Reasons To Be Cheerful: week of 06/20/08

- - and so back to Boise. I've landed once again, after much touring and some truly great visits with friends and family.

Since this time last week, Seattle rocked again, as did Portland, 'cuz Portland Rocks.

For the next couple of weeks, 'Back in Boise' will be all about packing and boxing up and storing in preparation for moving.
Not quite hauling yet, as I still don't know where I'm hauling to...

...but the archives are embarrasingly vast, and getting everything prepped and secure will be a major ongoing chore.

Boxes and tape and sharpies and heavy lifting! Oh Boy!

1. Speaking of which, looks like among the first wave of packing will be all the little tchotchkes, the 'dork decor', the tableau - -

- - Basically the outer layer of crap arranged 'just so' around all the other crap.

As I start lovingly boxing up all that essential effluvia, my mind always turns to all the old cartoons that warped me a bit when I saw them as a kid, the ones where things on the shelves come alive at night. You know the ones.

Lo, and behold, a link at STWALLSKULL led directly to one of them archived at GoogleVideo.

A classic! From 1936, one of Harman-Ising's
'Happy Harmonies' cartoons, 'Bottles'... ▼



Still great (and creepy) after all these years.
My appetite whetted, I searched some more and found all 3 of the crazy 'Three Little Monkeys' cartoons at YouTube:

(Follow links to view in a new window)

- 1935's "Good Little Monkeys"
- 1938's "Pipe Dreams" (Wow!)
- 1939's "Art Gallery"

- And finally, leave it to Warner Brothers to so perfectly lampoon a genre they'd helped to create! Here's a link to one of the best; From 1946, "Book Review", with special appearance by Daffy Duck as Danny Kaye. ▶


Meanwhile...

2. We got letters. I had a very nice note from PhillyRadioGeek, who's been checking out ILTS for about 3 months.

In reference to the Miyoshi Umeki piece I posted after her death last September, he's sent along a link to a Bill Bixby Tribute, posted at his site, Me And You And A Blog Name Boo.

(It's the 'Courtship of Eddie's Father' connection - - got it?)

While visiting, you should also check out his Incredible Hulk and Hulkapalooza posts, for lotsa links to all things large, green, and
Gamma-ray irradiated.

- - And speaking of Bixby, don't miss the grainy-as-hell but still fascinating video clip of
'Mr. Rogers Neighborhood visits the set of The Incredible Hulk'! Thanks Philly!







3. Thanks too to Joe Sixpack for sending along the link to the 'Greetings From Joe Cocker' videoclip below, ▼ providing a translation to his historic Woodstock performance, entirely in the same vein as the previously posted Carmina Burana 'translation'.



4. Also this week via STWALLSKULL came a link to a post at Illutration Art about the work of Paul Coker, Jr., an artist who's work from the 1960's and '70's is familiar to many who grew up with MAD magazine, watched any Rankin-Bass Xmas Specials, or who have ever received greeting cards.






5. Yet even still more upcoming (US-Region 1) DVD releases that have got me excited, as does pretending I'll find time to enjoy them all.
Nevertheless, in the coming months I'm likely to be looking for some of these:

- TV Shows on DVD.Com has some initial information on 'best of ' editions of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour coming to disc at last, via Time-Life.

Should be some great musical guest appearances and other stuff from this late-60's show.

As is their wont, the Brothers Smothers are planning to begin with material from Season 3 ('68-'69) and then work backward.


- Yes, I'm still a sucker for all things Apatow, and I still hold a soft spot for the TV show 'Freaks and Geeks'.

Increased success of that show's creators and its cast have likely led to Shout! Factory's decision to make the previously limited Freaks and Geeks - Yearbook Edition DVD set available again.

2 extra discs of extra material beyond the regular box set, packaged in a cool and detailed high-school-style 'yearbook' full of photos and notes and other junk for the truly devoted geek.

(It's the version I sought out years ago. No regrets!)

- TV Shows on DVD.Com also reports on an upcoming Space Angel Collection.

From 1962 - '64, Space Angel was a memorable-if-mediocre animated TV series. A sci-fi adventure that boaste the same static look and disturbing Synchro-Vox 'lip-synch' technique used previously in Clutch Cargo cartoons.



