This is interesting that he's (Elton John) on this Rolling Stone list, because he's on this one, too.
The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread
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This is interesting that he's (Elton John) on this Rolling Stone list, because he's on this one, too.
55th Anniversary Fly-on-the-Wall Listening
Some final excerpts from the Revolver sessions (April 28 and 29, 1966):
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50th Anniversary Viewing Revisited
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The Mod Squad
"The King of Empty Cups"
Originally aired January 20, 1970
The episode opens with the singing idol, Quinn (Noel Harrison), performing from a stair landing at a TV-scale club that's too brightly lit for using a strobe light. Cut to the Mods sitting on the floor of Julie's pad listening to his record when Greer comes knocking with Chief Metcalf. They inform the Mods of a missing 18-year-old girl--Elizabeth Metcalf (Renne Jarrett).
The Mods try to stay awake as Metcalf shows them a home movie in his office, of Elizabeth at a family cookout with a fiance who went missing in Vietnam, following which she left home. Metcalf is able to point the squad to a male friend, Grant (actor apparently uncredited), who's also a vet as well as a dirt biker. He says that he introduced her to musician Chet Nichols (Heber C. Jentzsch) at a folk concert. Julie scopes him out, learns that Elizabeth had a thing for hooking up with musicians, and is pointed in the direction of a music columnist named Allan (Clive Clerk). The Mods meet with him at the club where Quinn's been playing. He knows Elizabeth as Fig, who's now a member of Quinn's entourage. Julie goes to the mansion that Quinn's using as his pad, which is occupied by stoned hippies living in squalid conditions, amusing themselves by firing a gun inside, reading Tarot cards, and such. Julie finds Fig very stoned on meth in the kitchen.
Greer tries to explain to Metcalf that it'll take time to extract her from that situation...which the chief doesn't understand, as Greer hasn't told him that she's hooked on drugs. (This is the tree.) Julie keeps hanging around Quinn's place, and after his lighting guy is nabbed by the police doing a drug deal, she gets Pete and Linc in as his replacements for the lighting part. At rehearsal, Julie finds that Fig is totally committed to Quinn despite his infidelity. Metcalf shows up unexpectedly to confront Elizabeth, finds the marks on her arm, and Pete and Linc have to drag him outside to stop him from attacking Quinn. In a very sloppy bit of TV cop investigative business, the Mods are now undercover in the presence of Allan, who already met them when they came around asking questions.
Cut to a shouting match between Greer and Metcalf in Metcalf's office with the Mods in attendance; they help explain that Elizabeth has to be won back. Following an idea of Linc's, the Mods read Gary's letters to Elizabeth from 'Nam. Back at Quinn's pad, Linc quotes from the letters, leading her to believe that he's a war buddy of Gary's, and tries to talk her into getting help. But in the other room, Allan turns Quinn on to his well-founded suspicion that the Mods are cops working for Metcalf. Just as Linc's convinced Elizabeth to walk out the door with him, Quinn and Allan blow his cover.
Metcalf wants to have his boys move in, and Greer and the Mods are at a loss for an alternative at this point. At the house, Quinn announces that he and Elizabeth are going to be getting married. This leads to a fight with the Tarot card reader, Dinny (Anne Randall), and as the police are arriving, they hear shots being fired. It turns out that the insanely jealous Dinny blew away everyone in the place...except Elizabeth, who was upstairs and is found outside standing on the balcony railing. Linc runs up and talks her down while Metcalf, Greer, Pete, and Julie watch from below.
In the coda, a clean and sober Elizabeth thanks the Mods at what used to be Quinn's pad, unable to believe what she'd been six months earlier. As they're leaving, another starstruck groupie (Pegi Boucher, I presume) arrives wanting to scope the place out, and the Mods try to tell her there's nothing in there before letting her go on to make her own mistakes while doing their walk-off with Elizabeth.
I sure hope that Linc got a raise after this one!
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The Mod Squad
"The Exile"
Originally aired February 3, 1970
The episode opens at Julie's college with older student Ari Nassal (Nico Minardos) trying to persuade his professors of the need for social reform in the Middle East; Julie, who's clearly quite taken with him, invites him to her place, though he's reluctant as that sort of thing is still too progressive for him. They do end up cuddling, but are interrupted by a call from Pete about him and Linc working on Julie's tax audit; she cuts it short and they make out despite Ari's hesitancy to get involved at the time. Meanwhile, Consulate General Fohgib (David Hurst) informs an aide, Major Sarif (Lawrence Dane), that Nassal may need to be dealt with. Fohgib describes how there's some unrest happening back in Mahadi, and assigns a man named Hakim (Ben Aliza) to bring Nassal in. Hakim goes to Ari's packing heat and Ari TV Fus him, then splits with a suitcase.
The guys later go to Julie's to continue their work, but can tell that something else is on her mind. Ari calls asking about someplace he can hide that's not her place, so she calls her friend Diane (good continuity, assuming she's meant to be the same one) to arrange the use of a beach house. Pete's about to call Greer when Greer calls with an emergency, and Pete makes an excuse for Julie not being able to come in. Greer assigns the guys to find Ari, eventually breaking down and revealing that he's Prince Ben-Ari Hassan, in the States studying incognito. Ari is believed to be in danger because of a power struggle between the monarchy and the prime minister. The guys question one of his professors (James Sikking) and learn that Ari knows Julie. At the beach house, Ari has Julie make a coded call to Major Sarif, who hides it from Hakim. Ari tells Julie that he's arranging to travel to Switzerland, and asks her to come with him. Then the on-duty Mods arrive, he hides, they ask about him, and she learns that he's a Your Highness.
Ari convinces the Mods to help him get out his way, in order to evade the PM-loyal consulate...which is who State Department official John Sands (Byron Morrow) and Greer are reporting to, such that Greer even traces the number of the beach house for Hakim. Back at the house, Julie's torn about the prospect of leaving the country with Ari. Then Sarif calls to inform Ari about radio reports of his father's assassination. Greer gives Hakim the beach house's address, then calls the place himself on a hunch and gets Pete, who pretends not to know him and hangs up. (This is the apple.) Sarif arrives to take Ari to a helicopter, and Hakim shows up to attempt an old-fashioned drive-by shooting, which turns into a firefight in which Sarif is hit. The Mods try to escape with the Prince and end up in a tussle; then Greer shows up to escort the prince safely. By now Fohgib is on the scene, and accuses the prince of having his father killed and making it look like the prime minister was responsible. Julie presses Ari, but he won't let her see some related documents that Sands just gave him, and he admits that he was planning to go back to his country all along, not Switzerland. The final straw is placed when he tells Julie that she doesn't need to know these things because she's just a woman!
In the coda, the male Mods are telling Julie about how Ari has enacted "autocratic socialism" in Mahadi, which involves lots of jailings. Linc drops the "power corrupts" quote, and Julie asserts that she loved him nevertheless. She goes out to tearfully stare at the surf, then walks...on, I guess, back toward the beach house and the waiting guys.
I liked the twist here of Ari not being the good guy, which I did not see coming.
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And that's all the Mod Squad that I have for now, which puts me solidly about 2/3 of the way through Season 2; the only episode past this point that I've already reviewed is the clip show, which is a few episodes after these.
