Great up tempo power pop song. Three O’Clock came from the Paisley Underground movement in the 80s. They were a mixture of 60s psychedelia and early 80s pop sensibilities.
The Three O’Clock was a rock group associated with Los Angeles’ Paisley Underground scene in the early 1980s. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term “Paisley Underground” to describe bands such as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green On Red and the Bangles from the area. The Three O’Clock was originally formed under the name The Salvation Army in 1981 but then changed it’s name to Three O’Clock when legal problems with the actual Salvation Army forced the band to change their name.
This song was on the EP called Baroque Hoedown released in 1982. They later had a college hit with a song called Jet Fighter.
After signing with I.R.S. Records they got MTV play with a song called Her Head’s Revolving. After that Prince signed them to his own Paisley Park Records and they made one album and vanished. They did record a song Prince wrote for them called Neon Phone.
They had a reunion of the classic line-up, Michael Quercio (vocals/bass), Louis Gutierrez (guitars) & Danny Benair (drums) — were joined by new member Adam Merrin (keyboards). The group played both weekends of the Coachella festival, and also played on Conan on April 10, 2013.
They later embarked on a mini-tour, and released several archival recordings that same year. The final show at the time was at a record store in Long Beach California in June of 2013.
As of 2018 they reunited band remained active touring around California.
This album was quite different than the other two Big Star albums. This song has a wonderful melody but it sounds like the world is collapsing around him when he sings it.
This song was on their 3rd album “Third/Sisters Lovers.” By this time the bands founder Chris Bell had been gone since the debut album was released and bassist Andy Hummel quit after their second album Radio City. There were only two original members on the album…Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens. This album sometimes has been looked at as an Alex Chilton solo album…Jody did contribute a song and brought in a string section that was used in other songs.
They used different Memphis musicians on the album. Alex was dating Lesa Aldridge (who would go on to form a punk band calle The Klitz) and she helped with the album also.
Jim Dickinson produced this album and he got close to Chilton and encouraged him to try new things. Alex sometimes cut tracks late at night, then presented them to Jim the following day. After the two had been discussing the producer’s role, Alex showed up with “Like St. Joan,” possibly referencing the martyred Joan of Arc, which morphed into “Kanga Roo.”
Jim jumped into action, adding electric guitar feedback, strings via a Mellotron, and his own amateurish drums—since Jody wasn’t there that day—including a very loud cowbell. Inspired, Alex grabbed a drumstick to use as a bow on his Strat, creating an eerie sound. Effects were added to Alex’s drowsy vocals, which presumably related the story of his and Lesa’s love affair:
Jim Dickinson:“Alex came in one morning and he had this little evil grin on his face,” “He said, ‘Lesa and I cut something last night I want you to hear.’ Okay, so he plays me ‘Like a Kangaroo’ [its second title], which is acoustic twelve-string and vocal on one track [making it difficult to separate the sounds]. I said, ‘Yeah, Alex, what do you hear on that?’ And with the evil grin, he says, ‘Well, why don’t you produce it, Mr. Producer?’” “I first saw you, you had on blue jeans / Your eyes couldn’t hide anything . . . Thought you were a queen, oh so flirty.” Alex later said of the lyrics that he was spewing things out loud, just song after song. . . . The whole process was kind of automatic, free association.” “I think of Alex as a collaborator. He allowed me to collaborate with him.
Kanga Roo
I first saw you You had on blue jeans Your eyes couldn’t hide anything I saw you breathing, oh I saw you staring out in space
I next saw you You was at the party Thought you was a queen Oh so flirty I came against
Didn’t say excuse Knew what I was doing We looked very fine ‘Cause we were leaving
Like Saint Joan Doing a cool jerk Oh, I want you Like a kanga roo
Some may question my rating and that is fine but this one to me is great. This is a lighter episode and a very pleasant one. Earl Hamner Jr. who wrote and created The Waltons wrote this episode. It’s among my favorites. It resolves it self and if you are a dog fan…you should like this one.
Hyder Simpson, played wonderfully by Arthur Hunnicutt, takes off with his dog Rip…hunting at night. After treeing a racoon they fall into the water and find themselves on the bank the next morning. They soon run into neighbors burying what Hyder thought was their dog didn’t notice him or Rip. There is a good reason for this…Hyder and Rip had passed on the night before and didn’t know it. That is when the story really begins.