One extra thing that Space Angel had going for it was character designs and artwork by comics / animation artist Alex Toth.

See also: Alex Toth created a 6-page Space Angel comic strip for the April 1963 issue of Jack and Jill.

Follow the link! (Via Socktopi)



- More more more in ongoing series of boxsets from Warner Home Video...

More singing and dancing in a particularly mannered manner to be found in The Busby Berkeley Collection,
Vol. 2 , slated to include 'Gold Diggers of 1937', 'Gold Diggers in Paris', 'Hollywood Hotel' and 'Varsity Show'.

Lots of Dick Powell, plenty of vintage cheesecake in luscious black & white, and not nearly enough
Joan Blondell...

... Meanwhile, another feast of the brilliant
Edward G. Robinson with a side order of Bogart coming up in the Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 4, which will include 'The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse', 'The Little Giant', 'Larceny, Inc'., 'Invisible Stripes' and 'Kid Galahad'.

The inclusion of some of the Warner Studios' more comedic gangster flicks suits me just fine, especially in the case of 'Larceny, Inc.' from 1942.

Great fun in a caper comedy, one that would seem to be the direct inspiration for
Woody Allen's 'Small Time Crooks', though Woody apparently hasn't acknowledged it as such.

Edward G. is great as usual, with great turns by Broderick Crawford, a perfectly-utilized
Jack Carson, and a young Anthony Quinn.

Watch out too for a small role played by a twenty-something Jackie Gleason.

(The film title image above ▲ comes from SHillpage's always engaging Movie Title Screens Page.)

Cheech & Chong - Turn That Thing Down (45 B-side, 1974), + Tommy Chong, guitarist

Here's a follow-up to last week's Cheech & Chong post, and an opportunity to fulfill a request for the instrumental B-side of their 1974 'Earache My Eye' 45.

(Click here for the A-side lyrics, from the back of the picture sleeve)

Basically, this non-LP track continues the 'Alice Bowie' record played on the A-side, but without parental interruption, and it showcases more of
Tommy Chong's over-the-top hard-rock guitar noodling.






Listen to:
Cheech & Chong (featuring Alice Bowie) -
Turn That Thing Down
(Ode Records 45, 1974)
(click for audio)













Prior to stand-up comedy, Tommy Chong's early career had been as an R&B guitarist, most notably with Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers.

(◀ Pictured second from right, wearing glasses)

Going back to the mid-'60's, when the band wasn't traveling they were based in Vancouver, B.C. at a nightclub owned by Tommy Chong.

They signed a record deal with Motown in the late '60's, and had a hit with a Tommy Chong composition, 'Does Your Mother Know About Me', a song about interracial romance.

While touring, Chong discovered improv comedy in places like San Francisco's Committee and Chicago's Second City.

After missing gigs over Green Card problems, Tommy Chong was fired from
Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers.
He returned to British Columbia, and turned his brother's strip club into an improv theatre for his new troupe, The City Works.

It was in The City Works that he met
Cheech Marin, who had settled in Vancouver after leaving L.A. in '68 to avoid the U.S. draft during the Vietnam War.

See also:
- A Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers post and archive at Fullundie.

(link:) 'X Minus One' print ad, 1955

This full-page ad ▼ for the great old sci-fi radio series, 'X Minus One' ran on the inside front cover of the December, 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine.


'X Minus One' was broadcast on the NBC radio network from 1955 - 1958, and presented top-notch half-hour radio drama, adapting stories from some of the best Science Fiction authors of the era.

The program was essentially a revival of 'Dimension X', one of the earliest sci-fi programs on radio, which ran in 1950 - '51.

Seeing this ad brought back memories from my 1970's childhood, when KSFO-AM radio in
San Francisco would rebroadcast episodes of various vintage radio programs on weekday evenings.

"From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future. Adventures in which you will live in a million could-be years on a thousand maybe worlds."

It's been a few years since I sought out 'X Minus One', and it was a pleasant surprise (though not unexpected) to find that it has a fairly strong presence on the web these days.

