This song caught my attention in 2012 when it was released. It has an older feel to it. It did not chart in America but it did peak at #28 in the UK charts. I like the echo in his voice and the chorus will stick with you.
In December of 2018 my son and I saw him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville with Kelsey Waters opening up. There was an even mixture of young and old to see the 23-year-old play. He has listed influences as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, to Nick Drake.
Jake Edwin Kennedy is his real name…but he records under the name of Jake Bugg. He grew up in the Clifton area of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12. He was later signed by Mercury Records after he appeared at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. The song we hear is the demo he made. He wanted to go back and re-record it in a proper studio but the label loved it and released it as it was.
Jake Bugg’s debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts. He was only 19 years old, he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position.
The song was about his home life growing up. He said it wasn’t exactly like the video but not far off.
I knew the two fingers meant something insulting so I looked it up… The “two-fingered salute” in which the index and middle fingers are put up at or to another person with the palm outward, is an obscene gesture of scorn or defiance. Its use as an insulting sign is largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
And….
British, informal
: to make an obscene gesture by holding up the index finger and the middle finger of one hand in the shape of a V while keeping the palm turned inward
Jake Bugg:“It’s a very personal song for me, I wanted to express how I felt, it’s a song about growing up and escaping and just life in general. I wanted to put it in the best words possible but also detailed and keeping everyone happy.”
Two Fingers
I drink to remember, I smoke to forget Some things to be proud of Some stuff to regret Run down some dark alleys in my own head Something is changing, changing, changing
I go back to Clifton to see my old friends The best people I could ever have met Skin up a fat one, hide from the Feds Something is changing, changing, changing
So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain Light a cigarette and wish the world away I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay So I hold two fingers up to yesterday Light a cigarette and smoke it all away I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay He’s down in the kitchen drinking White Lightning He’s with my momma, they’re yelling and fighting It’s not the first time praying for silence Something is changing, changing, changing
So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain Light a cigarette and wish the world away I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay So I hold two fingers up to yesterday Light a cigarette and smoke it all away I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
There’s a story for every corner of this place Running so hard you got out but your knees got grazed I’m an old dog but I learned some new tricks yeah
So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain Light a cigarette and wish the world away I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay So I hold two fingers up to yesterday Light a cigarette and smoke it all away I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay
Hey, hey it’s fine Hey, hey it’s fine Hey, hey it’s fine I left it behind
This is a film I so wish they would clean up and release. I watched a bootleg version of it in the 80s VHS.
This was a film that covered Bob Dylan on his 1966 European tour backed up by the Hawks that eventually became The Band minus, Levon Helm. The film was to be shown on ABC television but ABC rejected and saying it was “incomprehensible” because Dylan himself was one of the editors and wanted the film to have more of an artistic feel.
It was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker who filmed Dylan’s 65 European tour when he played acoustically called Don’t Look Back. Don’t Look Back is terrific. This film is very disjointed. That is not saying I don’t like it. This is the Dylan period that probably is my favorite. The Hawks are raw and powerful and Dylan was
There are some highlights to this odd film. A spontaneous piano duet with Dylan and Johnny Cash, John Lennon and Bob Dylan very high riding around in a cab, and the famous concert where an audience member yells out “Judas” because of Dylan’s conversion to electric music. After the Judas remark, he proceeds to tell Robbie Robertson to play it loud and they kick off in a vicious “Like a Rolling Stone.” My favorite live version of that song. Those folk music fans were harsh.
The film is disjointed and frustrating to watch because some of the songs you want to see and hear are there…but only partly. You will be seeing Dylan performing something and then flash away to something else. Some of the concert footage and film from this ended up in the Martin Scorsese movie No Direction Home…I would recommend No Direction Home to everyone.
Bob was pale and nervous and there is no secret he was doing drugs heavily throughout this movie. After the tour, Dylan had a motorcycle wreck heard around the world and after he recovered he didn’t tour for years.
The cab ride with John Lennon is historical now. Both of them in sunglasses and Lennon trying to inject humor into the situation and Dylan is ok at first and then starts getting sick as the filming stops.
If you are a Dylan fan it’s worth a watch. I’m glad we have “No Direction Home” to see some clear film segments on that tour. Eat The Document has not been officially released but you can get a bootleg of it or watch most of it on youtube.
This is one B side that I have listened to more than the A-side.
I was playing in a band at a Summer Festival in the 90s. This song was on the setlist combined with Bruce’s Cadillac Ranch went over well. The subject matter is dark but truthful.
The song is credited to Chuck Berry and Bruce because Bruce rewrote the Berry song Bye Bye Johnny to fit his story. Chuck’s song follows the same character heard in Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” Johnny is now a grown man who boards a bus to start his life.
Bruce’s version is about Elvis Presley who died a little earlier. Bruce was a big fan of Elvis but saw what fame and isolation did to him. After the glory had left…the lifestyle caught up with Elvis with tragic results. The song was released as a B side to “I’m On Fire” in 1985. I’m On Fire was the 4th single released from Born In The USA. Johnny Bye Bye It was recorded in April 1982 during the “Electric Nebraska” sessions. That was when the band tried to recreate the Nebraska acoustic demos but they could not capture what Bruce wanted.
Springsteen performed this several times live during the River and Born in the USA tours. It is a haunting song to listen to. The keywords are the last lines of the song…”You didn’t have to die, You didn’t have to die.”
