Month: October 2005

1. In an article titled “TV Themes’ Swan Song” I read in TV Week, noted television critic Tom Shales writes:

Among the most curious juxtapositions of the early years was the heavenly a cappella chorus that opened and closed every episode of “Amos ‘n Andy,” now the least-seen classic in TV history. The show did traffic in African American stereotypes-most offensively with the characters of crooked lawyer Algonquin J. Calhoun and a lazy handyman named Lightnin’-but in fact, blacks from many social strata were featured on the program.

Bill Cosby is among the prominent African Americans who have said that “Amos ‘n Andy” can and should be shown now that its stereotypes are offset by the masterful intensity of its performances. But CBS keeps it under lock and lock, and yet another lock, and who even knows where the key is?

So, the first question: should Amos ‘n’ Andy be aired? In what manner? With caveats? Only late at night? Only on cable? Only available on video and/or DVD?

2. This I stole from an ABC News poll in June 2005:
“Have you personally ever felt that you were being discriminated against because of your race?”

3. From an AP poll from March 2003:
“How close do you think we are to eliminating discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities in America once and for all? Are we very close, fairly close, not too close, or not close at all?”

If you are a-mind to, please indicate your race.

2. The former Secretary of State on the upcoming Gilmore Girls? How DID that happen? (I love it!)

My theory? It’s technology, or rather the technological revolution gone amok.

(It’s not that I’m a Luddite. A technology such as the refrigerator is better than the old icebox, because it’s better at preventing spoilage.)

I remember reading a number of forecasts for the future, when I was growing up in the 1960s. They all sounded like this:
“Americans will be working fewer hours, giving us more time for leisure with our families. We’ll become so efficient that the 30- (or 25-) workweek will become commonplace.”
What happened instead is that the technology that made us more efficient meant that we could do more and more, so even more and more was expected. That may have been a business model that drove this trend once upon a time, but it appears that too many of us have bought into it, internalized it.

For instance, what is road rage but the manifestation that “I don’t have TIME for this!” Last month we were on the Interstate spur I-787 heading from Albany to Troy, when three lanes became one. The merge was in a half-mile, and it was working surprisingly well until some yahoos decided that their time was More Valuable than others and started passing everyone on the right, expecting to be able to get back into the line further up the road. This was in direct violation of one of Roger’s Rules: Respect the queue. Apparently, it was in other people’s rules, too, as the cars in the queue started moving farther and farther to the right, just DARING the people to pass them. Of course, when the merge happened, the yahoos did get back in, but not without a struggle that frankly left me white-knuckled. I was sure there was going to be an accident.

Vacation. It means to vacate. “Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream,” some guy once wrote. So how do you do that when you just HAVE to check your e-mails from wherever you are, be accessible by cell phone, pager and all sorts of technological harnesses? The technology that is supposed to be liberating has become a trap. When I used to have a cell phone, nobody except my wife knew the number. I wanted it in case of emergency or courtesy (“Honey, I’m stuck in traffic.”) I will admit to accessing my work e-mail from home on the last day or two of vacation, just so I am not inundated with 499 e-mails when I get back, 150 of them junk.

How did we get as a society where a town in New Jersey had to declare a family day? NO soccer practice, NO anything except staying home with the family, getting reacquainted by playing Scrabble.

Artist/Band: Tom Petty (b. 1953)
Are you male or female: American Girl; Mystery Man (obviously, having an identity crisis)
Describe yourself: Self-Made Man; Mystery Man
How do some people feel about you: A**hole; Refugee
How do you feel about yourself: You Tell Me; Hard on Me
Describe what you want to be: So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star
Describe how you live: It’ll All Work Out; To Find a Friend
Describe how you love: You and I Will Meet Again; Built to Last
Share a few words of wisdom: It’s Good to Be King

My oldest friend, Karen, has a WONDERFUL way of saying a**hole. “He SUCH an a**hole.” The “a” sound is somewhat nasal. It’s wonderfully cutting. It is my favorite curse word, usually in reference to operators of motor vehicles.

Joni Mitchell-Court & Spark (1974). I saw Joni in August of 1974 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Someday, you’ll read about the discussion of that day. (Note: it wasn’t pleasant.) “Help me, I thinking I’m falling in love again.”

Van Morrison-His Band and the Street Choir (1970). Played in my dorm incessantly, and not just for the hits “Domino” and “Blue Money”.

Pointer Sisters-That’s a Plenty(1974). Jazz, soul, country, funk- no wonder no one knew where to put this album in the racks. Have only on vinyl.

Pretenders-Learning to Crawl (1984). I was very fond of the first two Pretenders albums. then two members died and figured that was that. But Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers found some guys to record “Back on the Chain Gang” and my favorite Pretenders song, “My City Was Gone”. And about a year later, with still other folks, the album came out.

Prince-Purple Rain (1984). O.K., so the film wasn’t great cinema. I listened to this album incessantly, fueled by MTV videos. I even got a 12″ of “Let’s Go Crazy,” and I did.

