95 Songs of Summer, #53 - "Coconut" (1972)

To this day, I would make a case for Harry Nilsson's "Coconut" being one of the funniest hit songs of all time.  Funny, infectious, and a well-deserved hit that has remained so across the generations, in large part due to a terrific rendition on "The Muppet Show" that my kids watched dozens of times on a VHS tape that wore out long ago.

And with this weather we're having, a lime in a coconut  is sounding pretty good to me.

"Coconut," Harry Nilsson, from the summer of 1972.

Dream Team '12

One of my Facebook friends posted this morning that he was rooting against the U.S. in the gold medal men's basketball game, because of Kobe and LeBron.

I don't understand that mindset.  I root against Kobe and LeBron as hard as anyone during the NBA season, but it seems to me that some things should transcend one's usual rooting interests.  Love them or hate them, they are the greatest players of this generation, and hardly a reason to root against your own country.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Dream Team concept when it was introduced back in 1992, but I've come full circle - not only do I think it is great, I think it may have been the best thing that ever happened to international basketball, in the sense that it gave the rest of the world something to strive for.  And in those rough years when the U.S. was getting their arses handed to themselves by teams like Puerto Rico (still amazing to imagine today, even though it was just 8 years ago), it taught our greatest American NBA players a lesson in humility that they'd probably never been exposed to during the course of their careers.

This year, you saw a great team - a real team - out there on the court, smart enough to play like a team and to defer to the greatest player in the game when the occasion demanded it.  I'm not sure what else one could ask for.

95 Songs of Summer, #52 - "Too Darn Hot" (1990)

OK, it's official - we're melting in Sacramento.  So I'm going to deviate a bit from the usual formula to feature a song that probably wasn't released during the summer, and certainly was never a fixture on the radio.  However, it is from the quite excellent "Red Hot + Blue" benefit album, which featured modern groups doing their own twists on classic Cole Porter songs - all to raise money for AIDS research and relief.  So it may not be a bonafide "summer song," but it certainly fits with the theme and is a nice little change of pace.

So from 1990, today we have Erasure, with "Too Darn Hot."

 

95 Songs of Summer, #51 - "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (1969)

It's summertime, and it's definitely hot, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it "fun."  We're in one of those patented Sacramento stretches of heat above 100 degrees, and they're now projecting a high tomorrow that could reach 110.  Kind of hard to have fun in that kind of weather, no matter what you're doing.

"Hot" defines perfectly the status of Sly and the Family Stone during the late 1960s period when this song became a huge smash.  Partly due to Sly's non-musical proclivities, it was destined not to last, but while it was happening, it sure was fun.

"Hot Fun in the Summertime," Sly and the Family Stone, from the summer of 1969.

95 Songs of Summer, #50 - "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

I think I mentioned in my post on "Spill the Wine" that the band War became a staple of the Billboard Top 40 for a period of several years.  Songs like "Slippin' Into Darkness," "The World Is A Ghetto," "Cisco Kid," and "Low Rider" showcased a band that was comfortable doing heavy songs, doing light songs, fast songs, slow songs...in other words, a versatile band that deserved its stardom.

This song was all over the radio during a typically hot August in 1975 (actually I have no idea what the weather was like, but am just assuming that it was hot, since it is always hot in Sacramento in August).  Part of the fun in listening to it was trying to decipher the often very clever lyrics.  Musically, this was the sound of a band having a lot of fun, complete with a reggae lilt.

"Why Can't We Be Friends," War, from the summer of 1975.

95 Songs of Summer, #49 - "Best of My Love" (1977)

When this song came out, I had friends who actively made fun of it, on a regular basis.  Well, as the saying goes, he who laughs last laughs best, and all I can say some 35 years later is that this "Best of My Love" sure kicks the ass of the Eagles' "Best of My Love."  A great dance song then, and a great dance song now.  In all likelihood,  great dance song 35 years from now.

"Best of My Love," The Emotions, from the summer of 1977.

