#a tribute to bill monroe
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parts of the npmd soundtrack that scratch my brain perfectly (act 2)
again its all under the cut. i hope this is comprehensible its longer than the last one. idk what else to say
HATCHET TOWN
dan's whole bit at the start. just the way he says everything. so good
the ahh ahh ahhs
the electric guitar <3
curt's voice for bailey esp the growl
A LOSIN STREAKS COMIN!
the smoooothness of corey's voice and the way he sings things auuauauuau
IF HE GETS ME NEXT I COULD BE THREE!
the harmonies on man down down down down
the little plinky organ melody in the backround that comes in halfway through the chorus UAUUAUAUA
the way jon says donna
donna's "DAN!!!"
i certainly dont LOVE killing!
the harmonies on "bailey's/barry's on the loose and he's got a gun" (im talking mainly abt the soundtrack and not the proshot so bailey is more applicable here but both r so good)
I'M A COP!
fits the bill! it fits the bill!
THE HARMONIES ON THE SECOND MAN DOWN DOWN DOWN DOWN UAUUAUAUAU
the who's swingin the hatchet now harmonies
HATCHET TOOOOOWN
I AM THE MAYOR!!!!
HOW DARE YOU!!!
bryce's solo <3 all of it is so good
BOY JERRY <3 and gerald monroe ig but i love jerry
LET'S KILL 'IM!
CAN I SHIT OR WILL I DROWN
kim's little opera bit
the final in hatchet town harmony <3
JUST FOR ONCE
this whole song in general btw. i love ruth fleming so so so so so so so so so much this song was such a silly contemperary theatre tribute
NO, i haven't seen your grill brush, MAURY. huh YEAH! i used it to BRUSH MY HAIR this morning CANT YOU TELL. ugh
DONT LEAVE ME OUT HERE WITH THE MEAT, MAURY! medium WHA? how can something be medium AND WELL, MAURY?
ugh. maury.
*sigh* i turned 40 today.
the piano coming in
the synthy strum
the way lauren sings the word saturday. her voice throughout this whole song just scratches the brain itch so well
the way she says window, right, dream, and had
they never win
and LIIIIIFE is FULLL of all of the Trappings of The Well to Dew
god i love ruth. i love this song i love this song.
the slight tonal shift (thats not the right word ugh) for the choruses.
39 I LOSE MY HAIR UNDER CAREFUL CHEMO TREATMENT
the way lauren says ensnared
JUDGE ME.
IT FUCKING WORKED I'M FUCKING HERE HE'S FUCKING HER IM DISAPPOINTED
and of the two who's the worse for wear (ME.)
the tambourine
idk what that instrument is in the bg of second chorus it sounds like a saxaphone but also synthy???? idk but i love it
SHOULD I FLIP THE BURGERS NOWWW!
the clarity of lauren's first oh UAUAUA
SHOULD I LET THE YEARS COOOK MY BODY DOWN IN FRONT OF HIM
all 3 just for onces esp the last one with the riff
THE WAY THAT BEHIND THE JUST FOR ONCES YOU CAN HEAR THE "if i can finally be cool i will know that i'm not a loser" MOTIF AUUAUAISUAUUAISIAU
the way the tone calms back down but its still like so vulnerable... uuuuuauu
the way she says every word in this last verse
i used to dance :(
IF I LOVED YOU
THE SYNTH
I NEVER WANTED YEW ANYWAY!
joey's general tone in this UAUAU so good
mariah's deeper voice HEART EYES AUUUU
i just love lautski this song is so good i can barely pick things out bc this whole song scratches my brain
joey's lil growl on "oh babe i'd let u know"
OOOO! i guess we'd better save the date!
need a lover MAYUN
i love when jeff blim crams a lot of syllables into an amount of time like that its so fun
the harmonies <3
wake me up when u turn 18!!!
if i IF I!!!!!
the repeating round style of singing in order to come together eventually I lov them
dissonance <3
THE SUMMONING
the way the lords names are sung i love it sm
the lords names being whispered in the background
tNOY karaxis
WIGGOG WIGGOG Y'WRATH
the woah ohs and the drums kicking in
the music cutting out
HELLO FWENDY WENDS
the we will build a portal motif
the laughter
just the whole little lord verses its so discordant and fun and i love it so much i love the voices they put on i love the lyrics
LA LA LA LA LA ALALALALALA
the book has all but closed on ur life!
THE LORDS IN BLACK ARE THE LORDS IN BLACK ARE
blinky's we've been watching u gracie
the way curt says spankoffski and toy box
GOOOO NIGHTHAWKS!
tinky's laugh
jon's wiggly voice
WHY HELP U WITH THE JAGERMAN WHEN WE CAN HELP THE WORLD
the drums
swallow his soul i wanna lick it!
i wanna see thaaaat
WHATEVER WE WANT WE WANT WE WANT WHATEVER WE WANT WE GET
AAAAUHGUGH there IS something!
something FUN!!!
the lords in black the lords in black call us...
what do u want steph...
do it... or DIE
WE DONT GIVE A SHIT ABT UR PHONE!
AHHHHHHUHGHHH THERE HE IS
what's in your pocket STEPH-A-KNEE
STEPHANIE HAS GOT A GUN TRALALALA HOW FUN! STEPHANIE HAS GOT A GUN SHE KNOWS WHAT MUST BE DONE
i love this whole song its so silly and crazy
YUM YUM!
or FUCK OFF
that last "the lords in black the lords in black call us"
COOL AS I THINK I AM REPRISE
this one makes me really sad :( still so good
one of us is in love :(((((((((
it doesnt TAKE a detective
the violins coming in again
is it really a crime if you get to live your life to the fullest :((((
YOU GET TO LIVE ON :(((((
the i love u i know :(((((((
ur not as cool as u think u are! :(
THE HARMONIES :(
IF I CAN FINALLY BE COOL :((((
i will know that you have to do it :(((
joey's lower register for this last little if i loved u chorus :(((
loved u more than the stars above :(((((( (how many sad faces can i use)
the pause before could've :((((
i cant even say anything more abt this one it makes me too sad
ok yes i can the i never wanted you anyway breaks my heart
BEST OF YOU
the guitar
the needy beast esque pronounciation of words idk how else to say it i just love it
LIKE EYE DEW
we hurted!
the harmonies on town and down
IM THE BEST OF YEW!
this song is just so fun
it's like you knew me b4 u knew me! that whole bit! i love it!
THE AHS IN THE BACK OF THE SECOND BIT OF THE SECOND VERSE
ABSCONDED BELOVED
FOREVER!
WE'RE GONNA RUN AROUND 2NITE!
I BELIEVE IN YEWWWW
never gonna fall!
the echoey verse in the back at the end Auuu so good
the ending note harmony
DIRTY DUDES MUST DIE
the souls of the pervs make me strong
her laugh
I LOVE ANGELA'S VOICE
everything she sings here sounds so incredible
ARE U HARD BC UR STRESSED
what????
i just love this reprise its so so good
i cant point out specific parts bc its just all incredible
OF THE NERDS U MINIMIIIIIIIZED!!!! her RIFF!
THE LAUGH
when the ensemble comes in heart eyes
WHO WILL PRAY 4 U WHEN UR BODY'S GONE THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE FOR WHAT YOUVE DOOOOONE
DARKNESS WILL SPARE MY SOUL
run pervs RUN
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Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Day No. 2, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Sept. 30, 2023
Leyla McCalla controls the weather.
An overcast day in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park suddenly turned sun-soaked when the former Carolina Chocolate Drop sang: My face to the sun as she performed Our Native Daughters’ “I Knew I Could Fly” during her Sept. 30 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass set on the Towers of Gold Stage.
“That’s awesome,” she said mid-verse as the Earth’s star emerged from the afternoon clouds.
Following the electric and steel guitar instrumentals of Hermanos Gutiérrez on the adjacent Swan stage and playing cello, banjo and electric guitar, backed with rhythm section and electric guitar, McCalla covered Kendrick Lamar’s “Crown” and offered a gumbo of New Orleanian, Haitian and American music delivered in English and Haitian Creole while showcasing her the Capitalist Blues and Breaking the Thermometer LPs.
The Sound Biteses’ day had begun in the pre-noon fog with the down-in-the-holler, old-time string music of Dry Branch Fire Squad playing the songs of Gillian Welch, Doc Watson and Bill Monroe on the Banjo stage. Later, it was gospel from the McCrary Sisters, who sung Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” “Amazing Grace” and other numbers backed by a full band during short, five- to 15-minute sets on the Rooster stage, where Brennan Leigh offered a lunchtime menu of traditional country music.
It was also on the Rooster that Emmylou Harris previewed her Sunday appearance by guesting with Shawn Camp and Verlon Thompson and closing their Doc Watson tribute set with Guy Clark’s “Old Friends.”
Shortly afterward, Bettye LaVette sauntered onstage to deliver her grinding version of Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed.” From here, it was an impassioned reading of songs from the Randall Bramblett-written LaVette! album as the singer prowled the stage and proved her 77 years have cost her nothing in vocal prowess and stage presence.
“If I could write, this is what I would have said,” LaVette said in introducing the new songs, which worked better on stage than on wax.
Rickie Lee Jones attracted a ginormous crowd to Banjo - “I haven’t seen so many people in front of me for so long,” she said, soaking it in - and their enthusiasm rubbed off. Jones, whose band included Vilray on guitar and vocals, plus accordion and bass, was animated as she danced around the stage and crooned like a lounge singer when she wasn’t playing guitar, banjo or piano.
