crpeoplemover

I'm Tumbling!!

2007-06-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Tumblelogging, that is. Yes, because I have way too much time on my hands, I’ve started yet another blog. Only this one has a different concept. Here’s Wikipedia’s definition of a Tumblelog:

A tumblelog is a variation of a blog, that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, this format is frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences without providing a commentary.

That about covers it! Okay, I’ll be straightforward; it will basically be a collection of shit I find on the web, but it’s still all about me, me, ME! And, since the tumblelog is so much simpler to update, I’ll be updating it much more often. (Probably every day I’m online, but don’t hold me to that.) I’m also going feature a new “song of the day”, everyday. Here is the link:

http://crpeoplemover.tumblr.com/

You can also find updated links under the “tumblelog posts” on this page.

I’m definitely not abandoning this blog, I enjoy writing my drawn out, incoherent rants and raves (see last post), but it is time consuming. I’m still gonna try to post more, but, at the very least, I’ll be posting as often as I have. (this is my 10th post since the end of March.) So don’t you worry loyal readers! All 2 of you!

PS - I googled “tumble” to find a picture, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. So, I searched “falling down stairs” (because I’m violent like that) and found the gem above. But, within that search, I also found this cartoon which gave me a good chuckle:

Source: Perspicuity

PS-S – While writing this, it totally occurred to me that I have the perfect soundtrack to this post! It comes from this album, which I am the proud, proud owner of:

Marilyn McCoo “Solid Gold” 1983

Enjoy!

I Love Cunty Lucy

2007-06-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, it’s rare when I fall in love with a movie, hardcore. (The fact that I catch very few movies nowadays is probably the main reason!) One of those rare exceptions happened recently.

Around December I was looking for something to watch on TV and found “The Big Street” on the Turner Classic Movies on-demand channel and recognized that title. I’m a pretty big fan of “I Love Lucy”, and have read several books and seen a few documentaries on the subject of that TV show and Lucille Ball. I really knew nothing about the movie other than the fact that many people, including Lucille Ball herself, considered this her best dramatic role in a film. (In fact, the TCM bumper after the movie noted that “The Big Street” was one of only three films that Lucy actually kept copies of in her own house for screenings. The other two were the films she did with Desi Arnaz during the “I Love Lucy” era, “The Long Long Trailer” and “Forever Darling”.) Nowhere, in any of that reading, did I recall the actual plot of this movie, and I’m so glad I didn’t!

This movie is basically an old Hollywood studio version of an S&M porno. Seriously, if you are someone who is into really, really bitchy women, you could literally masturbate to this movie. Now, I’m not into S&M or bitchy women, but, there’s just something about people taking abuse that I just find hilarious. You can call me sick if you like, but I guarantee you, I’m not as sick as this movie! In fact, in the April 1978 issue of Interview magazine, Andy Warhol proclaimed it “the sickest film ever made” (Andy Warhol!)

I don’t even know where to begin explaining the reasons why this movie is so amazing.

First off, here is the basic setup: Lucille Ball is Gloria Lyons, a nightclub singer whose life goal is to marry rich. She espouses mantras like, “A girl’s best friend is a dollar.” and “Love is something that gives you one room, two chins and three kids.” Henry Fonda plays “Little Pinks,” a bashful busboy who has an obsessive crush on Gloria. One day, Pinks saves her dog from being hit by a car and she returns the favor by getting him a job as a busboy at her nightclub. From this point on out (because of a flippant remark from another nightclub singer) Pinks refers to Gloria as “Your Highness”. I’m not joking. Gloria is dating Case, a nightclub owner with shady connections, but she quickly dumps him when the opportunity arises to hook up with a younger, trust fund hottie, Decatur Reed (perfectly cast, by the way, with William T. Orr). Thrown into a jealous rage, Case pushes Gloria down a staircase, paralyzing her. While in the hospital with no friends or family, Little Pinks takes charge of her care, eventually paying for some of it himself, unbeknownst to Her Highness. He sends her roses every day and signs the cards from Decatur or the nightclub patrons, to make her think they haven’t forgotten her, which they have. When she gets out of the hospital, unaware that she is homeless and broke, Pinks takes her to his home where he and his friends wait on her, hand and foot. All the while she treats him like less than garbage.

