IT’S THE REST OF JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #245!

Here’s my 2010 Top Ten list of videos and books which I couldn’t vote for on my official ballot in this year’s annual Village Voice jazz and pop survey because the Voice hasn’t had any categories for videos and books ever since I first began voting in their payola poll way back in 1975, the clods.

JEFFREY MORGAN’S TOP FIVE VIDEOS OF 2010:

01. George Harrison – Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament Of George Harrison? (MVD Visual) :: Wherein no less an authority than L’Angelo Misterioso himself explains the truth behind Paul McCartney’s death and double duplication all those years ago and presents a veritable treasure trove of audio and visual clues to back up his brag that even I didn’t know about—and I’ve been playing my vinyl Beatle albums backwards since 1969! Bonus points for including an exclusive interview with America’s greatest rock critic, Al Aronowitz.

02. The Doors – When You’re Strange (Eagle Vision) :: In a world where Doors films are a ripe dime a dozen, leave it to the Doors themselves to come up with the solid gold goods about their entire career at this late stage of the game. Not an incredible simulation but the real thing wherein the story of L.A.’s greatest band is finally told—and told right—once and for all by no less a luminary than former full-time Doors bassist Johnny Depp.

03. Jim Morrison – His Final Hours (MVD Visual) :: Not the real thing, but an incredible simulation wherein the last 24 hours in Jimbo’s life are painstakingly portrayed by a cadre of uncanny look-alikes. This is the perceptive Doors film that Oliver should’ve made but didn’t have the stones to.

04. The Rolling Stones – Stones In Exile (Eagle Vision) :: In a world where Rolling Stones films are a ripe dime a dozen, leave it to the Stones themselves to come up with the sordid goods about Exile On Main St. at this late stage of the game. Mick Jagger unknowingly plays straight man to Charlie Watts’ snide asides; Bill Wyman laughingly calls the kettle black by criticizing Mick Taylor for not moving around on stage; Anita Pallenberg grievously laments about the past while lamentably looking like Keith Richards; and Keith Richards can finally be understood without the use of closed captioning for the hearing impaired!

05. David Bowie – Rare And Unseen (MVD Visual) :: No, this delightful must see disc doesn’t include Bowie’s 1968 Luv Ice Cream commercial or his 1964 BBC Tonight News appearance as David Jones advocating that men be allowed to grow their hair long, but it does cleverly juxtapose various interviews that old carrot top’s given over the years, ranging all the way from his totally paranoid Station To Station days to his totally normal Eart hl i ng days and all points in-between, often to very humorous effect.

JEFFREY MORGAN’S TOP FIVE BOOKS OF 2010:

01. Jim DeRogatis & Greg Kot – The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones: Sound Opinions On The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Rivalry (Voyageur Press) :: DeRo’s the man behind the definitive dissertation Let It Blurt: The Life & Times Of Lester Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic and in this new profusely pictured opus he’s decided to decode the difference between what it means to be a Beatles fan as opposed to a Stones fan—and whichever way you’re disposed, you may adopt another point of view after reading co-conspirator Kot’s cogent comments. Bonus points for including a flickering front cover that evokes Their Satanic Majesties Request.

02. Mick Foley – Countdown To Lockdown: A Hardcore Journal (Grand Central Publishing) :: St. Mick’s fourth autobiography covers his controversial switch from WWE to TNA; chronicles his long-awaited meeting with mat muse Tori Amos; and contains three consecutive candidly cautionary chapters on the health hazards of wrestling that’ll hit you harder than the eleven consecutive chair shots to the head that The Rock once gave Foley.

03. Phil Sutcliffe – AC/DC: High-Voltage Rock ’n’ Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History (Voyageur Press) :: Well, if the above-noted Beatlestones book didn’t make it official, this one certainly does: Voyageur is now the greatest planetary publisher of lavishly illustrated rock ’n’ roll hardcover coffee table books—and I’m not just saying that because I was a vital part of their recent killer Queen book wherein I publicly revealed Freddie Mercury’s long-suppressed secret behind the Hot Space album on page 172. Nor am I exaggerating a touch too much when I say that every single photo ever taken of AC/DC can be found lavishly laid out herein, all ably accentuated by Sutcliffe’s ever-astute analysis. Bonus points for including an entertaining circular swivel cover that evokes Led Zeppelin III.

04. Marshall Terrill – Steve McQueen: A Tribute To The King Of Cool (Dalton Watson Fine Books) :: Nobody knows McQueen better than Terrill does and this, his third book on the subject, is the ultimate visual expression of that vast wealth of knowledge made manifest as it expertly aligns all aspects of the Cooler King’s life and career into a concise chronological perspective as narrated by friends, family, and colleagues.

05. Pamela Des Barres – I’m With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie (Chicago Review Press) :: She’s my little douche coupe, you don’t know what I caught.

Be seeing you!