The Great Lover - Rupert Brooke

THE GREAT LOVER

I have been so great a lover: filled in days
So proudly with the splendor of Love's praise,
The pain, the calm, and the astonishment,
Desire illimitable, and still content,
And all dear names men use, to cheat despair,
For the perplexed and viewless streams that bear
Our hearts at random down the dark of life.
Now, ere the unthinking silence on that strife
Steals down, I would cheat drowsy Death so far,
My night shall be remembered for a star
That outshone all the suns of all men's days.
Shall I not crown them with immortal praise
Whom I have loved, who have given me, dared with me
High secrets, and in darkness knelt to see
The inenarrable godhead of delight?
Love is a flame: -we have beaconed the world's night.
A city: - and we have built it, these and I.
An emperor: -we have taught the world to die.
So, for their sakes I loved, ere I go hence,
And the high cause of Love's magnificence,
And to keep loyalties young, I'll write those names
Golden forever, eagles, crying flames,
And set them as a banner, that men may know,
To dare the generations, burn, and blow
Out on the wind of Time, shining and streaming....

These I have loved:
White plates and cups, clean-gleaming,
Ringed with blue lines; and feathery, fairy dust;
Wet roofs, beneath the lamp-light; the strong crust
Of friendly bread; and many-tasting food;
Rainbows; and the blue bitter smoke of wood;
And radiant raindrops couching in cool flowers;
And flowers themselves, that sway through sunny hours,
Dreaming of moths that drink them under the moon;
Then, the cool kindliness of sheets, that soon
Smooth away trouble; and the rough male kiss
Of blankets; grainy wood; live hair that is
Shining and free; blue-massing clouds; the keen
Unpassioned beauty of a great machine;
The benison of hot water; furs to
touch;
The good smell of old clothes; and other such-
The comfortable smell of friendly fingers,
Hair's fragrance, and the musty reek that lingers
About dead leaves and last year's ferns....
Dear names,
And thousand others throng to me! Royal flames;
Sweet water's dimpling laugh from tap or spring;
Holes in the ground; and voices that do sing:
Voices in laughter, too; and body's pain,
Soon turned to peace; and the deep-panting train;
Firm sands; the little dulling edge of foam
That browns and dwindles as the wave goes home;
And washen stones, gay for an hour; the cold
Graveness of iron; moist black earthen mold;
Sleep; and high places; footprints in the dew;
And oaks; and brown horse-chestnuts, glossy-new;
And new-peeled sticks; and shining pools on grass; -
All these have been my loves. And these shall pass,
Whatever passes not, in the great hour,
Nor all my passion, all my prayers, have power
To hold them with me through the gate of Death.
They'll play deserter, turn with the traitor breath,
Break the high bond we made, and sell Love's trust
And sacramental covenant to the dust.
Oh, never a doubt but, somewhere, I shall wake,
And give what's left of love again, and make
New friends now strangers . . . .

But the best I've known
Stays here, and changes, breaks, grows old, is blown
About the winds of the world, and fades from brains
Of living men, and dies.

Nothing remains.
O dear my loves, O faithless, once again
This one last gift I give: that after men
Shall know, and later lovers, far-removed
Praise you, " All these were lovely"; say, "He loved." 

Cultural Appropriation

Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (who is a Turtle Mountain Chippewa from North Dakota):
states that when we don Pocahontas costumes or " dress up...  for Halloween or for a music video, then you stop thinking of us as people, and this is incredibly dangerous because everyday we fight for the basic human right to live our own lives without outsiders determining our fate or defining our identities."

I have real trouble with this extension of an old tradition -- costumes, and claiming we do not recognize the originators of a specific item as a whole group. [That is my italics in her quote, by the way.]

The idea that we take these because of an imbalance in the power structure in the underlying societal fabric is  flawed, in my opinion.

If there was no mixing of cultures and ideas the whole literary tradition will collapse. Was Shakespeare wrong to write about the Italian family traditions of the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet, which is based on an old Italian folk tale.
A piece of drama since been adapted for Latinos in New York, (West Side Story,) or Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet about gangs in L.A.

I completely agree that there has been  misuse of cultural imagery by colonial powers, but I think too many people throw around this sociological theory as if it is profoundly correct when a little more insight is required to understand what is really going on and the amount of deliberately negative stereotyping that is implied.

Cult Movies

Last year I read a book on Cult Movies. Very interesting and of course, made my mind race for what I would choose.
I tried to write to the author but my email returned undeliverable.
However, I kept the email with my choices and post it now for any friend's curiosity.


Hello {name deleted},
I enjoyed your book on cult movies, and as you rightly pointed out in the Intro, we all react by going :"Never, how could he choose that one, or why isn't <My Life Part III>, etc listed".

I did feel it was lacking on some great foreign language ones, or British ones from the '60s.

