March 2007 - Page 6 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Perplexing Pixilation Problem

So what did I do on my birthday? I got up early to finish – finally!- burning some CDs that I promised to the folks involved with Lefty Brown’s Mixed Bag. It was NOT for lack of trying. It seemed as though iTunes is the culprit, for me and a co-worker at least. Even though it has this lovely way to put together collections, it appears that stuff I copy from iTunes, including things I didn’t even BUY on iTunes, has a tendency to allow the first nine songs or so to track, and then not so much after that. So, I took said disc with nine seemingly OK songs and rerecorded said tunes into another program, then made a disc of them from a third program. (I’m exhausted just thinking about this.) Problem was, those nine already recorded songs, when copied onto a disc, tended to fade in and out. Thus, I had to rip the nine songs individually AGAIN. The good news is that this actually seemed to work. Finally.

My baby sister and her daughter called at 6:15 to wish me HB (talked with my other sister later in the day), then Carol took Lydia to day care so I could have a few extra minutes playing racquetball. Came home, ate, made a list.

I hate making lists.

I hate making lists, because, inevitably, the list is longer than the time allotted for the things on the list. I will tell you that reading the newspapers, working on the blog, putting the CDs away that I’ve played recently (“recently” being since late January), or even emptying the dishwasher did not happen. Didn’t even put “going to the movies”, my traditional birthday item, on the list.

Looked at a few blogs, including the one of my good buddy Fred Hembeck, who has the Greens Goblin, Lantern, and Arrow, plus the Martian Manhunter wishing me an HB; the Hulk had another agenda. (Fred might be interested in reading the March 6 post on why “24” uses real phone numbers on the show.)

I did print out lists for the mixed CD, no small feat, since the printer had been spooling out gibberish for a couple weeks. After taking myself to lunch at an Indian restaurant, I stood in a very s-l-o-w line and finally MAIL these CDs to the participants (and also to the aforementioned Mr. Hembeck). Additionally, I sent one of them to the guy who sent me this link to the MidWinter’s event I missed this year because it was right after Lydia’s surgery:

(Not to be confused with this or this, though the process is similar.)

That guy, BTW, also, walked me through the incredibly convoluted process of burning these CDs in the first place, on Saturday. Thanks, effendi! He, Fred, and Lefty Brown also got a copy of this book. (If anyone else would like a copy, please let me know, and I’ll send you one.)

After the P.O., I went to the grocery store to get some food for the hearts card party I’m having on Sunday – call if you want to come. The card party is really what I put on my birthday wish list.

I have all this new music from these folks I’ve never met that I’m supposed to rank by Sunday, which is really difficult. I will say that Lefty’s disc is in second place, of the ones I’ve heard so far, which is all that I received before yesterday.

Watched a couple news programs. Had dinner with wife and daughter, with carrot cake for birthday dessert. Lydia sang happy birthday to me thrice on my birthday: in the morning, when she came home, and with the cake.

I did get presents: headphones (the only other thing I asked for – my old ones broke), a couple racquetball gloves, and a pass to the Spectrum movie theater. My wife was mock upset when I told her I might take my girlfriend to the movies until I noted that SHE was my girlfriend.

All in all, not the birthday I planned, but mostly pretty OK.

On the other hand, the celebration continued the next day, with a half dozen birthday messages on my voice mail and work e-mail, plus a couple cards in the mail. Most special, the drawing that Mr. Hembeck featured on his blog for March 7 was in a package at my desk when I got to work! Not only that, some, actually a LOT of, tunes were also included. Huzzah!

ROG

"Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no Color"

On February 24, 2007, Carol and I I attended a conference on the Underground Railroad: Uncovering the Voices of Women, organized for the sixth year in a row by our friends Paul and Mary Liz Stewart. It was excellent.

