November 2009 - Ramblin' with Roger

Movies of the Aughts Meme

Jaquandor found this meme here and here. Perhaps I and/or they should have waited until 2009 was over at least, not unlike that 12/4 Entertainment Weekly edition which listed the famous people that died in 2009; nobody dies in December?

Anyway, the point of the exercise is to pick not “The Best” movies of 2000-2009, but one’s favorite films. “This list means nothing, except to me. It’s a list of 50 movies that gave me pleasure over the past decade. I can say without reservation that I would watch any of these again. Would I say that all of them are great films, however great films are supposed to be defined? Probably not. But that’s nothing you need to worry about. Because it’s my list.”

In alphabetical order:

1. About a Boy
2. Almost Famous
3. Amélie
4. American Splendor*
5. Away From Her
6. Bend It Like Beckham
7. Best in Show*
8. Capote
9. Catch Me If You Can
10. Chicago*
11. Chicken Run
12. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
13. Erin Brockovich
14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*
15. Far From Heaven
16. Finding Nemo
17. Finding Neverland
18. The 40 Year-Old Virgin
19. High Fidelity*
20. An Inconvenient Truth
21. The Incredibles*
22. Iron Man
23. Juno
24. Little Miss Sunshine
25. Love Actually
26. Man On A Train
27. Mean Girls
28. Milk
29. Once
30. A Prairie Home Companion
31. Pride and Prejudice
32. Punch-Drunk Love
33. Requiem for a Dream*
34. The Rookie
35. The Savages
36. Sicko
37. Sideways
38. Spider-Man
39. Spider-Man 2*
40. Spirited Away
41. Spy Kids
42. The Squid and the Whale
43. The Station Agent*
44. Stranger Than Fiction*
45. Up
46. The Visitor
47. Volver
48. Waitress
49. Whale Rider
50. You Can Count On Me*

But, in fact, I have gotten into a pattern where I DON’T see movies a second time anymore, as I did in in the 1970s and 1980s; more movies, less time. The only film I saw even parts of more than once is The Incredibles. The movies asterisked comprise my “Top 10” list, using the same criteria.

ROG

November Ramblin’

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about a couple recent podcasts by Arthur at AmeriNZ dealing with the topic, broadly stated: “Are online relationships ‘real’?” I was talking over these podcasts with a couple guys I see on the bus each evening. One suggests that if the relationship generates an action from the other person, then it is a relationship.

Of course, it could be a one-sided relationship. Let’s say you were following Ashton Kutcher on on Twitter and retweeted all of his best lines; unless Ashton reciprocated, it would really be much of a story. But when you are motivated to take some action, and they respond in kind, then certainly, some real human interaction is taking place. I see an article that I believe – because I listen to his podcast, read his blog – that Arthur would interested in for its content. And as often as not, Arthur acknowledges that in some way.

Here’s the odd thing I experienced this fall. There’s a guy in my office. He’s a perfectly nice person. Someone sent out an e-mail asking if we wanted to contribute to a wedding gift. Oh, he’s been engaged? Really? I had no idea. Now this guy sits about 20 feet from my desk, lives (somewhere) in my neighborhood. I say hi to him but I don’t know anything about him, or he much about me, I suspect.

Whereas I know about Scott’s sons, Nigel and new baby Ian, and Greg’s daughters, Norah and Mia; they in turn know a bit about Lydia. I know more about Scott and Greg, and more importantly, interact with them more substantially, than I do the woman who I see on the bus every evening.
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Wednesday, the wife had a follow-up oral surgery. After the ordeal last year, it seems that six of her lower teeth didn’t have enough gum cover for six of her lower teeth. Without gums, the teeth could rot and fall out. So tissue was removed from one part of her mouth to create gum tissue. She’s recovering amazingly well. The in-laws came to our house this year to help Carol and to celebrate Thanksgiving, which was fine.
***
I was doing research at work a couple months back, when I came across some New York State law:

EDN – Education
Article 17 – INSTRUCTION IN CERTAIN SUBJECTS
801 – Courses of instruction in patriotism and citizenship and in certain historic documents
§ 801. Courses of instruction in patriotism and citizenship and in certain historic documents. 1. In order to promote a spirit of patriotic and civic service and obligation and to foster in the children of the state moral and intellectual qualities which are essential in preparing to meet the obligations of citizenship in peace or in war, the regents of The University of the State of New York shall prescribe courses of instruction in patriotism, citizenship, and human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery (including the freedom trail and underground railroad), the Holocaust, and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to 1850, to be maintained and followed in all the schools of the state. The boards of education and trustees of the several cities and school districts of the state shall require instruction to be given in such courses, by the teachers employed in the schools therein. All pupils attending such schools, over the age of eight years, shall attend upon such instruction.

