I have been listening to a series of fascinating lectures by New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman. Hearing about the passion story reminded me of a passion play broadcast on public television decades ago called Jesus: A Passion Play for Americans. I remember that Jesus and his disciples were portrayed as long-haired radicals and the Romans were shown as cops in riot gear. But the one thing that has always stood out in my memory, was a strange and eerie song “Showroom Model.” So yesterday, I was inspired to see what I could find out about this song.
Sure enough I was able to find it on youtube.
The song was composed by Peter Ivers. I had never heard of him, but he was an important force in both experimental theater and new wave music.
I learned that his work impressed the director David Lynch, who asked him to write a song for the film Eraserhead:
I was saddened to learn that Peter Ivers was murdered in 1983, the crime has never been solved.
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