My feeling for a cult movie would be one I would enjoy being stranded on a desert island with and have an electricty source for the portable video player!
The following films would never bore me and remind me of the society I was stranded from:

"Z"
Women in Love
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Andy Warhol's Frankenstein
Diva
2001:A Space Odyssey
Morgan, A Suitable Case for Treatment
Alfie
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Little Big Man
Run, Lola Run

michael lavalette
Bedford, Nova Scotia

>from an old geezer who has loved movies from childhood with cowboy & Indian fanatasies.. who also had the luxury of seeing Roy and Dale and Trigger in real life + Gene Autry and Champion the wonder horse when they did world tours in the '50s.
Loved Astaire, Don O'Connor, Marx Brothers at mignight showings when I was a student.
To living the swinging London of the Sixties and enjoying North America in the last quarter of the C20th.
I have always been a part of a movie loving family and circle of friends.<
thanks for an interesting book.

Bob Dylan

My sixties vinyl, I gave away in 1970 when I emigrated. My '70s & '80s Vinyl are in my basement storage. My CD's are in the living room "cluttering up" the place - my wife says! My digital collection is on this computer as I type. I couldn't sleep last night -- listened to Bob in the dark, again & again, with headphones plugged into my iPhone , as my wife slept uncluttered. Wherever I am, there's Bob !

Daddy Cool and oldies playlist for a friday. (Or any day.)

 I recently played the sultry tune , Fever by Peggy Lee a hit from 1958 on my Radio Cobequid show.  Here is the original by Little Willie John's and his RnB hit from 1956. To me it sounds somewhat sexier.

Another hit from that year is Church Bells May Ring by The Willows. A group from Harlem that had a hit with this song on the RnB charts and then in 1957 the song was chosen by Canada's Diamonds  singing group as the follow up to their big hit Little Darlin' and their version made the Top 20 in Billboard. Of course, this was very common in the fifties where a black group's hit (still called Race Music by many stations,) was covered by a "white" group who by virtue of wider radio exposure, became the bigger hit. I am sure many will remember the hilarious scene in the  Dreamgirls movie where this was played for laughs.  Listen for the bell ringing in the song. The bells are played by a young Neil Sedaka who happened to be in the studio. This is another fairly rare song which I had difficulty getting any details about in Wikipedia and my source books. Then through the wonders of  the internet sales pages,  I found 18 copies for sale at the absurd price of $1.32 !

After them is Rosie and the Originals with Angel Baby. Rosie Hamlin was the lead singer. She is quoted by John Lennon in a Seventies interview as one of his favourite singers. High praise for a singer with not many hits to her credit. It reminds me of my exam time in London. I should have been revising for my O levels but was tuned to the Radio Luxembourg listening for the new releases in early 1961 -- this was one I loved back then.

 

SONGS

Fever 3:22 Peggy Lee

Church Bells May Ring 2:26 - The Willows

Angel Baby 2:47 - Rosie and the Originals.

Gene Autry

 As  children   my sister and I were obsessed by the Cowboys of the American west, and poured over the comics my American aunt sent to us in Calcutta. (Talk about confusing cultures, we were kids in India wanting to "go west" and fight Indians. Thankfully we were not truly harmed by these childish episodes and sorted out our terminology! Although I do think it unfair that she always got to be the "good guy"  and I ended up a dead bad guy ..)  

 

One of those early heroes was Gene Autry. We had recently moved to London when Gene and his troupe performed at the Empress Hall at Earl's Courts. My family went to see him there.  Gene and his horse, Champion, the Wonder Horse,  came into the audience.  He was right in front of me!

It was an amazing moment for a wide-eyed 12 year old.

One of my favourite songs is Gene Autry singing the Cole Porter tune Don't Fence Me In. Love it !!

 

More Beatles Playlist and dialogue from my radio shows.

Kingsburyman is also Daddy Cool   Remembering The Beatles.

 

On this Blog, I am celebrating 1968. The Beatles had returned from India at the beginning of spring, disillusioned by the Maharishi and his hanger-on's. While there, though, they worked on a lot of tunes which became the fertile material for the album released late in  1968 as a double album, nowadays  referred to as "The White Album" ; Although back in 1968, it had no title except the words "The Beatles"  simply embossed on the cover.  The very first pressings, certainly in Britain, were actually individually numbered in sequence. Those early numbered albums are highly collectible now.

First on the Playlist is Glass Onion from the white album.

 

 

SONGS

 Glass Onion 2:18 The Beatles
Fixing A Hole 2:37 The Beatles

 

Glass onion was followed by Fixing a hole; originally on Sgt. Pepper's album but also used in their Yellow Submarine animated movie.

 

Coming up is Instant Karma from John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, followed by Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and another hit from 1968 -- Judy In Disguise by  John Fred and his Playboy Band. At  the time, Lucy in the Sky was supposed to be a veiled reference to the drug LSD. The Beatles vehemently denied it back then, claiming that people were reading too much into a co-incidence. Now, they readily admit it was very much their LSD imbibing phase. John Fred's song was clearly meant as an homage to the Beatles tune, he even makes the phrase "Judy in Disguise" sound like "Judy in the Sky". Including a lot of other psychedelic imagery in the lyrics.

  

SONGS

Instant Karma 3:24 John Lennon & Yoko Ono   2
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3:29 The Beatles Rock Sgt. Pepper's
Judy In Disguise 2:59 John Fred  Hits Of 1968 

 

Still featuring  Beatles material from the White album are songs featuring girl names in their titles. Dear Prudence, Martha My Dear, Sexy Sadie and Julia. That last one Julia, is by John written to his Mother Julia Lennon, who, when his father died while John was only 5, Julia Lennon left him with his aunt Mimi who raised him. Julia died young herself when John was only 17. A lot has been made of the possibility that the song is also for Yoko Ono who John referred to as "Mother".

