The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[TREK_GOD_1]

But they didn't play the instruments on their first couple albums, or so I've read.

For The Monkees and More of the Monkees, Nesmith and Tork were granted limited participation despite the former writing and producing several of the songs on those LPs. For example, the harpsichord piece in "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" was played by Tork, and his guitar work can be heard on some tracks of that period. To anyone in the California music club scene of the early to mid 1960s, Nesmith and Tork were seen playing live (e.g., the Wiskey a Go Go and other clubs), and Nesmith had his penned hit for The Stone Poneys, so you had members actually roughing it and/or being in the business before becoming a part of The Monkees.

Further, Micky also played with a group (as a guitarist) and recorded a single before the Monkees era, so for the critics--and some rival rock bands--to paint them as actors who were pretending was born of deliberately ignoring their backgrounds and actual studio work all thanks to the Monkees outselling their self-appointed "kings" of rock music.

I'm detecting a philosophical objection to the actual concept of artificial intelligence.

Well, that's the key--HAL is artificial, so his every action and reaction is the result of programming, and he lacks a true mind, no soul or anything humans recognize as the standard for a living being.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I don't remember that dialogue.

It's something Dave says in the TV interview that he and Frank are watching on their tablets.

edit - It's been a while since I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure that Dave explicitly discussed HAL's emotions as something that's programmed to help people better interact with the computer. Whether it's explicit or implicit, I believe we are meant to believe that any other attribute of HAL's behavior follows from his programming. That is to say, at no point are we given any reason to suppose that HAL's underlying mechanism is malfunctioning.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

50th Anniversary Viewing

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 20, episode 33
Originally aired April 28, 1968
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

Ella Fitzgerald opens the Best of cut with a cover of "Can't Buy Me Love." Her jazz/swing rendition isn't quite to my tastes, but it's nice to see John & Paul collecting royalties so they could go and flush them down somebody's levitating toilet at Apple. I couldn't find a clip of the performance, but here's her studio version.

Oddly given the timing, Richard Harris sings the title song from Camelot, which he starred in the 1967 film version of as King Arthur...rather than plugging his brand-new pop single that will be entering the chart next week.

Comedy team Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara do a skit in which they play a pair of old acquaintances meeting up at a high school reunion.

Ella Fitzgerald returns to perform a number called "Mr. Paganini," which starts as an otherwise slow number punctuated with some bebop singing, though she picks up the tempo toward the end.

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Following the song (and not shown in the clip above), Ed tells her that he'll say hi to Frank Sinatra for her at the party that he's going to after the show.

tv.com says that Richiardi appeared on Oct. 1, 1967, but I didn't cover it then because this video from the Ed Sullivan Show account has it dated Apr. 28, 1968:

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I've since learned that the dates on those videos are sometimes provably wrong, so maybe it was from October. At any rate, the routine makes me wince just watching him. And does anyone else think that he bears a bit of a resemblance to Patrick Macnee?

Also in the original episode according to tv.com:

--Richard Harris - "Didn't We"
--George Carlin (comedy sketch) - Carlin plays a politician interviewed on "Meet the Candidate."
--Milt Kamen (stand-up comedian) - tells jokes about living in New York
--The Doodletown Pipers (singers) - "With A Little Help From My Friends" & medley ("What The World Need Now" & "For What Its Worth")
--Ma Chung (violin playing prodigy)

Audience bows: Joel Grey (then appearing on Broadway's "George M. Cohan"); Cheryl Ann Patton (Miss USA from Florida); Clifton Daniel & sons

_______

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 1, episode 14
Originally aired April 29, 1968

Milton Berle, Shelley Berman, Joey Bishop, John Byner, Jill St. John, Tiny Tim, John Wayne, Flip Wilson, Sivi Aberg, Pamela Austin

There's no excuse now, but they still manage to make an LBJ-in-the-election joke in the party skit:

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...and yet Tiny Tim does a one-liner about not running if elected. Or were supporters using the slogan "All the way with LBJ" even after he announced he wouldn't run?