Bruce Springsteen: “The type of fame Elvis had . . . the pressure of it, the isolation that it seems to require, has gotta be really painful”
Chuck Berry’s original
“Johnny Bye-Bye”
Well she drew out all her money from the Southern Trust And put her little boy on the Greyhound Bus Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand With a one-way ticket to the promised land Hey little girl with the red dress on There’s a party tonight down in Memphis town I’ll be going down there if you need a ride The man on the radio says Elvis Presley’s died We drove to Memphis, the sky was hard and black Up over the ridge came a white Cadillac They’d drawn out all his money and they laid him in the back A woman cried from the roadside “Ah he’s gone, he’s gone” They found him slumped up against the drain With a whole lot of trouble running through his veins Bye-bye Johnny Johnny bye-bye You didn’t have to die You didn’t have to die
This is a recap of rounds 1-3 that was held earlier. Hope you will join us on Friday, April 22, 2022, as we kick off Round 4. If you want a full recap as we go… go here https://powerpop.blog/tv-draft/ or go to “TV Draft” in the menu on the site.
I just saw a post about the album cover for News Of The World at The Press Music Reviews. It made me think of the first time I saw the cover of this album and when I heard this song.
In 3rd or maybe 4th-grade recess we were all going outside playing kickball. A friend of mine named Paul brought this album to school. We all looked at it and couldn’t stop talking about that cool robot cover. That was before I listened to it.
When I first heard We Will Rock You… the guitar solo is what stood out to me. It’s so simple yet catchy like many of Brian May’s solos…it was more like a hook. It turned into an anthem with We Are The Champions. I made a vow that if I learned how to play guitar one day I would learn that solo. I forgot about that vow until a few years ago and I finally kept that promise to myself.
We Will Rock You was released as a double A-side single with We Are The Champions. Since the songs were released, the band has almost always used “Rock You” and “Champions” as a back-to-back encore number. The album peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album charts, #2 in Canada, #15 in New Zealand, and #4 in the UK in 1977.
On Queen’s next album, they had another set of songs disc jockeys played together. “Bicycle Race” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” were segued together on their album Jazz. Those songs were also released as a double A-side single.
While in the studio they had a visit from no other than Sid Vicious. He berated Freddie Mercury and asked him if he had brought ballet to the masses yet…referring to an earlier Mercury interview. Freddie said “I called him, I dunno, Simon Ferocious or something, and just pushed him out. I think… yeah, I think we passed that test.” Roger Taylor later called Vicious a moron and idiot.
Brian May: There were two occasions that inspired it. One I’ve spoken about a lot, which was at Bingley Hall [near Birmingham, England] where the audience sang every song and then we went off stage and they carried on singing and then they sang [the de facto Liverpool F.C. football anthem] “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” It was a transitional time in rock. You went to see Led Zeppelin and The Who, you’d bang your head but you didn’t sing along, that wasn’t cool. This was an invitation to sing along.
A light went off and I thought, “We shouldn’t fight this, we should embrace it!” People didn’t do that at the time at rock concerts. I thought, “How interesting — if I wrote something, the audience could participate it to the point that they could lead the band?” I went to sleep and woke up with “We Will Rock You” in my head. When you’re at a show you can hardly move, but you can stomp your feet and chant and clap and lead us.
Roger Taylor:“It only has one instrument apart from the voice: There’s no bass, no real drums — just feet and handclaps and only that guitar at the very end. It’s quite an odd song. It was designed as a sort of song for the audience, a joining-in song. But we never really envisioned that it would be taken up by sports. It’s one of delights of… I’ve spent my life being in a band, so it sidelined all sports. I reckoned I could meet more girls being in a band than playing soccer.”
The single was accompanied by a promo video that saw Queen perform the song in Roger Taylor’s back garden and We Will Rock You quickly became the opening number on the band’s winter tour.
We Will Rock You
Buddy, you’re a boy, make a big noise Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday You got mud on your face, you big disgrace Kicking your can all over the place, singin’
We will, we will rock you We will, we will rock you
Buddy, you’re a young man, hard man Shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday You got blood on your face, you big disgrace Waving your banner all over the place
We will, we will rock you, sing it We will, we will rock you
Buddy, you’re an old man, poor man Pleading with your eyes, gonna make you some peace someday You got mud on your face, big disgrace Somebody better put you back into your place
We will, we will rock you, sing it We will, we will rock you, everybody We will, we will rock you We will, we will rock you Alright
I first got Tea for the Tillerman back in the early eighties and got hooked on Cat Stevens although I do remember his songs growing up. He has one of those voices that when you first hear it…you know who it is without any doubt. This song I didn’t know about until I heard it in a movie.
This is the ultimate optimistic song about following your own path. Like the best of Cat Stevens songs, it will stay with you after a listen. It’s optimistic without going overboard.
I first heard this song in the dark comedy 1971 “Harold and Maude” where it was featured. Stevens wrote and performed all of the songs for the movie after being recommended by Elton John.
This song did not chart which really surprised me when I first heard it. The reason it didn’t chart was that was it never released as a single or on an album. The song was finally released in 1984 on a Cat Stevens Greatest Hits album called “Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.”That was 14 years after the movie. The soundtrack for Harold and Maude wasn’t released until 2007.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes dark or offbeat comedies. The movie was directed by Hal Ashby. The music was a perfect fit for this movie. Both Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon were nominated for Best Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture -Comedy at the Golden Globes.
