Sunday, August 11, 2024
CANTO TALK: Our shows from last week
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A good song to close out the Olympics
A good song to close out the Olympics - American Thinker https://t.co/HtKgaCiXpR
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) August 11, 2024
1984: Reagan and the joke about bombing Russia
On this day in 1984, President Reagan was testing his microphone for a Saturday radio speech and said this:
“My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”
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We remember Eric Carmen (1949-2024)
In the early 1970's, Eric was the lead vocalist for The Raspberries. In the mid-1970's, he charted several solo hits.
I liked both phases of his career, the group and solo efforts. By the way, I have not heard a word about Carmen in years. Hope that he is doing well!
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We remember Vada Pinson (1938-1995)
Vada Pinson was born on this day in 1938. He died in 1995. Pinson broke into the majors when he was 19 and played much of his career with the Reds.
August 11, 1973: "American Graffiti" at the movies
The music was great but the story is still a bit confusing so many years later. Like "Saturday Night Fever", the songs were better than the story. Nevertheless, the movie had an impact and introduced a lot of people to Wolfman Jack, the legendary DJ who was very popular in the West coast.
Let me find my soundtrack copy, that double LP that I bought in the 70's now available in a digital format.
August 1964: The Beatles were suddenly movie stars!
(My new American Thinker post)
It was August 1964, and our family was waiting in Jamaica for our "papers" to fly to the U.S. Over in downtown Kingston, I saw a big sign about a new movie by The oBeatles. My father did not know who the group was, and we kept walking, doing our errands.
Why didn't my father know who the band was? We had just left Cuba, and we never got them in the island. Think about it. The world was full of "Beatlemania," and all we heard was Fidel Castro's speeches. Do you understand now why I'm so grateful to my parents for getting us out of that communist island?
Later I learned that The Beatles were suddenly screen stars as well as the top band in the world! The movie, A Hard Day's Night, was released in the U.K. in July and in the U.S. in August. We heard all about their music when we finally landed in the U.S.
As someone said, the movie didn't have much of a plot, but lots of people paid to see it. The theaters were full from coast to coast.
The plot was sort of like a day in the life of the group. We saw The Beatles running around from concerts to studios to interviews, and there was one funny old man (Wilfrid Brambell) playing Paul's grandfather.
In retrospect, the movie was very funny. It was full of crazy comedy and some great dialogue that sounds better with age:
In Richard Lester's kinetic and influential, cinema verite music-video documentary about Beatlemania — the first Beatle film about a "day in the life":
the opening montage scene of the Beatles being besieged by a stampede of frenzied schoolgirl fans on their travels from their hometown of Liverpool to London to perform in a TV broadcast, and their retreat to a train station
Paul's meeting and encounter with an unimpressed, middle-aged gentleman (his fictional "Grandfather" John McCartney) (Wilfred Brambell), who was on their London-bound train in the first-class cabin; Paul told John: "He's very clean" (an oft-repeated line) and described him as "a villain, a real mixer"
the scene in the train compartment when proper, commuting city business-man Johnson (Richard Vernon) complained about their loud radio — with John's coo-ed line to him as he leaned over: "Give us a kiss!"; Johnson asserted: "I fought the war for your sort" — John impudently joked back: "I'll bet you're sorry you won"
the group's dry, dismissive one-liners when interviewed by the press with nonsensical questions:
John Lennon's answer about how he found America: ("Turned left at Greenland");
Ringo's answers to questions: "Are you a mod or a rocker?" "Uh, no, I'm a mocker"; and "What do you call that collar?" "A collar";
and George's answers: "Has success changed your life?" "Yes" and "What would you call that hairstyle you're wearing?" "Arthur"
Ringo's solitary misadventures, and "walkabout" wanderings around London as he snapped pictures — into a clothing store, strolling alongside a canal, in a pub; and along the way, the comic scene of Ringo offering his coat to cover muddy puddles for a lady to cross over, only to discover that the third puddle was a deep hole; he was apprehended by police for "wandering abroad, malicious intent, acting in a suspicious manner, conduct liable to cause a breach of the peace — you name it, he's done it"
I liked it, and I continue to like it a lot! Maybe life was simpler, or grandfather jokes appeal to me now that I have three of those little ones called grandchildren.
The soundtrack was great, such as the title song "A Hard Day's Night," also released as a 45 with "I Should Have Known Better" as the B-side. There were two great ballads: "And I Love Her" plus the beautiful "If I Fell."
We remember that there were two L.P.s issued, one for the U.S. and the other for the U.K. The U.S. version had several George Martin instrumentals, such as "This Boy: Ringo's Theme." As I heard in a George Martin interview, they issued two L.P.s for contractual reasons.
It was really a fun movie and a recess from all the mad stuff on the news. Catch it, and I'm sure you'll like it. We'll have plenty of time next week to talk about everything else.