HAPPY 61st BIRTHDAY DOUGLAS ADAMS

IN HONOUR OF DOUGLAS ADAMS' 61st BIRTHDAY,

I've dug through the mouldering old pile of cassettes in the bottom drawer and uncovered an audio recording of the author's appearance on "The Merv Griffin Show" in 1983. 

Sadly, for some reason I didn't videotape it (since I had a VCR since 1982) but somehow only recorded it by putting my Radio Shack portable tape recorder up to the TV speaker.  So understand that the sound is not too good; let alone the fact that the tape itself is 30 years old.  But the true story Adams regales has always been priceless to me.  So here, for all posterity, is Douglas Adams' Cookie Story (translated from "biscuit" for the Yanks)!  It's available for you to play over there on the right.  Enjoy!

COLLIER AT LARGE

I was saddened to belatedly hear of the death of radio interviewer Ralph Collier who died January 31st of this year at the age of 91. 

During my college years, I loved listening to the local classical music station WFLN-FM (now long defunct leaving our radio market without a single classical music radio station ever since) and one of my favourite shows was Ralph Collier's noon-time interview show.  For two decades until 1988, Collier hosted the half hour-long interview programme "Collier At Large" which he often broadcast from the Campbell Soup Tureen Museum (of which he was President from 1975 to 1990).  While he did interview celebrities from Fred Astaire to Charlton Heston, my favourite shows were the ones where he interviewed authors who were a lot lesser known but often much more interesting. On one of my favourite episodes, Collier took a mobile microphone and went on a walking tour of Old City Philadelphia (and I'm lucky enough to have recorded the show and I still have it) during which historic architecture was pointed out and discussed. Sadly, I've only got a handful of shows recorded and I don't know of any other place which has them preserved.  As an example of the ecclectic subject matter Collier At Large routinely provided, I can list the shows I've luckily managed to record and hang onto all these years.  The shows I taped range approximately from the years 1983-1985 and included (besides the Philadelphia Walking Tour show previously mentioned) an interview of Robert J. Serling (Rod Serling's brother) on his book "HOWARD HUGHES' AIRLINE" discussing the magnate and his ties to aviation and TWA, Mary Previte (who as a child was held in a Japanese concentration camp for three years during World War II), Michael Thomas (author of a financial thriller called "HARD MONEY"), crime historian Dr. Mark Haller on bootlegging in Philadelphia and Dr. J.J. Wilhelm on the traitorous poet Ezra Pound.  As fate would have it, however, only just today I stumbled across an old, mouldering cassette tape containing another episode I never knew I had in which Collier interviews Scott Turow on the then-just-published novel "PRESUMED INNOCENT".  Ralph Collier's interviews were always fascinating (even when I wasn't particularly interested in the subject) and I couldn't let the passing of someone who provided me with many, many hours of absorbing listening to go by without my marking it with a little tribute to an interviewer and a radio show which I sorely miss.

As a temporary treat, I've posted two episodes of COLLIER AT LARGE over there in the box at the right:  the "Walking Tour of Phila." and "Ezra Pound:  American Traitor" episodes to give you a flavour of the show.  It shares the box with the Douglas Adams "Biscuit Story" above so give both a listen . . . while they last! 

FAB FOUR FIFTIETH!

IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO -- MARCH 1963 -- WHEN THE FIRST BEATLES ALBUM WAS RELEASED. 

This month marks a half-century of Beatlemania and to celebrate Dr. Janos Rukh (from our sister audio blog "Bathed in the Light from Andromeda") has helped me compile this month's March Jukebox:  my 25 favourite Beatles songs.  For the month of March, the jukebox over there on the right will feature the 25 Beatles songs I like best (in alphabetical order):

• ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Alternate Take)
• CAN'T BUY ME LOVE
• A DAY IN THE LIFE
• FOR YOU BLUE
• GOLDEN SLUMBERS/CARRY THAT WEIGHT/THE END
• HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN
• HELLO GOODBYE
• HELP!
• HERE COMES THE SUN
• I AM THE WALRUS
• I'LL BE BACK
• I WANT YOU (SHE'S SO HEAVY)
• MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
• MOTHER NATURE'S SON
• OH DARLING
• REAL LOVE
• ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC
• RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
• SAVOY TRUFFLE
• SHE'S LEAVING HOME
• SOMETHING
• THIS BOY
• WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS
• YOU KNOW MY NAME (LOOK UP THE NUMBER)
• YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY

FEBRUARY'S BOX OF JUKE

FOR THIS MONTH'S GROUP OF AUDIO GOODNESS, IT'S STRAIGHT TO THE SPACE AGE BACHELOR PAD. 

This February I'm feeling very loungey so I've provided 25 tracks of incredibly strange music for you.  Listen to the box over on the right -- and check back periodically because I just may add a couple tracks now and then before February is done.

1. Introduction - Laura Huxley
2. A Glorious Dawn  -  Carl Sagan (featuring Stephen Hawking)
3. A Man and a Woman  -  Francis Lai
4. Mickey Mouse Theme  -  Dick Marx Quintet
5. A Swinging Safari  -  Bert Kaempfert
6. Liebestraum  -  Spike Jones & His City Slickers
7. Directions to Servants (In Particular to the Cook) by Jonathan Swift  -  Alec Guinness
8. Kookie's Mad Pad  -  Edd "Kookie" Byrnes
9. Too Many Cookers  -  Flanders & Swann
10. Ideal Jingle
11. The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah from Star Trek "Amok Time"  -  Gerald Fried & Sol Kaplan
12. Le Coeur qui Jazze  -  France Gall
13. The Crusher  -  The Novas
14. Little Lu-Lu Frog  -  T. Valentine
15. Halloween Party  -  Jack Starr
16. Bongo Bash  -  Al Stefano & His Trio
17. The Wedding in Thom McCann Shoes  -  Swingin' Thom
18. You'd Never Know the Old Place Now  -  Jack Webb
19. Fly Me To the Moon  -  Jennie Smith
20. Latinia  -  The Sentinals
21. Dawn at Dover  -  Phil Moore & Johnny Dankworth
22. The Indian Serenade  -  Jayne Mansfield
23. I've Found A New Baby  -  Si Zentner
24. Oasis of Dakhla  -  Les Baxter
25. Delicado  -  The Three Suns

POPE HILARIUS II PONTIFICATES ON WHY POPE BENEDICT'S "RESIGNATION" IS DESERVING OF RIDICULE

Not withstanding the former Pope John Paul II's failure to abdicate during his obvious ill health during the final years of his pontificate, let us look at a few reasons why the current Pope's resignation deserves nothing but ridicule.