This show was written by Earl Hamner Jr. and Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
An old man and a hound-dog named Rip, off for an evening’s pleasure in quest of raccoon. Usually, these evenings end with one tired old man, one battle-scarred hound dog, and one or more extremely dead raccoons, but as you may suspect, that will not be the case tonight. These hunters won’t be coming home from the hill. They’re headed for the backwoods—of The Twilight Zone.
Summary
Hyder Simpson and his wife Rachel have been married for 50 years. They are simple country folk who live in a small cabin in the mountains. One evening after dinner, Hyder and his dog go off raccoon hunting. When the dog jumps into a fast moving stream Hyder jumps him to rescue him. He wakes up the next morning having apparently spent the night in the woods. When he gets home however, he and his dog are invisible to everyone around them, Rachel is dressed in black and it’s apparent that he’s died. Thus begins Hyder’s journey, one that presents him with choices.
Cannot find a video clip that doesn’t give the ending away.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
Travelers to unknown regions would be well advised to take along the family dog. He could just save you from entering the wrong gate. At least, it happened that way once—in a mountainous area of the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Arthur Hunnicutt…Hyder Simpson
Jeanette Nolan…Rachel Simpson
Titus Moede…Wesley Miller
Orville Sherman…Tillman Miller
Charles Seel…Reverend Wood
Robert Foulk…Gatekeeper
Dexter Dupont…Angel
This song is absurd and hilarious. Paul wrote this song and got right to the point. Do what in the road Paul? We might never know. Well actually at the bottom of the post he does explain it…but a warning…you cannot un-see what you read.
I’ve always liked it because it is fun. Some people try to take it seriously but it’s not meant to be…a song with two lines to the complete song…that is being a minimalist or little lazy. The first rumor I read about this song was that Paul was desperate for the Beatles to tour again and this was his message to the band…Why don’t we do it in the road? It turned out to be not true…it was inspired by two monkeys…not Monkees…see the Paul quote on down.
It’s a fun song that sounds more like a John song than a Paul. It will never win a best Beatle song award but it’s fun and fits like a glove on the eclectic White Album. That is what I love about the White Album. Listening to the album you never know what is coming next. It still has a sound that threads all the songs together though.
Paul and Ringo were the only two playing on this song. John Lennon liked the track but later he said he felt hurt when Paul would leave him out on a track and just do something himself. Paul’s voice is outstanding on this one…very aggressive. This is not the “Yesterday” Paul.
This is interesting…The Beatles were not touring when this was released and Paul McCartney didn’t play it live until October 8, 2016 when he performed it at the Desert Trip festival with Neil Young.
Paul McCartney:“The idea behind ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ came from something I’d seen in Rishikesh, I was up on the flat roof meditating and I’d seen a troupe of monkeys walking along in the jungle and a male just hopped on to the back of this female and gave her one, as they say in the vernacular. Within two or three seconds he hopped off again, and looked around as if to say, ‘It wasn’t me,’ and she looked around as if there had been some mild disturbance but thought, ‘Huh, I must have imagined it,’ and she wandered off.”
“And I thought, ‘Bloody hell, that puts it all into a cocked hat.’ That’s how simple the act of procreation is, this bloody monkey just hopping on and hopping off. There is an urge, they do it, and it’s done with. And it’s that simple. We have horrendous problems with it, and yet animals don’t. So that was basically it. ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ could have applied to either f*cking or sh*tting, to put it roughly. Why don’t we do either of them in the road? Well, the answer is we’re civilized and we don’t. But the song was just to pose that question. ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ was a primitive statement to do with sex or to do with freedom really. I like it, it’s just so outrageous that I like it.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young…doing it in the road. A very rare live performance.
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road? Why don’t we do it, do it in the road? Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us Why don’t we do it in the road?
This 1993 song has a sixties feel to it. The lead singer Shannon Hoon did a great job on this track.
Blind Melon bass player Brad Smith wrote this song before he formed the band. He had moved from Mississippi to Los Angeles, where he fell into a down period. He said that the song is about not being able to get out of bed and find excuses to face the day when you have nothing. At the time he was dating a girl who was going through depression and for a while he told himself that he was writing the song from her perspective. He later realized that he was also writing about it himself.
