The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by The Old Mixer, Jan 11, 2016.

  1. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    _______

    50 Years Ago This Week

    Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

    Leaving the chart:
    • "Face It Girl, It's Over," Nancy Wilson
    • "Folsom Prison Blues," Johnny Cash
    • "Here Comes the Judge," Shorty Long
    • "The Look of Love," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

    New on the chart:

    "The Snake," Al Wilson
    (#27 US; #32 R&B; #41 UK)

    "Special Occasion," Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
    (#26 US; #4 R&B)

    "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," Bee Gees

    (#8 US; #1 UK)

    "The House That Jack Built," Aretha Franklin

    (#6 US; #2 R&B)

    "I Say a Little Prayer," Aretha Franklin

    (B-side of "The House That Jack Built"; #10 US; #3 R&B; #4 UK)

    "Girl Watcher," The O'Kaysions
    (#5 US; #6 R&B)

    "Hush," Deep Purple

    (#4 US; #58 UK)

    "Little Green Apples," O.C. Smith

    (#2 US; #4 AC; #2 R&B; 1969 Grammy Award for Song of the Year)

    _______

    This week's scheduled catch-up viewing:
    • The Monkees, "I Was a Teenage Monster" (Jan. 16, 1967)
    • The Monkees, "Find the Monkees" (Jan. 23, 1967)
    • The Monkees, "Monkees in the Ring" (Jan. 30, 1967)
    _______

    I have the distinct impression that you're just yanking my chain at this point....

    In the show? I seriously doubt it. I could see it paralleling the CIA as being an operation that started in WWII but got rebranded/repurposed for the Cold War.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018
  2. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Great song. Oddly, I would have placed this one around 1972, if asked.

    I don't remember this at all. Sounds nice, but not otherwise memorable.

    Classic 60s Bee Gees. :mallory:

    Great song. Kind of a tearjerker.

    Fine cover, but really nothing to recommend it over the Dionne Warwick version.

    Classic 60s Summery song.

    Another good song, but another one that I would have placed in the early 70s.

    How can you not love it? :rommie:

    Good week for music.

    No, I'm really not. Why do you think that?

    That sounds reasonable. That would have made a cool flashback episode. The timeline would have worked out for Peter Graves to play Phelps' father.
     
  3. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    So now we've narrowed down the '60s proper to about 3 or 4 years.... :p

    Al Wilson will enjoy the peak of his success with his #1 hit "Show and Tell" in 1973. Doesn't look like we'll be hearing from him in the meantime. And while "Hush" was Deep Purple's first and biggest hit single, they'd become better known for their early '70s work, including 1973's equally charting "Smoke on the Water" (#426 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).

    It may grow on me with listening, but it's pretty bleh by Smokey's standards. For contrast, "More Love" is currently on my 51 Years Ago playlist--now that's one goddamn fine song!

    The Bee Gees are a pretty clear case of...brought under?...'70s business. :p

    I'll have to give a closer listen to see if I can catch what you're getting. Just sounds pretty funky too me...and makes me think of Diana Rigg.

    This version has started to grow on me somewhat, but I feel like the Sweet Inspirations should have gotten co-billing for tackling the more challenging main lyrics while Aretha vamps in the foreground. From what I read, the decision to record it came about when Aretha and the Inspirations were improvising while warming up in the studio.

    A decent bit of classic period pop, but not particularly strong by the considerable musical standards of the day. It's not a surprise that the O'Kaysions were one-hit wonders.

    A nice song, but alas, it doesn't look like O.C. managed to follow up with anything approaching its success.

    I can imagine the father/son "someday all this will be yours" bonding moments....
     
  4. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Between overlapping fashions and quirks of personal memory, that's probably true. :rommie: Those two songs, especially "The Snake," somehow sound like junior high school to me.

    I love that one. Speaking of junior high school, our first dance was held in the school gym (Central Junior High, which doesn't even exist anymore) and our "band" was one of those little gray turntables from the A/V Room. Kids just brought in their own singles to play. "Smoke On The Water" got played about a hundred times.

    That's a great song. Kim Carnes did a good cover of it, too.

    There are definitely two Bee Gees-- the 60s Bee Gees and the 70s Bee Gees. Actually, make that three-- the 60s Bee Gees, the 70s Bee Gees, and the sucky Bee Gees.

    Makes me think of JFK. Diana Rigg? That's interesting.

    Not to mention those family nights watching gladiator movies.
     
  5. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Okay...
    • Paul and the Third Wheels?
    • The McCartney-Martin Experience?
    • Macca and the Bureau of the Inadequate?

    Yes, and occasionally, pushing male genitalia in reverse through the legs, otherwise known as "the whole shebang" or...ugh..."the fruit basket".

