HR

Helen Reddy has died.  A very popular singer in the 1970s, she had three #1 hits, "I Am Woman," "Delta Dawn" and "Angie Baby."

We've discussed her music a couple times on this blog:

http://pajamaguy.blogspot.com/2008/12/hear-me-roar.html

http://pajamaguy.blogspot.com/2008/12/special-lady.html

Normally I'd put some videos here, but the new template does not allow me.

PS Mac Davis has died, too.

I Guarantee

I caught a lucky break today.  I got a call informing me I can extend the warranty on my car, which has run out. In case you're wondering, I drive a Taurus. I don't think they make them any more.

I've had this car for a while.  I believe the warranty ran out six years ago.  And I get a phone call at least once a month allowing me to send them money to extend the warranty.  Why are they so good to me?

It must be quite a racket, this warranty business.  Maybe some day I'll regret not taking them up on it.  But until then, can't they take a hint?

Woody's Wisdom

Looking at the political landscape, I'm reminded of the words of Woody Allen:

More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads.  One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness.  The other, to total extinction.  Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.

What's In A Name?

There's an article in Variety (since the new template doesn't let me link things, here's the url: https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/variety-hollywood-reporter-pmc-joint-venture-mrc-1234780379/) that explains a recent corporate name change.

Variety's parent company, PMC (Penske Media Corp.) has joined with MRC (a global entertainment company, I believe) to operate Billboard, Vibe and the Hollywood Reporter.

This new entity will be known as PMRC. Ugh. The PMRC was the name of the late, unlamented Parents Music Resource Center (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parents_Music_Resource_Center), the censorious, well-connected group that fought against pop music in the 1990s.

This is the worst name combination since Moland Springs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gymnast).

TDV

Tommy DeVito has died.  He was the lead guitarist of the Four Seasons, as well as a singer and one of its founders.

Tommy had been kicking around the music business for a decade (most of those years with Frankie Valli) before the newly minted Four Seasons finally hit it big in 1962 with "Sherry." The band would have 13 more top ten hits, including three more #1 hits, before the decade ended.

Tommy left the group in the early 1970s.  Frankie Valli continued having hits with the "Four Seasons," but it wasn't the same band. Tommy did reunite with his former bandmates when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990.

Order In The Court

Now that a respectable amount of time has passed since her death, just a few comments on the politics of replacing RBG.

A bunch of Democrats are saying the president should wait till after the election and the people have spoken.  This is not a serious argument, it's partisans grasping at straws. (Mind you, both sides are equally hypocritical when it comes to what non-Constitutional rules they believe apply.) So it's especially weird when people who claim to be nonpartisans think this is a valid point.

Trump's position as president is clear--name a replacement.  It follows the rules set forth in the Constitution and it's always been done this way.  On top of that, since the Court has become politicized in ways never imagined, not trying to get someone in would be dereliction of duty.  Trump might as well win reelection and then turn down the White House, offering it to Biden.

Can Trump succeed is another question.  Regardless of the pick, there will be tremendous pressure on Republican senators not to okay the choice.  At present, a number look pretty wobbly (some having already come out against a nomination), and all the Dems need to do is pick off four. (It's guaranteed no Democrat will break ranks, and it seems doubtful any will even be made to worry about their decision.) So who knows at this point. But Trump has got to try.

Then there's the rhetoric from Dems, warning they'll burn the place down, and if they win the Senate nothing is off the table. (My first political reaction after hearing about the death was to think with all the Dems pretending to talk about principle, let's get them on record right now disavowing a court packing plan, no matter what happens.) Talk about empty threats.  You're going to burn the place down?  You mean you'll riot?  And nothing is off the table?  Are you going to impeach the President over nothing again?  And as far as the Senate rules, you already promised to rewrite them if you took over.

Also, it's possible in the next few weeks some may make arguments about preserving the Court's "ideological balance." This meaningless phrase can only be spoken by people lying, either to you or to themselves.

