Ramblin' with Roger

37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

I’m sure I first heard The Police on WQBK-FM, my favorite radio station in 1979.

I’m on the record being a real sucker for the Kennedy Center Honors, an “awards show” like no other. Five legendary performers get to sit with the President and First Lady and watch others honor them by singing their songs, saying their words, and the like, with the performers, kept secret from the honorees until the curtain opens. The event will be recorded Sunday, December 7, 2014, and broadcast on CBS-TV on December 30, 2014, at 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT. This year’s honorees, like most years, features four people I know quite well, and one, I must say, who is unfamiliar to me.

The one is Patricia McBride, “renowned American ballerina.” However, my wife has seen her perform when the New York City Ballet would perform at the Saratoga Performing Art Center.
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Barack Obama famously sang Let’s Get Together by Al Green; expect a mention of that fact. The running joke I’ve had is that Al Green is my cousin, “cousin Al,” but I stopped because people actually believed me. He was born Albert Greene, but “corrected” the spelling later. If I were to sing karaoke, I might pick Take Me To the River, but it’d be more like the Talking Heads’ version because I can’t sing like cousin Al. (There, I did it again!)

The back catalog of Hi Records, Al’s label, was distributed for a time by Motown, which explains how an Al Green song ended up on a Motown compilation I own.

Need to LISTEN to:
Tired of Being Alone
Let’s Get Together
Take Me To the River
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When I was watching Bosom Buddies, starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, I had no idea that the former was going to become a huge star. What have I seen him in? Splash, Nothing in Common, Dragnet, Big, Punchline, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, That Thing You Do!, You’ve Got Mail, The Green Mile, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Charlie Wilson’s War, and Saving Mr. Banks. I’ve heard him as Woody in three Toy Story movies, plus the TV episode Toy Story of Terror.

I remember watching him on some late-night show talking about the Johnny Seven OMA (One Man Army) toy gun, which I used to have when I was a kid, which oddly endeared him to me.

WATCH:
There’s No Crying in Baseball – from A League of Their Own
Houston, We Have a Problem – from Apollo 13
La Mamma Morta – from Philadelphia
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I have only a vague recollection of Lily Tomlin before her breakthrough appearances on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, starting in 1969, where Ernestine the telephone operator, and Edith Ann, the six-year-old in the massive big rocking chair, came to prominence. But I’ve watched her regularly ever since, from her comedy specials to Nashville, Nine to Five, All of Me, The Player, I Heart Huckabees, and A Prairie Home Companion.

She had supporting roles on TV shows such as Murphy Brown and The West Wing. Go to YouTube and put in “magic school bus full episodes” to listen to her voice as the awesome teacher, Ms. Frizzle

According to the bio, “she is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2003 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, and two Peabody Awards.”

WATCH:
Violet and the boss in 9 to 5
Edith Ann’s sandwich from Sesame Street
The soul transference scene from ALL OF ME
My Minnesota Home – A Prairie Home Companion
Texas Monthly Talks: Lily Tomlin
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I’m sure I first heard The Police on WQBK-FM in the Albany area, which was my favorite radio station in 1979. The bass player, lead singer, and principal songwriter was a guy with the unlikely name of Sting. I bought all their albums, twice, actually, since their CD box set included the albums plus rarities.

I still have his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles from 1985, but I’ve gotten more than a few of his subsequent albums on CD. One of his best songs, I Hung My Head, got covered by Johnny Cash, and that became the definitive version of the song.

LISTEN to:
Roxanne- the Police
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic – the Police
I Hung My Head
We’ll Be Together
When We Dance

The Ghetto Chopper T-shirt thing

Was the altered Price Chopper logo protected speech, as a trademark parody?

There’s a grocery chain headquartered in Schenectady, NY, near Albany, called Price Chopper, which serves upstate New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. It was founded in 1932 as Central Market, and will soon be segueing to a new name, Market 32, which I think is boring as heck.

At least one of the Price Chopper stores, the one on Delaware Avenue in Albany, has been dubbed the Ghetto Chopper for years.

While it serves parts of a black neighborhood, it also sells food to the more Greenwich Villagey Center Square section of town. Regardless, the term always irritated me; it bugged a lot of people, but others embraced it.

When a couple of artists, Dana Owens and Chip Fascian, designed a T-shirt emblazoned with the term “Ghetto Chopper”, with an image of a handgun – perhaps as a Photoshop spoof – it created a firestorm of controversy. Writer Amy Biancolli expressed her discomfort, for instance.

The strongest critic, though, was Ken Screven, retired reporter after over thirty years at WRGB-TV, Channel 6, who is now a Times Union blogger. He wrote of the shame of the Ghetto Chopper project and applauded when the Golub Corporation, owners of Price Chopper, filed a cease and desist order against the T-shirt maker. The comment sections on both these posts are lengthy and volatile, addressing issues of what art is, free speech, and hipster racism, among other things.

The arts and newsweekly Metroland wrote a summary of the events, some of which I thought was way off base.

What was most interesting to me in the debate, though, was whether the altered logo was protected speech, as a trademark parody. Intellectual property lawyer/rock drummer Paul Rapp notes:

Trademark infringement occurs only when there is a likelihood of confusion as to the source of a product. No confusion, no infringement. Did any of you think for a second that the Ghetto Chopper t-shirt was produced by Price Chopper? No? Well, OK then.

He goes on with more details, but his bottom line is that he thinks the shirt, had it been made, would have been legal. And I totally agree. If the T-shirt makers had had the resources to take on The Golub Corporation, they might well have won. I feel conflicted between what I find is the cringeworthy nature of the Ghetto Chopper moniker and my librarian leanings towards the open expression of ideas.