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Some final excerpts from the Revolver sessions (April 28 and 29, 1966):
_______
50th Anniversary Viewing Revisited
_______
The Mod Squad
"The King of Empty Cups"
Originally aired January 20, 1970
Wiki said:
The episode opens with the singing idol, Quinn (Noel Harrison), performing from a stair landing at a TV-scale club that's too brightly lit for using a strobe light. Cut to the Mods sitting on the floor of Julie's pad listening to his record when Greer comes knocking with Chief Metcalf. They inform the Mods of a missing 18-year-old girl--Elizabeth Metcalf (Renne Jarrett).
The Mods try to stay awake as Metcalf shows them a home movie in his office, of Elizabeth at a family cookout with a fiance who went missing in Vietnam, following which she left home. Metcalf is able to point the squad to a male friend, Grant (actor apparently uncredited), who's also a vet as well as a dirt biker. He says that he introduced her to musician Chet Nichols (Heber C. Jentzsch) at a folk concert. Julie scopes him out, learns that Elizabeth had a thing for hooking up with musicians, and is pointed in the direction of a music columnist named Allan (Clive Clerk). The Mods meet with him at the club where Quinn's been playing. He knows Elizabeth as Fig, who's now a member of Quinn's entourage. Julie goes to the mansion that Quinn's using as his pad, which is occupied by stoned hippies living in squalid conditions, amusing themselves by firing a gun inside, reading Tarot cards, and such. Julie finds Fig very stoned on meth in the kitchen.
Greer tries to explain to Metcalf that it'll take time to extract her from that situation...which the chief doesn't understand, as Greer hasn't told him that she's hooked on drugs. (This is the tree.) Julie keeps hanging around Quinn's place, and after his lighting guy is nabbed by the police doing a drug deal, she gets Pete and Linc in as his replacements for the lighting part. At rehearsal, Julie finds that Fig is totally committed to Quinn despite his infidelity. Metcalf shows up unexpectedly to confront Elizabeth, finds the marks on her arm, and Pete and Linc have to drag him outside to stop him from attacking Quinn. In a very sloppy bit of TV cop investigative business, the Mods are now undercover in the presence of Allan, who already met them when they came around asking questions.
Cut to a shouting match between Greer and Metcalf in Metcalf's office with the Mods in attendance; they help explain that Elizabeth has to be won back. Following an idea of Linc's, the Mods read Gary's letters to Elizabeth from 'Nam. Back at Quinn's pad, Linc quotes from the letters, leading her to believe that he's a war buddy of Gary's, and tries to talk her into getting help. But in the other room, Allan turns Quinn on to his well-founded suspicion that the Mods are cops working for Metcalf. Just as Linc's convinced Elizabeth to walk out the door with him, Quinn and Allan blow his cover.
Metcalf wants to have his boys move in, and Greer and the Mods are at a loss for an alternative at this point. At the house, Quinn announces that he and Elizabeth are going to be getting married. This leads to a fight with the Tarot card reader, Dinny (Anne Randall), and as the police are arriving, they hear shots being fired. It turns out that the insanely jealous Dinny blew away everyone in the place...except Elizabeth, who was upstairs and is found outside standing on the balcony railing. Linc runs up and talks her down while Metcalf, Greer, Pete, and Julie watch from below.
In the coda, a clean and sober Elizabeth thanks the Mods at what used to be Quinn's pad, unable to believe what she'd been six months earlier. As they're leaving, another starstruck groupie (Pegi Boucher, I presume) arrives wanting to scope the place out, and the Mods try to tell her there's nothing in there before letting her go on to make her own mistakes while doing their walk-off with Elizabeth.
I sure hope that Linc got a raise after this one!
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The Mod Squad
"The Exile"
Originally aired February 3, 1970
Wiki said:
The episode opens at Julie's college with older student Ari Nassal (Nico Minardos) trying to persuade his professors of the need for social reform in the Middle East; Julie, who's clearly quite taken with him, invites him to her place, though he's reluctant as that sort of thing is still too progressive for him. They do end up cuddling, but are interrupted by a call from Pete about him and Linc working on Julie's tax audit; she cuts it short and they make out despite Ari's hesitancy to get involved at the time. Meanwhile, Consulate General Fohgib (David Hurst) informs an aide, Major Sarif (Lawrence Dane), that Nassal may need to be dealt with. Fohgib describes how there's some unrest happening back in Mahadi, and assigns a man named Hakim (Ben Aliza) to bring Nassal in. Hakim goes to Ari's packing heat and Ari TV Fus him, then splits with a suitcase.
The guys later go to Julie's to continue their work, but can tell that something else is on her mind. Ari calls asking about someplace he can hide that's not her place, so she calls her friend Diane (good continuity, assuming she's meant to be the same one) to arrange the use of a beach house. Pete's about to call Greer when Greer calls with an emergency, and Pete makes an excuse for Julie not being able to come in. Greer assigns the guys to find Ari, eventually breaking down and revealing that he's Prince Ben-Ari Hassan, in the States studying incognito. Ari is believed to be in danger because of a power struggle between the monarchy and the prime minister. The guys question one of his professors (James Sikking) and learn that Ari knows Julie. At the beach house, Ari has Julie make a coded call to Major Sarif, who hides it from Hakim. Ari tells Julie that he's arranging to travel to Switzerland, and asks her to come with him. Then the on-duty Mods arrive, he hides, they ask about him, and she learns that he's a Your Highness.
Ari convinces the Mods to help him get out his way, in order to evade the PM-loyal consulate...which is who State Department official John Sands (Byron Morrow) and Greer are reporting to, such that Greer even traces the number of the beach house for Hakim. Back at the house, Julie's torn about the prospect of leaving the country with Ari. Then Sarif calls to inform Ari about radio reports of his father's assassination. Greer gives Hakim the beach house's address, then calls the place himself on a hunch and gets Pete, who pretends not to know him and hangs up. (This is the apple.) Sarif arrives to take Ari to a helicopter, and Hakim shows up to attempt an old-fashioned drive-by shooting, which turns into a firefight in which Sarif is hit. The Mods try to escape with the Prince and end up in a tussle; then Greer shows up to escort the prince safely. By now Fohgib is on the scene, and accuses the prince of having his father killed and making it look like the prime minister was responsible. Julie presses Ari, but he won't let her see some related documents that Sands just gave him, and he admits that he was planning to go back to his country all along, not Switzerland. The final straw is placed when he tells Julie that she doesn't need to know these things because she's just a woman!
In the coda, the male Mods are telling Julie about how Ari has enacted "autocratic socialism" in Mahadi, which involves lots of jailings. Linc drops the "power corrupts" quote, and Julie asserts that she loved him nevertheless. She goes out to tearfully stare at the surf, then walks...on, I guess, back toward the beach house and the waiting guys.
I liked the twist here of Ari not being the good guy, which I did not see coming.
_______
And that's all the Mod Squad that I have for now, which puts me solidly about 2/3 of the way through Season 2; the only episode past this point that I've already reviewed is the clip show, which is a few episodes after these.
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Pretty meh bit of modestly charting pop. But better than Donny Osmand!
Not one of her more memorable covers of a song that already had a definitive version.
Definitely one of the highlights of his solo career.
I understand that this one is considered problematic under current social mores, but godammit, it makes the short list of definitive Stones songs.There we go! This one needs a higher number.
He was trying to make it sound like the Everlys, not him.
Number, please?
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Mod Squad titles are a mixed bag, but that's a good one.
Wouldn't that require a warrant or something?