Byner does more Bobby Kennedy...I suspect for the last time on this show.

A certain oft-referenced guest makes a return appearance to plug his album, God Bless Tiny Tim, with another performance of "Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips."

Dan: He flew in this afternoon.
Dick: I don't doubt that a bit.

Later Tiny does a "Here comes the judge" chant. It's like an upcoming tie-in singles crossover!

This week Dick chivalrously takes all of the Sock It To Me's for Judy...except in this number, which is filled with references to the show's repertoire of recurring gags:

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And to think this is on and I have no series.

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In the recurring door sign-painting bit, they do an automat sight gag.

And that's our first half-season of Laugh-In. What it lacks in LOL humor for me, it makes up for in pure sign-o'-the-timesness.

_______

The Avengers
"Have Guns-Will Haggle"
Originally aired May 1, 1968 (US); December 11, 1968 (UK)

Steed attends an Underworld auction and bids for three thousand stolen state-of-the art rifles to try to prevent them falling into the wrong hands.

Armor intro.

I wonder if the masks the thieves wear are the same ones that the students wore in Season 4's "A Sense of History"? I'm pretty sure that the warehouse they're robbing is the same as the one used in the last episode.

Tara's got a red sports car in this one. She plays a bigger role this week...generally acquitting herself well, though she lets a bad guy follow her home...lousy spycraft not atypical for this show, and made possible by the fact that the spies on this show always operate in their home country. Steed has to try to get her out of being the target in a rifle demonstration...it got cute when the bidding war between Steed and the African warlord came to a tie, and both were digging into their wallets for spare cash. There's more good jeopardy when Steed has to rescue Tara from a gun storage shed that he'd just set explosives in.

Steed deliberately snapping a twig in the woods to lure a pursuer into a trap is a simple trick that I've never seen used before.

I just read that Linda Thorson played the Cardassian Gul in the TNG episode "The Chase"!

_______

 

[RJDiogenes]

Because that's what the film's about? The emergence, peak, and reemergence of man as a species?

It's about Man's transcendence with a little help from our friends. Man is being cultivated, not chosen from a group of competing species.

I was focusing on the part where you indicated that describing HAL as a tool was dismissive. It's not, it's just viewing him on a symbolic level in a way that plays into the themes of the film.

I was talking about the contradiction of tool versus character.

As for the pride and ego--Really? I think that's all over HAL's actions and dialogue. He's very soft-spoken about it, but he virtually oozes those qualities.

But it's not his motivation.

When did HAL become some flawless angel-being? Oh yeah...2010.

He's not flawless, but he's an innocent.

Well, this comes down to the literal vs. the symbolic. No, he's not literally a Terminator out to destroy mankind. But he does find himself killing or attempting to kill all of the humans within his reach, and he's expressly motivated by the fact that he thinks he can do the job better without them...so on the symbolic/thematic level, that's the role he fills. And if he'd succeeded, man wouldn't have moved forward to Star Child-dom, so there were species-wide stakes.

He's not motivated by the belief that he can do better-- he's motivated by the belief that they are imperiling the mission. In a movie about Man being cultivated by a more advanced species, what's the meaning there? HAL certainly wasn't aspiring to be the Chosen One of the Monolith.

I'm surprised you've heard of that version at all.

Well, I remember the song. Was there another version?

In the coda, the Patrol decides not to turn her in. Those big ol' .50-caliber-firing softies!

After she sold out to the Germans? Soft indeed.

Well, that's the key--HAL is artificial, so his every action and reaction is the result of programming, and he lacks a true mind, no soul or anything humans recognize as the standard for a living being.

Okay, so we definitely disagree. Intelligence, self-awareness, emotion, et cetera, all occur in nature and anything that occurs in nature (i.e., as the result of sloppy evolution) can be recreated by technology, and eventually with more finesse and refinement. I don't believe in any supernatural components that would prevent an AI from being sentient.