Opening with a radically rearranged “Danny’s All-Star Joint” more suited for the streets of New Orleans than the fields of Golden Gate, Jones went on to perform “I Won’t Grow Up” - for the first time, she said - “Last Chance Texaco,” “We Belong Together” and a sinewy rendition of Steely Dan’s “Show Biz Kids” that found Jones lifting her orange sweater to sing of the Rickie Lee T-shirt beneath.
Give RLJ the MVP for turning in HSB No. 2’s No. 1 gig.
Faced with the quintessential festivalgoers’ dilemma, Mr. and Mrs. Sound Bites split the last hour between Steve Earle’s uncharacteristically sleepy solo-acoustic set on the Banjo and Irma Thomas’ barnburner R&B/soul revival at the Rooster.
At 82, Thomas played the day’s most rambunctious set, ripping into “Time is on My Side” and getting the audience bouncing and waving their handkerchiefs on her mashup of “I Done Got Over It” -> “Iko Iko” -> “Hey Pocky Way” -> “I Done Got Over It.” That one might be ringing through Golden Gate’s trees along with the birdsong for some time to come.
Read Sound Bites’ coverage of HSB Day One here.
10/1/23
#hardly strictly bluegrass#2023 concerts#leyla mccalla#carolina chocolate drops#hermanos gutiérrez#dry branch fire squad#gillian welch#doc watson#bill monroe#the mccrary sisters#brennan leigh#emmylou harris#shawn camp#verlon thompson#bettye lavette#bob dylan#randall bramblett#rickie lee jones#steely dan#steve earle#irma thomas#kendrick lamar#stevie wonder
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I’ve been wanting to track down specific bluegrass fan magazines from 1969 to see how fans discussed the not-so-pretty Flatt & Scruggs breakup. It’s one of the more interesting country breakups for me, not just because of my emotional investment in my favorites, but because it’s a fascinating case of “once people know enough details, they believe they don’t know enough.”
Technically, we know more about the F&S breakup than most group partings. I could write a dissertation on this thing. But 53 years later, fans remain curious and confused. See, when we hear a short, simple explanation, we may be content. We have no reason to press for information because there’s not enough to make you squint. But once you know details, you realize there’s holes; and once you’re aware of holes, you strive to fill them, leading to an increasing pursuit of more information. And because you’ve already been told sensitive details, you feel you’re “allowed” to ask for more. It’s an amusing paradox: even though you’ve been told way more of the inside dealings than most other incidents, you feel the most lacking, the most insufficient in your knowledge here. Which is part of why, to this day, people keep asking: “Why did Flatt & Scruggs break up?” And believe me, I’ve seen ’em ask!
(The other reason the question recurs is because it’s not a simple answer. Bill Monroe’s band ended because Bill Monroe died. Simple. The Stanley Brothers ended because Carter Stanley died. Simple. Jim & Jesse ended because Jim died. Simple. But the reason F&S split up is twelve different intertangled issues. Not easy to understand.)
So. There’s lots of “holes” in the breakup account. Indications of conflict were never fully explained (and the best explanation is in an obscure, long out-of-print book). Flatt and Scruggs sued each other over creative interpretations of reality... and the lawsuits got settled out of court, so we’re not 100% sure what’s true there, what’s false, what’s misinformed. Accounts from friends, bandmates, and participants vary about how friendly or unfriendly issues were. And multiple in-the-know interviewees have been caught saying variations of “I’m not going to tell you everything.” That makes you curious, don’t it? So whether you’re a bluegrass newb or a scholar, there’s holes you wonder about.
Ergo, I enjoy tracking down contemporary reactions to the split. This was before people received simplified, diplomatized explanations by Flatt or Scruggs or helpful summaries by bluegrass historians. Alas, it’s not easy to find material from 1969.
Today, I caught a photograph of one of the largest bluegrass fan magazines talking about the breakup! It was nothing I didn’t know, but I was impressed, and maybe slightly surprised, they stayed objective.
Here’s the page:
I’ll type the relevant paragraph for easier reading:
Lester Flatt apparently has his new group in high gear. He is suing Earl according to a UPI release of April 10. Flatt cites certain “embarrassing habits” on Earl’s part as the reason for the break-up of the team and accuses Louise Scruggs of fraud. The suit involved certain business contracts and also enjoins Earl from using the “Foggy Mountain Boys” name. Apparently Flatt himself is not using it either, since his band was recently introduced on the Grand Ole Opry as “Lester Flatt and the Boys.” We know little more than the next man, but we’ll try to keep you informed anyway.
In the past, I found one newspaper column that slid into speculation and spicy language, which was entertaining. From the April 12, 1969 copy of the Chicago Tribute:
The split-up of country stars Flatt and Scruggs, which was as first described by spokesmen as amicable, has now shown itself to be far from that. Flatt has socked his former partner with two big lawsuits, one accusing Scruggs of “undesirable habits” which wrecked their career as a duo, and another charging Scruggs’ wife, Louise, with fraudulently acquiring stock in the publishing company formed by the two partners.
The suit states: “The defendant, Earl Scruggs, in the last four or five years has formed habits which have grown through progressive stages to such an extent that he is no longer able to perform as a partner in the said business.
“On numerous occasions he has appeared for personal appearances or for filming television shows when it was evident to the audience and others that because of his physical condition he could not perform adequately.
“Notwithstanding said defendant’s promise to reform, he has failed to do so and his continued appearances while unable to perform are an embarrassment to the complainant and a hazard to the business.”
Whether the “habit” is wine, women, or worse isn’t spelled out, but the song is over.
#long post#thatbanjobusiness#that banjo business#Haddock Deep Dives#first gen bluegrass#Music History Events#Country Music History#trying to remember to do my fancy blog tags on this#anyway I could go on foreeeeeeever about this breakup#but just wanted to share the cool new find !
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Emmylou Harris & Los Lobos Live Show Review: 8/5, Canal Shores, Evanston
Emmylou Harris
BY JORDAN MAINZER
“Behold: the vaccinated!” Emmylou Harris proclaimed on Thursday night to a crowd of cheering concertgoers in their lawn chairs, before launching into “Wayfaring Stranger” in all its slide guitar glory. Technically, at Out of SPACE this weekend, guests are required to present either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR COVID test conducted within 24 hours of the time of the event. But the sentiment of the night remained, one of cautious optimism more than a party, all while allowing for some combined levity and healing from the dearth of live music during the pre-vaccine era of the pandemic. In a sense, for the first night of what was likely for many the first outdoor festival since COVID (I’ll guess that there isn’t too much Out of SPACE/Lollapalooza crossover), Harris was the perfect headliner, not one to make many jump up and dance but instead reflect. Opening with “Here I Am” from Aughts opus Stumble Into Grace, Harris sang, “My arms are ever open / In this harbor calm and still / I will wait until / Until you come to me.” More than ever, it functions as an allegory for having not just respect but patience for your fellow person, navigating a world of seemingly infinite uncertainty.
To me, what’s always made Harris so great is not just the wonderfully weary quality of her voice but the adaptability of it. Throughout her career, some of her best recordings have been songs written by or initially recorded by others, taking nothing away from her own tremendously empathetic writing. Whether it’s Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl” and Steve Earle’s “Goodbye”--both recorded for 1995′s rockier pivot Wrecking Ball--or a chugging rendition of Gram Parsons’ eternal jam “Ooh Las Vegas”, appearing on Elite Hotel, Harris uncannily emphasizes every sentiment of the original. Sad songs become sadder, and hopeful songs more hopeful, all while allowing listeners to project their own emotions onto the material. A song like The Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Wheels” is at once yearning and golden, the backing band (Red Dirt Boys + Eamon McLoughlin) providing a boost of burning energy. Harris certainly does contain multitudes; biographical songs like “Red Dirt Girl” are just as much about her life as they are about longing to escape your current situation, even if it seems impossible.
Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo
The two songs she performed before her encore were more on-the-nose selections: “Together Again”, the Buck Owens song recorded for Elite Hotel and dedicated to the crowd, and Drifters adaptation “Save the Last Dance For Me” from Blue Kentucky Girl. (“It’s one of the few songs I could sing at a wedding and get away with it,” she quipped about the latter.) For the most part, though, Harris did what she does best, pay tribute to characters past and present, fictional and real. She mentioned the late great mandolin player Byron Berline who passed away last month before performing “One Of These Days”. (Berline played on the recording.) She and the band did a rendition of Bill Monroe instrumental “Get Up John”, a live favorite. “My Name Is Emmett Till” from 2011′s Hard Bargain presents Till’s story from his perspective and in the most straightforward terms possible, as if to let the evil that caused his murder show itself sans pretense. In an extended time period that saw many people fail to ask, “What is the worth of the life of a person who I don’t know?” Harris begged us not to look the other way.
Openers Los Lobos were an inspired choice to pair with Harris, and not just because both bands featured fantastic accordion players, as she noted. The East L.A. rock band are troubadours like Harris but of a sonically different kind, coupling their stories with blues shuffles, scorching psychedelic wah wahs, and snappy funk. Their songs offer journeys both lyrical and musical, from “The Neighborhood”, the title track of an album paying tribute to the second-generation immigrant community, to a buoyant track like The Town & The City’s “Chuco’s Cumbia”. Of course, they did provide a little bit of a party, including a medley of The Undisputed Truth’s “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” and Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va”, and predictably ending with their best-known adaptation, “La Bamba”. I do wish they had played more from their most recent release, Native Sons (New West), a collection of tunes from Los Angeles artists from well-known acts like Jackson Browne and the Beach Boys to lesser-known bands like the Jaguars. (The album has one original track, the title track). Since the set was slightly plagued by feedback/sound problems, songs from the new record, like a blistering version of WAR’s “The World Is A Ghetto” or Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”, might have given the band an opportunity to play their new material while giving the audience something familiar with Los Lobos’ unique spin. It also would have showcased their ability, like Harris’s, to adapt old material just as well as write new tunes, all filtered through David Hidalgo and company’s singular experiences. Either way, both sets proved to be a welcome, but prudent return to live music.