One of the sessions was “From the UGR to Women’s Rights: Historic Sites in Central NY” by Judy Wellman, Ph.D. From the program: “Nationally, abolitionism provided one of the most important roots of the early women’s rights movement. In central NY, a survey of sites relating to African Americans and European Americans involved with the UGR suggests powerful connections between the UGR and early women’s rights movement.” One finds a number of suffragists at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement, described well here. The quote in the title is by early feminist Frederick Douglass.

I can’t help but notice the parallels between the 19th and 20th Century women’s movements. The article cited above notes how a major anti-slavery convention in London in 1840 did not seat or hear from women delegates, two of whom were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I recall the discussions during the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, where women (rightly) complained that they were being relegated to the sidelines, expected to do the cleaning and cooking, while the menfolk did the “important” organizing.

The toughest part of the conference had to be in the opening plenary session, in which Delores M. Walters, Ph.D. described “The Narrative Life of Margaret Garner’s Life and Beyond”. Margaret Garner was a slave who, with her family, attempted to escape, but was recaptured. Rather than letting her two-year-old be brought back into slavery, she killed her. Margaret was put on trial, and returned to slavery, but died soon thereafter.

There is now an opera, written by Toni Morrison, author of the book “Beloved”, which has a narrative section that parallels Margaret Garner’s life. It has been performed a number of times already, and it will be performed again in New York City in September 2007.

The conference ended with a responsive reading of a litany, found here.

The conference is already planning for next year, so if you’re in the area, please consider attending.
ROG

Roger Turns 54

Photo by Lydia Green, January 2007, unaltered.

I’m loving the synchroncity of 03/07/07, because it gives 03/07 more than one meaning.

It can be very warm even in Albany on my birthday. Not this year, when it’s 4 degrees and windy.

Every year, I take off my birthday from work. So I’m taking off my birthday from the blog, and will leave you with what I wrote last year:

In our local Hearst paper, they always run this poem in August on the anniversary of the death of some founder. I think my tradition will be that I will quote a section from one of my favorite books, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen, a Canadian theologian who died in 1996. (Copyright 1994, published by The Crossroad Publishing Company.)

I share this passage about birthdays, not only for my sake, but, I hope, for yours as well:

Birthdays need to be celebrated. I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: “Thank you for being you.” Celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: “Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.” No, we say: “Thank you for being born and being among us.”
…
Celebrating a birthday reminds us of the goodness of life, and in this spirit we really need to celebrate people’s birthdays every day, by showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, and affection. These are ways of saying: “It’s good that you are alive; it’s good that you are walking with me on this earth. Let’s be glad and rejoice. This is the day that God has made for us to be and to be together.”

Underplayed Vinyl: The Supremes

It’s the 63rd birthday of original Supreme Mary Wilson.

The Supremes, of course, were THE #1 female group in the Unites States. You can argue for Destiny’s Child or someone else, but by the calculations of the Joel Whitburn book reflecting the Billboard singles charts through 2002, they were #25, behind Madonna (#4), Janet Jackson (#9), Aretha Franklin (#10), and Mariah Carey (#14) among female artists; Destiny’s Child was #181. On the Billboard album charts through 2006, they were #29, behind only Babs (#5) and Aretha (#18); Destiny’s Child was #451. (The Whitburn books balances off the fact that there are more people today than 40 years ago, and gives points to longevity.)

But it wasn’t always the case. They were known as the “no-hit Supremes” when they came out with Meet the Supremes, which didn’t enhance their commercial reputation. This was in a period (1962) that the others besides Diana Ross actually sang leads. The late Florence Ballard sings on my favorite song on the album, the energetic pop of “Buttered Popcorn”, while Mary Wilson is featured on the soul ballad “Baby Don’t Go”, written by Berry Gordy. There were actually two album covers. My original album cover was the “soft focus” one, which was actually the second version, done in 1965, after they made it big. The “chairs” cover was the first cover, which was still being used when I repurchased the album subsequent to the Great Album Theft of 1972. You can’t even find this album on Amazon, except at an outrageous price from individuals. Too bad, because it’s a charming collection, showing a lot of promise for what was to come.