She knew it! She knew it!
Whoa. That took a turn for the horrific. How many?
"I never lied to you before."
Do they ever broach the subject of adding new Mods?
Do they actually get paid, or is this just community service?
Back to boring.
She goes to college while fighting crimes undercover? Alias, thirty years early.
He's progressing.
We may be on to an explanation for her absences.
I took three years of Incognito in high school. I can speak it like a native.
Also Hill Street Blues, plus that martinet captain of Excelsior.
Hard to separate the illusion from the person, even in retrospect.
Overall, a good story.
Faint praise.
But this one has Diana's voice.
Everything's problematic under current social mores.
Hmm, yeah.
50th Anniversary Cinematic Special Revisited
Kelly's Heroes
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, and Donald Sutherland
Released June 23, 1970
This one I caught around the holidays, and it was waiting in line behind A Boy Named Charlie Brown for its write-up, in the middle of a particularly heavy TV viewing season with other stuff going on.
The opening song, "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation (which got to #34 on the Hot 100 in March 1971), sounds very contemporaneous with the film rather than period-evocative:
As Wiki pages for films tend to have detailed plot descriptions, I think I'll let them do some of the heavy lifting for me.
Kelly also brings in Mulligan for a diversion. Crapgame is the one who works up an estimate for the value of the gold cache.
As I'd read, Sgt. Oddball is distractingly 1970 hippie, including the use of phrases like "dig" and "negative/positive waves"; his unit is detached because he hasn't reported the death of its commanding officer.
Oddball brings a substantially larger armored force than Kelly's unit accounted for, having enlisted the help of SSgt. Bellamy (Len Lesser)...which comes at the price of potentially splitting the loot a lot more ways.
Stuart Margolin plays Pvt. Little Joe, one of the men in the unit who didn't do anything noteworthy enough to make the Wiki plot description or my notes.
From what I read on Wiki, professional reviewers of the day were pretty hung up on the violence and pyrotechnics, which don't seem at all excessive by modern standards.
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Kelly's Heroes
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, and Donald Sutherland
Released June 23, 1970
Wiki said:
This one I caught around the holidays, and it was waiting in line behind A Boy Named Charlie Brown for its write-up, in the middle of a particularly heavy TV viewing season with other stuff going on.
The opening song, "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation (which got to #34 on the Hot 100 in March 1971), sounds very contemporaneous with the film rather than period-evocative:
As Wiki pages for films tend to have detailed plot descriptions, I think I'll let them do some of the heavy lifting for me.
The division coming under accidental friendly fire from a 1st Sgt. Mulligan (George Savalas) was a very Vietnamesque touch.The Wiki plot description said:
The intelligence that Big Joe is most interested in are the best hotel and whorehouse in the town they're planning to occupy. The oblivious Capt. Maitland is preoccupied with "liberating" a private boat.
Kelly also brings in Mulligan for a diversion. Crapgame is the one who works up an estimate for the value of the gold cache.
As I'd read, Sgt. Oddball is distractingly 1970 hippie, including the use of phrases like "dig" and "negative/positive waves"; his unit is detached because he hasn't reported the death of its commanding officer.
A perhaps overstretched explanation for what I'll agree was likely a deliberate nod, given the title of the film.A different section of the Wiki page said:
The unit has to leave the bodies behind. Oddball's tanks have speakers that blast music when they're in combat, though it's not clear from where the music is originating...Armed Forces Radio? One of his crew is Moriarty (immediately pre-MTM Gavin MacLeod).The Wiki plot description said:
Maj. Gen. Colt is played by Carroll O'Connor, whom we're presumably catching between the pilots and regular production of All in the Family here. He's sporting very similar mannerisms in this role. He's introduced earlier in the story when he discovers that his aerial photographs of the town code-named Nancy (the destination of Kelly's unit) have come up missing (absconded by Oddball). He picks up the heist unit's radio transmissions, enthusiastically embraces their effort without knowing who they are or what they're really after, and leads reinforcements.
Oddball brings a substantially larger armored force than Kelly's unit accounted for, having enlisted the help of SSgt. Bellamy (Len Lesser)...which comes at the price of potentially splitting the loot a lot more ways.
Oddball is put off to learn belatedly of the Tiger tanks. But the noise of the German tanks running, in addition to the diversion of a scouting team ringing the village's church bells, serves as audio cover for the approach of Oddball's unit. The sneak attack commences with many of the infantrymen in embedded positions. There are some comic setbacks, such as Oddball getting a shot on a Tiger from behind, but finding that his cannon is still loaded with paint from wargame exercises; and the Tiger being unable to swivel its gun around because of the tightness of the alley.
Meanwhile, Colt has arrived, full of compliments and promises of medals, while Bellamy has to pretend for his benefit that their unit is engaged in a legitimate assault.A different section of the Wiki page said:
The looting of the bank is intercut with scenes of celebrations in the streets about the liberation of the town, which seems unrealistically sudden but serves as a distraction for the heist. Oddball rides out in one of the Tigers, which he's bought. Colt soaks up the attention of the townspeople while the heist team slips out with their loot.The Wiki plot description said:
Stuart Margolin plays Pvt. Little Joe, one of the men in the unit who didn't do anything noteworthy enough to make the Wiki plot description or my notes.
From what I read on Wiki, professional reviewers of the day were pretty hung up on the violence and pyrotechnics, which don't seem at all excessive by modern standards.
A different section of the Wiki page said:
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If they're in Metcalf's house?
"Go ahead, feel free to search the place. Say, Adam, who are these kids anyway?"
"The less you know, the better!"
"The less you know, the better!"
Three or four including Quinn; the regular hangers-on included another female follower listed on IMDb as Fat Elmira (Barbara Shannon) and an apparently uncredited guy who was always lying around listening to tapes with headphones. I don't recall if Allan was there at the time.
Now that you mention it, he did pull the "certain point of view" bit when he had to backpedal on her assumption that he'd been a war buddy of her fiance's. Some bullshit about how he did know the man, through his letters.
Not that I've caught. I nominate Pepe--bring a new age bracket into their cases!
You'd think they do, but that raises a good question. What we saw of Julie's tax audit business included income she made while undercover as a waitress, which I think she said she'd donated to a police fund or somesuch.Do they actually get paid, or is this just community service?
I assume she's taking classes at least part time. We've seen her in class before while not undercover, including the psychic episode.
Ah, didn't realize that.
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Wow...well, the people who contributed to the RS albums list (at least the original 2003 version, which is what I go by) definitely don't agree with the reviewer being quoted. Elton has six albums on the list, including the eponymous 1970 album, which I covered here somewhere upthread.
Well, I've heard of this movie but apparently I knew absolutely nothing about it, because this is all new to me. It seems very strange. A straightforward, somewhat serious plot, but played as a comedy of errors, lots of anachronisms and some satire, but no suggestion of an anti-war message, although there is an anti-establishment message since they get away with the heist. It seems like it may have started out as one thing and went in a different direction-- possibly because of the success of M*A*S*H.
I was going to say I've never seen Don Rickles in a serious role, but something is tickling the back of my mind-- an episode of a Horror anthology, I think.
Yeah, but they're the kid's property, and private correspondence. Kind of bad form, at the least.
"I felt like I knew him, in a spiritual way."
Pepe is when I started thinking about it, actually. He would have made a good sidekick.
