Coke v. Pepsi

I had to do a lot of research to write a paper on "New Coke," and now you will suffer the consequences in this (for some reason) French-made documentary about Coca-Cola's rivalry with Pepsi.

Also for some reason, here's Max Headroom shilling for Coke, that one time when he was actually funny.

More Starland Vocal Band and Letterman

Did you enjoy this post about the Starland Vocal Band so much you wanted more, more, more?  Here's the first episode of the group's variety show with a young David Letterman as a sort of co-host.  His segments are actually quite sharp.  Seeing Mark Russell on this show -- and out of his PBS element -- is bizarre.

And here's "Boulder to Birmingham," a lovely SVB tune written by their talented tunesmith, Bill Danoff (writer of many other big hits for others).

The Best of Ralph Wiggum

Here's naivety incarnate on The Simpsons; I believe this is an extra on one of the DVD sets, but not sure which one.



#SNL4kidz

The Academy Awards v. the BBC

The Oscars sometimes miss the mark and give the award to a less-than-enduring piece of work (such as "How Green Was My Valley" winning over "Citizen Kane").  The BBC's list of the greatest films puts the Oscars "to shame," as this author tells us.

DuMont: The 4th network

If you ever wanted to know all about the DuMont network, here's the site for you.  Along with giving Jackie Gleason his first break, and inventing a revolutionary system for "telerecording," DuMont eventually gave way to Metromedia, which formed the backbone of Fox TV 30 years after DuMont went off the air.

Prince on SNL, 1981 redux

In a call-back to this post about Prince on SNL in 1981, here's a Washington Post article that sheds more light on how the Purple One landed on the worst season of Saturday Night Live.

Tom Waits and Jeremy Irons

This has been floating around but I changed the caption.

The Beach Boys' Smile

So much has been written about the "lost" album that the Beach Boys could or should have released in 1967 to followup "Pet Sounds."  I've listened extensively to the outtakes from the disk on their 1993 boxed set, I've listened to bootleg versions, plus the albums that actually contained many of the cuts originally slated for "Smile."  And I was really excited for the 2011 "reconstruction" of what's left of the album (see below).  It sounded to me, though, like a few great tunes surrounded by a lot of atmospheric film music, despite what Rolling Stone magazine says.  None of this era really piques my interest, nor did the 2004 re-recording by Brian Wilson and his touring band.

My advice?  Grab the following songs from the group's late-60s albums; this would be side one:

-Our Prayer (from 1969's "20/20")
-Cabinessence (from "20/20")
-Wind Chimes (from "Smiley Smile," the LP released in place of "Smile")
-Vegetables ("Smiley Smile")
-Cool, Wool Water (from 1970's "Sunflower")
-Wonderful ("Smiley Smile")
-Surf's Up (from 1971's "Surf's Up" LP)

For side two, start off with any of the long, long, long edits of the bits and pieces of "Heroes and Villains."  This would have taken up almost a whole LP side in 1967 -- unprecedented (notwithstanding "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet").  There used to be an amazing, 7-minute version that used only the parts found on the 1993 boxed set.  It was encoded for RealPlayer (I found it around 1997) but, alas, it's long gone.

Close off side two with the mono single mix of "Good Vibrations" (also from "Smiley Smile").

THAT is how you follow-up "Pet Sounds."

On a side note, collecting the Beach Boys' 800000 releases (and wading through the BS) can be daunting.  I recommend the 1993 boxed set (for singles and key album tracks... ignore the fifth "Sessions" disk of weird outtakes that you'll listen to once), and the LPs "Pet Sounds," "20/20," "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up."  And that's it!

RAM on Mono

Here's some tidbits on Paul McCartney's second solo album, "Ram."

On its release in 1971, the album went to #2 in the U.S., #1 in the U.K.... and the bottom of most critics' lists.  Contemporary albums like "Sticky Fingers" and "Tapestry" fared much better.  Sadly, the whimsy of "Ram" was lost on most self-important reviewers of the time; it is an incredibly dense and complex album with -- at worst -- silly lyrics.  I keep picturing Chris Thile with a crazy handlebar mustache.

Most intriguing, it's one of the last major albums to get a separate mono mix for radio stations.  That was made available as part of the deluxe reissue of "Ram" in 2012.  So was an all-instrumental version that was recorded in 1971 and shelved until 1977, when it came out eponymous-ly credited to Percy "Thrills" Thrillington... although the mono mix got a vinyl release, "Thrillington" sadly did not.  Missing entirely is the insanely rare promotional disk of mini lead-ins for the album's tunes, titled "Brung To Ewe By" (and including bits of the song "Now Hear This Song of Mine").