"Later, dudes!  Pope Benny's gonna kick it at the Old Pope's Home.  Keep those donations coming in!"

1. It has been widely stated that Pope Benedict was ready to retire when he was elected pope and that he took the job because he viewed it as "God's will".  He apparently doesn't think that "God's will" extends to his tenure in office as he has decided to overrule God and resign.
2. The very conservative stance of Pope Benedict regarding changing established Catholic doctrine is well-known.  One of the reasons why he hasn't supported "progressive" changes in the Catholic church (i.e. female priests, lessening of the admonition against contraceptives and abortion, recognition of homosexuality as less than a heinous sin, etc.) is because well-established church tradition should not be disregarded.  Except, of course, the well-established church tradition that a Pope does NOT resign.  This well-established church tradition has existed for about 700 years and the last Pope to resign only did so to end the "Great Schism" which found two rival popes simultaneously reigning; in order to end the strife a Pope resigned.  This one is resigning apparently because he's tired and old. 
3. Deciding that maybe getting married was a mistake and you and your spouse should be able to separate is called divorce.  This is frowned upon by the Pope and the Catholic Church.  Deciding that maybe accepting the job of Pope was a mistake and you should be allowed to resign is called convenient HYPOCRISY.
4. It would be wrong to stay as the Pope when your advanced age and "tiredness" would make it more difficult to do your job.  It would be RIGHT, however, to continue to tolerate the sexual abuse of children by your priests -- that is apparently one of the job requirements Pope Benedict is too tired to continue. 

Is it any wonder, really, why the Catholic Church is on the downward slide to oblivion?

HOW WHO-STORICAL

IN HONOUR OF DOCTOR WHO'S 50th ANNIVERSARY, THE ROYAL MAIL IS ISSUING DOCTOR WHO STAMPS!  Each of the 11 incarnations of the Doctor are receiving their own stamp:  William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith.  Now THAT'S what I call officially announcing Doctor Who as a British institution!

And even the Doctor's villains are horning in on the celebration; four of the Doctor's villains are receiving their own 2nd class stamps. 

THE TOP 25 SONGS THAT MAKE ME CRY

BOO HOO!!!  The latest episode of the terrific music podcast "ALL TIME TOP TEN" was one of the best so far; it features host Ben Eisen and guest David Daskal (of the band XYZYX -- check out their great new single "Kirk Cameron" on youtube) each chose the top ten songs that make them cry.  And the show revealed something really interesting about the completely subjective response we all have to music and how there's no equation which can demonstrate why something makes us cry.  So I thought I'd totally rip off the idea . . . only in my case I'll make it 25 songs instead of 10.  Hey, that's what Hollywood calls "homage", right?  So by all means go right now and listen to the latest "ALL TIME TOP TEN" podcast (as well as all the other episodes because they're great and always fascinating).  And this episode, as I say, was particularly fascinating as it was the most emotionally honest and personally revealing topic so far; the choosing of the songs that make one cry leaves one quite exposed.  Especially if you're a big tough guy like me who eats punks like you for breakfast!   Sniff.

So without further boo-hoo, I'll provide my top 25 songs that make me cry (and YES, they ARE in order with number one being the boo-hooingest) and I'll put all the songs over there in the box on the right for you to listen to.  And remember, songs that make you cry do not have to be necessarily sad.  And while some of these are definitely sad songs, others on my list (as well as the "ALL TIME TOP TEN" guys) can make you cry because they make you very happy or they're associated with a particular personal thing or else the music is just so unbelievably beautiful (and all of these occur on my list).  And I guess I'll do my list in reverse order too so my number one song appears last.  So here goes -- hankies at the ready...

