You all have likely noticed that I've changed my name from TheLazenby to The Rabid Child. Allow me to explain why.
In 1985, They Might Be Giants filmed their first-ever music video to accompany "Rabid Child," a track from their widely-circulated demo tape that would shortly after appear on their proper debut album. When the Johns felt that it didn't meet their standards, the video was shelved and never once shown to the public. Outside of a mention in the 'Early Years' FAQ on TMBG.org (which claimed it merely showed Flansburgh clinging to a door jamb while staring dreamily into the camera), it was more or less unknown by their fan-base.
Then, in 2002, the documentary film 'Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns' was released. Most surprisingly, the film included a very brief clip of the "Rabid Child" video which most certainly *didn't* show Flans clinging to a door jamb, and seemed to be a fairly well-done and quite surreal production. Unfortunately, this brief clip is all the Johns would allow - director A.J. Schnack wanted to include the entire video as a DVD feature, and was refused without question. Nevertheless, this clip left fans hungry for more.
In 2004, hoping that its appearance on the Internet would inspire TMBG to release their most notorious and mysterious music video in full, a high school classmate and I spent a wealth of time in our filmmaking class building a full length music video for "Rabid Child" out of the fragment of footage seen in 'Gigantic.'
Unfortunately, a decade later, this is STILL the only version of "Rabid Child" available for public viewing... the same short clip, looped and manipulated to pad out the minute-and-a-half song. (The version currently on YouTube has been touched up compared to our original version - I tweaked the speed of the footage in spots to make Flans mouth the words a little more accurately, and added a 'Direct From Brooklyn' style title card.)
When faking the video failed to sway Messrs. Flansburgh and Linnell into revealing the rest of the genuine article, I started a petition that, sadly, faded into obscurity - but not after receiving more than 30 signatures from like-minded fans.
http://www.petitiononline.com/RbdChild/petition.html
In 2009, on this very blog, I wrote a letter to TMBG, respectfully telling them of the wishes of their fan base to see this video once and for all. Of course, this post didn't grab the attention of anyone in the TMBG camp, and likely did not bat an eyebrow on either of the Johns.
http://steveworek.blogspot.com/2009/01/free-rabid-child-open-letter-to-tmbg.html
So, nearly a decade after my friend and I created our reconstruction, and almost thirty years since the video was filmed and hidden away, we remain devoted to our cause - though my determination is considerably stronger than his.
It consumes me - last night I had a dream (from my recollection, the third I've had about this video) where TMBG offered to release the video if fans gave them a collective $5,000. Hell, if that were the case, I'd start a Kickstarter before you could blink.
From this day forward, I have but two goals in life - one, to join a Rocky Horror cast; and two, to feast my eyes upon the missing one minute and twenty seconds of the "Rabid Child" video!
You haven't won yet, Johns....
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Grease - the deleted scenes! (part 2)
Sorry about that... totally forgot about this! Well, better late than never, allow me to dive again into the shooting script of "Grease" and dig out goodies...
=====================================
[The cheer at the bonfire - 'Do a split, give a yell' - was entirely different in the script, as was Calhoun's speech, which isn't pathetic this time around:]
60. CONTINUED:
CHEERLEADERS
Strawberry shortcake!
Huckleberry pie!
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!
Stand 'em on their heads!
Stand 'em on their feet!
Rydell! Rydell!
Can't be beat!
61. THE BONFIRE
Coach Calhoun and the team stand before the students. Tom and Sandy are exchanging glances as the Coach addresses the crowd.
COACH CALHOUN
And we'll be expecting to see you all back out here after the game for that most joyous of Rydell customs -- the ringing of the victory bell!
He gestures toward a rope that hangs from a tarnished old bell that hangs over the ramp. The Cheerleaders put their hands over their hearts.
COACH CALHOUN
(continuing)
Rydell forever!
The school BAND launches into the VICTORY SONG.
[Oddly enough, shortly after this, the T-Birds' version of the cheer still matches the version that ended up in the film - "Do a split, do a yell, shake a tit for old Rydell."]
=====================================
[A couple differences in the next few pages - Sonny's clever line about having to "put out before she ever gets in" hasn't been refined yet:]
SONNY
A girl is going to have to be willing to go... three-quarters of the way before she can even get in it...
[And Danny's response to "What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?" is considerably more asshole-ish than in the final film:]
DANNY
Search me. I'm clean. Maybe there's two of us. What was he like? Was he short? Was he tall? Come on, baby, lay it on me. I don't got all day to help you.