 

SONGS

 

Dear Prudence 3:56 The Beatles Rock
Martha My Dear 2:29 The Beatles Rock
Sexy Sadie 3:15 The Beatles 
Julia 2:57 The Beatles Rock The Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1] 1
 

In England, films were first released in an area know as the "West End " of London, where there were a lot of cinemas. Sometimes after weeks or months of playing in the West End, the films got released to suburban theatres. Being young and trying to keep up with what's the latest hits, my friends and I often went to the West End we did not want to wait for the suburban release.  In 1966, we had gone to see, I think, James Coburn in Our Man Flint. I was walking In Leicester Square to get to the tube to go home, when I spotted a Rolls Royce outside a theatre. I was walking passed it thinking "Nice, wonder whose it is?" when a young couple came running out of the cinema -- I was now between them & the Roll's open door, The young Man crashed into me, knocking me over. He stopped, helped pick me up and asked "You all right, Mate?" I was and gave a dumb-struck nod to Paul McCartney and Jane Asher. "You sure?" -- I was. They smiled, jumped into the Rolls and sped off.

 

Here is a tune Paul was working on in early 1966: Paperback writer.

 

SONGS
Paperback Writer 2:20 The Beatles (1966)

You Won't See Me 3:20 Beatles Revolver

Taxman 2:39 The Beatles Rock Revolver 

 

After Paperback writer we heard You won't see me from Rubber Soul and Taxman, which was from the Revolver album. Taxman is sung by John, but was written by George Harrison who had just discovered how high their Tax rate was -- 95% hence the line where the Taxman says "There's one for you, nineteen for me". The high level of taxation on their creativity was also a spur to setting up Apple Corp to have more ownership& control of their productivity.  

 Now two songs from Ringo & John's solo careers. First is Ringo's cover of the Platter's 1950 hit Only You. Done as a smooth ballad not in the Do-wop style. Love by John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band phase. Also a haunting slow love song.

 

SONGS 

Only You (And You Alone) 3:24 Ringo Starr
Love 3:23 John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band

A trio of memorable tunes from their early days : First a couple of covers sandwiched around  one of their most popular love songs.

Arthur Alexander's Anna (Go To Him). The only singer-songwriter of this era who was covered by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Then the Beatles' All My Lovin', and followed by Larry William's Dizzy Miss Lizzie from their Hamburg days, but also in the movie Help!

  

SONGS

Anna (Go to Him) 2:57 The Beatles 

 All My Lovin'  2:05 The Beatles
Dizzy Miss Lizzy 2:57 The Beatles  

 Here are the Beatles with 2 rarely heard songs from the White album, Good Night and Long, Long, Long, but before them is the fun song from Sgt. Pepper : Good Morning, Good Morning. I hope you are listening to this on your stereo radio or Tuner because the Beatles and George Martin had a lot of fun with the sound effects and the Stereo separation. The fox hunters on horses run from one speaker to the other as do the barking dogs!!  This was a very popular song in 1967  for the Summer of Love stoners to experience via headphones. Cool, Man!

 

SONGS

 Good Morning Good Morning 2:41 The Beatles
Good Night 3:14 The Beatles
Long, Long, Long 3:06 The Beatles
 

More songs from Beatles For Sale & Revolver, and a smattering of other faves , but starting with

 Good Day Sunshine which is from Revolver

 

SONG 

Good Day Sunshine 2:09 The Beatles 

As an opening to their more well known songs we are also presenting a couple of early tunes -- Besame Mucho (approximates to Kiss me a lot in Spanish,).

It was a 1940's hit which indicates the wide background of tunes the early Beatles played to keep the drunken masses happy in the bars in Hamburg. This is their take on the tune done for their  audition for a contract with Decca Records.

That's Alright, Mama, a blues song from Arthur Big Boy Crudup, which was also Elvis Presley's first release done for Sun Records. It was not a hit. 

 The Beatle's recording is from the POP Goes the Beatles BBC radio show in 1963.

Then a Demo of a John Lennon song Continuing story of Bungalow Bill.

 

 

SONGS

Besame Mucho [Artist-Test] 2:37 The Beatles
That's All Right (Mama) [Live: BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 16th July, 1963] 2:56 The Beatles
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill [Home-Demo] 2:33 The Beatles 

 

While in India, the  Beatles wrote a bunch of songs. On their return they set about making Demos of them at George Harrison's house.

The demo heard here, was recorded on George’s four track Ampex tape machine and features The Beatles playing acoustic guitars, along with some banging on furniture, handclaps, etc., for percussion. Accompanying John’s lead vocal, we hear a second vocal track with John speaking to Bungalow Bill and some rudimentary jungle animal noises in the background.

 Playing this now in the Summer of 2015 is exceedingly apropos. There is all the world wide  attention on the killing of Cecil the Lion in Africa; John wrote this about an incident in India when one of the people with the Beatles left for a break and went hunting; He came back with his trophy shot.