• 25)  SPOON RIVER by Steve Goodman  --  an exquisitely beautiful and innocent, lilting waltz which is just so gorgeous that it makes me cry.  Another of those songs about the Civil War but this time the nightmare is being us as we attempt to pick up our lives and continue on into the sunny morning.  Also Steve Goodman's tragic early death adds another heartbreaking aspect to the song.
• 24)  GRACE by Jonathan Elias featuring James Taylor  --  I guess this one reveals something of a spiritual yearning on my part.  Emerging from "THE PRAYER CYCLE" album by Jonathan Elias which features scads of guest artists like Nusret Fatah Ali Khan and Alanis Morissette, this one allows Sweet Baby James' pure voice to meld with a full English Chamber Chorus of human voices and the viruoso guitar of John Williams while we float upon that stormy sea.
• 23)  VON (LIVE)  by Sigur Ros  --  Don't have a clue what the words mean (not being able to speak Icelandic) and I don't really need to know.  The sound of the soaring vocals teamed with the strings and the rum-tum-tum of the drumming makes me soar into the blue sky above any problems.  At least during the song's duration.  The operative version is the "acoustic" version which appears in the film "HEIMA" and is to be found on the Sigur Ros album "HVARF-HEIM".
• 22)  HURT by Johnny Cash  --  Can anyone forget the devastating video which reduced Trent Reznor himself to tears.  But the power is also here in the music and the unflinching performance by the Man In Black.  Particularly that relentless pounding piano at the end.
• 21)  STORMS by Fleetwood Mac  --  the sound of a relationship cracking up on an icy glacier.  Stevie Nicks' vocal sounds resigned as well as hurt.  And most importantly, she doesn't lay blame on someone else.
• 20)  SPOSA SON DISPREZZATA by Cecilia Bartoli  --  Vivaldi's stunningly beautiful song performed expertly by Bartoli as she voices her bewilderment at the wrongs done her.  "I am a scorned wife, faithful yet insulted.  Heavens, what did I do?  Yet he is my love, my husband, my beloved, my hope."
• 19)  HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY by George Jones  --  OK, one of the ultimate country tearjerkers.  Whoa!
• 18)  DELIVERY DELAYED by Stan Rogers  --  the first of two appearances of the late great Stan Rogers on this list (and both songs are from the same album concert, as well!).  Here we have an extremely beautiful lyric about birth ("How early is beginning?") paired with a spare guitar accompaniment which suddenly swells to a crescendo as the reaching for love is met with love in return.  Then, of course, there's the added sorrow of Stan Rogers' tragic death in an airline fire.
• 17)  SILENCIO by Ibrahim Ferrer & Omara Portuondo  --  Two of the stars of the Bueno Vista Social Club duet on this achingly gorgeous song by Rafael Hernandez.  And also, another thing, the song makes my mother cry as well.  "Hush, the lilies and purple flowers are sleeping.  I don't want them to know of my sorrow, for if they see me crying, they will die."  In the film, both Ferrer and Portuondo are crying by the end of the song.
• 16)  GHOST IN THIS HOUSE by Alison Krauss  --  a song for the dumped (sorry, Ben Folds . . . but your turn on this list will come a little higher up).  The best description in song I've heard of the emotional, mental and physical shutdown that occurs sung in Krauss' ghostly voice.  "I'm living proof of the damage heartbreak does."  I have here the live version simply because a) I can't find the original version at the moment and b) the live version is practically identical.
• 15)  THE LAST SONG by Elton John  --  the first single which decided Elton John to denote the proceeds for all his future singles to AIDS research.  Used effectively at the end of the fantastic HBO movie "AND THE BAND PLAYED ON".  A brief song that packs a punch describing love and reconciliation.  The brevity of the song arrives and is gone before you know it . . . like the too many who have died.
• 14)  DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME by Frank Sinatra  --  just a sadly beautiful song about heartbreak once again.  Not only Frankie's crushed vocals make this one but also the fact that it was a favourite of my late friend Peg. 
• 13)  THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES by Queen  --  The quiet acceptance of the passing of time and not to waste it.  Freddie Mercury's vocal is just so contented and happy (coming so soon before his death) and Brian May's absolutely perfect guitar solo in the bridge make this perfect.  And also, the live version sung by Lisa Stansfield and George Michael has the same affect on me. 
• 12)  LATE by Ben Folds  --  See, Ben, I told you you'd make the list.  One of the most beautiful and sad songs Folds has recorded (and there ARE quite a few!).  This one is his tribute to Elliot Smith and deals with death in general.  All the things he'd like to say to him but it's too late. 
• 11)  BLACK by Pearl Jam  --  This is my favourite song.  Why is it all the way down at number 11???  Well, because this is a list of songs that make me cry and not my favourite songs, that's cuz why.  It's another song about heartbreak ("I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star in somebody else's life but why, why, WHY can't it be mine") and there's just so much power and emotion in Eddie Vedder's vocal as it builds to absolute frantic helplessness. 
• 10)  IF I COULD REACH YOU by The 5th Dimension  --  this is my nominee for the second saddest song ever recorded.  What's number one?  Keep reading.  Marilyn McCoo's devastating vocal is almost too much to bear as we hear a woman desperately in love with a man who doesn't love her.  "And if I could reach you someway, if I knew the magic it would take to love you good enough on the outside to make you feel it on the inside, maybe I could make you stay."  And the utter bleakness of the final line in the song just tears you apart. 
• 9)  FIRST CHRISTMAS by Stan Rogers  --  this is my nominee for THE saddest song ever recorded.  And why is it number nine?  Well again, because this is a list of songs that make me cry; some other time I'll do one about the saddest songs ever.  This is again from the same concert as "Delivery Delayed" and I must warn you MOST STRONGLY NEVER TO LISTEN TO THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!  It is absolutely NOT a Christmas song and if you listen to it then you'll slash your wrists with mistletoe!  I'm not going to spoil it for you but just listen to all the lyrics carefully; and especially the final verse about the old man which is devastating! 
• 8)  TIME AFTER TIME by Margaret Whiting  --  I've decided that this is my 4th favourite song of all time.  Having said that, I'm always torn between this version and the Frank Sinatra recording.  It is just the nicest, happiest song about how lucky two people are to have found each other.  Unless, of course, you haven't found someone then the yearning for such happiness will reduce you to tears.  Like me.
• 7)  WISH YOU WERE HERE by Fleetwood Mac  --  This song has an intense personal reason for being here.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.
• 6)  I STARTED A JOKE by The Bee Gees  --  An absolutely astonishing song.  How ever did they think of those lyrics?!?!?!?  There's just nothing like it I've ever heard before.  As stated on the "ALL TIME TOP TEN" podcast, Robin Gibb's son came home and listened to this song after his father's death and dissolved into a pool of tears.  How can a song be this sad and this funny at the same time?!?!?!  I just can't describe what's going on in this song.
• 5)  NO PLACE TO FALL by Townes Van Zandt  --  this song gets me from the very first verse.  "If I had no place to fall and I needed to, could I count on you to lay me down?"  Perfect blend of lyrics with a tune conveying the same thing as the words.
• 4)  ASIMBONANGA by Johnny Clegg  --  this is a song Clegg recorded back in the 80's referring to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners in South Africa.  The title means "you were here but now I don't see you anymore"; in other words, you're one of the "disappeared".  However, the version that REALLY gets me is not the original but the live version performed at the 46664 concert in 2002 with some tentative but heartfelt help from Peter Gabriel.  There is this one shot of a woman in the audience singing along and crying that destroys me!
• 3)  LIVE LIKE HORSES by Elton John & Luciano Pavarotti  --  this song makes me cry because it offers hope that someday I'll actually be happy.  I'm a natural pessimist so I need songs like this.  One day I hope we'll be able to break free of those old iron fences and run happily towards the sunny, open vistas.  I'm frankly living for that day.  This song soars! 
• 2)  I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS by Joe Brown  --  performed by Joe Brown with his humble ukulele at the close of the "CONCERT FOR GEORGE", this song is just so heartbreakingly beautiful and simple; that coupled with the association now with the death of George Harrison.  This song means to me now something totally different from it's original intent:  while those who have died are no longer here with us, I'm still able to see them in my dreams".  This performance of this song never fails to reduce me to a snivelling wreck.
• 1)  NO MORE DRAMA by Mary J. Blige  --  this is my second favourite song behind "BLACK".  It came out when there was A WHOLE LOT of drama going on in my life and I was pretty much a shredded mess!  It represents the yearning for the horrendous drama to stop finally and a chance to be actually happy and content.  This song reduces me to uncontrollable sobs because of the power of Blige's vocal performance; particularly if you ever get to see her do this live on the Jools Holland programme.  A stunning performance.