Los Lobos
#live music#emmylou harris#los lobos#space#eamon mcloughlin#will kimbrough#phil madeira#steve berlin#new west#canal shores#out of space#covid-19#lollapalooza#stumble into grace#gillian welch#steve earle#wrecking ball#gram parsons#elite hotel#the flying burrito brothers#red dirt boys#david hidalgo#buck owens#the drifters#blue kentucky girl#byron berline#bill monroe#emmett till#the neighborhood#the town & the city
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Tarantinoland: Pop Culture References in Cult Classics
by Tushar Kanti
Quentin Tarantino is an American filmmaker and actor whose films are characterized by nonlinear storylines, satirical subject matter with reference to popular culture. Pulp fiction is one of his best works and cites many references from pop culture. It makes it a worthy read to understand how pop culture influences cinema and how two different forms of communication can impose such great impacts upon each other.
Tarantino's movies have collected both basic and business achievement. He has gotten numerous industry grants, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and the Palme d'Or, and has been assigned for an Emmy and a Grammy. In 2005, he was remembered for the yearly Time 100 rundown of the most powerful individuals on the planet. Movie producer and history specialist Peter Bogdanovich has called him "the absolute most compelling executive of his age.
Tarantino has a habit of working pop culture references to his movies. Pop culture has influenced and embraced Tarantino in a way it does to few other filmmakers, making him a figure head overnight and a touchstone source for all things kooky and cult-y. From Uma Thurman and John Travolta’s unforgettable dance in Pulp Fiction to the bloody ear silencing scene in Reservoir Dogs and to Leonardo DiCaprio crushing a skull in Django Unchained.
In his most celebrated work, Pulp Fiction, characters Jules and Vincent talk about Big Macs; we hear references to the band Flock of Seagulls and even Kung Fu. There is even Jack Rabbit Slim’s where every 1950 Pop Culture icons is on display from Zorro to Buddy Holly. In fact the film title itself refers to the Pop Culture in which Tarentino is talking about the meaninglessness of contemporary American life. Pop Culture proliferates in the scripts of Tarentino.
In Reservoir Dogs, many references such as that of John Holmes from the early 80’s cannot be forgotten. The movie also has characters that themselves have references to pop culture such as Marlon Brando and Charles Bronson. The black suits worn by the dogs are a tribute to the very popular John Woo action vehicle, “A Better Tomorrow”.
Both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction acculturate wretched characters by indicating them visiting about the most modest things possible. Tarantino commenced Reservoir Dogs along these lines, with a long discussion about Madonna's "Like a Virgin," and Madonna gets another gesture here when Fabienne discusses how Madonna's gut glanced in "Fortunate Star." The mainstream society references continue coming in Pulp Fiction, however not to the degree of, state, a Family Guy scene. Tarantino makes a lot of obvious suggestions to mainstream society such as the Ed Sullivan impersonator, Marilyn Monroe, Steve Buscemi spruced up like Buddy Holly (which may be a meta-joke, since Buscemi's Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs uncovered he didn't have confidence in tipping waitstaff). It's postmodern totally. In any event, throwing Travolta was illustrative of this.
Tarantino has maintained his trademark style and has used them again and again in movies like Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof. If you've seen more than 30 seconds of a Tarantino film, you'll be aware that he likes to pepper his work with references to popular culture. It's one of his trademarks and it's one of the reasons that he's one of the few directors that can sell a film on his name alone.
#quentin tarantino#tarantino#tarantinoland#pulp fiction#django unchained#zorro#cult classics#movies#cinema#cinema mon amor#cinema lovers#movie lovers#tarantino facts#pop culture#pop culture critics
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He Was in the Course of Running Away From His Previous Life Chapter 4 Moving On?
Jamie is released back to civilian life a week later. I had managed to avoid him up until the day he leaves. He doesn’t speak as he walks past my, looking daper in his uniform. He just reaches for my hand and places a folded piece of paper in it. He squeezes my hand and then is gone. I stand with the tingle of his hand on mine, clinging tight to my last hold on him.
I don’t open it right away. I place it in my chest and go back to work. The bloody war is almost over, or so we have been told. But, it's end is horrible as the butcher’s bill gets bigger every day. We are busy from morning until an exhausted bedtime. I don’t forget about Jamie's letter, I am just to busy to deal with it.
Finally, armistice! The end! But, we still must treat the patients that are left. They include a young pregnant bride. Her husband lost to the vulgarities of war. She is very pregnant and in labor. Her name is Mary.
“If I die, ye will see the bairn safe?” her Scottish accent is deepened by the pain of her labor. I move to reassure her.
“I will not need to. You will be fine. The war is ended and you can raise your baby in peace.” All around us is the groans and moans of the wounded mixed with the shouts of tribute as the news of V-E day travels through the ranks.
“May the blessed Virgin make it sae but if---there be no one. Everyone is gone. Ethan, may his soul be at peace, was the last of my family. Please Claire.”
You tell them anything to keep them calm. So, I promise. I don’t foresee any problems. She is young and healthy. As she labors, I head back to pack. I am leaving in the morning. That is when I re-find Jamie’s letter. I finally open it.
My Dearest Claire,
I ken ye are scared. I understand the thought of trusting yerself again is overwhelming. But, I trust ye. I trust us. I trust the purity of our feelings for each other. I also trust that ye will get to that same point.
When ye do, ye will find me at Lallybroch, in the Scottish Highlands, near Broch Monro. I will see ye soon.
All my love,
Lt. James Fraser
Jamie
I am jerked away from his message by a more immediate one.
“Mary is ready to push. I fear trouble.” I hurry after Louis, after tucking Jamie's missive away to ponder later.
Trouble indeed. She is strong and healthy but small. The coming baby has a big head. I kneel between her legs and order, in my best charge nurses voice, her to push. She does. I give her credit. She pushes until she turns blue with the effort. “Breath! Deeply.”
It is a horrid hour as she and we, labor to deliver her child. No doctor is available( all are busy with the soldiers and airmen) so it is just Louis and I and Mary. She tears horribly. Will fix it later, I think as the babies head finally emerges. A red head, of course. Must get it from daddy as Mary is blond.
“Almost there Mary.Just one more push.”
“Claire, pull le infant out. The mamma is gone.” Louis states.
“Wot? She can't be.” But she is. I feel no femoral pulse under my finger as it holds her open. I ease the infant out. A healthy girl. She lets out a cry of rage and I feel like crying with her. The wee orphan.
I recall the promise I made to Mary. Can I keep it? Can I care for the baby alone? How can I not.” I explain to Louis what had transpired between Mary and I.
“Je will keep her then, le petite fille'?”
“I must. She has no one else.”
“God go with je Claire. Je do the angels work.” The baby lays in my arms. Her mum's body has been removed but, I can give her something of her.
“Your name is Maria. Maria Ethana, after your parents.”
The military is happy to have one less orphan to deal with and quickly approves me to adopt her. With the added approval of the Scottish government, we are soon clear to go home. But where is that?
#my writing#jamie and claire#cannon divergence#outlander fanfic#he was in the course of running away from his previous life#gotham's writing workshop#moving on?
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DelFest 2019 Starts Today - Last Set of Recommendations
Front Country – “If Something Breaks”
DelFest - OEB Score: 6
Pairs Well With… Dixie Chicks, Fleetwood Mac
San Francisco natives Front Country describes their music as the intersection of indie-folk and Americana but their music has also been called “string-band pop.” Whatever it is, it’s definitely not your grandpa’s bluegrass or folk band. Front Country includes the powerful vocals of singer-songwriter and guitarist Melody Walker, mandolinist Adam Roszkiewicz, guitarist Jacob Groopman, bassist Jeremy Darrow and violinist Leif Karlstrom. Walker complains that their home state doesn’t get its due as an incubator of country, bluegrass and roots music, noting that Merle Haggard and Buck Owens were Californians. Their second record, Other Love Songs, was released in 2017 is a collection of, not surprisingly mostly serious love songs, with standouts including “If Something Breaks” and “I Don’t Wanna Die Angry.” But the band’s whimsical side is most apparent on their cover songs, which are creative reimagining of pop and rock tunes. Some are more successful than others, but it would be fun to hear them play their version of Kenny Rodgers’ “Just Dropped In” or Tom Petty’s “Don’t Do Me Like That.” And if you get a chance, ask Melody what’s up with the cool Viking helmet in the video.
