Greatest Song Evah 3/1/24

Tighten Up

Sometimes, simple is perfect. Such is the case with this week’s selection. The track begins with a simple guitar line that runs throughout the song. Archie Bell (from Houston, Texas) informs listeners that he is going to introduce them to a new dance. Every now and then an additional instrument moves more prominently forward into the mix, but that’s basically it. The song works because that groove is so infectious.

For a song that’s ostensibly about a dance, we never actually learn the steps. Even when Bell says to look to your left and to your right, he’s not really telling us what the dance consists of. I guess the best solution is to just get on the dance floor and let the music take over. That’s what makes the hand claps so wonderful. There’s just something about clapping hands in a large group dance; it’s even better than a “1, 2, 3, 4!” count off. And the horn line is a real joy as well.

So, tighten up on that organ. And make it mellow. Late 60’s soul music rarely got better than this.

Ballot Breakdown - Peter Frampton

I could copy and paste some of what I wrote about Foreigner. Peter Frampton is a more defensible choice, but he has the same issue. There are more than enough rock artists from his era already in the Hall, do we really need another?

Frampton emerged towards the end of the 1960s as somewhat of a prodigy. Beginning his career as the leader of The Herd (great band name, BTW) he then helped form Humble Pie at the tender age of 18. In addition to his stint with Humble Pie, he was a much in demand session guitarist. After leaving Humble Pie, he began his solo career to mild success, but he slowly built up an audience through his live shows. That soon led to an explosion in popularity.

The mid-to-late 1970’s was a golden era for the double live album. This was especially the case for artists who had a passionate following. The live album would serve as a gateway to show radio programmers how well they could fire up a crowd. Frampton Comes Alive may have been the most successful album of that type. The songs from that collection were ubiquitous, and Frampton’s talk box guitar became one of the signature sounds of its time. He had serious musical chops, and his good looks and spectacular mane of hair made him into an icon.

The mass appeal turned out to be surprisingly short lived. I’m sure there were a lot of people ready for the backlash. I’m In You, his followup was a big hit, but its overall sales paled in comparison to the live collection, and it felt like a musical step backwards as well. It was a lot of watered down soft rock. It didn’t help that soon afterwards he starred as Billy Shears in the ill-fated Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. That debacle ruined a lot of careers and reputations, perhaps none as much as his.

By the time the 1980’s began, he was done as a commercial force. He regained his artistic mojo; most of his post-stardom albums rocked hard, and I would suspect he felt a lot more creative satisfaction. But radio stations were no longer interested in his new music, pulling Frampton Comes Alive off the shelf was sufficient. He has been a true road warrior; a professional musician filled with the respect of his peers. Whether that adds up to being worthy of the Hall is a different question. For me it’s a no, but I’m likely in the minority there. The voters are only human, it’s understandable that many of them take sympathy into account when filling out their ballots. Frampton has faced some serious hardships recently.

A few years back he was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease, which has made performing much more difficult. He made a brief appearance at last year’s ceremony as part of the Sheryl Crow tribute and showed that he still has his chops, although he needs to sit down to perform. As I said, I’m not sure how deserving he is, but it’s also undeniable that a Frampton election would create a very powerful moment and a very emotional atmosphere.

If elected, would he perform at the ceremony? - Yes, but it depends. I don’t know how rapidly his symptoms are developing and how it affects his ability to play. If he can perform, he will.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hit - I’m In You

My Personal Favorite - Show Me The Way

50 Years Ago - Young Frankenstein

Blazing Saddles has gotten so much deserving love upon its recent 50th anniversary, but I’m a much bigger fan of Young Frankenstein. It’s amazing to think that Mel Brooks released both in the same calendar year. Back in the days of the studio system when movie making was much more of an assembly line it wasn’t uncommon for directors to make multiple classics in such a short period of time, but in the modern era lead times are much longer. It’s practically impossible to be that prolific now. There was of course Steven Spielberg releasing both Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List in 1993, but that is so rare.