Thanks giving

Thanksgiving. might be my favorite holiday, because it gives me specific permission to focus on being appreciative of others.

Saw this post via ABC Wednesday. The writer, Meenal, from India, posed 15 questions. The first, slightly paraphrased: “Why do we have the Patriotic feeling only on National days? Why don’t we feel the same every day?”

Assuming the truthfulness of the question, the answer, of course, is that people’s thoughts are overstuffed, in the busyness of life. They often need/want special days to remember veterans (Veterans Day), or express love (Valentine’s Day), or the like.

The premise of the question is akin to what I hear virtually EVERY Thanksgiving. “Why aren’t people thankful ALL the time?” Because they are not. I don’t understand why some people take such exception to those “reminder” events. Yes, yes, yes, scold person, we should ALL be thankful ALL the time. But sometimes, we’re tired, or grumpy, or distracted, or overwhelmed.

I like Thanksgiving. Might be my favorite holiday, because it gives me specific permission to focus on being appreciative of others. It gets me out of my own head, and that’s a good thing.

Happy Thanksgiving. In the next week, find, if you can, someone in your sphere that you count on, but who may not know that he or she makes a difference in your life. Say thank you.

The Lydster, Part 128: Weird Al

The Daughter asked if I’ve done an ABC Wednesday Y is for Yankovic; why, yes, I have.

The Daughter was introduced to Weird Al Yankovic on the release of his July 2014 album, Mandatory Fun, which opened at #1 on the Billboard charts, the first comedy album since 1963 to top the charts. She went away for about a week to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in mid-August, spending time with her 13 y.o. twin cousins and she comes home a Weird Al maven.

This is not a bad thing, mind you. I’ve been following the musician’s career for about three and a half decades, back when it was primarily him playing the accordion on songs such as My Bologna (parody of The Knack’s My Sharona) and Another One Rides the Bus (take on Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust)- versions you can hear HERE – before his sound got more sophisticated and full with I Love Rocky Road (Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll), Eat It (Michael Jackson’s Beat It) and Ricky (an I Love Lucy pastiche based on Mickey by Toni Basil).

The Daughter asked if I’ve done an ABC Wednesday Y is for Yankovic; why, yes, I have.

She came up with her Top 10 videos. All of the songs can be found HERE except the newest ones, indicated with an *, which can be found on the Weird Al main page.

10. Handy* (home repair, based on Fancy by Iggy Azalea)
9. Like a Surgeon (based on Like a Virgin by Madonna)
8. Fat (based on Michael Jackson’s Bad)
7. Eat It
6. I Lost on JEOPARDY! (about the TV game show, based on the Greg Kihn Band’s Jeopardy)
5. White and Nerdy (parody of “Ridin'” by Chamillionaire)
4. Foil* (about the aluminum wrap, based on Royals by Lorde)
3. Word Crimes* (about linguistic sins, based on Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke)
2. Amish Paradise (based on Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio)
1. First World Problems* (style parody of Pixies)

She challenged me to come up with my own list, but it’s so changeable. Here’s a snapshot in time:

10. Trapped In The Drive-Thru (based on Trapped in the Closet by R. Kelly)
9. Dare To Be Stupid (style parody of Devo)
8. Stop Forwarding This Crap To Me (style parody of Jim Steinman, who wrote a lot for Meat Loaf)
7. Tacky* (based on Happy by Pharrell Williams)
6. Gump (about the movie character Forrest Gump, based on Lump by The Presidents of the United States of America)
5. Mission Statement* (every business cliche you hate, a style parody of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
4. Amish Paradise
3. I Lost on JEOPARDY! – since I have, this HAD to be on the list
2. Word Crimes*
1. Smells Like Nirvana (parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana)

But her affection for Foil, Handy, and especially First World Problem may alter my list.

She also insisted that The Wife, less seeped in Yankovicmania, make her list:

5. Like A Surgeon
4. Fat
3. Eat It
2. Tacky
1. Word Crimes

T is for Tarantism

There are at least a dozen SEPARATE songs with the title Dance with Me, or a variation (Dance Wit’ Me. e.g.) that charted on the US charts.

Tarantism (n.) is an illness characterized by the sudden urge to dance. More specifically, according to Merriam Webster, it is “a dancing mania or malady of late medieval Europe popularly regarded as being caused by the bite of the European tarantula (Lycosa tarentula).”

Here’s an interesting article about the topic. As I suspected, the dance of the tarantella is tied to this narrative; see an example of that dance HERE.

I’m convinced that just about any kind of dancing will heal the spider’s bite.

25 Amazing Dances From Around The World, and a really cool site, Discover Folk Dances from Around The World, unfortunately with some dead links. And THIS (don’t know if it works if you’re not on Facebook).

Top 10 Dance Movies according to Mojo.com; I’m sure you’ll disagree with some of the picks, as I do.

There are at least a dozen SEPARATE songs with the title Dance with Me, or a variation (Dance Wit’ Me. e.g.) that charted on the US charts! I’m not talking covers, I’m talking totally different words and music.

Some of MANY dance songs to LISTEN to. (Ranks on US Billboard pop charts.)
The Jackson 5 – Dancing Machine (#2 in 1974)
David Bowie – Let’s Dance (#1 in 1983)
Billy Idol – Dancing With Myself (#102 in 1983)
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark (#2 in 1984)
Martha and the Vandellas -Dancing in the Street (#2 in 1964)

Finally, LISTEN to the only song to be #1 on the US pop charts in two non-consecutive years. Did you know what it was? The years, BTW, were 1960 and 1962.

ABC Wednesday, Round 15