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Ricky Skaggs & the Kentucky Thunder – “Ralph Stanley Tribute”
DelFest - OEB Score: 9
Pairs Well With…Ralph Stanley, Randy Travis, Sam Bush
While OEB loves festivals for discovering new artists, there is also the pleasure in the opportunity to see a music legend that you might not otherwise have sought out. Well, DelFest is obliging. Country and bluegrass royalty, Ricky Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder will be playing on Sunday evening, just before Del McCoury’s last performance. Skaggs’ journey began at a young age. Raised on bluegrass, he played with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. But Skaggs is better known for his many mainstream country hits “Highway 40 Blues,” “I Wouldn’t Change You if I Could,” “Love Can’t Get Better Than This,” and “Country Boy,” among others. But later in his career, Skaggs has turned back to bluegrass with both renditions of classics and some fun with some odd collaborations such as a bluegrass cover of Rick James’ “Super Freak” with Bruce Hornsby. Because it’s a bluegrass festival after all, we’ve provided a long set of his Ralph Stanley covers but we’re hoping he’ll mix up his set with songs from across his long and storied career.
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Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – “Next Train South”
DelFest - OEB Score: 7
Pairs Well With… Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs
The two apostrophes in their name are a pretty good clue that that the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys play a hard-edged, hard-driving style of traditional bluegrass delivered the old-time way. Their outfits, song choices, and picking, fiddling, and strumming styles make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. This East Tennessee band includes C.J. Lewandowski on mandolin, Jereme Brown on banjo, Josh Rinkel on guitar, and Jasper Lorentzen on bass with three members sharing vocal duties. With a heavy touring schedule across the United States and Europe and a new contract with Rounder Records, the Po Ramblin’ Boys are clearly well on their way to carrying the torch for bluegrass. “Next Train South” is a good example of their style but pick any song really will give you a sense of the pocket they play in. Their first album, Their Back to the Mountains provides an equal dose of honky-tonk and high lonesome but its their energy and enthusiasm for the genre that makes them worth seeing.
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Darin & Brooke Aldridge – “Every Time You Leave”
DelFest 2019 - OEB Score: 6
Pairs Well With… Kate Wolf, Bobby Lord/Patsy Cline duets, The Country Gentlemen
Pretty, plaintive harmonies capture what husband and wife duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge do. Their 2017 album, Faster & Farther, matches their strong clear voices with a strong picking band. They grew up in North Carolina towns infused with country, gospel, and bluegrass musical roots. They met through family and friends in church and a musical friendship grew into something more. While their music range and subject matter has broadened from its gospel roots, they stay true to their commitment to offering songs of hope, aspiration, and love. We featured “Every Time You Leave,” a sad country ballad that harkens back to the classic male/female country tunes of old. “Sacred Lamb” from Faster and Faster captures their gospel spirit whereas “Cumberland Plateau” features bluegrass picking over country-infused vocals.
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#delfest#delfest 2019#darin and brooke aldridge#darin & brooke aldridge#po' ramblin' boys#po ramblin boys#ricky skaggs#ricky skaggs & the kentucky thunder#ricky skaggs and the kentucky thunder#front country
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Out of the blue I watched a new-to-me movie the other day about a retired Army Colonel who takes on corrupt politicians in his hometown in Georgia. The movie’s title is Colonel Effingham’s Raid, a 1946 comedy directed by Irving Pichel starring Charles Coburn as the title character. Colonel Effingham’s Raid has a lot going for it with charm high on its list of attributes thanks in large part to Coburn, the Georgia native with a talent for comedy and an English accent. It was then that I decided to dedicate an entry to him because I enjoy him so…and…lo and behold, this week would have been his birthday.
Charles Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961)
We have an embarrassment of riches in the character actor department of classic films. There are numerous memorable actors who deserve praise for bettering films simply by their appearance no matter how small a role. One of those is Charles Coburn who enjoyed a popularity many of the other character players did not. Indeed, thanks to Coburn’s 3-decades-long screen career during which he appeared in nearly 100 movies and television shows, his name recognition rivaled that of the stars whose names appeared above the title. Coburn was also highly regarded critically receiving three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, taking home Oscar once for his delightful portrayal of Benjamin Dingle in George Stevens‘ wartime comedy, The More the Merrier (1943). More important than awards, however, was Charles Coburn’s undeniable ability to delight greatly with his talent.
Charles Douville Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia on June 19, 1877 and grew up in beautiful Savannah. He was the son of Scotch-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn who were not entertainers, but that didn’t stop young Charles from taking odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater starting at the age of 14. He was bitten by the entertainment industry bug early and did everything from handing out programs to being the doorman to theater manager by the age of 18. Failing to make his mark in Georgia, Charles left for New York at age 19. Although Mr. Coburn didn’t hit the big time immediately, his Broadway debut in 1901 was an inevitability as was his forming The Coburn Shakespearean Players in 1905. His partner in that endeavor was another actor, Ivah Wills, who became Mrs. Coburn in 1906. The two had six children together.
In addition to managing the Coburn Players, Charles and Ivah starred in and produced many plays throughout the decades during which the troupe traveled to college campuses across the country and appeared on Broadway. The couple met when he was playing Orlando to her Rosalind in As You Like It. They continued to work together until her death in 1937 performing Shakespeare and French and Greek dramas and comedies. In her book, Greek Tragedy on the American Stage: Ancient Drama in the Commercial Theater …, Karelisa Hartigan mentions how the Coburn Players would give over 100 performances every summer mostly outdoors. The popularity of their performances created an interest in outdoor theaters with other companies following their lead. Charles Coburn played most of the male leading parts with Ivah, billed as Mrs. Coburn, playing the female leads. The productions were often called “amateurish” by critics, but the performances were always praised. These scholarly productions likely led to Charles’ English accent despite being a Southern gentleman.
I’d be remiss not to mention that although few know her name, Ivah Wills had a long list of credits in her own right both as an actor and producer in a career that spanned 35 years. Ivah garnered positive reviews along with her husband and both were highly regarded members of the acting community. To put it in perspective, consider that George M. Cohan was among the honorary pallbearers at Ivah’s funeral.
Cobrun and Wills in The Taming of the Shrew
Ivah and Charles
After Ivah Wills’ death, Charles Coburn moved to Hollywood to start a movie career. He’d already appeared in a 1933 short film and in The People’s Enemy, a crime drama directed by Crane Wilbur. However, the roles that would cement his legacy as a screen star began in earnest in 1938 with comedic performances far removed from his classical training, but roles in which he excelled. Coburn’s best movie roles are the ones where he perfectly balances the high-brow snootiness with a touch of bumbling fool. Roger Ebert described him as a toned down Charles Laughton and that’s exactly right. Coburn paved the road to stardom at the age of 61 and became a steadfast presence that could be counted on for his comedic timing as charming old men with affected manner and accent – always with a monocle, which he removed only to eat, and sometimes chomping on a cigar. One cannot help but smile when he appears on screen.
Clarence Brown‘s Of Human Hearts (1938) offered Coburn his first substantial role alongside a first-rate cast led by Walter Huston, James Stewart and another terrific character actor, Beulah Bondi. Although that film is a Western, Coburn played a doctor, the type of professional role along with several judges, business men, a couple of “sirs,” and rich guys that he enjoyably brought to the screen throughout his career.
Charles Coburn’s memorable big screen credits are too numerous to list, but he made important contributions to such enduring classics as John Cromwell‘s Made for Each Other (1939) and Garson Kanin‘s Bachelor Mother (1939). A personal favorite of mine, Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve (1941) wherein Coburn plays “Colonel” Harrington, father to Barbara Stanwyck’s Jean Harrington, a duo of card sharps adept at swindling the rich, would not be the same without him. The actor followed that Sturges gem with his first Oscar-nominated performance as an irascible tycoon who goes undercover as a shoe clerk at a department store to try to uncover agitators trying to form a union in Sam Wood’s The Devil and Miss Jones (1941). Starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings and a slew of fantastic character actors like Spring Byington, Edmund Gwenn, S. Z. Sakall, and William Demarest, you must make time to watch The Devil and Miss Jones if you’ve not seen it. It is bewitching fun.
Coburn and Jean Arthur in THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES
The 1940s served several standouts for Charles Coburn who appeared in 4 to 5 pictures a year in the early part of the decade. Of course, his Oscar-winning performance in Stevens’ World War II comedy The More the Merrier stands tall above the heap. Opposite Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea, Coburn is wonderful as the retired millionaire who finagles his way into a room during the wartime housing shortage. Coburn’s blustering but endearing manner in this film typifies the greatest gift he brought to the movies, by my estimation, and it is hard to resist. Variety agreed with me as of this movie they wrote, “A sparkling and effervescing piece of entertainment, The More the Merrier, is one of the most spontaneous farce-comedies of the wartime era. Although Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea carry the romantic interest, Charles Coburn walks off with the honors.”
Another worthy 1940s turn for Coburn was Ernst Lubitsch‘s Heaven Can Wait in 1943. Here he plays another grandfather and another millionaire with usual memorable flare alongside a stupendous cast led by Gene Tierney and Don Ameche. Once again I must mention Pichel’s Colonel Effingham’s Raid in which Coburn co-starred with Joan Bennett and William Eythe and several other veteran character actors like Donald Meek and Cora Witherspoon. This was a fun discovery.
Charles Coburn received his third Academy Award nomination for what TCM’s Robert Osborne described as a “rip-roaring performance” as a gruff but loving grandfather in the coming-of-age tale told in Victor Saville‘s The Green Years (1946). Following that performance, Coburn’s big screen appearances slowed down significantly. He had signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1945, which required only four films in two years. This meant that the actor had more time to return to the stage and to dedicate time to television work, which he did with gusto starting in 1950 as a premiere guest on many anthology series. Still, Coburn made a few notable pictures in the 1950s delighting audiences with a comedic millionaire performance as Sir Francis “Piggy” Beekman in Howard Hawks‘ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), a role that could have easily been creepy portrayed by anyone else. He also played against type in John Guillermin‘s murder mystery, Town on Trial (1957), which I must get my hands on.
