Welcome to the Sixties. Let’s Bowl.
Those with a keen eye for the corners of Turner Classic Movies‘ schedule will have noticed that the channel has been playing ephemeral short films in the wee hours every Friday night. I never fail to record these babies, they are so bizarre and cool. Last Friday’s selection was The Golden Years, an early ’60s industrial film by Brunswick intended to showcase their shiny new bowling lane designs. Similar to what car manufacturers were promoting at the time, this film boasts angularity, optimism and lots of chrome. Part one:
Surprisingly, one can still find many of these fixtures in bowling alleys all over. And part two:
Very Special
With Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Dave Steed of Popdose.com is cataloging every song that charted outside the top 40 but within Billboard‘s Hot 100 in the ’80s. This is a fascinating, if huge, project that I’m overjoyed that I stumbled upon. Steed has been at this for a year, but he’s only up to the “L” artists in the alphabet. A lot of good stuff falls in this area — R&B, Hip Hop, Metal, Adult Contemporary and Country hits with limited mass appeal, obscurities from outside the U.S., movie soundtrack junk, lesser-known singles from big name acts, etc. If anything, it allows me to hear previously unheard gems like Stacy Lattisaw’s “Attack of the Name Game.”
Discover a Lovelier You
Here’s another swellorama thrift store find to share on flickr. The Nancy Taylor Course was a 1960 four volume self help manual on how to be a fashion model, or at least look like one. Each volume is printed on pale pink paper for maximum femininity, packed with advice on how to attain perfect posture (balance a book on your head!), social etiquette, hair and makeup, diet, even what kind of dainty toiletries to pack in one’s handbag. You know, in case you have one of those “not so fresh” days.
What really grabbed me about these are the illustrations, image after image of Barbie-esque ladies looking all elegant and chi-chi — and there’s a lot of them. The drawings appear to be by several artists, and they’re all so good that I’ve scanned several and placed them in their own flickr set. It contains 50 photos as of now, and that’s only covering the first volume. Some highlights below. Note the carefully positioned feet on the first woman:
Books, Wished After and Not
Right now I’m going through the yearly conundrum of what to put on our holiday cards. This piece on the favorite book covers of 2008 is good for some visual inspiration. So is a complete set of scans from the 1980 Sears Christmas catalog, albeit in a completely different way. Looky here:
The Divine Gobbler
James Likeks’ tribute to the oddly named Gobbler Hotel in Wisconsin is a study in contrasts. Compare the space-age renderings (above) with the actual hotel in its prime — and the ’70s era structure with the sad, outdated ghost of a hotel shortly before it got demolished. Thanks to Lileks, now everybody can appreciate the Playboy After Dark grooviness of it all. The Gobbler’s architect, Helmut Ajango, is apparently still living and working in the same state as his own now-defunct creation.
Pebbles, Shells, Lennons and Kings
Patrick’s kinda now, kinda wow sunshine pop compilation Just Beyond The Sunshine is putting a smile on my face today. Highlight: The Lennon Sisters’ zombie-like “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me.” There’s also Brian Hyland, Nick DeCaro, The Cyrkle, Ronny & The Daytonas and so much more. Great job, Patrick!
Lala Land
Just noticed that the La La A Go-Go website has undergone a spiffy new redesign. I first caught wind of the divine Ms. Lala via her flickr stream. If it’s kitschy and from the ’60s or ’70s, she’s got it!
White Elephant Blogging: Follow That Bird
I have to admit that my maiden voyage into the second annual White Elephant Film Blogathon was approached with some trepidation. What kind of cinematic turd are they gonna hand me? Then I found out the movie I was to write about was Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird — hey, that’s not so bad. Sesame Street played a big part in my fondest childhood memories. As long as it doesn’t have that idiot Elmo, we should be fine.
Although Elmo does briefly appear near the end (not speaking, thank heavens), overall the movie offers a sweet and gentle peek into the hermetically sealed world of Sesame Street as it existed in 1985. The thin plot kicks off with Big Bird getting adopted out to a family of muppet dodo birds by a busybody social worker named Miss Finch (voiced by Sally Kellerman). Not being happy in Dodo’s prefab suburban birdhouse, our feathered friend decides to walk his way back home across America’s rural landscape — will the other Sesame Streeters ever find him and take him back home?
If there’s a central message to SSP:FTB, it might be that city dwelling is the only true way to live. As this film has it, even the friendliest of country folk have a certain dark something to hide. Just look at some of the shady characters who turn up: a creepy singing truck driver (Waylon Jennings). A surly, salad-throwing waitress (Sandra Bernhard). Two sadistic carnival operators (SCTV‘s Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty). Not to mention the pair of frighteningly generic farm kids who want to adopt Big Bird, probably to subject him to some kind of Children of the Corn thing.
Which brings me to another nagging element in this movie — everything is so clean. Despite the Americana setting, this movie was filmed entirely in Ontario, Canada. It’s odd to see country roads without billboards and trash everywhere. Worse yet, the re-created outdoor Sesame Street set looks so spotless one could eat right off Oscar the Grouch’s can. Where’s the grittiness?
The Follow that Bird DVD is presented in pan-and-scan full frame with no extras to speak of. Those looking for a salty commentary by an out-of-character Caroll Spinney (“John Candy was a bitch”) will be sorely disappointed. Despite that, I succumbed to its sweetness. Read the rest of the 2nd Annual White Elephant Film Blogathon.
