Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.
These guys were in the Paisley Underground movement in the 1980s. They should be a classic band but they never broke through to the masses.
The Paisley Underground Scene had many different types of bands. The sound they all had was not united. Bands like Green on Red more of a country-ish/stones rock and roll, Rain Parade more of a Beatles type, The Bangles were more of a pop/rock band. The scene had about any thing you would want except major hits…The Bangles are the ones that really broke through.
Death and Angels
In the event (In the event) Of sudden disaster (sudden disaster) Just look into a face (look into a face) That matters
Death and angels (death and angels) On the ground (on the ground) Death and angels (death and angels) I swear Fly around (fly around)
(ahh ahh) In the case of a sudden (ahh ahh) Point of view (ahh ahh) (ahh ahh) Just listen to your heart (ahh ahh) I swear (ahh ahh) That’s what’s true (ahh ahh)
Death and angels (ahh ahh) On the ground (ahh ahh) I swear Death and angels (death and angels) Flying (fly around)
Seems so dark and lonely Seems … Feels so cool Oh no — The lack of compassion (in the world) in our world
This episode has the look of a 1940s movie to me. Jeff Myrtlebank was supposedly dead but he had other ideas. James Best played this character well as did his girl Comfort Gatewood played by Sherry Jackson. It’s set in the 1920s in rural America where Jeff Myrtlebank was pronounce dead. After Myrtlebank popped up out of his coffin, the small community began talk about an evil spirit invading Jeff’s body.
Edgar Buchanan plays Doc Bolton and there is a little “Uncle Joe” (Petticoat Junction) in his performance which works in this episode. Ralph Moody and Ezelle Poule play Pa and Ma Myrtlebank and they are very authentic. I’ve seen this episode as a comedic The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street because of how rumors and ignornace can cause a mob mentality. I do like the ending of this episode…it keeps you guessing.
This show was written by Montgomery Pittman and Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Time, the mid-twenties. Place, the Midwest, the southernmost section of the Midwest. We were just witnessing a funeral, a funeral that didn’t come off exactly as planned, due to a slight fallout from the Twilight Zone.
Summary
Everyone at Jeff Myrtlebank’s funeral service is shocked when he pushes the coffin lid open and steps out, seemingly in perfect health. Old Doc Bolton mumbles some ridiculous explanation and the people there settle down a bit. Obviously his family is happy that he’s back with them and his fiancée welcomes him as he is, with no questions asked. They do notice that he’s a bit different. As time goes on however, rumors begin spread and the locals decide to take action.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
Jeff and Comfort are still alive today, and their only son is a United States senator. He’s noted as an uncommonly shrewd politician, and some believe he must have gotten his education in the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
James Best…Jeff Myrtlebank
Sherry Jackson…Comfort Gatewood
Edgar Buchanan…Doc Bolton
Lance Fuller…Orgram Gatewood
Dub Taylor…Mr. Peters
Ralph Moody…Pa Myrtlebank
Ezelle Poule…Ma Myrtlebank
Helen Wallace…Ma Gatewood
Vickie Barnes…Liz Myrtlebank
Jon Lormer…Strauss
James Houghton…Jerry
William Fawcett…Rev. Siddons
This is garage rock/punk and hits you right between the eyes. The Lime Spiders formed in 1979 in the Liverpool area (not that Liverpool) of Western Sydney Australia around a core of vocalist Mick Blood and guitarist Darryl Mather.
They played a mixture of blend of power pop, psychedelia and 60s garage punk and they won a lot of fans in Australia.
Allmusic has this to say… Lime Spiders were an Australian post-punk unit resurrecting the trashier elements of ’60s garage and psychedelic rock with willful abandon. Bless them for that! And more power to them for doing it in the middle of the 80s. Rolling Stone magazine once described them at times as The Sex Pistols on acid…that about sums it up.
In 1988 they released the Weirdo Libido single, which appeared on the soundtrack to an Australian film called Young Einstein but after that they broke up. They did reunite in 1992 and again in 1997…they were together in some form or another until 2009. They last released an album in 2007.