“If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out”
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out And if you want to be free, be free ‘Cause there’s a million things to be You know that there are
And if you want to live high, live high And if you want to live low, live low ‘Cause there’s a million ways to go You know that there are
[Chorus:] You can do what you want The opportunity’s on And if you can find a new way You can do it today You can make it all true And you can make it undo you see ah ah ah its easy ah ah ah You only need to know
Well if you want to say yes, say yes And if you want to say no, say no ‘Cause there’s a million ways to go You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me And if you want to be you, be you ‘Cause there’s a million things to do You know that there are
[Chorus]
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out And if you want to be free, be free ‘Cause there’s a million things to be You know that there are You know that there are You know that there are You know that there are You know that there are
I first heard this through the Beatles, but nobody beats Little Richard (Richard Penniman) for this kind of raving song. The Beatles played on the same bill with Richard in Hamburg and Liverpool before they were nationally known. They got to know Billy Preston because he was Richard’s keyboard player.
My dad told me about Little Richard before I ever heard him. He said he had the largest voice he ever heard. He talked about a song called Long Tall Sally. I first heard it…it blew me away. Such a raw emotional power in that voice. He would take us to the edge of the cliff and then at the last-minute pull us back.
So was there a real Long Tall Sally? Yes, there was but she was not a cross-dresser as sometimes reported. Little Richard has said that Sally was a friend of the family who was always drinking whiskey…she would claim to have a cold and would drink hot toddies all day.
He described her as tall and not attractive, with just two teeth and cockeyed. She was having an affair with John, who was married to Mary, who they called “Short Fat Fanny.” John and Mary would get in fights on the weekends, and when he saw her coming, he would duck back into a little alley to avoid her. His voice was one of a kind…and I mean one of a kind. He could sing anything. Richard wrote this while working as a dishwasher at a Greyhound bus station in Macon, Georgia. He also wrote Tutti Frutti and Good Golly Miss Molly while working there. He had help with the song…Enotris Johnson and Robert Blackwell are also listed as the writers.
Long Tall Sally peaked at #6 in the Hot 100 and #1 in the R&B Charts in 1956.
Richard’s producer, Bumps Blackwell, had him record the vocal exceptionally fast in an effort to thwart Pat Boone. Boone’s version of “Tutti Frutti” sold better than Little Richard’s, so Blackwell tried to make it very difficult for Boone to copy. He had Richard work on the line “duck back down the alley” over and over until he could sing it very fast. He figured Boone could never match Richard’s vocal dexterity.
As much as I don’t like Pat Boone’s covers of Little Richards songs…they did help Richard get royalties as the writer.
Long Tall Sally
Gonna tell Aunt Mary ’bout Uncle John He claim he has the misery but he’s havin’ a lot of fun Oh baby, yeah baby, woo Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well long, tall Sally She’s built for speed, she got Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby Yeah baby, woo baby Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally He saw Aunt Mary comin’ and he ducked back in the alley oh baby Yeah baby, woo baby Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah, ow
Well, long, tall Sally She’s built for speed, she got Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby Yeah baby, woo baby Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally He saw Aunt Mary comin’ and he ducked back in the alley, oh, baby Yeah baby, woo, baby Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
We gonna have some fun tonight We gonna have some fun tonight, woo Have some fun tonight, everything’s all right Have some fun, have me some fun tonight
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Keith from https://nostalgicitalian.com/
Perry Mason
My choice for the third round draft pick is Hollywood’s first weekly one-hour series that was filmed for television – Perry Mason. The show ran for 9 seasons (September 1957 – May 1966) and starred Raymond Burr in the title role.
Raymond Burr
The character of Perry Mason was well known before he was ever on TV. The attorney was the star of novels and stories written by a lawyer-turned-author Erle Stanley Gardner. There were some movies made by Warner Brothers and also a radio series based starring the character, by Gardner hated them! As a matter of fact, he refused to license the character of Perry mason for any more adaptations. (Interestingly, the radio series continues and evolved into the famous soap opera The Edge of Night.)
Gardner’s agent married actress Gail Patrick and she was the one who talked him into adapting the novels into a TV series. He made it clear that he wanted a lot of control over the show and how it was presented. He also had a hand in helping pick the cast. Many of the stories he wrote were turned into episodes for the series.
The Cast
It is hard to imagine anyone other than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. However, among the actors in the running were Mike Conners, Richard Egan, William Holden, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., William Hopper, and Fred MacMurray. Raymond Burr actually auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger, the DA. Gail Patrick remembered his performance from the 1951 film “A Place in the Sun” and told him he was perfect for the role.
At the time, Burr was about 60 pounds overweight, so he went on a crash diet and tested for the role again with about 50 other actors. Erle Stanley Gardner saw him and reportedly said, “THAT is Perry Mason!” Burr continued to lose weight as the series continued. He stated, “I just don’t have time to eat.”
Syndicated columnist Erskine Johnson wrote, “Every six days Burr stars in what almost amounts to a full-length feature movie. He’s in 98% of all the scenes.” Burr stated, “I had no life outside of Perry Mason. And that went on 24 hours a day, sox days a week. I never went home at night. I lived on the lot. I got up at 3 o’clock every single morning to learn my lines for that day, and sometimes I hadn’t finished until 9 o’clock. I had a kitchen, bedroom, office space, sitting room – al of that – on every lot I ever worked on.”
