Roger O Green

Movie Review: Arrival

When the movie was over, I got into some banter with two total strangers about its meaning and message.

I went to see the movie Arrival at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany alone; I’ve discovered that there are lots of people who won’t do that. A few days later, the Wife did the same thing.

Going in, I knew it was some sort of science fiction drama. Odd-looking spacecraft show up at 12 different locations around the globe, including in, or more correctly, over Montana. The military guy (Forest Whitaker) calls on an expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to try to figure out what they want. Louise works with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and their teams to try to communicate with these alien beings.

But this takes time. People around the world are nervous. In a nod to the know-nothing media, we see some yahoo on the TV bashing the “do-nothing” government for failing to act promptly against this potential threat, yammering, though he has no idea what he’s talking about.

I liked this film enough to try to be relatively vague about it, lest I spoil it. Interesting that on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics like it a bit more (93%) than the fans (83%). It is generally a cerebral film. And when the movie was over, I got into some banter with two total strangers about its meaning and message, and whether the Louise character should have taken a certain actions, a conversation that I really enjoyed.

As a teacher of English as a New Language, the Wife really enjoyed the struggle to try to understand the language – if it IS a language – of the visitors. I was disappointed in not hearing why Portuguese is so different from other Romance languages.

The director of the film is Denis Villeneuve, who has a well-regarded body of work, but this the first film of his I have seen. I suspect Amy Adams will be nominated for an Oscar this season, if not for Arrival, then for the gritty-looking Nocturnal Animals.

A Beatles Christmas, in memory of John Lennon

As Christmas approached in 1980, the year John Lennon died, the song of his that made me most melancholy, other than the suddenly ironic (Just Like) Starting Over, was Merry Xmas (War Is Over). When someone has been advocating for peace, and is shot down by a fan, it just boggled the mind.

And so this is Xmas (war is over)
For weak and for strong (if you want it)
For rich and the poor ones (war is over)
The world is so wrong (if you want it)
And so happy Xmas (war is over)
For black and for white (if you want it)
For yellow and red ones (war is over)
Let’s stop all the fight (now)

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

I was going to post some of those Beatles Christmas 45s, which I have collected on an LP, but, thankfully, someone had already uploaded The Beatles – Complete Christmas Records, which came out every year from 1963 to 1969. Collectively, the cuts reflect the increasingly greater sophistication of the band’s music, as well as the eventually fractured nature of the group.

Even better, I discovered that someone else has made available The History of the Beatles’ Christmas, including everything from Merry Xmas to Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney to Ding Dong by George Harrison to some obscure Ringo song, plus those Beatles Christmas cuts, even the edited version of Christmastime is Here Again that came out at the time of the Beatles Anthology albums.

I’ve also come across a cover band called The Fab Four, which performs Christmas carols in the style of Beatles songs. The whole double CD you can find HERE. My favorite song on the album is the final one, Jingle Bells, performed in the style of the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. It shows the versatility of that last song on Revolver.

And for reasons that will become obvious, Come Together, a Christmas video for Swedish multinational clothing retailer, H&M. It was directed by Wes Anderson, and stars Adrien Brody.

Oh, yeah – All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle – Dora Bryan (1963)

Joe Hittorff, Jr. (Dec 2, 1916- Dec 7, 1941)

Joe Hittorff was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the American Defense Medal.

From the obituary, which I purloined:

“Ensign Joseph Parker Hittorff, Jr. was born in Kingston, NJ. He died 25 years later on the Oklahoma after it was bombed in Pearl Harbor… Joe (or Bud, as his older sister Marion called him) was the son of Joseph Peter Hittorff [d. in 1961 at age 84] and Ethel (Van Wagenen) Hittorff [d. 1933 when Joe was 17]…

“In June of 1936, he entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1940. His initial assignment was serving on board the battleship USS Oklahoma, a 583 foot battleship attached to the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii…

“Joe sent frequent letters home. In one from November 2, 1941, he expressed concern that there were war clouds on the horizon, and he was ‘expecting the worst — and hoping for the best’.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Oklahoma sank, and Joe was among the casualties along with 395 enlisted men and 19 other officers.

“Seven days [after Pearl Harbor], a telegram was sent to his parents and sister [informing them he] was lost in action. Joe’s Naval Academy ring was recovered from the wreckage at a later time. Also returned to the family was a ceremonial sword from Annapolis. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the American Defense Medal.

“On March 7, 2016, seventy-four years and three months later, Joe’s remaining family members were notified that his remains had been identified after being disinterred from the Punch Bowl Cemetery in Hawaii. Sadly, his oldest living relative, Marie Camp of South Kent, CT passed away early this April. Marie, her sister Amy Nissen of Nassau, NY [mother of my late friend Norm Nissen], and cousin Norma Medlicott of Zephyrhills, FL were all first cousins of Joe and Marion.