Yeah, without giving too much away, that’s basically it!

I personally love when thoroughly entertaining and engaging movies still manage to contain those “what the fuck were they thinking” factors, and this movie is chock full of them. (As if the plot wasn’t outrageous enough.) There are a few just inexplicably bad moments in this movie (bad as in good, of course) for example; a onetime breaking of the fourth wall for an attempt at comedy, comes to mind. Sometimes, the seemingly low production values are to the point of distraction, particularly with some of the sets, like in one scene when a flat wall with a door is the “hospital”. Oh, and almost everything is a process shot, even shit that doesn’t need to be, which I really love. I know this was the heyday of the rear projection shot, and in old Hollywood nothing was filmed in the light of day, but damn, some of the process shots are soooo bad (again, so bad, they're awesome!) I’m not talking about car scenes here, I’m talking entire walking scenes are played in front of rear projection where a fairly simple set would have sufficed. Also, I won’t spoil anything, but, I can’t not mention that about halfway through this movie there is an absolutely fucking insane plot point! They build up to it for several minutes in the movie and the whole time you’re thinking, “No, this isn’t going into actually happen, right?” And when it does, there it is some serious "WTF!?" going on in your head. I really love that all the supporting characters in movie just accept this surreal (and insanely masochistic) moment in the story without as much as a raised eyebrow. You also get the sense that the director and/or writer just want you, the audience, to accept it and not ask questions or have common sense. In that way, it’s almost as if you are being treated by the filmmakers like Pinks is by Her Highness!

(Be forewarned that practically every review of this film I’ve seen on the Internet, mostly on the IMDB and the film synopsis in the TCM link at the bottom of this post; contain many spoilers including the aforementioned insane plot point. So, if you don’t wanna know and want to be surprised, I suggest not reading anything else until you see the movie.)

Lucille Ball is unrelenting in playing this character with zero redeemable qualities. In his 1976 autobiography, Desi Arnaz wrote this:

“Lucy’s next picture was to be Big Street with Henry Fonda, based on Damon Runyon's Little Pinks. It was a heavy drama in which she played a cripple in a wheelchair—a mean, bitchy cripple at that. She told Charles Laughton, who was also at RKO at the time, that she was worried about the part. It was the first time I'd seen her afraid to tackle a role. Laughton told her, ‘Lucy, darling, if you are going to play a bitch, play the bitchiest bitch who ever lived or don't play the part at all.’”

It sounds like someone heeded some advice! But in all seriousness, both Ball’s and Fonda’s performances are really amazing. This really comes through at the end when, despite the harshness of their characters, the movie’s melodrama and crazy S&M qualities, you find yourself genuinely touched. Both performances are departures from what most are used to seeing from the pair, (especially, to the modern eye, Lucy.) It also doesn’t hurt that Lucy was really at the height of her beauty when she made the film. (The Big Street was made in 1942 when Lucy was 31, about 9 years before she began with “I Love Lucy”)

I must say that this movie isn’t without its flaws (bad as in bad), the major one being that they spend way too much time with the peripheral characters in Pinks’ world for my taste, although some of them are interesting, (Agnes Moorehead particularly, also gives a great performance.) Then again, if the entire movie was only Her Highness’ bitchiness, I would be happy.

Speaking of which, I’ve created a montage of bitchiness from this movie for you to enjoy, (there are no spoilers.) Bask in the cuntiness!

I have to add that it was a herculean task to whittle down the bitchiness to less than three minutes, because really, at least 50 percent of the movie consists of moments like these, I just fished out the ones that put the biggest smile on my face. There were other moments I love as well, but they gave away too much of the plot. I also want to add that the sadism and masochism in these clips is even more severe (and funny) when put in the context of the story.