Burr won three Primetime Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Perry Mason (1959, 1960, and 1961).
Raymond Burr IS Perry Mason
Other major players in the cast included Barbara Hale as Perry’s secretary, Della Street. Hale had done some feature films, but wanted to avoid going away for long periods of time to shoot them because she had a rather young family. According to Gail Patrick, it was Hale who called her to inquire about the role of Della.
Perry and Della (Barbara Hale)
William Hopper, as I mentioned before, auditioned for the role of Perry Mason (I believe you can find some of the audition tapes on YouTube). After not getting the role of Mason and auditioning for Private Detective Paul Drake, he walked in the room and said, “You hate my mother!” His mother was Hedda Hopper, the famous gossip columnist. Patrick said he was the perfect Paul Drake, so he got the role.
William Hopper as Paul Drake with Burr’s Mason
For the role of District Attorney Hamilton Burger, Patrick knew exactly who she wanted. She had seen William Tallman in The Hitch-Hiker and knew he was perfect for the role. She said, “He never disappointed.” In an interview he was asked how he felt about his character losing to Perry Mason every week. His response is perfect. He stated, “Burger doesn’t lose. How can a district attorney lose when he fails to convict an innocent person?” When Burr was asked by a fan why he won every case, he told her, “But madam, you only see the cases I try on Saturday!”
William Tallman – Hamilton Burger
Another one of Perry’s foils was Police Lt. Arthur Tragg. Ray Collins’ voice was known to so many listeners of the Mercury Theater on radio. He had also been in movies and other TV shows. Patrick joked saying, “We overlooked the fact that on an actual police force, he would probably be long retired.” He was 68 years old when the show debuted on CBS. The playful interaction between Tragg and Mason are priceless.
The great Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg
The Plot
The basic formula for each episode was the same. The first part of the show introduced the viewer to a client who is hiring Perry Mason for some legal work or is introduced to him in some way. We then see the murder victim and other “suspects” introduced. The victim is murdered and Perry’s client is wrongfully accused of the crime. The remainder of the episode focuses on Burger and Tragg gathering evidence to convict the said “murderer”, Perry, Drake and Della take up their own investigation to prove their client is innocent.
The second half of the show would shift to the courtroom where Perry and Hamilton would duke it out in the preliminary hearing. In the novels, Perry likes to clear the client before they are bound over for trial, so this was worked into the show. They happen, but jury trials are rarely seen on the show.
The show would often culminate with Mason recalling a witness and questioning them until they cracked and admitted committing the murder OR causing someone else in the courtroom to admit that THEY committed the murder. The show would then wrap with a scene in Perry’s office or the courtroom where details would be presented on what led Perry to discover the real killer.
The formula worked for 9 seasons and eventually 30 TV made for TV movies.
Episodes of Interest
Throughout the run of the series, there were some very unique episodes. In the entire run of the series, Perry tackles an astounding 271 cases, and wins almost all of them! He actually lost thre cases (that we know of). In The Case of the Witless Witness, he loses a non-murder case. In The Case of the Terrified Typist, his client is found guilty of murder, but he is eventually able to clear her name. Finally, in The Case of the Deadly Verdict his client is found guilty of murder and is actually sentenced to death in the gas chamber! Perry, of course, is able to save the day before the execution is scheduled to take place.
A fun episode to watch is The Case of the Dead Ringer. Raymond Burr plays a dual role in this episode playing a man named “Grimes.” It’s fun to watch Burr question Burr as two different characters!
In season 6, Burr had some episodes where is appeared briefly, but guest actors filled in for Perry. Among those actors were Bette Davis, Michael Rennie, Hugh O’Brian, and Walter Pidgeon. Two years later, Burr was hospitalized for jaw surgery and Mike Conners and Barry Sullivan filled in for him.
How about the three that never set foot in a courtroom? Those were The Case of the Baited Hook, The Case of the Velvet Claws, and The Case of the Careless Kitten.
One of the most interesting shows was the one – and only – show that was shot in color. In the 9th season, CBS was hoping that the show would shoot a 10th season. Many shows were being shot in color by this time and they wanted to see what the show would look like. The Case of the Twice-Told Twist aired – in color – on February 27, 1966.
A must see episode is the series finale, The Case of the Final Fade-Out. First of all, it features cameos by all of the Perry Mason Crew in various roles. Second, it features the creator of the character, Erle Stanley Gardner, as the judge, and the murderer is … spoiler alert … a young Dick Clark!
Before They Were Famous
Many soon-to-be stars appeared on Perry Mason. I guess that is another reason why I love watching it. You never know who will pop up. Some examples: Barbara Eden, Cloris Leachman, Lee Meriwether, Pat Priest, Yvonne Craig, James Coburn, Angie Dickenson, George Kennedy, Diane Ladd, Frankie Laine, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Claude Akins, Richard Anderson, Barbara Bain, James Best, Whit Bissell, Frank Cady, Bert Convey, Richard Deacon, Norman Fell, Alan Hale Jr., Harvey Korman, Gavin MacLeod, Allan Melvin, Leonard Nimoy, Denver Pyle, Marion Ross, Adam West, and MORE!
The Theme Song
Let’s be honest, the Perry Mason Theme Song is one of the most recognizable in all of television. The task of writing the theme went to composer Fred Steiner. He set out to write a song that would convey two of Perry’s prime characteristics – sophistication and toughness. The piece he wrote was called “Park Avenue Beat.”