    Not at all. It seems a few artist of the era got into that weird story song mood. Of course, The Who's "Happy Jack", "Silas Stingy", or "Tattoo", or The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" covered that ground, but the stories were understandable, and merely couched in weirdness and/or biting observation.

    According to a couple of interpretations, Baker seemed to invent his own slang, or rather, play on words with the use of "deroga tree" (derogatory, in the context of the lyrics) as well as other odd references that fan-analysts cannot agree on. Unlike odd/strange songs such as those by The Who and The Beatles listed above, this one left more questions than anyone can answer.

    Ah, part Aesop's Fable, part warning for women against unfaithful men, this was an interesting song, despite being a new song concept. Interesting, but Wilson's magnum opus was "Show and Tell", the 1973 hit that more than earned its number 1 position.

    Eh. Not anything special.

    Mini-classic..

    Passed on this decades ago and that decision stands.

    Its an OK version, but lacks the heart (and great instrument selection) of Dionne Warwick's masterwork.

    Always a fun song.

    Along with acts like the Guess Who, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, this was a song pointing to a rich rock framework with some underlying soul elements that would be popular at least into the first half of the 1970s.

    Always great to hear.
     
  6. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0516915/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

    While I'm always happy to see Paul (and George Martin) get some recognition to counter the deification of John that's been going on for decades, I've long felt that John and Paul are not an either/or option...it was the creative synergy of those two formidable and complementary talents working together in the same group that made the Beatles greater than the sum of its parts.

    Sounds like you got your info from the same Urban Dictionary page that I found when I Googled it.

    These guys will be popping up for our purposes in the coming year.
    Whereas these guys are still years in the future.
    Ah, but while their first hit single is still in our future, they're already part of the album landscape in 50th Anniversaryland. Child Is Father to the Man (Release: Feb. 21, 1968; Debut: Apr. 13, 1968; Peak: #47, June 1, 1968; #264 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time)--a recent purchase of mine--didn't produce any hit singles, but brought into play the "Jazz-Rock" style that we'll also be hearing from Chicago.

    "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"


    "I Can't Quit Her"


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood,_Sweat_&_Tears
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Is_Father_to_the_Man#Reception

    My next proper 50th Anniversary Album Spotlight, which is still in the works, will be Music from Big Pink by the Band.

    _______

     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2018
  7. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Oh, yeah, I remember that one.

    That's certainly very true.

    The DVR is primed and ready to go. All the episodes on my list showed up in the binge.
     
  8. c0rnedfr0g

    c0rnedfr0g Commodore Commodore

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    I've been watching a lot of "My Mother The Car" lately (received the DVDs for my birthday). It is so bad that it is great. Jerry Van Dyke is hilarious and the entire premise is so absurd that I can see why it was panned back in the 60s, before absurdist humour really took off. The show just really tickles my funny bone. Too bad there is only 1 season, though I'm grateful we even got that much.
     
  9. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    That's a show I've never managed to see much of. I guess it falls into that category of Normal-Person-With-A-Weird-Roommate, like My Favorite Martian and I Dream Of jeannie, although in this case the roommate lives in the garage. :rommie:
     
  10. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    I caught a bit of My Mother the Car when Antenna was showing it on Sunday mornings, but it's not currently in their schedule.

    _______

    In case anyone hasn't seen it:
    https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/aretha-franklin-queen-of-soul-gravely-ill.295503/

    _______

    50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

    _______

    Music from Big Pink
    The Band
    Released July 1, 1968
    Chart debut: August 10, 1968
    Chart peak: #30, November 16, 1968
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_from_Big_Pink#Reception
    There's no argument that this album was bringing something new to the table musically, but the nature of its songs was such that I found myself looking more closely at the lyrics and what the songs were about.

    The album opens with "Tears of Rage," written by Bob Dylan and Richard Manuel, an anguished song about a daughter who's gone out to find truth in the counterculture, with a guru, whatever, and is learning some life lessons while her father feels cast aside.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears_of_Rage

    Next up is the more upbeat, Robbie Robertson-penned "To Kingdom Come". It's definitely full of religious imagery, though I generally find the lyrics cryptic. Perhaps it's about being on the inside of that experience of seeking truth in alternative faiths.

    Manuel's "In a Station" slows it down again, but in a less angsty manner than the opening track. I sense a theme here...this definitely seems about searching for meaning, in religion and/or relationships.

    Robertson's "Caledonia Mission," sung by Rick Danko, seems to concern a practitioner of witchcraft who's been imprisoned in some manner, literally or figuratively. It has a good country/funk vibe going in places.