The reason I write all this is because "The Big Street" will be released on DVD for the first time on June 19th. This makes me happy I didn’t discover the movie earlier; otherwise I would have added a resounding “finally” to that statement. From my short research, it’s not clear what special features, if any, this DVD will contain, perhaps only the trailer, which can also be seen on the TCM link below. Regardless, it’s a definite must buy for me. Now, especially, since I recently re-watched the movie for this little review, and have realized that it’s only getting better with repeated viewings. Needless to say this one gets my high recommendation. If anyone catches it on TV or buys the DVD be sure to let me know what you think!

Links:
"The Big Street" TMC page - Again, Spoiler warning. Check out the Trailer, Production Stills and Article. Just don't read the synopsis on the bottom of the home page or the "Full" synopsis (same thing), which gives away the entire movie.
Extended clip on YouTube

Do it!

2007-05-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

So my friend M-Y-K and I were joking about the 1975 Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony song “The Hustle” the other night. (Inside joke with long back story) That prompted me give it a listen yesterday, and you know, I honestly forgot how fuckin’ great the song is! I concede that it hasn’t dated nearly as well as other disco songs (keep in mind that it was released pretty early in the disco era), but if you listen with an objective ear, it’s really nothing short of a great pop song.

What is there to not love about this song? I especially love the Herb Alpert-y touch with the horns. I also love the lyrics, all 5 words of it. “Do The Hustle!” “Do it!” I’m sure this observation as been made before, but jeez, that lyric is so demanding! It’s like they’re holding you at gun point; “You BETTER shake your booty or else!”

I also wanted to add my praise to the first two volumes (and only the first two volumes) of “The Disco Years” released by Rhino records in 1990. I’m not really into compilation CDs, but I’ve had these 2 CD’s for many years now and they are really superb. In my opinion, if somebody quickly wanted the most absolutely basic, yet moderately comprehensive 70s disco collection in 4 CDs or less, I would recommend these two albums, along with the Donna Summer 12 inch single compilation called “The Dance Collection” and maybe “Dance, Dance, Dance: The Best of Chic”? That’s just my opinion, does anyone else have recommendations?

That awesome GIF came from this website. Many thanks to a certain blogger for bringing it to my attention!

Martha Stewart is my hero.

2007-05-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot how much I love Martha Stewart. (I can't stand to watch her new show) However, this clip refreshed my memory...

I defy anyone to not love her cold steeliness and back-handed compliments.

Source: Martha Stewart Will Straighten Lindsay Lohan Out

Won’t you be my (good) neighbor?

2007-05-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

My last post on “El Rio Del Tiempo” at EPCOT changing over to a “Three Caballeros” theme reminded me to let those who were unaware know that Disney has been releasing many great old “Disneyland Records” titles exclusively on iTunes.

While I admit it would have been much nicer to have these in uncompressed CD quality, several of these titles have never been re-released since they were originally issued on LP, so, I’m just content that they are easily available in any form. Plus, they’ve done and outstanding restoration job (to my ears, especially when you consider the age of some of the material.) Here is a list of what has been released thus far:

Released November 7, 2006

1. Annette - NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
2. Songs from the Mickey Mouse Club Serials
3. Hawaiiannette
4. Mary Martin Hi-Ho
5. Ukulele Ike Sings Again
6. Burl Ives: Chim Chim Cher-ee & Other Children’s Choices
7. Rex Allen Sings 16 Golden Hits
8. Let’s Get Together with Hayley Mills
9. Woody’s Round Up
10. Musical Highlights from the Mickey Mouse Club TV Show
11. Fairy Tale Weddings (Instrumental Impressions)
12. A Child’s Garden of Verses - NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
13. Walt Disney Takes You To Disneyland *
14. Professor Ludwig Von Drake *
15. Annette’s Beach Party – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
16. Summer Magic Soundtrack
17. Alice In Wonderland (Camarata) *
18. Sebastian
19. Rhythm of the Pridelands
20. Walt Disney Records Archive Collection Volume 1 – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
21. Walt Disney Records Archive Collection Volume 2 – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE

Released January 16, 2007

1. The Black Hole Soundtrack - NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
2. Fess Parker: Cowboy and Indian Songs
3. Louis Prima: Let’s Fly with Mary Poppins *
4. Danceannette – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE *
5. Mickey Mouse Disco *
6. Echoes of Disneyland – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
7. Saludos Amigos – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE *
8. Babes In Toyland
9. Stan Jones: Ghost Riders In the Sky – NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE
10. Tinpanorama

Apparently, there will be another wave coming sometime in June. The asterisks indicate my favorites; the ones I have downloaded or plan to download. This of course includes the “Saludos Amigos” album.