The most important element of a comedy is that it should be funny, but what brings a comedy to an entirely different level is if it’s rewatchable and quotable. That describes Young Frankenstein to a T. Just think of how many classic lines come from this movie. “Abby something.” “Put! The candle! Back!” “There wolf, there castle.” “What knockers! Oh, thank you doctor.” “Ovaltine?” “What hump?” “He would have an enormous schwanstucker! That goes without saying.” “No, walk THIS way!” All this, and the greatest version of Puttin’ On the Ritz ever heard. Sorry, Taco.

The movie of course parodies the original series of Frankenstein films made by Universal, done in an affectionate manner. Everything from the sets to the iris effects used in scene transitions evoked the feel of those old classics. Plot points were cherry picked from the first 3 movies in the series, but most of the echoes came from Son of Frankenstein, the third of the original run. Not just the basic story of a descendant of the doctor reluctantly dragged into the family business of monster building, but also the inclusion of the Igor character (the doctor’s lab assistant in the first movie was named Fritz, there was no Igor until movie 3) and the constable with artificial limbs due to the monster having maimed him years earlier. That’s actually a bit of a shame. Son Of was a wonderful movie in its own right, but if you watch it now you can’t help but think of the Brooks parody.

The cast is filled with some of the greatest comedy pros of any era, all of them at the very tops of their games. Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, all of them hit it out of the park. The best type of comedy acting is that in which the acts don’t act as if they’re in a comedy. Marty Feldman was the exception with his winks to the camera, but otherwise everyone played it straight. Even Gene Wilder’s occasional scenery chewing is fully in line with Colin Clive’s original depiction of Dr. Frankenstein. Special mention should also go to Peter Boyle. He’s most closely associated with his long run as Frank Barone, but in 1974 he was best known for playing a heavy in serious dramas. Here he really tapped into a comedic instinct that he had rarely shown at this point.

All this and I haven’t even mentioned Gene Hackman’s uncredited cameo. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched this movie. Even though I know every joke that’s coming, it still makes me laugh. I’ll bet that people will still be laughing 50 years from now.

Mitch

Must resist the temptation to overly rationalize the pending departure of Mitch McConnell from his leadership role by thinking of him as “the devil we know.” It’s true that I’m nervous about who his replacement might be - most people believe it will go to one of the so-called 3 John’s, but you can’t discount the ambition of someone like Rick Scott. Is going from a tortoise to a Skeletor cosplayer any type of comfort? Or will we finally hear him speak and learn that John Barrasso is an actual sentient human being and not an animatronic puppet? The possibilities are endless. But there’s no denying that he has done as much damage to our body politic as any man.

The loss of Roe and the political survival of Orange Napoleon both have his fingerprints all over it. He cynically refused to hold hearings for Antonin Scalia’s replacement, using the argument that his death occurred too close to the 2016 election and that it should be left to the people to choose the person who would ultimately select the next justice. He didn’t show the same courtesy when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died 4 years later. In that case he fast-tracked the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. And just like that, there was a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court, and we will be paying for that for years to come. Whenever people would point out that hypocrisy he always showed that smug grin. “You got it, what are you gonna do about it?”

And he refused to put the stake in Dracula’s heart. He knows just as well as anyone does that Trump belongs nowhere near the White House; had McConnell voted to impeach and rallied his caucus to do the same, then his threat would have been put to bed. Instead he showed the same lack of a backbone that the majority of the current GOP has, (Trump constantly publicly insults McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao with no pushback) and we have to sweat out the next few months. Good riddance Mitch. You may have thought that you were guarding the loonies at the gates, but all you succeeded in doing was creating an atmosphere in which those loonies could thrive.