New Mix: The Mr. Blackwell Show
Nowadays he might be dimly known for his bitchy “Worst Dressed” lists, but back in the ’60s Richard Blackwell had his own fashion line for plus-sized women and society matrons desiring a Beverly Hills sophisticated-yet-casual look. The gowns (and, yes, it was mostly gowns) he created had this luxe “swanky chic” thing going on — something I wanted to recreate using soundtrack cuts and soft pop music of the era. It’s in the same spirit as my holiday mix that I decided to share it with Scrubbles readers right here, in a downloadable continuous mix.
So, what was I going for on this one? It’s the sound of a modish soirée in a Technicolor Blake Edwards confection. Or of a woman in a Pucci print caftan curling up with a Jacqueline Susann novel. It’s “The Ladies Who Lunch” on a Mediterranean cruise. Luxurious, somewhat cheesy, but oh so elegant. If I could pick one track that epitomizes that feeling, it would be Henry Mancini’s lovely “Party Poop” from the soundtrack for the Peter Sellers comedy The Party. Enjoy.
Forever My Girl
Long, long ago I can remember seeing a clip on Entertainment Tonight of a teenage Paula Abdul frolicking in some godforsaken low-budget musical set in a high school cafeteria. She looked dorky, the song was dorky, and the kitsch gods were smiling down on me. Eighteen-odd years later, I revisited it — and, yeah, it’s still hilariously awful. Little did Paula know that she and her feather-haired Van Nuys classmates from Junior High School (1978) would live on through the courtesy of YouTube. The entire 39 minute featurette can be found there, but you can get all you need from the first two minutes of the clip below — with Paula croaking out “we’re gonna have a party” to her singing, dancing friends. Plays sort of like a hybrid of The ABC Afterschool Special and a bargain basement Grease, you know?
Sweet Chewy Nostalgia
Halloween candy flashback time! The temporarily renamed Neato Ghoulsville writes about Wrapples, the 1970s product for lazy people who crave a quick and easy caramel apple. I remember Wrapples really well — my father was a salesman for Kraft Foods back then, so we had a lot of them around the house. I used to wrap them cold around an apple, or better yet just eat them rolled up. I also liked to devour the single chocolate caramel Kraft used to insert in their bags of individually wrapped caramels. I wonder why they did that?
Ernö Rubik’s Breakfast Nook
I kind of like this multicolored floor — real kicky! And you can’t go wrong with Eero Saarinen furnishings. This is actually one of the more subtle interiors from the Your Swingin’ Pad set, assembled by flickr user Miss Retro Modern (via Eye of the Goof).
Things to Watch While Sick
Yesterday I came down with a bout of sickness — runs, fever, headaches, icky feelings in my gut. I’m feeling much better now, but have you ever noticed that whenever you’re sick and stuck in front of the TV you’ll pretty much watch anything? Well, almost anything — old episodes of Sesame Street were too shrill. Sick TV viewing requires programs that are a bit tasteless and easy to digest, the mushy oatmeal of basic cable. Here’s what I saw:
Tattletales (GSN) — A 1976 episode of the green-carpeted classic had a panel of game show hosts and their wives. Richard Dawson stood in for Bert Convy as host, with Mr. and Mrs. Convy representing the banana section, Bob Barker and wife in the red section and Jack Narz and wife in the blue section. The Barkers won.
Music City News Top Country Hits ’81 (RFD) — I’m so glad I came across this completely random bit of programming on “Rural America’s Most Important Network.” An awards show with no awards, just a lot of lip synched performances and telepromptered banter from hosts Tanya Tucker and Jim Stafford. Worth it to see Stafford gamely trying (and failing) to get the audience to sing along to “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” I also caught a bit of Penny Gilley‘s talk show with some of the worst canned laughter ever put on tape.
One for the Book (TCM) — A slow-paced but enjoyable 1947 comedy recorded during Ronald Reagan day from last month’s Summer Under The Stars film fest. Seeing it reminded me of what blah onscreen presence Reagan had — how on earth did he stay a movie star for so long? On the other hand it did have a couple of plusses with Eve Arden being Eve Arden and an unusually literate script (adapted from the stage hit Voice of the Turtle). Leading lady Eleanor Parker is lovely and appealing, conveying a nice vulnerability while wearing an unfortunate wig with severe bangs.
Kate & Allie (WE) — I’ve been TiVoing these for a while and they reinforce my belief that K&A was one of overlooked treasures among ’80s sitcoms. In its prime, that is. The episodes I saw yesterday were from the dismal final year when the newlywed Allie and Bob moved into that huge, pastel-colored condo with Kate hanging around pathetically like a third wheel. In this case all for the better, since laughing would have hurt my stomach.
Cheaters (G4) — I occasionally record this unapologetically trashy show, hoping for the ones where a married guy gets caught cheating with another dude. No such luck this time.
Ethel Smith’s Busy Fingers
Enjoy Ethel Smith performing her signature song “Tico Tico” in the Esther Williams musical Bathing Beauty (taken off an old VHS tape, apparently). I love Ethel Smith. There’s something about the combo of her hyperactive hands and the cheesy “roller rink” sounds emanating from her Hammond organ that is so weirdly compelling. I couldn’t locate any video of her doing “Blame It on the Samba” in the 1948 Disney film Melody Time, a proto-psychedelic whirl of live action and animation. Trust me, it’s wild. More on Ms. Smith, who died in 1996, can be found in this Cool & Strange Music Magazine profile.
Doo What?
The Washington Post has a small article on the beachside ’50s-’60s motel revival in the Wildwoods section of New Jersey. The locals call this architectural style “Doo Wop,” which bugs me since Doo Wop is a musical style and I always thought “Googie” is the accepted term for that kinda stuff. The Wikipedia entry for Googie lists Doo Wop as another term for it, though, so maybe it’s correct. At least they’re preserving this stuff nicely — check the Doo Wop Preservation League Gallery.
