September 2021 – Page 3 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Twilight Zone – Two

★★★★ Sept 15, 1961 Season 3 Episode 1

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

On this one I do give spoilers away…this one is hard not to…

Like the closing narration says…it is a love story of two on different sides of a war…in the Twilight Zone. The cast was small but brilliant. Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson. They were known, but not stars…Bewitched and Death Wish was still in the future for both at this time.

This episode is an optimistic story set in an extremely bleak world. The time is presumably after World War III, the setting a devastated town inhabited only by the dead, with the exception of two enemy soldiers. Bronson seems to represent an American soldier and Montgomery a Russian.

Her single line (Prekrasny) is Russian for pretty. This is a gritty and realistic story, told without much dialogue with the emphasis always on characters. In this Bronson is more of a pacifist and Montgomery is suspicious and quick to violence.

Before season 3 was starting…Rod Serling had this to say. I’ve never felt quite so drained of ideas as I do at this moment. Stories used to bubble out of me so fast I couldn’t set them down on paper quick enough but in the last two years I’ve written forty-seven of the sixty-eight Twilight Zone scripts, and I’ve done thirteen of the first twenty-six for next season. I’ve written so much I’m woozy.

This show was written by Montgomery Pittman and Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

This is a jungle, a monument built by nature honoring disuse, commemorating a few years of nature being left to its own devices. But it’s another kind of jungle, the kind that comes in the aftermath of man’s battles against himself. Hardly an important battle, not a Gettysburg, or a Marne, or an Iwo Jima; more like one insignificant corner patch in the crazy quilt of combat. But it was enough to end the existence of this little city. It’s been five years since a human being walked these streets. This is the first day of the sixth year, as man used to measure time. The time: perhaps 100 years from now, or sooner—or perhaps it already happened 2 million years ago. The place: the signposts are in English so that we may read them more easily, but the place is the Twilight Zone.

Summary

In a futuristic world a man and a woman, from opposing sides in a devastating war, meet in a deserted city. They don’t share a common language and she is quite wary of her opponent, though he doesn’t appear aggressive in any way. When she attempts to kill him, he goes off on his own. It’s obvious that society and civilization has been destroyed and she begins to reconsider.

The Entire Episode… Click Here on Daily Motion

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

This has been … a love story, about two lonely people who found each other … in the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling…Narrator
Elizabeth Montgomery…The Woman
Charles Bronson…The Man

Box Tops – Neon Rainbow

When you think of the Box Tops you think of The Letter, Cry Like A Baby, Soul Deep, and this one…which wasn’t as well known but it was their attempt at psychedelia.

The song was written by Wayne Carson Thompson and released in 1967. The track is featured on The Letter/Neon Rainbow. The song peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100 and #17 in Canada.

In 1970 Alex Chilton would walk away from the Box Tops. He lived in New York for a while after that and then moved to Memphis and joined Chris Bell’s band Big Star.

***Personal Story I’ve told in a post when I started: A bizarre personal story…a one in a million shot…Back in the 90s, I was trying to call a musician that was recommended but I dialed a wrong number and talked to Gary Talley the guitar player for the Box Tops for a good 45 minutes. He laughed and told me that I at least reached a guitar player but in Nashville, my odds were good getting one with any number. He was really cool and we talked about guitars and his touring etc… He was giving guitar lessons at the time. He told me that other people have called him looking for Garry Tallent the bass player for Bruce Springsteen.

Talley recorded, wrote, and toured with some of the best country musicians around.

Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Sam Moore (of the duo Sam and Dave), and others. He has written songs recorded by Keith Whitley…and many more.

Gary if you are reading…thanks for the encouragement and the tips.

Neon Rainbow

The city lights, the pretty lights
They can warm the coldest nights
All the people going places
Smiling with electric faces
What they find the glow erases
And what they loose the glow replaces, and life is love

In a neon rainbow, a neon rainbow

Moving lines, flashing signs
Blinking faster than the minds
Leading people with suggestions
Leaving no unanswered questions
You can live without direction
And it don’t hav’ to be perfection, and life is love

In a neon rainbow, a neon rainbow

But in the daytime everything changes
Nothing remains the same
No one smiles anymore
And no one will open his door
Until the night time comes
And then the…

City lights, the pretty lights
They can warm the coldest nights
All the people going places
Smiling with the electric faces
What they find the glow erases
And what they loose the glow replaces, and life is love

In a neon rainbow, a neon rainbow, a neon rainbow

Pogues – If I Should Fall from Grace With God….80’s Underground Mondays

This great song is listed under Celtic Punk. This song was on an album with the same name released in 1988. Its been called the Pogues best album and it peaked at #3 in the UK and #4 in New Zealand in 1988. This song was was originally recorded for the “Straight Too Hell” soundtrack

This is such pure music and I’m a sucker for a well placed accordion.