Here is Fred discussing how he came up with the theme:
Here is the theme from the first season:
As much as I love the original version, I have to admit that when Perry Mason returned to TV in the two hour movies, I loved the version used for these films better. They just sound more full and better produced to me. So here it is:
I may as well touch briefly on the TV movies. In December of 1985, Perry Mason Returns aired on NBC.
Perry is now a judge and steps down to defend Della Street, who is accused of murder.
William Hopper died in 1970, so William Katt (Barbara Hale’s son) was called in to play Paul Drake Jr. The movies followed the same formula as the TV show. Burr and Hale had aged, but their on screen chemistry hadn’t changed at all. Burr was fantastic in this of course, he proves that Della is innocent! The successful reception and ratings of the reunion show led to 29 more Perry Mason Movies (Burr starred in 26 of them before passing away in 1993).
I never tire of watching Perry Mason. Despite being a bit dated, I think it still holds up today. HBO has created a “pre” Perry Mason show supposedly showing how he became the famous lawyer. I have no desire to watch it. To me, there is one and only Perry Mason!
FUN FACT: Raymond Burr started playing the character in 1957 and played him until his death in 1993. He played Perry Mason for a whopping 36 years!
So if you ever find yourself accused of murder … there is only one lawyer to call….
How Do You Sleep? is very powerful…but you do feel for Paul McCartney. Paul did have lyrics on the Ram album about John and Yoko but you had to look for them. In this song…there is no looking…even the average fan would know exactly who he was singing about. To me, the most vicious line is The sound you make is muzak to my ears.
The song is on the album Imagine. This John Lennon song is direct and to the point. His feud with Paul was in the papers and after what John took as lyrics aimed at him and Yoko from Paul’s album Ram…it culminated with this song.
John has said that “How Do You Sleep” was like one of Dylan’s nasty songs and mentioned, “Like a Rolling Stone.” The big difference though was that Bob veiled the identity of his target. This song was vicious but not as vicious as it could have been if Ringo and other musicians hadn’t intervened.
Yoko and Allen Klein were feeding some lines about Paul to John during the recording. Ringo was upset with the content and simply said: “That’s enough, John”. Alan White ended up playing the drums on the track.
This song can be hard to listen to as a Beatle fan but it is a catchy dark gritty pointed song. I have always liked it. George Harrison’s slide guitar cuts through and doesn’t have the sweet sound he uses for his songs. It also shows you where George was at the time with Paul. This is not John’s best song by any measure but the music has an intensity about it and is very powerful. It’s ironic, but even without Paul being there he helped pull it out of John.
Paul did later admit that a few lyrics on “Ram” were pointed at John and Yoko but John, never one to hint…went for the throat. He would later soften and say the song was more about himself than Paul.
John and Paul would later repair the relationship…never to the point of working together again but on a friendly basis. They would keep in touch over the years by talking on the phone, in letters, and face to face at times.
John Lennon:“It’s not about Paul, it’s about me. I’m really attacking myself. But I regret the association, well, what’s to regret? He lived through it. The only thing that matters is how he and I feel about these things and not what the writer or commentator thinks about it. Him and me are okay.”
John Lennon:“You know, I wasn’t really feeling that vicious at the time,” “But I was using my resentment toward Paul to create a song, let’s put it that way. He saw that it pointedly refers to him, and people kept hounding him about it. But, you know, there were a few digs on his album before mine. He’s so obscure other people didn’t notice them, but I heard them. I thought, well, I’m not obscure, I just get right down to the nitty-gritty. So he’d done it his way and I did it mine.
Paul McCartney:“You hear the stories from various angles and apparently people who were in the room when John was writing that, he was getting suggestions for the lyrics off Allan Klein,” he said. “So, you see the atmosphere of ‘Let’s get Paul. Let’s nail him in a song…’ And those things were pretty hurtful.”
How Do You Sleep
So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise You better see right through that mother’s eyes Those freaks was right when they said you was dead The one mistake you made was in your head
Ah, how do you sleep Ah, how do you sleep at night
You live with straights who tell you, you was king Jump when your momma tell you anything The only thing you done was yesterday And since you’re gone you’re just another day
Ah, how do you sleep Ah, how do you sleep at night
Ah, how do you sleep Ah, how do you sleep at night
A pretty face may last a year or two But pretty soon they’ll see what you can do The sound you make is muzak to my ears You must have learned something in all those years
Ah, how do you sleep Ah, how do you sleep at night
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Mike from https://musiccitymike.net
Seinfeld
I must begin by saying that I’m puzzled as to why it took me so long to decide what my next pick in the TV series draft would be. The number of Seinfeld YouTube clips I’ve watched should alone justify making the “show about nothing” my #3 overall pick.
My history with Seinfeld however is odd in that I did not watch a single episode in real time until I viewed the underwhelming series finale at a private corporate event on their then-expensive big screen. By then though I had at least seen some reruns but had yet to become passionate about the show. But not too long after the series ceased, I got hooked by watching many more reruns and running through my Dad’s DVD collection when I visited my folks. Watching Seinfeld soon became highly addictive for several reasons upon which I will elaborate.
Seinfeld ‘s obvious attractions are of course that it is very funny, all the characters are incredible, and like my prior two series picks, it is set mostly in New York City. And to that last point, the show’s brilliant production never once makes you think that it’s all done in a Hollywood studio. It really feels like it’s all happening in the Big Apple.
