Today's Blog Post Is Brought to You By The Numbers Four and Zero

It's pretty rare that I hear about a kid who doesn't like Sesame Street. When it does happen, however, I wonder how the parents are going to deal with having a future serial killer on their hands. Seriously, how could *anyone* not like Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Snufalufagus, and the rest of the gang?

Fortunately, Sesame Street still has a ton of fans because the PBS program celebrates its 40th birthday today. Of course, we all know that the muppets were the creation of Jim Henson. But the show was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney, who wanted to study how the media could prepare children, especially those from inner-city, low income households, for school. Cooney wanted to create a program that would have a lasting affect on those who watched it for years to come.

I think we can safely say she accomplished her goal. I can still remember numerous skits, songs ("Rubber Duckie", "C Is For Cookie", "I Love Trash"), and celebrity appearances. Speaking of the latter, there are probably few celebs who haven't appeared on the show - even Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Ice-T, and Peter Jennings were all guests.

My favorite character was Big Bird, even though -let's face it - he could be very annoying and naive at times. Least favorite? Perhaps Oscar the Grouch, because I never understood what he was so grouchy about!

Never a show to miss the boat on modern pop culture, Sesame Street recently did a silly parody of Mad Men, featuring Guy Smiley as Don Draper. Here's to the next forty years.

Deja V

Hi followers, I was away on a business trip in NYC most of the week, and need to get back to blog posting this weekend. Since I was having dinner with coworkers every night, I wasn't able to watch ABC's premiere of its new series "V." I'd be curious to know from anyone who watched it what they thought. One evening while getting ready for dinner, I did catch part of the original 1983 series on the SciFi channel (which is available on DVD.)

Yes, in case you didn't know, the "V" series is actually a remake of a miniseries, and I'd forgotten how delightfully campy, cheesy, and creepy it was. "V" was based on a novel and told the story of extraterrestrials who land on earth with the premise of coming in peace and asking for help from us earthlings - as their natural resources are drying up. They look and speak like us, and their fearless female leader, Diana, is a cool brunette beauty. But as you may have guessed, the "visitors" are not what they seem. A TV reporter (played by Marc Singer in the original) breaks into one of their spaceships with a camera and witnesses the aliens swallowing guinea pigs whole (in the days before sophisticated computer graphics, this is accomplished on-screen with the help of a plastic mannequin...and don't worry, no rodents were harmed in the making of the series.) He then has a fight with one of the aliens, discovering that their human form is just a mask - underneath they're really reptilian monsters with red eyes, scaly skin, and venomous tongues.



Sounds cheesy, doesn't it? Well, it actually was an entertaining series that creeped me out and fascinated me at the same time in the 80s. The part that everyone remembers most (and which still haunts my memories) is when one of the female characters falls in love with and is impregnated by one of the visitors - you can guess what happens next. She becomes the not-so-proud mother of a lizard...and a human looking girl who has a lizard tongue.



The series touched upon the Holocaust - the visitors' orange jumpsuits and propaganda posters does not fool one of the oldest characters, a concentration camp survivor, who likens the systematic invasion to the Nazis and encourages others that they must fight the aliens to not let history happen again.

Some useless trivia for you: most of the original cast were no-names, but Robert Englund, who later became famous as Freddy Kreuger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, has a small supporting role as one of the aliens.

As is usually the case with remakes, I just don't know if the new series will live up to the original, even with today's computer effects (I also doubt that it will follow some of the storylines of the original.) There's always a certain charm about television produced in the 80s, especially scifi coming hot on the heels of the Star Wars phenomenon. But if you watched it, let me know what you thought.

It's a Hoot: the Owl Obsession of the 1970s

Do you remember a period during the 70s where it seemed everything from clothing to household objects had an owl theme? As a kid, I can remember owl necklaces, owl print fabric, owl figurines, owl candles, owl salt and pepper shakers, and owl shaped canisters. There was also Woodsy Owl, who asked us to, "Give a hoot - don't pollute!" and Charlie the Owl from New Zoo Revue. The whole world, it seemed, went hooters for owls. I've never been able to figure out where the owl obsession originated from, but it does seem like the hippie thing to like, along with doves and mushrooms. And, they are quite cool.