Maybe they just didn't think it through. They must get some kind of stipend to live on. Maybe the project budget pays for their pads.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
He was in 'Casino' with De Niro, a great movie which led to the following appearing some years later....
I'd say that it was perhaps something of a dark comedy...generally played in a lighthearted manner, but with some serious moments. I'm not sure that MASH would have been much of an influence, as this came out only months later.
I'm sure they must have salaries. They're just undercover cops.
Ah, he always makes me laugh.
By the way, the Horror thing I was thinking of was the ventriloquist episode of Tales From The Crypt.Yeah, it was a popular approach at the time. It was mainly the presence of Donald Sutherland that made me wonder that.
I wasn't clear on that. I thought it was some kind of rehabilitation program. Did they actually go through the academy and whatever?
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Released November 23, 1970
Chart debut: February 6, 1971
Chart peak: #8 (April 17, 1971)
#206 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003)
While this proved to be Stevens's breakout album in the States, he'd enjoyed some chart success in England going back to 1967. The album was produced by former Yardbirds bass player Paul Samwell-Smith. It opens on an environmentally conscious note with "Where Do the Children Play?":
Next is "Hard Headed Woman," said to be one of Stevens's best-known songs that wasn't a single:
Following that is his breakout hit, "Wild World" (charted Feb. 13, 1971; #11 US; #21 AC):
Reportedly the strings-and-piano-laden "Sad Lisa" is about Stevens's own struggle with depression.
The first side closes with "Miles from Nowhere":
Side two opens with the first of two songs that clock under two minutes, "But I Might Die Tonight," which was reportedly written for the 1970 film Deep End.
"Longer Boats" was inspired by the UFO phenomenon, with Stevens once having claimed to have seen one, though he later retracted that story.
"Into White," according to a quote from Stevens, is about "when I’m in my very naive child-like state where I just let anything come into my head and let it out." He reportedly indicated that both this song and "On the Road to Find Out" are about "our search for freedom and purity," with the latter also being about his "hunger for spiritual balance".
"Father and Son" (#51 UK) was written for a musical about the Russian Revolution that didn't pan out.
The album closes with its title track, "Tea for the Tillerman," a song fragment that clocks in at just over a minute.
Honestly, I found this one to be a bit boring. I can take Cat Stevens in small doses; an entire album is a bit much. The music is pretty, but doesn't really grab me.
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Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Released November 23, 1970
Chart debut: February 6, 1971
Chart peak: #8 (April 17, 1971)
#206 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003)
Wiki said:
While this proved to be Stevens's breakout album in the States, he'd enjoyed some chart success in England going back to 1967. The album was produced by former Yardbirds bass player Paul Samwell-Smith. It opens on an environmentally conscious note with "Where Do the Children Play?":
Next is "Hard Headed Woman," said to be one of Stevens's best-known songs that wasn't a single:
A Genius contributor said:
Following that is his breakout hit, "Wild World" (charted Feb. 13, 1971; #11 US; #21 AC):
According to other sources, Yusuf said in 2009 that the song wasn't about D'Arbanville at all, but rather about his own return to the music world after his 1969 bout with tuberculosis.Wiki said:
Songfacts said:
Reportedly the strings-and-piano-laden "Sad Lisa" is about Stevens's own struggle with depression.
The first side closes with "Miles from Nowhere":
A Genius contributor said:
Side two opens with the first of two songs that clock under two minutes, "But I Might Die Tonight," which was reportedly written for the 1970 film Deep End.
A Genius contributor said:
"Longer Boats" was inspired by the UFO phenomenon, with Stevens once having claimed to have seen one, though he later retracted that story.
Cat Stevens said:
"Into White," according to a quote from Stevens, is about "when I’m in my very naive child-like state where I just let anything come into my head and let it out." He reportedly indicated that both this song and "On the Road to Find Out" are about "our search for freedom and purity," with the latter also being about his "hunger for spiritual balance".
"Father and Son" (#51 UK) was written for a musical about the Russian Revolution that didn't pan out.
Wiki said:
The album closes with its title track, "Tea for the Tillerman," a song fragment that clocks in at just over a minute.
Honestly, I found this one to be a bit boring. I can take Cat Stevens in small doses; an entire album is a bit much. The music is pretty, but doesn't really grab me.
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Y'know, that's a good question. I remember Greer personally training them in the pilot; but I never got the impression that they went the traditional route. They do have police IDs, though.
Strangely, I don't think I've ever heard it.
Now this is a great song. One of those kick-back Sunday-morning songs.
I find this dubious, unless he's saying it was a subconscious thing.
He must be awaiting the Air Force's June report with bated breath.
It's kind of interesting that a Cat Stevens song has the same plot as "Architects of Fear" and Watchmen. And it's ironic that he is warning us against "adopting inherited wisdoms from people who claimed to be masters of the high, moral ground."I can understand that. There's a few singles that I like, but I somehow don't connect them-- I never had the urge to investigate his work at all.
They've been deputized.
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50th Anniversary Viewing Revisited
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Ironside
"A Killing at the Track"
Originally aired February 4, 1971
The team is enjoying a day at the races in a cushy boxed seating area when Mark notices that the jockey of his horse, Easy Jack, is holding back; the jockey then falls off the horse, which is the third time such an incident has happened in the last month. The Chief doesn't care because his horse won, but afterward Commissioner Randall brings Bill O'Brien (Dana Elcar), head of the racing board, to the Cave requesting an investigation. That there was no obvious cause, and that each thrown jockey was riding a favorite, causes them to suspect foul play. The Chief visits the jockey, Mike Yeager (Joel Grey), at the hospital, though he wasn't seriously injured. This is the second time he's taken a fall, and he responds very defensively to Ironside's questions. After the Chief leaves, Yeager responds with equal hostility to the concerns of his wife, Marcia (Sherry Lansing--whom IMDb says is 5' 10", so it's interesting that they cast her as the wife of a jockey, though they don't make anything of it visually). Back at the Cave, Ironside runs down that all of the horses who won in these incidents were long shots from the stable of a Scott Bradley, who happens to be an old flame of Eve's.
Eve arranges to run into Scott--Hey, hey, it's Ron Ely! Where ya been, jungle man? If I hadn't seen his name in the credits, I might not have recognized him with his clothes on. Anyway, Bradley's dining with another jockey, Al Cochran (Frank Corsentino), at the time; and ends up making a date with Eve. Meanwhile, the track's vet (Karl Swenson) determines that Easy Jack wasn't drugged, and couldn't have been switched with a ringer, though the Chief is suspicious of how the systems preventing these things may have been circumvented. Then Mrs. Yeager, who's been wanting her husband to get out of jockeying, talks to Ironside, and turns him on to the fact that Yeager's been popping tranquilizers. A lab technician (Don Ross) determines that Yeager's tranq has been laced with a hallucinogen.
The Chief narrows in on a horse from Bradley's stable that's likely to be the next surprise winner, Pesadilla, and wants O'Brien to start talking the horse up as a potential winner. To that end, Eve goads Scott and Al, who's riding the horse, into demonstrating what she can really do, while witnesses are present, including the vet and his assistant (Al Hopson). The likely winner of the race is Tiny Oscar, whose jockey is replaced at the last minute by Yeager.