So there you have it.  And now that I've rather bared my soul with this list, I'd love to hear what songs make YOU cry.  No need for an entire list of 25 songs but if there's one particular song (or 2 or 5) that make you cry, why not leave it in the comments section?  I'd love to hear about it.

WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE NEW THREE STOOGES MOVIE ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?

I STUMBLED UPON THE 2012 MOVIE "THE THREE STOOGES" WHILE I WAS ABSENTLY FLIPPING THROUGH CHANNELS.

 

I suppose that's the best way to experience the movie since I can't imagine a scenario in which I'd seek it out deliberately.  I remember a couple years ago, when I first heard they were thinking of doing a Three Stooges movie, thinking "What for?" and now, after having seen the film, I still cannot answer that question.  I seem to recall in the last ten years there was another Three Stooges movie that had "The Commish" in it but I believe that was more an biographical picture (I didn't bother to see it); this 2012 movie is not like that.  It is a comedy by the Farrelly Brothers (who have done some movies called "DUMB AND DUMBER", "THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY" and "ME, MYSELF & IRENE") which is a feature-length Three Stooges short done in the style of the originals but taking place in the present day.  Remember "THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE"?  Kinda like that.  While not really a fan of "THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE", I will say that one thing that really worked about it for me was portraying the bizarre, almost alien-like time-trapped Bradys transposed into the modern (1990s) world as an anachronism.  That does not happen with THE THREE STOOGES.  Moe, Larry and Curly are not characters from the Depression suddenly dropped into the present day; they are modern characters. . . well, all this isn't really important. 

The thing that puzzled me about the film and kept me in a constant see-sawing between my constantly about to change the channel and finding my bewildered interest keeping me glued there watching it was my attempt to figure out what I was watching.  Because it is not, when all is said and done, a terrible film.  There are some funny moments.  And the impressions of the Stooges are more or less quite impressive; "WILL AND GRACE"'s Sean Hayes as Larry and "MAD TV"'s Will Sasso as Curly are not bad while Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe is downright spooky in his vocal imitation (less so physically but he can't really help that).  The cast really gives it 100% and they really buy into the concept.  But what is the concept exactly?  The film reminded me a little of "BRAIN DONORS"; a film which I have a deep affection for.  BRAIN DONORS was something of an homage to the Marx Brothers updated to modern day (1990s).  But here, I think, is the sticking point for me.  BRAIN DONORS was not a modern Marx Brothers movie in sense that John Turturro plays a character which is very like Groucho Marx but does not look like Groucho or imitate his voice.  Mel Smith plays the equivalent of the Chico Marx character but speaks in his own English accent while Bob Nelson plays a mute character equivalent to Harpo Marx but dresses nothing like Harpo's character.  However, BRAIN DONORS is clearly meant as an homage to the Marx Brothers and as something like a Marx Brothers movie from the 1990s viewed through a prism.  Whereas THE THREE STOOGES movie features characters named Moe, Larry and Curly who look, act and speak as much as possible like Moe Howard, Curly Howard and Larry Fine.  And this is perhaps what is confusing me.  Because they are NOT Moe Howard, Curly Howard or Larry Fine so why are they playing them?  I think the film would've been more enjoyable for me if the actors played three entirely new characters a la BRAIN DONORS and kept the script and slapstick jokes unchanged.  As I said, there is some funny stuff in the film; not enough to make it a comedy classic but there were several instances when I actually laughed out loud.  Of course, if the actors played new characters then the name of the film wouldn't be "THE THREE STOOGES" and the built-in box office draw would've been reduced considerably.  And that, perhaps, is more to the point:  Hollywood's seeming incapability of coming up with one original idea and it's continued mining of old movies to "remake" and old TV shows to "movie-fy".  And while THE THREE STOOGES isn't as dismal as most of Hollywood's TV-to-Movie efforts ("SGT. BILKO" anyone?), it does illustrate for the umpteenth time Hollywood's complete dearth of imagination.  And it does leave me still with the feeling after an hour and a half of viewing the movie -- "What exactly was the point?"  But of course we all know the real answer to that question is the dollar.  So that's perhaps where I should leave it.   

1963:  SOME FAVOURITE FILMS FROM 50 YEARS AGO

For the last several years, I've been posting my top ten favourite films released a half century earlier.  This is not my list of "the greatest" films but simply those favourites which I revisit and rewatch again and again and again; slipping them on like a comfortable pair of slippers.  These are the films (in alphabetical order) which I like to live inside over the years and never tire of seeing.

THE BIRDS

  -  There are other, better Hitchcocks but the twisted charm of this one - a movie I've been watching since I was a kid - can't be denied.  The great Rod Taylor anchors this one.  And there's also another instance of Hitch "borrowing" from another film; this time its the birthday party scene which is VERY similar to one in NIGHT OF THE DEMON.  Compare and contrast, folks.