Coburn with Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in a publicity shot for GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
Coburn’s final screen appearance was in The Best of the Post, an anthology series adapted from stories published in the Saturday Evening Post magazine. The March 1960 episode is titled “Six Months More to Live.” That seems a somber ending to a stellar career, but one to be proud of for many reasons not the least of which is that Coburn appeared in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: Kings Row (1942), The More the Merrier (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Wilson (1944) and Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Only the last of these won, but they were all improved by the Coburn brand.
At the time of his death Charles Coburn was married to Winifred Natzka who was forty-one years his junior. The two were married in 1959 and had a daughter together. The actor’s final acting role was fittingly on stage in a production of You Can’t Take It With You in Indianapolis, Indiana a week before his death at the age of eighty-four. The previous year he had been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6268 Hollywood Boulevard. If you ever pass that address be sure to look downward at his star – it was well earned.
A Tribute to Charles Coburn Out of the blue I watched a new-to-me movie the other day about a retired Army Colonel who takes on corrupt politicians in his hometown in Georgia.
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ROAD TO THE OSCAR MAYER WIENER AWARDS 2K19
A Star is Born, 2018 (dir. Bradley Cooper)
Nominated for: Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Lead Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Lead Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography
(TW SUICIDE, ALCOHOLISM, DRUG ABUSE)
(ALSO THIS IS A SPOILER-HEAVY REVIEW DONT READ IF U HAVENT WATCHED THE MOVIE YET AND WANT TO OK HERE WE GO)
WOWEE TWO REVIEWS IN A ROW IM ON A ROLL BABBIIIEEEE
ok so remember how i said in my intro that i didnt think this movie was deserving of best picture well uuhhhhhh i lied
or rather as ive been thinking about writing this review and the points im gonna bring up i kinda realized that this is actually a very VERY good movie and the reason i was biased against it is that 1. its the latest of four count ‘em FOUR iterations of the same film and im just so fucken done with remakes, and 2. it got a lot of commercial success mainly because of lady gaga who is like not a fantastic actress but she did do a pretty good job in this???? im gonna get into that later but for now lemme slap y’all in the faces with a healthy dose of ~Movie History~
as i mentioned earlier, this movie is a remake of a remake of a remake of a classic 1937 film starring hollywood starlet Janet Gaynor called- U GUESSED IT- A Star Is Born. the original film is not a musical at all and really has no music apart from the movie score, and is not about a musician but an up-and-coming actress’s rise to fame in hollywood. i really recommend seeing the original film (u can find it for free on youtube) because it gives a lil glimpse into what hollywood was like for young women trying to make it big from the late ‘30′s all the way into the ‘50′s. theres this whole scene going over how janet gaynors character esther blodgett has to go through a complete transformation, not just physically but character-wise. back in those days in hollywood u would have a whole team give u essentially a completely new identity, giving u a new name, changing your hair and eyebrow shape, creating a whole new backstory for you, and pinning down what “type” of actress you’d be (are you more of a pure innocent waifish type? or the hard-working mother? or the sexy yet airheaded provocateur a la marilyn monroe?). its really interesting! and also shows that hollywood has always wanted to control women so nothings really changed!!! great!!!!!!!
so the reason the sequel made in 1954 went for a more musical route is because they managed to get Wizard of Oz darling Judy Garland to play esther blodgett/vicki lester this time around. so now instead of a hollywood actress shes a stage performer trying to get her musical career started, and the musical element of the film is presented as her various stage performance gigs instead of it being like a “the music is the script” type scenario. this movie has arguably one of garland’s best performances on film, so im surprised that i only just found out about it when i was watching some videos about the history of A Star Is Born, but also i didnt know much about her filmography besides The Wizard of Oz anyways.
the third sequel, filmed in 1976, is the one that no one really remembers or talks about despite it starring the legendary Barbara Streisand (it doesnt even show up on the list of options on IMDb when u type in “A Star Is Born” which is kinda sad). esther/vicki is still a musician in this one, but this time shes a Rock Musician cause its the ‘70′s and rock n’ roll is god. her character is also vastly different than the previous two, who dont have a lot of agency in their own lives due to them being women and it being the ‘40′s/’50′s. this esther is a go-getter, independent and an activist, who plays around with gender norms and hyphenates her last name with her husband’s instead of taking his on fully. i havent seen this one yet but ive heard its not really the best of the bunch despite having streisand at the helm, but it did still win an oscar for best original song.
ok so now we have the newest addition to the family! Bradley Cooper’s take on this classic story is kind of a mish-mosh of different elements from each of its predecessors, taking the rock musician storyline from barbara’s and the subplot about changing the lead’s identity from the first two. one thing that is pretty much the same amongst all four of these however is the real meat of the story: the romance. esther/vicki/ally’s love interest and eventual husband (a movie star by the name of norman maine in the first two, a rock star named norman howard in the third, and a country rock star named Jackson Maine in this one) stays about the same character-wise in all iterations, with a few tweaks here and there. he discovers esther/ally performing, is infatuated with her, and helps her in some way to advance her career and propel her to stardom, all while the two fall in love and get married. norman/jackson has one really big vice in his life however: alcoholism (and in the 1976/2018 versions drug abuse is tacked on). this provides the tragedy for this love story, as norman/jackson cant seem to get a handle on his addictions, plus he has a hard time seeing his wife skyrocket into fame when his own career is swiftly going down the shitter. theres a big scene in which he sabotages her acceptance speech at an award show (whether it be an oscar or a grammy), she considers putting her career on hold to take care of him, and due to the overwhelming amount of guilt he feels over all this he commits suicide. and then the final scene is some iteration of esther/vicki/ally doing a tribute to her late husband, either in a speech with the original vicki or a singing performance with the three others.
i had planned on watching all of the other three A Star Is Born’s in preparation to write this review but i never got the chance to watch Garland and Streisand’s takes, so all i can really compare this new one to is the original. but man i gotta say when i watched A Star Is Born 2018 in theaters i cried like a wee baby, that shit was an emotional gut-punch, and the original was really good but didnt give me that same visceral reaction. im a real sucker for character-driven stories and this movie fits the bill. this is the most complex and nuanced norman/jackson’s character has ever been, whereas in the other versions hes just kind of a stuck-up jerk who is jealous of his wife and doesn’t know how to handle it. in this one he has a soul, u can understand how he got to be the way he is, which makes his ultimate demise all the more heartbreaking.
as far as esther/ally’s character goes, i feel like i’d like judy garland’s take more than lady gagas even though i havent even seen the 1954 version yet. but from the clips i have seen of it judy really knocks it out of the park, we really get to see how torn up she is over her husbands struggles and she gets real damn vulnerable. ally’s a great character dont get me wrong, shes independent and self-sufficient like streisand’s esther but with the moments of vulnerability that garland’s esther had, all sprinkled with a dash of realness. with this ally, we get to see more of her life like where she grew up and what her family’s like, which helps contextualize the kind of person she is. however im afraid that this new script almost gave jackson a little TOO much character to where hes suddenly the star of the show and ally almost feels like a supporting character when this is literally her story. so idk man it kinda feels like bradley cooper like hijacked the script so that he’d have a bigger role in the movie
ANYWAYS fuck where do i go from here ive already written so much uuhhhhh ok
ok ok ok ok ok ok
do i like this movie??? yeah its really good!! i’d say it deserves the screenplay and cinematography noms cause this movie does look fantastic and despite some shortcomings the script is also solid. as far as the acting noms go, bradley cooper for sure deserves his, he acted the shit outta this role and really brought jackson to life. lady gaga’s nom im a little iffy on even though i was pleasantly surprised by her turn at this classic character. i think the script also really played to her strengths and allowed her to shine, cause she was kind of essentially playing herself. BUT bradley cooper was able to coax out of her the best acting performance ive seen from her so far, so im excited to see where her acting career goes from here and see how she grows in this new facet of her life.
so lets get back to the whole best picture debate again. i think the main reason why im so reluctant to say that this really deserves that nom is that im kinda tired of hollywood rehashing the same movies over and over again, no matter how good the remakes end up being. i want a new and fresh story to get a chance, something that’ll really shake up the industry and get its blood pumping again. which is why im excited that a movie by yorgos lanthimos has a shot at best picture this year, cause heres a director whos trying something different. A Star Is Born getting a best picture nom just feels to me like hollywood and the academy going with what they know works, whats safe and tried and true.
however from a purely objective standpoint, i mean i cant deny this film is really REALLY good. even the music is fantastic, its been a few months since i saw the movie in theaters and “Shallow” still gets stuck in my head every so often. so u know, i wouldnt be too too mad if it does end up winning.
wow ive been writing for a long ass time my poor lil phalanges are about to fall off, im gonna end this rant here! lemme know what y’all think, whats the scoop, whats the dealio, all that jazz
hopefully one of these days ill have time to sit down and watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs so that’ll probably be my next review, and then i gotta carve out some time to get my lil butt into a theater to see uuhhh everything else!! stay tuned y’all this movie train aint stoppin anytime soon we’re going ALL THE WAY BABBIIIEEEE YEEHAAAWWWWW
#road to the oscar mayer weiner awards 2k19#curly q reviews#oscars#oscars 2019#academy awards#a star is born#judy garland#barbara streisand#lady gaga#bradley cooper#janet gaynor#hollywood#romance#film#movies#the wizard of oz
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Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - “I’d Rather be Alone”
As progressive as they are, the Infamous Stringdusters have no qualms about looking backward.