Remarkably, I have always been fascinated by how timeless Seinfeld is. Despite the lack of cellphones and the presence of Jerry’s dated haircut and his old Macintosh computer visible in the background, the storylines just seem so relevant to whatever decade you are watching them in. Relationship issues, comical character failures and the unabashed selfishness exhibited by the four main characters are things we can all forever relate to and laugh about.
Seinfeld’s impact on popular culture is also unprecedented. For a show that is now more that 20 years expired, there are so many expressions that are now accepted vernacular. Aside from the obvious “Yada Yada” and “No soup for you!”, quite often, personal situations have made me recall and reference old episodes. One recent example dealt with someone who was perpetuating an obvious lie until when like George Costanza, “He finally reached the end of the Hamptons!” Amazing how many people I said this to remembered that car ride ending in a walk when George didn’t admit to his fiancé’s parents that he didn’t have a house in the Hamptons until they all reached the Atlantic Ocean.
Each Seinfeld episode typically had three or four concurrent storylines and we often forget the classics that intersected with one another. One was when the injured squirrel, for whom George paid for surgery to impress a girlfriend, got snatched away by a hawk during Kramer’s mock Merv Griffin Show. (After he found the old TV show set props in the trash bin.) On the same “show,” Jerry also was outed for drugging his girlfriend so that he could play with her rare vintage toy collection.
Being a baseball fan, having George work for the Yankees and seeing some real-life Yankees and Mets playing themselves on the show was something special. In fact, if I had to pick my favorite episode, it would be the one in which George suggested the Yankees wear cotton uniforms since cotton fabric breathes. Then came the problem when the non-polyester uniforms shrank making play difficult. This was also another great multiple story line show in which the gang watches the hapless Yanks from an Atlantic City hotel room where Jerry also accidently drowns the trained doves from Miss Rhode Island’s talent act. (Kramer was coaching Jerry’s girlfriend for the pageant.)
Writing about this show makes me want to watch it right now. It also makes me ponder where did Kramer get the money to live on and how many girlfriends did Jerry have? It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without the ability to go back and visit Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer on a regular basis.
The Allman Brothers have such a unique style that you can recognize their music right off with the dual lead of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. This band broke through by touring constantly and playing free shows in parks from Georgia to New York. They played a mixture of rock, blues, country, and jazz and were one of the best.
This was the first Allman Brothers song to chart, this peaked at #92 in the Billboard 100. This was the first original song the band recorded that was not written by Gregg Allman. Guitarist Dickey Betts wrote it.
It was the lead single from their second studio album, Idlewild South released in 1970. Named for a remote farmhouse/cabin the band rented for rehearsals, and where much of it was written and conceived, Idlewild South includes two of the band’s best-loved songs, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed and Midnight Rider.
This was the first Allman Brothers album produced by the legendary producer and engineer, Tom Dowd. During its recording, the band was constantly touring and their sound was road-tested, so much so that instead of doing it as a conventional multi-track recording, the band and Dowd opted to record most of the album live in the studio with minimum if any overdubs. The band was just that good.
In 1970 they moved into what they called The Big House in Macon Georgia. They didn’t have a lot of money, but their wives and girlfriends found this house to rent. Older big houses like this weren’t too expensive back in 1970 to rent.
It’s now the Allman Brothers museum…it’s on my list to visit.
Revival
People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you hear it? The song is in the air We’re in a revolution Don’t you know we’re right Everyone is singing, yeah There’ll be no one to fight People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere People can you feel it? Love is everywhere
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by John from https://thesoundofonehandtyping.com
SHOW: Hogan’s Heroes
NETWORK: CBS
RUN: 1965-1971
This was as unlikely a hit show as you could find: A sitcom set in a Luftwaffe prison camp in Nazi Germany during World War II. They actually used the tagline “If You Liked World War II, You’ll Love Hogan’s Heroes.” Yet, it found an audience and lasted on CBS for six years until Norman Lear convinced the network that their viewers would rather see a sitcom about a bigot from Queens than Hogan’s Heroes, or any show that had anything to do with rural people.
Hogan’s Heroes was inspired by the movie The Great Escape, where Allied prisoners of war escaped by digging tunnels past the fences and guards and into the woods surrounding the camp. The main difference is that, while Hogan and his crew had tunnels leading from under the barracks to the woods beyond the camp fences, they were used both to get out of and back into camp, often accompanied by outsiders such as members of the German Underground, flyers who were shot down near the camp, German officers defecting from the Third Reich, prisoners from other camps, scientists looking to leave Germany, taking their secrets with them, etc. When not doing that, the crew is kept busy with sabotage and espionage activities as directed by Allied Command in London, with whom they stay in contact by means of a shortwave radio hidden in the tunnel.
(The tunnel is somewhat of a miracle: At the beginning of the pilot episode, we’e told that we’re in “Germany, 1942.” The US had only been in the war since late 1941, which makes you wonder how they managed to build such a complex set of tunnels in such a short time. Of course, it’s always winter at Stalag 13, so maybe it’s the end of 1942 rather than the beginning. Could they have dug that complex of tunnels in just ten months? Perhaps they were left over from World War I, as was suggested in one episode.)