You can find quite a lot on the Internet if you wish to dig deeper. Here I'd rather press on with a great tune from George:  Awaiting on You, from his solo album, All Things Must Pass; plus a solo hit for Ringo -- Back Off Boogaloo, and the weird but catchy, Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

 

 SONGS

Awaiting on You All 2:49 George Harrison  All Things Must Pass
Back Off Boogaloo 3:20 Ringo Starr 

 Maxwell' Silver Hammer 3:30 The Beatles 

 

Now 3 perennial Beatles favourites and sing along tunes. Everybody knows these.  All My Lovin' ; All You Need Is Love and , If I Fell in Love.

 

 SONGS

 All My Lovin' 2:05 The Beatles 

All You Need Is Love 3:47 The Beatles 

If I Fell in Love 2:24 The Beatles  

 

If I fell was John's first attempt at a Ballad and he said the precursor to In My Life. If I fell was for Hard Day's Night movie. In my life was on Rubber Soul.

 

Now Can't Buy Me Love the big hit from March 1964. It was still  number 1 in the week of April 4 1964 when the Beatles had all 5 places in Billboard's Hot 100, with a further seven singles in the charts. Then follows Girl and Run For your Life from Rubber Soul and Got to Get You into my Life from Revolver.

SONGS

Can't Buy Me Love 2:13 The Beatles

Girl 2:32 The Beatles 
Run for Your Life 2:21 The Beatles
Got to Get You into My Life 2:29 The Beatles 

 

 The back ground material for this Blog comes from two books -- Ian MacDonald's' Revolution of the Mind and Beatlesongs by William J. Dowlding plus Wiki of course.

 

 

PLAYLIST SONGS

 Glass Onion 2:18 The Beatles
Fixing A Hole 2:37 The Beatles

Instant Karma 3:24 John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3:29 The Beatles Rock Sgt. Pepper's
Judy In Disguise 2:59 John Fred  Hits Of 1968 

 

Dear Prudence 3:56 The Beatles Rock
Martha My Dear 2:29 The Beatles Rock
Sexy Sadie 3:15 The Beatles 
Julia 2:57 The Beatles Rock The Beatles (White Album)

 Paperback Writer 2:20 The Beatles (1966)

You Won't See Me 3:20 Beatles Revolver

Taxman 2:39 The Beatles Rock Revolver

 

 All My Lovin' 2:05 The Beatles 

All You Need Is Love 3:47 The Beatles 

If I Fell in Love 2:24 The Beatles 

 

Can't Buy Me Love 2:13 The Beatles

Girl 2:32 The Beatles Rock
Run for Your Life 2:21 The Beatles
Got to Get You into My Life 2:29 The Beatles 

Sir Peter O'Sullevan - Obituary from The Independent. with due acknowledgement.

Peter O'Sullevan was one of my father's favourite racing commentators and writers. Dad poured over O'Sullevan's column in the Daily Express  religiously looking for Tips !!
We watched his BBC broadcasts together often. Dad was not a book lover, but he had Peter 's books & autobiography on his bedside table always.
Similarly, Dad always favoured Lester Piggott's mount. A truly great rider who needs to be rehabilitated in the public canon. He was railroaded. I love the Queen's comment on the case.

Sir Peter O'Sullevan's voice provided the soundtrack to horse racing for more than six decades. (My emphasis.) His commentaries, whether at the Grand National, the Derby, or during wet afternoons at the gaff tracks, had a distinct air of hard-earned authority as he called home the greats such as Arkle, Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Sea Bird, Nijinsky, Dancing Brave. He became a legend himself and led an extraordinary life, both on the Turf and beyond.

Another broadsheet writer remarked that the voice had a mellifluous beauty, and mused: "The sound of Sir Peter calling the horses should be one of our exports into outer space to signify the depth of our civilisation." That last bit gets somewhat carried away, something that O'Sullevan himself would never do, at least not on air. His style – perhaps best once characterised as a "hectic drawl" – remained grounded, focused on the specifics of the action.

When working on BBC radio or TV broadcasts (51 years), or writing for the Daily Express for 35 years (a time of that paper's heyday), O'Sullevan never showed a trace of conceit, was invariably frank, had friends from all walks of life (the Etonian, horse-breeding high Tory Jakie Astor called him "Peter O'Socialist"), and built a formidable array of contacts to help inform followers of his Express copy and tips, and his own wagers.
{ Sir Lester Piggott, considered the greatest English jockey of the post war generation was found guilty of tax evasion, he was stripped of his peerage and sent to prison. Peter O'Sullevan was a great supported of Lester. My parenthetical observation.}

While sitting next to the Queen at Windsor sometime later, O'Sullevan decided to express his feelings on the matter. Recounting the occasion to a Daily Telegraph interviewer in 2014, he said: "So I thought this was an opportune moment, and launched into my Lester spiel to Her Majesty, who put down her knife and fork, and looked at me quite seriously for a moment.
"She put down her knife and fork, as I say, and said: 'I Iike the way you put it, but he was rather naughty, you know. He was not only rather naughty, but he was very stupid, because he paid it [his tax bill] on a bank that hadn't come up in the case, and hadn't been investigated.' "

{The Queen is a horse lover, too, and loves the Races. She is also, obviously, well informed of the country's peccadillos!}

Horses, though, were the first priority. Knowledge of racing was proven in a trial following a job interview with the Press Association's Fleet Street racing department, where he began working in October 1944. He started working for the BBC in 1946, with his first Grand National radio commentary in 1947.
In 1950 he joined the Express, and a year later married Canadian-born Pat.
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Sir Peter O'Sullevan, broadcaster and journalist: born Kenmare, Co Kerry 3 March 1918; Kt 1997; married Patricia Jones (died 2009); died 29 July 2015.

