The Beatles

I need to get the readership of my blog up for the last day of March, so here goes about The Beatles, my fave group of all time. Next Tuesday, April 4, Capitol will be releasing the second set of Beatles albums onto CD for the first time in the US configurations. This will represent the four LPs that were originally released during 1965: "The Early Beatles", "Help! Original Soundtrack", "Beatles VI" and "Rubber Soul".

The highlight of this set is definitely the US "Rubber Soul", which actually has a more folksy feel than the UK counterpart. Incredibly, I find it more preferable to the UK one as I find songs like "Drive My Car" kind of out of place in comparison to other material on the US version.

Don't get me wrong, I love "Drive My Car", but since I first heard it on the "Yesterday and Today" compilation in the 70s, I have always thought of it as a 1966 tune, more appropriate for "Revolver" than a 1965 tune on "Rubber Soul". Time has allowed me to get used to the UK version of "Rubber Soul" (We've only had 19 years to listen to this version in the US.), but the US version is one of the best "compilations" of mid-60s Beatles music ever to come out if you don't want to consider it The Beatles actual vision.

As far as the other discs go, they are actually very weak in comparison to other earlier and later material, and with good reason. With constant touring, The Beatles well had basically dried up for a time. So all of the material from the UK "Beatles For Sale" and US "Beatles '65" and "Beatles VI" LPs are slightly more weak. That's just being nitpicky as they always seemed to put out great stuff.

People quibble about the US version of "Help!". I may be in the minority, but I enjoy those Ken Thorne instrumentals. I hope that Capitol sees fit to release the United Artist "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack with its instrumentals intact as well. It makes it seem like a movie soundtrack than just a collection of songs like the UK "Help!" is.

I definitely prefer the UK "Please Please Me" to the US "The Early Beatles", but what can you do? Capitol got the rights back to the early songs and duly released a belated collection that everyone had purchased a zillion times over on Vee-Jay, so I am glad it is here for that reason alone.

Another MUST BUY!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

New Wave Music

I miss New Wave music. I also wish that certain New Wave artists were easier to find their music without doing illegal downloads (hint, hint, record companies!). The Holy Grail for me now is trying to find a copy of "Love's Taboo" by Cube. It is findable on vinyl, but I want it on CD! Another toughie that I do have is "The Magician" by Secession, but the original album that the song came from is virtually non-existent!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

The Colossal Show

Whoops! Almost didn't do a blog today. Oh well. As you may or may not know, I am writing an article on Total Television Productions (TTV), the makers of "Underdog" and "Tennessee Tuxedo". One item that has virtually no information about it was issued in 1969 by Gold Key Comics called "The Colossal Show". Was there any animation or other production done on this besides this comic book. It is copywrited to Total Television Productions.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Cracked Magazine

"Cracked" magazine supposedly is going to be making a comeback in a magazine more reminiscent of the old "National Lampoon". This may actually be a good thing as "Cracked", even at its peak was never quite as good as "Mad". For those unfamiliar with "Cracked" (they haven't published since 2004) or have forgotten, here is an excellent website that features all of the covers: http://www.millkern.com/deverett/cracked/

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Total Television Productions: Underdog, King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo

I want to do a history of Total Television Productions. You know: Underdog, King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo. So, if anyone reading this has any input, please let me know. I have my sources, but I am hoping I can come up with something new from someone just reading this, so anything or any leads would be helpful...

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Protecto the Little Robot Story Arc Ends!

A quick plug to let you know that the first story of "Protecto, the Little Robot" will conclude this Sunday. After that, a new tale will begin. So for those who have seen the cartoon and have been completely confused, now you can read the epic-length adventure in its entirety at http://www.protecto.blogspot.com

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Allan Sherman Box Set

Ok, back to more serious stuff. After two days of war comments, I want to give you an update on the Allan Sherman box set called "My Son, the Box". In a previous blog, I was happy that Warner Bros. finally saw fit to release the entire back catalog of Allan Sherman's material onto CD. Unfortunately, Rhino Handmade was the releasing label who gave it a limited release of 4000 copies and charged $120 for the 6-CD set. I saw the set at Tower Records retailing for $132!!