Currently, Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs carries episode synopses for both the X Minus One series and Dimension X, and - - sure enough - - as of this writing, extensive audio archives exist in various spots around the web, making both series readily available for listening. (How civilized!)

Looks like the easiest mp3 file access for both shows can be gained via the Internet Archives - -
Follow links to:
- Dimension X

- X Minus One

- - and as back-up for 'X Minus One' mp3 archives, you might try the botar site, or at Otto LeJeune's.

78s fRom HeLL: Ferrante & Teicher - That Old Black Magic b/w Beezwhacks (circa 1953)

It was in 1960 that the music of piano duo
Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher took an abrupt and lucrative turn, as it headed firmly down Easy Listening's middle-of-the-road.

Their formulaic crowd-pleasing pop was a sharp contrast to the more sonically adventuresome 'prepared' piano sound present on many of their 1950's recordings, including the two posted here.

Ferrante and Teicher met in New York, while attending Julliard. They began performing together while teaching there in the latter half of the '40's.




Early on they began experimentation by modifying their instruments - - "...stuff(ing) wads of paper, sticks, rubber stops, masonite strings, cardboard wedges, and sandpaper into the pianos conjuring up weird effects
(a la [John] Cage) resembling gongs, castanets, drums, xylophone, and harpsichord." **

Pianos became percussion instruments as the team learned to play them from the inside.

Though it's currently lapsed out of print, the 1997 CD reissue of Ferrante and Teicher's 1958 'Blast Off' LP is highly recommended and worth seeking out.

But all good things come to an end.
Whether it's for the better is a matter of opinion and perspective.

Upon signing with United Artists Records in 1960, Ferrante and Teicher soon curtailed their gimmickry, filled out their sound with orchestral accompaniment, and played it straight (and safe) - - all to enormous success throughout the '60's and beyond.



Listen to:
Ferrante & Teicher - That Old Black Magic
(Columbia 78, circa 1953)

(click for audio)













Listen to:
Ferrante & Teicher - Beezwhacks
(Columbia 78, circa 1953)

(click for audio)




For more on Ferrante and Teicher, see also:
- All Music.Com

- The Official Homepage

- Space Age Pop's Ferrante and Teicher page clearly delineates the division between their prepared piano works and easy listening era.

- At Showcase, a Dutch record collector relates a tale of discovering the 1955 LP, 'Soundproof', and has posted a track.

Treasure Chest Comics: A 'wacky' 1962 'artist-jam wrap-around' cover

Oh my Gosh, what's happening here?!? ▼

(Click on image to ENLARGE in a new window) ▼

The September, 1962 cover image above ▲ was a collaborative effort from 11 different artists whose work appeared regularly in Treasure Chest.

Some of them, like Reed Crandall, Joe Sinnott, and Dick Giordano were also well-known for their legacies in more secular comics titles.

Below ▼ you'll find the inside scoop behind this admittedly puzzling comics cover.

(Have you noticed over the course of many years how often Abraham Lincoln shows up in various pop culture media's attempts to portray a scene where things are out of place?)

Treasure Chest was an interesting item in the world of comic books, familiar to many, Terra Incognita to others (like myself) who grew up outside of its realm.

The Catholic-themed anthology comic book was published from 1946 - 1972, and was distributed only via student subscriptions in parochial schools, delivered in bulk to the classrooms.

For most of its history, Treasure Chest was only issued during the school year, and prior to going monthly in 1960, it came out twice a month.

Its various short stories and ongoing serials could typically range from historical biography to sports stories to the adventures of school kids (just like you) and beyond, but all were meant to be inspirational and to illustrate Catholic ideals.

(Click on image below ▼ to ENLARGE text in a new window)



For more about Treasure Chest Comics:
- Wikipedia's page is a good place to start. Good info and several links .

- Mark Evanier's archives include a nice article he wrote about Reed Crandall's infamous early-sixties serial, 'This Godless Communism'.
'This Godless Communism' can also be read in its entirety at The Authentic History Center.

- Likewise, much of Treasure Chest's run has been archived and is available for reading.
I suggest browsing by story title.

The Johannesburg Street Band - Thimlela b/w Pata Pata (1968)

Jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela emigrated from his native South Africa in 1960, settling in New York City following time spent at London's Guildhall School of Music.