The Chief confronts Yeager about his tranq having been drugged without his knowledge, and speculates that another method may have been used on the previous occasion. To that end he advises Yeager not to eat or drink anything before the race...thus it's particularly conspicuous when Al offers him gum as they're preparing to ride. When Yeager starts to feel woozy while riding, he remembers the Chief's advice, takes the gum out, and finishes to win the race. In the coda, it's determined that the gum was drugged, and that Al and a couple of other jockeys were the culprits in the scheme. Eve continues to see Scott.
_______
Adam-12
"Log 36: Man Between"
Originally aired February 4, 1971
Reed files his report before roll call, and explains the situation to Pete in the break room. Wells ribs Reed for falling for the con. On patrol, Reed and Malloy see two men (presumably Squire Fridell and Tom Stebing, though I didn't catch their character names being dropped) fighting over a grocery bag. The men try to run when the officers ask to see what's in it; it turns out to be a potted marijuana plant.
Back on patrol, they almost hit a woman (Peggy Webber) who's running frantically across the street; she tries desperately to get into a closed bank, then tells them that she needs $1,000 or someone will kill her baby. The woman, Mary Grant, explains that her infant is being held by her brother, an escaped mental patient. The officers call in Mac and more units, and they make plans to go into the house over a floorplan on the pull-out board in the back of Mac's wagon. Reed and Malloy sneak in the back door wearing bulletproof vests and locate the room with the playpen, where they find the man playing solitaire, a rifle within reach. Malloy gets the drop on him while Reed runs in and extracts the baby.
Heading to the station for a seven, Reed stops to pick up a newspaper, and the newsboy (Chris Hundley) sells him one that's a day old; Wells humiliates him about it back in the break room.
After dark the officers are assigned to investigate unknown trouble involving shots fired. At the home, they find a Spanish-speaking woman crying and cowering behind armchair. Mrs. Martinez (Solica) tells them that somebody took three shots at her from outside. While Malloy is getting more out of her, Wells and Reed check the backyard, where a man hiding in bushes tries to run. They subdue and arrest him, and Wells assumes he's the shooter. The man, Raul Gonzales (Efrain Ramirez), says that he was just taking his usual shortcut through the lawn. Reed believes him, and Wells accuses Reed of waiting for the Great Pumpkin on Halloween! Meanwhile, Malloy has learned from Mrs. Martinez that the shooter was her drunk husband, Carlos. Outside, he comes out of hiding (Bert Santos) with a gun and threatens to shoot Reed; but Malloy sneaks up on him from behind and they disarm him. Back at HQ, Wells admits to having been wrong after getting chewed out for not at least taking his suspect in to see Mrs. Martinez.
_______
The Partridge Family
"To Play or Not to Play"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
The family arrives late for a gig at the Village Quarter, which Danny considers to be an important venue; and Laurie runs into an old school friend, Marc (Michael Lembeck), who works in the club's kitchen. They also meet the owner, Marino (Harvey Lembeck), who presses them into doing a rehearsal, where they play "There's No Doubt in My Mind":
The kitchen crew come out to watch, and Marino gets into an argument with them. Marc leads them in walking out to go on a strike in the middle of the song. Outside, Marc explains their grievances with Martino to Laurie, who decides that she won't cross the line to play. (The family is staying in the Village Inn hotel across the street.) Shirley and Danny go to talk to Martino and he tries to strongarm them, getting on Shirley's bad side.
Danny looks into both sides of the issue, finding that it's a matter of exploitation vs. lack of respect for authority. He brings Marc in to negotiate with Marino, locking them in until they reach an agreement. Shirley and Reuben go to see Marino themselves and find that Danny's already making great progress. Cut to the band performing "Umbrella Man" in the restaurant, the crew watching from the kitchen.
The family departs with Marc enjoying his newly negotiated rights by taking a scheduled break to see them off.
_______
That Girl
"That Shoplifter"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
Ann is working in a department store PA announcement booth when a man (Jerry Hausner) overhears her mentioning being an actress while talking to Donald, and approaches her to do some shoplifting for him. Ann explains to Donald at Nino's that Mr. Baxter said he was the head of security and wants her to help him test the place. She rehearses for her new role at home, demonstrating her techniques to Donald. She then takes her act to the store, and meets Baxter in the agreed-upon storeroom with her merchandise. She continues each day using new methods, though she occasionally has to explain things like why she's pushing a baby carriage to the uniformed security guard, Jim--Begorrah, 'tis Stafford Repp himself! But eventually she's present when Jim is approached by the real, much younger Mr. Baxter (Mat Reitz), and realizes that she's actually been stealing.
When she tells Donald, he comes up with the idea of nabbing Fake Baxter and turning him in to Real Baxter. But when she brings Donald to the storeroom, Fake Bax doesn't show, opting instead to pop up at Ann's apartment later. He explains that he's Walter Harrison, the store's forcibly retired former head of security, and that he needs her to continue helping him to prove that he's still needed so he can get his job back. She goes to her boss, Mr. Dawson (George Ives), to explain what happened and try to get Harrison his job back, only to learn that Baxter has been head of security for years, and that Harrison is an infamous thief. Because he's used this method before, she doesn't get arrested or lose her job.
"Oh, Donald" count: 7
"Oh, Mr. Dawson" count: 1
_______
Love, American Style
"Love and the Arctic Station / Love and the Pulitzer Prize Baby / Love and the Tattoo"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
In "Love and the Pulitzer Prize Baby," famous actress Michelle Turner (Leslie Parrish) visits Pulitzer-winning author Ralph Morrison (Roger Perry) to proposition him to father a child who would have his brains and her looks. He agrees, to the disapproval of his mother (Nancy Walker), who learns the name of the hunting lodge where the weekend rendezvous is to take place. The couple of opportunity check into the place in the middle of a snowstorm as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, to the suspicion of the Bible-thumping desk clerk (Will Geer). He gives them a cabin anyway, but once they're alone with their brass bed, Michelle starts feeling awkward about it on the basis that they've gotten to know each other too well during the ride and may have fallen in love. Meanwhile, Mrs. Morrison shows up asking about them, and the desk clerk learns that they're really sinners after all. He and Mrs. M hatch a scheme that involves him starting a fire without opening the draft to try to lure Ralph into a bear trap that he sets, and her paying them a visit dressed as a bear (likely somebody else in a costume with a moving bear mouth, with Nancy Walker's voice coming out). But Mrs. M learns that before she arrived, Ralph and Michelle took a drive and got married.
"Love and the Tattoo" involves Ken (Gary Collins) and Phyllis (Stefanie Powers), an engaged couple who've never been intimate. She wants to get on with consummating their relationship now, but he says that he swore that he'd save himself until marriage. Back at his place, however, he and his roommate, Homer (Dick Van Patten), are desperately trying to remove a chest tattoo that he got in the Navy with an old flame's name on it. They call in a tattoo artist, Salvatore (Vito Scotti), but he won't touch it when he discovers that it's the work of a famed master in the trade. Meanwhile, Phyllis shares her concerns with her roommate, Barbara (Pamela Rodgers), and after Phyllis realizes that she's never seen Ken's chest they try to come up with a way to make him take off his shirt. At the couple's next date at Phyllis's place, she comes on strong and starts trying to get his shirt off, while he stalls. He eventually decides to let her have her way, but with the lights off; but she wants to see his chest, so she turns them back on and he makes an excuse to suddenly leave. She comes by his place later to give him back his ring, and he confesses to having the tattoo...which she doesn't mind that much, because she was afraid there was something wrong with his body. Cut to the wedding night on their brass bed, when we find that they've had "ERNA" edited to "Phyllis--EtERNAlly, Ken".
