmas CD, the director-turned-record-producer was off and running to his latest project, a twisted musical Valentines Day card entitled A Date with John Waters. If the idea gets you a little hot and bothered and a wee bit nervous, have no fear. If your Valentines evening is half as fun as this record, you’re gonna have a blast. Why a Valentine’s Day record? The Christmas record did so well that I’m suddenly thinking holiday at all times. I eventually want to have a box set of every single holiday. I could end with Columbus Day and Veterans Day. Try to find even 14 songs about veterans. I guess they’d actually be war songs and that would be a great one. You included Edith Massey’s version of “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” I remember that one from The Rhino Brothers Present the World’s Worst Records! And that was Edith’s best! You should hear her sing “Wooly Bully” drunk. You can find it online and it’s about 30 minutes long! Can we expect an Easter album next? After this I want to do Breaking Up with John Waters — tearful, bitter songs about being left behind. But then I always thought I’d like to do one around the Fourth of July about fire accidents.” I thought the inclusion of John Prine and Iris Dement’s “In Spite Of Ourselves” was an unexpected touch. I’ve always liked them and that song is so Baltimore. Not all hillbillies are stupid, but this song is saying they’re stupid. How touching! I’m sick of smart people all the time. Who wants to always sleep with smart people? I have smart friends.” As a control freak, is there an element of wanting to dictate how the party goes on a record like this? It’s about taste, and I’ve always made my living from my taste, whether it’s thought of as good or bad. This kind of album, to me, is a litmus test. If I had a date with somebody and they really hated this album, I couldn’t date them. Anybody that couldn’t like “All I Could Do Is Cry” by Tina Turner, I really couldn’t fall in love with. That song led to this scene in Female Trouble where Divine gets married and Edith Massey is sitting in the back of the church just sobbing and furious. I really think it’s from that song.” Growing up in Baltimore, how important were records? They were my blood. I had a Top 10 board over my bed and I called the record stores every day and averaged out what were the bestsellers. I’d put a piece of cardboard over each one and call out, “No. 10!” and dance around the room…“No. 9!” I was in a frenzy of rock ‘n’ roll glee when I was 9 years old. Besides the ones we see here, what songs stand out? Look at the soundtracks to Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble and certainly A Dirty Shame, and you’ll hear the music that I loved, which was a lot of country novelty, definitely R&B and chipmunks and weird songs like that. The first record I ever had was Cry Baby by the Bonnie Sisters and I made a movie from that memory. Your liner notes also mention that “Tonight You Belong to Me” was the first record you ever shoplifted. Is the thrill of shoplifting akin to that first rush of romance? Shoplifting is different than romance. Shoplifting together is romantic. I’ve always said that a hot date would be robbing a 7/11 with someone you found sexy. But I haven’t done that. I’m saving some things for the autumn of my years. |
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Copyright © 2002 Mean Street Magazine, LLC |
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