Sandy has to bite her lip to keep from crying.
DANNY
(continuing)
That don't give me much to go on. Look in the Yellow Pages... Take out a Want Ad... Try Missing Persons.
=====================================
[The beginning of the slumber party scene is *not* Jan dancing to "Brusha Brusha Brusha", which may have been chosen after Jamie Donnelly's casting. The dialogue and directions are entirely different:]
69. INT. FRENCHY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
CLOSE on a bottle of Italian Swiss Colony wine.
PULL BACK TO SEE that Rizzo is pouring from the bottle into the outstretched jelly glasses held by Marty, Jan and Frenchy. Sandy sits somewhat removed from the others looking unhappy. The girls are in baby-doll pyjamas, mules and hair rollers, the room a typical girl's room of the period. A large picture of Vince Fontaine is framed above the bed. He's a good looking man with sharp features and an elaborate hairdo. The room is full of wigs and hair dryers.
Both the RADIO and TV are ON. A 50's TUNE ENDS. The TV is a round Motorola.
JAN
Jeez, look what Loretta Young is wearing!
Marty squints. Frenchy pulls a large magnifying glass in front of the screen.
RIZZO
I can't stand her. I keep waiting for her to get her dress caught in the door.
VINCE FONTAINE (V.O.:)
(on the radio)
This is Vince Fontaine, your daddio on the radio playing stacks of wax for Jills and Jacks out there in Radioland... And now!... going out to Ronnie and Sheila. For the first time anywhere, here's the National Bandstand premiere of a brand new song that's going to set you little dears on your cotton-picking ears!
[The girls' conversation while Frenchy and Sandy are in the bathroom is different:]
Rizzo lights a cigarette and passes around the pack. The girls begin to smoke.
JAN
You know they've got peppermint candy cigarettes now.
MARTY
If you don't watch out, you'll look like the Goodyear Blimp.
JAN
Well, at least I don't have a complexion like pimento cheese.
Marty looks into the mirror.
MARTY
You can't see it through the pancake.
RIZZO
You can't see you through the pancake.
[Two points of interest - "Freddy My Love" is STILL not included in this scene, being replaced at this point by "Sandra Dee"; and the Elvis verse of that song is already intact - written to replace the verse about recently-murdered Sal Mineo.]
=====================================
[An alternate exchange after Danny's 'sloppy seconds' line - notice Rizzo's question is not yet crude, and not as funny:]
RIZZO
If ya think the virgin princess is up there dying of a broken heart, I got news for ya. The best she could do for love was prick an earlobe.
Danny looks at her disgustedly and starts away.
RIZZO
(continuing)
Where are you going? To howl at the moon?
DANNY
That's a better idea than hanging out with you dorks.
=====================================
[At make-out point, before Rizzo requests that Kenickie call her by her first name:]
As they lie on the back seat -- both of them with their eyes closed, Kenickie manages to free half his mouth so that he can dislodge a wad of gum which he sticks on the car light. They kiss a moment more.
RIZZO
(continuing; still kissing)
What happened to the gum?
KENICKIE
It was gettin' in the way.
Rizzo opens her eyes and looks at him meaningfully.
RIZZO
Keep a cool tool, fool.. I'm wise to the rise in your Levi's.
KENICKIE
You still thinking about Zuko?
RIZZO
I got one thing on my mind, baby, and that's you.
KENICKIE
(passionately)
Oh, Rizzo. Rizzo.
RIZZO
I always thought if I was to let a guy, he'd at least call me by my first name.
[In this version, Kenickie (sort of) already knows it:]
KENICKIE
(he has to think)
Yeah... uh... Betty! Betty!
[This repeats just as Hell's Chariot backs into the car:]
KENICKIE
(huskily)
Oh, Rizzo, Rizzo.
RIZZO
(huskily)
Please -- Call me Betty.
KENICKIE
Oh, baby.
RIZZO
Betty!
KENICKIE
Yeah!
Suddenly there is a loud SLAM and Kenickie is pitched over the front seat.
=====================================
[An almost entirely different lead-in before "Greased Lightning" begins:]
87. INT. AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CLASSROOM - DAY
Danny, Kenickie, Sonny, Doody and Putzie stand looking gravely at the damaged car.
KENICKIE
We gotta do something.
PUTZIE
It's a hopeless case.
Kenickie gives him a dirty look.