THE COMEDY OF TERRORS

  -  one of my most beloved films of all time.  Roger Corman and Jacques Tourneur gather Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone in a faux Poe comedy tour de force.  Joyce Jameson is blowsy and quite funny; her fight scenes with Vinnie are little jewels.

DONOVAN'S REEF

  -  I don't know what it is about this movie that I love so much.  Possibly it's the mere fact that it's just a silly excuse for John Ford and John Wayne to make another film together in a tropical paradise with scattered bar fights involving Lee Marvin and Victor McLaglen and yet another chance to knock the leading lady on her rump.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

  -  I've never been much of a James Bond fan but this movie is hard to argue with.  Of the Connerys, it's surely the best.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

  -  has anyone ever had more fun with a World War II prison camp movie???  Not me.

THE HAUNTING

  -  One of my favourite horror films of all time.  Robert Wise does his Val Lewton homage with an expertly judged and balanced touch.  Julie Harris and Claire Bloom give it major class and credentials.

HIGH AND LOW

  -  a modern-day contemporary Kurosawa and a tense kidnapping movie.  And don't forget the shot that was "homaged" from this film into SIN CITY.

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

  -  Is this the greatest Ray Harryhausen production.  It'll be hard to argue against it. 

THE SILENCE

  -  I wasn't too sure about this movie the first couple times I saw it.  It took several more viewings before I was totally immersed in Ingmar Bergman's bizarre otherworldy hotel with the air seemingly sucked out of it.  The concluding chapter in Bergman's so-called "God's silence" trilogy.  Part two is directly underneath this.

WINTER LIGHT

  -  The middle film in Bergman's "God's silence" trilogy is also my second favourite film (or sometimes my favourite . . . it and L'ECLISSE sometimes swap places at the top of my list).  Devastating and fascinating.

JANUARY JUKEBOX

SOMETHING NEW FOR 2013.

Now that the box seems to be working, I wanted to post some music here for your listening pleasure.  This is just a random sampling of some music I've been listening to and thought you might like hearing too.  The plan is to post a new playlist every month.  What we have this month is a rather eclectic mix:

1. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT  -  Aretha Franklin
2. AROUND THE BEND  -  The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
3. STAR NAMES  -  Benny Hill
4. FREEDOM OF CHOICE  -  Devo
5. LATE BAR  -  Duran Duran
6. I'D RATHER BE BURNED AS A WITCH  -  Eartha Kitt
7. FUNTIME IN BABYLON  -  Father John Misty
8. THE RELUCTANT CANNIBAL  -  Flanders & Swann
9. BEWARE OF DARKNESS  -  George Harrison
10. THE BIRD  -  Jimmy McGriff
11. THE KISS  -  Judee Sill
12. DOLLIA  -  Louis Killen
13. MACBETH FOLLIES (excerpt)  -  Orson Welles
14. FREERIDE  -  The Soundtrack of Our Lives

And check back once in a while because I will very likely add a song or two now and then before the month is over.  Enjoy and tap your tootsies!  

IMAGINATION AND REALITY

"And what are we but our fathers' sons and daughters?  We are the Victorian legacy.  Our materialism, our lack of spirituality, our grossness, our mockery of art, our utilitarian attitude to education, even the dull grey suits wrapped around the dull grey lives of our eminent City men, are Victorian hand-me-downs.  Many of our ideas of history and society go back no further than Victorian England.  We live in a money culture because they did.  Control by plutocracy is a nineteenth-century phenomenon that has been sold to us as a blueprint for reality.  But what is real about the values of a money culture?
        

Money culture recognises no currency but its own.  Whatever is not money, whatever is not about making money, is useless to it.  The entire efforts of our government as directed through our society are efforts towards making more and more money.  This favours the survival of the dullest.  This favours those who prefer to live in a notional reality where goods are worth more than time and where things are more important than ideas. . .
        . . .Why have we submitted to a society that tries to make imagination a privilege when to each of us it comes as a birthright?"

                                                      -- JEANETTE WINTERSON
                                                                   "ART OBJECTS"

THE 2012 PENGUIN AWARDS

THE WINNERS!

 

SONG OF THE YEAR

 

WHITE WINE IN THE SUN (LIVE)  -  TIM MINCHIN

 

 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

COMMENTARY! THE MUSICAL  -  ORIGINAL CAST

 

AND

FEAR FUN  -  FATHER JOHN MISTY  {It's A Tie!}

 

 

DUET OF THE YEAR

 

NINJA ROPES  -  JED WHEDON, NATHAN FILLION & NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

 

COVER SONG OF THE YEAR

(SITTIN' ON THE) DOCK OF THE BAY  -  LISA ONO

 

BEST ALBUM COVER ART

FEAR FUN  -  FATHER JOHN MISTY



THE BUTCHER'S BILL 2012

AS IS THE CASE EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME, WE MARK THE ENDING OF A YEAR BY REMEMBERING THOSE WHO LEFT US DURING THAT YEAR. 

The following is a list of celebrated notables who took their leave of us in 2012 -- as well as one very personal loss.