The video was very popular. It has a very intriguing video featuring a girl dressed in a bee costume. The bee girl, Heather DeLoach, was 10 years old when she starred in it, creating one of the most enduring images on MTV.
The concept for the video was inspired by the Blind Melon album cover, which features a 1975 photo of Georgia Graham, the younger sister of Blind Melon drummer Glenn Graham. DeLoach was the first to audition for the role, and because she resembled Graham’s sister so much, director Samuel Bayer (who also directed Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) chose her.
This song peaked at #1 in Canada, #20 in the Billboard 100, #17 in the UK, and #15 in New Zealand in 1993.
Blind Melon’s songs, were credited to the entire band even when one member wrote most of the song, as Brad Smith did with this one. Brad says that even though he wrote it, lead singer Shannon Hoon took it to a new level with his vocal.
The video made #22 on MTV’s Greatest Videos Ever Made countdown at the end of 1999.
From Songfacts
The bee girl parlayed the role into a credible acting career, appearing in the movie Balls of Fury, a remake of the Shirley Temple film A Little Princess and the TV shows ER and Reno911. She got married in 2017. DeLoach recalled to MTV News her audition for the bee girl: “They told me Sam didn’t look at any other tapes. I went in with my hair in braids and wearing those chunky glasses, because they said to look nerdy. My mom said we had to find some glasses before we went in, so we ran to a local mall right before the audition and bought them, and Sam liked them so much they’re the same ones I used in the video.”
This was a hit on a variety of formats. It reached #1 on the AOR (classic rock), modern rock and metal charts.
The first performances of this song were on Venice Beach, where Brad Smith would do his busking. “That’s where the lyric and the song was inspired from, is just having to write songs,” he said. “Then being in the state of mind I was in and having to come up with material to go play down on the beach for change. I played that song on the beach for change for over a year before Shannon Hoon actually joined the band and really made that song a hit.”
The band didn’t always appreciate this song. When they opened some shows for The Rolling Stones in 1994, they left it off their setlist. Their tour manager, Paul Cummings explained: “They had become one of those bands that hate their hit – at least at that point. I couldn’t understand it, but it’s not my call. That probably would have been the only song that crowd would have recognized.”
A hallmark of Brad Smith’s lyrics a feeling of melancholy, which doesn’t always match the music he puts to the song. He describes the music to this song as a “jaunty little happy halfway island beat,” which sounds like “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He explained: “A lot of my songs come from a darker place. And if you just met me walking down the street, you’d say, ‘Oh, you’re such a happy guy, Brad. Why the dark songs?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ For me, it just has more meaning if you can get inside someone’s soul and identify with them on a heavier level and try to connect with them on that level. Because when you’re sad and you’re down, you’re the most vulnerable, and you feel the most alone.”
In 1993, Heather DeLoach reprised her role as Bee Girl in the Weird Al Yankovic video for “Bedrock Anthem” (a parody of “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The inertia described in this song sounds typical of the stoner ennui like that described in “Because I Got High,” but you can blame this one on the herb. “I wasn’t even on drugs or drinking,” Brad Smith told us. “It was just a tough point in my life. And the cool thing about that song, I think a lot of people do interpret those lyrics properly and can connect with it on that level, where ‘I don’t understand why I sleep all day and I start to complain that there’s no rain.’ It’s just a line about, I’d rather it be raining so I can justify myself by laying in the bed and not doing anything. But it’s a sunny day, so go out and face it.”
In 2003, this was used in a commercial where a girl in a hot dog costume meets a guy in a Pepsi costume. Love blooms.
Pearl Jam has a song called “Bee Girl” that they first performed in 1994. With lyrics like, “Bee girl, you’re gonna die. You don’t wanna be famous, you wanna be shy,” the track was seen as a very accurate warning to Shannon Hoon that he was on a path of destruction. The song can be found on their Lost Dogs rarities album.
In 2016, the pop singer Mandy Jiroux released a song called “Insane” using many elements of “No Rain,” including the signature riff. Her song has similar but different lyrics, for instance:
All I can say is that my life’s not really plain
I like dancing in puddles that gather rain
In places where Shannon Hoon sang “no rain,” Jiroux substituted “insane.”