Olympics Musings

Random thoughts on the XXX Olympiad:

* I've been watching the Olympics since 1968, and I think I've put my finger on the difference between ABC's "Golden Era" coverage and NBC's "Media Era" coverage.  ABC approached the Games as an athletic competition, while NBC approaches them as entertainment.  ABC showed a lot of events on taped delay, so it may not be entirely fair to criticize NBC for that.  But although it's been a long time since ABC covered the Games, I never got the feeling that they were deliberately manipulating the viewing audience; whereas, NBC happily does that on a nightly basis.  I think Sunday's coverage is the perfect example of the evolving (or devolving, if you prefer) approach.  Everyone in the world seemed to agree that the Men's 100 Meter Dash was one of, if not the, signature events of the Games.  To my way of thinking, there is simply no excuse for not showing it live.  And I do recall that even when ABC was showing many events on taped delay during weeknights, on the weekends what we saw was live, to the extent that was possible.  What was inexcusable to me was the way that NBC used the 100 Meter race simply to generate increased ratings in the third hour of a program that was packed to the gunnels with filler.  Of course anyone with any interest in the outcome already knew the outcome, so why make us wait?  Did we really need to see a 36 minute Bob Costas interview with Michael Phelps?  Why couldn't that have been shown in the 11 o'clock hour?

* It saddens me how track and field has fallen in the pecking order of Olympics events.  Track and field has always been the heart and soul of the games, but today it clearly is lower than gymnastics and beach volleyball.  There was a time when an Al Oerter could become an Olympic legend for winning 4 consecutive golds in the discus.  Does anyone remember the last time NBC showed the discus, aside from 3 minutes of highlights?  Again, remember the mantra...this is now entertainment,  not an athletic event.

* Jarring:  NO U.S. runners in the Men's 400 Meter Final?  That's roughly equivalent to the Men's Basketball team not making the medal round.  And the decline in the Men's long jump?  Shocking.

* Forgive me, but a little beach volleyball goes a long way.

95 Songs of Summer, #48 - "Summerlong" (2005)

Kathleen Edwards is one of those artists who always seems poised to cross the divide between cult favorite and big star, but never quite makes it to the other side.  However, her most recent album was her most popular, and the connection (both personal and musical) with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is bound to help her get some attention.

Her debut album, "Failer," received a ton of positive reviews, but for some reason I never got around to buying it (you can't buy every album, after all).  But during the summer of 1995, we were on a short vacation in Santa Cruz, and during one afternoon when we were killing time before the starting time of a movie, we wandered into Borders (the late and lamented...) and I decided to give her second album (newly released at the time), "Back to Me," a listen.  I began with the first track, loved it...skipped to the second, loved it...and so on.

"Summerlong" is what I would call a perfect pop song - if there was any justice in the world, it would have become a big hit.  No less an authority than Cameron Crowe apparently agrees, because he used the song in his movie "Elizabethtown."  The video below is a homemade effort using scenes from the movie; I used it because the recorded version of the song is superior to any of the live performances that are currently available on YouTube.

Kathleen Edwards, "Summerlong," from the summer of 2005.

 

95 Songs of Summer, #47 - "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (1970)

Here we are, almost at the halfway point of this little countdown, and we finally get to our first Creedence song (except of the special 4th of July post).  Scandalous.

A lot of Creedence's best songs sound like they were made for summer, but none more than "Lookin' Out My Back Door."  Almost alone among their greatest, this one is totally innocent, just a guy sitting on his back porch, listening to Buck Owens, most likely on a really really hot August night.

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Lookin' Out My Back Door," from the summer of 1970.

Son of More Netflix Reviews

Or if you prefer, more Netflix reviews from Son #2.  This is the last batch, and then I've got several others to catch up on myself.  I guess we've watched a lot of movies this summer.