It's something Dave says in the TV interview that he and Frank are watching on their tablets.

edit - It's been a while since I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure that Dave explicitly discussed HAL's emotions as something that's programmed to help people better interact with the computer. Whether it's explicit or implicit, I believe we are meant to believe that any other attribute of HAL's behavior follows from his programming. That is to say, at no point are we given any reason to suppose that HAL's underlying mechanism is malfunctioning.

It's been years since I've seen it as well, but it seems to me that Bowman's dialogue sets up a bit of a dramatic tension that HAL may or may not be sentient-- and that the "Daisy" sequence settles the matter on the positive side, even as he dies.

I couldn't find a clip of the performance, but here's her studio version.

Kind of the lounge lizard version. I can picture her pointing at audience members and winking at them. No wonder Ed says he'll say hi to Frank Sinatra for her.

Ella Fitzgerald returns to perform a number called "Mr. Paganini," which starts as an otherwise slow number punctuated with some bebop singing, though she picks up the tempo toward the end.

That's kind of a cool story song.

At any rate, the routine makes me wince just watching him.

Don't try this at home, kids. He probably wouldn't even be allowed on TV these days.

And does anyone else think that he bears a bit of a resemblance to Patrick Macnee?

Actually, he reminded me a little bit of Tony Shalhoub as Mr Monk. Or Mr Monk's evil twin, since Monk would never put razor blades in his mouth.

Or were supporters using the slogan "All the way with LBJ" even after he announced he wouldn't run?

Maybe it was really about the possibility of him becoming governor, although I don't remember anything about that being raised as a possibility.

And that's our first half-season of Laugh-In. What it lacks in LOL humor for me, it makes up for in pure sign-o'-the-timesness.

Yeah, you kind of had to be there.

There's more good jeopardy when Steed has to rescue Tara from a gun storage shed that he'd just set explosives in.

I remember that. It took forever for that thing to explode.

I just read that Linda Thorson played the Cardassian Gul in the TNG episode "The Chase"!

They should have worked in a brick-clobbering scene.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

it seems to me that Bowman's dialogue sets up a bit of a dramatic tension that HAL may or may not be sentient-- and that the "Daisy" sequence settles the matter on the positive side, even as he dies.

I don't agree. We're left exactly where we started, with the quandary that Dave expressed in the interview, of programmed vs genuine. Dave empathizes with HAL, when asking HAL to sing the song, even as he ejects HAL's memory banks and shuts him down. We have a machine programmed to exhibit human behavior, but it is still just a machine.

Actually, the way in which HAL declares repeatedly that he is afraid is both quite monotonous and matter-of-fact. That's a fairly clear indication that his reaction is artificial and still, even at this point, according to his programming.

But HAL doesn't die. He runs down and stops like a clock winding down, suspended in mid-tick, again emphasizing his artificial nature. That's not death. Even restricting our attention to this film only, it implies that HAL can be started up again.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Oddly given the timing, Richard Harris sings the title song from Camelot, which he starred in the 1967 film version of as King Arthur...rather than plugging his brand-new pop single that will be entering the chart next week.

On second thought, let's not go to MacArthur Park. 'Tis a silly place.

I was talking about the contradiction of tool versus character.

C) Both of the above.

But it's not his motivation.

I'd say that it at least informs his motivation. It is hard to tell exactly what's going on in HAL's mind, which is what makes him such a fascinating character. He has an excellent poker face...or chess face, I guess.

He's not flawless, but he's an innocent.

As was Moon-Watcher, before he used that bone. In sci-fi analogies, learning to kill usually signifies loss of innocence.

Well, I remember the song. Was there another version?

Spoiler: There's the higher-charting Trashmen song that was partly based on it...

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Don't try this at home, kids. He probably wouldn't even be allowed on TV these days.

Good point...that hadn't even occurred to me.

They should have worked in a brick-clobbering scene.

But they don't have purses in the 24th century!

