"The Devil's Gallop"

I received Philip Norman's John Lennon: The Life as a Christmas gift, and despite having read a couple of other Lennon biographies (as well as numerous books on the Beatles, including Norman's own Shout: The Beatles in Their Generation), I am enjoying it thus far. And I'm learning new things about a topic I thought I'd already exhausted. Chapter three includes the following passage:

From John's earliest childhood, his response to music was instant and visceral. In 1946, just before his sixth birthday, the BBC Light Programme started the nightly fifteen-minute adventures of Dick Barton, Special Agent, and Austerity forerunner to James Bond, introduced by a melodramatic theme tune called "The Devil's Gallop." Mimi recalled how deathly white John's face always went each evening at 6:45 as its frantic strains echoed through the house. (Norman, p. 42)

John posing outside 251 Menlove Avenue (Mendips)
So, here is an early musical imprint (as played by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain) on John Winston Lennon (and therefore, the world):


John and Mimi

Somethin' awkward

I'm one of those persons who loves the duet between Frank Sinatra and Nancy on "Somethin' Stupid." It's such a charming recording/performance that I can easily overlook the questionable rationale of having a father and daughter sing lyrics such as "The time is right your perfume fills my head, the stars get red" to each other. But to have her bro, Frank Sinatra, Jr., sing it with Nancy just seems awkward, to say the least. And this version is really sped up, thus ruining the relaxed charm of the original. The Smothers Brothers are as funny as usual:


It's nice how the harp part is so audible - I love that little riff

I think the basic "problem" with Frank Sinatra, Jr. is that the sense of entitlement (due to being one of Frank Sinatra's kids) he has doesn't work for him like it does for Nancy. Nancy is Sinatra's little girl, and there was the song about her and everything, so she was able to carve out a little niche for herself in pop culture, as well as in the entertainment industry. He, on the other hand, was unfortunately destined to forever be but a shadow of his legendary father. That's life.

Incidentally, "Somethin' Stupid" was written by C. Carson Parks, brother of frequent Brian Wilson collaborator, Van Dyke Parks, in 1967. C. Carson Parks recorded a version of the song with his wife as a duo called "Carson and Gaile" that same year.

Rose City Furniture Co.

Neon sign in Tyler (Texas)

"Knives Out"

From Wikipedia:

"Knives Out" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead. The composition features electric and acoustic guitars, complemented by singer Thom Yorke's vocals. It appears on Radiohead's 2001 album Amnesiac, recorded during the same sessions as the previous album Kid A. It was also released as the second Amnesiac single, receiving more radio airplay than the band's other songs of the period. The song reached #13 on the UK singles chart.

The song was developed during the 18-month Kid A and Amnesiac sessions, and it is legendary for having taken 373 days to record. According to Yorke, "We just lost our nerve. It was so straight-ahead. We thought, 'We've gotta put that in the bin, it's too straight.' We couldn't possibly do anything that straight until we'd gone and been completely arse about face with everything else, in order to feel good about doing something straight like that. It took 373 days to be arse-about-face enough to realise it was alright the way it was."

I just love the delicious melancholia (as with so many of Radiohead's songs) of this:

"I've got chunks of guys like you in my stool!"

This is a repost from October 2006, justified by finding the video at the excellent Hulu. The downside is a brief ad at the beginning.....

Here is the late, great Phil Hartman doing what was probably a fairly accurate Sinatra imitation in a McLaughlin Group parody called "The Sinatra Group," from the 1990-91 season (the best cast in my opinion) of Saturday Night Live.

"Sugar Shack"

Jimmy Gilmer (on left) and the Fireballs (source)
From Wikipedia:

"Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack and his aunt, Fay Voss. The song was recorded in 1963 by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. "Sugar Shack" hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 (where it spent five weeks from October 12 to November 9, 1963) and on the Cashbox charts (where it spent three weeks from October 19 to November 2, 1963[1]). On November 29, 1963 the song received RIAA certification for selling over a million copies, earning gold record status, and was the number one single of the year according to Billboard. "Sugar Shack" also hit the UK at #45 on the Record Retailer chart.



What an odd song! I find the overall delivery is a little bit creepy. It also raises the question about whether a sugar shack would have sugar walls or not. I'm guessing it has them.

Pig Stand Coffee Shop #41

I just made a return trip to Beaumont recently and took some pics (among many) of the circa 1943 Pig Stand. Last time I was in Beaumont a couple of years ago, it was an overcast day, so it was nice to take some of this with the sun shining:




Originating in San Antonio, these popular coffee shops were drive-ins in their heyday in the 1920s. The chicken-fried steak was the best choice on the menu.