Flashpoint:Papa Mars and Joe Dick team up to fight crime!

Last week in the comments, I briefly mentioned that Hugh Dillon, lead singer of the Headstones (who covered Tweeter and the Monkey Man once upon a time), was co-starring in a cop drama this fall on CTV called Flashpoint opposite Enrico Colantoni (Veronica's dad on Veronica Mars). The show, originally titled Sniper, focuses on an elite tactical police team that handles hostage negotiations, bomb threats, and other fun stuff. It made some ripples a couple weeks ago when CBS picked up the Canadian show for this summer's programming in spite of the on-going Writer's Strike. But the strike's all over now, so no worries. Whether he was serious or not, Boyhowdy suggested a blog post on the matter and I was more than up for the challenge. So today I present music tenuously associated to Hugh Dillon and Enrico Colantoni!

First off, Toronto-born actor Enrico Colantoni. I basically know him only as Keith Mars on Veronica Mars and Mathesar in Galaxy Quest, though a quick perusal of his IMDb credits would point to his 7 seasons of Just Shoot Me as Elliot DiMauro as his biggest role. I have to admit having never seen Just Shoot Me, though if it lasted 7 seasons it must have been alright, eh? And in a crazy bit of planets aligning, it turns out today is in fact his birthday(!). Happy Birthday, Enrico!

Enrico Colantoni - I Finally Got the Police Report on the Dean's Suicide!
I didn't exactly find an Enrico Colantoni cover song around or even any song for that matter. But while finishing off season 3 of Veronica Mars on the weekend and thinking about this post, I stumbled upon this musical moment that made me laugh.

Kristen Bell - One Way or Another [originally by Blondie]
Veronica Mars herself performs this truncated karaoke version in Season 1. Does this count as a cover song? Well, as my film prof liked to say all the time, close enough for government purposes.

The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends [Kenn Richards Remix]
The theme song for Veronica Mars was this Dandy Warhols song, which was later remixed for Season 3. Dandy Warhols lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor cameoed on the show performing karaoke to Love Hurts. Britt Daniel of Spoon also showed up in another episode singing Elvis Costello's Veronica at the karaoke club. One of the more peculiar aspects of Veronica Mars was spotting the most random and unlikely guest stars... Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, 2 of the 3 kids from Home Improvement (Zachary Ty Bryan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas looking creepily like Christian Slater), Arrested Development's Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat (in the same episode!), Dan Castellaneta, Rider Strong (formerly of Boy Meets World), Lucy Lawless, Patty Hearst, and probably many, many more.

The Dandy Warhols - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald [originally by Gordon Lightfoot]
Since I'm heavy on the CanCon today, here's a Dandy Warhols cover of the classic Gordon Lightfoot ballad. According to wikipedia, Courtney Taylor-Taylor's cousin was in fact a crew member on the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald. This particular version is from Come on Feel the Dandy Warhols, a collection of b-sides and covers, and a different version of this cover was recorded for The Black Album.

Hugh Dillon was the lead singer of the Headstones, a Canadian hard rock band active from the late 1980's to 2003. In the mid-90's he began to take on some film roles, most notably the lead in Bruce McDonald's cult rock film Hard Core Logo. Some other credits include three episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the third Ginger Snaps film, the Assault on Precinct 13 remake, and a Genie-nominated role in the Trailer Park Boys movie.

The Headstones - Smile and Wave
The Headstones - Cubically Contained
The Headstones' third album Smile and Wave is chock-full of great rock tracks and they had a radio hit if I remember correctly with Cubically Contained.

The Headstones - Tweeter and the Monkey Man [originally by the Traveling Wilburys]
For a long time, one of the only covers of the Traveling Wilburys around. With Jenny Lewis' cover a couple years ago, the total has risen to about... four, maybe.

The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir - Streets of Bakersfield [originally by Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam]
Following the break up of the Headstones, Hugh Dillon's next band was The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir and this cover was offered to fans on his website one year as a X-Mas bonus.

You may not realize this, but one of the trademarks of Canadian cinema is the depressing and/or downbeat ending. Also: roadtrips. And that's Hard Core Logo in a nutshell, a Canadian rock & roll mockumentary (rock mock doc?) directed by Bruce McDonald in the vein of This is Spinal Tap, but only superficially. That is, there are some darkly funny moments, but you wouldn't call this a comedy. Based on a book by Michael Turner, it follows the fictional once-influential punk band Hard Core Logo as they embark on a last gasp reunion tour. Punk rock hijinks ensue. Like Chungking Express, Hero, and Iron Monkey, this film carries the questionable distinction of being "Presented by Quentin Tarantino" (i.e. "I had nothing to do with this movie, but I liked it and my name is Quentin Tarantino"). Hugh Dillon carries the film as the charismatic, self-destructive Hard Core Logo lead singer Joe Dick.


Hard Core Logo - Edmonton Block Heater
The Pursuit of Happiness - Edmonton Block Heater [originally by Hard Core Logo]
The Pursuit of Happiness - Edmonton Block Heater (Live) [originally by Hard Core Logo]
Every Edmontonian knows the importance of a block heater. This winter was particularly brutal with some -40ish temperatures at times, but we seem to take it in stride. For instance, when I went to L.A. I was miserably cold at times, muttering to myself at bus stops with the other shivering and wet patrons. And even though it was a good 30 degrees Celsius colder when I got home, at least I could bulk up in a huge puffy jacket, put on some big gloves, pull on my Oilers touque, and make epic treks to the post office or library like an arctic explorer. Embrace the bitter cold and it becomes your friend. The Hard Core Logo soundtrack was actually a "tribute" to Hard Core Logo featuring Canadian artists such as 54-40, the Odds, Kinnie Starr, the Headstones, and more performing the real songs of the fictional band. This tribute CD was also available with the Hard Core Logo special edition DVD. The Pursuit of Happiness is a rock band (lead singer from Edmonton) who had a hit song I'm an Adult Now in the 80's and endeared themselves to hockey fans everywhere with Wayne Gretzky Rocks. They recorded the Hard Core Logo cover for the tribute album and the live cut is from one of their Best-of compilations. Curiously, there's actually a band called Edmonton Block Heater from, uh, Vancouver whose name is inspired by Hard Core Logo song even though they're not a punk band.

Billy Talent - Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldnt've)? [originally by the Buzzcocks]
Canadian rock band Billy Talent gets their name from Hard Core Logo's guitarist Billy Tallent (different spelling), played in the film by Callum Keith Rennie. This cover was released with their 2nd album, Billy Talent II, but only on iTunes.

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