I did not know that. Surely, this is law that must have been passed long after I attended school – though it seemed we did seem to spend a lot of time on the Irish potato famine. Just found it interesting and can only imagine certain people making political hay over it.
***
The bitter tears of Johnny Cash. The untold story of Johnny Cash, protest singer and Native American activist, and his feud with the music industry
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Caring for Your Photographic Collections.
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Hen House Five Plus Two’s In the Mood actually Ray Stevens, the song that first informed me that all music can be done in chicken. The beginning of The Muppets’ Bohemian Rhapsody was a reminder of same.
***
Wonderous invention.

ROG

MOTOWN Question

Continuing the Berry Gordy, Jr./Motown groove:

There have been a number of artists that have appeared on Motown records, including its affiliated labels Tamla, Soul, Gordy, rare earth (yes, named for the band), Mowest and others. These artists include everyone from Sammy Davis Jr. to Soupy Sales to the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr; I actually own one of the latter.

The question is simple: who are your favorite Motown artists? OK, not so simple. Lots of artists only really thrived when they actually left Motown, notably Gladys Knight & the Pips and Michael Jackson. But you don’t need to be as fussy about those boundaries as I inevitably will be.

1. Stevie Wonder – though he hasn’t put out a great album in almost three decades, the albums he put out in the 1960s and especially the 1970s were among the finest ever made. Paul Simon, winning the 1975 Grammy for Album of the year specifically thanked Stevie Wonder for not putting out an album that year. Stevie was busy putting together the double album Songs in the Key of Life. Moreover, stevie still dorsd some decent performances.

2. The Temptations – In the the mid-1960s, they were largely backup singers for David Ruffin (My Girl). The big switch in producers from a wide variety of people, including Smokey Robinson, to Norman Whitfield, corresponded to Dennis Edwards replacing Ruffin, with the group then talking the five-vocalist motif (Can’t Get Next To You). The group seemed to fade in the mid-1970s, but then were revitalized in the early 1980s with the brief reappearance of Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick, when I first saw them live.

3. The Supremes – I was a fan from that very first non-hits album Meet the Supremes, when Florence Ba;lard and Mary Wilson occasionally got a lead, through the big hits period, when the only time Diana Ross relinquished the lead was on some of the more oddball albums (We Remember Sam Cooke; Sing Country, western and Pop; A Bit of Liverpool; Sing Rogers & Hart). Then they became Diana Ross and…, as Flo was replaced by Cindy Birdsall. Diana left for a solo career, and Jean Terrell, gfor a time kept the Supremes on top.

4. Marvin Gaye – one of the most versatile artists, he was popular as both a session drummer early on, then both a solo artist and paired with female singers such as Mary Wells, Kim Weston and most notably Tammi Terrell. Like Wonder, Gaye’s really came into his own when he fought with Berry Gordy to have more control over his career; the initial result was the What’s Going On album. Though some of Gaye’s material got a bit weird, dealing with his divorce in a most public and uncomfortable way, he got back to form with Sexual Healing*. *Yes, this was on Epic records, but it shows up on the Motown anthology.

5. The Jackson 5ive – I initially gave them the short shrift as a teeny-bopper. But the strength of the material, and the performers, carried the day.

6. The Four Tops – this group should rank higher, based just on the strength of the magnificent voice of Levi Stubbs. The problem, I think, is that after Holland-Dozier-Holland left the company, the group didn’t get the good material.

7. Martha & the Vandellas – Most of the female groups got lost in the shadow of the Supremes; too bad, as groups like the Marvelettes and this group did some fine songs.

ROG

Berry Gordy is turning 80

Back in 1998, when I went to Detroit, I visited 2648 West Grand Boulevard. No, “visited” is not the right word; I made a pilgrimage to Hitsville USA, the house that served as the recording studio for a great number of artists recording for Motown Records. It is a physically unimpressive building, even dowdy, but it was the launching pad for a great amount of music that I own, tunes by Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Four Tops, the Temptations), Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5ive, and the Supremes, among many others. The visionary for all of this was Berry Gordy, Jr.

