This is actually a more-than-nice surprise which was posted on Thursday morning on ‘Al Rose Promotions’ YouTube account, named after the real estate man whom Daniel Plainview consults about the Bandy tract in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’… I don’t know much more than this, but I guess the person behind the account is either Anderson himself or someone who has a direct connection with him, and the video is simply awesome.
Figure this, a 2000 test run for ‘The Jon Brion Show’, directed by Anderson, featuring Jon Brion and Elliott Smith. What? All my favorite people in the same video, it’s overwhelming!
Elliott's fans, be prepare, it is a real treat. After a nice rendition of ‘Son of Sam’, Jon and Elliott are joined by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and they do a superb version of ‘Independence Day’, a song that has all these complex parts according to Brion, then, with the help of Dan McCarroll on percussion, ‘Bottle Up and Explode’, a song that Mehldau even covered and recorded himself. And starting from this, it goes from another Elliott’s song, ‘Everything Means Nothing To Me’ on piano and organ, to a Kinks’ cover – ‘Waterloo Sunset’ of course – a John Lennon one – ‘Jealous Guy’, of course! – Brion’s own ‘Trouble’, Big Star’s ‘Nightime’, and Elliott’s ‘Happiness’, with an intro and an exit by the very talented Brion on piano.
The video is hard and very comforting to watch at the same time, observing up close the friendship between Brion and Smith, their real complicity through music while joking about TV interviews… There isn't a lot of talk, but a lot of music, and I can tell that Elliott was kind of uncomfortable in front of the cameras, but his humor and spirit were intact and simply irresistible.
This was actually a TV pilot for VH1, but I guess this Largo-style variety show didn’t pick up the interest of the TV network and was shelved at PTA’s place.
So a big and warm thank you to the person who did a little cleaning,… indeed, the following was posted below the video:
‘I tore up the floorboards at H.Q. the other day
and came up with this little number on VHS.
She holds up well. Love, Al.’
I wonder how many other videos like these are still out there,… But there is at least another one we have heard about: what happened to the short movie where Elliott plays a Rastafarian basketball player?