Bolognabrain

Jean Stapleton passed away over the weekend at the age of 90.  She was an incredibly talented actress best remembered for her roll in All In The Family, as Edith Bunker.

Many people have forgotten what ground breaking and even controversial television that show was.  Yes, Edith played the dingbat and provided comedy relief, but she also provided stirring reality in a dramatic rape scene.  The show dealt with racism, homophobia and the Vietnam War in a way that made America laugh. All in the Family could probably not be made today.

Most people don’t know the show was based on a British program and originally cast for Jackie Gleason.  While that never came to fruition, it is hard to think of anyone but Carroll O’Conner in the roll of Archie.

I will never forget Jean Stapelton.  She will always be television’s First Mom and will be missed.

I was a little irritated reading the headlines this morning.  Our dysfunctional Congress and random acts of  violence plagued the stories as I searched for something to write about.  I finally stumbled upon the original VJs from MTV backstage at the Rachael Ray show and I was hooked.  Next thing you know I am on YouTube watching  old MTV clips and trying to get my boy interested in watching what old dad was into 30 some years ago.

I guess it is not that unusual to be reminiscent about the “good old days.”  I am not sure if it is real or imagined but it certainly seemed that life was simpler then.  As I watch those old clips I am flooded with memories of where I was and the friends and family around me.

Don’t get me wrong. I know we had some pitfalls.  The eighties were filled with bad fashion choices, Betamax and cassette tapes to name a few of our klinker ideas, but a station devoted to music, including some lesser known artists, is missed today.  I guess if MTV was still about music it would be filled with Lady Gaga and Ke$ha.  Maybe it is best that some prayers go unanswered.

One advantage of running a bar featuring live music is you get to see a lot of talented entertainers.  This fact was really brought to my attention over the weekend as I watched some great bands, but was also discouraged by some of the entertainment highlights.  While I was excited that Rush was finally inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, much of the ceremony and the Billboard Awards were disappointing.  I am very discouraged by the mire defining the current commercial music industry, but the fact remains there is still extraordinary music out there. You just have to look harder to find it.

In 1955 a 45 rpm record was more expensive in today’s dollars than music today.  While technology has certainly made some recording techniques more affordable, it doesn’t make raising a family or being a musician cheaper.  So while there is still amazing music out there, much of it is ignored by the big record companies who spend millions on mediocre entertainment from the big stars.  I give it up to Kid Rock who said at the Awards, ”Let’s give it up for lip-syncing under pre-recorded music!”  That’s calling it like he sees it.

So seek out the great.  Turn off the crap and use your dollars to reward the extraordinary.  It may be a local band or an up and coming indie act but let the big business of music understand that we value great music.  And when you see great, let them know as well.

Being from Southwest Ohio we are always proud when a hometown boy or girl makes good. But every once in awhile, there is a true standout; a talent so immense it puts us on the map. From the town of Dayton, the outstanding talents have always been Phil Donahue, Erma Bombeck and Jonathan Winters.  Mr. Winters passed away, at 87, last week but will be remembered as a comic legend.

After dropping out of school to join the military, Winters began his comedy career in the late 40′s.  Soon after, he began to disk Jockey on Dayton radio station WING and his comic pieces soon followed.  He was the original morning funny man, years before Bob and Tom.  He eventually moved to New York City in 1954 and, as they say, a legend was born.

Over the years, Winters made tons of television appearances, movies, and more than 20 albums.  He won many awards from a Grammy to  the Mark Twain prize.  To illustrate Winter’s brilliance, the Tonight Show host, Jack Paar once said, “If you were to ask me to name the funniest 25 people I’ve ever known, I’d say, ‘Here they are — Jonathan Winters’.”

Our thoughts are with the family, but right now, all the inhabitants of heaven are busting a gut.

I have written at some length about being a Star Trek fan.  In fact, I must admit that I am a movie fan period.  Yes, I love sci-fi but I also dig the classics.  Over the weekend, L.A. hosted an auction of movie memorabilia and it proved that I am not alone.  The phaser used in the second Star Trek pilot brought in $231,000.  That’s enough for anyone to live long and prosper.  (Rimshot)

The auction had other notables.  The Green Hornet’s car and Superman’s suit brought in big bucks.  However, Marilyn Monroe proved her star power with a bra fetching more than $28,000 and a dress bringing in $25,000.

While I would love to own just about any of the items listed from the auction, I must admit, they seem a little pricey.  Heck, you can get a phaser that looks just like the one from Star Trek on Ebay for $31 and just tell your friends it’s the real deal.  Then you can use the other 230,000 to have your home turned in to the bridge of the Enterprise.

Man, what a weekend.  Yesterday was the anniversary of the day the music died that inspired Don McLean’s “American Pie.”  It was also, of course, the Super Bowl.  Between the game, commercials and remembering Buddy Holly, I burned up YouTube and my television.  I was a multimedia sponge.  I also wrote a post on our sister site MusicFanCam.com on the best halftime shows.

I have to admit that it was a great weekend to be a multimedia couch potato.  I ate bad food and watched so many live performances and commercials that I will have to live on the treadmill for the next month.

Super Bowl commercials have become a whole specialty.  For the commercials to really get attention they have to be funny or emotional.  This year we had a few of both.  The ones that seemed to catch the biggest buzz was the Paul Harvey Dodge commercial and the Taco Bell senior citizen commercial.  The GoDaddy commercial has gotten a lot of criticism but I thought it was very funny.

Now it’s time to get back to life.  I will eat a banana and some yogurt for breakfast and try to get some exercise.  After all, it will be spring before you know it.

Maybe it’s a generational thing but I hate lip syncing.  It’s certainly been in the news this week due to Beyonce’s performance at President Obama’s inauguration.  However, the topic seems to come up several times a year.  A recent article in the Huffington Post covered many of the recent episodes and they all left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I understand some artists want to appear perfect, just like some pitchers would like to throw a perfect game of 27 strike outs.  That’s led to other things that bum me out, like the use of auto-tune, both live and on records.  It seems to me fans don’t want perfect they want to see a performance.  They want to witness that special moment with its imperfections.  They don’t want to just listen to a recording.

I’ve written about this topic before.  Just last year, I touched on it after Dave Grohl’s Grammy speech.  As I think back through rock and roll history, some of the most memorable performances were not perfect but were instead amazing.  Amazing for their imperfections or the emotion conveyed.  They were amazing for capturing the moment.  As I think about this spirit, I’m reminded of a quote that Suburbanhobo forwarded to me recently from David Ackert of the L. A. Times.

 “Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they’ll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life – the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment – to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience’s soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life’s nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another’s heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.”

Musicians and singers dedicate yourselves to that moment.

My wife and I had a movie and dinner date Sunday night. We went to see Les Miserable, the new film version with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crow. I read the Victor Hugo novel in high school and have seen numerous film versions over the years. I was not familiar with the musical version, Les Mis, which was the basis for this film.

In a word… great. I love musicals. I attended the opera with my brother when I was young. Cincinnati had an incredible opera season and some of the greatest singers in the world graced the opera house stage in the Queen City.

Doing some research for this article I ran across a story about Adam Lambert, the former American Idol contestant, who actually disparaged the vocal work of the actors. His Twitter opinion stated “they were great actors pretending to be singers.” Russell Crow actually agreed with Lambert but acknowledged that the director opted to not do studio recordings and sweeten the product. He wanted it raw and that’s what it is; not perfect, but it is powerful, dramatic and poignant. I am a fan of Adam Lamberts, but I would defy him, as great a singer as I think he is, to attempt to portray such powerful characters. I’m not sure which role he would prefer, anyway; that of Jean Valjean or the tragic Fantine. Perhaps Cosette?

The cinematography was beautifully done. The supporting cast rose to the occasion with performances worthy of critical acclaim.

The historical and metaphysical relevance of the book makes it especially relevant in the 21st century. Worldwide moral collapse calls for renewed spirituality while enslaved people around the planet are rising up in the name of freedom. These themes resonate with France and her history in the era that is the background to this classic story.

It may not be a film for everyone. All things considered, I would take an Indiana Jones, Star Wars or Star Trek movie almost any day. Still, I am not only happy I witnessed this powerful film, but I shared it with the one I love most.

A couple years back, while I was touring Northeast Iowa promoting my new Parents’ Choice Gold Award winning CD collection of poetry for kids, Speed-B-B-B-Bumps, I took some time off and drove to The Field of Dreams, outside Dyersville. I had seen the movie, more than once, and had been moved by the message of the film and the tranquility of the area.

I grew up on a farm in the Miami Valley of Ohio and as I drove those country roads out to the location of the ball field, it reminded me of home and my childhood; rolling hills, farmhouses and silos, it was my youth, played out in summer, pastoral elegance.

Today’s newspaper reports the property has been sold to a group including Hall of Fame player Wade Boggs. They intend to transform the bucolic ball field and farm house in to All-Star Ballpark Heaven with twelve baseball fields, sixty teams plus clubhouses for lodging by next year, then double the size by 2017.

I can’t fault the owner, Dan Lansing, for taking the three and a half million dollars, though he mentioned his family has been part of the landscape for more than a century. He’ll probably sell the International Harvester combine and move to a condo in Miami. Can’t say I blame him.

Still, I’ll never forget the day of my visit. There were only about ten people there. I watched a dad pitching the ball to his young son and daughter, then run the bases after an infield hit. You can’t buy memories like that; for the family or for me.

It’s just one more icon going the way of the almighty buck. Next stop, the NRA will be buying advertising on the Lincoln monument. After all, guns don’t kill people.

As we prepare for 2013 I am frankly surprised at how much media attention the Beatles breakup has been getting.  After all, it has only been 42 years since the band officially called it quits.  There has been so much speculation over the years and much of that pinned on Yoko Ono.  Now, Yoko is getting flack for an interview where she says Paul was mostly to blame.  This isn’t news either because the interview was done for Rolling Stone in 1987.

In the interview she says the band was “getting to be like Paul’s band, which they didn’t like.”  For anyone who got to see the original movie Let It Be, this is no revelation.  In the film Paul is treating the other band mates like hired hands.  In one scene George storms out in frustration.  This was not an atmosphere conducive to the longevity of any band.

But regardless, it has been 42 years.  Maybe it is time to let it go.  While Paul may not have helped things, the other guys weren’t happy either.  After the band’s meteoric rise and their unbelievable work ethic, they were just ready to move on.  While I still remember my neighbor girl crying when she heard the news, as I was just five years old, I am ready to put it to rest at 47.

Happy New Year