_______
50th Anniversary Viewing Revisited
_______
Ironside
"A Killing at the Track"
Originally aired February 4, 1971
Wiki said:
The team is enjoying a day at the races in a cushy boxed seating area when Mark notices that the jockey of his horse, Easy Jack, is holding back; the jockey then falls off the horse, which is the third time such an incident has happened in the last month. The Chief doesn't care because his horse won, but afterward Commissioner Randall brings Bill O'Brien (Dana Elcar), head of the racing board, to the Cave requesting an investigation. That there was no obvious cause, and that each thrown jockey was riding a favorite, causes them to suspect foul play. The Chief visits the jockey, Mike Yeager (Joel Grey), at the hospital, though he wasn't seriously injured. This is the second time he's taken a fall, and he responds very defensively to Ironside's questions. After the Chief leaves, Yeager responds with equal hostility to the concerns of his wife, Marcia (Sherry Lansing--whom IMDb says is 5' 10", so it's interesting that they cast her as the wife of a jockey, though they don't make anything of it visually). Back at the Cave, Ironside runs down that all of the horses who won in these incidents were long shots from the stable of a Scott Bradley, who happens to be an old flame of Eve's.
Eve arranges to run into Scott--Hey, hey, it's Ron Ely! Where ya been, jungle man? If I hadn't seen his name in the credits, I might not have recognized him with his clothes on. Anyway, Bradley's dining with another jockey, Al Cochran (Frank Corsentino), at the time; and ends up making a date with Eve. Meanwhile, the track's vet (Karl Swenson) determines that Easy Jack wasn't drugged, and couldn't have been switched with a ringer, though the Chief is suspicious of how the systems preventing these things may have been circumvented. Then Mrs. Yeager, who's been wanting her husband to get out of jockeying, talks to Ironside, and turns him on to the fact that Yeager's been popping tranquilizers. A lab technician (Don Ross) determines that Yeager's tranq has been laced with a hallucinogen.
The Chief narrows in on a horse from Bradley's stable that's likely to be the next surprise winner, Pesadilla, and wants O'Brien to start talking the horse up as a potential winner. To that end, Eve goads Scott and Al, who's riding the horse, into demonstrating what she can really do, while witnesses are present, including the vet and his assistant (Al Hopson). The likely winner of the race is Tiny Oscar, whose jockey is replaced at the last minute by Yeager.
The Chief confronts Yeager about his tranq having been drugged without his knowledge, and speculates that another method may have been used on the previous occasion. To that end he advises Yeager not to eat or drink anything before the race...thus it's particularly conspicuous when Al offers him gum as they're preparing to ride. When Yeager starts to feel woozy while riding, he remembers the Chief's advice, takes the gum out, and finishes to win the race. In the coda, it's determined that the gum was drugged, and that Al and a couple of other jockeys were the culprits in the scheme. Eve continues to see Scott.
_______
Adam-12
"Log 36: Man Between"
Originally aired February 4, 1971
Wiki said:
Reed files his report before roll call, and explains the situation to Pete in the break room. Wells ribs Reed for falling for the con. On patrol, Reed and Malloy see two men (presumably Squire Fridell and Tom Stebing, though I didn't catch their character names being dropped) fighting over a grocery bag. The men try to run when the officers ask to see what's in it; it turns out to be a potted marijuana plant.
Back on patrol, they almost hit a woman (Peggy Webber) who's running frantically across the street; she tries desperately to get into a closed bank, then tells them that she needs $1,000 or someone will kill her baby. The woman, Mary Grant, explains that her infant is being held by her brother, an escaped mental patient. The officers call in Mac and more units, and they make plans to go into the house over a floorplan on the pull-out board in the back of Mac's wagon. Reed and Malloy sneak in the back door wearing bulletproof vests and locate the room with the playpen, where they find the man playing solitaire, a rifle within reach. Malloy gets the drop on him while Reed runs in and extracts the baby.
Heading to the station for a seven, Reed stops to pick up a newspaper, and the newsboy (Chris Hundley) sells him one that's a day old; Wells humiliates him about it back in the break room.
After dark the officers are assigned to investigate unknown trouble involving shots fired. At the home, they find a Spanish-speaking woman crying and cowering behind armchair. Mrs. Martinez (Solica) tells them that somebody took three shots at her from outside. While Malloy is getting more out of her, Wells and Reed check the backyard, where a man hiding in bushes tries to run. They subdue and arrest him, and Wells assumes he's the shooter. The man, Raul Gonzales (Efrain Ramirez), says that he was just taking his usual shortcut through the lawn. Reed believes him, and Wells accuses Reed of waiting for the Great Pumpkin on Halloween! Meanwhile, Malloy has learned from Mrs. Martinez that the shooter was her drunk husband, Carlos. Outside, he comes out of hiding (Bert Santos) with a gun and threatens to shoot Reed; but Malloy sneaks up on him from behind and they disarm him. Back at HQ, Wells admits to having been wrong after getting chewed out for not at least taking his suspect in to see Mrs. Martinez.
_______
The Partridge Family
"To Play or Not to Play"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
Wiki said:
The family arrives late for a gig at the Village Quarter, which Danny considers to be an important venue; and Laurie runs into an old school friend, Marc (Michael Lembeck), who works in the club's kitchen. They also meet the owner, Marino (Harvey Lembeck), who presses them into doing a rehearsal, where they play "There's No Doubt in My Mind":
The kitchen crew come out to watch, and Marino gets into an argument with them. Marc leads them in walking out to go on a strike in the middle of the song. Outside, Marc explains their grievances with Martino to Laurie, who decides that she won't cross the line to play. (The family is staying in the Village Inn hotel across the street.) Shirley and Danny go to talk to Martino and he tries to strongarm them, getting on Shirley's bad side.
Danny looks into both sides of the issue, finding that it's a matter of exploitation vs. lack of respect for authority. He brings Marc in to negotiate with Marino, locking them in until they reach an agreement. Shirley and Reuben go to see Marino themselves and find that Danny's already making great progress. Cut to the band performing "Umbrella Man" in the restaurant, the crew watching from the kitchen.
The family departs with Marc enjoying his newly negotiated rights by taking a scheduled break to see them off.
_______
That Girl
"That Shoplifter"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
Wiki said:
Ann is working in a department store PA announcement booth when a man (Jerry Hausner) overhears her mentioning being an actress while talking to Donald, and approaches her to do some shoplifting for him. Ann explains to Donald at Nino's that Mr. Baxter said he was the head of security and wants her to help him test the place. She rehearses for her new role at home, demonstrating her techniques to Donald. She then takes her act to the store, and meets Baxter in the agreed-upon storeroom with her merchandise. She continues each day using new methods, though she occasionally has to explain things like why she's pushing a baby carriage to the uniformed security guard, Jim--Begorrah, 'tis Stafford Repp himself! But eventually she's present when Jim is approached by the real, much younger Mr. Baxter (Mat Reitz), and realizes that she's actually been stealing.
When she tells Donald, he comes up with the idea of nabbing Fake Baxter and turning him in to Real Baxter. But when she brings Donald to the storeroom, Fake Bax doesn't show, opting instead to pop up at Ann's apartment later. He explains that he's Walter Harrison, the store's forcibly retired former head of security, and that he needs her to continue helping him to prove that he's still needed so he can get his job back. She goes to her boss, Mr. Dawson (George Ives), to explain what happened and try to get Harrison his job back, only to learn that Baxter has been head of security for years, and that Harrison is an infamous thief. Because he's used this method before, she doesn't get arrested or lose her job.