One thing that struck me about the mono mix was the incredible, almost overpowering bass.  In this article, engineer Dixon Van Winkle comments on how there was almost too much bass on the album.  His fault, I'm guessing, because Paul never allowed THAT again (and never worked with Van Winkle again, as far as I can tell).  Too bad -- it sounds great.

For "Ram" fans who want even more, these gems may already be laying around in your record collection; they were recorded during the same sessions as the album...

-Another Day / Oh Woman Oh Why (released as a preview single, but not included on the album)
-Dear Friend (released on Paul's next album, "Wild Life," credited to Wings)
-Get On The Right Thing; Little Lamb Dragonfly: Big Barn Red (released on "Red Rose Speedway," credited to Paul McCartney & Wings)
-A Love For You (released on the soundtrack to 2003's "The In-Laws")
-Little Woman Love (released as the b-side to 1972's "Mary Had a Little Lamb")
-I Lie Around (released as the b-side to 1973's "Live & Let Die")
-Great Cock and Seagull Race; Rode All Night; When The Wind Is Blowing; Sunshine Sometime (unreleased until the deluxe edition)
-Hey Diddle (a snippet is available on 2001's "Wingspan" compilation)
-Seaside Woman (re-recorded and released in 1977 as a single credited to "Suzy & the Red Stripes")

This was the album that launched Paul's feud with John Lennon, with the latter feeling many of the songs were digs at him and Yoko.  Paul says maybe two lines on the whole LP are about his former partner, although there IS a pic of two beetles screwing on the back.  John reciprocated with the rocking "How Do You Sleep?" on his also-excellent "Imagine" LP later that year.  Plus, there was a postcard inside of Lennon mocking the cover to "Ram."  Google the pic, because I have yet to see a copy in real life that still included the postcard.  (By the way, same goes for the postcard in Todd Rundgren's 1973 album "A Wizard/A True Star," which is ironic since Rundgren would shortly insert himself into John and Paul's feud).

Also, try and tell me that Mexican EP (bottom right of the pic above) does NOT look like some weird, late 90s independent release.  Try it.

Watch It, Pal: Late Night with David Letterman (1984)

At various times, the writers on "Late Night (Show) with David Letterman" had jokey contests for catchphrases ("they pelted us with rocks and garbage") or slogans (such as one for New York City, which was on the infamous episode in which Drew Barrymore flashed Dave).  However, I think they nailed it way back in the early '80s with this gem, "Watch It, Pal."  I realize they're playing off NBC's "Be There" slogan, and it's meant to get people to tune in.  But Paul Shaffer's catchy ditty makes me wish there was a terrible detective show out there that had them telling crooks, "watch it, pal."

SCTV and Larry Seigel

Rick Moranis' manic and ridiculous Larry Seigel is, sadly, a prototypical Hollywood mover-and-shaker... even though this sketch is more than 30 years old.  Allegedly, he was imitating then-producer of SCTV, Barry Sand, who later worked with David Letterman.

Simon & Garfunkel in quadraphonic sound

My interest in Quadraphonic sound comes and goes, and I have 2 quad copies of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on vinyl... which turns out to be one of the best quad mixes out there.  It sounded like it was running a bit fast the one time I played "Baby Driver" for a bit.  Anyhow, here is a review of the quad version.  I also had the 45rpm audiophile edition from about 10 years ago, and never opened it.  That was apparently the best-sounding version ever. Rats.

And for good measure, my favorite song on this LP is "Keep the Customer Satisfied."  Somewhere online, it was done up by an obscure Australian group in 1971; the black-and-white clip seems to have disappeared, and I forget the name of the group.  Someone help!

What happened to Mark Russell?

Well, he's 83.  If you don't know who he is, you may recognize his Star-Spangled-theater-in-the-round set from more than 100 PBS specials from 1975-2004.  Apparently, he retired from public appearances in 2010, but he's back now, as seen on his website.  Some people love him, some people are baffled by him, as evidenced by this SNL sketch.  To see the actual Mark Russell, here's a 1988 compilation of his 1976 specials; in the cold open, he draws parallels to the 1980 and 1984 elections.  Wow.  And just for balance, here's a clip from "NewsRadio" in which Phil Hartman's character turns into a Mark Russell-ish songsmith.