Owl motifs are definitely making a comeback. Here's a sampling of some of items I've seen for sale on retro clothing sites.

The first four items are from ModCloth, one of my favorite vintage store sites:

The "Owl Be Back" Dress - unfortunately, the site says it is out of stock, but you can ask to be notified when more are available. It retails for $49.99.


The "Hoot for Loot" wallet is made of faux leather and has a 70s applique look. Price: $19.99


This ceramic Owl Warm and Cozy Tea Set will add some quirky vintage style to your next tea party. Price: $49.99


Not exactly vintage, but very cute, is the "Owl Never Leave USB Toy." Plug this guy into your computer, and perch him atop his stump or your monitor, and he keeps you entertained by opening and closing his eyes and turning his head. He also comes in a snowy owl version. Definitely a splurge, but it sounds like the kind of thing that could've kept a stoned hippie entertained for hours. Price: $27.99


From Urban Outfitters comes this t-shirt designed by the artist who did the graphics for "Where The Wild Things Are." Price: $28.00


This colorful throw rug (also from Urban Outfitters) brightens up a small space (it's only 2' X 3', and retails for $18.00)


Unfortunately, most of the owl necklaces on ModCloth are currently sold out. But from Buy.com comes this silver toned one reminiscent of ones that were available in the 70s. Price: $21.99


And for fun, here's one of those 70s PSA commercials with Woodsy that I remember so well. Help keep American looking good!

Still Shining On

I have a confession to make: Halloween isn't exactly my favorite holiday. While other bloggers have been happily posting away this month about all things ghoulish, I've been quietly waiting for Oct. 31st to be over and done with so I could look forward to my favorite (and much less spine tingling) holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm a self-proclaimed 'fraidy cat - I cried like the little girl I was when my mother and sister took me to the town's community-run haunted house one Halloween. I was ten...or eleven.

That also means I'm not much into horror movies, especially ones where anyone gets tortured or slashed to bits. I do, however, make an exception for one...the greatest scary movie of all time, in my opinion: The Shining. Everyone else can keep their serial killers, creepy crawlies, and monsters. Jack Nicholson with an ax totally does it for me.

Even though Stephen King didn't think so (as Stanley Kubrick deviated from the novel with his 1980 film version), I just think it's the perfect horror movie - not too gory, but containing just enough disturbing imagery that you don't need to see more. Also, what makes the story scary is that the monster isn't some creation that stepped out a lab, but the family patriarch, slowly driven mad by cabin fever, writer's block, and the ghost of the former caretaker (who murdered his family) compelling him to repeat the act. Years ago, I worked in a hotel and on some early mornings, while leaving newspapers outside guest rooms in desolate hallways, I could not help but think of the movie. And then I would get a little bit scared, and try to finish the job as quickly as I could. Silly, really, but that's the kind of lasting effect this movie had on me. I guess I was too afraid of bumping into these two around the next corner:

"Come and play with us, GoRetroGirl. Come and play with us."

The movie has gone down in film history as a classic. For starters, you have Jack Nicholson in the lead role as Jack Torrence, a writer who has agreed to take a job as the winter caretaker for an old hotel in the Rocky Mountains. As sexy as I think Nicholson was in his younger years, no one else could play crazy like him. And to be honest, I thought he added a touch of comedy to such a grim story - the famous scene where he splitters a door with an ax, sticks his maniacal face in and declares, "Heeeeeere's Johnny!" at his terrified wife, Shelley Duvall, has always made me laugh, even though it's supposed to be one of the scariest scenes in the film.