Soon after Masekela's first solo LP release, he married singer Miriam Makeba in 1964.
The two had worked together often since the late '50's in South Africa.

By 1968, he'd relocated to Los Angeles, following his divorce from Makeba.
That same year he recorded his highest-charting hit, 'Grazing In The Grass'.

The Johannesburg Street Band was a project formed by Masekela along with members of The Jazz Crusaders; trombonist Wayne Henderson and tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder.

Both tracks off of this 45 would appear on their LP, 'Dancin' Through The Streets', released on MCA's Uni subsidiary label.

In 1970, The Crusaders (having dropped 'Jazz' from their name at Masekela's suggestion) signed with Masekela's newly-formed Chisa record label.


Listen to:
The Johannesburg Street Band - Thimlela
(Uni Records 45, 1968)
(click for audio)










Listen to:
The Johannesburg Street Band - Pata Pata
(Uni Records 45, 1968)
(click for audio)

(FYI: Miriam Makeba's hit vocal version of her song 'Pata Pata' was released in 1967)


See also:
- A Hugh Masekela Biography / Discography page at Doug Payne's Sound Insights

'Cardtalk' - - minimalist record player or torture device?

Honestly, I'm not sure what the point is to this little oddity...

Have you seen one before?

(ADDENDUM: Many have! See below, and see comments on this post for great info and recollections!)




































The 'Cardtalk' is essentially a folded piece of cardboard with a nail attached.

You are supposed to use it to play spoken-word 78s.

I found it mixed in with a nice batch of old 78 RPM Rock & Roll records given to me by my friend Ripspix.

He had no clue either. It had come to him similarly, mixed in with a batch of stuff he'd bought.

My best guess is that it was meant to be a novelty item, sort of a science experiment.

I can't imagine that this was intended to be a truly useful piece of sound equipment.

I'll assume that it first appeared a few years following the demise of the 78 RPM format, perhaps early '60's, when the old records were still around but were cast off, outdated items, like 8-tracks and
Beta videocassettes would be in years to follow.

To operate, you'd place your 78 RPM record on the evil-looking little spindle, then sort of tent the folded cardboard over it so the clipped on nail 'stylus' could rest in the grooves of the record.

Wait, it gets better. You are also instructed to gouge or burn a hole in the label of the record, so that you can place the end of a pencil or "pointed stick" in it.

By pushing the pencil you begin spinning the record by hand, trying (I guess) to approximate 78 revolutions per minute.

Perhaps at some point I'll go beyond setting up a visual demo of The Cardtalk in action for the purpose of photographic documentation.

Truth is I couldn't bring myself to really try it all out.

I'm not yet prepared to hear the wonders of
high-fidelity Cardtalk sound reproduction.

I think perhaps that The Cardtalk may have been manufactured as a means of torturing old records.

- - Or more to the point - - of torturing old record collectors.

ADDENDUM, 6/16/08:
PLEASE see comments on this post for helpful information and insights, including the wide use of 'Cardtalk' devices by missionaries to help educate and spread gospel in locations of the world without electricity. Thanks to the folks in the know for sharing their memories!

Reasons To Be Cheerful: week of 06/13/08

Greetings from Vancouver, Washington.
The travels continue. Seeing sights, visiting my people, getting stuff done, and occasionally enjoying nice weather.

1. Last weekend's Seattle adventure included a trip to Little Red Studio for their monthly 'Psychedelic Show'.
(With an emphasis on 'trip')



I'd heard about the theater group from my cousin's tales of his time performing with the troupe, so it was good to put names with faces (and other body parts).

Picture a cabaret of the 'I know, let's put on a show!' variety, but replace Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney with a large revolving crew of aerialists, poets, dancers, musicians, extroverts, exhibitionists and other 'alternative' types.

Put them in a very comfy and intimate theater space in the shadow of Seattle's Space Needle, add some yummy desserts through the course of a casually lengthy evening, hang out and enjoy the fun (and the flesh, as it turns out).
A charming experience, and one you may wish to investigate sometime.

- - and don't tell anyone, but I kept that brush they handed me for the nude body-painting session as a souvenir.