The Pogues formed in Ireland in 1982 by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left because of drinking problems and was replaced for a time with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996.

They reformed with MacGowan in 2001 and are still together and playing. The band was awarded the life-time achievement award at the annual Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006.

If I Should Fall From Grace with God

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I’m buried ‘neath the sod
But the angels won’t receive me

Let me go boys
Let me go boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

This land was always ours
Was the proud land of our fathers
It belongs to us and them
Not to any of the others

Let them go boys
Let them go boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Bury me at sea
Where no murdered ghost can haunt me
If I rock upon the waves
No corpse can lie upon me

It’s coming up three boys
Keeps coming up three boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I’m buried ‘neath the sod
And still the angels won’t receive me

Let me go boys
Let me go boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Twilight Zone Season 2 Review

I can’t believe we are ready to start Season 3 already! Today I’ll just have this review and we will start on season 3 on Wednesday. Thank you all again for following me on this long journey. The second season was very strong with many great episodes. In the third season Serling started to burn out. He had writing credits on almost every show and was the Twilight Zones showrunner.

Of 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone, Serling wrote roughly 70 percent of them. He would write a script in less than 40 hours and then on to the next one. Serling also spent a great deal of time defending scripts against narrowminded network executives alarmed that some of the content would upset sponsors. And, with the hundreds of functions as a television producer, the workload caught up to him. By the time the series was canceled in 1964, Serling was physically and mentally exhausted.

While running the show he also fought battles with the CBS executives who complained about the darkness of the scripts among many other things. Serling wanted integrity and would even fight against some of the commercials. “However moving and however probing and incisive the drama, it cannot retain any thread of legitimacy when after 12 or 13 minutes, out comes 12 dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper.“

James Aubrey, who became CBS president after the show launched, hated the show, believing programs with regular stars were more likely to grab audiences.

Aubrey canceled Twilight Zone twice, once after its third season, but it was revived when a replacement program tanked in the ratings. Later, he reduced the show’s budget to compromise its quality and axed the series in 1964. Ironically, Aubrey was fired a year later…not soon enough…and that was a good thing.

Do any of you have any different thoughts on the rankings below? What was your favorite and least favorite episode of season two?

I would like to link to two other bloggers doing tv shows. They are going through a TV series show by show like I’m doing here. I’ll continue to have the Twilight Zone every Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday.

Hanspostcard is going through the episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

John Holton is going through each episode of Hogan’s Heroes

Season 2
Episode	Date	Episode	Stars
1	Sept 30, 1960	King Nine Will Not Return	3.5
2	Oct 7, 1960	The Man in the Bottle	4
3	Oct 14, 1960	Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room	4
4	Oct 28, 1960	A Thing About Machines	3
5	Nov 4, 1960	The Howling Man	5
6	Nov 11, 1960	The Eye of the Beholder	5
7	Nov 18, 1960	Nick of Time	5
8	Dec 2, 1960	The Lateness of the Hour	4
9	Dec 9, 1960	The Trouble with Templeton	5
10	Dec 16, 1960	A Most Unusual Camera	3.5
11	Dec 23, 1960	The Night of the Meek	5
12	Jan 6, 1961	Dust	4
13	Jan 13, 1961	Back There	4
14	Jan 20, 1961	The Whole Truth	3
15	Jan 27, 1961	The Invaders	5
16	Feb 3, 1961	A Penny for Your Thoughts	4.5
17	Feb 10, 1961	Twenty-Two	4
18	Feb 24, 1961	The Odyssey of Flight 33	5
19	Mar 3, 1961	Mr. Dingle, the Strong	3.5
20	Mar 10, 1961	Static	3.5
21	Mar 24, 1961	The Prime Mover	4
22	Mar 31, 1961	Long Distance Call	5
23	April 7, 1961	A Hundred Yards Over the Rim	5
24	April 21, 1961	The Rip Van Winkle Caper	4
25	April 28, 1961	The Silence	5
26	May 5, 1961	Shadow Play	5
27	May 12, 1961	The Mind and the Matter	2.5
28	May 26, 1961	Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up	5
29	June 2, 1961	The Obsolete Man	5

…

Rascals – I’ve Been Lonely Too Long

What a great band! I could almost leave it at that and post the song. They were technically the Young Rascals when this song came out of AM radios in the sixties. They were never really an album band but more of a super singles band. The dropped the “young” in 1968 and continued having hits.