This prompted Blind Melon to file a lawsuit using the same lawyer who won big bucks for Marvin Gaye’s estate in the “Blurred Lines” case. Had Jiroux simply covered the song, it wouldn’t be an issue, but Blind Melon claimed that she created a “derivative work” that requires licensing.
The suit is unusual in that the plaintiff is trying to prove that the defendant didn’t make the song similar enough.
This song was featured in the 2004 comedy movie Without A Paddle.
No Rain
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain I like watchin’ the puddles gather rain And all I can do is just pour some tea for two And speak my point of view but it’s not sane It’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me, oh I’ll always be there when you wake, yeah You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I’ll have it made
And I don’t understand why I sleep all day And I start to complain that there’s no rain And all I can do is read a book to stay awake And it rips my life away but it’s a great escape Escape, escape, escape
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain You don’t like my point of view, you think that I’m insane It’s not sane, it’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me, oh I’ll always be there when you wake, yeah You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I’ll have it made, I’ll have it made, I’ll have it made Oh, no, no, you know, I really wanna, really gonna have it made You know, I’ll have it made
This reminds me of a supernatural 1940’s noir gangster movie and I like it because of that. Warren Stevens plays a bum…a real bum named Nate Bledsoe and he takes the shoes off of a murdered gangster named Dane. When he puts them on he magically becomes Dane. Warren Stevens does a nice job in this part. He is meek and mild when he is Nate Bledsoe but becomes assertive after he slips the shoes on and into the Dane character. He goes and sees Wilma, Dane’s girlfriend, and it tells you all you need to know about Dane.
Dane was killed by his partner Dagget so Bledsoe as Dane… goes and visits him to even the score. I like the hint that Bledsoe gave in the bar to tip Dagget off to who he was now.
Dagget looked like he saw a ghost and in a way…he did. This episode is not one of the classic episodes. Still, it is very enjoyable.
This one was remade in the 1985 and the 2002 version of the Twilight Zone.
***SPOILER***
The one thing that was sad about this episode was the character Nate Bledsoe His only crime was taking the shoes but he dies because of Dane.
This show was written by Charles Beaumont, Rod Serling, and Oceo Ritch
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Nathan Edward Bledsoe, of the Bowery Bledsoes, a man once, a specter now. One of those myriad modern-day ghosts that haunt the reeking nights of the city in search of a flop, a handout, a glass of forgetfulness. Nate doesn’t know it but his search is about to end, because those shiny new shoes are going to carry him right into the capital of the Twilight Zone.
Summary
When a hobo finds a dead man lying in a city alley, he decides to take his shoes, a pair of rather spiffy-looking loafers. In putting them on however, he becomes the dead man. He returns to his apartment, to his girlfriend’s shock and more importantly, he knows who killed him. The dead man is also out for revenge and it seems nothing will be able to stop him
Sorry…again there was no preview I could find to show you.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
There’s an old saying that goes, ‘If the shoe fits, wear it.’ But be careful. If you happen to find a pair of size nine black and gray loafers, made to order in the old country, be very careful. You might walk right into the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Warren Stevens…Nate Bledsoe
Richard Devon…Dagget
Joan Marshall…Wilma
Ben Wright…Chips
Harry Swoger…Sam
Ron Hagerthy…Ben
Florence Marly…Dagget’s girlfriend
A school teacher, Reverend, and a Colonel get invited to a bomb shelter. No it’s not a joke…but it was an attempt at one by a man named Paul Radin played by Joseph Wiseman. Paul Radin was a very bitter narcissistic millionaire and he wanted to extract an apology for past deeds that he thought he was punished for unfairly by three different people.
Mr. Radin was not a good man and he was just as bad when he was young. He cheated on a test and then planted the crib notes on another student, he was court-martialed during World War II for failure to follow orders to attack the enemy, and because of his callous attitude he caused a young lady to commit suicide. Radin will stop at nothing trying to extract that elusive apology from these people from his past…including ending the world.
I knew Joseph Wiseman was familiar…He played Dr. No in the first James Bond film.
This show was written by Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
What you have just looked at takes place three hundred feet underground, beneath the basement of a New York City skyscraper. It’s owned and lived in by one Paul Radin. Mr. Radin is rich, eccentric and single-minded. How rich we can already perceive; how eccentric and single-minded we shall see in a moment, because all of you have just entered the Twilight Zone.