Actually, the way in which HAL declares repeatedly that he is afraid is both quite monotonous and matter-of-fact. That's a fairly clear indication that his reaction is artificial and still, even at this point, according to his programming.

And yet he's still more genuinely emotive than the humans in the film, so I tend to give him benefit of the doubt in that department. Not that I completely sympathize with him in the deactivation scene. He only switches to bargaining and pleading after Dave gains the upper hand on him...as an amoral human might do in the same situation.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

50 Years Ago This Week

Chirp, chirp.

There's literally nothing in the Wiki timeline for this week in 1968. But from Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day:

May 11: John and Paul fly to New York from London Airport with the intention of formally announcing the Beatles' Apple venture.

They already covered a bit of that visit in Part 1, but this seems like as good a place as any to throw in the last of the three-part series:

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Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Honey," Bobby Goldsboro
2. "Tighten Up," Archie Bell & The Drells
3. "Young Girl," The Union Gap feat. Gary Puckett
4. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Hugo Montenegro, His Orchestra & Chorus
5. "Cry Like a Baby," The Box Tops
6. "A Beautiful Morning," The Rascals
7. "Cowboys to Girls," The Intruders
8. "The Unicorn," The Irish Rovers
9. "Mrs. Robinson," Simon & Garfunkel
10. "Lady Madonna," The Beatles
11. "Love Is All Around," The Troggs
12. "I Got the Feelin'," James Brown & The Famous Flames
13. "Take Time to Know Her," Percy Sledge
14. "Funky Street," Arthur Conley
15. "Summertime Blues," Blue Cheer
16. "Ain't No Way," Aretha Franklin
17. "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," Georgie Fame
18. "Sweet Inspiration," The Sweet Inspirations
19. "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," Dionne Warwick
20. "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day," Stevie Wonder
21. "Dance to the Music," Sly & The Family Stone
22. "Mony Mony," Tommy James & The Shondells
23. "Soul Serenade," Willie Mitchell
24. "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
25. "Sweet Sweet Baby (Since You've Been Gone)," Aretha Franklin
26. "Playboy," Gene & Debbe
27. "Delilah," Tom Jones
28. "U.S. Male," Elvis Presley

30. "She's Lookin' Good," Wilson Pickett
31. "Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)," Manfred Mann
32. "La-La Means I Love You," The Delfonics
33. "If You Can Want," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

35. "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," Otis Redding
36. "If I Were a Carpenter," Four Tops
37. "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)," Otis Redding
38. "Scarborough Fair / Canticle," Simon & Garfunkel
39. "The Unknown Soldier," The Doors
40. "Call Me Lightning," The Who

43. "Master Jack," Four Jacks and a Jill
44. "Forever Came Today," Diana Ross & The Supremes
45. "Like to Get to Know You," Spanky & Our Gang
46. "Does Your Mama Know About Me," Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers
47. "Valleri," The Monkees

56. "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)," The Temptations

61. "I Love You," People
62. "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy," Ohio Express

73. "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On," Joe Simon

77. "The Look Of Love," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

79. "MacArthur Park," Richard Harris

83. "Angel of the Morning," Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts

85. "Never Give You Up," Jerry Butler

87. "A Man without Love (Quando M'Innamoro)," Engelbert Humperdinck

91. "I Have a Dream," The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

93. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," The Byrds

96. "Face It Girl, It's Over," Nancy Wilson

99. "Anyone for Tennis," Cream
100. "She's a Heartbreaker," Gene Pitney

Leaving the chart:

• "Jennifer Juniper," Donovan
• "Love Is Blue (L'amour Est Bleu)," Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra

New on the chart:

"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," The Byrds

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(#74 US; #45 UK)

"Anyone for Tennis," Cream
(#64 US; #40 UK)

"Face It Girl, It's Over," Nancy Wilson
(#29 US; #28 AC; #15 R&B)

"A Man without Love (Quando M'innamoro)," Engelbert Humperdinck
(#19 US; #3 AC; #2 UK)

"She's a Heartbreaker," Gene Pitney

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(#16 US)

"The Look of Love," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

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(#4 US; #2 AC)

"MacArthur Park," Richard Harris

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(#2 US; #10 AC; #4 UK)


And new on the boob tube:

• The Avengers, "Look - (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers..." (US season finale)

_______

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Okay, so we definitely disagree. Intelligence, self-awareness, emotion, et cetera, all occur in nature and anything that occurs in nature (i.e., as the result of sloppy evolution) can be recreated by technology, and eventually with more finesse and refinement. I don't believe in any supernatural components that would prevent an AI from being sentient.