 

 

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Annoying phone calls cont'd

I wrote the following two years ago : -

I am sure that there are many other people/households who are being taunted by annoying phone calls. What I would like to know, is how can a company get away with using # s such as 000 000 0000? And more annoyingly, today 613-704-0070 called me, of course it was a scam and I was not willing to listen all the way through -- yet, I could not hang up the phone, nor disconnect from that number. I pressed Off. Then, talk again, and the female voice was still rabbiting on !! Three  attempts to disconnect did not work.

How can they get away with this?
I have blocked the number now... but it still disturbs me that the phone company permits some business to have a number that is a permanent link.

OK,WHY is this still happening. We have an election coming up; Let's all remember to quiz the politician begging for our attention to pay attention to our needs. How come companies carrying out fraudulent practices get non-functioning telephone numbers. Let us make this illegal and fine the phone company along with the perpetrators.

(yes, yes, there are lots of other things for the politicians to address too. I have not forgotten.)

Miksworld Play list -- Oldies

Welcome, I am Michael Lavalette and this is When  The Lights Come On Again.

 SONGS
You Are My Sunshine 2:36 Bing Crosby

That was Bing Crosby's version of You Are my Sunshine. A hit from 1939 that has become one of the State Songs of Louisiana because it was a hit for country singer Jimmie Davis who also served as Governor of that State ,twice. This wonderful song has been covered by many others in different genres.

Another beautiful song that has been a hit for many others is Love Letters In the Sand. Here is Pat Boone's 1957 hit. Then a Satisfied Mind by Porter Wagoner followed by Moonglow by Morris Stoloff.

SONGS

Love Letters in the Sand 2:14 Pat Boone 
A Satisfied Mind 2:43 Porter Wagoner
Moonglow & Theme from 'Picnic' 2:51 Morris Stoloff & His Orchestra
This version of Moonglow is actually a medley of the older hit with the Love theme from the 1955 movie Picnic. It was a pop hit too for Morris Stoloff & the Columbia Pictures Orchestra.

 Now, Jo Stafford with another of her hits from this era -- Make Love to Me, followed by Shine on Harvest Moon by Vera Lynn, The UK forces favourite, and Patsy Cline with He Called me Baby.

 SONGS

Make Love to Me 2:42 Jo Stafford
Shine On Harvest Moon 3:32 Vera Lynn 
He Called Me Baby 2:39 Patsy Cline

That Patsy Cline song was re-done as an RnB hit in 1969 for Ella Washington. I love both versions.

 One of my mother's favourites songs was Amapola.  Yet again, I remember trying to get this song  for her in the record store at the height of the Rock and Roll and Beatlemania to no avail. Now, I found it easily on the internet from home !

Amapola  is by Helen O'Connell & Bob Eberly they  were featured vocalists with Jimmy Dorsey at one time.  Helen O'Connell was described as the darling of the G.I.s in WWII.
And the fabulous Half As Much by the Great Hank Williams. Then, You Always Hurt the One you Love by the Mills Brothers, another perennial hit.

SONGS
Amapola 3:26 Helen O'Connell & Bob Eberly
Half As Much 2:45 Hank Williams 
You Always Hurt the One You Love 3:25 The Mills Brothers
Coming up are 2 country songs and one from the American Standard songbook.

Keep a Knockin' But You Can't Come In by Bob Willis & The Texas Playboys. Very much in the Western Swing tradition. However, a similar song was also a rock n roll hit for Little Richard & others covered it too. While they sound similar, I found nothing linking them on many music web pages. Maybe I should write a book about this song!

 Deep In The Heart Of Texas, a rousing version by Bill Schallen and Skeets Herfut.

followed by a swinging Mr. Sinatra doing You Make Me Feel So Young.

.

SONGS
Keep a Knockin' But You Can't Come In 2:34 Bob Willis & The Texas Playboys
Deep In The Heart Of Texas 2:42 Bill Schallen & Skeets Herfurt with Alvino Rey Orch.
You Make Me Feel So Young 2:58 Frank Sinatra

A tune from the 1930's, Fascination , here a 1957 version from Nat King Cole. Then I'll Walk Alone, a No.1 hit for Dinah Shore in 1944.  This obviously resonated with an audience affected by the separation of the war. However, it remains popular into the Sixties as both country and Pop genres recorded it.

After, Stormy Weather by the lovely Lena Horne, and the vivacious Rosemary Clooney and the unique Come-on-a my-house.

SONGS

Fascination 2:29 Nat "King" Cole 
I'll Walk Alone 2:46 Dinah Shore 
Stormy Weather 3:24 Lena Horne 
Come On-a My House 1:58 Rosemary Clooney

That was Rosemary Clooney a big star and aunt to George Clooney who went on to have many more hits in the 1950's.

