December 2010 - Page 4 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

I’m Walkin’, Renee

Officer Bobby Hill on Hill Street Blues should not to be confused with the kid on the animated program King of the Hill.

Walk Away Renee was clearly the biggest hit for a New York City band called The Left Banke. The lead singer is named Steve Martin, but it’s not the noted comedian. The song reached #5 on the Billboard charts in 1966, made the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame list and is #220 on the Rolling Stone top 500 list. Listen to it HERE.

It was covered by the legendary Motown group The Four Tops, with the great lead singer Levi Stubbs. The recording went to #14 on the pop charts and #15 on the rhythm & blues charts. Listen to it HERE.

When I worked at FantaCo in the 1980s, my boss Tom and I were big fans of the then-current cop drama Hill Street Blues. At one point, Officer Bobby Hill (Michael Warren, pictured) – not to be confused with the kid on the animated program King of the Hill – mentioned liking Walk Away Renee, and said that it came out in 1968. We theorized that this was not an error on the part of the writers, but that Bobby listened to the black radio stations in his youth and was familiar only with the Four Tops version, not the original.
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Love this parody of the New Titan Titans #1 in MAD magazine #507, but I wonder how many of the MAD readers know the 30-year-old comic cover well enough to truly appreciate the takeoff.

Beatles Island Songs, 163-154

Some Beatles fans have fantasized about what the next Beatles album might have sounded like, had the band not broken up in 1970; or if they’d taken a break, then gotten back together.

JEOPARDY! Answer du jour – SPORTS STARS: Born in 1980, this [former] world champion figure skater was named for a Beatles hit. The question is below.

The rules of engagement

163 I’m a Loser from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). Another downer from the Beatlemania period.
162 Something from Abbey Road. A nice, though overplayed song. But I was always a bit peevish about the way Harrison stole the first line from James Taylor when he was signed by Apple.
161 Little Child from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). Nice little early tune. At some level, the earliest songs, with few exceptions, will fare less well than the middle period work. I didn’t buy Meet the Beatles album until about when Revolver came out, and as I recall, it came from my record club in STEREO when I had a mono player. At the time, these things just did not mix. Eventually, I said, the heck with it and played it anyway, to no discernible harm.
160 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da from the white album. Another Macca dance hall song. Fun enough.
159 Only a Northern Song from Yellow Submarine. My favorite thing about this Harrisong is the title, referring to the company that published Beatles’ songs.
158 Not a Second Time from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). Really like the bottom of this Lennon song.
157 Honey Don’t from Beatles for Sale (US), Beatles ’65. A nice Ringo vocal on this Carl Perkins song.
156 Cry Baby Cry from the white album. A moody Lennon tune.
155 Anna (Go to Him) from Please Please Me (UK), Introducing the Beatles./The Early Beatles. A nice Lennon cover of the Arthur Alexander song.
154 No Reply from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). Yet another downer. I had a discussion of misheard lyrics re this song with my father at the time.

Some Beatles fans have fantasized about what the next Beatles album might have sounded like, had the band not broken up in 1970; or if they’d taken a break, then gotten back together. I was never one for such idle speculation but here’s one take and here’s another.

Dick Cavett interviews John and Yoko in 1971.
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JEOPARDY Question: Who is Michelle Kwan? (My wife’s all-time favorite skater.)

V is for Victor and Voice

I wonder if she knew about REAL kitsch, and a REALLY big dog.

The story of Nipper is rather interesting, involving struggling artist Francis Barraud, and his by-then deceased dog, which had previously belonged to his brother. The painting was originally called “Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph”; only later would it be dubbed “His Master’s VOICE”. Through a series of transactions, as described here, Nipper became the trademark of the VICTOR Talking Machine Company. The original 1900 trademark is shown below.

Ultimately, the logo was on a wealth of RCA Victor records. RCA Victor put out an 80th anniversary series of albums in 1997. The earliest album represented a period when “Victor was the leading jazz label.” But I associate RCA V with classical music, often played by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. RCA Victor was always a technological pioneer, experimenting with 33 1/3 RPM as far back as 1934, and introducing the 45 RPM in 1949.

When a Long Island photographer recently described a local Nipper as “a big kitschy dog”, I wonder if she knew about REAL kitsch and a REALLY big dog:

From Wikipedia: “A huge, four-ton Nipper can be seen on the roof of the old RTA (former RCA distributor) building on Broadway in Albany, New York.” It is likely the largest extant Nipper in the world, though the Baltimore Nipper DOES include “a gramophone for Nipper to listen to.” More details about Albany’s Nipper, a local landmark that I see every weekday on my way to work, can be found here.

Local musician Greg Haymes, a/k/a Sarge Blotto from the legendary Albany band Blotto, has a blog with Sara Ayers called Nippertown, where they run down the current happenings in and around New York State’s capital city. And guess what appears in the logo?

ABC Wednesday – Round 7

All the animated movies in the world. Sort of.

Well, of course. This was a remarkable technological feat. And features a character named Roger.