But HAL did not occur in nature. HAL was completely artificial and programmed, which is the opposite of what is recognized as life and true sentience. Someone construct and program HALs or Lost in Space's B9 to act like a person, but they are not living beings, so their every reaction is based only on what someone decided would be reactions, "feelings" or emotional responses to considered stimuli.

Leaving the chart:

• "Love Is Blue (L'amour Est Bleu)," Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra

Timeless, and its power is--in part--comes from the fact such a song could be a major hit in a period overwhelmed by rock and pop. The same applies to--

"The Look of Love," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

"MacArthur Park," Richard Harris

Music of that quality never gets old.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Actually, the way in which HAL declares repeatedly that he is afraid is both quite monotonous and matter-of-fact. That's a fairly clear indication that his reaction is artificial and still, even at this point, according to his programming.

He exhibits the same behavior as a human being suffering from a brain injury or debilitating disease.

But HAL doesn't die. He runs down and stops like a clock winding down, suspended in mid-tick, again emphasizing his artificial nature. That's not death. Even restricting our attention to this film only, it implies that HAL can be started up again.

That's true (although one can wonder if a rebooted HAL is "the same person" or a duplicate since there is a lack of continuity between the two iterations), but it has no bearing on his sense of identity.

C) Both of the above.

Yes, but my comment was only about Ebert's implied attitude.

I'd say that it at least informs his motivation. It is hard to tell exactly what's going on in HAL's mind, which is what makes him such a fascinating character. He has an excellent poker face...or chess face, I guess.

In a sense, I suppose. If he wasn't capable of completing the mission alone, he would have had to threaten or blackmail or otherwise manipulate the astronauts.

As was Moon-Watcher, before he used that bone. In sci-fi analogies, learning to kill usually signifies loss of innocence.

Maybe, but even a loss of innocence wouldn't turn HAL into a rival species.

Spoiler: There's the higher-charting Trashmen song that was partly based on it...

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Yeah, I know that one, too. I definitely remember both.

But they don't have purses in the 24th century!

Ah, well. Something's lost and something's gained in living every day.

"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," The Byrds

Nice little Dylan cover.

"Anyone for Tennis," Cream

Ah, Cream. Such sweet poetry.

"Face It Girl, It's Over," Nancy Wilson

An okay song.

"A Man without Love (Quando M'innamoro)," Engelbert Humperdinck

An okay song, but with the advantage of nostalgic value.

"She's a Heartbreaker," Gene Pitney

I don't remember this one. Seems kind of odd for the time, but kind of fun.

"The Look of Love," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

Ah, but this is a classic.

"MacArthur Park," Richard Harris

Such a weird song. The musical equivalent of a B-movie, I suppose.

But HAL did not occur in nature. HAL was completely artificial and programmed, which is the opposite of what is recognized as life and true sentience.

Recognized by who? HAL did not occur in nature, but he operates according to the laws of physics, just like people do. A 747 doesn't occur in nature, but it still flies.

Someone construct and program HALs or Lost in Space's B9 to act like a person, but they are not living beings, so their every reaction is based only on what someone decided would be reactions, "feelings" or emotional responses to considered stimuli.

Obviously not, or Poole and the other astronauts would still be alive. HAL has parameters and the free will to operate within those parameters-- just like human beings.

 

[The Old Mixer]

He exhibits the same behavior as a human being suffering from a brain injury or debilitating disease.