That theft wiped out a lot of albums I never replaced, notably the “theme” albums: A Little Bit of Liverpool (featuring a terrible version of A Hard Day’s Night); The Supremes Sing Country, Western, and Pop; and We Remember Sam Cooke, all coming out after the breakthrough album Where Did Our Love Go, and before More Hits by the Supremes.
After a couple specialty discs and the more popular fare of I Hear A Symphony and Supremes A’ Go Go, the group came out with what I thought was a peculiarly named 1967 album: The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland, odd because most of their pop fare was already written by Brian, Lamont and Eddie, and produced by the former two. As was often the case at Motown at that time, the album featured songs previously recorded by other Motown artists such as the Four Tops (“I’ll Turn to Stone”, “It’s the Same Old Song”) and Martha and the Vandellas (“Love is Like a) Heat Wave”), which, while not matching the originals, were enjoyable. Of course, it had the hits (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, “Love is Here and Now You’re Gone”), but my favorite song is a tune I always thought my sister or my eldest niece, singers both, ought to try, “Remove This Doubt”, complete with strings. Elvis Costello did this song on Kojak Variety, which is not bad, but pales to the original, to my ears.

1967 was a real transitional year. Florence Ballard left the group after the Rogers and Hart album, replaced by Cindy Birdsong of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Also, Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown over a dispute with Berry Gordy. The group, now Diana Ross and the Supremes, did one pop album, Reflections, a really transitional album with the last H-D-H pieces (and the last Flo Ballard work), and too many uninspired covers (Ode to Billie Joe?). Then they did three specialty albums, including one with the Temptations, before releasing Love Child.

Love Child is the last very good Supremes album, as opposed to a couple singles and a bunch of filler. The first side is more soulful, the second, more pop. The group and the producers seem reinvigorated here, but the subsequent albums were far inferior to this one.

Love Child (Henry Cosby, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, R. Dean Taylor) -yes, the R. Dean Taylor of “Indiana Wants Me” fame. Motown session singers The Andantes sing the backup vocals on this song.
Keep an Eye (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson)- a great song of warranted paranoia; “There used to be three of us seen all over town. Now there’s only two. Someone’s missing. Guess who?”
How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone (Sawyer, Wilson) – an Amazon critic says: “a late 60’s soul masterpiece, features a killer (and much studied) James Jamerson bass line, and lyrically, tells a compelling story.”
Does Your Mama Know About Me (Tom Baird, Tommy Chong) – a cover of the Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers song about interracial love. Yes, that’s the Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong on the songwriting credits.
Honey Bee (Keep on Stinging Me) (Janie Bradford, Debbie Dean, Richards) – straight ahead infectious pop. My favorite song because of the bass and background vocals
Some Things You Never Get Used To (Ashford, Simpson) The first single, which only went to #30, oddly. The Andantes sing backup here.
He’s My Sunny Boy (Smokey Robinson)- the horns punch up this tune.
You’ve Been So Wonderful to Me (Anna Gordy Gaye, George Gordy, Allen Story) – lilting pop.
(Don’t Break These) Chains of Love (George Beauchamp, Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol) – more towards the MOR Motown was aiming Diana towards.
You Ain’t Livin’ Till You’re Lovin ‘ (Ashford, Simpson) – a cover of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s original that I was not familiar with at the time.
I’ll Set You Free (Gwen Fuqua, B. Gordy, Ivy Jo Hunter, Renee Tener) – my favorite song from Side 2, with the classic Supremes background vocals.
Can’t Shake It Loose (Sidney Barnes, George Clinton, Joanne Jackson, Rose Marie McCoy) Yes, THAT George Clinton, and I don’t mean the former governor of New York.
***
Greg Burgas sent me a mixed disc featuring Dr. Goldfoot And The Bikini Machine, the title track of an apparently not very good 1965 movie. And though I own FOUR Supremes collections (two on vinyl, two on CD), I never owned this song, which is on The Supremes Box Set (2000). Thanks., Greg!

Another Movie Meme

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.