From Johnny Bacardi. Neither he nor I named these categories, BTW.

CLASSIC DISNEY
——————————-

[X] 101 Dalmatians (1961) – probably in the first run. The lead adult male is named Roger, a guy who loves music, which was great!
[O] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[X] Bambi (1942) – probably around 1963, in the theater. Scary stuff.
[X] Cinderella (1950) – probably around 1964, but I was 11, and I found it too “girly”; I like it better now.
[X] Dumbo (1941) – did I see this all the way through?
[X] Fantasia (1940) – saw as an adult, in a theater. Loved it.
[X] Lady and the Tramp (1955): probably c 1962. I related to Tramp.
[X] Mary Poppins (1964). But almost certainly NOT in the theater. On network TV, perhaps?
[X] Peter Pan (1953). Almost definitely on TV. Has not aged well.
[X] Pinocchio (1940). On TV. Quite intense.
[X] Sleeping Beauty (1959). In the theater c 1966, probably.
[X] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). In the theater c. 1965.
[O] Song of the South (1946). Only seen excerpts.

DISNEY’S DARK AGE
——————————-
[O] The Aristocats (1970)
[O] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[O] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[O] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[X] The Jungle Book (1967). Probably on commercial TV.
[O] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[O] Oliver and Company (1986)
[O] Pete’s Dragon (1977)
[O] The Rescuers (1977). No, but I’ve read the adaptation.
[O] Robin Hood (1973)
[X] The Sword In The Stone (1963). Probably saw this first run.

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
——————————-
[X] Aladdin (1992). In the theater.
[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991): On video in the last year, with my daughter. I love that song “Gaston”.
[O] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[O] Hercules (1997)
[X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). On video recently, though I owned the soundtrack earlier.
[X] The Lion King (1994). In the theater, my favorite in this category.
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989). On video, with my daughter, but she bailed in fear, and I watched the rest later.
[O] Mulan (1998). But read the adaptation.
[O] Pocahontas (1995). Ditto.
[O] The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Ditto.
[O] Tarzan (1999). Ditto.

DISNEY’S MODERN AGE
——————————-
[O] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[O] Bolt (2008)
[O] Brother Bear (2003)
[O] Chicken Little (2005)
[O] Dinosaur (2000)
[O] The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000). Not that much of an improvement, if at all.
[O] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002). Ended up seeing this on the Disney Channel or some such. It’s OK.
[O] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[O] Treasure Planet (2002)

PIXAR
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[X] A Bug’s Life (1998). Saw it in a theater.
[O] Cars (2006). Always meant to see. And now Cars 2 is coming out in 2011.
[X] Finding Nemo (2003). We were at a Christmas party a couple of years ago. My daughter was upstairs watching this on video and she was sobbing over Nemo trapped in the aquarium trying to get out. Subsequently rented it myself.
[X] The Incredibles (2004): Saw in a theater. By far my favorite Pixar film, which I can tell, because it was on NBC recently, with all those damn commercials, and I still enjoyed it.
[O] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[X] Ratatouille (2007). I like this more than most people. They made a movie about a rat chef appetizing.
[X] Toy Story (1995). In theater.
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999). In a theater. Made me cry.
[X] Toy Story 3 (2010): In a theater. Also made me cry.
[X] Wall-E (2008). On video. Too scary for the daughter.
[X] Up (2009): Saw in a theater. Possibly the best first 15 minutes of any film.

DON BLUTH
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[O] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[O] An American Tail (1986). Saw a scene or two on TV.
[O] An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
[O] Anastasia (1997)
[O] The Land Before Time (1988)
[O] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[O] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[O] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[O] Thumbelina (1994)
[O] Titan AE (2000)
[O] A Troll in Central Park (1994)

CLAYMATION
——————————-
[O] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[X] Chicken Run (2000). In the theater. I LOVED Chicken Run.
[O] Corpse Bride (2005)
[O] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[O] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[O] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005): Yet I have watched the three shorts.
[O] Coraline (2009)

CGI GLUT
——————————-
[X] Antz (1998). I saw both this and A Bug’s Life in theaters, and am now having difficulty recalling which was which.
[O] Bee Movie (2007)
[O] Happy Feet (2006)
[O] Ice Age (2002)
[O] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
[O] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
[O] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[O] Madagascar (2005)
[O} Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
[O] Monster House (2006)
[O] Over the Hedge (2006)
[O] The Polar Express (2004)
[O] Robots (2005)
[O] A Shark’s Tale (2004)
[X] Shrek (2001). In theater. Liked it well enough.
[X] Shrek 2 (2004). In theater. Started off strong, but lost interest.
[O] Shrek The Third (2007)
[O] Shrek Forever After (2010)
[O] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

IMPORTS
——————————-
[O] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[O] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[O] Light Years (1988)
[O] The Triplets of Belleville (2003). I REALLY need to see this!
[O] Persepolis (2007). And this.
[O] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[O] Watership Down (1978)
[O] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[O] Wonderful Days (2003)
[X] Yellow Submarine (1968). Saw this three or four times in movie theaters. It was on network TV, CBS I think, and it was edited terribly.