Summary
Successful businessman Paul Radin invites three people from his past to join him in the underground bunker he’s built under his commercial office building. All three have had major influence on him though not the kind that made him what he is today. His former military commander had him court-martialed; his former teacher ridiculed and humiliated him in class after she caught him cheating; and his church Minister who ruined his reputation after he drove a girl to suicide. All he wants from them is one thing: a brief apology. The impact of what they’ve done is far greater than it appears.
There were NO videos that didn’t give the end away to be found.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
Mr. Paul Radin, a dealer in fantasy, who sits in the rubble of his own making and imagines that he’s the last man on Earth, doomed to a perdition of unutterable loneliness because a practical joke has turned into a nightmare. Mr. Paul Radin, pallbearer at a funeral that he manufactured himself in the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Joseph Wiseman…Paul Radin
Katherine Squire…Mrs. Langsford
Trevor Bardette…Col. Hawthorne
Gage Clarke…Rev. Hughes
For everyone that follows me on the weekend…I’m working on a home project and I will only post one Twilight Zone each day with no music posts this weekend. Have a great weekend.
This song was released in 1985 on the Watermelon’s album Past, Present and Future.
The Watermelon Men were a Swedish five piece band that were around from the mid Eighties up till 1994. They had quite a following in Sweden, Germany, England, among other places.
The band is still popular over ten years after they ceased. They are praised in power pop circles in Europe. They were mostly known for garage rock and brought good melodies with jangly guitars in a lot of their music.
When they were together they released three albums, an Ep, and three singles. One album remains unreleased…it’s up in the air on if it will come out.
The guitar player Imre von Polgar died in the tsunami disaster in Khao Lak in 2004. Shortly after, the band reformed for a one time show in his memory.
Seven Years
If the man can’t choose which way to go If the girl don’t know where she belongs Then you’re apt to say all the love can’t kill the pain Till they meet, he’ll be a traveling man When his hope was buried in the ground In tears she left her man behind The you’re apt to think seven years has passed today Till they meet, she’ll dream her life away
You won’t feel, you’ll meet her someday And in his arms, she’ll always stay But it’s the story No one ever fades
In surprise they think When they both run from themselves Till they meet, the story has no end
You won’t see, you’ll meet her someday And in his arms, she’ll always stay But it’s the story No one ever fades
If you heard this song on the radio in the sixties it probably wasn’t the Kinks version unless you lived in Germany where it peaked at #1, The Netherlands where it peaked at #3 and #2 in Belgium.
The mighty Herman Hermits covered the song and it peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand…sometimes life just isn’t fair.
It is said to have been written about Dave Davies, mostly about his rock star lifestyle… Dave confirmed in the documentary about Dave Davies.
The song was on the Face to Face album.. one of the first rock and roll concept albums. In the album’s original inception, Davies attempted to bridge the songs together with sound effects, but was forced to revert to the more standard album because of the record company.
Ray Davies: “I think it was about someone, probably me, who needed to make up his mind about relationships. Also about my brother, who was flitting from one girl to another. It’s a more serious song than it seems. It’s about a man who’s trapped by his own indecision with relationships and lack of commitment. That’s the way I’d write it now, but when I was twenty-two or twenty-three I wrote it about a jovial person who’s a womanizer.”
From Songfacts
Running to just 2 minutes 22 seconds, “Dandy” was written by Ray Davies, and is the third track on the band’s 1966 Face To Face album.
The song ends with the line “…Dandy, you’re all right”.
Sadly, this sentiment was not reciprocated; in the aforementioned documentary, Dave Davies said that he loved his brother, even though he was an arsehole!
“Dandy” was released as a single in Europe on the Pye label backed by “Party Line.” The single was produced by Shel Talmy, who worked on most of the early Kinks material.
I’m so sorry but I feel I’m obliged to post the Colossal Hermit’s version also.
Dandy
Dandy, Dandy Where you gonna go now? Who you gonna run to? All you life You’re chasing all the girls, They can’t resist your smile. Oh, they long for Dandy, Dandy.
Checkin’ out the ladies, Tickling their fancy, Pouring out your charm To meet all your own demands, And turn it off at will. Oh, they long for Dandy, Dandy.