2. Monday morning took me north across the border into Vancouver, B.C. for a coupla days of non-definitive happy running about in a truly beautiful and amazing city.

I didn't know about the cool show happening at the Vancouver Art Gallery ahead of time, but it was hard not to spot the ads everywhere on banners and buses, and it turned out to be walking distance from my hotel near the north end of the
Granville Bridge...


'KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art' is running now through
September 7, 2008 at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

- From a post at PopCultureShock:

"One of the largest exhibitions ever organized by the Gallery, KRAZY! occupies two entire floors of gallery space.

"Divided into seven sections defined by medium, the exhibition takes viewers through ever-changing gallery environments, which include a mini-theatre for viewing animated cartoons and anime, immersive video spaces and innovative reading environments for visitors to experience a deluge of manga, graphic novels and comics.

"Built to ensure visitors are exposed to the full breath of the media, the exhibition comprises more than 600 artworks, including original sketches, concept drawings, sketchbooks, storyboards, production drawings, films, video games, animation cels, three dimensional models, sculptures, books, manga and much more."

Highlights for me included exhibits of work by artists and comics creators Harvey Kurtzman,
Linda Barry, Milt Gross, Raymond Pettibon, and Seth, original storyboard art from Disney's 'Dumbo' and UPA's 'Gerald McBoing Boing', and 'shadow puppets' from Lotte Reininger's 1926 animated feature film 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed'.

It was a wonderful and slightly odd experience to see the work of so many innovative folks given a proper museum treatment.

Harkening back to my childhood love of comics and animation, I felt a bit vindicated as I pictured the ghost of my mother rolling her eyes and scowling a bit.

See also:
- 'Cool World', an article at Galleries West.

3. On Wednesday they allowed me to return to the U.S., and en route back to Seattle I spent part of the foggy day in Bellingham, Washington, discovering among its many charms, within a few blocks of each other;

- A couple of top-notch used book stores
- A quite decent comic book shop and a fun antique store
- A massive new & used record store, with reasonable prices on some surprising vinyl scores
- The unlikely-sounding Tofu Reuben sandwich at The Old Town Cafe. Sounds a bit appaling and like it shouldn't work it all, but tastes great and hangs together perfectly!

Also in Bellingham, I stumbled happily upon the wondrous and delightful American Museum of Radio and Electricity.

Not only is it filled with beautiful old radios and phonographs and other vintage audio equipment, but much of their exhibits are hands-on and decidedly
kid-friendly.
The space reeks of 'labor of love' and is a treasure to behold if you have any love at all for this stuff or curiousity about the history of audio and electrical science.
Affiliated with and helping to support the project is a terrific radio station, housed in the same building.

What a boon to the community! I was very impressed.

Apart from travels in the real world this past week, some other happy discoveries...

4. Below, ▼ 'Alice' - - Pogo's YouTube clip is accompanied by his electronic music piece, 90% of which is derived from the audio track of Disney's animated 'Alice In Wonderland'. Hypnotic!



(Found via Hello Vegetables)

5. Some impending and notable DVD releases (US Region 1):

- Arriving in September, 'The Best of... What's Left of...Not Only... But Also' will present material from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's 1960's British TV comedy sketch show on a single disc.

Is this the first US DVD release for any of this material?
Maybe more will follow, fingers crossed...

- See also: The Establishment,
The Peter Cook Appreciation Society website.

- I've been wanting to see 'Ekusute' (or 'Exte-Hair Extensions') for a couple of years now, ever since catching the horrific and hysterical original Japanese movie trailer at YouTube.

Set to arrive at the end of July as 'Hair Extensions (EXTE): Special Edition', this tale of killer hair run amuck will be released on two discs in the U.S., presumably with an original Japanese version subtitled, and an
english-dubbed edit included.


- Also in July, one I've been waiting for such a long time:
Director John Sayles' 'Baby It's You', from 1983.

I saw it when it first came out, a couple of times I think.

I remember thinking it wasn't perfect, but it introduced Sayles to me, and it made me fall in love with
Rosanna Arquette for a time, so I'm very pleased with the notion of seeing it again.