The Ice Cream Wars

I’ve lost the ability to be surprised by what riles up the Outrage Industrial Complex on a daily basis. The fact that Joe Biden was shown eating an ice cream cone has agitated people for days now. THAT pisses people off? It’s not as if he had done something truly outrageous, such as wearing a tan suit whilst eating the aforementioned cone. Now that would have been an unforgivable act.

But seriously, when history books look back on these times, they will be known as the People Have Lost Their Damn Minds Era. Take it from me, a good ice cream cone is a delicious treat. It’s OK to spend a few minutes of your day enjoying something. Joe Biden ate his ice cream, and the sun still rose the next day. We somehow survived.

Richard Lewis

My intro to Richard Lewis came from his frequent appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. Letterman clearly loved to give him that showcase, and Lewis was clearly a man who earned a tremendous amount of respect from his peers. Simply put, there was a good chance that he was the favorite comedian of your favorite comedian.

He had a most distinctive presence, with his standard all-black wardrobe and a barrage of nervous tics as he laid out his neuroses while constantly running his hand through his hair. With his shtick & demeanor it’s not difficult to picture him on the Borscht Belt circuit had he been born a generation earlier, but his particular style made him perfect for his time. He was an open book; much more willing to reveal himself and his emotions publicly than what had been the previous norm.

He was one of the major figures in that 1980’s standup boom, and he capitalized on the opportunities that the boom presented. Back when standup comedy was a staple of the HBO schedule, he had a series of specials, and just looking at the titles gave you a good idea of the type of comedian he was - I’m Exhausted, I’m Doomed, etc. In addition, like many of his contemporaries, he also had his own network sitcom.

Unlike most of those shows, his sitcom was not an extension of his standup act. In Anything But Love, he played an actual character, not simply a version of himself. He and Jamie Lee Curtis costarred in the romcom as magazine writers, and eventual lovers. Lewis’s character did share some of the real-life Lewis’s neurotic tendencies, but he was also a much more assertive and confident character than he generally showed in his standup act. And although on the surface there appeared to be quite the point differential between Lewis & Curtis, they had a noticeable chemistry which made them a very believable couple. Plus, Ann Magnuson portrayed their boss. A romantic sitcom starring Richard Lewis with Ann Magnuson as the third lead somehow lasted on network TV for 4 seasons.

He continued to act, but his heart remained on stage, and that’s where he continued to thrive in his later years. He did have a long & successful stint on Curb Your Enthusiasm. As opposed to Anything But Love, here he did play a fictionalized version of himself, usually acting as an ideal foil to Larry David. His appearances were increasing infrequent in recent years, and Lewis announced a couple of years ago that he had been suffering from Parkinson’s. As a result, he was retiring from standup but was available to make a full commitment to the final season of Curb. Left unsaid but implied was that this would also likely serve as his farewell to public life.

By looking at him it’s been apparent in the episodes that have run so far that he wasn’t well, but the quality of his performance has not suffered at all. The guy still had his fastball. In a poignant moment, one of the plot points in the episode that aired the week before his death involved his adding Larry to his will, which led to Larry pledging to reciprocate and an argument between the two with each promising to outlive the other out of spite. Obviously no one knew that this would be the week he passed away, but it seems fittingly morbid that this is how he went out. Richard Lewis was one of the greats; he will be missed.

SNL Preview

Sydney Sweeney makes her SNL hosting debut this week, as the show is apparently in the midst of inviting the entire cast of Madame Web to take their turns. Kidding aside, she falls under the “ascending young star having a moment” category of host. So far in her career she hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to stretch her comedy muscles, so we’ll have to see how this one goes. A Euphoria parody might be a bit too heavy, but we can expect a White Lotus reference this weekend. And speaking of which, Jennifer Coolidge was scheduled to host one of last season’s episodes before the WGA strike put a kibosh on that. Don’t deprive us of that, find room on her schedule, stat!

Closing Laughs

Here’s hoping that March is not coming in too much like a lion where you are. Have a great weekend everyone, and be sure to come back on Monday.