Gordy, whose Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bio you can read here, developed songwriters, artists, and underappreciated backup musicians to create music that was not marginalized as “race music” or “soul music”, but in fact became “The Sound of Young America.” This is astonishing: “In 1966, the company’s ‘hit ratio’ – the percentage of records released that made the national charts – was 75%.”

If you bought Motown ALBUMS, as opposed to singles in the 1960s, as I tended to do, you’ll note that not occasionally, the same songs would make it onto more than one artist’s LP. Famously, Gladys Knight & the Pips had a #2 single in 1967 (#1 on the R&B charts) with I Heard It Through the Grapevine; about a year later, Marvin Gaye had a massive #1 hit on both charts with the same song, albeit arranged quite differently, written by Barrett Strong and the late Norman Whitfield. It was the stable of songwriters, including Holland-Dozier-Holland, some of the singer-songwriters such as Robinson, Wonder and Gaye, and less well-known folks who may be the unsung heroes in the saga.

Another writer was Berry Gordy himself. Songs written or co-written by him include:
Do You Love Me by the Contours, covered by Temptations
Try It Baby by Marvin Gaye, covered by the Supremes and the Temptations
I’ll Be There by the Four Tops
You’ve Made Me So Very Happy by Brenda Holloway, covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears
Money by Barrett Strong, covered by the Beatles and many others
You’ve Got What It Takes by Marv Johnson
I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, Mama’s Pearl, Maybe Tomorrow – all Jackson 5ive; songwriters billed as The Corporation (Gordy/Mizell/Richards/Perren)
Even pre-Motown, Gordy had written hits for the late Jackie Wilson, including Reet Petite and Lonely Teardrops

I refer you to this episode of the podcast Coverville, featuring the music of Motown and Berry Gordy; yes, the thank you in the notes (and the fulfilled request of Remove This Doubt by Elvis Costello, the cover of a song from The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland album) is in reference to me.

Also check out this article celebrating not only 50 years of Motown records but also another milestone; Berry Gordy turns 80 on November 28, 2009. ROG

Picture from Life.com, “for personal non-commercial use only”

The Lydster, Part 68: the North Pole

If you are one of those people who just cannot STAND hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving, or December 1, or the first day of winter, then I highly recommend that you NOT visit Santa’s Workshop in North Pole, NY in mid-September, as our family did. Notice the Merry Christmas on the water mill.

Not only Christmas carols but parts of Messiah by Handel – “For Unto Us Is Born”, e.g. – as well. As the website says, it was “founded in 1949 and designed by Arto Monaco. We are known as the forerunner of present day theme parks in the United States.” And it most definitely felt like that, a pre-Disneyland theme park.

I must say that it was initially disappointing. It was not inexpensive ($17-$19 each) and many of the rides Lydia, at over four feet, was too tall to ride in. Of the two rides she could be on, she tried the (little) roller coaster (with me), and decided that she did not particularly enjoy it.Worse, a train that we ALL could have ridden through the park was closed for repairs.

Ultimately, what made it worthwhile for Lydia were the friendly clowns and animals and snowmen who performed musical bits periodically. It was a little schlocky – OK, it was a LOT schlocky – but it was earnest. There weren’t that many attendees to these mini-shows and the clowns, e.g., would always go to the performances of their costume-clad colleagues.

Ultimately, it was a successful visit because we had a nice getaway from our usual Saturday routine of cleaning and shopping and laundry.

And Lydia got to go to the North Pole! The pole is not some painted stick; it is actually made of ice. This was actually a thrill for my wife, who went to the North Pole when SHE was a child and feared the frozen pole had been turned into a plastic replica. No way!

I should tell you about this production of the Christmas story, told on the loudspeakers, with clearly young actors performing the roles of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Wise Men. Even from the distance – they were up the hill from the little amphitheater we were sitting in – you can tell that at least some of them were cracking up, though they tried to hide it.

But the high point in the trip for the child was Lydia playing on swings, playground equipment and this container of plastic balls she could wade in, things she could do on the local playground or the local McDonald’s. She had a good time, so we had a good time too.

ROG