Bonnie Raitt-Give It Up (1972). I heard about this singer in 1971 from my HS buddy Steve. He was right. The use of the tuba as bass never fails to get me rolling.

Rascals-Groovin’ (1967). Features “A Girl Like You”, “How Can I Be Sure”, the it-should-have-been-on-the-previous-album “You Better Run” and the title track. But the best song is the last: “It’s Love”, featuring the flute of Hubert Laws. Sonically, a foretelling of the band when it left Atlantic for Columbia in 1971.

R.E.M.-Green (1988). O.K., what album by the group did you EXPECT me to pick. But why is the cover ORANGE?

The Rolling Stones-Let It Bleed (1969). From Merry Clayton on “Gimme Shelter” to “Country Honk” to one of my life themes, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, I love the songs on this album. When I saw the movie The Big Chill, I started laughing during the funeral scene, much to the puzzlement of most. I had already picked up on the joke that the keyboardist was playing the last song on this album.

Linda Ronstadt-Hasten Down the Wind (1976). Karla Bonoff and other great songwriters on a bunch of mostly depressing songs.

Santana-Abraxas (1972). Just can’t listen to the single version of “Black Magic Woman” or much else on this album. It requires the designed flow.

Simon & Garfunkel-Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). Like the Pretenders album, a big gap between the single (“The Boxer”/”Baby Driver”) and the album, this time due to personality clashes. Also, one song reminds me of an old girlfriend.

Paul Simon-Still Crazy After All These Years (1975). A breakup album, and I’m not talking “50 Ways”. Speaking of that song, though, someone had once suggested that
“Slip out the back, Jack” referred to Jack Kirby
“Make a new plan, Stan” referred to Stan Lee
“Don’t need to be coy, Roy” refereed to Roy Thomas, and
“Drop off the key, Lee” also referred to the former Stanley Leiber
Don’t know who Gus was on “hop on the bus, Gus”

Bruce Springsteen-Born to Run (1975): Mr. Cover-of-Time-AND-Newsweek-in-the-same-week. I never got tired of this album, which I can’t say about the Born in the U.S.A., for instance.

Ringo Starr-Ringo (1973). With participation by John, Paul, and especially George. The same held true for the follow-up, Goodnight Vienna, which I read described as an “ersatz Beatles album.”

Steely Dan-Royal Scam (1976). Always liked the way they sing “ro-YAL scam”.

Steppenwolf-Steppenwolf (1968). Mr. Hembeck only likes the first two hits by the group, and Lefty doesn’t seem to be a fan, either. I contend the first Steppenwolf album was great. It included the Hoyt Axton “the Pusher” and the still-relevant “The Ostrich”.

Rod Stewart-Every Picture Tells A Story (1971). Rod used to be SO good. A dorm staple.

Sly and the Family Stone’s Greatest Hits (1971). The exception to the rule that banned greatest hits albums. After all this was the first appearance on album of “everybody is a Star”, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”, and the religious experience that is “Hot Fun in the Summertime”. Probably on my top 12.

The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (1967). A bit of a misnomer, since most of their songs and virtually all of their hits up to that point were written and produced by Brian, Lamont and Eddie. Features “Remove This Doubt”, later covered by Elvis Costello.

Talking Heads-Speaking in Tongues (1983). I liked the group when I first heard them, probably in 1978. But after seeing them live at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in 1983 in support of this album, I LOVED them. One oddity about this collection: some of the songs on the CD are longer than they are on the LP, a way to get you to buy both or a way to show the wonderfulness of this new-fangled compact disc.

James Taylor-Sweet Baby James (1970). Almost a cliché in its ubiquitousness. I knew no one my age who didn’t own it at the time.

Temptations-Puzzle People (1969). After Dennis Edwards replaced David Ruffin, Norman Whitfield became the primary producer of the group, and he and Barrett Strong (the singer of the first Motown hit, “Money”) wrote the songs. This is the second one of those, after Cloud Nine, excluding those concert and TV albums (Live at the Copa, e.g.). It features the Sly Stone-inspired vocal sharing on “I Can’t Get Next to You”, “Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down”, “Message from a Black Man”, and a great cover of “It’s Your Thing”.

Traffic-John Barleycorn (1970). After the acrimonious breakup of Traffic, Steve Winwood fled to Blind Faith, but that wasn’t the solution either. So he ended up putting together a solo album. He needed some help from his former mates (save for Dave Mason), and suddenly it was a re-formed Traffic.

U2-Joshua Tree (1987). In 1988,, I told someone in 1988 that this was one of my island records. He said, “You can’t pick a one-year old album to be on your island list! They need time to develop in your heart.” NOW may I put it on the list?

The Who-Who’s Next (1971). This album only went to #4? The very definition of the soundtrack to my college life.

Stevie Wonder-Innervisions (1973). I could have picked any of four albums that came out between 1972 and 1976, 3 of which were Album of the Year, including this one. One recollection of this album was hearing it in the house of one of my professors, which elevated him greatly in my mind at the time.

Neil Young-After the Gold Rush (1970). “When You Dance, I Can Really Love” starts off at one pace and gets faster; it was a song that defined a particular relationship of that time.