    Side One closes with an uber-classic that surprisingly didn't even crack the Top 40 back in the day:

    "The Weight"

    (Charted Aug. 31, 1968; #63 US; #21 UK; #41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weight
    Sung by Levon Helm with Rick Danko, this song about a weary, increasingly burdened traveler has a great "road vibe". It's said to have been inspired in part by Robertson's experience visiting the American South for the first time.

    Side Two opens with Manuel's "We Can Talk". Featuring Manuel, Helm, and Danko on vocals, it's an uplifting, playful song noteworthy for its organ work and the change of tempo in its middle eight.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Can_Talk

    Next up is "Long Black Veil," a country ballad about a man who allows himself to be convicted of a crime he didn't commit to keep an affair with a married woman secret, which I was already familiar with from Johnny Cash's version on At Folsom Prison. Sung by Danko and written in 1959 by Marijohn Wilkin and Danny Dill, it's the only cover on the album.

    "Chest Fever" has a very distinctive sound that I'd classify as psychedelic rock fused with funk, which makes it stand out from other tracks on the album:

    Written by Robertson and sung by Manuel, it's noteworthy for its organ intro "based on Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor" (Wiki) and another tempo-chaging middle eight.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chest_Fever

    "Lonesome Suzie" is a sorrowful song in which Manuel's strained vocals cross the line into sounding a bit whiny to my ear.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonesome_Suzie
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonesome_Suzie#Theme

    Written by Dylan and Danko, "This Wheel's on Fire" is another of the album's more distinctive numbers, featuring Garth Hudson on Rocksichord:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Wheel's_on_Fire
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Wheel's_on_Fire#Background

    The album closes with the Dylan-written, Manuel-sung "I Shall Be Released":

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shall_Be_Released
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shall_Be_Released#Style_and_content
    I have the same issue here with Manuel's high, whiny vocals; I'm not sure if I've heard Dylan's version, but I prefer to picture him singing it.

    Overall, a well-crafted, enjoyable album that I could see myself putting on some more when my purchases have slowed down to a non-weekly pace.

    _______

    Our next album spotlight will be for a record that didn't make the Rolling Stone list, but happens to be 50th Anniversaryland's latest LP from my second-favorite band: Waiting for the Sun by the Doors.

    _______
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2018
  11. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Yeah, I saw that. She's only 76, a year younger than my Mother. :(

    Very interesting. I knew next to nothing about The Band and their music, although I've always loved "The Weight." Basically, in my little world, they were a one-hit wonder, so I had no idea they were so influential. I'll have to delve into them a bit deeper over the weekend if I can.
     
  12. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    Interesting...I'd have thought you'd be into the Band for the Dylan connection if nothing else. They'd previously toured as his band; they recorded what would later be released as The Basement Tapes with him in the house that some of the members were living in, which the Big Pink album was named for; those sessions sparked the creation of the Big Pink album, which Dylan was going to perform on but ultimately chose to let them "make their own statement"; and he contributed the painting that appears on the album cover!

    They also had one Top 30 single back in the day, 1969's "Up on Cripple Creek" (#25). Its B-side, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," is their other entry on the Rolling Stone 500 Songs list (#245). Their second, eponymous album, which includes those two tracks, is also on the Rolling Stone albums list (#45).

    50th Anniversaryland is now firmly in the era of the schism between singles-based AM radio and album-oriented FM radio; delving a bit more deeply into an act like the Band is a good example of why I decided to broaden my immersive retro to include some choice album selections.
     
  13. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Deification of John is right on point. This is not any disrespect for Lennon's horrible fate, but in a musical talent assessment sense, a tragic death should not have added some grand state of creative credit to his music that was not considered in that way just one day earlier. Its the same with Elvis; the man had some great songs but most of his output (and I've listened to a wide range of Elvis in my time) is just "plug 'n play Elvis style" with nothing distinctive or especially memorable about it, but as of that August night in 1977, suddenly, Elvis's back catalog was treated like unearthed riches from an Egyptian tomb, when he had been largely written off as anything relevant by 1970.

    When talking to fellow Beatles fans over the decades, I have and will always say that and casual look at the creative output of McCartney and Lennon within The Beatles and in the solo years knows who really knew how to write not just "good tunes," but stacks of masterpieces. That was not Lennon.


    I think so.

    Yep.

    That's why I referenced them; their mix of styles would become more common in that next decade, while in the case of Deep Purple in "this" year, it was something innovative (or, successfully taking that next step built on a decade of groups trying to make that perfect blend of rock, R&B/soul / blues).

    Its a great album, and I can sort of hear a sound that early Chicago were using in 1969's Chicago Transit Authority, with songs such as "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Beginnings". Another act that would sort of share this sound was Skylark, the short-lived Canadian group who produced the 1972 hit, "Wildflower", which was as much a soul ballad as it was an extended rock piece.
     