They released 12 LP’s and EP’s all together with several singles. This one was released in 1984 as a single only at the time.
Slave Girl
Let me tell you ’bout a girl I know I drag her around wherever I go This little woman drives me insane She’s tied to my ankle with a ball and chain
For sixteen years she’s been hangin’ around Try’n’ to bury me in a hole in the ground Well I think it’s time that I even the score There’s only room for one in this cage of yours
Don’t save me when I’m startin’ to drown Don’t use me when you don’t want me around Just be my slave girl ’cause that’s all I need So take a little step back to the stone age with me. Go!
Well I hear a strange noise as I lie in my bed I feel a lotta water drippin’ on my head I look around tried to see through my hair You left me alone, but do you think I care?
‘Cause you moved me when I was takin’ my time You abused me when I’m outta line You tried to warn me of the danger sign So watch out, go
Well, you got me in the bondage of another age You drive me to distraction in a primitive way I can’t control my instincts when I hear her say “Just come around and see me if you lose your way”
So join my chain gang play along with me I’ll be your caveman, it’s basic as can be I’m not insane, man, I’m just outta my dream
The rock opera Tommy tells the story of a “deaf, dumb, and blind” kid who becomes a Pinball Wizard and then a spiritual leader. The double album was The Who’s break though album. They performed the album in concert halls and opera theaters.
On their second album A Quick One, they were short of material, Kit Lambert (manager) encouraged Pete to create a mini-opera called A Quick One, While He’s Away by combining a suite of song snippets. By 1968 he was developing a full-album concept called Deaf, Dumb And Blind Boy, inspired by Indian spiritual mentor Meher Baba.
When the album was released to the world it was a huge hit… It was their first album to get into the top ten or the top forty for that matter in America. It wasn’t for the lack of trying. They released some great albums that only the UK enjoyed..they also had singles that rivaled the Kinks, Beatles, and Stones but were not heard here until the compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy was released in 1971.
I like the Tommy album although it’s not my favorite Who album…that would be Who’s Next. I always thought the album sounded thin compared to the live version they played in 1969 and 70.
Unlike other bands such as the Stones…Townshend encouraged the others to write because he carried most of the burden. Entwistle was the most prolific writer next to Townshend. Daltrey and Moon only wrote occasionally.
All of them contributed vocals to this one.
From Songfacts
“Tommy Can You Hear Me?” is the sixth track on the first side of the second album (third side overall) and acts as a transition between two narratively important songs, “Go To The Mirror!” and “Smash the Mirror.”
In “Go to the Mirror!” a doctor (played by Jack Nicholson in the film version) tells Tommy’s parents that their son’s lifelong handicap is entirely psychosomatic, basically meaning it’s all in his head. That song leads into “Tommy Can You Hear Me?” In this track, the lyrics are meant to be the words of Tommy’s mother, who is extra frustrated by Tommy’s inability to hear her now that she knows it’s all in his head.
“Tommy Can You Hear Me” leads into “Smash the Mirror,” in which Tommy can indeed see his own reflection, but still doesn’t register seeing his mother, which enrages her so much, she shoves Tommy through a mirror. This scene leads to Tommy’s eventual awakening as a spiritual figure..
Bob Dylan references this song in “Murder Most Foul” with the lyric, “Tommy, can you hear me? I’m the Acid Queen.” That line also mentions “The Acid Queen,” which is another track on Tommy.
Tommy Can You Hear Me
Tommy can you hear me? Can you feel me near you? Tommy can you see me? Can I help to cheer you? Ooooh Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy
Tommy can you hear me? Can you feel me near you? Tommy can you see me? Can I help to cheer you? Ooooh Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy
Tommy can you hear me? Can you feel me near you? Tommy can you see me? Can I help to cheer you? Ooooh Tommy
A Piano in the House is not a well known episode but one of my favorites. It flies under the Twilight Zone radar. The episode highlights two things rather well…cruelty and justice. Fitzgerald Fortune played by Barry Morse is a despicable and sadistic theater critic who thinks he is above everyone. He buys a magic player piano that has the ability to reveal peoples inner selves and uses it to humiliate his wife (Joan Hackett) and many of her friends.
This one does show the artificial nature of everyday human interactions. The ways we will go to hide things about ourselves when with other people. I could relate to this one. Working in IT in the early days…I knew people like Fitzgerald Fortune who thought all the end users were idiots.
This show was written by Earl Hamner Jr. and Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Mr. Fitzgerald Fortune, theater critic and cynic at large, on his way to a birthday party. If he knew what is in store for him he probably wouldn’t go, because before this evening is over that cranky old piano is going to play “Those Piano Roll Blues” with some effects that could happen only in the Twilight Zone.
Summary
Theater critic Fitzgerald Fortune is looking to buy a different sort of gift for his wife’s birthday. In a curio shop, he buys an old player-piano. It’s delivered to his home, and when he starts it up, it has a strange effect on his manservant, a normally dour man who breaks into mirthful laughter. When he plays another song, this time for a guest, the man breaks down and admits he’s in love with Fortune’s wife Esther. He decides to have fun with his party guests that evening but Esther decides to turn the tables on him.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
Mr. Fitzgerald Fortune, a man who went searching for concealed persons and found himself in the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Barry Morse…Fitzgerald “Jerry” Fortune
Joan Hackett…Esther Fortune
Don Durant…Gregory “Greg” Walker
Muriel Landers…Marge Moore
Philip Coolidge…Throckmorton
Cyril Delevanti…Marvin (the Butler)
The vocals on this song won me over when I heard it. Keyboard player Nickey Barclay nails the vocals on this song. She goes from 0 to 100 and she turns into a Janis Joplin. It builds up slowly and then Barclay wails the vocal while June Millington breaks out on the slide guitar at the end to a huge crescendo. The drummer Alice de Buhr does a really cool rhythm pattern for this song…
There have been a few all female rock bands (not enough) but this one…to me is the most talented one I’ve heard. They were not a “girl group”…they were a full fledged rock band. They didn’t have the pop song to take them over the top but for what they did…they didn’t need it.
The live version I have on the Midnight Special is much better than the studio cut. This song was written by Randy Newman and it has such wonderful lines in it.
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night
From all the clips I’ve seen of Fanny live…their live sound just wasn’t caught in the studio and they were much better live. BTW…love the eye-shadow or glam-shadow (thanks Vic)…what ever it is…another reason to love the seventies.
Last Night I Had A Dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In my dream
Last night I had a dream Scared me before you know I woke up screaming Saw all of my in-laws and whole lot of outlaws In my dream I saw the wolfman Jack and saw the mummy too
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night In that dream
It started out in a barnyard at sundown And everyone was laughing And you were lying on the ground
You said, “honey, can you tell me what your name is?” “Honey, can you tell me what your name is?” I said, “damn damn what your game is”
You know what my game is
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In the dream I had last night, in my dream In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Happy Monday everyone! Everything that I’ve heard by them is loud, catchy, aggressive, and with a power pop hook. I listened to the Buzzcocks in the 80s with some friends that owned some imports. I hoped they would break in America but never did.
The Buzzcocks crossed pop with punk. The Go-Go’s have said they were a huge influence. Jane Wiedlin said: “our favorite band, the band that we always tried to emulate was the Buzzcocks, who had that great pop song done in a punky style.”
Grunge bands admired the Buzzcocks also. Pearl Jam invited the band to open US shows for them in 2003, including the Buzzcocks’ first ever appearance at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Nirvana invited them to open dates on their last ever European tour, in early 1994.
Steve Diggle wrote this song and did the lead vocals on it. He said the “harmony” in the song is the sound of the crowd when they played.
To get the right sound for the song, Diggle smoked 20 cigarettes to get the gruff sound of the vocals. The song peaked at #32 in the UK charts in 1979. The song was just released as a single not an album.
They released 3 albums, 6 non-album singles, and broke up in 1981 after a dispute with their record company. They reunited in 1989 and released 6 more albums. Pete Shelley continued to play with the band until his death of a heart attack in 2018. The band still continues to tour with Diggle.
Steve Diggle: “I was reading James Joyce’s Ulysses, which is a heavy book but it had a lot of cinematic imagery – so ‘Harmony’ wasn’t a linear story like pop songs are. The Arndale Centre had just been built and it gave me a real sense of alienation. I wanted to walk down the street and hear the percolation of the crowds – that was the ‘harmony.’ Life was never going to be sweet and nice and it’s not always doom and gloom. The ‘Harmony In My Head’ was the sound of the crowd. That’s how real life is.”
From Songfacts
When Buzzcocks played their first concert, Steve Diggle was their bassist, but founding frontman Howard Devoto’s departure prompted the band to reshuffle, with Pete Shelley becoming lead vocalist/guitarist and Diggle moving from bass to guitar and co-vocalist.
Diggle also had a few early co-writing credits and contributed chords and choruses to “Promises” shortly after Pete Shelley’s “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” “Harmony In My Head,” which reached #32 in the UK, is probably Diggle’s best known song.
Engineer Alan Winstanley recalled to Uncut: “‘Harmony’ is interesting as it’s the only one Steve Diggle sings – it doesn’t have that Pete Shelley sweetness – but when he comes in on the chorus it really changes it. Then off Steve goes again with his growly voice.”
Released as a standalone single on July 13, 1979, the song spent six weeks on the UK singles chart, peaking at #32.
Harmony In My Head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue Go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
When I’m out in the open clattering shoppers around Neon signs that take your eyes to town Your thoughts are chosen your world is advertising now And extravagance matters to worshipers of the pound
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
The tortured faces expression out aloud And life’s little ironies seem so obvious now Your cashed in cheques have placed the payments down And there’s a line of buses all wait to take you out
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a
It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue I go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
‘Cause it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
This one is a borderline classic. What I get out of it is the idea that old age is just a state of mind. Being young is more about the willingness to take risks and having a sense of adventure rather than just playing it safe. Ernest Truex plays Charles Whitley who finds the secret of staying young. The pure joy that Truex shows is infectious. He appeared in the earlier Twilight Zone…What You Need.
I find it interesting in the contrasting dynamic between playful Charles Whitley and the stereotypical grouchy old man Ben Conroy played by Russell Collins. Charles moves around care free while Ben worries about everything and is determined to be a “get off my lawn” old man. This one is a little slower to develop but a great episode.
One character actor I do want to mention that appears in this episode is Burt Mustin. He doesn’t have a big part but Mustin seemed to be everywhere on 50s- 70s tv shows.
Kick the Can was remade in the Twilight Zone movie with Scatman Crothers and it was one of the best stories they had in the movie.
This show was written by George Clayton Johnson, Rod Serling, and Richard P. McDonagh
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Sunnyvale Rest, a home for the aged – a dying place and a common children’s game called kick-the-can, that will shortly become a refuge for a man who knows he will die in this world, if he doesn’t escape into – The Twilight Zone.
Summary
Charles Whitley is an elderly resident of Sunnyvale Rest, a home for the aged. It’s not a happy place and Charles’ hopes of moving in with his son David are dashed when he’s told they can’t take him in. He wistfully recalls his youth where they played kick the can and didn’t have a worry in the world. His close friend Ben Conroy begins to worry him when Charles suggests all you have to do is wish it, and you can be young again. Ben is worried his friend will end up in the loony bin but it’s Ben who is in for a surprise.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
Sunnyvale Rest, a dying place for ancient people, who have forgotten the fragile magic of youth. A dying place for those who have forgotten that childhood, maturity, and old age are curiously intertwined and not separate. A dying place for those who have grown too stiff in their thinking – to visit – The Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Ernest Truex…Charles Whitley
Barry Truex…Charles’ son
Russell Collins…Ben Conroy
John Marley…Mr. Cox
Burt Mustin…Carlson
Earle Hodgins…Agee
Hank Patterson…Freitag
Marjorie Bennett…Mrs. Summers
Lenore Shanewise…Mrs. Densley
Eve McVeagh…Night nurse
Anne O’Neal…Mrs. Wister
When I was around 10 years old …with help from mom, I ordered Three Dog NIght’s greatest hits off of a commercial on television. When I got it I wore it out and zeroed in on this song (and Celebrate). This is an environmental song…probably one of the first that I heard or least paid attention to. The message is really good.
I think the writers were influenced slightly by “It’s All Too Much” a Beatle song that George Harrison wrote. That is why I think I liked it so much…it sounded familiar. To be truthful about it…I thought this post was going to be a Three Dog Night “deep cut” (yea people would line up for that)…I had no clue it was a hit…of course being on the greatest “hits” should have clued me in. I just never heard it on the radio.
The Family of Man is a song written by Paul Williams and Jack Conrad, produced by Richard Podolor. It was on their 1971 album, Harmony.
The Family of Man peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100, and #5 in Canada. The album Harmony peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Charts and #11 in Canada in 1971. So it just missed being a top 10 hit and was a top 5 hit in Canada.
Three Dog Night were huge in the seventies. They had 3 number 1 songs, 21 songs in the top 100, and 11 top ten hits in the Billboard 100. Not bad for a group with three lead singers. I’m alright with them as long as I don’t hear Joy To The World again.
The commercial that I ordered it from…
Family Of Man
This tired city was somebody’s dream Billboard horizons as black as they seem A four-level highway across the land We’re building a home for the family of man
Prices are rising, the devil’s to pay Moving the mountain that got in the way Prayer books and meetings to find a plan Deciding the fate of the family of man
So hard Whatever are we coming to? Yes, it’s so hard With so little time and so much to do
Memories replacing the loves that we lost Burning our bridges as soon as they’re crossed Factories built where the rivers ran Time’s running out for the family of man
So hard
So hard So hard So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man So hard, family of man
The bass in this song punches you like a heavy weight fighter and will roll you like wholesale carpet…the timing is absolutely perfect. I hear some Otis and Wilson Pickett in this song and it will make you move. I wanted to touch on the seventies R&B/funk side in the draft…I can’t do any better than this one.
Floyd takes almost a full minute to build up to the chorus and it’s well worth the wait when he kicks it in. Also wanted to mention that a musician named Vernie Robbins plays the bass in this song…the bass along with Floyd carries the song…and the horns don’t hurt either.
This was the B side to a song called What Our Love Needs and DJ’s played a role in making this a hit after spinning this side more. They started to play this song in the New Orleans region and it took off nationally… something that would not happen today.
This was recorded at the same session as Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.” In the 80s I heard this song and was hooked on the first listen. Back then it took me a while to track it down…but track it down I did at Tower Records. I get all misty eyed when thinking of pulling into the parking lot of Tower or Port O’ Call Records. .
This is a song that has not been worn out…in fact we need it more. I love the dynamics going on in the chorus when it kicks in. The song was released in 1970 and peaked at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100.
On how Floyd wrote this song… He was working at a box factory and noticed a woman there:She’d just watch me and smile at me all day. When I went to the water fountain, she would make it her purpose to come up to the water fountain. But, I was so shy. So, I decided one day that I was gonna write this poem and give it to her and I wrote ‘Groove Me.’ Believe it or not, after I finished it she never came back to work. It blew me away. So, I never gave her the poem. Man, I’d sure like to meet her one day just to thank her!”
Groove Me
Hey there sugar darlin’ Let me tell you something Girl, I’ve been trying to say, now You look so sweet And you’re so doggone fine I just can’t get you out of my mind You’ve become a sweet taste in my mouth, now And I want you to be my spouse So that we can live happily, nah-nah In a great big ol’ roomy house And I know you’re gonna groove me, baby Ahh, yeah, now You make me feel good inside Come on, and groove me, baby I need you to groove me Ahhh, yeah, now, now, darling Uhh! Come on, come on! Hey! Uhh!
Hey there, sugar darlin’ Come on, give me something Girl, I’ve been needing for days Yes, I’m good, good loving With plenty, plenty hugging Ooh, you cute little thang, you Girl, between you and me, nah-nah We don’t need no company No other man, no other girl Can enter into our world Not as long as you groove me, baby Ahh, come on Make me feel good inside Come on and groove me, baby Move me, baby Ahh, sock it to me, mama Uhh! Ahh, I like it like that, baby Uhh! Groove me, baby! Hey! Uhh! Groove me, darling! Come on, come on I need you to sock it to me, mama Come on and groove me, baby Hey! Uhh! Good, God! It makes me feel so good inside, mama Now, come on, come on, and uhh Groove me, baby, groove me, baby Ahh, sock it to me Sock it to me Rock it to me Come on, come on! Come on! And uhh Groove me, mama, I want you to Groove me!
Showdown With Rance McGrew is a lighthearted episode about a temperamental actor playing a cowboy hero. He is doing impossible stunts that would insult real legendary outlaws if they could see it. That part might just come into play in this one. This episode was made during the golden age of westerns on television. You couldn’t turn a channel on without seeing a western. Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Wanted Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, and that is just naming a few.
Larry Blyden as Rance McGrew is a whiny, pampered, and coward actor who tries the patience of all the actors and crew. The wonderful character actor Bob Kline plays Jesse James who might have something to say to Rance with him always winning against James and all of his outlaw friends in TV Shows…dead outlaws have their pride also. The episode is fun but far from a classic.
Rod Sering:Fred Fox had an interesting notion, which was quite serious, about a modern-day cowpoke, not a television star, who found himself living in the past. It had no sense of humor in it. It was a straightforward piece. But it struck me that it would be a terribly interesting concept to have a guy who plays the role of a Hollywood cowboy suddenly thrust into the maelstrom of reality in which he has to do all these acts of prowess against real people… . And it just occurred to me, My God, what would happen if the Ranee McGrews of our time had to face this? I used to think this about John Wayne all the time, who had fought most of our major wars. In truth, of course, they were fought on the backlot of Warner Brothers, in which the most deadly jeopardy would be to get hit by a flying starlet. And I always wondered what Waynes reaction would be if he ever had to lift up an M-l and go through a bloody foxhole on attack sometime. But this is the element of humor that I was striving to get.
This show was written by Rod Serling, Frederick Louis Fox, and Richard P. McDonagh
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Some one-hundred-odd years ago, a motley collection of tough mustaches galloped across the West and left behind a raft of legends and legerdemains, and it seems a reasonable conjecture that if there are any television sets up in cowboy heaven and any of these rough-and-wooly nail-eaters could see with what careless abandon their names and exploits are being bandied about, they’re very likely turning over in their graves—or worse, getting out of them. Which gives you a clue as to the proceedings that will begin in just a moment, when one Mr. Rance McGrew, a 3,000-buck-a-week phoney-baloney discovers that this week’s current edition of make-believe is being shot on location—and that location is the Twilight Zone.
Summary
Rance McGrew is the star of a weekly TV western where he plays the town Marshal. He is, to say the least, difficult to deal with. He is frequently late on the set, arrives unprepared and often requests script changes just as they are about to shoot a scene. To top it off, he’s quite inept at handling his gun which he inadvertently tosses into the saloon mirror on more than one occasion. He’s given a dose of reality however when he inexplicably finds himself back in time, coming face to face with the real Jesse James
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
The evolution of the so-called ‘adult’ western, and the metamorphosis of one Rance McGrew, formerly phony-baloney, now upright citizen with a preoccupation with all things involving tradition, truth and cowpoke predecessors. It’s the way the cookie crumbles and the six-gun shoots in the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling… Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Larry Blyden as Rance McGrew
Arch Johnson as Jesse James
Robert Cornthwaite as Director
Robert J. Stevenson as Bartender
William McLean as Property Man
Troy Melton as Cowboy #1
Jay Overholts as Cowboy #2
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?
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