"Oh, Donald" count: 7
"Oh, Mr. Dawson" count: 1
_______
Love, American Style
"Love and the Arctic Station / Love and the Pulitzer Prize Baby / Love and the Tattoo"
Originally aired February 5, 1971
In "Love and the Pulitzer Prize Baby," famous actress Michelle Turner (Leslie Parrish) visits Pulitzer-winning author Ralph Morrison (Roger Perry) to proposition him to father a child who would have his brains and her looks. He agrees, to the disapproval of his mother (Nancy Walker), who learns the name of the hunting lodge where the weekend rendezvous is to take place. The couple of opportunity check into the place in the middle of a snowstorm as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, to the suspicion of the Bible-thumping desk clerk (Will Geer). He gives them a cabin anyway, but once they're alone with their brass bed, Michelle starts feeling awkward about it on the basis that they've gotten to know each other too well during the ride and may have fallen in love. Meanwhile, Mrs. Morrison shows up asking about them, and the desk clerk learns that they're really sinners after all. He and Mrs. M hatch a scheme that involves him starting a fire without opening the draft to try to lure Ralph into a bear trap that he sets, and her paying them a visit dressed as a bear (likely somebody else in a costume with a moving bear mouth, with Nancy Walker's voice coming out). But Mrs. M learns that before she arrived, Ralph and Michelle took a drive and got married.
"Love and the Tattoo" involves Ken (Gary Collins) and Phyllis (Stefanie Powers), an engaged couple who've never been intimate. She wants to get on with consummating their relationship now, but he says that he swore that he'd save himself until marriage. Back at his place, however, he and his roommate, Homer (Dick Van Patten), are desperately trying to remove a chest tattoo that he got in the Navy with an old flame's name on it. They call in a tattoo artist, Salvatore (Vito Scotti), but he won't touch it when he discovers that it's the work of a famed master in the trade. Meanwhile, Phyllis shares her concerns with her roommate, Barbara (Pamela Rodgers), and after Phyllis realizes that she's never seen Ken's chest they try to come up with a way to make him take off his shirt. At the couple's next date at Phyllis's place, she comes on strong and starts trying to get his shirt off, while he stalls. He eventually decides to let her have her way, but with the lights off; but she wants to see his chest, so she turns them back on and he makes an excuse to suddenly leave. She comes by his place later to give him back his ring, and he confesses to having the tattoo...which she doesn't mind that much, because she was afraid there was something wrong with his body. Cut to the wedding night on their brass bed, when we find that they've had "ERNA" edited to "Phyllis--EtERNAlly, Ken".
_______
Nor I. Perhaps just one that's favored among his fans, and being sold up.
I don't get much of a plot out of the lyrics themselves.
I think you've touched upon something else I don't like about Stevens as an artist that doing the album review brought out...the guy's all about his quest for spiritual enlightenment right out of the damn box. Something that's not as obvious going by just his singles.
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So much for that keen instinct for justice.
Not that I want to put the Chief out of work, but aren't there normal channels to investigate this sort of thing?
I was going to say the Arctic, but that's not for several years.
Must have been very mild. It's hard not to notice when you've taken a hallucinogen.
As he is cheered on by a Greek chorus of purple Yeti with pom-poms.
You go, girl.
Is there ever a mental patient who doesn't escape?
Now there's a harrowing situation.
Was it really worth it, kid?
Reed really needs to beat the crap out of Wells.
I'll bet Wells is a big Lucy fan.
Wells is an asshole, but under the circumstances he did the right thing this time.
That's slightly amazing.
Ah, the transformative power of music.
Okay, I can see Ann being conned by somebody, but Donald seems a bit cynical to buy into that.
If it works, they'll begin replacing key figures in government circles.
Unlike Reed, Ann is definitely too trusting.
"Love and the Arctic Station" got cut? I was hoping for Doc Savage proving that his Fortress of Solitude is not so lonely after all.
Apparently they hope to get lucky in more ways than one.
A bit of a cop out with the last-minute nuptials, but overall a nice wacky LAS story.
Nice snapshot of a transitional era.
Dr Boris Balinkoff, among a godzillion other things.
Were they pen pals or something?
Good thing her name wasn't Esmeralda.
Well, subject matter, I should have said.
In retrospect, Yusuf was there all along.
55 Years Ago This Week
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
New on the chart:
"Oh How Happy," Shades of Blue
(#12 US; #16 R&B)
"Sweet Talkin' Guy," The Chiffons
(#10 US; #31 UK)
"I Am a Rock," Simon & Garfunkel
(#3 US; #17 UK)
"Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?," The Lovin' Spoonful
(#2 US)
"Strangers in the Night," Frank Sinatra
(#1 US the week of July 2, 1966; #1 AC; #1 UK; 1967 Grammy Award for Record of the Year)
And new on the boob tube:
_______
ETA: I heard on the radio that we lost Johnny Crawford yesterday.
R.I.P. Johnny Crawford, Mark McCain on The Rifleman and original Mouseketeer (metv.com)
Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
Wiki said:
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
- "California Dreamin'," The Mamas & The Papas (17 weeks)
- "Homeward Bound," Simon & Garfunkel (12 weeks)
- "Little Latin Lupe Lu," Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (9 weeks)
- "19th Nervous Breakdown," The Rolling Stones (10 weeks)
- "Nowhere Man," The Beatles (9 weeks)
- "Spanish Flea," Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (7 weeks)
- "Sure Gonna Miss Her," Gary Lewis & The Playboys (9 weeks)
- "Woman," Peter & Gordon (12 weeks)
New on the chart:
"Oh How Happy," Shades of Blue
(#12 US; #16 R&B)
"Sweet Talkin' Guy," The Chiffons
(#10 US; #31 UK)
"I Am a Rock," Simon & Garfunkel
(#3 US; #17 UK)
"Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?," The Lovin' Spoonful
(#2 US)
"Strangers in the Night," Frank Sinatra
(#1 US the week of July 2, 1966; #1 AC; #1 UK; 1967 Grammy Award for Record of the Year)
And new on the boob tube:
- The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 18, episode 33
- Batman, "Fine Finny Fiends"
- Batman, "Batman Makes the Scenes" (season finale)
- Gilligan's Island, "Meet the Meteor" (season finale)
- Get Smart, "The Last One In Is a Rotten Spy" (season finale)
_______
Overruled by his keen instinct for winning horses.So much for that keen instinct for justice.
The only channel that matters here is NBC, Thursday night at 8:30.
If you can remember the track, man, you weren't there...
He was making cracks about it indicating that he wasn't so trusting, but yeah, he could have intervened a bit more.
In retrospect, I think that the "saving himself for marriage" thing was just a story for not getting nekkid with her until he could do something about the tattoo.
ETA: I heard on the radio that we lost Johnny Crawford yesterday.
R.I.P. Johnny Crawford, Mark McCain on The Rifleman and original Mouseketeer (metv.com)
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This one makes me smile.
Good one (sounds like the 50s).
S&G. 'nuff said.
Another good one.
Well, I like the song. "Doobie doobie doo..."
Well said.