Then there's the Torrence's son, Danny, who personally I always found even creepier than his father (but, as played by Danny Lloyd, did a remarkable job as a child actor.) Long before Haley Joel Osmont was seeing dead people, Danny was seeing them as well - and conversing with his imaginary friend Tony - "a little boy who lives in my mouth" - through his finger. Danny has what the hotel's cook Grady calls "the shining" - he is psychic and can see the dead. It's this gift that allows Danny to uncover the massacre that happened in the hotel's past, and that eventually puts him in grave danger - as his father chases him with an ax, at night, in the winter - in a hedge maze - that makes up one of the scariest movie sequences ever captured on film:



That disorienting maze is mirrored in the grand hotel itself, which is a series of winding hallways and rooms. I was disappointed to recently learn that most of the movie was actually shot in England, on a series of stages. However, the hotel that gave Stephen King the inspiration for the story is the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which conducts ghost tours year-round to guests and non-guests alike (check out the link - could you imagine staying here in winter!!!)

Lastly, the music in this movie really gets me, especially during the opening sequence. As Nicholson's yellow VW Beetle winds its way through the mountains in Kubrick's wide angled glory, you hear the creepiest, most foreboding classical music during the opening credits, and a sense that something bigger and more powerful is...watching. It really sets you up to be scared for the next two hours.

I still think about the closing scene, and what it represents. We see a photograph of a roaring 20s-era party taking place at the Overlook Hotel...and in the very front of the crowd, we see...Jack Torrence. The date stamped on the photograph is 1921. Having never read the King novel, I don't know if this was his idea or Kubrick's. So did it mean that Jack Torrence visited the hotel in a past life? Was he the reincarnation of a lost soul meant to relive the same fate? I don't think a definitive answer has ever been revealed, which further adds to the mystique of the film.

I've read that Kubrick nearly drove his stars mad with his directing techniques - Duvall's hair started to fall out from stress and Nicholson's lines were changed so much he started to toss out pages of the script and memorize his part just before filming. Was it all worth the effort?

Hell yeah.


Happy and safe Halloween to all of my readers! Here's hoping more treats than tricks.

A Halloween Costume that Really Pops

Images credit: Tasha Marie

Have you ever fantasized about what it would feel like to be a character in a Roy Lichtenstein comic? Well, here's your chance for Halloween. A representative from MAC cosmetics recently came up with this striking pop art costume, which I think would be fairly easy to recreate on your own (you just need a small wooden dowel to create those perfectly round dots.) I would love to see a full body shot of the finished model. All she needs is a cardboard speech balloon with the word "Pow!" attached to her head.

Here's the make-up artist's stupendous work in progress:

Ghosts of Halloween Past

From Wired.com and by way of Flickr comes a smattering of interesting vintage Halloween photos by collector Steven Martin. Looking at what some of these deprived kids (and grown-ups) had to wear, I can now appreciate my plastic 1970s Ben Cooper costumes. What's really cool about these photos, many of which appear to have been taken during the Depression, is just how unintentionally creepy many of them are. As Martin himself says, "I am really fascinated by how these photographs of people dressed in primitive, homemade costumes and memorialized in faded, black-and-white photos often seem to have a real sinister aspect to them. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but to me Halloween a century ago looks much scarier than it does now in digitalized color."

They're a gas - have a look for yourself (click on each for a larger view.)

This jester appears to be holding what looks like a decapitated head...or is that two heads? The plastic pumpkin shaped candy holders I had as a kid seem so innocent by comparison.



These two sorry looking tykes, who look like typical Depression kids, appear to be wearing paper mache masks.



The excessive fading in this photo really adds to the creepiness factor. I don't even know what the kid on the left was supposed to be - a devil?



Motley crew: I would love to know what the person with the pillowcase on their head is supposed to be.



Another group shot: I'm guessing that the fellow on the left is supposed to be Batman. It's interesting to note that there's very few costumes here that emulate a cartoon or pop culture character. That didn't seem to become popular until TV was invented. Note the two black cat masks or lanterns hanging in the background - I love them!