• Bob Anderson, fencing champion/fight choreographer "Star Wars", "Lord of the Rings"
• Herb Clarke, weatherman  "WCAU-TV"
• Richard Threlkeld,  journalist  "CBS News"
• Johnny Otis, singer
• Etta James, singer  "At Last"
• James Farentino, actor
• Robert Hegyes, actor  "Welcome Back, Kotter"
• John Rich, director  "All In the Family", "Dick Van Dyke Show", "Good Times"
• Anthony Bevilacqua, cardinal
• Simon Marsden, photographer
• Don Cornelius, TV Host  "Soul Train"
• Cindy Johnson-Barr, dear friend
• Ben Gazzara, actor  "Anatomy of a Murder"
• Bill Hinzman, actor  "Night of the Living Dead"
• Whitney Houston, singer/actress
• David Kelly, actor  "The Italian Job", "Fawlty Towers - The Builders"
• John Severin, comic book artist  "Cracked"
• Dory Previn, singer  "Mythical Kings & Iguanas"
• Davy Jones, singer  "The Monkees"
• Sheldon Moldoff, comic book artist  "Hawkman", "Batman"
• Ralph McQuarrie, artist/designer  "Star Wars"
• Ronnie Montrose, guitarist  "Montrose"
• Joan Taylor, actress  "Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers"
• Robert B. Sherman, songwriter  "Mary Poppins", "The Jungle Book"
• Philip Madoc, actor  "Doctor Who - The Brain of Morbius", "Doctor Who - The War Games", "Doctor Who - The Power of Kroll"
• Jimmy Ellis, singer  "The Trammps"
• Peter Bergman, comedian  "Firesign Theater", "J-Men Forever"
• Jean Giraud, comic book artist  "Moebius"
• Sid Couchey, comic book artist  "Richie Rich", "Little Dot", "Little Lotta"
• Michael Hossack, drummer  "The Doobie Brothers"
• Robert Fuest, director  "The Abominable Dr. Phibes"
• Paul Bogart, director  "House Without a Christmas Tree", "All In the Family"
• Tonnino Guerra, screenwriter  "Blow-Up", "Amarcord"
• Warren Stevens, actor  "Forbidden Planet"
• Earl Scruggs, musician
• Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall amps
• James S. Herr, businessman  "Herr's Potato Chips"
• Thomas Kinkade, artist
• Mike Wallace, TV journalist  "60 Minutes"
• Steve Fredericks, radio host  "WIP Sports Radio"
• William Finley, actor  "Phantom of the Paradise"
• Dick Clark, TV host  "American Bandstand"
• Levon Helm, musician  "The Band"
• Jonathan Frid, actor  "Dark Shadows"
• Greg Ham, saxophonist  "Men at Work"
• Charles Coulson, White House Counsel in Nixon Administration
• Adam Yauch, musician  "Beastie Boys"
• George Lindsey, actor  "The Andy Griffith Show"
• Maurice Sendak, author  "Where the Wild Things Are"
• Everett Lilly, musician  "The Lilly Brothers"
• Nicholas Katzenback, US Attorney General
• Vidal Sasson, stylist
• Tony DeZuniga, comic book artist  "Jonah Hex", "Black Orchid"
• Donald "Duck" Dunn, bass guitarist  "Booker T. & the MGs", "The Blues Brothers"
• Doug Dillard, musician  "The Dillards"
• Chuck Brown, singer
• Donna Summer, singer
• Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, conductor/baritone
• Ernie Chan, comic book artist  "DC Comics"
• Peter Jones, musician  "Crowded House"
• Robin Gibb, singer  "The Bee Gees"
• Doc Watson, musician
• Kaneto Shindo, director  "Onibaba", "Kuroneko"
• Ray Bradbury, author
• Richard Dawson, actor  "Hogan's Heroes", "Family Feud"
• Herb Reed, singer  "The Platters"
• Bob Welch, singer  "Sentimental Lady"
• Frank Cady, actor  "Green Acres", "Petticoat Junction"
• Ann Rutherford, actress  "Gone With the Wind"
• Henry Hill, mobster  "Goodfellas"
• Victor Spinetti, actor  "A Hard Day's Night"
• Richard Lynch, actor  "Star Trek:  The Next Generation"
• Andrew Sarris, film critic/author
• Caroline John, actress  "Doctor Who"
• Don Grady, actor  "My Three Sons"
• Nora Ephron, director  "Sleepless in Seattle"
• Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli Prime Minister
• Andy Griffith, actor
• Eric Sykes, comedian/actor
• Ernest Borgnine, actor
• Isuzu Yamada, actress  "Throne of Blood", "Yojimbo"
• Maria Hawkins Cole, singer/widow of Nat King Cole
• Richard D. Zanuck, producer  "Jaws"
• Celeste Holm, actress  "All About Eve"
• Jon Lord, pianist  "Deep Purple"
• Kitty Wells, singer  "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"
• Bob Babbitt, bass guitarist  "The Funk Brothers"
• Tom Davis, comedian/writer  "Saturday Night Live"
• Sylvia Woods, restauranteur/author  "Sylvia's Soul Food"
• Angharad Rees, actress  "Hands of the Ripper"
• Simon Ward, actor  "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed", "Dracula"
• Frank Pierson, director/screenwriter  "A Star Is Born", "Dog Day Afternoon"
• Sally Ride, astronaut
• Sherman Hemsley, actor  "The Jeffersons", "All In the Family"
• Chad Everett, actor  "Medical Center"
• Mary Tamm, actress  "Doctor Who"
• Geoffrey Hughes, actor  "Keeping Up Appearances"
• R.G. Armstrong, actor  "Ride the High Country", "Race With the Devil"
• Norman Alden, actor  "Ed Wood"
• Tony Martin, singer
• Gore Vidal, author
• Sir John Keegan, historian
• Marvin Hamlisch, composer  "The Way We Were"
• Judith Crist, film critic/author
• Mel Stuart, director  "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"
• Carlo Rambaldi, special effects "E.T.", "Alien", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
• Bill Rafferty, comedian/TV host  "Card Sharks", "Real People"
• Joe Kubert, comic book artist  "Hawkman", "Sgt. Rock", "Enemy Ace"
• Helen Gurley Brown, publisher  "Cosmopolitan"
• Ron Palillo, actor  "Welcome Back, Kotter"
• Phyllis Thaxter, actress  "Adventures of Superman"
• Bob Birch, musician  "Elton John Band"
• William Windom, actor  "Night Gallery", "Murder She Wrote"
• Scott McKenzie, singer  "San Francisco (Where Flowers In Your Hair)"
• Tony Scott, director  "Top Gun"
• Phyllis Diller, comedian
• Jerry Nelson, puppeteer  "Sesame Street", "The Count"
• Steve Franken, actor  "Bewitched", "Angels and Demons"
• Neil Armstrong, astronaut
• Max Bygraves, singer/comedian
• Hal David, songwriter
• Sun Myung Moon, cult leader
• Michael Clarke Duncan, actor  "The Green Mile"
• Joe South, songwriter  "Rose Garden", "Games People Play"
• Art Modell, football team owner
• Dorothy McGuire, singer  "The McGuire Sisters"
• Steve Sabol, filmmaker  "NFL Films"
• Andy Williams, singer
• Herbert Lom, actor  "The Ladykillers", "Asylum", "The Pink Panther"
• Alex Karras, football player/actor  "Blazing Saddles"
• Gary Collins, actor  "The Sixth Sense"
• Arlen Specter, US Senator
• Marc Swayze, comic book artist  "Captain Marvel"
• Sylvia Kristel, actress  "Emmanuelle"
• George McGovern, politician
• Jacques Barzun, historian
• Clive Dunn, actor  "Dad's Army"
• Major Harris, singer  "Love Won't Let Me Wait"
• Art Ginsburg, TV chef  "Mr. Food"
• Deborah Raffin, actress
• Larry Hagman, actor  "I Dream of Jeannie", "Dallas"
• Spain Rodriguez, comic book artist  "Zap Comix"
• Dave Brubeck, musician  "Time Out"
• Ed Cassidy, drummer  "Spirit"
• Sir Patrick Moore, astronomer
• Ravi Shankar, musician
• Daniel Inouye, US Senator
• Robert Bork, jurist/Supreme Court nominee
• Jack Klugman, actor  "The Odd Couple", "12 Angry Men"
• Marva Whitney, singer  "James Brown Revue", "Soul Sister #1"
• Charles Durning, actor  "Tootsie", "The Sting"
• Richard Rodney Bennett, composer  "Murder on the Orient Express"
• Ray Collins, singer  "The Mothers of Invention"
• Gerry Anderson, producer/writer/director  "Thunderbirds", "UFO", "Space: 1999"
• Fontella Bass, singer  "Rescue Me"
• Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., US general
• Harry Carey Jr.,  actor  "The Searchers"