This album is not the original soundtrack, but rather, a studio album from 1958. But it’s a fantastic album nonetheless and one I highly recommend. The album actually contains music from both “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros” sung by an anonymous Disney chorus. As I said in the “Rio” post, these two films are among my favorites. You also can’t beat an album that features a cover with Mary Blair sketches!

There were 3 studio albums produced containing music from “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros” (the original scores actually used in the films have never been released in any form). The last was the aforementioned 1958 Disneyland album now on iTunes. Previous to that, the there were two 78 RPM albums (literally, a set of three records each, in an album) for both “Amigos” and “Caballeros”. These were both released on the Decca label in 1944, the year “Three Caballeros” was released (Disney didn’t form their own label until about a decade later).

These albums were never re-released in LP form, which of course, makes them a rarity. But I recently came across this fantastic website, where they have lovingly transferred both albums into MP3 form (Amongst many other children’s records from the forties and fifties, including more Disney!). Check it out:

http://www.kiddierecords.com/
Saludos Amigos - Charles Wolcott and his Orchestra
The Three Caballeros - Charles Wolcott and his Orchestra

Time to bust out your cuíca!

El Rio Del Tiempo 1982-2007

2007-05-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

I was immensely devastated when I recently visited MiceAge.com and read this article By Kevin Yee.

I've only visited Walt Disney World in Florida once, in the summer of 2004. It was very exciting for me, because, as those of you who know me know, I grew up going to Disneyland in California and love the joint. (If you are also a Disney theme park fan, you probably already figured that out by the theme of my blog.) I was mostly looking forward to visiting The Magic Kingdom, which is essentially the “Disneyland Park” at the Disney World Resort, thinking it would be cool check out all the differences. That actually turned out to be kind of a disappointment, what I really fell in love with was EPCOT.

There are so many reasons EPCOT is just awesome, but I won't get into that right now. I’ll just explain, for those who do not know, that EPCOT is really two theme Parks in one,” Future World” and “World Showcase.” Future World is basically the concept Walt Disney had for the original Tomorrowland at Disneyland. There are different pavilions showcasing the history and future of different technologies. World Showcase is also comprised of different pavilions, well, “showcasing” different countries from around the word. The whole thing smacks of museum-like “edu-tainment” which is totally up my alley. (On the shuttle bus to the Airport at the end of our trip, a talkative driver polled the passengers as to which was their favorite of the resort theme parks, and I was the only one who cheered for EPCOT, and I cheered hard) The episode of The Simpsons, “Special Edna” (one of my favorites of the past 5 years) pretty much nails it in terms of what most people’s perceptions and/or opinions of the park are…

In recent years however as the older attractions became dated (i.e. better), the newer attractions they replace them with have been chipping away at the original concept. Edu-tainment goes out, and thrills or more conventional Disney character driven attractions go in. Kevin Yee’s article documents the most recent casualty, the “El Rio Del Tiempo” attraction in the Mexico pavilion in World Showcase.

“El Rio Del Tiempo” was quite possibly my favorite ride in all of Disney World. The MiceAge article gives a nicely detailed before and after, but I thought I’d give you my tour of this now gone Disney masterpiece. I’ll be using this fantastic video, with some low quality video and pictures I took with my digital camera on my visit. However, I think the best way I could convey the greatness to you is to recreate my facial expressions as I rode the thing (Please forgive my bad acting and disheveled appearance) So, here we go...

I was already excited to check out this ride to begin with, simply because, I am from Mexico and I was curious to see a World Showcase attraction from the point of view of someone from that actual country. First off, the ride is called “El Rio Del Tiempo”, which translates to “The River of Time”. What do you think that insinuates? One would expect a ride about the history of Mexico, right? Keep this in mind. The ride is an indoor boat ride like “The Pirates of the Caribbean” or “It’s A Small World”, that fact alone already wins super bonus points from me.