Where was this Halloween party supposed to be - in a prison basement?



There's more where these came from, if you click the Wired.com link at the beginning of the post.

Go Retro this Halloween

If you're a fan of all things retro, then Halloween is a great time of the year for you. Now's your chance to take on a past persona. That got me thinking about some Halloween costume ideas for this year. Sure, you can go as a Mad Men guy or gal. But if you're looking for inspiration for some other costumes, here's some that you don't see too often at Halloween parties...and that I think would all be recognizable, at least to anyone over the age of 35:

Amelia Earhart





With the Hillary Swank movie "Amelia" set to open this weekend, Earhart is sure to be in the forefront of people's minds this Halloween season. Considered an icon of style, it's easy to get her high flying look. For a cute couple costume idea, have your significant other dress as Charles Lindburg.

What You'll Need:
* A bomber or similar style jacket
* Goggles
* Parachute pants or a jumpsuit (check out eBay)
* Boots - preferably hiking ones or Doc Martins
* A long scarf or men's tie


Julia Child



The popularity of the movie "Julie & Julia" is the yummy inspiration for dressing up like the French Chef this Halloween. Just pull a few key items together and declare "Bon Appetite!" in your best Julia voice.

What You'll Need:
* Any regular ladies blouse
* Tea length skirt, that ends just below the knee
* Heels (because Julia was over 6 feet tall)
* Pearls or another simple necklace
* Apron
* Cooking utensil such as a wooden spoon or mallet

Buddy Holly


Elvis is sooooo copied. Stand out from the crowd. Skinny and/or, dare I say, nerdy guys can fill this sometimes forgotten music star's shoes just fine.

What You'll Need:
* 1950s hornrimmed glasses
* Skinny tie
* Jacket
* Toy guitar

Tippi Hedren from The Birds



Now granted, this one isn't my idea - Joy Behar wore this costume creation a few years back for a Halloween edition of The View. Even though we all know birds are harmless, I think a costume inspired by the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie would give anyone chills.

What You'll Need:
* A vintage style suit, preferably in green
* Fake crows and sparrows, or similar birds (these can usually be found at Michael's and other craft stores)
* Some way of attaching them to your hair and clothing
* Fake blood on your face, for added effect

John Lennon


All we are saying is give peace...and a John Lennon costume a chance. For added fun, have your girlfriend/wife dress up as Yoko Ono (but please don't ask her to sing.)

What You'll Need:
* Military style jacket
* Long haired wig if your hair is short
* Granny glasses
* Peace symbol button

Mr. T


I pity the fool who doesn't think this would make an awesome costume...unfortunately, you do need to have the physique to pull this one off. I also recommend having the skin tone, as I don't think showing up in blackface would make you a hit at a party.

What You'll Need:
* Mohawk wig
* Lots and lots of jewelry - especially gold necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings
* Toned enough biceps that look good enough to show off

Needless to say, this is just a sampling of famous people that could be easily imitated this Halloween. If you have one you'd love to dress up as, I'd love to hear about it.

The Scariest Halloween Costumes Ever Made

If you were a child during the 60s, 70s, 80s, or even the early 90s, you probably owned or remember other kids wearing a Ben Cooper or Collegeville Halloween costume. In the 70s, I can recall seeing colorful rows of these sorry excuses for disguises stacked way above my head at the town five and dime store. And yet I wanted some of them anyway. I remember I had the Charlie Brown and Lucy models, as well as Bozo the Clown and even Spider Man. There was no real reason that I can think of for me to want any of these costumes, as both my mother and one of my sisters wielded excellent costume making abilities and in future years, my costumes were always hand made. But there is something fascinating about the Ben Cooper/Collegeville phenomenon, and today the costumes and their original boxes are considered collector's items.