Knockin’ on the back door, Climbing through the window, Hubby’s gone away, And while the cat’s away, The mice are gonna play. Oh, you low down Dandy, Dandy. Dandy
Dandy you know you’re moving much too fast, And Dandy, you know you can’t escape the past. Look around you and see the people settle down, And when you’re old and grey you will remember what they said, That two girls are too many, three’s a crowd and four you’re dead.
Oh Dandy, Dandy, When you gonna give up? Are you feeling old now? You always will be free, You need no sympathy, A bachelor you will stay, And Dandy, you’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right. You’re all right.
Just saw this a few minutes ago. Lately I’ve been living in a bubble because of work but this is the new Get Back trailer. This is not the sneak peak Peter Jackson released before. On November 25,26, and 27th… 6 hours of the Let It Be/Get Back music, comedy, and drama will all unfold on the Disney plus.
As a very young Beatle fan I read about these sessions and only saw still photographs. Later on I saw them do Get Back on MTV while on the rooftop and it was like photos coming to life…I read where they had 56 hours of video footage sitting in a vault from this album. Now we will see 6 hours out of that anyway…you what what? I would happily sit through 56 hours… Peter Jackson has done such a great job on the look of the film…it looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. Peter, need an assistant for free?
With the previews I’ve seen…it looks like it was a lot of fun and the bad drama was not prevalent through the filming. Ringo has said that people have focused on the negative but it was much more positive than that. What is great about Get Back is the good time they had and it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I can’t imagine the pressure they were under to deliver and be as good as their last album. In this case, when they filmed this, it was just a few months after they released The White Album…The Let It Be album didn’t get released until after their last studio album Abbey Road.
A song, a person, flower, or a drawing is beautiful…I don’t think a TV episode would fit into that category but this one does. Future mega star Robert Redford is in this great episode about an elderly lady who would not let anyone inside her soon to be torn down home. She fears “Mr Death” who will come take her. Gladys Cooper plays Wanda Dunn the elderly woman. She was appearing in silent movies in the early part of the century. She would appear in three Twilight Zone episodes…a wonderful actress.
R. G. Armstrong, a great character actor, is also in this classic episode. Everything about this episode works. The acting down to the set is perfect.
This show was written by George Clayton Johnson and Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
An old woman living in a nightmare, an old woman who has fought a thousand battles with death and always won. Now she’s faced with a grim decision—whether or not to open a door. And in some strange and frightening way she knows that this seemingly ordinary door leads to the Twilight Zone.
Summary
The old Ms. Wanda Dunn is afraid of Mr. Death, and does not open the door of her room for anyone who knocks the door. When the police officer Harold Beldon is shot at her front door, the reluctant woman opens it and lets him in.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
There was an old woman who lived in a room. And, like all of us, was frightened of the dark. But who discovered in a minute last fragment of her life that there was nothing in the dark that wasn’t there when the lights were on. Object lesson for the more frightened amongst us in, or out of, the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Gladys Cooper…Wanda Dunn
Robert Redford…Harold Beldon
R. G. Armstrong…Contractor
We all know Revolution by the Beatles but this is the acoustic version of the song. They fell into a nice groove doing this. It took a while for this to grow on me but now I like it just as well as the single fast hard rocking version.
The fast version was released as the B-side of “Hey Jude” in August 1968, three months before the slow version appeared on The White Album. John Lennon wanted it to be the first A-side released on Apple Records, the label The Beatles started, but Paul McCartney’s Hey Jude got the honor.
Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager was always careful with them by asking them to not talk about controversial subjects like the war, politics, and anything that could cause controversy…I don’t think John Lennon got that memo many times. After Brian died they started to be more open and they talked a little more freely.
John Lennon said : “I wanted to put out what I felt about revolution,” “I thought it was about time we spoke about it, the same as I thought it was about time we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese war when we were on tour with Brian Epstein and had to tell him, ‘We’re going to talk about the war this time and we’re not going to just waffle’…That’s why I did it: I wanted to talk, I wanted to say my piece about revolutions. I wanted to tell you, or whoever listens, to communicate, to say, ‘What do you say?’ ‘This is what I say.’”
“I think our society is run by insane people for insame objectives. If anybody can put on paper what our government, and the American government, and the Russian, Chinese…what they are actually trying to do, and what they think they’re doing, I’d be very pleased to know.” John wanted to see a plan as the song goes. John said he believed that revolution comes from inner change rather than social violence.