The Rascals rose to prominence playing rhythm and blues and soul music. Their 1966 cover of the Rudy Clark and Artie Resnick song…Good Lovin went to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart. They had the majority of their hits between 1966-1968.

They had nine top 20 hits and thirteen top 40 hits…they also had three number 1 hits and a total of 18 songs in the Billboard 100 before they disbanded in 1972. This song was written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati.

This song was known as I’ve Been Lonely Too Long and Lonely Too Long…it peaked at #16 in the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada. It was released on January 16, 1967.

They went on to have more hits with “Groovin,” “People Got to Be Free,” “How Can I Be Sure?” and “A Beautiful Morning” before disbanding in 1972.

I’ve Been Lonely Too Long

I’ve been lonely too long, I’ve been lonely too long
In the past it’s come and gone, I feel like I can’t go on without love
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely too long)
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely)

As I look back
I can see me lost and searching
Now I find that I can choose, I’m free, oh yeah
So funny I just have to laugh
All my troubles been torn in half
I been lonely too long (he’s been lonely too long)
Lonely too long (he’s been lonely)

In the past it’s come and gone
I feel like I can’t go on without love
(Lonely) lonely too long
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely)

Just see me now
Makes it worth the time I’ve waited
She was all I need to make me see, oh yeah
I keep hopin’ with all my mind
Everything gonna turn out right
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely too long)
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely)

Now look at me
Gliding through this world of beauty
Everything I do brings ecstasy, oh yeah
No wonder I could die
I feel like I’m ’bout ten miles high
I’ve been lonely too long (he’s been lonely too long)
Lonely too long (he’s been lonely)

Found myself somebody (he’s been lonely)
Don’t have to be alone no more (he’s been lonely, he’s been lonely)
Don’t have to alone no more, no more (he’s been lonely, he’s been lonely)

Twilight Zone – The Obsolete Man

★★★★★ June 2, 1961 Season 2 Episode 29

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This episode is a cautionary tale of a totalitarian state of the near future. This one ranks as one of the best of the series. The government in The Obsolete Man determines if you are necessary or as the title states…obsolete. The plot was running theme with Serling who wrote about the fascist governments of World War II that he encountered while in the war…and the suppression of the inherent rights of a human being.

.It has two main characters. Romney Wordsworth, a Christian librarian played by Burgess Meredith. The second is the Chancellor, played by Fritz Weaver. Both of them play off each other with sharp, powerful dialogue. Wordsworth is the victim in this but slowly turns the tables on the Chancellor until him, not the state, is in charge of the situation although it comes at a great cost. Casting again hit a homerun with this episode.

A five star classic and a grand finale to the 2nd season. This episode is not only a classic…but an important one to watch and learn…and should not to be forgotten

After the classic Meredith episode Time Enough at Last…books were again Meredith’s character main focal point.

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super-states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace. This is Mr. Romney Wordsworth, in his last forty-eight hours on Earth. He’s a citizen of the State but will soon have to be eliminated, because he’s built out of flesh and because he has a mind. Mr. Romney Wordsworth, who will draw his last breaths in The Twilight Zone.

Summary

In a futuristic totalitarian world, meek and mild-mannered librarian Romney Wordsworth finds himself on trial for being obsolete. This future society has decided on everything people need to know. There is no God and there are no books. Society doesn’t need librarians. Romney makes an impassioned plea about his rights and free will but the judge in the case, the Chancellor, will have nothing of it. The jury finds Romney obsolete and orders him to be executed. As he can choose the method of his death, Romney’s plans include a little surprise for the Chancellor.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct. He was obsolete. But so is the State, the entity he worshiped. Any state, any entity, any ideology which fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man…that state is obsolete. A case to be filed under “M” for “Mankind” – in The Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling…Narrator
Burgess Meredith…Romney Wordsworth
Fritz Weaver…Chancellor
Josip Elic…the Subaltern
Harry Fleer…Guard
Harold Innocent…Man in Crowd

Emitt Rhodes – Long Time No See…. Power Pop Friday

It’s a shame this guy didn’t get the recognition he should have. He was obviously influenced by the Beatles and Paul McCartney especially.