Attack the Block (2011, dir. By Joe Cornish).  It’s always nice to see an original addition to the science fiction/alien/horror genre. Especially one that isn’t trying too hard. The film involves a gang of teenagers that find themselves protecting their neighborhood from some genuinely scary invading aliens, furry beasts with creepy glow-in-the-dark teeth. It works because the film opens up with the audience by despising the group of kids until the invasion begins to take place, when you will cheer for them through the whole thing. The cast is great, with newcomer John Boyega as a gang leader who shows us why he is the way he is, and Jodie Whittaker as a nurse befriended by the boys (though after a rocky start).  Most memorable is Nick Frost as a stoner who doesn’t really know what is going on. It’s nice to see something new in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

The Reader (2008, dir. By Stephen Daldry).  An astonishing film that tells the story Michael Berg, who, as a boy, had an affair with a woman twenty years his senior. This was not an ordinary affair because during their meetings, Michael would have to read to Hanna, played by a devastating Kate Winslet. Without revealing too much of the story, the pair are forced to go their separate ways until Michael learns the hard way that Hanna was a member of the SS, and she is imprisoned as a result. Years later, the duo are back in each other’s lives, with neither knowing what they truly want. David Kross portrays Michael as a teenager and Ralph Fiennes plays him as an adult.  While I thought that Kross was very good, I felt that Fiennes’ parts of the film were stronger and Fiennes’ plays tired, middle-aged man perfectly. Kate Winslet won the Oscar for her performance and rightly so because she is so believable as Hanna that you will think that she is Hanna. Subtle and thought-provoking. 

Being Elmo (2001, dir. By Constance Marks).  If you are deterred by the thought of watching a documentary about the origins and puppeteer of Elmo, you are in for a pleasant surprise. The film centers around Kevin Clash, a man who has always loved puppets, and loved even more to put smiles on children’s faces. Really. We see clips of Kevin as a teenager performing in his neighborhood and for disabled children at hospitals. What was most fascinating to watch was how quick his ascent was in the “muppet world” and how accepting puppet-builder Kermit Love was to take him under his wing. Even better are the behind-the-scenes of Sesame Street and the parts covering Clash’s relationship with Jim Henson. We see the dedication and respect that the performers have for their craft, and the audience shares that respect. You’ll finish the movie just as Kevin Clash would have wanted you to: with a smile on your face.

Shine (1996, dir. By Scott Hicks).  Flawed but not bad by any means I think is an accurate way to describe Shine. Telling the story of incredibly gifted pianist David Helfgott, the narrative switches between young-adult David and older David, played respectively by Noah Taylor and Geoffrey Rush. It is seen that young David was physically and mentally abused by his father, Peter, played here perfectly Armin Muller Stahl (also good in Eastern Promises). Peter suffers living with his own failures and appears, in my opinion, to despise that his son is more talented than he. Eventually, David manages to get a scholarship and go to a prestigious music school where he begins to work on an extremely difficult piano piece and his mental breakdown begins. As an adult, David is seen to be incredibly difficult to manage but still is able to impress with his piano talents. I found this part substantially weaker than the first half; one of the reasons is that I did not really care for David all that much. I attribute this to not really being a fan of the “idiot savant” drama and was pretty annoyed by David. Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for his performance and I’m sorry to say it but I don’t think he earned it; one, for this type of performance being done numerous times before and two, he was in less of the film than I thought he would be in. Not great but not awful. I must note that all the piano playing sequences are very well done, and the music is wonderful.

JV comments:  I don't have much to add to any of the above reviews, except that I largely agree with all of them.

95 Songs of Summer, #46 - "Only the Lonely" (1982)

Hearing this song makes me feel a little old, because I heard it for the first time in the last couple of weeks that I was at UC Berkeley.  It's not really possible that it was 30 years ago, is it?

Yes, I guess it is.  We used to have ourselves some good ol' arguments about music on the second floor in Cheney Hall, but if memory serves this was one song that everybody liked.  It's a great single, and it graced the airwaves for the better part of that summer.

"Only the Lonely," The Motels, from the summer of 1982.

95 Songs of Summer, #45 - "Three Times a Lady" (1978)

Say what you will about Lionel Richie, but there seems little doubt that he took the notion of "well-crafted, just teetering on the brink of sappiness" love song about as far as one artist could.  I could be wrong about this, but if it were not for Prince and Bruce Springsteen, I think Richie's "Can't Slow Down" would have been the most popular album of 1984.  And just this year, he's had another huge hit, re-recording his biggest hits in country-tinged arrangements.  So obviously, there's more there in Mr. Richie than just your typical pop schlock-meister.

