Okay, I Definitely Want the Motion Picture Soundtracks for THESE Two Sci-Fi Classics!!!

[It being the dawning of a long Holiday Weekend -- at an especially depressing time in our current American history -- I've decided to have a little fun for the next couple of days. Weightier, more serious postings, resume a week from today, when the party's over, as it were. Thanks!!! -- S.S.]

For Those About to Spock!©

And I would have paid good money to see both of the above in a theater. 😎

Monday's Cartoon Chuckle

Okay, the above is a real generation gap divide thing. I mean, what Gen Z'er remembers Redd Foxx, let alone the entire genre of party LPs? 😎

Coming tomorrow -- a tribute to the great Rusty Warren (I keed, I keed!!!) 😎😎

It's Beach Boys Week: Part the Infinity

So one of our attentive readers recently reminded me about the existence of this Beach Boys think piece I did in the Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review back in May 1977(!). I had completely forgotten about it, but upon re-reading, I've decided a) it's one of the goddamn best things I ever wrote; b) it's gotta go into that long-threatened greatest hits book I've been bending your ear about for the last few years and c) I'm too lazy to transcribe it myself this right this minute, so I'm just gonna post the pdf version and if you click on it to enlarge you'll be able to read it with ease.

See, I told you guys I'd get something up this weekend.

Anyways, enjoy.

Oh, and like I said -- if you click on the images you should be able to read the thing.

Closed for (Weekend) Monkey Business

Kids, I am most sincerely sorry but -- forgetting the crazy shit that's been going on in the regular world (the NYC mayoral primary alone exhausted me) but it's been a very stressful week for me medically (I came out fine, I'm happy to say, but let's just say it was problematic for a while).

Anyway, I just didn't have the energy to come up with the traditional Weekend Listomania or Essay Question, and I hope you'll forgive me.

Tell you what, though -- if an idea for some kind of posting hits me overnight, I'll do the unusual and put up something Saturday or Sunday. No promises, but I'll try. 😎

How Come These People Never Got the Memo?

I mean it -- how come?

In all seriousness, the video above is part of what is now a mini-genre of sorts, one in which supposedly sophisticated Gen Z musical types on YouTube get exposed to classic rock for the first time and they dig it.

In this case, the guy in question (who apparently is a producer of some repute) is given a very intelligently chosen playlist of the Top 5 songs by The Who -- none of which he claims to have ever heard before (yeah, I know, I know) -- and he has his tiny mind appropriately blown.

For us adults watching it, the most fun is when he gets to the iconic scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again" and completely and wonderfully loses it.

That said, and all Boomer snark aside, I still find it difficult to believe these influencers and music professionals have never previously been exposed to the songs in question. I mean, it's not like the Who haven't been played endlessly in movies and TV cop shows and in commercials and on oldies radio. Is it really because kids(?) today get all their music from streaming services or some such shit?

Honestly -- I don't get it.

Wednesday's Cartoon Chuckle(s)

Hey -- like I promised, at least it's got nothing to do with the Beach Boys. Also, I'm particularly fond of the Nancy cartoon; I mean, who amongst us hasn't danced to a steam drill on at least one occasion? 😎

Regular music posting, more relevant to the theme of this here blog, resumes on the morrow.

It's Beach Boys Week: Part V -- Okay, Okay, I Promise to Lay Off the Beach Boys Shit For the Forseeable Future, But You Gotta Hear This One So Indulge Me!

Alrighty then -- please behold in breathless wonder as some kid named Kent Nishimura does a solo acoustic version of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."

My god, that's gorgeous. And unlike classical guy Göran Söllscher, whose cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" I posted yesterday, the kid's doing it all on a conventional six-string guitar.

Damn, but I hate talented people. That said, you can find out more about the kid at his website over here.

And okay -- I promise we return to music NOT written by people from Hawthorne, California on the morrow, and for at least the next week and a half after that. 😎

[h/t Jai Guru Dave]

Like, Long Hair*

Okay, in case you hadn't heard, The Beatles are now officially classical music.

The guy playing that utterly amazing version of "Eleanor Rigby" on the 11-string(!) acoustic guitar is a Swedish virtuoso named Göran Söllscher; I had never heard of him (or heard him either) until last Saturday, when the above got played on the morning show on New York's classical station WQXR, and it blew my tiny mind. He's apparently something of a Bach specialist, and a very big deal in classical circles; he records for Deutsche Grammaphon and Wiki informs me that he's sold over a million records to date. Which kinda rocks.

In any event, the above is just spectacularly beautiful, and wait till you hear the Youtube version of him doing the Beatles' "In My Life." (Go find it yourself -- what, I have to do everything for you guys?) 😎

In all seriousness, though, I gotta say -- never in my most drug addled '60s moments under the headphones listening to the likes of Revolver on my dorm room stereo did I forsee that the pop music I loved would someday go totally highbrow.

____________________________________

*Today's title is a reference to the debut single by Paul Revere and the Raiders, who, of course, were often noted for their classical influences and refined demeanor. 😎😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "Pardon Me, But Have We Been Introduced?" Edition

Well, it's been an, er, interesting couple of days, both in geo-political and musical news -- this just in: Lou Christie has passed at the age of 82 (and no, he was NOT struck by lightning) -- and I'm frankly exhausted. I mean, Trump's bullshit performance/rant at the White House flagpole installation alone would have worn me out.

That being the case, and given that you're probably burnt out as well, I thought I would post the most non-threatening question I could come up with.

Which leads us, inexorably, to today's business. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis solo pop star or band member (in any genre) you would most like to meet or have met one-on-one is...???

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, thank me very much. Just somebody, past or present, you think you would have enjoyed hanging out with for a little while.

My nominee? I think you'll be surprised to learn it's Dusty. Or Miss Springfield if I'm nasty.

Why? For two reasons. 1) I would have loved to hear that sexy/velvety singing voice just talking to me. And 2) By all accounts, she was what we used to call "a great broad." 😎

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

[h/t ChrisE]

It's Beach Boys Week: Part IV -- Doug Kolk Explains It All to You

That's Doug Kolk, as in the KTLA (a CW network station) entertainment correspondent, from last weekend.

On why Brian Wilson was not just the usual pop music bozo poseur, i.e., of the kind that dominates today's Hit Parade of Hell.😎

Seriously -- you don't normally expect (or get) that level of intelligent music criticism from a local TV news guy. Kudos and bravo, my friend.