I'd like to see how the angles of the dysfunctional
romance / 1960's odyssey strike me now...



- Lastly, if, like many others, you missed seeing the stellar performances of Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes in director / writer Martin McDonagh's completely BRILLIANT 'In Bruges' as it raced in and out of theaters like it was being chased by a bull, your opportunity to see this fine film is coming around again, beginning at the end of this month. Seize it.

Coven - I Guess It's A Beautiful Day (Least I Think It Is) (1973)

This song was the 45 flip-side of Coven's re-recorded version of 'One Tin Soldier', a song that charted three times for the band between 1971 and 1974.

Though it gave them their biggest success, in a typical bit of commercial irony, the sound of 'One Tin Soldier' (and this song) put forth an image of the band that bore little resemblance to their usual repertoire.

-In the photo, shown standing behind lead vocalist Jinx Dawson, from left to right: organist Rick Durrett, guitarist Chris Neilsen, drummer Steve Ross, &
bassist Oz Osborne (no relation).

When Coven formed in Chicago, Illinois and recorded their first LP in 1969 ('Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls'), they blended psychedelic rock music with lyrics that expressed their growing interest in Satanism and the occult.

This has since gained the band a reputation as being pioneers of Gothic Rock.

That controversial first album, complete with a 'Black Mass' poster, was pulled from release by Mercury Records after an Esquire magazine article about devil cults included a photo of Charles Manson holding a copy of the LP.




Listen to:
Coven - I Guess It's A Beautiful Day (Least I Think It Is)
(MGM 45, 1973)
(click for audio)

For more information on Coven and their current incarnation, leader Jinx Dawson has not one, but three MySpace pages, with plenty of audio and video:
- Jinx Dawson
- Jinx and the Coven
- Official Jinx Dawson / Coven Site

Report From The Road: Archie McPhee is Alive and Well and Living in Seattle

This past weekend I was tooling around various Seattle neighborhoods with a cousin of mine.

It's been many years since I've visited Seattle, and so it'd been just as many years since visiting
Archie McPhee, the retail outlet for the Accoutrements line of novelties and the Archie McPhee catalog.

It had turned into a lovely and warm sunny Sunday afternoon as my cousin drove me around.

First we went to Seattle's Fremont District ('The center of the universe; set your watch back five minutes'), saw the Lenin statue, the Fremont Rocket, and looked at the constant stream of people going to look at the
Fremont Troll residing under the Aurora Bridge and Highway 99.

I was surprised - - but not shocked - - to see how the neighborhood had grown since I was there in the '90's.

(click on images to ENLARGE in a new window)

From Fremont we headed over to Ballard (and the inevitable burgeoning 'FreeBall' district) and Archie McPhee's - - home of assorted plastic animals, the Edgar Allan Poe action figure, bacon-scented air freshener and flavorless 'Nihilist' chewing gum.

I knew that I was a little concerned about what I'd see this time around.

Back in the day, the stuff from Archie McPhee's was ever-so-slightly 'outside', their catalog and store even more so, and so a trip to that original store was a unique experience - - not just for the shopping, but simply to witness all those oddities under one roof.

Since then, all across the U.S. it seems like inside any gift shop or card store or kooky boutique you can't swing a rubber chicken without hitting a few of their products.

Upon entering the store, my worries dissipated.

Yes, absolutely, you'll see an abundance of all the boxing nuns, pig launchers and devil duckies that you can see anywhere - - but it's their festive and random presentation of those items alongside all sorts of other oddball 'surplus' goods that make for a fascinating retail experience. (In their neighboring annex, too. So many decorating ideas!)

Glass urinals. Motorcycle chains. Mailbox slots. Metal casters. Plastic letters. Different sizes of traffic light lenses. British Royal Mail jackets. Ball bearings.

Seeing that stuff right alongside bins of super balls, plastic moose, pez dispensers and other novelties did my heart good.

Yes, it may be hard to imagine some of the situations where a person might need some of these things, but you can say that about many retail establishments, and that may not necessarily be the point of visiting the Archie McPhee store.

Next time you're in Seattle, Washington and in need of a 'retail-outlet-as-museum' experience, I urge you to visit and see for yourself.