Coming up is one-hit wonder, Harold Dorman with Mountain of Love. Harold had not other hits but this song was covered successfully by others in the Sixties.  A classic do-wop tune from the early 50's. Earth Angel by the Penguins. As a youth in London reading the music papers, the Letters' Pages were filled with people's opinions on the first "true rock & Roll" hit. This was one contender.

Finally tonight, the ever mellow Platters with Twilight Time.

 SONGS

Mountain Of Love 2:25 Harold Dorman
Earth Angel 2:58 Penguins
Twilight Time 2:48 The Platters
 

You have been listening to When the Lights Come On Again with Michael Lavalette on 97.5CIOE-FM. Obviously, you can connect with me by tuning in, or alternatively, go to our web page at 97.5Communityradio.ca  the show streams Live on Mondays at 9pm Atlantic Summer Time.

 

If you had tuned in on July 15th, this is the show you would have heard.

 

Playlist for Miksworld

 

I host a show on  CIOE-FM  called  The Beatles Remembered.

 

Here is a recent Beatles Remembered  playlist:

it focussed on the epitome of Sixties Beatle culture -- Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.

This 45 was a double A sided single in most of the world, save for America. Penny Lane was the big hit.

 

SONGS

Penny Lane 3:01 The Beatles 

Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26] 3:25 The Beatles 

That is the hit version of Penny Lane with  Strawberry Fields Forever. (Take 26) not the version on the 45RPM disc.

Much was made of the fact that this Beatles single never made Number 1 in Britain. It stopped at No.2 in the charts.

Is Beatlemania finished the newspapers wondered.

The single was released in February 1967.

By February 1968 the Beatles were in India with the Marharashi and I was in North London teaching economics 3 days a week & regularly walking along Abbey Road to get to the school. I was still doing that in June & July when they were back at Abbey road studios working on "The Beatles" LP.

 

June 68, Paul was working on Blackbird. If only I had stopped & looked into the parking lot. I'm sad

I missed so many opportunities to see him then, but I was fortunate to meet him another time .

Here is Blackbird from The Beatles LP.

 

 

SONGS

Blackbird 3:24 The Beatles
From Me To You 1:58 The Beatles
From Us To You (BBC Radio) 0:33 The Beatles 

 

 

We are back with The Beatles Remembered.
After Blackbird, we heard their early hit "From Me To You"  followed by a twist on the same tune called 'From Us to You', done on their radio show in 1963.

 

A lot is made of the craziness of the period  dubbed as Beatlemania, but in the UK there was an immense awakening of  youthful energy in clubs with groups not simply copying Beatles material, but more significantly, covering the US groups that spurred their original popularity.

 

Here are 3 songs the Beatles themselves covered. Shout, an Isley Brothers original, recorded on  a TV show, later a hit for Lulu; 

I just don't understand a top 10 hit for Ann-Margaret, here the Beatles  do it on their BBC radio show;  Then Chains done originally by the Cookies. A girl  group.

 

SONGS

Shout! - From "Around The Beatles" TV Special [Redifusion-TV] 2:05
I Just Don't Understand (Live at the BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 20th August, 1963) 2:48
Chains 2:25 The Beatles 

 

Here are 3 Beatles tunes ranging from the early days to the later days --

A Taste of Honey, Things We Said Today and Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

 

SONGS

A Taste of Honey 2:03 The Beatles 

Things we said Today 2:38 The Beatles
Maxwell's  Silver Hammer 3:30 The Beatles
   

The first serious pop album from a Beatle as a solo artist was McCartney's self titled release in early 1970.  However, I have chosen  Another Day for the Playlist,  which wasn't released till 1971 but Paul had in fact recorded it before his first solo LP.  

Then follows songs from the others solo material , George Harrison's huge hit,  My Sweet Lord;   Ringo Starr's Photograph and Mind Games from John Lennon.

 

SONGS

Another Day 3:45 Paul McCartney
My Sweet Lord 4:41 George Harrison
Photograph 3:58 Ringo Starr
Mind Games 4:16 John Lennon   

 

In early '63, when their popularity  in Britain & Europe was erupting-- Brian Epstein wanted them to write songs for others in his stable.  Here is the Demo for How Do You Do It, a big hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers. The Beatles demo wasn't officially released till the 1990's. Do You Want to Know a Secret, from their first LP; It was a UK No.1 hit for Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas. 

The Beatles version  was never a single in Britain, but was released as a single in the US after their Ed Sullivan show exposure & made the top 40 there.

Finally two classics, Norwegian Wood, from Revolver LP that shows their development with the use of Indian instruments,  ending this playlist with the Long & winding road.

 

 

SONGS

How Do You Do It [Artist-Test] 1:58 The Beatles 

Do You Want to Know a Secret 1:57 The Beatles
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 1) 2:02 The Beatles
The Long And Winding Road 3:38 The Beatles 

  

 Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

July 10

As the phrase goes -- "people of a certain age", normally code for aging Baby Boomers, -- you eagerly went to the record store {Huh, what's that?} on Friday in England to listen and possibly, buy, the latest music release.
However, 50  years ago, the Beatles & Rolling Stones berated the industry that released their material on different days around the world, sometimes with different covers. (Great for dedicated memorabilia collectors now,  but not then, because it just added to confusion of what you were purchasing.)
That was one reason they started their own labels, not simply to get a larger share of the pie; there was a definite creativity link.
In Canada, for years, we have been getting new music -- and videos, of course for this Century, on Tuesday.
Well, it all changes on July 10th. Not only has the World's many countries talked to each other, whoa, they even agreed on something.
All digital material will have the same release date around the world -- Friday.
Beginning with this Friday, July 10th.
Ok, Apple, how about some freebies to emphasize this fact-- & not 3 months free streaming for an otherwise expensive streaming music "radio" to compete with the other worldwide ones.

