Sunday, July 31, 2011

'Summer Rain' Lyrics Always Bugged Me

The Johnny Rivers' song, 'Summer Rain' contains a line that always bugs me when I hear it. The line is:
'And the jukebox kept on playin' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band'.

Here's the deal. Sgt. Pepper didn't have any singles, and jukeboxes only played singles. So the lyric doesn't make any sense.

There is another verse where he sings: 'Everybody kept on playin' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band'. Okay. That makes sense. But no jukebox, in 1967, played Sgt. Pepper.

Glad I finally got that off my chest after 40 years.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Why I Quit Watching 'Reality' Shows

The last straw was when I watched an episode of 'Hardcore Pawn'. The woman who was 'fighting' with the store owner was dragged out of the place, and you could see her wireless mic stuffed in her pants.

These shows are all fake. Including the paranormal and celebrity ones. There are exceptions, of course, like 'Cops' which is pretty real. But for the most part, all of the 'drama' in shows like 'Ax Men' or 'Ghost Hunters' and 'Pawn Stars' is fake.

I don't have any problems with the 'Competition/Game' shows, like 'Survivor' or 'American Idol'. I actually think 'Survivor' is a great show. And the fact that a lot of the contestants are would-be actors and models doesn't bother me. That's been going on forever. Contestants on the old 'Dating Game' were wanna-be actors, some of whom are now household names.

But regarding the 'job' or 'celebrity' shows, I'd much rather watch something like 'An American Family' or 'Cops', which can have dull or boring moments, but are at least 'real'.

And if I see one more promo of some overweight macho man, giving a tough guy look into the camera and crossing their arms, I might throw something at my TV.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Beatles vs. The Beach Boys

Back in 'the day', I wasn't too keen on The Beach Boys. Compared to The Beatles, they seemed dorky. I didn't hate them. But I didn't buy their records. Even 'Good Vibrations'.

Then, over the years, I would hear the famous story of how 'Rubber Soul begot Pet Sounds begot Sgt. Pepper'. And Paul McCartney would always mention Pet Sounds as being a great album and 'God Only Knows' was 'the greatest love song ever'.

And I once read, I don't remember where, that The Beatles thought of The Beach Boys as 'peers' because they existed before them. Whereas they considered The Rolling Stones and The Who and the other British Invasion groups as riding their coattails.

I eventually got Pet Sounds and started to listen to friends about how great the Beach Boys were. I got converted and became fascinated with their music and their story. There is a aura of mystery about them. The whole Brian Wilson thing and how he wrote and produced but stayed behind the scenes. It's as if John Lennon stopped appearing with The Beatles, but still wrote songs and sang on their records.

Their use of studio musicians is odd. Bass players, drummers...positions that bands don't normally fill with other players. And unlike The Beatles, where I can always tell who's singing, I still have a hard time differentiating who sings what. I can recognize Mike Love, but that's about it.

I'm currently really digging some of their later albums. Friends, 20/20, Sunflower...and what is perhaps one of the strangest, 'love it or hate it' albums ever, The Beach Boys Love You.

I only really 'discovered' The Beach Boys about 20 some years ago. And I'm so glad I did. The amount of material and the crazy soap opera story of the band is endless fun fun fun.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Bad TV Shows that 'Look' Good

Two shows that 'look' great but are essentially unwatchable are two oldies, 'Daniel Boone' and 'Lost in Space'.
Interestingly, both shows started off in black and white and were actually better before they went to color. Better stories. More action, more adult. However, they look so great in color, I'm always tempted to watch them when they pop up on TV ('Daniel Boone' is currently on Retro TV, but I haven't seen 'Lost in Space' anywhere for a few years).
The color, the lighting, the costumes and sets on both of those shows are SUPER. But the stories? Ugh. The acting is also weak with a few exceptions. Billy Mumy and Jonathan Harris are good in 'Space', and I always dug Patricia Blair on 'Daniel Boone'. She's not only great looking, but a decent actress. But she's hardly in the show.
A friend suggested 'Gilligan's Island' as another candidate, but I think 'Gilligan' is actually a good show. So there.