On the two versions. On one John said “count me in” and the other he said “count me out” as he explains below.
John Lennon:“There were two versions of that song, but the underground left only picked up on the one that said ‘count me out.’ The original version, which ends up on the LP, said ‘count me in’ too; I put in both because I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to get killed. I didn’t really know much about the Maoists, but I just knew that they seemed to be so few and yet they painted themselves green and stood in front of the police waiting to get picked off. I just thought it was unsubtle. I thought the original Communist revolutionaries coordinated themselves a bit better and didn’t go around shouting about it.”
Engineer Alan Brown:“I was in the control room of studio three and there on the other side of the glass was a figure in semi-darkness going over and over some lines of a song. I knew the voice and sure enough I knew the face. John Lennon was about 30 feet away! He was working on ‘Revolution,’ the slow one, and I remember him going through the song again and again in rehearsal, changing a word or two every time. Each time it would alter very slightly, it would develop and evolve. ‘When you talk about destruction…you can count me out.’ ‘When you talk about destruction…you can count me in.’” John either hadn’t decided which way he felt or which way would be more palatable to his audience.
John eventually decided to opt for both, singing “count me out…in” on this vocal performance, which was sung in a “light voice” in imitation of Martha Reeves and Diana Ross, as his handwritten lyric sheet reminded him.
White Album Version
Revolution 1
Ah, take 2 OK!
You say you want a revolution Well you know We all want to change the world You tell me that it’s evolution Well you know We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction Don’t you know that you can count me out in
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
You say you got a real solution Well you know We’d all love to see the plan You ask me for a contribution Well you know We’re doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
You say you’ll change the constitution Well you know We’d all love to change your head You tell me it’s the institution Well you know You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao You ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin band Violent Femmes are best known for their song Blister in the Sun released in 1983. A girl that I knew drove me crazy playing that song but after a while I started to like it…more than the girl. The song started to be played on alternative and college radio.
James Honeyman Scott (Pretenders guitar player) was booked to play a gig and he was so impressed by the Violent Femmes that he let them open for him. They were were then offered a record deal by Slash Records and soon after that they released their 1982 debut album, “Violent Femmes.” The album slowly hit and later went platinum.
This song was on their Why Do Birds Sing? album in 1991 and it was their fifth studio album. The album peaked at #141 in the Billboard Album Chart but the song peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart.
Through breakups and reunions the band minus the original drummer Victor DeLorenzo are still together. Gordon Gano is the singer- songwriter and Brian Ritchie is the bass player with new drummer John Sparrow.
They released an album in 2019 called Hotel Last Resort and it peaked at #29 in the Billboard Indie Charts.
American Music
Can I, can I put in something like… “This is “American Music”… take one.” 1-2-3-4! Do you like American music? I like American music. Don’t you like American music, baby?
I want you to hold me, I want your arms around me. I want you to hold me, baby… Did you do too many drugs? I did too many drugs. Did you do too many drugs, too, baby?
You were born too late, I was born too soon, But every time I look at that ugly moon, it reminds me of you. It reminds me of you… ooh-ooh-ooh.
I need a date to the prom, would you like to come along? But nobody would go to the prom with me, baby… They didn’t like American music, they never heard American music. They didn’t know the music was in my soul, baby…
You were born too soon, I was born too late, But every time I look at that ugly lake, it reminds me of me. It reminds me of me…
Do you like American music? We like American music. I like American music… Baby. Do you like American music? We like all kinds of music. But I like American music best… baby.
You were born too late, and I was born too late, But every time I look at that ugly lake, It reminds me of me… It reminds me of me It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me Do you like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me I like american music It reminds me of me She like american music It reminds me of me
A very powerful episode that places the shoe on the other foot. A young Dean Stockwell plays Lt. Katell who is young and blood thirsty for war. He quickly is warned and then learns about humanity on the battlefield. This episode is full of good actors. Leonard Nimoy plays radio operator Hansen but the real treat for me was Albert Salmi who plays the tough but worn out Sgt. Causarano. Salmi usually plays bad guys but in this one his common sense and honesty is refreshing.
A Quality of Mercy was filmed on an already-standing jungle set on a soundstage at the Hal Roach Studios. The episode covers some of the territory already covered by The Purple Testament…which coincidentally, Dean Stockwell was originally cast as the lead but was unable to appear.