In case you don't know what they were, they basically consisted of a plastic painted mask (with two creepy holes cut out for your eyes) and a matching smock (usually displaying poor graphics) and that's pretty much it. Not to mention they weren't exactly safe - the holes barely afforded enough space to see and breathe, but what would a childhood growing up in the later half of the 20th century be without living a little vicariously? The best part of these costume manufacturers were that no pop culture character was considered too out there - there were actually ones for members of The Village People, Morgan Freeman's Easy Reader character from The Electric Company, the "Small Wonder" robot girl, Rubik's Cube, and Cha Chi from Happy Days. (Check out this post from Retrocrush to see these unusual examples and other outrageous versions.)



But the only thing scarier than the costumes themselves were the catalogs that went out to stores showing the season's selection. These scans came from the site PlaidStallions.com and highlight the costumes available for the 1980 season. I'm not so sure the artist who drew these spent much time around children; some of the body parts just look out of proportion and wrong.







Did you have one or more of these costumes growing up? If so, I'd love to hear which ones.

Go Retro's Retro Hottie of the Month: John Lennon

I think I'm just going to make it an annual thing to make John Lennon the Retro Hottie of the Month each October. Today is his birthday, and nearly 30 years after his death you have to admit the Beatles' staying power has proved admirable. The newly released Beatles Rock Band video game is a smash hit, with kids and pre-teens eating it up as much as their baby boomer parents. All of the Beatles' albums were recently remastered and re-released, and Cirque du Soliel's Love is performed daily in Vegas. Let's not forget there was once a time where even the Beatles themselves were not so sure they were going to last even a few years. Time has sure proven that wrong.

I love this photo that I found on a cat blog showing Lennon with his Siamese cat. Remember to love.

Today and Yesterday: The Today Show Gets Fun-kay!

Photos courtesy Peter Yang/People Magazine. Click on each for larger view.



No, you're not looking at the return of Life on Mars. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of NBC's Today Show, the current crew donned 1974 wardrobes and makeup to get back to where they once belonged. As you can see, things got hairy. Matt Lauer is looking very Ron Burgandy, Ann Curry wore a vintage Diane Von Furstenburg dress (my favorite dress style ever), and would you check out Meredith Viera's giant owl pendant!

Al Roker, however, really truly scares me. He looks like he's trying to channel Gene Shalit of the Critics Corner.



The photos will appear in tomorrow's issue of People magazine. The site Mod Cloth, by the way, has several 70s inspired owl necklaces. Here's a cute one that retails for $15.99.

Who You (Not) Gonna Call?

Ever since I learned that there was going to be a third Ghostbusters movie, I’ve been wanting to write about what a bad, terrible, stinking idea this is. Now that Halloween is fast approaching, it seems like the perfect time to explain why I don’t want to see Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson strap on their proton packs for a third time.

The 1984 Ghostbusters was a classic with lots of laughs, a giant marshmellow man, and was a very original idea for a comedy (who even knew before this film that such a thing as ghost hunters really existed?) It grossed over $500 million in the U.S. alone and spawned all kinds of toys and merchandise (I’m not ashamed to admit I had a Ghostbusters t-shirt.) A video game based on the movie was recently released, to rave reviews. So if director/writer Harold Ramis (who is behind the plans to resurrect the movie franchise) is in it for the money, he’s going to have a hard time living up to the original. Here are some other reasons why the whole idea should just be slimed and scrapped:

There already was a sequel, and it was bad.
Can anyone recall any of the lines in 1989’s Ghostbusters II, or even what the plot was about? My thoughts exactly. I just remember Sigourney Weaver’s character was now a mom and her baby (I can’t even remember if Bill Murray was the dad) was in danger.

Even if it’s funny, it won’t be funny.
What I mean by this is 80s comedy won’t work on today’s audiences. Much of the younger generation of moviegoers have become too accustomed to seeing sex, violence, and low-brow potty humor in their movies. The innocent humor that was so prevalent in PG rated 80s movies will be considered lame to younger viewers. Besides, the movie was just so 80s I’d prefer to leave it there. In Ghostbusters III, people will be summoning the doctors for help via email and iPhones and that is just something I can’t bear to watch.