Come on Mick, how about a free copy of Beggar's Banquet that Decca wouldn't let you use, or Paul & Ringo -- the Beatles For Sale free with the gross bloody dolls cover. Just a thought..

movies about music

I feel fortunate to have seen some great movies or documentaries about music and musicians lately. (Well, within the last 10 months.)
 I would like to recommend them to you, especially if you want to learn what drives particular artists; and where some of the new stuff is coming from.

First -- the Jersey Boys, about the rise of the Four Seasons in the sixties. An unusual American group that  survived  the Beatles invasion of North America. They had hits, some number 1s, before and AFTER the so-called English invasion. They also toured successfully through out those years. That is very unusual, many of the pre-Beatles American groups could no longer get bookings anymore. It is also interesting because in an industry known for its corruption and back biting, Frankie Valli and Bob Crewe never had anything more than a  handshake to bind them. In the film they somewhat jokingly call it a 'Jersey Contract'. [Of course, in Britain, that is known as a Gentleman's Agreement and is legally binding.] It has a wonderful soundtrack from mine, and many other's youth.

Get On Up. Is a dramatic presentation of the life of James Brown. Again, a huge star with so many interesting social  and cultural touchstones. See it !

Of course, there is also the Mr. Dynamite/James Brown documentary from HBO that is closer to the true story of James Brown, with interviews with the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger was the producer behind this project. Clearly shows how Jagger developed his idiosyncratic moves after James Brown, especially when the two groups met at the taping of the seminal T.A.M.I. show in 1965. That show was long talked about. I remember reading about it in the sixties; But it was not till much later -- Eighties I  think, that a good tape of the show surfaced and was released. Now it regularly features on PBS fund raising weeks !!

The two part Eagles documentary on HBO is a fascinating look at a group that are a classic example of Too Much, Too Soon. Immature Southern Californian types who felt they knew how the world worked... or should work... and why isn't the world listening to me. I am taking my ball and I'm out of here !
They fought internally a lot; Partied a little too much to their own detriment. In some fashion, though, they re-invented themselves, cleaning up their back story; depending on which current or past group member one listens to, or whose autobiography one reads. It is definitely worth watching for the music.

Sonic Highways, also on HBO, is a documentary following Dave Grohl as he and the Foo Fighters record their last album at different recording studios around America and looks into what made each studio famous. A terrific documentary  and the Foo Fighters have not been any better than this. Highly recommended.

Last and no means least is Muscle Shoals a documentary on the Documentary Channel (what a co-incidence!) about the Alabama town of the same name that contained Rick Hall's  FAME recording studio.  So many fabulous songs came from there. It is also a story about the meanness and pettiness that permeated the business back in the sixties and seventies. It is also a story about friendship and how talent will out. Good to see great musicians, the Swampers, decide that world wide touring was not for them. They loved their little town of 8,000 people where their family lived and preferred that lifestyle.  They produced great music, and instead, the world -- well known artists, singers and bands, came to them; readily and happily. Watch it.

Books I have loved - narrative part two

6 -- Frannie and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Yes, I read Catcher in the Rye and liked it; However, this "book", really 2 stories about the Glass family, sucked me in as a student learning about the world at large. This was unlike anything English that I had lived . At that time, all the friends I associated with were voracious readers and we shared what we liked. I was given this book by a friend and it has been everywhere with me ; I  read it again every couple of years. It is multi-layered liked its author.

7 -- By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart. Actually a Canadian authoress. A beautiful novel full of metaphors. Love lived, and lost. I bought it in central London as a student, by the time I had arrived home in north west London I had finished it; Could not stop reading as I rode the tube and bus and even as I walked ! Gave it to my great friend Dee that night. She loved it. Bought myself another copy the next day. It is still with me.

8 -- Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro : This is the only novel by this Canadian Nobel Laureate of Literature. (Her speciality is short stories.) It came out in paperback just as I fell for my first "born and raised in Toronto" girl! (Woman, of course, as we were both in our mid-20's.) Our frames of reference were clearly different and this book helped me understand hers.

9 -- Winter: A Berlin Family by Len Deighton. I loved all his spy novels and his eye for detail in cold-war Berlin. This novel takes in the whole sweep of C20th Germany through the lens of one family - the Winters. The book is a terrific primer for any person interested in how Germany came to be embroiled in WWII.

10 - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Cavino. A book for book lovers. Each chapter is a different story linked by the search for a special edition of a famous radical's book. The first line of each story, when read as a chapter heading, describes the novel's outline. Ingenious.

