Archive for October, 2006

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Altogether Ooky

October 31st, 2006

NPR delves into Charles Addams today, interviewing author Linda H. Davis on her new bio of the delightfully dark cartoonist. Addams’ people obviously had an image of being sinister and macabre, but mostly they’re just misunderstood. Take the witchie on his Halloween 1986 New Yorker cover, considerate enough to share a sample of bubbling brew […]

Deeper Shade of Twang

October 29th, 2006

Being something of a country music novice, I’m grateful to Derrick Bostrom for posting a series of well-chosen country collections on his weblog. The latest one is called Disco Goes the Country, covering the crossover period of the mid ’70s when Nashville was trading in authenticity for pop hooks. The songs aren’t terribly disco sounding, […]

There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

October 27th, 2006

Disney history blog 2719 Hyperion is currently doing a series of posts on the 1939 New York Worlds Fair.
Were I sent back in time to the ‘39 Fair, I would probably make a beeline for the Donut Pavilion, where fairgoers could eat a plate of donuts served by waitresses in donuty costumes. The restaurant was […]

Gruesome Twosome: The Mann-Weil Edition

October 26th, 2006

Dusty Springfield: “Make the Man Love Me”
ABC-Dunhill recording session, 1974 | BUY
Doris Day: “Oo-Wee Baby”
Columbia Records UK single, 1964 | BUY
Gerry Goffin/Carole King may have been the most innovative and Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich were most attuned to teenaged trendiness, but it’s Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil who have proven to be the most durable of […]

P Is for Product

October 24th, 2006

Muppet Central reviews Sesame Street Old School Volume 1, which makes me wanna rush out and buy it instead of waiting for the rental discs to arrive. The 3 DVD set contains the premiere episodes for each of the first five Sesame Street seasons (1969-74), along with various popular sketches and bits from that period. […]

Little Miss Sunshine

October 23rd, 2006

Whenever I think about Doris Day, I just smile. So geniune and multitalented, but also projecting just enough artifice to make you question whether that genuineness is truly what it is (know what I mean?). That’s what came to mind for me while taking in The Doris Day Special, recently issued on DVD from MPI […]

The Hair Care Bunch

October 22nd, 2006

Some goofy hairstyles from 1977’s Vogue Body and Beauty Book might serve as inspiration for halloween costumers or drag queens. I’ve always liked that “disco helmet hair” look in vogue briefly during the late ’70s. Dorothy Stratten in Galaxina, Frida of ABBA and (briefly) Elaine Joyce of Match Game had that ‘do. And it’s not […]

Dreams A Go Go

October 19th, 2006

The Dreamgirls trailer popped up during last night’s South Park. Excellent. Can’t wait for December! Beyoncé sure looks eerily like a young Diana Ross in those previews.
Funny — the producers of the original Broadway Dreamgirls were famously cagey about comparing their story with the Supremes’ saga, but it appears that the filmmakers are being […]

Stop the Madness

October 18th, 2006

The 7 Worst Fonts (via Kottke). It begs the question, once again: why is Comic Sans so popular? Here’s the font equivalent of a chubby middle-aged biddy in a hand-decorated sweatshirt. Simply put, it’s popular with people who don’t know any better. And it will depressingly remain on its reviled perch until Microsoft removes it […]

Old Drawing: The Price Is Right

October 17th, 2006

As a kid, I would draw and draw on reams of old-style computer paper supplied by my dad’s office job. So long as I had a trusty ball-point pen handy, I didn’t mind that the paper had faint horizontal green stripes and sprocket holes on each side. Scads of drawings resulted with just those two […]

Ready or Not

October 14th, 2006

Looking forward to the December arrival of Saturday Night Live’s Complete First Season, complete and unedited on 8 DVDs. This first season will be interesting to check out, since it was still a work in progress with a few elements (grungy Muppet creatures, short films) ironed out of the more polished later seasons.
Admittedly, “ABBA appeared […]

Man-Sized Love

October 13th, 2006

Just completed a special mix disc of a musical style that I call Synthy Soul. All of these tunes appeared on the Billboard pop charts between June 1985 and August 1987, a period when Prince and Michael Jackson paved the way for scores of R&B artists to embrace a more strident, synthetic and danceable sound. […]

Robot Chicken

October 12th, 2006

Oh Turner Classic Movies, what would we do without you? They’ve been playing some groovy old Japanese horror/sci-fi films lately that deserve a little write-up here. First up was Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968), broadcast on October 1st. This film follows a small passenger aircraft as, mysteriously, the sky turns bright red and birds […]

I’ve Seen the Light

October 11th, 2006

“You are so Markie Post in every single Lifetime movie.” — Will Truman, Will & Grace
Too campy. Somebody on YouTube did an eleven minute Lifetime movie parody starring Judith Light. It goes without saying that Ms. Light’s role is played by a fetching-looking guy.

Gruesome Twosome: Girl Power Edition

October 11th, 2006

The Pixies Three: “Welcome to the Party”
LP: Party With The Pixies Three, 1964 | BUY
The Breakaways: “That’s How It Goes”
Pye Records U.K. single, 1964 | BUY
Let’s break out the fun with a couple of Girl Group gems. No shrinking violets, the Pixies Three bring loads of spontinaety and charm to this opener for their lone […]

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