Check out our sister blog BATHED IN THE LIGHT FROM ANDROMEDA (link over on the right) for audio tracks of some of those who died this year.

2012: THE YEAR IN MOVIES

ONCE MORE IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WITH YET ANOTHER YEARLY RITUAL I CRAM ONTO MY BLOG AS DECEMBER DWINDLES DOWN. 

That's right, it's once again time to list the 50 favourite films I saw for the first time ever this year.  Old films or new films -- these are the movies which, for one reason or another, I never saw until this year . . . . and from them I choose my favourite fifty.

1. ABSENTIA (2011) -  Independently-made horror film on a shoestring that really makes you feel those things moving just out of the corner of your eye.
2. ACT OF VIOLENCE (1948)  -  little-seen but cracking little film noir featuring Van Heflin as the war hero with something to hide and Robert Ryan as the inexorable fate limping towards him.
3. AIR FORCE (1943)  -  John Garfield and a bevy of Hollywood character actors (Gig Young, Harry Carey, Arthur Kennedy, Stanley Ridges, John Ridgway) man an air force bomber in the wake of Pearl Harbor in Howard Hawk's patriotic war film.
4. ANDREI RUBLEV (1966)  -  Andrey Tarkovskiy's epic of the 15th century Russian icon painter is a most unusual biopic and a most unlikely epic.
5. AND SOON THE DARKNESS  (1970)  -  Robert (ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES) Fuest's taut suspense thriller featuring Pamela Franklin in her first starring role.  Two young women (Franklin & Michele Dotrice) are on a cycling tour of the backroads of France when one goes missing.
6. THE ANNIVERSARY (1968)  -  One of Bette Davis' forays into the Hammer House of Horror.  This one is a wry & warped wackfest as three sons of an overbearing matriarch (guess who?) try to cope.
7. THE AVENGERS (2012)  -  If you had told the 15 year old me that one day a big budget live action major motion picture of Marvel Comics' Avengers would be made, I wouldn't have believed you.  This was a fanboy's dream come true and surprisingly well-executed.
8. BERGMAN ISLAND (2004)  -  Very personal glimpse into the reclusive life of master director Ingmar Bergman on his island of Faro only a couple years before his death.
9. THE BLOOD OF A POET (1932)  -  Jean Cocteau's surreal first film in his Orphic trilogy offers some unforgettable images.
10. CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2010)  -  Werner Herzog's absolutely absorbing documentary concerning the discovery of the oldest known paintings on Earth inside the Chauvet caves in southern France.  Breathtaking expressions of earliest humanity.
11. THE COMPLETE BOB WILKINS CREATURE FEATURES (2012)  -  Absolutely delightful smorgasbord of clips from the late TV horror host's programme coupled with eye-catching artwork.
12. CRIME WAVE (1954)  -  Another little known film noir (featured in Martin Scorsese's PERSONAL JOURNEY documentary) with Gene Nelson as an ex-con who is trying to go straight but keeps getting pulled back into "the life" and Sterling Hayden as the hard-nosed cop who is sure he's guilty.
13. DECOY (1946)  -  Bizarre little film noir featuring Jean Gillie as an off-her-rocker sociopath.
14. THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941)  -  William Dieterle's classic adaptation of the Stephen Vincent Benet story with a delightful Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch and Edward Arnold as the wily jurist Daniel Webster.  A wicked performance by Simone Simon.
15. DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-A-LONG BLOG (2008)  -  Josh Whedon's made-for-the-internet-during-the-writers'-strike musical which became a surprising cult hit.  Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion give particularly hilarious performances.  The oddest thing about it is that the commentary track is ever funnier and has better songs!
16. THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE... (1953)  -  Max Ophuls' late-career renaissance featuring a typically luminous Danielle Darieux as the wife who sells her earrings given to her by her husband.
17. ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958)  -  Louis Malle's murder flick with the twist in its tail featuring the magnificent Jeanne Moreau.
18. EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (2011)  -  A movie I never expected I'd like.  An emotionally-damaged boy embarks on a quest inspired by his late father who was killed in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.  Thoughtful performances by Max Von Sydow, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.
19. EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO (1934)  -  If not the first then one of the very first Mexican horror films.  Heavily influenced by the classic Universal horrors, this atmosphere-heavy ghost-fest is a feast for the eyes.
20. FEARLESS (2006)  -  Jet Li's final martial arts film offers the life story of Jin Wu Sports Federation founder Master Huo Yuanjia and a series of blockbuster fight scenes.
21. THE GUMBALL RALLY (1976)  -  Another of those great 70's road race flicks starring Michael Sarrazin instigating a cross-country race of car crashes and comedy.
22. HALF LIGHT (2006)  -  Don't let the final third of the film spoil the impact of the spooky ghostly film which precedes it.  Demi Moore is a writer who moves to an isolated Scottish village after the death of her young son and encounters some ghostly goings-on.
23. THE HAUNTING OF JULIA (1977)  -  Mia Farrow is in full post-Rosemary mode as coincidentally another mother on this list who tries to recover after the death of her young daughter and finds spooks aplenty in her new house.
24. THE HOST (2006)  -  South Korea's most successful film ever features a nasty reptilian monster emerging from the Han River and causing mass havoc.
