Favorites: Top 5 Coming Of Age Movies.

Here’s another edition of Favorites. This time Mike V lists his top 5 “coming of age movies.” Make sure you check these out and look for more editions of Favorites right here on mikevallely.com.
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1. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

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“This movie is easily in my top 5 favorite movies of all-time. This is the quintessential coming of age flick, but just like the rest of the movies on my list, so much more than just a coming of age film. Scene for scene this one stacks up against the best of them and comes out on top. A true classic.”

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2. The Outsiders (1983)

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“Just a great all around film. Beware of the “Complete Novel Edition.” The original film with the original score is the way to go.”

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3. The Karate Kid (1984)

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“I won’t be seeing the remake of this one. There’s no messing with the chemistry of Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio.”

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4. The Breakfast Club (1985)

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“This list could really be all John Hughes films but this one if my favorite.”

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5. Dazed And Confused (1993)

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“The only film not produced in the great decade of the 80′s on my list but this one is so good it seems like it was made in the 80′s.”

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Favorites: Top Five Bruce Springsteen Records.

Mike V has been a Bruce Springsteen fan for a long, long time and has put down thousands and thousands of miles tramping across the US to see Bruce play live throughout the years. His fandom of Bruce lead to a relationship with the man himself and Mike V has even joined Bruce on stage singing “Twist And Shout” with him at the Light Of Day Festival in Asbury Park, NJ in 2005.


Bruce Springsteen and Mike V backstage at the Devils And Dust Tour LA, CA 2005. Photo by Danny Clinch.

Says Mike V:

“I first met Bruce in the early stages of The Rising Tour in 2002. On that tour I had carte blanche via Bruce and the late great Terry McGovern. I had put down a lot of miles following Bruce’s tours over the previous ten years but on The Rising Tour I had a laminate with a gold star on it given to me by Bruce and Terry that allowed me to walk into any city in the US and stand on the side of the stage or go down into the pit and take in the show. I never needed a ticket nor did I need to let anyone know that I was coming. I would just walk in, say hello to the folks I knew and post up and get BRUCIFIED from city to city, night after night. I had complete freedom to come and go as I pleased and I took in amazing shows in Boston, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New Jersey and more. It was an amazing time to be a Bruce fan.

What I admire most about Bruce is his commitment to his fans and to truly putting on a show and making every stop of every tour something monumental. In that regard, there is none better than The Boss. Meeting him and spending time around him was every thing any fan would dream it would be. He is the genuine guy who you believe him to be and meeting him only made me a bigger fan of his.

As far as his music goes, through the years I’ve immersed myself in every era of his catalogue and like with any artist one likes, it’s truly almost impossible to really pinpoint one record, one song or one era that is better than another… each is just it’s own thing and I appreciate and admire all of it for what it is. But for the sake of the idea of “Favorites” here’s my stab at a top 5 Bruce records.”

– Mike V
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1. Born To Run (1975)

“This is the ultimate expression of Bruce’s early rock and roll ethos. From Thunder Road to Jungleland, from the church’s to the jails, this record timelessly communicates the dreams, the realities, the poetry and the passion of Bruce’s music and rock ‘n roll in general like nothing else before or after it. Favorite Cuts: Backstreets and Thunder Road.”

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2. Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)

“When the promises were broken, Darkness On the Edge Of Town was the result and pain and defeat and spit in the eye were never expressed so eloquently as this. Favorite Cuts: Something In The Night and Racing In The Streets.”

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3. Nebraska (1982)

“It doesn’t get any darker than these home recorded 4 track demos. It’s been called “the quietest punk record ever made.” This was the real sound of Born In The USA before the synthesizers. Favorite Cuts: State Trooper, My Father’s House.”

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4. The River (1980)

“Four sides of Bruce Springsteen. Favorite Cuts: Independence Day, Stolen Car, The River.”

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5. Born In The USA (1984)

“Synthesizers or not, this music is undeniable. Every song that you’ve heard a million times still stands up on it’s own and still works as an album. Favorite Cuts: My Hometown, Darlington County, Born In The USA.”

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Favorites: Top 5 Black Flag Records.

With the Mike Vallely/ By The Sword “Black Flag Tribute” shows upon us, Mike V offers up his top 5 Black Flag albums of all-time for this edition of Favorites. Make sure you check these out and look for more editions of Favorites right here on mikevallely.com.

1. BLACK FLAG: My War (1984)

“This was the first Flag album I ever owned. I bought it at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ. I always loved the heavier / stoney Flag. Not only did Flag pioneer the hardcore sound but they pioneered stoner rock and My War was and is just as important as the Nervous Breakdown 7inch. That I was actually able to join Greg Ginn on stage almost 20 years after I bought this record and perform this album from cover to cover with him and Dez Cadena still floors me. Favorite Cuts: My War, Nothing Left Inside.”

