Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Les Brown & The Super Sounds of Renown – “New Horizons”

Used to be, when a popular musical group fell from favor, they’d “reinvent” themselves, ditching their perishable old shtick in favor of whatever “sound” was currently in vogue. They’d take this route as long as they could before finally being put to pasture on the oldies circuit. Albums from this period would often have “today!” or “now!” in the title (eg. “Junior Samples NOW!”). Or perhaps they’d take a more up-front approach, like “Count Basie In A Slightly Less Archaic Groove,” or allude to some sort of sudden rejuvenation, like band singer Jayne Morgan’s 1967 comeback L.P., “Fresh From A Nap.” Sometimes, they’d attempt a full-scale graft of another artist’s style, as in “Robert Goulet Tries To Sing The Contemporary Hits of Rod McKuen” or Mel Torme’s “Kickin’ It With Jobim.”

Continue reading ‘Les Brown & The Super Sounds of Renown – “New Horizons”’

Jack Cole’s “Mantoka”

I’ve loved Jack Cole’s work ever since I first saw it — probably in an old DC Special or Super Spectacular from back in the seventies. Or perhaps it was in the books by Jules Feiffer or Les Daniels. I’ve been happily binging on Plastic Man, thanks to 8 volumes devoted to the stretchy supersleuth in the hardbound DC Archive Editions series. But the endless variation on the same theme — elastic though it is — tends to get monotonous after a while. Which is why it’s been great to see so much space devoted lately to Cole’s horror and crime work over at these fine comic book blogs:

Continue reading ‘Jack Cole’s “Mantoka”’

Scenes From A Short Sprint Along Sixty-Six

Even the most amateur photographer cannot resist Historic Route 66.

Did I say “even?” I’m sorry, I meant “especially.” There’s a whole cottage industry around vending pix of America’s Highway. It’s practically a cliche, like going to Niagra Falls for your honeymoon, or going to New York City to see “Cats.” If you visit any of the cool rotting towns along Historic Route 66, you bring your camera, then you can tell the world you’re a Great Artist. If you don’t know anyone with a large format photo printer, you can post your pix to Panoramio and stash ‘em up on Google Earth.

Continue reading ‘Scenes From A Short Sprint Along Sixty-Six’

Your Favorite Little Podcast: Episode Twelve

So, what did you do with YOUR “stimulus” check?

I gave my share over to my wife — we’ve got bills to pay. No muss, no fuss. But I’m still hoping to “help keep the terrorists from winning” by checking something off my wish list. Specifically, I’m hankering after a new zoom lens for my camera. But first, I need to take a look at the bill from my mechanic for the new shocks he’s putting on my car.

“What’d you do, take this thing off-roading?” He asked. “It’s okay — you can tell me.” Smartass. Why would I take my twelve-year-old Nissan Altima off-roading? Besides, I hardly need any extra impulsiveness to trash my suspension — the speed-bumps infesting my neighborhood take care of that.

Continue reading ‘Your Favorite Little Podcast: Episode Twelve’

Things I Should Throw Out: Clippings From The Eighties

Thanks to the share-isphere, the best time for your fans to catch up with you is once you’ve died. It’s not like everything you’ve ever released isn’t already available for free several times over, but once you die, everything gets consolidated and much easier to find. Last year it was James Brown; the year before, it was Buck Owens. Right now, it’s George Carlin’s turn.

Thinking about George Carlin for the past week or so has kind of pissed me off. I can still remember how delighted I was to discover him back in 1972 (which, by the way, was inversely proportional to how disgusted my step-father was to discover him). But that seems like only yesterday, and now, just like George I’m getting damn old. And I’m also just about as charmed by the current state of affairs as he was. So, as liberating as his long-haired counter-culture material was to a twelve-year-old boy 35 years ago, the enlightened bitterness of the take-no-prisoners routines from the end of his life end up resonating with me even more.

Continue reading ‘Things I Should Throw Out: Clippings From The Eighties’