The ride starts off very similar to “The Pirates of the Caribbean” at Disneyland. You shove off from the loading dock into an indoor lagoon with a permanent nighttime sky. You ride alongside a quaint candle lit restaurant ala The Blue Bayou, only this one serves Mexican Food of course. To your left, opposite the restaurant, are Mayan looking temples, you then turn and enter the temple door and that’s where the ride really begins. The first section makes sense, it represents Pre-Columbian Mexico. You ride through ruins as a voice over talks about the ancient civilizations of Mexico. Every few feet there were these really cool rear projection screens showing life in ancient times, check it out…

I don’t know what it was about the rear projections that I really loved, I just think there is something older-school Disney about them. It reminded me of the use of rear projections at Disneyland (The Haunted Mansion, The Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln pre-show and The Flavor of Hawaii come to mind). The “Rio” rear projections were actually very impressive and sharp looking, considering their age, but of course, they didn’t photograph or video too well. I’m guessing I looked something like this as I rode though this section:

You then immediately go from “ancient Mexico” to this:

All of the sudden, for no reason, “El Rio Del Tiempo” became “It’s A Small World!” I must add that I planned my trip to Disney World at the last minute, unaware that the “It’s A Small World” attraction at Magic Kingdom would be down for a major rehab in the middle of that summer. I actually didn’t find this out until we were already there, which of course was a huge bummer for me since “Small World” is one of my favorite attractions at Disneyland and I was dying to see the Florida counterpart. Having said that, when we got to this section of “Rio”, nonsensical as it was, I estimate my reaction to be something like this:

I can’t emphasize how “Small World” like and Mary Blair inspired this section of the ride was (right down to the happy repetitive song). The video pretty much speaks for itself, but here are a couple pictures I took on my visit. They are, unfortunately, the only good ones I took of this attraction:

It was only well after we passed through this section that something occurred to me; if you try and follow the “Rio Del Tiempo” theme, (the chronological history of Mexico) you realize they just marginalized the invasion and colonization of ancient Mexico by the Spanish Empire by turning it into “It’s A Small World!” That’s so wrong! Yet, so Disney and so right!

Next we enter a cave, with many rear projection screens; these are supposed represent Modern Mexico. That’s right; we are already at modern Mexico in scene 3! (If you know the slightest bit about Mexican history you know that there’s quite a bit in between, including a couple revolutions.) At this point you basically have to throw out the entire “River of Time” concept because the rest of the ride will have nothing to do with that. This super misleading theme made me love the attraction even more. The cave section plays exactly like a "Visit Mexico" ad from 1982, complete with water skiing, scuba diving and film of cliff divers in Acapulco as well as “Los Voladores de Papantla”...

Did you catch that second scene?? Here it is again in slow motion along with some video I took on my digital camera...

Eww, they’re getting ready to have an orgy! With Mariachis serenading them no less! Neither video captures how the girls looked exactly like the Aerobicise girls and how slimy the guys were. It basically looked exactly like a scene from a 1980s sexicomedia. Sick! My reaction to that projection was something like this series:

Next we make a turn and arrive at the most infamous part of this attraction. I don’t even know where to begin with this one (again with some silent video I took on my digital camera)...

I'm still speechless! It’s so ridiculously un-PC and offensive you could feel everyone in the boat get uncomfortable. I laughed, how could you not laugh! (Begin sarcasm) That’s Mexico folks! Annoying street vendors and beggars! (End sarcasm) That this section lasted until 2007 is unbelievable. It was so ludicrous, I was simultaneously appalled and loving it, which I think looked something like this series:

Next we arrive in “Mexico City”. There we see a Xochimilco boat and a painting of the Paseo de la Reforma on the wall. It’s nighttime and there’s a celebration with fireworks for some unknown reason. To your left is a carousel of marionettes:

The video does not capture how truly frightening those marionettes are. Kevin Yee hit the nail on the head with the description “nightmarish puppets that scared the be-Jesus out of many a rider”. They reminded me of those scary puppets on Mr. Rogers when they go to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, only 30 times larger. Since the video is somewhat blurry and misses out on all the scary details, I’ve re-edited it to give you a sense of the feelings you had seeing this in person:

At this point I think I reacted like this:

And with that, the ride has come to an end. But before you disembark, there is yet another “Small World” inspired touch with this map mural on the wall:

Overall, "Loved It!" (said in Oprah voice.) I rode this ride about 5 times! It wasn’t hard, it really never had a line. One time I had the boat all to myself. My friend Marcus didn’t care to experience the magic five times.