The head of the Heroes is Colonel Robert Hogan (played by Bob Crane) of the US Army Air Forces, who for some reason is kept in a Luftstalag with enlisted men, something the Germans never did. He receives the orders from Headquarters, devises a plan for carrying out the orders, then assigns tasks to his crew. The Heroes are two Americans, Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe (played by Ivan Dixon), who worked for the phone company in Detroit before the war and who handles the radio and other wiring jobs, and Technical Sergeant Andrew Carter (played by Larry Hovis), who worked at a drug store in Muncie, Indiana before the war and who is a demolitions expert, a competent chemist, and who looks enough like Adolf Hitler himself that he will sometimes dress and act like Der Führer when the occasion calls for it. (Dixon left the show after the fifth season and was replaced by Kenneth Washington as Sergeant Richard Baker for the final year.) They are joined by Corporal Peter Newkirk of the Royal Air Force (played by Richard Dawson), an expert pickpocket and petty thief as well as tailor, and Corporal Louis LeBeau of the Free French Force (played by Robert Clary), a gourmet chef who’s small enough to fit anywhere, including in the kommandant’s safe and all sorts of packing crates.
Hogan is successful largely because the staff at Stalag 13 is so inept. The kommandant is Colonel Wilhelm Klink (played by Werner Klemperer), an incompetent administrator who’s always buried up to his neck in paperwork. All the members of his class in the military academy have been promoted to either General or Field Marshall and have gone on to important jobs in the Third Reich, while Klink is running a prison camp. Vain, supercilious, and narcissistic, Klink fancies himself a violinist on a par with Heifetz and a ladies’ man rivalling Don Juan, when in fact he’s an abysmal violinist and often has his dates taken from him by either Hogan or by General Burkhalter (played by Leon Askin), Klink’s boss in Berlin who visits Stalag 13 frequently. Burkhalter would just as soon see Klink shipped to the Eastern Front and replace him with a captain or major, except that Klink has an apparently immaculate record, as there has never been a successful escape from Stalag 13, which Klink never fails to tell anyone who will listen. The reason he has a perfect no-escape record is because Hogan won’t allow it: the success of his operation depends on Klink’s incompetence.
The sergeant of the guard is Sergeant Hans Schultz (played by John Banner), a fat, lazy, slovenly man in his late 40’s who was very happy making toys as the owner of the Schatzi Toy Company until the Nazis commandeered his factory and inducted Schultz, a decorated veteran of World War I, back into the Luftwaffe. Schultz can be easily persuaded to look the other way when he catches Hogan and his men outside the camp by Hogan reminding him that his job was to make sure that didn’t happen, and that he might find himself on a troop train to Stalingrad if word gets back to Klink. Schultz is also easily bribed with candy bars from the prisoners’ Red Cross packages and with strudel or some other dish prepared by LeBeau.
No show about Germany during WWII is complete without a Gestapo officer or two, and this is generally Major Wolfgang Hochstetter (played by Howard Caine), an ill-tempered and irritable man who often arrests everybody in the room before he realizes he has no case against anyone, whereupon he departs shouting “BAH!” He spends much of his time at Stalag 13 because he’s convinced that Hogan is the most dangerous man in Germany, which, of course, is true.
Hogan has an affectionate relationship with Klink’s secretary, Helga (played by Cynthia Lynn in the first season) or Hilda (played by Sigrid Valdis, Crane’s eventual wife, in the remaining seasons), who let him in on what’s going on in Klink’s office and occasionally will do something to help Hogan carry out his mission. He rewards them with nylon stockings, perfume, cosmetics, and extensive make-out sessions in her office. Both Helga and Hilda are also the targets of Klink’s amorous advances, which both are able to rebuff without much effort.
Three characters turn up from time to time, usually giving Hogan fits. Colonel (actually Group Captain) Rodney Crittendon of the RAF (played by Bernard Fox), whose arrival demotes Hogan from senior POW officer because Crittendon has twelve more years in grade than he. Crittendon’s first visit to Stalag 13 started with him informing the POW’s that, were he to learn that they were engaged in sabotage or espionage, he would be required to report it to Klink. Subsequent encounters with Crittendon show that he is a gung-ho supporter of Hogan’s mission, and usually manages to screw it up somehow. Gertrude Linkmayer (played by Kathleen Freeman and once or twice by Alice Ghostley) is General Burkhalter’s widowed sister. Burkhalter is constantly trying to marry her off to Klink, which results in Klink begging for Hogan’s help to get rid of her. Finally, there’s Marya (played by Nita Talbot), a glamorous Russian spy. She turns up on occasion hanging on the arm of a German officer, to whom she might or might not have told the secrets of Hogan’s operation, extorting Hogan’s assistance in one of her schemes. Hogan and LeBeau met her in Paris, and she has LeBeau wrapped around her finger. Any time she arrives at Stalag 13, he believes she has come for him, and whenever Hogan gets suspicious of her, LeBeau jumps to her defense.
One interesting aspect of the show is that the actors playing Klink, Schultz, Burkhalter, and Hochstetter are Jews, three of whom left either Germany or Austria when the Nazis came to power. All served in the US Armed Forces during World War II. In addition, a number of other actors who played Germans were Jewish. Werner Klemperer agreed to do the part of Klink only when it was written into his contract that the Germans would never defeat the Heroes.
Two episodes of Hogan’s Heroes are currently shown on MeTV at 10 and 10:30 PM Eastern time on weekdays.
These guys blended punk and pop about as well as anyone. Once again I had a friend with their import records in the eighties. That was the only way I could hear them.