A funeral [took place] June 18 [2016] at the Kent Congregational Church, Kent CT with burial immediately after in the Kent Congregational Cemetery.

A 2008 article from the Philadelphia Inquirer continues the narrative:

“You can imagine the shock to Hittorff’s sister, Marion _ now 98 [since deceased] and living in a Collingswood, N.J. nursing home – when she learned recently that bits of her brother’s body might have been recovered decades ago, and might lie in a grave marked “unknown” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

“The U.S. military just this year identified three other Oklahoma casualties buried as unknowns in the cemetery. A veterans group wants additional graves – including one that may hold Hittorff’s remains – to be opened…

“Marion Hittorff was dazzled by the men in ‘shining white.’ Two Navy chiefs, in their starched dress uniforms, had come to her room to take DNA swabs from her mouth.”

Marie Camp’s daughter Dianne Lang picks up the story in June 2016, just before Joe’s burial; you should read her piece in full:

“Back in the present, progress is slow. A staggering number of military remains have not yet been matched to individuals. Over 73,000 veterans from WWII alone have never been identified. The backlog for the DNA identification facilities is incredible…

“One of the graves cited by the Oklahoma researcher has recently been exhumed as some DNA samples from relatives have been obtained. A startling result! Instead of the remains of 5 individuals in the one casket, there are at least 46 individuals represented. How could this be?…

“Eighteen months after the attack, the Oklahoma was finally righted. At this point, the remains were only bones. It was expected that there would be a group burial. All of the recovered skulls were put in one casket, all of the femurs in another, and so on, meaning all of the remains were mixed. After the request for a group burial was rejected, the people in charge were directed to put the parts representing a complete skeleton together. Their only recourse was to choose the parts that they felt might have belonged together. Hence the confusion…

“We are nearing closure for Joe. I wonder later if my joyful voice was inappropriate. Sadness comes at other times as I look at this picture of a relative I never knew who gave his life for all of us. He was young, handsome, and by all accounts, a nice gentleman of good character. I wish he had had the opportunity to experience a full life with all that it might have brought. I wonder if I would have ever met him.”

V is for A Very Special Christmas

Since the release of the first A Very Special Christmas album in 1987, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series.

I decided to do a second V post this week, the latter focusing on A Very Special Christmas, because:

1) My friend Carla had only recently heard a song from that first album, and didn’t know about the compilations

2) It is St. Nicholas Day, and I needed an excuse to put some more holiday music herein

3) It’s Wednesday, at least in some hemisphere

A Very Special Christmas is “the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit Special Olympics,” and I own the first seven albums. It was “the brainchild of music producer Jimmy Iovine, who wanted to produce a Christmas album as a memorial to his father. The idea of the record benefiting Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine’s wife Vicki, as she was a volunteer for the organization.

“Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of A&M Records, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album in 1987, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring.”

I’ve linked to each of the titles AND artists below (except Natalie Merchant, for whom I found only one acceptable version).

A Very Special Christmas (1987) – the original, and still my favorite. A few songs swiped the arrangements of Phil Spector’s Christmas album of a quarter of a century earlier.

1. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – The Pointer Sisters
2. Winter Wonderland – Eurythmics
3. Do You Hear What I Hear? – Whitney Houston
4. Merry Christmas Baby – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Live track
7. Gabriel’s Message – Sting
8. Christmas in Hollis– Run-D.M.C.
10. Santa Baby – Madonna; Done previously by Eartha Kitt
14. The Coventry Carol – Alison Moyet

A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)

1. Christmas All Over Again – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, written by Petty
16. What Child Is This? – Vanessa Williams

A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997) – ah, these are coming out every five years

3. Children Go Where I Send Thee – Natalie Merchant
8. Oíche Chiún – Enya. Almost every AVSC album has Silent Night, and this is my favorite version
16. We Three Kings – Patti Smith

A Very Special Christmas Live (1999) – or maybe not. “The album was recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 1998 at a benefit party held by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of Special Olympics.”

A Very Special Christmas 5 (2001) – “Several of the album’s tracks were recorded live in Washington, D.C. in December 2000 at a benefit concert hosted by then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton.”

A Very Special Acoustic Christmas (2003) – “As opposed to earlier editions that contained a wide variety of musical styles, this version… featured primarily Country and Bluegrass artists.” I found this only a season or two ago.