Emitt was turned down by A&M Records so he built a studio in his parents garage. Rhodes recorded his first album (Emitt Rhodes) in that studio. ABC/Dunhill Records signed him and they released his album as well as the next three albums he recorded.

He played all the instruments himself and recorded on a four track tape machine. ABC/Dunhill then transferred the tapes to 8 track and Emitt redone all of his vocals.

This song is on his debut album Emitt Rhodes and every song is quality. The first single Fresh as a Daisy peaked at #54 in the Billboard 100 while his album Emitt Rhodes peaked at #29 in 1970.

The album was a critical success – Billboard called Rhodes “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade“.

Unfortunately Emitt passed away in 2020 in his sleep.

From Wiki: Italian director Cosimo Messeri shot a documentary movie about Emitt Rhodes’s vicissitudes: life, past, present, troubles and hopes. The movie, titled The One Man Beatles, was selected for the International Rome Film Festival 2009, and it received standing ovations. In 2010 The One Man Beatles was nominated for David di Donatello Award as Best Documentary of 2010. Its US premiere screening was scheduled for May 29, 2010, at the Rhino Records Pop Up Store in Westwood, California.

Long Time No See

It’s been a long time, I remember you well
It’s been a long time no see, where you been keeping yourself?

You’ve been staying all alone when you should be playing
Been feeling all alone when you should be praying
It’s been a long time no see.

It’s been a rough road to ride, says the sun in the West
It’s been hard but I get by with a moment to rest.

Been thinking all the time that things will get better
And living all alone can’t make me much sadder
It’s been hard but I’ll get by.

Oh oh oh oh, yeah
Oooh…

It’s been a long time, I remember you well
It’s been a long time no see, where you been keeping yourself?

You’ve been staying all alone when you should be playing
Been feeling all alone when you should be praying
It’s been a long time no see.

Oh oh oh oh, yeah
Oooh…

Beatles – This Boy

When I hear this song, it reminds me of just how great the Beatles were at songwriting and harmonizing. My all time favorite rock singers includes John Lennon…this song demonstrates why. His voice could cut through anything and is always sharp…and has been widely imitated but it wasn’t liked by John himself who notoriously wanted it covered up on recordings.

The song was on Meet The Beatles…the first Beatle album I ever listened to. The vocals were a three part harmony sung by Harrison, Lennon and McCartney. The song was written by Lennon and McCartney.

This was the first Beatles composition that was commented on by a music critic. William Mann wrote in The London Times December 27, 1963, that the song had “pandiatonic clusters.” Musicians and parents who knew something about music knew there was something more than just hair with this band. The songs they were hearing were more sophisticated than the regular pop songs at the time.

Capitol of Canada released a couple of unique singles of their own creation in early 1964 to capitalize on the success of Beatlemania in that country. The second of which was “All My Loving” paired with “This Boy” as its flip side.

The song peaked at #1 in Canada and #53 in the Billboard 100.

John Lennon: “Just my attempt at writing one of those three-part harmony Smokey Robinson songs,”

From Songfacts

John Lennon wrote this song. One of his early compositions, it is seemingly simple, but very clever. The song contains only a few notes, but the space between the notes is filled by the arrangements. It’s the same technique you hear in Liszt’s “Liebestraum,” the piano piece in Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze and in Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”

George Harrison: “It was John (Lennon) trying to do Smokey (Robinson).”

The Beatles performed this on their second Ed Sullivan Show appearance – Feb 16, 1964. They played six songs on the show that night, and this provided a slow change of pace from the uptempo songs like “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” The Beatles were just beginning their breakthrough in America and got a huge audience from the show.

This was used in Ringo’s big scene in The Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night. The version used in the film is an instrumental renamed “Ringo’s Theme (This Boy),” and without any harmony singing.

This was one of the first songs on which The Beatles used a 4-track recorder.