The only question at this point is how it'll play out politically.  We already know what the press will say, but what the people think is what matters.  They'll decide everything.  Check the polls.  The politicians sure will.

Emmy Enemy

The Emmys are tonight.  Somehow, it doesn't seem to matter this year. (I know, it never matters).

The Emmys have changed over the years as first cable and then streaming took over TV.  It used to be you had a good idea of the shows that were nominated.  Now you often have whole categories with titles you've never heard of, and couldn't watch even if you had.

But that's not why people don't care this year.  There's just a whole lot of stuff going on, and in the scheme of things, TV people giving each other awards is pretty low on the scale of importance or interest.  Add to that it'll be done virtually, and that takes away what little glamor the event had.

Oh yeah, there's also the chance these TV stars will use the opportunity to give us an earful on political issues.  I ask them to think about it--if we don't care what movie stars say, or pop stars, you certainly don't think anything you say matters to anyone.

SC

Let's say goodbye to Stanley Crouch, one of the great jazz and social critics of the day. (I'd link to him, but the new template makes it almost impossible to do anything.  Why a new template was created that makes everything worse I cannot understand.  I also don't seem to be able to embed a photo.)

He could be a grouchy voice, and was tough to please, but I always looked forward to reading him in the Village Voice.  (At least I can put things in italics.)

While he fought passionately for civil rights, he was a rare African-American writer who wasn't afraid to take on other prominent African-Americans.  He couldn't be cowed.  And--I always assumed it was the jazz fan in him--he hated gangsta rap.  (For that matter, he was a purist who hated most modern jazz.)

In an age when so much social criticism seems shallow and ill-considered, it's sad to see the passing of someone who truly challenged his readers.

Still Talking

I noticed today is the 43rd (!) anniversary of the release of the first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77.  This was the recording that introduced a new and special sound to hundreds of thousands.

According to drummer Chris Frantz, producer Tony Bongiovi wasn't very helpful and didn't get what they were trying to do, but engineer Ed Stasium helped to ensure things worked out.

The Heads had spent the last few years developing their sound, and while their future albums would sell better, I don't know if they ever topped this one. (They'd also recently added a fourth member, Jerry Harrison on guitar, keyboards and vocals.  They'd been looking for someone to fatten up their sound, though Harrison said he didn't want to officially join until they got a recording contract.)

I'm not sure why they chose the title, but it's interesting how it aged.  Originally, it announced a new band, hot off the press.  A few years later, it reminded you of a special time and a great debut.  Then, as each year passed, the title spoke of a time in the distant past, so old, in fact, it's hard to imagine.

If people continue to listen to the Heads, I wonder if kids in the future won't know which century the "77" refers to.





And here's a somewhat different version of the best-known song from the album:

The Chris Chronicles

For a long time I've felt the luckiest man in the world is Chris Frantz.  He helped found a great band--Talking Heads (and its offshoot, Tom Tom Club)--and married his true love, beautiful and talented bandmate Tina Weymouth.

Now that I've read Frantz's memoir, Remain In Love, I'm glad to see he appreciates his life. Approaching 70, he narrates his story with a feeling of "can you believe all this great stuff happened to me?"

He spends a fair amount of time discussing his childhood as an army brat before getting to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he meets Tina and starts a band (not yet Talking Heads) with David Byrne. Then all three move to New York and live in squalor, because that's what artists do. They also start developing their sound (Tina finally joins the band, learning bass in the process) and play gigs at CBGB, along with Patti Smith, Television, the Ramones and Blondie.  They get some notoriety and go on a tour of Europe with the Ramones.  They get back and finally release their first album, Talking Heads: 77.

To many fans, this was the beginning of their relationship with the band, but the book is more than half over at this point. In a way this makes sense--the early years are what made Frantz and Talking Heads, even though there'd be much success and many albums to come.  Frantz doesn't exactly skip over the rest of the story, but the milestones come and go pretty quickly at this point. (And the second half of his life gets only a couple chapters, which once again makes sense, since the music we care about most came in his 20s and 30s).