Another point I forgot to mention was that all of the people who work in the pavilions at World Showcase are actually from that respective country, which adds so much to its appeal and to the immersive theming there. They are college students studying abroad, (or so they claim, they could be indentured servants for all we know.) I was desperate to ask the girls working there, (they were all girls for some reason) what they really thought of the ride, this representation of our country, when they first rode. (I would have asked in Spanish, of course.) But, I sadly never worked up the nerve. They did always give me peculiar looks as I disembarked with a huge grin on my face, like this one:

I must admit that I’m sort of conflicted about the changes they made to this ride. They really didn’t physically alter the attraction at all, aside from removing the killer marionettes, the only major changes were to all the rear projections. The Three Caballeros is one of my all time favorite Disney classics and it does have something to do with Mexico. The film also has many prominent Mary Blair touches, and hence, does mesh well with the Mary Blair touches that were in the ride already. My question is, why fuck with perfection? I guess I’ll have to someday reconcile with the fact that my personal taste will always be a little off. At least I’m glad I got to see it the old way.

Credits:
I couldn’t have given you this tour without the fantastic Mexico pavillon video by ru42 which you can see in its entirety on YouTube or at this website.

The Price Is Right aesthetic....

2007-04-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what it is, Perhaps it’s my love of all 70s décor. (It is a universal truth that interior/set design peaked in the 1970s, just like everyone knows that fashion reached its zenith in the 1980s. Both have only gone downhill since.) Jeremy Scott did a game show inspired collection back in 2001 that I thought was fucking genius, considering the time. (Here's a video of the collection and Jeremy Scott meeting Vanna White)

The fact that the show has changed little in 35 years is reassuring, and I think that’s a big reason for its continued popularity. One change I wished they hadn't made was the models; they should have kept the old school ones, Janice, Dian and Holly.

Look at them! If I ran that show I would still have these ladies on. 50 and 60-something year old plastic surgery victims are always hot! And, they would still have these outfits and hair, then, the show would be perfection.

My friend M-y-k and I have gone to a taping twice within the past year, once before and once after Bob Barker announced his retirement. Neither times were we called to “come on down!” (Apparently, we’re not “TV pretty”). I guess winning some Michael C. Fina or a Broyhill dinette set wasn’t in the cards for us.

I’ll spare you all the details of my experience at The Price Is Right, the million other blog entries out there pretty much cover it. It’s mostly many hours of waiting in boredom until the hour of taping which is very exciting. Oh, and the studio smells like the 70’s. I also really, really want to make a shirt from the proscenium curtains. (As seen in this old picture of Rod Roddy...)

You can see my friend and I yell out prices in the audience tomorrow, April 30, 2007.

In the meantime, enjoy my favorite TPIR music/sounds/links…

TPIR fan site
TPIR fonts and sound bytes
TPIR music

Anita O'Day 1919-2006

2007-03-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

I definitely enjoy jazz, but I wouldn’t consider myself a huge aficionado. I really haven’t studied its history in-depth. My main interest in jazz seems to be improvisational vocalists. (Not all of them improvise, which I don’t get. Isn’t that the whole point of “jazz”?) I don’t know why, they just speak to me for some reason. Come to think of it, most singers I like, pop, jazz or otherwise employ some sort of improvisation. Betty Carter, one of my favorites, had this to say about another favorite during an interview:

"I can't think of any white girl singer who has her own style except, perhaps Anita O'Day,"

I agree. If ever there was an original white girl singer, it was Anita. That quote is found in the liner notes of this CD. Ted Ono, who penned the liner notes, goes on to say this:

“For those who are not familiar with Ms. Carter it should be explained that this was the greatest compliment she could have ever given to a white jazz singer. That is because she has been known to be terribly down on non-black singers who received any favorable attention from jazz DJs and critics.”