11 - Dune by Frank Herbert. A great novel, sweeping in scope, vivid characterisation that has lead to a whole series of Sci-fi novels, inter-linked by characters and planter descriptions. 40 + years since its publication but it is  recognised now as fostering an environmental awareness.
I was lucky enough to meet Frank Herbert in Toronto the day Queen Elizabeth II was signing our constitution in Ottawa It was ironic that only a handful of us turned up for Herbert's book-signing. We had an engaging chat as he had time on his hands and no customers !

Books I Have Loved -- narrative part one.

I find listing just 10 books much too limiting. Even sticking to only fiction, I cannot find a decent cut-off...
So, instead, taking a leaf out of Tiberius T. Kirk's book, I will "re-program" the question: instead of naming 'a book', a couple of suggestions are going to be a novelist. For me, when a book/story moves me, I seek out the author's other works and invariably, they move me too.
So, onwards :--
1. Jules Verne 's 'Journey to the Centre of the World' is an amazing fantasy. The descriptions are so vivid I could imagine the subterranean world as if I was watching a film. I read it when I was 12; loved it; saw that he had written more , so I searched them out and read them all.

2. Sherlock Holmes: saw Hounds of the Baskerville on TV, again when I was about 12 or 13. I went to the library and saw Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fantastic output. I loved the short stories.
I recommend Silver Blaze, I think that is the title. It has the famous sleuth's comment: "the curious incident of the dog in the night." (Hint: It did not bark. ) This simple but ingenious solution to the crime has been copied numerous times. It came up in a crime show on TV recently; It is the basis of Michael Haddon's novel and now a play.
A Study in Scarlet is the first story that introduced the public to the famous sleuth. It is great and also been filmed dozens of times.

3. The Rubiyatt translated b Fitzgerald.  My mum gave me a beautiful, illustrated version when I was 20. The language Fitzgerald used is amazing; it is transcendental.
A loaf, a book, a jug of wine and thou
and paradise is enow.
Also a book that is constantly quoted, but many are unaware of the source of their quote.

4. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. I had to read this for my 'O' Level in English Literature and could not believe that I actually enjoyed the  book. Somehow I managed to write  a decent essay on it to pass. Thank goodness I did not have questions on Silas Marner another set text; I hated that one and have never gone back to it, whereas, I have re-read Great Expectations as an adult and still love it.

5. Space Merchants - Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth. This is a Sci-Fi novel from the 1950's where governments are irrelevant; Corporations rule the world and Advertising Agencies are the powerful manipulators of the population's desires and intentions. A prescient novel of our Global Economy of the C21st.

Books I have loved

1 -- Jules Verne all his books
2 -- Sherlock Holmes. Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
3 -- The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam. translated by Edward Fitzgerald
4 -- Great Expectations. Charles Dickens
5 -- The Space Merchants by Pohl & Kornbluth
6 -- Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
7 -- By Grand Central Station I Sat Down & Wept by Elizabeth Smart
8 -- Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
9 -- Winter: A Berlin Family by Len Deighton
10 - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Cavino
11 - Dune by Frank Herbert

just can not make a top 10 list.. this 10+

My Halifax -- winter & fridays!

Ah, don't you love winter in Canada ? Ok, perhaps not love.. the piles of stacked up snow make it difficult to have fun, as it reduces the number of available parking spots. Certainly for me that becomes an issue as I need to get as near to the door as possible. In addition, the freeze, melt, freeze adds a glaze to the spots that appear clear of the fluffy stuff so that my cane slides all over the place and guess who slides with it -- and not very gracefully unfortunately!
Here I am again on a sunny Friday indulging in a Boomburger meal.
The great burgers (with hot sauce) and PEI potato fries make the effort worthwhile.

This is Propaganda by Tino Sehgal

THIS IS PROPAGANDA 


British-born, Berlin-based artist Tino Sehgal turns art storage on its head. Why? As performative work – executed not by Sehgal himself but by his trained ‘interpreters’ – it is completely immaterial. Unlike other artists in this field, Sehgal also stipulates that no record whatsoever remains of the work – no photos, no recordings, no press releases; only the experience. That rule even extends to institutional sales agreements of his piece – a sale like that of This is Propaganda, which Tate bought in 2005, is verbally executed. The artist, the buyer, a lawyer and a notary are present; all rules and regulations around the piece are committed to a designated person’s memory. So This is Propaganda (which sees a gallery guard singing “This is propaganda, you know, you know, this is propaganda, Tino Sehgal, This is propaganda, 2002” to every visitor who enters the space) exists only in the mind. Imagine that.


Fascinating- modern art, concept art, is art about the creative process or is "art" the outcome?

I don't know, but I do know artists themselves are interesting.

(Courtesy BBC website.)

Afterwards by Thomas Hardy

When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay, 
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings, 
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say, 
'He was a man who used to notice such things'? 

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink, 
The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight 
Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think, 
'To him this must have been a familiar sight.' 

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm, 
When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn, 
One may say, 'He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm, 
But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.' 

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door, 
Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees 
Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more, 
'He was one who had an eye for such mysteries'? 

And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom 
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings, 
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell's boom, 
'He hears it not now, but used to notice such things'?




Read this as a schoolboy in England. Had a wonderful youth traversing Hardy's "Wessex".
As a kid in school, the poet's desire to be remembered struck me as an idea I could grasp. Alot of poetry , back then, was a foreign land for which I did not have a passport.