Personally, my favorite composition of Richie's is "Lady," which became a huge hit for Kenny Rogers.  But "Three Times a Lady," released in 1978 when Richie was still a member of the Commodores, is a close second.  It is a beautiful song, exquisitely arranged and sung by Richie.  It still sounds good today, and I'm sure brings substantial royalties into the pocketbook of Mr. Richie - as it should.

"Three Times a Lady," Commodores, from the summer of 1978.

Closing the Movie Backlog

Some more reviews from Son #2:

American History X (1998, dir. by Tony Kaye). Tony Kaye’s excellent drama about an ex-skinhead trying to prevent his brother from following in his footsteps never ceases to be intriguing and provocative but still is hard to watch at moments. The film stars Edward Norton in the lead and he is dynamite; at no point is he not believable as the troubled Derek. Also good is Edward Furlong as his also troubled brother who has to decide whether he too wants to become a Neo Nazi skinhead. The movie does not feel like it’s trying to make a profound moral statement but is simply conducting a character study instead. Tony Kaye has reportedly disowned the movie because it was not edited the way he had intended but knowing what it is, I don’t think it would have made that huge of a difference. So Mr. Kaye, chill out, you still made a pretty darn good film.

JV comments: It's not a perfect film, but it does have that extra, hard-to-define "oomph" that sets it apart from your run of the mill fare.  Edward Norton is amazing - for someone who at first glance looks so slight, his presence is so commanding that you really believe that he can be the dominating force that he is in the story.  Also worth noting are the scenes in prison when he slowly becomes friends with an African-American inmate, particularly the scene where they debate the relative merits of the Magic Lakers and the Bird Celtics.

A Dangerous Method (2011, dir. by David Cronenberg).  Having been directed by David Cronenberg and bragging the talent of Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, and Keira Knightley, you would think this film would be in the ranks of the director’s last efforts: A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Unfortunately, it is not. This is not by any means a bad movie; it’s well-acted (despite a hammy turn from Knightley), beautifully shot and scored. But unless you are interested in the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and an unstable woman who compromises that relationship then this movie probably isn’t for you. 

JV comments: I had trouble staying awake, which is never a good sign.   I thought A History of Violence was a masterpiece and that Eastern Promises was not far behind, so this came as a bitter disappointment - particularly given the stellar cast.  For a Cronenberg film, it felt remarkably sterile.

Dave (1993, dir. by Ivan Reitman).  The Kevin Kline charm is at full strength during this film, and it makes it all the more irresistible. Kline stars as Dave Kovic, the head of a temp agency who finds satisfaction by helping others and by impersonating unpopular president Bill Mitchell, also played by Kline. That is why he finds himself in the position of playing the president full time after Mitchell suffers a debilitating stroke. Originally hired to just play the part, Dave finds himself in the position to bring helpful change to his country while preventing his sinister chief of staff, a constantly angry Frank Langella. If you can suspend your disbelief, which should not be hard, you will be enthralled the rest of the way. The supporting cast is great with Kevin Dunn as Dave’s hopeful Communications Director, Sigourney Weaver as Mitchell’s estranged wife who begins to lighten up, Ving Rhames as a serious secret service agent, and Ben Kingsley as the Vice President who was not respected by his boss during Mitchell’s time in office. Also great are the many actual media personalities who share their opinion over the film’s course. When movies are this fun, why not suspend your disbelief?

JV comments:  I've always liked Kevin Kline, and this has always been a favorite of mine.  You don't hear Ivan Reitman's name bandied about much when it comes to discussion of great directors, but there is a reason that films like this one, "Ghostbusters," and "Kindergarten Cop" have held up so well. They may not be the most ambitious films ever made, but they hit their targets.