The old-school sounds of “I’d Rather be Alone” announce the spring arrival of A Tribute to Flatt & Scruggs, an EP that continues the trend begun with 2021’s A Tribute to Bill Monroe.
It doesn’t sound like Flatt & Scruggs. But it does prove the ’Dusters are well aware of where their ’grass is rooted.
The duo, Travis Book said, is “legendary and without Earl's banjo, bluegrass just doesn't exist the way we know it today.”
Or, for that matter, the way the Infamous Stringdusters make it today.
Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “I’d Rather be Alone” - A-
2/10/23
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ZENITH PRESENTS: A SALUTE TO TELEVISION’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY
September 10, 1972
Produced & Directed by Marty Pasetta
Written by John Bradford, Lenny Weinrib, Bob Wells
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Judith Anderson, honoree accepting for “Hallmark Hall of Fame”
Russell Arms, performer “Hit Parade”
James Arness, honoree accepting for “Gunsmoke”
Lucille Ball, honoree
Milton Berle, honoree
Sid Caesar, honoree
George Chakiris, performer “Westerns” / “Crime Drama”
Maria Cole, honoree on behalf of her late husband, Nat King Cole
Edward M. Davis, honoree accepting for Jack Webb and “Dragnet”
Jimmy Durante, performer / presenter “Music and Variety”
Dave Garroway, honoree and presenter
Lorne Greene, honoree accepting for “Bonanza”
Florence Henderson, performer “How Sweet it Was”
Bob Hope, honoree
Snooky Lanson, performer “Hit Parade”
Gisele MacKenzie, performer “Hit Parade”
Dewey Murrow, honoree accepting for his brother, Edward R. Murrow
Harry Reasoner, presenter “News”
George C. Scott, presenter “Drama”
Rod Serling, presenter
Dinah Shore, honoree
Tom & Dick Smothers, performers
Ed Sullivan, honoree
Eileen Wilson, performer “Hit Parade”
Robert Young, presenter “Opening” / “Closing”
John Wayne, presenter “Westerns”
Efrem Zimbalist Jr., presenter “Crime Drama”
Dick Tufeld, Announcer
This was a 90-minute special on ABC TV. It was taped August 9 to August 12 in Los Angeles. It featured clips from show’s from television’s past.
Zenith was co-founded in 1918 by Ralph Matthews and Karl Hassel as Chicago Radio Labs. The name "Zenith" came from ZN'th, a contraction of its founders' ham radio call sign, 9ZN. The Zenith Radio Company was formally incorporated in 1923. LG Electronics acquired a controlling share of Zenith in 1995, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary in 1999. Zenith was the inventor of subscription television and the modern remote control, and the first to develop High-definition television (HDTV) in North America.
In his diaries, singer Perry Como mentions jetting to Las Vegas to appear on the show, but he is not in the cast nor is he mentioned as an honoree.
The next night, Monday, September 11, on CBS, “Here’s Lucy” presented its fifth season premiere “Lucy’s Big Break” (HL S5;E1).
“Here’s Lucy’s” lead-in was the 18th season premiere of “Gunsmoke” starring James Arness.
“Gunsmoke’s” competition on NBC was “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” which that night started its sixth season with guest star John Wayne. This is very ironic, considering that this Zenith special features a promo that John Wayne did for “Gunsmoke” when it first premiered in 1955!
This was a busy night for television, with the series premiere of “The Rookies” (1972-76) on ABC. At 10pm CBS also presented the premiere of “The New Bill Cosby Show,” which lasted just one season.
The show begins with a boy named John Joyce (played by uncredited actors of various ages) who grew up watching television.
After the opening credits, Florence Henderson performs the seven-minute opening number “How Sweet It Was,” surrounded by dancers. The original song was written by Jack Elliott, Bob Wells and John Bradford. In a section devoted to children's shows, the dancers perform “The Mickey Mouse Club” theme, dressed in mouse ears and sweaters with names on them.
Robert Young (”Marcus Welby”) takes the stage to explain that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is also 25 years old and will be honoring a select group of people and programs who have made an impact, had popularity, proved longevity, and demonstrated substance. The recognition award is a silver medallion on a plaque.
A montage of clips from news footage of the Berlin Airlift, the Israeli War, the first Political Convention on TV, and the Kefauver Hearings, and the McCarthy Hearings, follows.
Young pays tribute to television's early comedians with clips of such comics as Jimmy Durante, Martin and Lewis, “The Honeymooners,” and and ending with clips from “Texaco Star Theatre” starring Milton Berle wearing various outrageous costumes.Berle is the first recipient of the medallion. He enters to thank the audience and briefly talk about his type of comedy. Berle claims to have done 641 hours of live television!
Berle closes by introducing a clip from “Your Show of Shows” starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca as figures on a Bavarian clock. Caesar takes the stage to thank the Academy for the medallion. His remarks are humble and brief.
After a commercial for Zenith Super Chromacolor, there is a tribute to TV dramas with a montage of clips from anthology shows like “The Alcoa Hour,” “Dupont Show of the Week,” “Westinghouse Studio One,” “The U.S. Steel Hour,” “Playhouse 90,” “Hallmark Hall of Fame,” “Goodyear Playhouse,” “Producer's Showcase,” and “Net Playhouse.” The clips feature actors like Robert Preston, Andy Griffith, Jackie Gleason, and Paul Newman.
George C. Scott enters to talk about the contributions of “The Hallmark Hall of Fame.” Clips from the show feature actors like Charlton Heston, Peter Ustinov, George C. Scott, and Dame Judith Anderson, who accepts a medallion on behalf of the show.
A salute to TV Westerns begins with a stylized Old West town with a handsome stranger (George Chakiris), riding into town on a white horse. Entering the saloon, he plays cards with a man in black, listens to Lily the dance hall girl, and then gets into a shoot out where (naturally) he is the only one left standing.
After the sketch, John Wayne introduces clips from westerns like “The Lone Ranger,” “Cheyenne, ” “Bonanza,” and “Gunsmoke.” James Arness, who played Marshall Dillon on “Gunsmoke,” joins Wayne onstage to receive a medallion on behalf of the show.
Lorne Greene then accepts a medallion on behalf of “Bonanza.”
A salute to TV crime dramas begins with a stylized city street with a handsome stranger (George Chakiris again), riding into town in a white sports car. The scenario deliberately mirrors the previous one for westerns. Entering the bar, he listens to Sally the burlesque dancer, and gets into a shoot out with a man in black where (naturally) he is the only one left standing.
After the sketch, Efrem Zimalist Jr. (“The F.B.I.”) introduces some ‘fast moving scenes’ from crime shows like “Hawaii Five-O” and (oddly) “Batman.” Zimbalist pays tribute to Jack Webb and the series “Dragnet.” Accepting the medallion on behalf of Webb is Los Angeles Police Commissioner Edward M. Davis.
Dave Garroway (“Today”) tells us that there are 121 recipients of the silver anniversary medallion, and that there is no way a 90-minute program can adequately pay tribute them all. Behind him is a scroll of names and clips from the honorees, including Lucille Ball and “The Desilu Playhouse.” Interestingly, for the sake of continuity, all the clips are in black and white, even if a show was aired in color.
Oops! The list of honorees mis-spells “Captain Kangaroo” as “Captain Kangeroo.”
The Smothers Brothers, Tom and Dick, talk about television, although Tom has trouble not mentioning its many flaws, despite Dick's attempt to keep things positive.
Harry Reasoner talks about television news and tributes Edward R. Murrow. Clips consist of Murrow interviewing such figures as Castro, Marilyn Monroe, and John F. Kennedy. Murrow died in 1965, so his brother Dewey Murrow accepts the medallion on his behalf.
Leading off a tribute to music on television is presented in the style of “Your Hit Parade”:
#5 - “Shrimp Boats” sung by Eileen Wilson. It was written in 1951 by Paul Mason Howard and Paul Weston.
#3 - “(Why Did I Tell You I Was Going To) Shanghai” sung by Russell Arms. It was written in 1951 by Bob Hilliard and Milton De Lugg.
Extra - “Love is Sweeping the Country” performed by the Hit Parade Dancers. It was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1931 musical Of Thee I Sing.
#2 - “(How Much is That) Doggie in the Window?” sung by Giselle MacKenzie (above). It was written by Bob Merrill in 1952.
#1 - “This Ole House” sung by Snooky Lanson. It was written by Stuart Hamblen in 1954.
Curiously, there is no #4, perhaps for time limitations or because there are only four alumni of “Your Hit Parade” in the show.
Closing the section, the group sings “So Long for a While,” the closing song of “Your Hit Parade” written by Hy Zaret.
Jimmy Durante enters at the end of the sequence to tribute Music and Variety on television. It begins with a montage that features Steve Allen, Liberace, Durante, Edgar Bergen, and Dinah Shore, who is the next honoree. Dinah talks about her work on “The Chevy Show.”
Dinah Shore: “We were live and our main motivation was fear!”
Shore then tributes the late Nat King Cole, and introduces Maria Cole, his widow. “The Nat King Cole Show” (1956) was the first television show starring a black man.
Durante returns and sings “September Song” by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 musical Knickerbocker Holiday.
After a commercial, Rod Serling (“The Twilight Zone”) presents a medallion to 'Mr. Sunday Night' Ed Sullivan. Clips from “Toast of the Town” (aka “The Ed Sullivan Show”) feature Julie Andrews, the Beatles, Rocky Marciano, and President Eisenhower.
