Musical Interlude

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From the days of unforgettable television-show themes, enjoy "Park Avenue Beat," the Theme to Perry Mason (1957-1966), composed by the prolific radio, television, and film composer Fred Steiner (1923-2011): 

About the above piece:

The [Perry Mason] theme music is one of the most recognizable in television. Composer Fred Steiner set out to write a theme that would project the two primary aspects of Mason's character—sophistication and toughness. "The piece he came up with, titled "Park Avenue Beat," pulsed with the power of the big city and the swagger of a beefy hero played to perfection by actor Raymond Burr," wrote the Los Angeles Times. Described by Steiner as "a piece of symphonic rhythm and blues," the Perry Mason theme heard at the opening and end credits became the composer's best-known work.

Musical Interlude

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Hard to believe that this film debuted over 47 years ago (June 20, 1975), and I still don't like to swim in the ocean:

The genius of film composer John Williams! 

As one commenter opined at YouTube:

Miss Agent E 

1 year ago

John Williams took just two notes and made generations of people terrified of the ocean.

Musical Interlude

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Two tunes composed by the incomparable Henry Mancini (1924-1994):

Poetry Interlude

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As a result of seeing I saw this particular 1981 episode of The Tonight Show live, I had Mr. AOW get a signed copy of Jimmy Stewart and His Poems on September 19, 1989, while I was at work (no personal leave at the private school where I was working):

 

Recently, I reread the little volume Jimmy Stewart and His Poems by Jimmy Stewart—as good now as when I first got the book.  

As of September 3, 2020, after decades of having only cats as household pets, I have a dog named Callie, pictured left.  To my chagrin, she is as disobedient as Jimmy Stewart's Beau.  But she's a pretty face—and a crazy clown!

Musical Interlude

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I've been in a retro mood lately. Below is a retro offering for those of us of a certain age. Enjoy this blast from the past (hat tip to FJ, who left the link in the comments section here at Always On Watch): 

[About The Mickey Mouse Club]

Musical Interlude

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You know the music of James Horner even if you don't recognize his name:

 

Please take a few moments to see the list of music scores by James Horner (1953-2015).

Halloween With The Addams Family

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From back in the day (1964-1966), and based on The Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams back in 1938:

On the serious side, below is a video of John Astin many years later (2004), when he presented "The Raven" in the one-man Poe show, Once Upon A Midnight. I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing John Astin in person as he transformed himself into Edgar Allan Poe.

Musical Interlude — And Personal Announcement At The End Of This Blog Post

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While looking for this, the theme song for the 1970 television drama Matt Lincoln starring Vince Edwards, I stumbled across this beautiful 2014 song written and performed by Linda Perhacs (b. 1943) : 

Lyrics for the above song are HERE.

 

Personal announcement: 

Warren arrives here on Wednesday, and I relocate to Indiana in September, so I will not be blogging at all for a while.  

Thank you, Silverfidde, for keeping this blog going while I'm all-consumed with a long distance move and wedding planning!

Wedding on August 28 here in Northern Virginia.

The Beak will be Warren's best man.  After all, The Beak is the one who introduced Warren and me at "the electronic bar."

Musical Interlude

Enjoy this palate cleanser: CONCERTO op. 99 (complete) by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968): Flavio Sala, guitar:

 

About composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco:

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of the most promising Italian composers of his generation. A talented musician, he befriended other large musical figures like Ildebrando Pizzetti and Alfredo Casella, who became one of his closest friends; at least until the enforcement of anti-Jewish laws in Fascist Italy, which forced Castelnuovo to flee to the USA, where he worked as a film composer and teacher, instructing no less than film music superstars Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams.

Castelnuovo-Tedesdo also mentored George Duning, a film and television music composer of some note. For example, George Duning was the composer of the theme music for the 1955 film Picnic and the theme song for the television series The Big Valley.

Out In The Open

(hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance)

How many of these people in the video below can you identify?

 

Is it any wonder that the streets of America are spinning out of control?

Weekend Video: 60 Images You Must See...

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One of my Facebook finds and worth your time:

Another retro video below the fold.

Musical Interlude

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Two examples of the wonderful music of film composer Elmer Bernstein:

Of note: Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) studied under Aaron Copland, the influence of whom can be heard in the above two selections.

Recommended Reading: Changing Taboos

See Old favorites, outdated attitudes: Can entertainment expire? at the Associated Press on December 28, 2018.

The first three paragraphs:

NEW YORK (AP) — The 1940 movie “The Philadelphia Story” opens with a case of domestic assault played for laughs — Cary Grant shoving Katharine Hepburn to the ground by her face while a jaunty musical score plays.

Eight decades later, the movie is clearly two things: uneasy fare for a post-#metoo culture — and an enduring American classic. And it’s far from the only example of such things.