I recommend the book for Talking Heads--and Tom Tom Club--fans.  A warning, though--Franz is less a storyteller than a fact-lister.  Discussing a tour, he'll tell you each city where the band played, the hotel where they stayed, the restaurants where they ate, and so on.  Not that this is without interest, but you wish he'd spend more time on the music and the people.

Frantz comes across as a nice guy, and I don't think he's faking it. In addition to being grateful for his life, he has nice words to say about almost everyone he meets, big and small.  I guess a few people don't come across well, such as Johnny Ramone and Ziggy Marley, but you get the impression Frantz likes even those guys.

But there is one person who regularly gets a negative assessment. In fact, he's almost the villain of the book. David Byrne.

Byrne is generally recognized as the main creative force behind Talking Heads, and that's part of the problem.  Frantz feels he and Weymouth (not to mention Jerry Harrison, who joined the band just as they were about to record) were central in creating the sound and songs of Talking Heads, as well as keeping the band together during tough times.

Byrne, Frantz feels, grabbed too much credit, and often treated his bandmates as side musicians.  He was also mercurial, demanding and slow with a compliment. Frantz regularly expresses this viewpoint--here's an example on page 63, not long after he and Tina meet Byrne at RISD.  The "incident" referred to is Byrne secretly rehanging a gallery showing to emphasize his work:

This incident set an early precedent for David's seemingly continual need to aggrandize himself at the expense of his collaborators, as if their contribution were not as important as his.  Had I known about this at the time, I would called him out on it, but I didn't.  For some reason, nobody told me.  Years later, he treated the rest of us in Talking Heads with similar disrespect, and continues to do so. I have to wonder how his new collaborators will feel.  Tina has said he seems incapable of returning friendship.  We learned this from experience.

Strong stuff.  It's good to see Frantz is not so nice that he won't tell the truth about his feelings.

Bye, Toots

Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, leader of classic reggae band Toots and the Maytals, has died.  In fact, his song "Do The Reggay" is credited with naming the genre.

I'm still trying to figure out how to work this new blog template, so I don't know how to add any videos.  But go to YouTube and check out their stuff.

RNB

Let's say goodbye to Ronald Nathan Bell, co-founder and central member of the very successful and very funky band of the 70s and 80s, Kool & the Gang.

DR

Diana Rigg has died. (I'm going to keep this short, because I'm working with a new template this blog has forced on me, and I'm not sure exactly how to use it.  The photos are down below because I can't figure out how to embed them--I can't even adjust their size.)

Rigg was a talented and beautiful actress best known early in her career for playing Emma Peel in the British spy series The Avengers. (I believe the name stood for "m. appeal"--male or masculine appeal.) She was on the series for three years as the partner of John Steed (he was there before she was, and stuck around after).  Emma left when her husband, to the surprise of many, finally returned. (She and Steed had a great relationship, but her being married precluded any hanky panky.)

The show was stylish, mod, and often sci-fi.  And Emma Peel, who could take on anyone, male or female, was one of the great sex symbols of the 60s.

Soon after leaving the show, she appeared as one of the most memorable Bond girls in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Indeed, she's the one who got to marry Bond--a mistake, since it meant she had to die before the closing credits.

Rigg worked in theatre, movies and TV over the decades--even starring in her own American sitcom in the 1970s (which lasted a season).  But no role got the attention of Emma Peel until, well into her 70s, she was featured on Game Of Thrones as the sharp-witted Olenna Tyrell, matriarch of House Tyrell.

She had a good run, lasting five seasons, before finally being dispatched in a great scene by Jaime Lannister.  Before then, she was as dangerous as any character on the show.

It was quite a comeback--not that she'd ever truly been away.  But it introduced her to a whole new generation, and showed her talent had not waned one bit.