Mr. Brooks (2007, dir. by Bruce A. Evans).  Intensely creepy, but never ceases to be fascinating.  Kevin Costner is at his best as the man with the perfect life, Earl Brooks. We see Earl is a very successful and respected business man who really does have it all: a beautiful wife and daughter, a beautiful home, and a man named Marshall who only he sees, an imaginary "friend" who is constantly trying to persuade him to murder people. Marshall is played by a devilish and never better William Hurt. Apparently, Mr. Brooks is the on-and-off again thumbprint killer who has been at large for several years. Mr. Brooks finds his perfect life thrown out of control when Mr. Smith, played by a surprisingly good Dane Cook, arrives and demands that he take him on his next murder run or he will turn him into the police. Also on the scene are a tough cop played by Demi Moore who has been following the killings for quite a while and is dealing with her own life’s troubles, and the aforementioned daughter who seems to be keeping many different things a secret. While I found that those parts of the film were kind of interesting, the best parts were when Earl was interacting with Marshall and Mr. Smith; they bring creepy to a whole new level.

JV comments:  This was a huge surprise - Kevin Costner playing against type, and doing it very effectively.  And S#2 is right, the scenes between Costner and Hurt are marvelous.  This is the kind of film that sometimes leads to bigger and better things for those involved in the writing and directing.

95 Songs of Summer, #44 - "Ready to Start" (2010)

Or: "How Arcade Fire Allowed Me to Keep My Sanity"

Released two years ago today, Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" was the best album of 2010, and the best album that this young decade has had to offer.  For me it will always be connected to a time in my life that was, shall we say, a bit on the stressful side.

For a little over seven years (until January of this year) I worked for a non-profit Association here in my hometown of Sacramento.  There was a time when I thought it could be the place that I would retire from, even though that milestone is at least another decade away.  But then one of those things happened that proves the old adage (which was said, but perhaps not originated by, John Lennon) that life is what happens when you make other plans.  Our Executive Director, ambushed in a television interview, was forced to retire after, among other things, it became known that he had used the Association's credit card to obtain cash advances at casinos.  There were other things which I won't go into detail here, but suffice to say that it was not a pleasant experience to learn things like this about someone that you had known for over 25 years and considered a friend, and even mentor.

All of that happened in late July, and it's fair to say that the 2-3 months which followed that fortnight were the most stressful 2-3 months of my life.  I look back on it now, and am thankful that the feeling with which I awoke every morning - a feeling that I'd describe as feeling helpless, caught in the middle of an unending scream - finally dissipated and eventually went away for good (although there are flashbacks from time to time).

So in the midst of all this, Arcade Fire went and released what I knew from the very first listen was a classic album.  But for a while, I almost didn't want to listen to it.  If this series has proved anything, it's that when you care about music the way that I do, songs, albums and artists become inexorably linked to the memories of one's lifetime.  There are songs that have appeared on this list, songs that are 40 years old, still transport me in time back to the period when I first heard them.  So, did I really want that to happen with an album that I knew was going to become one of my all-time favorites?

In the end, I couldn't resist, so I made the songs on the album my weapons.  At those moments when things would get a little rough, when stuff was really running 'round my head, I'd just turn them up louder.  Especially the two fast ones - "Month of May" and "Ready to Start."  I'd listen to them over and over, and for a brief moment, all would be right with the world.

"Ready to Start," Arcade Fire - from the summer of 2010.

If I Had a Sight & Sound Film Ballot

I don't and it's not likely that I ever will, but everyone else seems to be giving this a shot, so why not me? 

1. The Godfather (1972), dir. Francis Ford Coppola
2. The Godfather, Part 2 (1974), dir. Francis Ford Coppola
3. North by Northwest (1959), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
4. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), dir. Woody Allen
5. Blade Runner (1982), dir. Ridley Scott
6. The Empire Strikes Back (1980), dir. Irvin Kershner
7. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), dir. Robert Mulligan
8. Jaws (1975), dir. Steven Spielberg
9. Pulp Fiction (1994), dir. Quentin Tarantino
10. The Sting (1973), dir. George Roy Hill

A bit on the quirky side, perhaps.  But there you have it.

95 Songs of Summer, #43 - "Seven Year Ache" (1981)

Those who know me well know that Rosanne Cash is one of the charter members of my personal music pantheon.  That "exalted" status really began with this song, without question one of her greatest, not to mention one of the great songs of the last few decades.

Cash has grown enormously as a musician and writer over the years, but I'm not sure that she's ever topped the perfection of this one.  Perfect in tone, in rhythm, in any way you can possibly define the term.

"Seven Year Ache," Rosanne Cash, from the summer of 1981.