Sure, but she didn't back slowly toward the door and flee.
Yeah, I saw that, too. What a shame. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a while. I have a nice picture of him with my friend from California from before she had her first stroke.
50 Years Ago This Week
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
New on the chart:
"Nathan Jones," The Supremes
(#16 US; #29 AC; #8 R&B; #5 UK)
"Funky Nassau, Part 1," The Beginning of the End
(#15 US; #7 R&B; #31 UK)
"I'll Meet You Halfway," The Partridge Family
(#9 US; #4 AC)
"When You're Hot, You're Hot," Jerry Reed
(#9 US; #6 AC; #1 Country)
"It's Too Late," Carole King
(#1 US the weeks of June 19 throuh July 17, 1971; #1 AC; #6 UK; 1972 Grammy Award for Record of the Year; #469 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"I Feel the Earth Move," Carole King
(#1 US as double A-side w/ "It's Too Late")
_______
Wiki said:
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
- "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted," The Partridge Family (12 weeks)
- "For All We Know," Carpenters (13 weeks)
- "Help Me Make It Through the Night," Sammi Smith (16 weeks)
- "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes," The 5th Dimension (10 weeks)
- "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story," Andy Williams (13 weeks)
New on the chart:
"Nathan Jones," The Supremes
(#16 US; #29 AC; #8 R&B; #5 UK)
"Funky Nassau, Part 1," The Beginning of the End
(#15 US; #7 R&B; #31 UK)
"I'll Meet You Halfway," The Partridge Family
(#9 US; #4 AC)
"When You're Hot, You're Hot," Jerry Reed
(#9 US; #6 AC; #1 Country)
"It's Too Late," Carole King
(#1 US the weeks of June 19 throuh July 17, 1971; #1 AC; #6 UK; 1972 Grammy Award for Record of the Year; #469 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"I Feel the Earth Move," Carole King
(#1 US as double A-side w/ "It's Too Late")
_______
It's pleasant, but not particularly distinguished.
I knew you were gonna say that. I'll agree to the translated version, that it sounds like the early '60s. And yes, it is a nice one...an oldies radio classic.
One of their lesser classics.
The latest in their string of goodies. It's been in my playlist for a while because of the album.
Frank puts out some pretty good stuff in this period. "Summer Wind," coming our way later this year, is a favorite. Very Cape Cod.Well, I like the song. "Doobie doobie doo..."
Not following you there.
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That's my friend on the right. We've got the exact same camera.
Something's missing....
Er... I can't wait for part 2?
Not too bad, I guess.
I've always liked this. A fun novelty song.
This is beautiful.
This is also beautiful.
Well, going back to my original comment about it being the sign of a transitional era, she just accepted his desire to save himself for marriage as not weird at all-- while he assumed that she would freak out over a tattoo of someone he knew before he met her.
50th Anniversary Cinematic Special
Little Big Man
Directed by Arthur Penn
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan, Chief Dan George, Jeff Corey, and Faye Dunaway
Premiered December 14, 1970
1971 Oscar nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chief Dan George)
The bookend scenes with extremely old Jack may be the best old-age makeup job I've seen; and Hoffman puts a little extra effort into convincingly differentiating his voice, beyond the standard "old man mannerisms" that you usually see actors put on. Altogether, I never would never have recognized the character as Hoffman.
I happened upon this film, going in knowing little about it and with no expectations. It turned out to be quite well made and entertaining.
_______
Little Big Man
Directed by Arthur Penn
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan, Chief Dan George, Jeff Corey, and Faye Dunaway
Premiered December 14, 1970
1971 Oscar nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chief Dan George)
Wiki said:
The Wiki plot description said:
The bookend scenes with extremely old Jack may be the best old-age makeup job I've seen; and Hoffman puts a little extra effort into convincingly differentiating his voice, beyond the standard "old man mannerisms" that you usually see actors put on. Altogether, I never would never have recognized the character as Hoffman.
The comedic element here is that Caroline, who's played up as being a large tomboy, seems motivated to escape only after it becomes clear that the Cheyenne don't intend to mistreat her in the way she'd been anticipating.
Howard looks so uncannily like Hoffman that I wonder if they did makeup tricks, like with young Clark in Superman. Miranda is not very convincing as a Native American. The Brave actually acts kind of friendly if erratic; Jack kills him out of fear, as I recall. After Jack reunites with the hunting party, they come upon a village where the women and children were wiped out by the US Cavalry. I was initially under impression that it was their village, but at least one notable character who'd been left there, Little Horse, was still around later in the film. And following this incident, the tribe goes to war with the whites...though it's depicted as being a bit one-sided, the Indians trying to count coup while they're being shot at.
The seduction includes the bath scene that plays a prominent role in the trailer. Also notable here is that Jack is whipped by Mr. P when he's caught fooling around with a girl his age.
The outspokenly amoral Meriweather is missing an eye and a hand when we first meet him. Caroline shows Jack how to use a gun, and he proves to be a natural, such that he gains a reputation even though he's an awkward neophyte. He's turned off the gunslinging thing when he sees how paranoid Hickok behaves of others being out to shoot him; I was under the impression that Wild Bill may have killed the man in the saloon a bit hastily.
As one can gather from the trailer, Custer is played up as being pompous, swaggering, and larger than life.
Little Horse's nontraditional gender role is obviously being played for audience laughs.
Custer doesn't remember having met Jack before.
Old Lodge Skins is now blind from a wound inflicted by white men, and several tribesmen are said to have been killed since Jack was last with the Cheyenne. They move to a treaty-granted land, where they think they'll be safe to live in peace. After Jack's anticlimactic reunion with Olga, Little Horse offers to be his wife.
I believe Sunshine had just delivered a baby by Jack. She's gunned down while Jack watches from the other side of the river, unable to help her. When Jack tries to get in to see Custer, he's discovered to be wearing Indian paint and clothing; but with some prodding, Custer remembers him this time and he's allowed to resume his mule-skinning duties. He attempts to assassinate Custer, but doesn't go through with it; Custer doesn't bother killing Jack, who subsequently loses all self-respect.
Jack returns to the gutter and Meriweather, now missing a leg as well, comes across him and turns him on to the money to be made in buffalo trapping.
Jack's about to jump off a cliff when he sees Custer's army riding through the plain below.
Note that Custer does recognize Jack this time.
The film holds back on the reveal that the headdress-wearing brave is Younger Bear, though I saw it coming.
The Chief's "last request" is for the Great Spirit to take care of Jack.
I happened upon this film, going in knowing little about it and with no expectations. It turned out to be quite well made and entertaining.
Wiki said:
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I always liked this MeTV promo that he did:
That's my friend on the right. We've got the exact same camera.
But they're still going...for a little while anyway.
Won't go there this time. This one has an interesting sound, but even already being in my collection, it wasn't particularly familiar to me...a complete obscuro.
Decent but not distinguished.
Kinda soundalike, but fun.
A fucking good song.
The Klein girl down the street done good.
I think the tattoo would still be a turn-off today for a lot of women.
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I wonder if this was the actual origin of the "It's a good day to die" trope.
I guess I've probably heard the title, but this is another one I knew absolutely nothing about. It's definitely the kind of absurdist satire that was a sign of the times. Comedy is a spoonful of sugar.
That's pretty sweet.
Oh, sure, I wouldn't want to see something like that either. Nobody would. But you've got to deal with the fact that people had a life before you met them.