  14. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    I don't believe in countering the deification of John by pretending that he contributed nothing of worth, however. He contributed plenty, to the band and rock history.

    As for Elvis...yeah, he put out a lot of crap, but when he was on his game, he was iconic. And even when he wasn't on his game, he was still iconic in a kitschy way.

    Interesting...that's one that I'd missed while working on my '70s playlists, when my methodology was more loosey-goosey. At this rate, perhaps I'll be getting around to it in 5 years. I don't think it shares the main thing that BS&T and Chicago have in common sonically, though, which is their regular use of horns. From that single, I'd characterize Skylark as '70s Soft Rock.
     
  15. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Yeah, that all pretty much flew under my radar somehow. :rommie:

    Yeah, I like "Up On Cripple Creek," too. I don't think I even knew they did "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
     
  16. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I did not say he did not contribute anything of worth. I'm saying he was not on McCartney's level as a songwriter, which caused increasing tensions within the band. Although the following account has been reported in many publications over the decades, if we're to believe this passage about the making of Sgt. Pepper's from John Robertson's The Complete Guide to The Beatles--

    "Meanwhile, John Lennon was deep in a creative trough. For the first time, Lennon and McCartney appeared--to Lennon, at least--to be in competition rather than on the same side. Since The Beatles had played their final live shows in August, McCartney had been composing--first the musical themes for the film The Family Way, then the songs that would appear on the next Beatles album. Lennon had also been involved in film work, but as an actor in Dick Lester's How I Won the War.
    Required for the part to shed his Beatle locks, he adopted the granny specs that soon became his trademark, stared into the mirror, and wondered what the future might bring for an unemployed Beatle. Back in England at the end of the filming, Lennon regarded McCartney's enthusiasm to get into the studio as a threat. Aware that he was likely to be outnumbered in the songwriting stakes, he raised the emotional barriers and took against the Pepper album from the start."


    That reads as Lennon being aware of his shortcomings compared to McCartney, and did not like Paul's creative ambition for this album (if you read the preface on the chapter on Sgt. Pepper's), a sentiment that would last for the remainder of the band's time together. So, whatever Lennon believed about the differences between his songwriting and that of Paul's the actual output certainly mirrored a pecking order of creative quality. One might argue its all subjective, but its no surprise songs that were either "all" McCartney, or heavily leaning under his direction are likely the most memorable in The Beatles catalog. Again John has some great songs, but he's not the equal (or in some arguments, superior) some rock writers and Yoko Ono claim he was.


    I think most would agree his 1968 comeback was his last moment of being iconic to any degree, but that did not stop both his swarms of fans and the media to treat all of his work--even post 1970 as wonderful the moment he died. Celebrity death occasionally has the tendency to make worshippers forget all failings or mistakes (professional as well as personal) to elevate the deceased as an angel on earth. In Presley's case, I really do not know what would have become of him had he lived, since he was every bit the glittery Vegas attraction he's (almost) best known for as a performer, lacking the edge he once held when rock music was young and still found him daring.


    Soft rock? Hmm...
     
  17. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    To be fair, I just read it all on Wiki.


    As for Elvis and how he was regarded after death...today is the 41st anniversary of that occasion. On such a day, it's only natural to err on the side of paying tribute to the King.







    _______

    The September episode of Decades Presents 1968, airing Monday the 3rd, will be "Television".
    Umm...only one of those shows debuted in 1968....
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2018
  18. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That was humor, but the book quote says much about what Lennon thought about his own ability and McCartney's.

    Personally, I think "Kentucky Rain" is his best song. Its earthy and full of heart. No showy "Elvis-isms".

    Yeah, that was a very inaccurate list. I dont have Decades, but I would hope their look at the Class of 1968 would include Land of the Giants, Adam-12, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, The Batman/Superman Hour and other memorable series.
     
  19. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    John and Paul were always competitors as well as partners, and it's well-documented in Beatles lore that John's ego and motivation were at a low point in 1967, and that Paul had assumed de facto leadership of the band. That was a temporary dynamic and doesn't serve as a representative snapshot of John's role throughout the lifetime of the group. Pepper was Paul's baby, and John was the first to tell anyone that. And he still managed to give us "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "A Day in the Life," "All You Need Is Love," and "I Am the Walrus" in that year.
     
  20. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    They were certainly very different talents, both in terms of temperament and style. Paul was a performance artist and John was a poet, so I personally like them for very different reasons. And, really, as far as the spark of creativity goes, both of them faded fairly quickly after the Beatles ended.

    Death has a way of doing that to most people. When it comes to Elvis, I think his later years are more forgiven than celebrated, as one would a brother or uncle. For whatever perfect storm of reasons, Elvis is pure Americana.

    Ah, Wiki is truly a wonderful thing. :rommie: