I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more.
I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way.
CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing, forty-five years of misery is enough.”
“Pop, what are you talking about?” the son screams.
“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old man says.
“We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her,” and he hangs up.
Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like heck they’re getting divorced,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.”
She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, “You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Okay,” he says, “They’re coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares Now what do we tell them for Christmas?
There is an old joke that asks, “Why are bagpipe players always walking? To get away from the sound!” There are, however, folks who truly love the pipes – Australians, for example.
This week there was an event in Australia that featured an ensemble of 374 bagpipers playing “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” by AC/DC. By doing so, they broke a world record in the process.
The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash in Victoria gathered the pipers to perform the song at Federation Square. They performed just a few blocks from where the music video for the Australian rock band’s original version was filmed in 1976.
FYI: The previous Guinness World Record for the largest bagpipe ensemble was set by 333 pipers playing together in Bulgaria in 2012.
Every once in a while I find a photo that makes me laugh more than it should. Here is an example.
I am guessing that this was at a wedding or a holiday party I was DJing. The black LED curtain behind me was something a friend let me experiment with. It was pretty cool, as you could program it to do a variety of things. I used it at many holiday parties and had it programmed to look like snowflakes were falling behind me.
I had a box of hats that I brought to every gig. The box started with the hats that the members of the Village People wore: cowboy hat, hard hat, biker hat, sailor hat, Indian head dress, and police hat. When I played YMCA, I’d get the groomsmen to line up in front of the DJ stand and each put on a hat. When the wedding parties started to get bigger, I needed additional hats. So in the box was a pilot hat, a baseball cap, football helmet, train engineer hat, and the pimp hat seen above.
I haven’t a clue why I have it on here, but the look on my face and the addition of the hat just make me laugh out loud. I hope it made you chuckle a bit, too.
I’m a bit behind on my book recommendations, and I thought I had better post at least one of them before I get further behind.
Even though this book is a perfect summer read, it is good in any season. Today I want to suggest My Friends by Fredrik Backman.
My Friends is the sixth book by Backman that I have read. There is something about Backman’s books that I really love. Someone asked me why I enjoyed his books so much. I really struggled to explain why. I felt that his characters were real and relatable. The stories are ones that engage with my emotions.
I never felt that really hit the nail on the head. So I started to look for other reviews and came across this:
Backman “is so good because he masterfully blends humor and heartbreak, creating deeply flawed but relatable characters, often outcasts, who reveal profound truths about humanity, community, and empathy through witty, conversational prose filled with poignant observations and underlying philosophy, making readers feel deeply connected to them and their struggles. He excels at showing the good in people, even the difficult ones, and exploring the importance of connection and kindness in an often harsh world, with stories that are both funny and incredibly touching.“
THAT is exactly why I like his work.
Who doesn’t love a good story about childhood? Readers of my blog are well aware of the many childhood memories I have shared, I often wonder if I could string them together with present events to make them a good book. I probably would not be able to, but Backman does it very well in this book. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.
Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.
I found this to be a very good story. Backman does a great job in giving you enough info to keep you wondering throughout the story. At times, I felt like it was slowing down, but it becomes apparent that even in the “slow” parts you are gaining information that brings everything together.
When I was in radio, my boss used to say “If you make your audience FEEL something – love, happiness, sadness, anger, etc… then you have entertained them.” Backman always makes me feel something and I connect with the characters and the story. He has certainly become a “go to” author for me.
It does not take long for my wife to get into the Christmas Spirit. Longtime readers of this blog know that she listens to Christmas music all year round. Once November is here, the season is “officially” underway according to her.
I took advantage of a semi-warm day over the weekend and took down all of the Halloween decorations. I hadn’t planned on putting up Christmas stuff, but there is this big archway we have and I figured I would get that out of the way. Once it was up, that was the last I really thought of doing anything more.
Then, we woke up to the first snow of the season.
When the kids saw snow on the ground they went crazy! They HAD to go out and play in it!
They played outside for a little while in the morning and came back in for breakfast. As the morning changed to afternoon, the sun took care of what snow was left on the ground. It actually wound up being a bit mild the rest of the day, so I decided to put the rest of the outdoor lights and decorations up.
Our Christmas tree was given to my wife when she moved into the house a few years before we got together. It was old and on its last legs last year. We had talked about getting a new tree last year after the holiday and just never got around to it. We really didn’t want to spend more than about $100 on a new tree and most are a lot more than that.
My wife heard that Home Depot was having their Black Friday sales until the 26th of this month. One of the deals was a 7.5 foot tree that was pre-lit with LED lights. It was on sale for $99. I went and checked it out and decided to bring it home. What is really nice about it is that because of the LED lights, you can make it all solid white or multi-colored if you wish. It’s actually very nice.
It was a pretty good deal and I’m glad that we won’t have to look for a new tree for some time.
Perhaps this year we can put the ornaments on the tree. So far, the cats have stayed out of the middle of it. I may wait a week or so before deciding for sure ….
I hope you don’t mind if I focus on a hometown hero that often gets overlooked. Today Marshall Crenshaw celebrates birthday 72. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in the suburb of Berkley. A radio buddy of mine went to high school with him.
He had hit songs with “Cynical Girl” and “Whenever You’re On My Mind” in the early 80’s. He has said that Buddy Holly was an influence, and early on he was often said to look like him. Perhaps that is why he was cast as Buddy Holly in the movie La Bamba?
Crenshaw was also co-writer of one of the Gin Blossom’s big hits, “Til I Hear It From You.”
Robert Gordon recorded one of his songs in 1981 – “Someday, Someway.” His version went to number 76 on the chart. Crenshaw recorded the song himself in 1982. He released it and it reached number 36 on the Billboard Top 40 Hit chart. It would be his only Top 40 song. Both versions saw early success on New York radio, though Crenshaw’s rendition saw greater success nationally.
Crenshaw wrote the song while he was in New York where he played John Lennon in the musical Beatlemania. He says, “I wrote ‘Someday, Someway’ and five or six of the other tunes on my first album. I wrote those in my hotel room. That was my next move in life, to be a recording artist. I actually had a sense of artistic direction and off I went.”
Someday, Someway was inspired by Gene Vincent’s song “Lotta Lovin’.” Crenshaw said, “I wanted to take the beat and atmosphere of a 1950s Rock and Roll record that I loved … and build something around that. I came up with the music first for ‘Someday’ and dug that it was kind of hypnotic, very spare and succinct.”
Let’s celebrate his birthday with his biggest song –
A huge piece of my childhood premiered 56 years ago today.
Long before Elmo and all of the newer cast members, I sat in front of the TV watching Ernie and Bert, Kermit, Grover, the Count, and Big Bird.
In 1985, Big Bird and the rest of the cast starred in the theatrical movie “Follow That Bird.” Along with the cast, there were some big name cameos: Chevy Chase, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, John Candy, Sandra Bernhard, Eddie Deezen, Sally Kellerman, and Waylon Jennings!
When my oldest son was about 4 or 5, he used to watch this movie all the time. One of his favorite parts was when Waylon Jennings shows up. Jennings is a farmer who gives Big Bird a lift in his truck. On the drive he sings Ain’t No Road Too Long. My boy used to sing along.
It’s time once again for Turntable Talk. This is the 43rd round and since it will begin around Halloween, Dave from A Sound Day asked us to “pick a song that you like that is either about a scary story or person, or just sounds kind of spooky or scary to you.” What do you choose?
There are many songs that come to mind. Because my piece will be toward the end of the contributions, I am avoiding the obvious ones: Monster Mash, Werewolves of London, Purple People Eater, Witch Doctor, Thriller, Ghostbusters, etc… I am sure by the time this publishes, at least one or two of these will have been chosen.
I have chosen to go with an odd tune that you may not be familiar with. It was actually a movie song from the 1936 film, Pennies From Heaven. The film starred Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong. He was hired for the film at the insistence of Bing Crosby, Bing was a lifelong student, friend, collaborator and admirer of Armstrong. When the film came out, Armstrong got his own credit during the main titles, making him the first African-American to get featured billing alongside white actors.
According to the Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Louis was “playing a bandleader who is hired by Crosby to perform at his nightclub, Armstrong’s “role, as written, makes one cringe,” according to Lawrence Bergreen. Bergreen quotes an exchange between Armstrong and Crosby in the film, comedically playing on the ignorance of Armstrong’s character, who asks for seven percent instead of accepting Bing’s offering of ten percent because his is a seven-piece band, “And none of us knows how to divide ten percent up by seven.
Bergreen writes that this banter dwells “on black inferiority and subservience” but what he doesn’t mention is that Pops (Armstrong) legitimately loved this scene, quoting it in front of friends on one of his later private tapes. One of his last television appearances was made with Crosby on the David Frost Show from February 10, 1971. During the interview portion, Armstrong talks about how much fun they had making the film and though 35 years had gone by. Armstrong quotes the entire “percent” scene, line by line, as it originally appeared in the film. Thus, it’s easy for a white critic to “cringe” while watching Pennies From Heaven but for Pops, funny was funny and he cherished the gags he was asked to deliver.
The lone song that Armstrong has to himself in the film is called “The Skeleton in the Closet.” As you watch this clip, I hope you appreciate the story telling and acting by Armstrong. I love watching him in this. He is completely enjoying himself while performing this. That is why I want you to see the movie scene first. The recording is good, but you certainly lose out by not being able to watch him.
The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong says this about the recorded version: “The “spookiness” of the record gave the arranger the license to use all sorts of unusual harmonies and nonchord tones, things that would sound pretty modern ten years later, but just convey a haunted house spirit when used as they are on this record. ” Give it a listen.
Here are the lyrics:
There’s an old deserted mansion on an old forgotten road Where the better ghosts and goblins always hang out One night they threw a party in a manner a la mode And they cordially invited all the gang out
At a dark, bewitchin’ hour when the fun was loud and hearty A notorious wall flower became the life of the party Mmm, the spooks were havin’ their midnight fling The merry makin’ was in full swing They shrieked themselves into a cheerful trance When the skeleton in the closet started to dance
Now a goblin giggled with fiendish glee A shout rang out from a big banshee Amazement was in every ghostly glance When the skeleton in the closet started to dance
All the witches were in stitches while his steps made rhythmic thumps And they nearly dropped their broomsticks when he tried to do the bumps You never heard such unearthly laughter, or such hilarious groans When the skeleton in the closet rattled his bones
A Halloween classic? Probably not. However, it is a fun song that fits right in with Dave’s topic this month. I really hope that you enjoyed it and aren’t upset that I passed on “the usual” hits. The thing I love about Dave’s feature is being exposed to songs that are new to me.
Thanks again to Dave for hosting my favorite monthly feature to write for. I look forward to the next topic.
Today is November 8th. In all my years of radio, I cannot believe I never saw this connection before (and we used to do a lot of “This Day in History” stuff).
The fun fact has to do with these two men:
Both of these men were born on this day*.
November 8, 1431 is the date that has been accepted and observed as the birthday of the man on the right – Vlad the Impaler. He is regarded as a hero in Romania.
November 8, 1847 is the date that the man on the left was born – Bram Stoker. He was the irish author who was known for writing a dozen horror and mystery novels (and novellas).
I’m sure by now you have made the connection: Vlad the Impaler is better known as Vlad Dracula and Bram Stoker is the author who wrote “Dracula.”
I know that Vlad’s birthday is traditionally observed on this day. I have to wonder if it is observed today because it is Stoker’s birthday. Either way, I think it is cool to note the connection between these two.
FYI – There is no birthday connection between Vlad and Bram to Bela … Lugosi. He was born October 20, 1882. Lugosi, of course, is best remembered as Count Dracula in the movies.
As the chilly fall weather creeps in, I thought I would share a summer photo today.
The above photo was taken in August of 1979. From left to right, you have my brother, me, and our friends Nicole and Jim. It looks as though we were ready to go swimming, but we didn’t have a pool. Perhaps we were running through the sprinkler or something.
One of the reasons I love this picture is that this was our first swing set. I remember my dad pouring the cement to keep the poles in the ground. I also remember waiting for what seemed like forever for us to finally be able to use it.
I wish the photo would have been positioned a bit better so you could see the whole swing set. It was really cool. It was set up kind of like the letter “H.” In the photo, you can see I am holding the rings. I remember being able to hold onto them, jump up and do a flip on them. On the other side you can see Jim on a swing. Along with the rings and swing, on the other side there was a bar on a chain. It was something like a trapeze artist might use and we would often hang upside down on them.
I had to search the net and while I couldn’t find the exact set we had, I found something similar.
It was set up just like the photo above. Except in the place of one of the swings, we had one of those two seat swings. You know, the one that kind of looked like a see saw? It took me forever to find the thing on the internet because I didn’t even know what to call it. However, you can see the thing in this picture:
Remember those things??
The top photo takes me back to a time where kids were kids. We could swing on a swing set for hours. We had no electronics to distract us. We interacted with other kids and always seemed to get along. My how the times have changed.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 