Well, after a bit of patience, I was able to secure a new copy of the set from Amazon for just under $100, thanks to my tax refund. Though still pricey, after I played the opening bars of "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" in its CRYSTAL CLARITY, I got goosebumps. So after all of my bitching and moaning, I have to say that the set is definitely worth the investment.

Too bad that they didn't include the "Peter and the Kommissar", but at least that's available elsewhere. Same with the songs Sherman sang when he voiced the Cat in the Hat for the animated special in the early 70s. And the rumored golf jokes album is nowhere to be seen, and methinks he never actually recorded any of the material before his untimely death in 1973.

The box does reveal that there were a few unreleased tracks that still remain that way due to publishing rights, but there's so much rare and unreleased anyway (and again that CRYSTAL CLARITY) makes up for it.

Happy, happy, happy!!! Now, if they could give the same box set treatment for Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, The Smothers Brothers, and Jonathan Winters (utilizing rare and unreleased stuff as well as completing the unreleased back catalog), then Rhino Handmade will become my label of choice!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

More on the War

I know my blog is generally lighthearted, but I am so sick of Bush going on TV seemingly everyday and saying what we're doing in Iraq is a good thing. For those reading this that side with Bush, can you honestly say that we are in any great danger from any of these countries. We are the biggest superpower in the world despite being monetarily "owned" by every other country. What I mean is, if ANY country gets uppity, we could easily bomb them out of existence, so if any Red states feel insecure, feel secure in the fact that we could bomb the world many times over if anyone tries any 9-11 crap again. We should bring the military home and put them to work building our economy.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Why Are We at War?

Why are we still at War? I mean, the way we handled it in Iraq, we could just come home now and say "Victory! We Won! No More Terrorism!!" Would it really matter? If Iraq is on the verge of a Civil War (or already in one, in my opinion), wouldn't it be better to withdraw now and let them have at it and just say act stupid and say, "We didn't know that they would have a Civil War if we withdrew? Oh well, silly us!" And then we'd look good.

As it is, we're just going to get further and further involved in this "Vietnam/Korean" type conflict for no good reason. Besides, we can always go back. If Congress had any backbone, they wouldn't keep shoveling non-existent money towards this mess. If we're doing it all for 9-11, then that's really stupid at this point. We've killed far more people than died in that unfortunate occurance so vengeance has been accounted for, no matter how misdirected.

Come on 2009...AND ANYONE READING THIS, DO ME A FAVOR, DON'T VOTE FOR ANYONE RELATED TO OR SIDING WITH BUSH ANYMORE!!! Anyone who voted for Bush should be sent to Iraq NOW!!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Scientology and South Park

To everyone who is upset with "South Park" making fun of Scientology: Get a sense of humor or don't watch the show.

To everyone else: "South Park" isn't that good anymore anyway, so does it really matter?

To Isaac Hayes, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, etc.: You guys should get a sense of humor, too, especially since you're following a "religion" based on the writings of a science fiction author.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales DVD Review

"Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales" arguably was one of the best series to come out of Total Television (now owned by Classic Media who also owns the rights to Casper, hence the promo), next to "The Underdog Show". Unfortunately, Classic's treatment of the TTV material pales in comparison to their treatment of the Jay Ward material (which they also now own). They should offer complete seasons instead of "best of's" as there were 70 "Tennessee Tuxedo" episodes" in total. Also, the theme song has been changed to a 'demo' version instead of the actual one sung by Don Adams and Bradley Bolke (Tennessee and Chumley, respectively). The prints are good, and the cartoons are still entertaining, despite my misgivings on the packaging.