They exist throughout society’s pop-culture canon, from movies to TV to music and beyond: pieces of work that have withstood time’s passage but that contain actions, words and depictions about race, gender and sexual orientation that we now find questionable at best....

Read the rest HERE. Do read the rest before commenting.

Video: Mark Levin Interviews Jon Voight

A bit long, but worth your time (hat tip to Joseph Brandon of Joetote's Blog):



Proving that not all of Hollywood is Hollyweird!

YouTube blurb for the above video:

Now For Something Completely Different

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No explanation needed...

And, now, back to my circa 1935"quonset hut"! Well, at least it's cozy!

We Remember Them

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How many do you recognize? Were any of these among your favorite performers? Do we have their like today?

Our Changing Society

Thanks to the Duke of Pedalonia, who left this comment at this blog post by FreeThinke — and thereby called to the attention of readers at that thread just how drastically our pop culture has changed and is still changing.

Read the Real Clear Life essay to which the Duke of Pedalonia linked: Should Classic Films Be Judged By Today’s Cultural Standards? We can no longer "thank heaven" for little girls. Excerpt:

...Let’s put aside the fact that in an era when women don’t cotton to the term girls, we really are discussing female juveniles: our daughters, or perhaps our past selves. In fact, as we watch Chevalier stroll through the sumptuous sets of the Bois de Boulogne, the Alan Jay Lerner lyrics are even worse than I remember: “Each time I see a little girl; Of five or six or seven; I can’t resist a joyous urge; To smile and say; Thank heaven for little girls.” Just wow – and how can this guy sing and smile at the same time? Pedophilia has never looked, well, so gleefully appealing.

Because let’s face it, the musical, based on the Colette novella, centers on the unsettling practice of grooming....

Read the rest HERE.

Before commenting, please pause for a moment to consider this about the film Gigi:

A 1958 musical film version, starring Leslie Caron in the title role, with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner and a score by Lerner and Frederick Loewe won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Read many more details about the film HERE.

Consider again the essay to which the Duke of Pedalonia linked at FreeThinke's blog....

Should classic cinema productions of yesteryear be judged by today's "more modern and more enlightened standards" and, therefore, become films, parsed to that point that these films can no longer be enjoyed?

Additional reading: Is Song of the South too racist to screen?

Also see: Song of the South and NAACP: Is 'Song of the South' unavailable on video in America because of NAACP threats? at Snopes.

Note: Song of the South received numerous accolades — including two Oscars, one of which was for the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."

A Tale Of Two Tweets — And Discussion Of The Senate's 2017 Bill For Healthcare Reform

#Trumpcare is an incredibly mean and thoroughly heartless piece of legislation.

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) June 22, 2017

So is this a healthcare proposal you actually READ? https://t.co/KaYE93Lvpd

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) June 22, 2017

And what of the most recent healthcare bill, which some have called ObamaCare Lite? According to the Conservative Tribune:

...Both the House and Senate versions of health care reform would get rid of the individual mandate, phase out Medicaid expansion, eliminate Obamacare’s onerous taxes on the wealthy and defund Planned Parenthood for at least one year.

The bills differ in regard to subsidies for purchasing insurance, as well as the rate at which Medicaid expansion would be stopped. The Senate has proposed a more gradual path than the House put forward....

Business Insider offers this detailed rundown of the Senate version, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (as well as the full version of the bill):

Ah! The Irony!

One of my recent Facebook finds:

From The Patriot Post (click image to enlarge it:

Hollyweird is becoming more irrelevant by the day. But the Hollyweirdos don't see that reality.

Stats For Trump (With Addendum)

With a hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

A difference of more than ten million viewers between Trump's speech of February 28, 2017, and the Academy Awards of February 26, 2017.

ADDENDUM

Shamelessly taken from When #THELEFT RESISTS, who are they resisting? Who are they trying to overthrow? by Epaminondas of Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

They are BOLSHEVIK.

We Voted.

When the #THELEFT calls for obstruction of justice special prosecutors what are they trying to stop?

   

Make no mistake.

They believe THEY MUST RULE.

REMEMBER what happened at the end of the civil violence..~81BC

Today the YMCA banned 24 hour cable news from it’s workout rooms. It is easy to understand why.

Once the first incident throwing away the American way of political change occurs as a result of this attempt to OVERTHROW the result of a free election, all will be compelled to choose sides. And then all that will count is WINNING.

Convincing will be a forgotten thing, an idea held by unicorns.

Schumer, Perez, Schiff, Pelosi … these people are monumental fools. There is ALWAYS another election to make your case, but this effort will establish precedent.

AND JOHN LEWIS I CALL YOU OUT FOR YOUR PART.

History will be vengeful and cruel.