That theme song.
I liked Ray Parker Jr.’s song when I was 12. Let me repeat that – when I was 12. Hearing it when I’m older means it gets stuck playing on a repeat-play loop in my cranium – not a good thing. The only thing worse would be giving the theme a 21st century hip hop makeover, which Hollywood loves to do with sequels of old movies.

The main characters are all going to have minor parts.
Ramis recently announced that the main characters as played by Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, and himself will have minor roles in this latest incarnation. So who will star in the movie? Who knows. Perhaps Jack Black and Seth Ronin and whoever other obnoxious, fat, unfunny “comedic” stars are available to humiliate the legacy.

Thank anyways Mr. Ramis, but I'm content to let the Invisible Man stay in my bed (I am single, after all) then call on your ghostbusters this time.

I'm Into Something Good: Herman's Hermits

I was telling a friend last night about the time I saw Herman's Hermits perform at a local fair a good ten years ago. "Who are Herman's Hermits?" she asked me. The short answer that I gave is that they were a British invasion band of the 1960s who tried to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles. The long answer, I realized, would make a perfect blog post.

Once I named some of their songs, she realized who they were. History seems to have forgotten this very successful band. Herman's Hermits released what I like to refer to as pure pleasure pop - lip smacking sugary hits such as a contemporary version of a British music hall song, "I'm Henry the Eighth, I'm Am", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "Wonderful World" (a cover of the Sam Cooke song), "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", and "There's a Kind of Hush." These were all hits in the U.S. - pretty remarkable when only one song saw success in their native UK, "I'm Into Something Good" (also a hit in the U.S.)



The group was made up of five Manchester boys: Keith Hopwood, Derek Leckenby, Barry Whitwam, Karl Green, and their cheeky fresh faced lead singer, Peter Noone (aka Herman.) They were presented as being clean cut fun - the perfect dreamy boys for any teen girl to tape to her wall. Noone was quickly singled out as a teen idol and I find it quite funny that in all of the Tiger Beats of the day he was regularly referred to as Herman. According to the October 1967 issue of Hullaboo, here is how Herman's Hermits got their name:

HERMAN'S HERMITS
The name, Herman, came from a misunderstanding of the name Sherman of The Bullwinkle Show. Peter bears an amazing resemblance to this cartoon character. The name, Herman's Hermits comes from a sing-song rhyme addition based on Herman the Hermit. First, they were Herman and the Hermits; then Herman's Hermits.





A British invasion band's resume would not be complete without a couple of movies and in fact, Herman's Hermits did star in a few films. One of them was the obviously named "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (such a mouthful for a movie title, even if it was taken from one of their songs.) Noone himself had been a child actor, but it's safe to say the movie didn't stretch his talent. This 1968 flick, which will probably never see the light of day on DVD, has probably one of the best taglines in cinematic history: "You've got to sing...swing..and do your own thing...And no one does it better in merry young London than Herman's Hermits!" Needless to say, they really went to the dogs in this movie...as Mrs. Brown turns out to be a greyhound.

Sadly, none of the band's hits were written by the group themselves, even though they were competent musicians in their own right. Their own songs were reserved for B-sides and album cuts. When the 60s faded away, so did Herman's Hermits eventually, but Noone is still active (and quite cute) today.

This group has one of the best official sites of many pop bands of the 60s - it's just chock full of tons of photos and archived magazine articles. To play you out, here's a clip of the group performing "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter."

All That Jazz Singer

Some screenshots courtesy moviepro.net


I am absolutely powerless to stop myself from what I’m about to declare to the blogosphere. The movie “The Jazz Singer” is a classic.

Sure, you’re probably thinking…you mean the famous 1927 film, one of the world’s first “talkie” motion pictures, where Al Jolston sports blackface and croons “Mammy”?