Or perhaps he's just amoral by nature.

Maybe, but even a loss of innocence wouldn't turn HAL into a rival species.

But it can be seen as part of a larger parallel with Moon-Watcher's role in the story.

Nice little Dylan cover.

Noteworthy as being the advance single from the album Sweetheart of the Rodeo (coming in Aug. 1968), which is considered to have been...

influential as the first major country rock album by an established act

...and as such ranks #117 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It's on my list, but it'll be a while before I get to it.

Ah, Cream. Such sweet poetry.

As Cream songs go, this one hasn't really caught on with me, though I do have it.

An okay song.

This was a borderline purchase for me as I got more completist. Nancy Wilson had two Top 40 singles--this one and 1964's "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" (#11 US; #2 AC; #45 R&B).

An okay song, but with the advantage of nostalgic value.

I only got Engelbert's two Top 10 hits, and that was perhaps one too many, so I'm good not digging deeper for this.

I don't remember this one. Seems kind of odd for the time, but kind of fun.

I only went Top 10 for Gene Pitney as well, making an exception for his 1961 #13 hit "Town without Pity," which is the song that I best know of his from oldies radio. This involved getting a few more songs of his than I did for Engelbert, but the results were also a bit spotty, so I wasn't inspired to dig deeper. This song will prove to be his last Top 40 hit...yet oddly, it seems a bit forward-looking in its style.

Music of that quality never gets old.

Ah, but this is a classic.

I wanted to get this one, but for some reason it's not available for download. I do have Sergio & Brasil's other two upcoming Top 20 hits.

Such a weird song. The musical equivalent of a B-movie, I suppose.

Perhaps I should have saved my Monty Python cross-reference for here. This version of MacArthur Park was a fairly recent discovery for me...on Sirius, so they must not have played it on the oldies stations that I used to listen to. It kind of deflates some of the hype about "Hey Jude" that this single was twenty seconds longer and made it to #2...unless it had issues with not being played in full on the air...I honestly don't know. At any rate, I'm sure that the success of both songs this year played a big role in the increasing length of singles that followed.

I suppose that an obligatory reference to Donna Summer's disco cover (charted Sept. 9, 1978; #1 US the weeks of Nov. 11 through 25, 1978; #24 AC; #1 Dance; #8 R&B; #5 UK) is in order. There, it's done.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

And yet he's still more genuinely emotive than the humans in the film, so I tend to give him benefit of the doubt in that department. Not that I completely sympathize with him in the deactivation scene. He only switches to bargaining and pleading after Dave gains the upper hand on him...as an amoral human might do in the same situation.

I don't disagree with that as a generally applicable statement, but I believe that Dave is quite emotive almost panicking while he's in the pod facing off with HAL over the pod bay doors. I also think that, when he's exhibiting compassion and empathy for HAL while he's shutting HAL down, Dave is visibly upset.

 

[scotpens]

That whole disconnection sequence is heartbreaking. And long. Can you imagine the contemporary audience sitting through that?

I don't have to imagine; I was part of that contemporary audience. Not all of us here are youngsters, you know!

 

[The Old Mixer]

I don't disagree with that as a generally applicable statement, but I believe that Dave is quite emotive almost panicking while he's in the pod facing off with HAL over the pod bay doors. I also think that, when he's exhibiting compassion and empathy for HAL while he's shutting HAL down, Dave is visibly upset.

Perhaps we could say that they're "meeting in the middle"...Dave, even at his most emotive, is still very subdued; whereas HAL, a monotone-voiced machine, manages to convey so much.