Not sure I’ve seen ANY movie more than 10 times. MAYBE the Wizard of OZ on TV, but the first several times was on a B&W set. “Annie Hall” I’ve seen a lot. Also Le Roi de Coeur, which played in my college town annually for a while. There tend to be scenes, usually because TNT/TBS is running the movie over and over, that I’ve seen a lot: the end of Animal House (from “the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor”), e.g.

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
At least three times, and possibly many more: Le Roi de Coeur. Four times: Annie Hall, Midnight Cowboy. Twice: the first Planet of the Apes, Help!, Yellow Submarine. Woodstock, I sat through twice in a row. Catch-22: 1 1/2 times – there’s a story there.

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Meryl Streep, apparently. Saw, in the movie theater, two of her movies (Prada, Prairie Home Companion) in 2006. James Cromwell (Babe, L.A. Confidential, The Queen). There are probably others.

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.

Rob Schneider. Actually about a third of the SNL alums (David Spade among them) who are making movies.

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.

Quote on a regular basis like in my everyday life? Midnight Cowboy: “I’m WALKIN” here!” I try NOT to quote “The Wizard of Oz”.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.

“West Side Story”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “The Sound of Music”

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.

I don’t sing along with movies. Takes me out of the film.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.

With the caveat that I don’t think there’s such a thing that everyone MUST see: Schnidler’s List.

9. Name a movie that you own.

I own a number of VHS tapes. One of them is Stuart Little, which I’m pretty sure was a gift. We started watching it, but the cat was too scary for Lydia. I didn’t know that Hugh Laurie, who I only know from the TV show “House” was the father in that movie or that M. Night Shyamalan co-wrote the screenplay; the movie was released the same year as The Sixth Sense.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Will Smith, Chuck Connors.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Saw lots of movies at the drive-in as a kid. The last time that I can remember the films were all five Planet of the Apes films (I fell asleep during the last one, which, apparently, is just as well).

12. Ever made out in a movie?

Probably.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.

Office Space. Actually went to the library to seek it out last month, then didn’t have time to watch it before it was due back.

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

No, but got awful close with Fellini’s Satyricon.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

I cried at the end of The Pursuit of Happyness, I cried at the end of Brokeback Mountain. I can be a sucker for a weeper. Oh, and – do I want to admit this? – I got a little misty in Toy Story 2, when Jessie the Cowgirl sang When She Loved Me.

16. Popcorn?

Usually.

17. How often do go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

Not nearly as often as BL (before Lydia), when it was twice a month, at least, and a lot more in the winter. Now it’s usually every two months, at best.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?

Notes on a Scandal.

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Intelligent comedy.

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

State Fair

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

I don’t remember the title. It was a double feature with some old Francis the Talking Mule film. The story involved this woman who was old and/or homely but became lovely through this potion. Men found her irresistible, but if they kissed her, she’d revert to her former self. She had to kill them, using some ring to the jugular, and blow some powder to return to her beautiful self. I was about 10 or 11, so this movie came out before 1964. The thing gave me nightmares for MONTHS. It was, quite literally, a pain in the neck.

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

I don’t know: Life of Brian, The Sixth Sense, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Any of these weird?

23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?

That I can remember the title to? Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia.

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?

Young Frankenstein, which I can quote in part, but it doesn’t make any sense out of context.
***
So I’m going through the list of bloggers I check out, and I come to the site of my buddy Fred Hembeck and what do I read on March 1? “I blame Roger Green.” What?

Seems that the idea Tom the Dog had to list all of the Oscar-winning movies he’d seen I expanded on somewhat to mention the circumstances. Well, Monsieur Hembeck took the concept much further, not only with far greater detail than I could possible muster about who he saw films with, but also about a dozen responses to MY posts, plus nearly as many pictures. A real bang-up job that you should see here.
***
Hey, Albany: The Oscar-winning “On the Waterfront” at the Palace Theater, Wednesday, March 7, 1 and 7 pm, $5.