Nope. I’m talking the 1980 version starring Neil Diamond. Yes, I said the 1980 version with Neil Diamond.

Yes, I do realize that this is a movie that was unapologetically panned. Among the many bullets it took, it was the first to ever win a “Razzie” award (Diamond himself won one for Worst Actor.) In his mean spirited review, Roger Ebert said, “there are so many things wrong with this movie that it threatens to become a list” and claimed that Diamond was too old for the part (Ebert for some odd delusional reason believed that he was supposed to be portraying an adolescent, not an adult man in his late 30s who was finally fulfilling one of his life dreams.) There’s at least one clip on YouTube that I know of that was posted for the sole purpose of poking fun at the film and collecting nasty comments. Even costar Lawrence Olivier was rumored to have disliked the film so much he refused to see it, called it a “piece of shit”, and was overheard at a restaurant spewing diatribe about the director, which was picked up by the tabloids (he subsequently wrote a long apology to co-director Richard Fleischer.)



To which I all say poppycock. This movie is a delight, and is certainly much better than many other films that starred a well-known singer (Madonna’s “Shanghai Surprise”, Phil Collins’ “Buster”, Prince’s “Under the Cherry Moon” and most of Elvis’ movies come to mind.) I should point out that I’ve never seen the Jolston original or the peculiar 1952 version that starred Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee. I’ve also only seen clips of the 1959 TV movie version starring Jerry Lewis, so I can’t compare it to any of these previous films, but Ebert can go stuff his mouth with jujus for all I care. In fact, I loved this film so much I watched it two nights in a row.

Diamond defended the movie, saying that the story of a man caught between following his dreams and obeying the wishes of his traditional father resonated with him. He stars as a Jewish cantor with the unfortunate name of Yussel Rabinovich (his stage name is the much more palatable Jess Robin.) Jess is married to his childhood sweetheart and sings in the synagogue to please his old school father, played by Lawrence Olivier. Unbeknownst to dear old dad, Jess has been writing music for some time for an African-American group that he is friends with, and one night he is talked into filling in and performing for a missing member, as long as he disguises himself as black.



Yes, Diamond does appear in blackface – albeit very briefly. He looks so ridiculous trying to pass himself off as African American that you can’t help but laugh. It isn’t lost on the audience, either – when a guy finally notices that he’s really white, all hell breaks loose and the quartet ends up in the clink. When Jess’ father comes to bail them out, he peers at Jess through his Coke-bottle glasses and asks, “It isn’t hard enough being a Jew?”



Jess is pretty much stuck in a stale marriage to Rivka (also known as Rivie), who we later learn has known Jess since childhood. They have little in common – Rivie thinks that being married to a cantor is the greatest thing since sliced bread, loves moping about in clothes that look like they came from Dustin Hoffman’s “Tootsie” wardrobe, and wants very little to do with Jess’ aspiring musical career. Jess gets a phone call from Bubba, a member of his musical group, who is now in L.A. Bubba has given a tape of Jess’ recordings to a man in the music industry, and a rock singer is now interested in recording a version of Jess’ song “Love on the Rocks.” He tries to talk Rivka into coming along, but she stubbornly refuses.

It’s while in L.A. that Jess’ whole life changes – he meets the spunky Molly, (played by Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball’s daughter) who becomes his manager and pulls strings that help his star on its ascent into showbiz fame. She also becomes his girlfriend after Rivka finally comes for a visit and despite watching Jess wow a large audience, decides being married to a music man is just not for her – unless he’s a cantor in a Brooklyn synagogue.



