Her glance left me and sought the lighted top of the steps where "Three O'Clock in the Morning," a neat, sad little waltz of the year, was drifting out of the open door. After all, in the very casualness of Gatsby’s party there were romantic possibilities totally absent from her world. What was it up there in the song that seemed to be calling her back inside? What would happen now in the dim incalculable hours? Perhaps some unbelievable guest would arrive, a person infinitely rare and to be marveled at, some authentically radiant young girl who with one fresh glance at Gatsby, one moment of magical encounter, would blot out those five years of devotion. (p. 115)
I blogged about this a couple of years ago, but as I was on my run tonight (four miles), my iPod shuffled to the mp3 I made from my scratchy vinyl copy of the Flamingo Kid soundtrack, and I knew what my latest post should be. Most of my music-related posts are born in just this way. "Stranger on the Shore" is a song worthy of being featured here at my little endeavor again. And I'll probably get just as much of a response as I did last time -- NONE! Ha, ha! Has there ever been a recording so haunting, beautiful and achingly sad?? I don't think so. And being a Frank Sinatra nut, brother/sister, I've listened to a lot of haunting, beautiful and achingly sad stuff....
This is the best version I could find of the original 1962 recording by Mr. Acker Bilk:
"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people entitled "Stranger on the Shore." The track, performed by Bilk (as "Mr. Acker Bilk") with backing by the Leon Young String Chorale, was released as a single on Columbia Records in October 1961, with the label of the single openly proclaiming "Theme from the BBC TV Series." The B-side was "Take My Lips". The single became a phenomenal success, topping the NME singles chart and spending nearly a year on the Record Retailer Top 50. It is the UK's biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, and appears fifty-eighth in the official UK list of best-selling singles issued in 2002.
On May 26, 1962, "Stranger on the Shore" became the first British recording to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, but it was quickly followed, on December 22, by The Tornados' "Telstar", another instrumental. After "Telstar", the first British performers topping the U.S. charts were The Beatles, with their first Capitol Records single "I Want to Hold Your Hand". "Stranger on the Shore" was Billboard's Number one single of 1962.
I guess that means Acker, sorry, Mr. Acker Bilk kicked off the British Invasion of the 1960s!
I wasn't aware there were lyrics, but I've always felt there just had to be. Sho' 'nuff, there are. By Robert Mellin:
Here I stand, watching the tide go out So all alone and blue Just dreaming dreams of you
I watched your ship as it sailed out to sea Taking all my dreams And taking all of me
The sighing of the waves The wailing of the wind The tears in my eyes burn Pleading, "My love, return"
Why, oh, why must I go on like this? Shall I just be a lonely stranger on the shore?
The sighing of the waves The wailing of the wind The tears in my eyes burn Pleading, "My love, return"
Why, oh, why must I go on like this? Shall I just be a lonely stranger on the shore?
Andy Williams recorded a version with the lyrics, which was released two months after Bilk's. Here is a version Patti Page did, which for some reason someone has dubbed in this scene from Das Boot:
Jezebel has an amusing and entertaining look at the spring, 1972 Sears catalog's children's clothing section. This reminded me of how every winter during the 1970s, I anticipated, and then consumed (at least the toy section) the annual Sears Wish Books. I look at examples of them now, and the amount and clarity of sensory memories I receive is almost too much to bear. As I scrolled down the Jezebel post, I saw just this, and thought it seemed vaguely familiar:
An odd sense of déjà vu continued, and then, this:
My parents got my sister and me sets like the red one with chaps, for what must have been the Christmas of 1972. I had a green version, and she had the red one. They came with a hat, frilly, plastic-like gloves, chaps, pants, a belt, a bandanna, and a matching checkered shirt. I remember going to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo the following February (probably in the Astrodome) with my parents, and my sister and I wore them (of course!). My little sister got kicked by a calf, behind which she had unfortunately stood, so her memories of that day may not be all that good. For whatever reason, my parents held on to those little Sears cowboy outfits, and a couple of years ago, they had them framed. Here's what was left of my sister's (the picture I took of mine was blurry, so I deleted it):
I'm sort of fascinated by these incidents of POTUS (any POTUS, by the way) attempting to maintain some degree of a "normal" life. This time found President Obama and Vice President Biden (VPOTUS?) having their weekly lunch together at an Arlington "hole-in-the-wall" burger spot called Ray's Hell Burger (link goes to Ray's the Steaks).
The President's favorite news network has to fill that 24-hour-a-day news cycle with something, especially now that the Swine Flu panic they created has begun to wane!
This reminded me of a previous president, and his love of such fare:
While not obsessing over Diedrich Rulfs this past week, I have been rewatching (for possibly the tenth time, at least) the original (my beloved!) epidsodes of Star Trek in the order they were originally aired. Just finished "Mudd's Women" tonight, and I couldn't help but notice a very 20th century stain on the floor of the Enterprise bridge this time, but that's beside the point. The next next generation (or is it next next next generation?) of Star Trek, of course, premieres next Friday. Cracked did a funny post about it a while back called "Star Trek Prequel Spoilers: 8 Piping Hot, Barely Legal Pics." Here's just a taste:
"When we look at the two right beside each other, the relief is a little starker. Although the two have similar features, Shatner looks like a goddamned animal. Even understanding the difference between photographs and the real world, I look at that and am at least a little concerned Kirk will leap out of the screen and have sex with me. If he had made eye contact with the camera when this was taken we would all be pregnant by now."
That hilariously sums up my trepidation about this "re-imagining," but I'm still hopeful though!
Say what you will about the Russians, they appreciate and recognize good music when they hear it. Back in January, the Grand Flute Ensemble performed "The Pink Panther Suite," with the third part featuring one of my favorite tunes from the The Pink Panther (1963) soundtrack, "Royal Blue."
While their version is true to the original melody, albeit slower, I sure miss the barroom piano and muted trumpet of the original, Mancini version.
I thought this sounded so epic, classic, and cinematic "back in the day." It still sounds classic. I didn't get to see them on the Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree tours, but I did see them when they swung through Houston during the Unforgettable Fire tour. They were awesome - I did a review of it for my high school newspaper. And I think this was the coolest hairstyle Bono has had. What is that? A mullet? Anyway, a high school classmate recently told me she is reminded of me when she hears this now, which is extremely touching, so here...."Ice - you're only rivers run cold...":