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2. BLACK FLAG: The First Four Years (1983)

“This is it folks, the birth of hardcore music. Mandatory ownership. Favorite cuts: Nervous Breakdown, Jealous Again.”

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3. BLACK FLAG: Damaged (1981)

“The first full-length Flag album and Henry’s first record with the band. Favorite cuts: Rise Above, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.”

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4. BLACK FLAG: Slip It In (1984)

“I got suspended from school for wearing the Slip It In t-shirt to class. Favorite cuts: The Bars, Wound Up.”

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5. BLACK FLAG: Who’s Got The 10 1/2? (1986)

“Great live Flag. Favorite cuts: Drinking And Driving, Loose Nut.”

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– Mike V

If you live in Southern California don’t miss these shows (also a great reason for a roadtrip).

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Favorites: Top 5 KISS Records.

Mike V’s been a die hard KISS fan since 1977. Below are his top 5 favorite KISS records with his thoughts on each. Make sure you check these out and look for more editions of Favorites right here on mikevallely.com.

1. KISS: Alive! (1975)

“My babysitter smuggled this record into my house when I was seven years old and that was it, I was a KISS fan for life. Is it a live album or all studio magic? Who cares? This is KISS at their very best. Favorite cuts: Deuce and Gold Gin.”

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2. KISS: Ace Frehley (1978)

“Even though it’s a solo record, it’s an official KISS release and it stands out not only as one of the very best KISS records but as one of the best rock and roll records of all-time. Favorite cuts: Speedin’ Back To My Baby, Wiped-Out.”

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3. KISS: Destroyer (1976)

“Probably the most focused KISS studio album from the seventies. Favorite cuts: Detroit Rock City, God Of Thunder.”

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4. KISS: Carnival Of Souls (1997)

“Some of my favorite KISS records are the ones the critics have panned and that even the band has tried to separate themselves from. I happen to love the disco album Dynasty (1979), the rock opera The Elder (1981) and the pop record Unmasked (1980). But this one, their “grunge” record is my favorite of all their experimental projects. Favorite cuts: Hate, I Walk Alone.”

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5. KISS: Creatures Of The Night (1982)

“KISS at their heaviest. Gene really delivers on his songs on this record. Favorite cuts: Rock And Roll Hell, I Love It Loud.”

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– Mike V

Favorites: Top 5 Westerns.

Mike V is a movie-buff and westerns rank as his personal favorite genre of film. Below are his top 5 favorite western movies with Mike’s thoughts on each. Make sure you check these out and look for more editions of Favorites here on mikevallely.com.

1. THE SEARCHERS (1956)

“Directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, The Searchers is not only my favorite “western” movie of all time, it may very well be my favorite movie of all time. John Wayne gives a gritty and unapologetic performance as Ethan Edwards, a tormented and hardened Civil War veteran who spends years obsessively searching for his abducted niece captured in a Comanche raid. The Searchers haunts with a rawness and a beauty — a truth and a power, like no other film before or after it.”

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2. HIGH NOON (1952)

“Directed by Fred Zinneman and starring Gary Cooper, High Noon is a moralistic tale of duty and courage. Gary Cooper plays Marshal Will Kane who in his greatest hour of need is forsaken by his friends and fellow townsfolk to face a gang of criminals alone. A study of courage and cowardice like no other, High Noon strikes a powerful chord with me upon every viewing.”

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3. PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID: 2005 Special Edition (1973)

“Directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson, Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid is a melancholic poetic sketch about the end of an era in the old west and the betrayal spawned from it. Bob Dylan also stars on camera and with his soundtrack in this saga of the law and the lawless. Not a film on many other people’s top lists but certainly one of my all –time favorites.”

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4. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968)

“Directed by Sergio Leone and starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards, Once Upon A Time In The West is an epic tale depicting the arrival of the railroad in the west and thus the death of the American frontier. Stylized with beauty and brutality, Once Upon A Time In The West creeps along but burrows its self deep within the psyche. The only spaghetti western in my top ten but easily Leone’s best work, Once Upon A Time In The West is a movie that sticks with you long after you watch it.”

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5. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)

“Directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden as Pike Bishop, The Wild Bunch is an ode to the end of the outlaw gunfighter in the early twentieth century. Frustrated by a changing world, Pike and his gang decide to go out in a blaze of bullets rather than abandon a friend in one of the most epic scenes in all of cinema.”

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– Mike V