When Ed Sullivan enters to accept his medallion, it is apparent that he is not on the same stage with Serling, but has been inserted into the shot using special effects. When Serling hands him the award, the camera switches to a close-up to avoid the transfer.
Serling also presents medallions to Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. A brief montage of clips from “I Love Lucy” and various Bob Hope specials follows. It includes scenes from “The Audition” (ILL S1;E6), “The Operetta” (ILL S2;E5), “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28). Interestingly, there are no clips of the two performing together.
Once again, it is apparent that Serling is not on the same stage as Lucy and Bob, despite the fact that they address him as if he were there standing beside him. This time there is no special effect to imply they are together. Hope calls him the “spooky writer” and Lucy refers to Serling's voice on “headache commercials.” Hope and Ball exchange some friendly banter based on their age:
Lucy: “I just love watching 'The Late, Late Show'. Where else could I be 25 for 25 years?"
Bob: “On your reruns. You know I'm kidding, Lucy. You're the most beautiful woman in Hollywood and you have been for many years.”
Lucy: “That's quite a compliment considering you started as a stuntman for Francis X. Bushman.”
The show closes with the singers and dancers reprising “How Sweet It Was” and Robert Young returning to sum up television's progress and promise for the future. This time the clips behind him are in color. A montage of 'good nights' from various television shows plays under the credits.
This Date in Lucy History ~ September 10
“Lucy and Danny Thomas” (HL S6;E1) ~ September 10, 1974
#Zenith#Lucille Ball#Bob Hope#Here's Lucy#Danny Thomas#A Salute to Television's First 25 Years#Judith Anderson#Hallmark Hall of Fame#Robert Young#Russell Arms#Your Hit Parade#James Arness#Bonanza#Gunsmoke#Milton Berle#Texaco Star Theatre#George Chakiris#Sid Caesar#Your Show of Shows#I Love Lucy#Maria Cole#Nat King Cole#Dinah Shore#The Chevy Show#Edward M. Davis#Jimmy Durante#September Song#Dave Garroway#Lorne Greene#Florence Henderson
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Bluegrass is in a fascinating period now. Me entering the genre in 2019 has been a bizarre experience of just-barely-missing-the-pioneers, but feeling the impacts of their lives everywhere. How do you experience a genre where only barely have its creators left the earth?
As of now, 2021, the genre is 75 years old. The period considered first-generation bluegrass was during the mid to late 1940s and through the 1950s. First-generation bluegrass musicians were born around the 1910s and 1920s. This means the creators, influencers, and patriarchs of the genre have all passed away... but many haven’t been dead long. Father of Bluegrass Bill Monroe died in 1996. The man whose banjo revolutionized the instrument’s style of playing, Earl Scruggs, died in 2012. Curly Seckler, one of the greatest tenors, known for being in Flatt & Scruggs, died late December 2017. And one of the big singers, Mac Wiseman, passed away February 24, 2019.
Many of these men performed concerts until shortly before their death. I literally missed them by a hair’s breadth.
So while the first-generation players are dead, endless musicians who played in their bands still live and perform. There’s a strong amount of respect for the pioneers in bluegrass culture. People talk about the progenitors and keep their legacy, history, and importance alive. So even though I missed Bill Monroe, even though I missed all of them because I got into the genre ten years too “late,” I’m still in this odd period where the creators remain extremely relevant and personal.
It’s personal, one human telling another about a funeral they attended not too long ago, and how many memories they shared together in person.
During the bluegrass festival I just attended, several performers described their experience working as Blue Grass Boys for Bill Monroe. Del McCoury mentioned the songs he wrote with Bill Monroe before performing them to us. Peter Rowan mentioned co-composition credits, and went on a ramble about how their bus broke down in Kentucky. Folks still sit onstage telling stories of the genre’s creator. There’s artists doing impressions for the audience, imitating Bill’s high-pitched inflectional mannerisms, quoting his weird way of saying things. Mr. Monroe is very much living first-hand through all the men who worked in his band.
At the same time, bluegrass has heavily modernized. It’s hardly the road the pioneers paved. Second-generation musicians during the Folk Revival in the 1960s and 1970s brought new flavors. They experimented with modern sounds and pulled new demographics into the genre. Rural, culturally conservative Southerners intermixed with Vietnam-protesting urban longhairs. But the creators of bluegrass were all alive, active, and remained important.
Now it’s the 2020s and we’ve hit further generations beyond that. Bluegrass has continued to modernize and pull in wildly different influences and sounds. Many of the ideas being brought in are cool musical expansions, but technically are at odds with the ideas and musical values of the first generation. For instance: while bluegrass always emphasized virtuosity, the first generation played with melody-centric simplicity, songs laypersons could sing to. Increasingly, bluegrass is “gentrified” with complicated chords, materials, and breaks emphasizing technicality instead of melodicity. Depending on what you prefer, you might find hip fans only familiar with modern stuff who know nothing about the creators, or you’ll find audience members grumbling, “That’s not bluegrass!” to your left with scowls and crossed arms.
Bluegrass is a genre inherently at war with itself because it is a crossroads of progressive and traditional musical concepts. It is equally both. From Bill Monroe’s years, it married folk tunes with trendy compositions; it used the traditional fiddle and banjo set-up but revolutionized how the banjo was used; it innovated new techniques on instruments while maintaining "the old tones.” So from the folk side, it’s easy to hear modern bands and debate whether they’ve strayed “too far” from bluegrass. But from the progressive side, for a genre that was built off musical creatives constructing new methods of playing... it makes sense today’s performers have built upon the innovative spirit.
So I’m at a crossroads now with the stories, the tradition, the experiences of who has and has not KNOWN the patriarchs. This isn’t Classical music where no one living today has met Beethoven and he’s a concretely historic figure. I see bands who play as far from Bill Monroe as you could get, but twenty minutes later on the same stage hear musicians talk first-hand how much their relationship with Bill Monroe molded their lives. Announcements of other big giants dying seems to come every day... there were tributes to guitarist Tony Rice and fiddler Byron Berline at the festival.
It’s both the past and not the past. It’s interchange, it’s transition. It’s a musical world still adjusting to its heroes gone.
#long post#thatbanjobusiness#that banjo business#Country Music History#Haddock Deep Dives#bluegrass#General Banjo Business
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Sunday (12.2.2018)
UPTOWN / BRONX
SOMM TIME: Game night with Charmagne Aultra (5pm)
BOXERS UES: Poker with Butch Cordora (7pm)
BOXERS WH: TGIS dance party (7pm)
WEST END: Britney Spears birthday tribute feat. Chola Spears with Sophiella DaVinci, Miz Diamond Wigfall, Labyrinth & Gerry Vega (9pm)
CASTRO: Latin dance party (10pm)
ROW HOUSE: Eventbrice urban party (10pm)
HELL’S KITCHEN
RITZ: Bingo with Sherry Pie & Pissi Myles (4pm)
HARDWARE: Brita Filte & Jasmine Rice (7pm); Jan Sport & Rosé (10pm); Marti Gould Cummings with Pussy Willow & more (11pm)
POSH: DJ dance party (9pm)
THERAPY: Paige Turner (10pm)
INDUSTRY: Kizha Carr (11:30pm)
RISE: TBA
ATLAS SOCIAL CLUB: TBA
VSBU: TBA
EAST SIDE
LIPS: Superstar Sunday with Morgan Royel (7:30pm)
UNCLE CHARLIE’S: piano bar (8pm)
CHELSEA
EAGLE NYC: Sunday Beer Blast (5pm)
REBAR: SHOWTUNES SUNDAYS feat. Bubbles D'Boob (7pm)
BARRACUDA: Tammy Spanx with Kendra H Kinx (8pm); Pixie Aventura (midnight)
MEATPACKING
LEBAIN: Occupy The Disco (3pm); BIRDCAGE (9pm)
WEST VILLAGE
HENRIETTA HUDSON: Game night (4pm)
ROCKBAR: The Urban Bear Beer Blast (4pm)
PIECES: Bingo with Marti Gould Cummings (5pm); Holly Dae & the men of Spunk (10pm)
DUPLEX: All Tinsel & Big Balls holiday cabaret starring Angel Elektra & Shay D'Pines with Gary Carmichael & more (7pm)
TY’S: Julian’s Video Sunday (8pm)
STONEWALL: AVP benefit show starring Hibiscus with Inita D, Robyn Banks, Angel Elektra, Shay D'Pines, Vicky DeVille, Paige Monroe, Zelina Duval, Catrina Lovelace, Jojo Carvel & Cheer New York (7pm); INVASION of Inita D. with Hibiscus, Carmella & Alisha Day (11pm)
MONSTER: TBA
EAST VILLAGE
QUEEN VIC: Bingo with Angel Elektra & Shay D'Pines (5pm); Michaela Piccolo hosts open stage improv / comedy night (9pm)
CLUB CUMMING: Carlos the Uber Driver & Tiffany Anne Coke with DJ Amber Martin (10pm)
BEDLAM: LOOK QUEEN hosted by Sherry Pie (10pm)
NOWHERE: DJ John Michael spins disco (10pm)
COCK: DJ Nashom (10pm)
PHOENIX: TBA
BROOKLYN
CLUB XSTASY: Karaoke with Victoria Chase (7pm)
BLACK RABBIT: Bingo with Merrie Cherry (8pm)
MACRI PARK: Lilith LeFae & Princess Bitch (9pm)
STARR BAR: Karaoke with Flippe Kikee (9pm)
DEEP END: OTTER BOX with Zenobia & DJ William Francis (10pm)
PIZZA PARTY: Mini Horrorwitz & Angelica Sundae (10pm)
METROPOLITAN BAR: Ragamuffin (11pm)
ROSEMONT: ANNIE MAE Last Airbender edition feat. Blvck Laé D with DJ Ten Yards, Bibingka Mama & JJ Sparks (10pm)
3 DOLLAR BILL: TBA
QUEENS
ALBATROSS: Bingo feat. Haireola Grande (3:30pm)
ICON: "Iconic Win In” competition for a spot in the Iconic peageant, hosted by Heidi Haux & Nicole Onoscopi (8pm)
FRIENDS TAVERN: Latin party (10pm)
HOMBRES LOUNGE: Latin party with gogo boys (11pm)
NEW JERSEY
CLUB FEATHERS: Dance party (10pm)
CLUB MANDALA: RITMO LATINO SUNDAYS (10pm)
Full List Here
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From the Archives: Unpacking Branson: A Thanksgiving Improbability
By Don Hall
For Thanksgiving in 2012, I was single and Mom decided that I should come out to my step-sister's place in Branson, Missouri for a good old-fashioned country Thanksgiving. The carrot was family. The stick was Missouri.