25. THE INDIAN TOMB (1959)  -  Part two of a pair of films directed by Fritz Lang upon his return to Germany which brings to a conclusion the fraught love story between European Harald Berger and Indian temple dancer Debra Paget.
26. I NEED THAT RECORD (2008)  -  Interesting and ultimately very sad documentary examining the death of the independant record store in the wake of record company greed and downloading.
27. IN SEARCH OF MOZART (2006)  -  Absolutely magnificent documentary on the life, career and music of Mozart by director Phil Grabsky (who would later give the same treatment to Beethoven).
28. THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA (2010)  -  Entertaining documentary which intertwines the history of New York's Shea Stadium and it's closure with the life, career and music of rocker Billy Joel (who played the final concert at the stadium). 
29. LATE SPRING (1949)  -  Yasujiro Ozu's stunning masterpiece featuring the spectacular Setsuko Hara as the 27 year old who refuses to marry and leave her widowed father alone.
30. LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003)  -  Thank God Sofia Coppola is a wonderful director so hopefully we never have to suffer through her acting again.  Incredibly charming film with a weary, jaded film star Bill Murray in Japan to make whiskey commercials encountering a neglected young wife Scarlet Johannsson and the friendship that ensues.
31. LUDWIG (1972)  -  Visconti's epic portrait of the mad king of Bavaria Ludwig II.
32. LUMIERE AND COMPANY (1995)  -  40 modern-day film directors are asked to make short films utilizing the original Cinematographe used by the Lumiere Brothers.
33. THE MACHINE GIRL (2008)  -  Absolutely bonkers Japanese gore fest heavily influenced by the work of Quentin Tarantino is a revenge fantasy of a school girl who offs her family's killers.
34. MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (1929)  -  The perennial "greatest films list" nominee featuring the revolutionary Soviet filmwork of director Dziga Vertov.
35. MARLENE (1984)  -  Maximilian Schell's fascinating documentary of the iconic film star with the uncooperative Marlene Dietrich refusing to appear on camera.
36. MARY AND MAX (2009)  -  Absolute classic animated film featuring a young girl in Australia randomly selecting a middle aged man with Asberger's in New York to be her penpal. 
37. THE MILKY WAY (1969)  -  Luis Bunuel's hallucinogenic surreal film of a pair of pilgrims on the Santiago de Compostela in Spain encountering various religious and historical incidents.
38. THE MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO (1972)  -  Another wacky Mexican Wrestler film featuring the triumvirate of El Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras battling the crumbly mummies.
39. MYSTERY STREET (1950)  -  This obscure film noir is a precursor to all those "CSI" programmes featuing Ricardo Montalban as a detective trying to solve an old murder case with forensic evidence.
40. ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932)  -  Star-crossed lovers William Powell and the wavishing Kay Francis meet and fall in love on an ocean liner.  Unknown to each of them, Powell is a convicted criminal on his way to be executed and Francis has a terminal illness!
41. THE OVERLANDERS (1946)  -  At the start of World War II, the Japanese are getting close to giving Australia a taste of "scorched earth" so Chips Rafferty and Co. attempt to evacuate their cattle across continent to save them from the invaders in this fine Australian film.
42. POOL OF LONDON (1951)  -  Another superb Basil Dearden film sailor Bonar Colleano getting involved in smuggling and unwittingly involving fellow sailor Earl Cameron.
43. PRIMER (2004)  -  Another independent film produced on a shoestring.  A mind-boggling science fiction/time travel movie where some friends inadvertently invent a time machine that works.  A film that definitely rewards repeated viewings -- in fact, it requires it!
44. THE RAID REDEMPTION (2011)  -  Another absolutely bonkers action flick where an Indonesian SWAT team invades the high-rise building of a local drug lord.  Action and violence that are over-the-top.
45. THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER (1949)  -  Superb Anthony Pelissier directed adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence story of a young boy who receives a rocking horse which somehow gives him the power to predict the winners of horse races.  John Mills and Valerie Hobson (as do all) give splendid performances.
46. THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)  -  Another film which features on many "greatest film ever" lists.  Jean Renoir's masterful look at bourgeoise French society on the eve of World War II.
47. SUMMER INTERLUDE (1951)  -  Ingmar Bergman is at it again in this tragic love story.
48. THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR (1959)  -  The first part of that Fritz Lang pair of films which concludes with THE INDIAN TOMB.  Breathtaking colour and sumptuous sets.
49. TRIANGLE (2009)  -  Here's another taut time travel film on this list, this time from Australia where the enphasis is on horror.  A group of friends out sailing are sunk by a violent storm and encounter a deserted ocean liner where strange things are happening.
50. THE WAY (2010)  -  Is there any scenario in the past which would've predicted the directorial talent of Emilio Estevez?!?!?!???  This very personal film stars Martin Sheen whose son (played by Estevez) dies while attempting the Camino of Santiago de Compostela.  The father decides to complete the pilgrimage while carrying his son's ashes across Spain.  An incredibly moving and beautiful film.