_______

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for 55 years ago this past week:

1. "I Will Follow Him," Little Peggy March

3. "Puff (The Magic Dragon)," Peter, Paul & Mary
4. "Pipeline," The Chantays
5. "He's So Fine," The Chiffons
6. "If You Wanna Be Happy," Jimmy Soul
7. "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)," The Cookies
8. "Surfin' U.S.A.," The Beach Boys
9. "On Broadway," The Drifters
10. "Watermelon Man," Mongo Santamaria Band
11. "Baby Workout," Jackie Wilson

13. "Foolish Little Girl," The Shirelles
14. "Reverend Mr. Black," The Kingston Trio

18. "Losing You," Brenda Lee
19. "Take These Chains from My Heart," Ray Charles
20. "Tom Cat," The Rooftop Singers
21. "Hot Pastrami," The Dartells
22. "South Street," The Orlons
23. "Two Faces Have I," Lou Christie
24. "The End of the World," Skeeter Davis

28. "Linda," Jan & Dean

30. "Another Saturday Night," Sam Cooke
31. "This Little Girl," Dion
32. "Do the Bird," Dee Dee Sharp

34. "Killer Joe," The Rocky Fellers
35. "Sandy," Dion
36. "Ain't That a Shame!," The Four Seasons

38. "Mr. Bass Man," Johnny Cymbal
39. "Twenty Miles," Chubby Checker

42. "Our Day Will Come," Ruby & The Romantics
43. "I Got What I Wanted," Brook Benton

46. "Pushover," Etta James

50. "You Can't Sit Down," The Dovells
51. "The Love of My Man," Theola Kilgore

54. "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)," The Crystals
55. "In Dreams," Roy Orbison

58. "Come and Get These Memories," Martha & The Vandellas

60. "The Bird's the Word," The Rivingtons

63. "Shut Down," The Beach Boys
64. "Prisoner of Love," James Brown & The Famous Flames

70. "Let's Go Steady Again," Neil Sedaka

80. "Hello Stranger," Barbara Lewis


Leaving the chart:

• "I Wanna Be Around," Tony Bennett
• "Rhythm of the Rain," The Cascades

55 Years Ago Spotlight: Somewhere across the pond, George is listening. That much has been established in a court of law....

"He's So Fine," The Chiffons

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(Charted Feb. 23, 1963; #1 US the weeks of Mar. 30 through Apr. 20, 1963; #1 R&B; #16 UK)

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12 O'Clock High
"The Hollow Man"
Originally aired March 14, 1966

A pilot just returned from five months in a German prison camp freezes during a practice flight, resulting in a major crash.

The ex-POW, Capt. Bolen (Robert Drivas), is an old buddy of Komansky's. Sandy helps cover for the fact that Bolen's been having flashback incidents, but it comes out anyway after the Captain is involved in a collision that wasn't his fault, but could have been avoided if he hadn't been distracted by one of his episodes at the time.

Paul Carr is back as his third character on the show, Capt. Lewis, an ex-fighter jock who's new to the 918th. Lewis's buddy was responsible for and died in the collision, and Lewis wants to see Bolen shoulder some of the blame for what happened.

Things come to a head in Act IV when Bolen stows away in Gallagher's pathfinder bomber and successfully locates the target that they're looking for, then gets the crew home during the commercial after the Colonel is injured in a fighter attack.

Cec Linder (Goldfinger's Felix Leiter) plays an officer from the Press Corps, but his role in the story doesn't amount to much.

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[RJDiogenes]

Or perhaps he's just amoral by nature.

He could be, but his flat affect during and disassociative speech during his disconnection is consistent with brain damage or disease in a human.

But it can be seen as part of a larger parallel with Moon-Watcher's role in the story.

Moon-Watcher's role paralleled Bowman's. HAL's role, story-wise, if not as orchestrated by the Monolith, was to ensure that Bowman was the sole human to go through the Stargate, that he was out of touch with Earth, and that he had nowhere else to go.

As Cream songs go, this one hasn't really caught on with me, though I do have it.

Well, it's no "White Room," but it's still pretty nice.

I only got Engelbert's two Top 10 hits, and that was perhaps one too many, so I'm good not digging deeper for this.

Aside from nostalgia, there's not a lot to recommend Englebert.

This song will prove to be his last Top 40 hit...yet oddly, it seems a bit forward-looking in its style.

Definitely sounds more 70s.