From the outset, I wanted my blog to include selections of music that I like. So here you go, my first will pay tribute to one of my favorite singers, Anita O’Day. Anita passed away last Thanksgiving.

I, like most of her fans, first discovered Anita O’Day by watching “Jazz on a Summer’s Day”, the fantastic Bert Stern film documenting the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival/America’s cup. It’s a documentary that was filmed in a similar style to the “Woodstock” documentary that was done years later. Her performance was nothing short of stellar. She sang "Sweet Georgia Brown" and “Tea for Two”. I found the performance fascinating mostly because of the strange dichotomy between the way she looked and the way she sang. When you see her come upon the stage, she is dressed as she later described, for “tea time”, because of the afternoon time that she performed. She looks sharp, but not that unlike a model in some 1950s car advertisement. Once she starts to sing, however, it’s sort of shock. She gets down and swings hard! Then, to later find out that she was in the middle of her fifteen year long heroin addiction, and that she was quite high off her mind during this performance, well, it was quite unexpected and intriguing to say the least. Her 1981 autobiography “High Times, Hard Times” is a fascinating and entertaining read I highly recommend. She also talks about this performance, her heroin addiction and other subjects in this great 1987 NPR interview.

She actually started out with big bands during the swing era, but later developed more of a bebop sensibility out of necessity. A doctor had accidentally sliced off her uvula during a tonsillectomy when she was very young; as a result she had no natural vibrato. She was unaware of this until years later when she had already begun singing. She used it to her favor and came up with her distinctive style which was very ahead of it’s time for the 1940s. The songs I chose this time around showcase that distinct style....

....OK, maybe not so much this first song. This cut of “Memories of You” was recorded with the Stan Kenton orchestra in 1945. I think this song, (along with her later signature “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”) definitely proves that despite her vocal “limitations” (for lack of a better word) she could still knock a ballad out of the park.

The undisputable highlights of her career were the seventeen albums she recorded on the Norgran and Verve labels between 1952 and 1962. This is “Body and Soul” off the “Anita Sings the Winners” album from 1958.

“Once Upon a Summertime” is the title track to the second album she released on her own label, after she got clean in the late sixties. However, I believe the track was recorded live before she got clean, or, it at least sure sounds like it! I love her dreamy take on this song.

Anita O’Day had a very long career, literally spanning six decades, so I’m sure you’ll see her popping up on here again.

Best cell phone accessory, ever

2007-03-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

This is for real, you can purchase it from the MoMA store.
It's for those who want to subtly say, "Fuck Bluetooth" to their fellow public transport passengers. If I ever get a cell phone, I'm so gonna rock this.

Update: Apparently they also sell this at the Urban Outfitters. I still like it.

Welcome/Bienvenidos/Bienvenue/Willkommen!

2007-03-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

So I was going to try to be really cute and write my first blog entry on the information overload that we suffer from today due to the Internet, DVR, Podcasts, blogs and the like. Then I started to do the tiniest bit of research and got lazy. There’s even more irony in the fact that there’s way too much information out there about information overload.

I also wanted to touch upon the subject of my generation and younger being more self-absorbed and self-important than generations previous, which is completely true, and a shame. This is why (I think) there are way too many blogs. So, now I’m adding mine into the mix. eh, EH! Get it! I guess it’s been said a million times before. Fuck it, so much for trying to be clever. As a matter of fact, I promise that will be my last intentional effort at being clever in this blog. Expect lots of horrendous puns and bad humor.

I really don’t know what business I have even trying to write a blog. Those of you who know me (the only people reading this, I’m sure) know I barely write e-mails or use the telephone. I don’t know what I’m going to fill this blog with. Most likely, nonsense, shit I like, things that make me laugh (and maybe will make you laugh).

Anyhow, enjoy. Or at least keep a frozen smile on your face and pretend to for my benefit. I can see you.