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
——————————-
[O] The Cat Returns (2002)
[O] Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[X] Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
[O] Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
[O] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[O] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[O] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[X] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[O] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[O] Only Yesterday (1991)
[O] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994)
[O] Porco Rosso (1992)
[X] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[X] Spirited Away (2002). My favorite in this category.
[O] Whisper of the Heart (1995)
[O] Ponyo (2009)

SATOSHI KON
——————————-
[O] Millennium Actress (2001)
[O] Paprika (2006)
[O] Perfect Blue (1999)
[O] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
——————————-
[O] She and Her Cat (1999)
[O] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[O] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[O] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

OTHER ANIME FILMS
——————————-
[O] Akira (1989)
[O] Angel’s Egg (1985)
[O] Appleseed (2004)
[O] Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
[O] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title – Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[O] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[O] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title – Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[O] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[O] End of Evangelion (1997)
[O] Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
[O] Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
[O] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[O] Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
[O] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[O] Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
[O] The Girl Who Lept Through Time (2006)
[O] Lensman (1984)
[O] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title – Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)
[O] Memories (1995)
[O] Metropolis (2001)
[O] Neo-Tokyo (1986)
[O] Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
[O] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[O] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[O] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[O] Project A-ko (1986)
[O] Robot Carnival (1987)
[O] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[O] Silent Möbius (1991)
[O] The Sky Crawlers (2008)
[O] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[O] Steamboy (2004)
[O] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[O] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983)
[O] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987)
[O] Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
[O] Urusei Yatsura: Only You (1982)
[O] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[O] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[O] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
——————————-
[O] American Pop (1981)
[O] The Animatrix (2003)
[O] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996).
[O] Cool World (1992)
[O] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[O] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005)
[O] Fire & Ice (1983)
[O] Fritz the Cat (1972). I have seen segments.
[O] Halo Legends (2009)
[O] Heavy Metal (1981)
[O] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[O] Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)
[O] Lady Death (2004)
[O] A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[O] Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
[O] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[O] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[O] Waking Life (2001). I remember seeing this in preview and deciding I didn’t want to see it.

OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES
——————————-

[O] The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[O] Animal Farm (1954)
[O] Animalympics (1980)
[O] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007)
[O] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
[O] Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
[O] Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
[O] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[O] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[O] Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
[O] Care Bears: The Movie (1985)
[X] Charlotte’s Web (1973). I’ve actually seen the bulk of this at my church recently.
[O] Fern Gully (1992)
[O] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[O] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)
[O] Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
[O] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[O] The Hobbit (1977)
[X] The Iron Giant (1999): One of my favorite films.
[O] Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
[O] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[O] Lord of the Rings (1978)
[O] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[O] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[O] Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1982). I saw parts of this on video, but just wasn’t in the mood.
[O] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[O] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[O] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[O] Ringing Bell (1978)
[O] The Road to El Dorado (2000)
[O] Shinbone Alley (1971)
[O] Space Jam (1996). Yet I had a Space Jam T-shirt.
[O] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
[O] Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
[O] Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
[O] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[O] The Swan Princess (1994)
[O] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[O] Wizards (1977)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Well, of course. This was a remarkable technological feat. And features a character named Roger.
[O] Wonder Woman (2009)
[O] Balto (1995)
[O] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

Sinatra

In honor of what would have been Sinatra’s 95th birthday, I came up with a Top 10.

When I was coming of age, listening to music as a preteen and teenager, it was your basic British invasion and American response, Motown, and the like that I related to. It was NOT those old fogeys such as Dean Martin or Francis Albert Sinatra. In fact, Sinatra had the AUDACITY to actually chart a few times in the 1960s, including a duet with his daughter Nancy called Something Stupid (which I STILL feel is pretty vapid).

But somewhere along the line, I started appreciating his work. First, it was the Capitol albums of the 1950s, and even the Columbia albums of the 1940s, then eventually even the Reprise songs from the 1960s and beyond.

When Albany finally got a decent-sized performance arena in 1991, then called the Knickerbocker Arena (now the Times Union Center), the very first concert was by Sinatra. I didn’t go, but it did cross my mind at the time.

In honor of what would have been his 95th birthday, I came up with a Top 10, but I’ve discovered that he would re-record some songs. He had a hit with That’s Life in 1966, but I owned the song on a 78. And I’m not expert enough with Sinatra to always distinguish them.

10. Young at Heart (1954)
9. Here’s to the Losers – couldn’t find a recording of Frank, but this is a Sinatra Review
8. Learnin’ the Blues
7. I’ve Got the World on a String
6. Hey Jealous Lover
5. Well, Did You Evah. This is a duet with Bing Crosby, from the movie High Society. Very much of its time, to be sure.
4. Night and Day. I like this 1961 Reprise version much better than the more poppy 1957 Capitol version.
3. Chicago
2. Witchcraft
1. That’s Life

Wild Thing by Jimi Hendrix, a live version featuring Strangers in the Night in the solo section.

Happy birthday, GC, who hated Sinatra.