I wanted to get this one, but for some reason it's not available for download.

That's odd. Some sort of copyright issue, maybe?

I don't have to imagine; I was part of that contemporary audience. Not all of us here are youngsters, you know!

Oh, I know. What I meant was today's audience sitting through the disconnection scene. "Why doesn't he just blow him up?"

Perhaps we could say that they're "meeting in the middle"...Dave, even at his most emotive, is still very subdued; whereas HAL, a monotone-voiced machine, manages to convey so much.

Well, Dave was kind of freaking out during the Ultimate Trip.

"He's So Fine," The Chiffons

A classic of the lingering 50s ambiance.

Things come to a head in Act IV when Bolen stows away in Gallagher's pathfinder bomber and successfully locates the target that they're looking for, then gets the crew home during the commercial after the Colonel is injured in a fighter attack.

One would imagine that was the end of his career, nevertheless.

 

[The Old Mixer]

He could be, but his flat affect during and disassociative speech during his disconnection is consistent with brain damage or disease in a human.

Ah, right...you were specifically talking about the disconnection.

Well, it's no "White Room," but it's still pretty nice.

It's...not exactly what I'm looking for in a Cream song.

That's odd. Some sort of copyright issue, maybe?

Maybe...it's the only track that's not available on a hits compilation of theirs.

Well, Dave was kind of freaking out during the Ultimate Trip.

Who wouldn't be?

A classic of the lingering 50s ambiance.

I consider girl groups to be a distinctly '60s phenomenon...pre-British Invasion '60s, but still the '60s...like dance songs, folk pop, and surf music.

One would imagine that was the end of his career, nevertheless.

He was going to get help from the doctors in the Epilog, so it's possible that they got him straightened out enough to go back to active duty eventually.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Recognized by who?

Humans. An iPhone cannot recognize life, or be classified as life, as its just a device doing whatever it is programmed to do--like HAL.

HAL did not occur in nature, but he operates according to the laws of physics, just like people do. A 747 doesn't occur in nature, but it still flies.

Operating according to the laws of physics does not make a collection of parts a living being. A living being as humans understands is naturally born from parents, not the end result of an assembly line and programmers.

I wanted to get this one, but for some reason it's not available for download. I do have Sergio & Brasil's other two upcoming Top 20 hits.

That's odd. I would have thought Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66's entire catalog--especially their more popular songs--would be available.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's...not exactly what I'm looking for in a Cream song.

More like half-n-half?

I consider girl groups to be a distinctly '60s phenomenon...pre-British Invasion '60s, but still the '60s...like dance songs, folk pop, and surf music.

Well, the decades do blur together and the early 60s are radically different from the late 60s.

Humans. An iPhone cannot recognize life, or be classified as life, as its just a device doing whatever it is programmed to do--like HAL.

An iPhone is not an appropriate example, obviously. Many people believe that artificial intelligence and sentience can be achieved, since there's nothing to preclude it.

Operating according to the laws of physics does not make a collection of parts a living being. A living being as humans understands is naturally born from parents, not the end result of an assembly line and programmers.

Life and self-awareness exist because of the laws of physics. Anything that can happen in nature can be duplicated and refined, including life and self-awareness (two different things, but the same logic applies).

 

[The Old Mixer]

Looks like CNN is also doing a series about 1968, starting Memorial Day weekend.

There are also a couple of glossy magazines about the year on the stands from Time and Life. I got the Time one.

 

[RJDiogenes]

My Brother will be thrilled. That's the year he was born.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

An iPhone is not an appropriate example, obviously. Many people believe that artificial intelligence and sentience can be achieved, since there's nothing to preclude it.

Its still programmed--not natural. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Data might be considered sentient by some (in or out of series), but its all based on programming. Nothing more. Its not developed based what humans know to be a living, feeling, self aware being, or specifically, the natural understanding of what is human, and that's the point, since HAL's creation and perception by Bowman, Poole and the TV interviewer are based on HAL's approximation to a human being.