We are brought face to face with the grimness of war, the fatigue and the futility. Serling, after serving in WWII, was close to this issue. It seems that Serling expressed his opinions through Sgt. Causarano played by Albert Salmi.
From IMDB: The title refers to a quote from William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merchant of Venice’: “The quality of mercy is not strain’d, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”
Albert Salmi (Sgt. Causarano) previously appeared in The Twilight Zone: Execution (1960) and would later appear in The Twilight Zone: Of Late I Think of Cliffordville (1963), all of which involve time travel. “A Quality of Mercy” is the only one in which his character is not portrayed as despicable.
This show was written by Rod Serling and Sam Rolfe
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
It’s August, 1945, the last grimy pages of a dirty, torn book of war. The place is the Philippine Islands. The men are what’s left of a platoon of American Infantry, whose dulled and tired eyes set deep in dulled and tired faces can now look toward a miracle, that moment when the nightmare appears to be coming to an end. But they’ve got one more battle to fight, and in a moment we’ll observe that battle. August, 1945, Philippine Islands. But in reality, it’s high noon in the Twilight Zone.
Summary
On August 6, 1945 – the last day of World War II – a forward platoon acting as artillery spotters get an eager and aggressive Lieutenant Katell. The artillery has been unable to dislodge a Japanese unit from a cave and Katell decides that the unit is going to attack. He suddenly finds himself in 1942 leading a Japanese unit that is about to attack Americans who are holed up in a cave.
‘The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.’ Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, but applicable to any moment in time, to any group of soldiery, to any nation on the face of the Earth—or, as in this case, to the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Dean Stockwell… Lt. Katell / Lt. Yamuri
Albert Salmi… Sgt. Causarano
Rayford Barnes… Andrew Watkins
Ralph Votrian… Hanachek
Leonard Nimoy… Hansen
Dale Ishimoto… Sgt. Yamazaki
Jerry Fujikawa… Japanese Captain (as J.H. Fujikawa)
Michael Pataki… Jeep Driver (uncredited)
When Tattoo You came out I bought the single Start Me Up and couldn’t get enough of it…yea I have had about enough of it now. I bought the album played it non stop. 10 years later a friend and I took a trip to Pensacola after playing a gig and this album was on all of the way. This song stood out at the time because I skipped the hits. Mick sings it in a falsetto voice that works well.
The Stones dug down deep in their vaults for this album because they wanted to tour in 1980. They had released Some Girls in 78, Emotional Rescue in 80, and Tattoo You in 1981 and needed some songs. This song’s origins go back to 1976’s Black and Blue.
This song features a guitar solo by Wayne Perkins, who had once auditioned as a potential replacement for Mick Taylor, and Billy Preston on keyboards.
Tattoo You peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #2 in the UK in 1981.
Worried About You
Sometime I wonder why you do these things to me Sometime I worry girl that you ain’t in love with me
Sometime I stay out late, yeah I’m having fun Yes, I guess you know by now that you ain’t the only one
Yeah-hey, oh baby Ooh, sweet things that you promised me babe, yeah Seemed to go up in smoke Yeah, vanish like a dream Baby I wonder why you do these things to me
Cause I’m worried I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
Ooh, the nights I spent just waiting on the sun, yeah Just like your burned out cigarette You threw away my love Why did you do that baby
I wonder why, why you do these things to me well, oh
I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure gonna find myself a girl someday ‘Til then I’m worried Yeah, I just can’t seem to find my way Ooh
Yeah, I’m a hard working man When did I ever do you wrong? Yeah, I get all my money baby, yeah I bring it, I bring it all home Yeah, I’m telling the truth, yeah
Well, sweet things, sweet things that you promised me
Well I’m worried and I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
I’m worried about you, yeah I’m worried about you, yeah Tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, child (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, woman (oh, yeah) That’s come on, tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried about you (aw yeah), yeah
Yeah, I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure as Hell I’m gonna find that girl someday Lord, I’m worried Lord, I just can’t seem to find my way
John eventually decided to opt for both, singing “count me out…in” on this vocal performance, which was sung in a “light voice” in imitation of Martha Reeves and Diana Ross, as his handwritten lyric sheet reminded him.
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