This was their first top 40 hit in the UK and it peaked at #37 way back in 1977. The B-side was a song called “Oh Shit.” I wish they would have hit in America but their name probably didn’t help them over here.
They chose the name Buzzcocks after reading the headline, “It’s the Buzz, Cock!”, in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The “buzz” is the excitement of playing on stage; “cock” is northern English slang meaning friend. They were formed in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto after seeing the Sex Pistols. They were able to blend punk’s spirit and sound with pop.
They were invited by Nirvana to open select dates on the grunge outfit’s last ever European tour, in early 1994. Steve Diggle told about a memory he has of Kurt Cobain: “Doing two grams of coke is one of my famous stories with him.” They also opened up for Pearl Jam in 2003.
They released 3 albums 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 from a heart attack in 2018. The band still continues to tour.
Steve Diggle:“Of course we partied and did drugs and had good times with the girls. Who wouldn’t? Certain things about being in a band and traveling about, people invite you to parties and clubs. Initially, it wasn’t supposed to be like that. But I realized you can’t break America, America breaks you.”
Jane Wiedlin: 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.”
Billy Joe Armstrong: “Buzzcocks pretty much invented a style that would influence multiple generations of lonesome hearts and weirdos”
What Do I Get
I just want a lover like any other, what do I get? I only want a friend who will stay to the end, what do I get?
What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get? What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get?
I’m in distress, I need a caress, what do I get? I’m not on the make, I just need a break, what do I get?
What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get? What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get?
I only get sleepless nights Alone here in my half-empty bed For you things, seem to turn out right I wish they’d only happen to me instead
What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get? What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get?
Ah
I only get sleepless nights Alone here in my half-empty bed For you, things seem to turn out right I wish they’d only happen to me instead
What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get? What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get?
I just want a lover like any other, what do I get? I only want a friend who will love to the end, what do I get?
What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get? What do I get, oh-oh, what do I get?
Well, let me tell you now (What do I get?) (What do I get?) No love (What do I get?) No sleep at nights (What do I get?) Nothing that’s nice (What do I get?) Nothing at all, at all, at all, at all At all, at all, at all ’cause I don’t get you
I posted this song when I first started when I had only a couple of readers (Hanspostcard and Run-Sew-Read) so I thought I would give it another go. When I heard this on Lightning 100 in Nashville (an alternative station) I thought it was an old song. I liked it off the bat. Alex Ebert had left his band Ima Robot and formed this odd hippie-type band with Jade Castrinos in Los Angeles, California in 2007.
Never did I think I would like a song that started off…
Alabama, Arkansas I do love my ma and pa Not that way that I do love you
Holy moley, me oh my You’re the apple of my eye Girl, I’ve never loved one like you
But I did…and I couldn’t get enough of it. Their music has an old sound and is vibrant. I’m not comparing this in any way but it brought to mind Johnny and June Cash. Johnny and June didn’t sound like this but the type of song fits.
They were a band that had members that would come and go and were like a commune-type group. The song didn’t make it into the Billboard 100 although it was everywhere. “Home” was released in 2010 and it charted at #25 on the Billboard Alternative Songs in 2010 and #50 in the UK Charts in 2013. It did get a lot of play on commercials and TV shows.
The interplay between Ebert and his then-girlfriend and bandmate Jade Castrinos is infectious. The song is a true story. Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos were enjoying a day through Elysian Park in Los Angeles when she lost her shoes and he carried her on his back. After that, she fell out of his 2nd story window and had to go to the hospital.
The band is named after a character from a novel Ebert was writing…Edward Sharpe is an otherworldly figure who comes to Earth to offer enlightenment to the masses but finds himself getting distracted by the beautiful women.
Unfortunately Jade is not in the band now after a falling out in 2014. Their last album PersonA was released in 2016.
Home
Alabama, Arkansas I do love my ma and pa Not that way that I do love you
Holy moley, me oh my You’re the apple of my eye Girl, I’ve never loved one like you
Man, oh man, you’re my best friend I scream it to the nothingness There ain’t nothing that I need
Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ Ain’t nothing please me more than you
Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you
La, la, la, la, take me home Mommy, I’m coming home
I’ll follow you into the park Through the jungle, through the dark Girl, I never loved one like you
Moats and boats and waterfalls Alleyways and pay phone calls I’ve been everywhere with you
That’s true, laugh until we think we’ll die Barefoot on a summer night Never could be sweeter than with you
And in the streets you run a-free Like it’s only you and me Geez, you’re something to see
Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you
La, la, la, la, take me home Daddy, I’m coming home
Jade Alexander, do you remember that day you fell out of my window? I sure do, you came jumping out after me Well, you fell on the concrete, nearly broke your ass, You were bleeding all over the place and I rushed you out to the hospital, you remember that? Yes, I do, well, there’s something I never told you about that night What didn’t you tell me? While you were sitting in the backseat smoking a cigarette you thought was going to be your last, I was falling deep, deeply in love with you, and I never told you until just now
Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you Ah, home, let me go home Home is where I’m alone with you
Home, let me come home Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, yes I am home Home is when I’m alone with you
Alabama, Arkansas I do love my ma and pa Moats and boats and waterfalls Alleyways and pay phone calls
Ah, home, let me go home Home is wherever I’m with you Ah, home, let me go home Home is where I’m alone with you
Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it!
This is a recap of rounds one and two that were held earlier. Hope you will join us on April 11, 2022… Monday at 9am CST to kick it off.
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 