A Very Special Christmas 7 (2009) – and there are others, related to the theme, and benefiting the Special Olympics, which I don’t have (yet) such as Jazz to the World (1995) and World Christmas (1996). Maybe next year, I’ll list tracks from the later albums.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

V for vocals on TV theme songs

It was recommended by Zach Braff to Bill Lawrence to be used as the show’s theme.

Here’s a continuation of my favorite TV theme songs. These ones have words.

20. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father
“Best Friend”, written and performed by Harry Nilsson. I was a sucker for Harry Nilsson songs, and Bill Bixby TV shows such as My Favorite Martian, The Hulk, and The Magician.
Listen here or here

19. Moonlighting – Music – Lee Holdridge, lyrics – Al Jarreau. Produced by Nile Rodgers
Performer – Al Jarreau. The single released in 1987 reached #23 pop, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and was nominated for two Grammy Awards
Listen here or here or here (full length)

18. Mister Ed – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Opening theme sung by Jay Livingston, with Rocky Lane as Mister Ed
Listen here or here or here (end theme)

17. Rawhide – Ned Washington (lyrics) and Dimitri Tiomkin (music)
Sung by Frankie Laine. The series featured a young Clint Eastwood (above, right)
Could the tune have come from an old Russian tune?
Listen here or here or here (full length)

16. Happy Days -Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox
Jim Haas with a group of session singers, version only in closing credits, with an updated version of “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets used as the opening theme. “Re-recorded in 1975 with different lyrics for both the opening and closing credits for Seasons 3 through 10.”
Listen here or here; this must be a REALLY late version, after I stopped watching

15. Sesame Street Music by Joe Raposo, lyrics by Raposo, Jon Stone, Bruce Hart
“Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?” Raposo enlisted jazz harmonica player Jean “Toots” Thielemans, as well as a mixed choir of children, to record the opening and closing themes.
Listen here or here

14. WKRP in Cincinnati – written by series co-creator Tom Wells and Hugh Wilson
Sung by Steve Carlisle; long version got to #65 on pop charts in 1981
Listen here or here or here (long version)

13. The Golden Girls – written by Andrew Gold, who had previously recorded it
“Thank You for Being a Friend” sung by Cynthia Fee
Listen here or here

12. Friends – co-written by Friends producers David Serrato and Marta Kauffman; composer Michael Skloff (Kauffman’s husband); songwriter Allee Willis; Phil Sōlem and Danny Wilde (both of the Rembrandts)
“I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts. Single got to #17 in 1995
Listen here or here or here (single)

11. Scrubs – “(I’m No) Superman” written and performed by Lazlo Bane.
It was recommended by Zach Braff to Bill Lawrence to be used as the show’s theme.
Listen here or here or here (multiple versions)

10. Gilligan’s Island – “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle” by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle
One of those perfect story/songs for a very lightly-regarded show
Listen here (1st season) or here (later opening/closing) or here (later opening/closing)

9. The Muppet Show – Jim Henson and Sam Pottle
I loved that show.
Listen here or here

8. Batman – lyric and music by Neal Hefti
Performed by The Ron Hicklin Singers, a chorus of four tenors and four sopranos
Listen here or here

7. The Monkees – written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
Theme from the Monkees performed by The Monkees, lead vocals by Micky Dolenz.
Listen here or here or here, full length

6. The Beverly Hillbillies – Paul Henning
“The Ballad of Jed Clampett” -vocal by Jerry Scroggins, instruments by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
Listen here or here (tag to Winston cigarettes) or here, single with Flatt on vocals, which went to #44 pop, #14 adult contemporary, and #1 for three weeks country

5. Maude – written by Marilyn and Alan Bergman and Dave Grusin
“And Then There’s Maude” performed by the late, great Donny Hathaway. Picture above features Bea Arthur (center) as Maude.
Listen here or here

4. All in the Family – Lee Adams and Charles Strouse
“Those Were the Days” performed by series stars Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton
Listen here (earlier iteration) or here (later version, when “Didn’t no welfare state” sounded more resigned and “Gee, our old LaSalle ran great” was more precisely enunciated)

3. Cheers – written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” performed by Gary Portnoy. Rather melancholy.
Listen here or here or here (the full song, which is not an improvement)

2. The Addams Family – written by Vic Mizzy
Actor Ted Cassidy, in his “Lurch” voice, punctuated the lyrics with words like neat, sweet, and petite.
Listen here or here

1. The Jeffersons – Ja’net Dubois and Jeff Barry
“Movin’ On Up” – performed by Ja’net Dubois, from another Norman Lear show, Good Times.
Listen here or here

The Addams Family and The Beverly Hillbillies en espanol

See also here or here for others’ best TV theme songs.

Related: Almost a TV theme

Take Two of These and Call the Bank in the Morning