In the late 1960s it was pretty much a tiny city in the Ozarks known for roadside stands peddling wares that proliferated the hillbilly stereotype. And, sure enough, there are still today roadside stands that exist only to continue to make fun of that stereotype. It's an odd thing to walk into a business in the middle of the Ozarks that sells you the stereotype it tries to escape from. Like buying a taxi cab medallion from an East Indian store or an “I’m a Wetback” T-shirt in a store that sells Mexican merchandise.
It is said you cannot judge a book by its cover.
This is true most of the time, but there are some things you can judge immediately by its cover and pretty much know what your getting.
An Ann Coulter book.
Sean Hannity.
A FOX News broadcast.
Great America.
Applebee's.
I assumed that Branson, Missouri would fall into this latter category. I was right and wrong. And the complexities made it a real trip to remember.
Branson is where the Beverly Hillbillies came from before moving to California.
A winding series of roads littered with signs and theaters and restaurants. Lots of bumper stickers that declare “I’d Rather Be Dead Than SOCIALIST” and random tributes to past GOP glory. In the three days we trucked around the city, I counted perhaps one hundred people of color the entire time — I didn't start the trip by calculating this but after a bit, it was hard to escape. Thousands of old white people with canes and wheelchairs abounded but that doesn't really look that much different than Navy Pier or the audience at Chicago Shakes — old white people like to be tourists and Branson is, after all, a haven of tourism.
My step-sister, Hannah, tells me that the crack business booms among the residents of Branson and there is evidence around if you’re looking for it. The place is slightly schizophrenic in its place as a home to rednecks and hillbillies while trying desperately to distance itself from that by appealing to the tourist trade. There are places that stink of what one expects in Ozarks — a biker bar called the Hawg Trough that even my pro-GOP brother-in-law avoids and a Smoke Shop that doesn't sell cigarettes and has a pit bull guarding the door. But there are surprises that popped up during my three-day Thanksgiving vacation that defied my pre-judged expectations.
The surprises came in weird ways. When I arrived, we ate at a place called the Rowdy Beaver — a place with T-shirts that trumpeted “I Like Bald Beaver” and “That's A Mighty Nice Beaver” and had washboard walls. The thing that surprised was that the food was out of this world. It was delicious and well prepared and not at all what I expected. “Our chef prepares everything from fresh ingredients,” trumpeted our waitress who seemed completely fine with her job at a place filled with such juvenile innuendo.
The Hollywood Wax Museum was fun but the wax figures left me a bit wanting — a frequent refrain of our visit was my niece saying “Who's that?” and me doing my best to figure it out. I tried to convince my family to go to Silver Dollar City so I could find and steal a urinal cake but it was $60 per person and even I couldn't argue that $300 was reasonable for me to complete a toilet cookie tale. We had tickets to a magic show billed as the World's Largest (by the way, every attraction in Branson is billed as “Show of the Year,” “The Most Amazing in the World,” and “Mindblowing”) but the show was cancelled due to illness. Turns out Kirby VanBurch’s greatest trick is to take your money and disappear.
Our replacement show for the afternoon was going to be either Jim Stafford (I desperately wanted to see this) or SIX (the nieces had heard it was awesome). Stafford only did an 8 p.m. show, so SIX at the Mickey Gilley Theater it was.
SIX is six middle-aged brothers who debuted on the Donnie and Marie Show and have fashioned themselves as sort of an older version of an a cappella boy band. As soon as they started with a cheeseball version of Don’t Stop Believin’, Hannah and I turned to each other with a look of pained resignation. These guys had pretty good voices and the arrangements were fine but the self-consciously hip pose and cornball attempts at cool banter was unbearable. I learned that wanting to see an awful Branson show and actually sitting through one are two different things. I also learned that I will never, as a middle-aged white guy, ever use the words “homie” or “peeps” ever again. To be fair, the second act was better — a selection of Christmas songs and a tribute to their dead mother. Apparently this tiny woman had ten children, all boys, and I suspect she isn't dead but just got the fuck out of there before having to bear an eleventh kid. But the damage of the first act left me scarred and a little terrified of that evening’s show — Legends at the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater.
Legends is a show that debuted in Vegas and moved to Branson. It is a rotating cast of celebrity impersonators ranging from Barry White, Marilynn Monroe and Tim McGraw to the staples of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Our bill was George Strait, Whitney Houston, the Blues Brothers, Liberace and Elvis. As we entered and sat down, once again surrounded by octogenarians, I steeled myself. This was going to be fucking awful.
And it wasn’t.
Really. In fact, it was a blast. The Whitney Houston knocked it out of the park, Liberace was funny but completely inappropriate in a callback to the dark days of The Gay Closet and the Elvis impersonator was so fucking good, if we had been sitting in the nose bleeds it would’ve been like actually seeing Elvis live. My mom, a huge Elvis fan from when he was alive, commented that he was the best Elvis impersonator she had ever seen. Hell, even my teenaged nieces enjoyed the show.
But we saved the best, most Branson-y show for Saturday. Yakov Smirnoff. Holy shit. I couldn’t wait. I was absolutely certain it would embody everything I expected Branson to be — cheesy, cloying, the very portrait of a has-been celebrity stretching out his 15 minutes of fame as paper thin as he could in the heart of the Vegas of the Ozarks. We were greeted by a giant Yakov head making awful jokes about... the size of his head! Inside, it turned out that Yakov was a painter and had his paintings for sale!
The beginning of the show was the longest version of the national anthem I’ve ever heard (who know there were, like, nine verses?) and then I was hit with another fucking surprise. On the video screens came an old Paul Harvey “The Rest of the Story” about a painter known as Jacob who painted and commissioned a painting in tribute to the fallen at Ground Zero in NYC following the Attacks of 9/11. Painted on the side of a building overlooking the rubble, it was the backdrop to the first anniversary of the attacks. The painter was an anonymous Yakov Smirnoff. He paid for the commission out of his own pocket.
Some of his show was what I expected: a revisitation of his “What a Country!” schtick from the ’80s—a sketch of him as the president answering questions from the audience, and he actually quoted the Lee Greenwood God Bless the U.S.A. as a closer. But other parts were not at all what I anticipated. Turns out that Yakov went out and got a Master's Degree in psychology and decided that his show could also serve as a relationship counseling session as well. Sort of like Defending the Caveman meets a less arrogant Dr. Phill with the takeaway being that we begin relationships laughing and giving each other little gifts and that, if we simply return to giving each other gifts and finding laughter in our relationships, we’ll be happier, healthier people.
Was it a great show? Not really. The dancers were cheesy and only there to fill time, the jokes were funny in a “Yeah, I remember that one” sort of way, the political stuff was tame (although at one point, Yakov asked the audience who was happy with the results of the latest election — a smattering of applause that included my mother and I enthusiastically cheering — and who was ticked off by it — a thundering, slightly ugly ovation — with the Russian comic commenting “Yeah, that's about even...”) and the recurring pro-America stuff was hard to hear after a while. But the thing is... I liked him.
I mean, I really liked the guy. He was so overwhelmingly sincere and genuine. Christ, I wanted to hug him. And, while his show is corny and inoffensive and gentle and perfect for the Branson tourist crowd, this is a guy who lives in Branson, Missouri suggesting that people spend time laughing and loving one another instead of being shitbags.
Prejudice is a funny thing. Judging books by their covers is what we do as people. I imagine it’s a hard drive instinct. But, as I am often heard saying, while we are all unique and precious snowflakes and each of us is completely distinct, we are all made of fucking snow. We all are simply people trying our best to get along in the world. Yes, that means that our baser, uglier instincts come to play like ordinary people rioting in a Walmart on Black Friday to get a discount on a portable DVD player. It also means that our better, more generous nature comes into play, and sometimes it's nice to be reminded that even in Red State Hell, Yakov Smirnoff is telling thousands of people every week to just be fucking nicer to each other.
On Thanksgiving, the point is to be with friends or family and celebrate those things in our lives we are (or should be) thankful for. Sure, the holiday is laden with cultural markers that include the genocide of the Native Americans and our national quest to bequeath every American with diabetes but the point is gratitude. Gratitude can come from a lot of places and I’m thankful to remember the lessons I learned in Branson.
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