At this point I don’t want to give anything else away, although the movie’s plot is certainly predictable. It's not a perfect film by any means, and even I will admit some scenes are too melodramatic, such as when Lawrence Olivier is in such anguish over Jess' new life, he rips his shirt (well, if I were alone with Neil Diamond, I'd rip my shirt, too.) You have to remember, however, that the movie was made in 1980 – a time when most mainstream films didn’t splatter us with the “f” word and heavy nudity, so yes, there are some delightfully corny parts. One of my favorite moments is a cute montage showing Jess and Molly’s budding romance – a walk arm in arm along the beach, Molly mistakenly serving Jess a ham (a big no no!), them collaborating and making funny faces in the studio, and a ride on a tandem bicycle. The cynics on YouTube, of course, have posted it to poke fun out of this piece of early 80s cheese. I happened to find the sequence quite sweet.





But then again, I’m a Neil Diamond fan, and if you like the man and his music, then you will love this movie. Diamond wrote all of the music (except for the traditional Jewish songs, of course) that he performs in the film. The movie’s soundtrack sparked a few hits – “Hello Again”, “Love on the Rocks” and the “America.” The other songs are probably not among his strongest compositions, but they’re certainly enjoyable for fans: “Summerlove”, “Hey Louise”, “Songs of Life”, “Jerusalem”, and “You Baby!” If you are a fan, then the triumphant ending – with Diamond performing “America” in all his blinding blue and white sequened splendor – will make you want to get up and dance!

Despite the flak the movie took, it actually earned more at the box office than several other movies that went on to Oscar nominations, including “Raging Bull”, “The Elephant Man”, and “Tess.” The song "Love on the Rocks" was nominated that year at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but it lost to "Fame." For the life of me I can't figure out why the brilliant "America" wasn't nominated instead.

Sometimes, however, moviegoers don’t want heavy downer dramas or thought provoking films that present a moral lesson. Sometimes we just want to be entertained, and “The Jazz Singer” certainly did that for me. A nice story, good music, a happy ending…and Neil Diamond – what more could you ask for?

Do You Believe in Plagarism?

Plagiarism: such a vulgar word and ambiguous term when we're talking about music, especially 20th century pop. There have been numerous lawsuits against musicians (usually by other musicians or record companies) claiming that they copied a previously released song. Poor George Harrison was accused of (and later fined for) unintentionally copying the melody of The Chiffons' "He's So Fine" in his hit "My Sweet Lord." In this case, I personally don't think the two songs sound alike enough to cry plagiarism. But earlier today, I discovered two songs that have a portion so similar to each other, I had to listen to one several times in disbelief. They are an unlikely couple: Huey Lewis and the News' "Do You Believe in Love" and Electric Light Orchestra's "Sweet Talking Woman."

First of all, I want to make it clear that I love Huey Lewis and the News, and I'm in no way accusing them of plagiarism. But my discovery is kind of ironic considering Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. over his 1984 "Ghostbusters" theme, claiming that it sounded very similar to the News' "I Want a New Drug." The case was settled out of court, but according to Wikipedia, Parker later sued Lewis for talking about the case on a VH-1: Behind the Music special.

So here's what I noticed...here are the opening lines in ELO's Sweet Talking Woman (which was released in 1977):
"I was searchin searchin on a one-way street,
I was hopin hopin for a chance to meet."

And here are the opening lines to Lewis' Do You Believe in Love (released in the early 80s):
"I was walking down a one way street
Just a looking for someone to meet."

Yeah, I know lyrics don't mean much; however, the melody and notes during this portion of the ELO song is clearly the same as Lewis' song. I mean, they're eerily similar. Here are some YouTube clips if you want to listen and compare them:





Let me know what you think - is it just me...or just a coincidence?

The Unhappy Disco Brother

Normally a garish album cover like this would make a great candidate for my Bad Cover Art of the Day feature. However, I actually think it's a stupendous cover thanks to the gentleman in the front row who has his arms crossed and is not even looking at the camera. The scene reminds me of those professional family photos where one kid decides no one can make him participate. Clearly, this guy is having one bad day...or he really has his panties in a huge wad over having to wear a yellow striped jumpsuit. Why so glum, brother? You know Neil Diamond would've been rocking that outfit.



Heatwave, by the way, was a 70s disco/funk band that had a top ten hit with "Boogie Nights."