FYI, Total Television produced the following series (in no particular order) from 1959-1969:

King Leonardo
The Hunter
Tooter the Turtle
Tennessee Tuxedo
Klondike Kat
Commander McBragg
Underdog
Go-Go Gophers
The Beagles

According to Wikipedia, the rug was pulled from TTV and Gamma Productions (the animation house that also animated much of Jay Ward's stuff) when General Mills (the show's sponsor) pulled out in 1969. The last show to be produced was going to be called "The Colossal Show" which was never completed, although there is a comic book out there. The rights reverted back to the creators who sold it to Lorne Michaels (of "Saturday Night Live") who in turn sold it to Golden Books, and then was acquired by Classic Media, the current owners.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

V for Vendetta Review

Excellent movie!! Well made, well written, well acted, etc, etc. Some humor, some gore, poignant political commentary. I haven't said really positive things about a movie for quite some time. Definitely see in the theater!!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

The Hills Have Eyes Review

The movie was pretty good, pretty scary, but also pretty stupid, too. I always look for how they present gun play in movies and I always hate it when the bad guy holds a gun, tells his life story just long enough to get the gun kicked out of his hand. In this movie, they only had a limited number of bullets and the stars (especially the teenage boy) had a tendency to shoot just random shots at nothing, so then when the monsters came, they had no more bullets. Stupid!!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Mad Magazine

I've got nothing better to write about, so I will write about my love for "Mad". I started reading "Mad" with issue #172 (1/75), and have never stopped. Actually, the first issue I ever remember reading was the "Mad Super Special" #14 from 1974 that had some Don Martin art posters included. I was greatly intrigued and soon I found a publication that really "spoke" to me.

My dad revealed at the time that he read "Mad" when it was a comic book and had every issue. That used to bug me, that he HAD them, and then tossed them out. Of course, I have repurchased virtually every issue since (missing #1, 6 and 8 at time of writing), but I have everything in reprint form if not. I am also missing 68 paperbacks which is pretty good since I didn't really start collecting those until a couple of years ago and there's over 300 paperbacks published.

Anyway, I still read "Mad". It's not as good as it once was (the old saw), but it has outlasted everything including "Cracked" which is something to say!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Random Oscar Comments

John Stewart has horrible timing and was only a passable host.

I am glad "Brokeback Mountain" didn't win because of all the hype.

My predition for Best Picture that wasn't even nominated "Memoirs of a Geisha" actually won 3 Academy Awards, meaning that it won more than any other picture this year, except for "King Kong" which it tied with, another movie that I liked and probably could have been nominated for Best Picture, too.

Too many film clip montages.

Overall, it was kind of boring, except for the Best Picture upset when Nicholson read the winner.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

John Lennon "Walls and Bridges"

A lot of people malign this album of Lennon's, but for me it is my favorite album by him and I finally got the remastered version of it on CD and it sounds fabulous. I don't know why people seem to hate this album. It had TWO top ten hits on it "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" and "#9 Dream" and "What You Got" got a lot of airplay too. There really isn't a bum track on the collection unless you count his quickie knock-off of "Ya Ya" with son Julian on drums, and I even like that because it's charming.

I find his two highest-rated albums "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine" not as good or equal at best in comparison and a bit overrated. "Plastic Ono" is rather harsh despite some good songs, and "Imagine" has the incredibly long "I Don't Want to be a Soldier, Mama" that keeps me from liking that album more.

People seem to like these two albums because Lennon was in a lot of pain while making them. Like he wasn't when he made "Walls and Bridges". He was separated from Yoko, for goodness sake! This made for harsh but lushly performed songs about his relationship with her (save for things like "Steel and Glass" which is about Allen Klein).

If you have never purchased a Lennon album beyond his greatest hits collections, I highly suggest "Walls and Bridges" along with "Plastic Ono" and "Imagine". You could probably pass on "Some Time in New York City", "Mind Games", "Rock and Roll" and "Double Fantasy" for later as I feel they are not up to par, but they all sound great now that they've all been remastered.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Curse of the Werewolf Review

I just watched Hammer Films' "Curse of the Werewolf". Unfortunately, not a very good film as it kind of wanders around with plots until it finally settles down to get to some good "full moon" action. Oliver Reed does a good job with the material, but it is indeed a let down in comparison to other good to excellent Hammer Films like "Horror of Dracula". I guess that's why there weren't a lot of sequels unlike the "Dracula" film.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net