Artists to cover this song include Tom Baxter, David Bowie, Sean Lennon, George Martin, Delbert McClinton and The Nylons

George taking a stroll down memory lane:

This Boy

That boy
Took my love away
Though he’ll regret it someday
But this boy wants you back again

That boy
Isn’t good for you
Though he may want you, too
This boy wants you back again

Oh, and this boy would be happy
Just to love you, but oh my
That boy won’t be happy
‘Til he’s seen you cry

This boy
Wouldn’t mind the pain
Would always feel the same
If this boy gets you back again

This boy, this boy, this boy

…

Santo and Johnny – Sleep Walk

This is my fifth song pick for Hanspostcard’s song draft. Santo and Johnny Sleep Walk.

I have always liked and admired good instrumentals. I look at them the same way I look at the great silent movies of the early 20th century. They have to get across what they want to say without dialog. That is not easy to do but when they succeed…they are great. When I hear Sleep Walk it’s like hearing a dream set to music…haunting and beautiful at the same time.

Lyrics would not do this song justice…it says all it needs to say.

I first heard it on the movie La Bamba and I never grew tired of it. Unlike other soundtrack songs…I don’t think of the movie when I listen to this one. It’s on it’s own little island.

I like many instrumentals but this one is probably my favorite. It sets a mood like no other. It was written and performed by Santo and Johnny Farina in 1959. It peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in the UK Charts.

Twilight Zone – Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up

★★★★★ May 26, 1961 Season 2 Episode 28

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This one makes my top ten of the Twilight Zones. It has a little of everything. You get to know the characters well in this episode. The one that lightened the episode up was the great character actor Jack Elam who played Avery…listed as the “crazy man.” This episode has some great dialog and it is a “who is it?” until the very end.

A bus of 6 or is it 7 exits the bus because of an icy bridge in some far away place. There is a suspected Martian in the bunch…but who is it? Will paranoia turn everyone against each other? This episode is just as much about human nature as it is Martians.

This episode is a great one.

SPOILERS BELOW

Barney Phillips on the third eye: They had run a wire over my head concealed in my hair and one of the property men was concealed behind me, manipulating the trigger on the wire to effectuate the rolling of the eyeball in the socket. They had done a very big makeup job. They made a cast of the eye socket. I guess they must have spent well over a day working with me fitting that device prior to the actual shooting of the show.

Every time that that particular segment is televised, without exception, the next day I’m greeted by somebody, some total stranger along the way, who says, My God, where’s the third eye?

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Wintry February night, the present. Order of events: a phone call from a frightened woman notating the arrival of an unidentified flying object, then the checkout you’ve just witnessed, with two state troopers verifying the event – but with nothing more enlightening to add beyond evidence of some tracks leading across the highway to a diner. You’ve heard of trying to find a needle in a haystack? Well, stay with us now, and you’ll be part of an investigating team whose mission is not to find that proverbial needle, no, their task is even harder. They’ve got to find a Martian in a diner, and in just a moment you’ll search with them, because you’ve just landed – in The Twilight Zone.

Summary

After an anonymous phone call about a spacecraft that crashed in a frozen wood, two police officers find evidence that the event really happened. Apparently one alien had walked away from the spot. They drive to the nearby highway Café and they find a bus with seven passengers waiting for the reopening of a snowed in bridge. However the driver says that he had only six passengers when he parked the bus. While interrogating the travelers, weird things happen in the diner, with the lights switching on and off and the turntable turning on and off.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

Incident on a small island, to be believed or disbelieved. However, if a sour-faced dandy named Ross or a big, good-natured counterman who handles a spatula as if he’d been born with one in his mouth, – if either of these two entities walk onto your premises, you’d better hold their hands – all three of them – or check the color of their eyes – all three of them. The gentlemen in question might try to pull you in – to The Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling…Narrator
John Hoyt…Ross, the businessman
Jean Willes…Ethel McConnell, the dancer
Jack Elam…Avery, the crazy man
Barney Phillips…Haley, the cook
John Archer…Trooper Bill Padgett
William Kendis…Olmstead, the bus driver
Morgan Jones…Trooper Dan Perry
Gertrude Flynn…Rose Kramer, the older wife
Bill Erwin…Peter Kramer, the older husband
Jill Ellis…Connie Prince, the younger wife
Ron Kipling…George Prince, the younger husband

…