 

MS

Mike Sexton has died.  He was a professional poker player, but really found his calling as a TV poker commentator, the best in the business. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good video of his work, so instead here are a few direct discussions from the man.)

Workin' It

It's Labor Day.  It should be called the opposite, since it's a chance to take it easy.  Go out and have some fun.  Or stay in and have some fun.

Thinking Of Ending

So I watched I'm Thinking Of Ending Things.  I found it smart and intriguing. It's also confusing, depressing and long. It would have died if released theatrically.  But hey, that's what Netflix is for.

I don't want to give anything away, but let me note I did feel the strange things happening were explained by the end.  I checked some internet explanations and they confirmed what I thought. (Many had also read the book, which writer-director Charlie Kaufman based the movie on--he basically follows the plot, though he puts in his own twists and significantly changes the ending.)

I suggest you watch the movie before you read the explanations.  One I read was in Vanity Fair.  It did a decent job, but said this:

One song in particular, "People Will Say We're In Love," about a what-if romance between handsome cowhand Curly and spunky farm girl Laurey, is piped into the car...

Sorry, but the song is "Many A New Day."

Living Room Premiere

I used to go out on Fridays to see the latest film debut.  Now I get excited when something drops on TV.  And today is one of the big days of the year for that.

It's the premiere of the long-awaited second season of The Boys.  I'm not sure if season two will compare to the first, since, when we left the gang, their cover was blown.  Now that everyone knows about this crew of regular guys fighting corrupt superheroes, how can they get away with anything?  I'm sure the producers have a solution, but will we buy it? (It's odd how I worry about credibility in a world with superheroes.)

Alas, for bingeing fans, Amazon Prime is only releasing the first three of eight episodes, after which we'll get one per week up to the season finale of October 9.  Of course, it's probably for my own good.  It's like having a cake in the kitchen--don't eat it all at once, no matter how tempting it is.  But on a streaming service, shouldn't it be about my choice, my will power?

But that's not all.  Charlie Kaufman's new film, I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, makes its debut today on Netflix.  I don't know much about it, but I'm willing to take a chance with Kaufman.

Kaufman's the screenwriter who brought us Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.  More recently he's been directing his own scripts, such as Synecdoche New York* and Anomalisa.

I'm not saying his films are always great, but they've always got interesting ideas, and stand out among all the cookie cutter work we're used to.

So don't call me this weekend.  I'll be busy.  Eating cake.

*The title is actually Synecdoche, New York, but I felt if I put in the comma, readers not familiar with the film would think it's two titles.

No Predictions

I wrote a long post on the upcoming election, but erased it.  Ever since 2016, I figured I should stop making predictions anyway.

Let's just say I don't get how some conservatives think they're going to win.  If things change a lot, maybe, but Biden has been consistently in the lead for months now, in ways Hillary could only dream of.  And he's also being an old-style politician, running toward the center ever since the Democratic National Convention ended.

Conservative boosters make a number of arguments that things are going well, but they all sound like whistling past the graveyard.  My favorite is they claim people are lying to the pollsters.  Really? In every poll?  And the pollsters can't tease out revealed preference some other way?  (By the way, the final polls in 2016 showed Hillary winning the overall vote by 3%.  She won it by 2%.)

It's true Trump has to only win all the swing states he won last time (presuming that would also mean he'd win all those other, easier states). But right now, he's behind in just about every one of them.

One problem, maybe THE problem, is Trump can no longer run as an outsider, and it's a good time to be an outsider.  The problems we've had this year, he owns--especially the coronavirus, where his lack of political polish has been disastrous for his chances.  And even before this year, Trump's crude style turned off a lot of Americans--look at the GOP's miserable showing in 2018 (a bigger vote gap than 2010 or 2002).

So let's just say it seems highly doubtful, unless we see serious, steady movement in polls that haven't been moving too much, that Biden will take it.

PS  The race for control of the Senate is more interesting, and just about as important.