SONNY
Junk it.
DOODY
Won't have to do much to do that.
Kenickie turns around and looks imploringly at Danny who approaches the car and contemplates it seriously while walking around it.
DANNY
I don't think it's so bad. In fact, it's okay. It's pretty good. No, I don't even think it's good. It's a major piece of machinery... I said a major piece of machinery. We can't 86 it.
KENICKIE
Yeah! Tell 'em!
DANNY
Look at the lines. Look at the lights. It needs a little work, sure. But it's all here! It's Hydramatic... Systematic... Automatic... Aristocratic...
HE begins to slide into an Elvis imitation as he speaks and moves.
KENICKIE
It's boss!
DANNY
(getting carried away)
Yeah boss!... Yeah, the best. I tell you what it is!... It's Greased Lightning!
KENICKIE
Greased Lightning.
Kenickie and Danny go through a hand-slapping ritual of enthusiasm as the others move in on them.
DANNY
Greased Lightning! Dual exhaust! A good transmission! Fluid drive! Out, in and overdrive. We can do it! We can fix it! Greased Lightning!
[Cue song.]
=====================================
[Unused dialogue at the start of the first Frosty Palace scene. Note that the design of the Frosty Palace was considerable more than a generic 50's diner here:]
FLOW with Danny and Kenickie as they enter the Frosty Palace where the igloo effect is carried out with the booths looking like chunks of ice and the brightly-hued juke box looking like the Northern Lights. The waitresses wear short fur-trimmed skirts with hoods and look like bouffant Eskimos. The place is crowded. The Pink Ladies are in one booth -- Putzie, Sonny and Doody in another -- miscellaneous students in another and, in the middle are Sandy and Tom. She is lost in his oversized football jacket, sees Danny out of the corner of her eye and gives Tom her undivided attention.
The boys greet each other like long-lost friends, but Danny can't take his eyes off Sandy and Tom. He collides with VI, the tough/tender waitress who's seen it all. Vi carries a loaded tray which almost dumps on the floor. They barely catch it, but Vi is a precision waitress who manages to hold the tray on one palm.
DANNY
Great save, Vi.
VI
I used to be with the Ice Follies, honey. It prepared me for life at the Frosty Palace.
She gives him a smile and he turns toward the booth.
KENICKIE
Are you still thinking about that chick?
DANNY
The only thing on my mind is Greased Lightning.
Danny and Kenickie slide into the already crowded booth.
Vi turns from serving a table and stands over the Pink Ladies' booth resting the tray on her hip.
JAN
How about an Aurora Borealis?
MARTY
What's that?
VI
The same as the Eskimo Surprise except it has colored sprinkles.
The JUKEBOX PLAYS an original 50's SONG -- "POOR LITTLE FOOL."
=====================================
[Shortly after, the conversation between Danny and Sandy is a bit different:]
DANNY
How's it going?
SANDY
(coolly)
Oh, it's wonderful. I just love Rydell and I've got so many new friends.
DANNY
(not meaning it)
Glad to hear it.
SANDY
Between meetings, parties and cheerleader practices, I hardly have any time to do my homework.
DANNY
Well, you're just naturally smart, I guess.
SANDY
It does help.
Danny looks at her for a moment. She smiles blithely giving him no encouragement, looking lovely and knowing it. She also knows exactly what she is doing as she feigns disinterest.
Danny is torn and for a moment he drops his pose.
DANNY
Look, Sandy... I'm sorry about the way things turned out... I mean I wish there wasn't anything between us.
SANDY
(sweetly)
But there isn't.
DANNY
There is and you know it!... It's just that I wake up in the morning and I look in the mirror and there I am, Danny Zuko. Then I get dressed and I come to school and I turn into DANNY ZUKO. And there's one you know and there's one they know, but I'm both of 'em and sometimes Danny Zuko says something, but it comes out like DANNY ZUKO said it, but I mean the same thing... You gotta help me, Sandy.
SANDY
That sounds like a wonderful idea for a term paper in Social Psychology.
DANNY
It ain't easy being two people, you know.
SANDY
That's why I'm so glad Tom is such a practical, simple person.
=====================================
[Finally for this installment, there is a bit more between Calhoun suggesting that Danny take up long-distance running, and his failed attempt at hurdles.]
102. SERIES OF SHOTS
of Danny running.
103. EXT. FROSTY PALACE
The Thunderbirds and Pink Ladies are dancing when Danny jogs past. A SONG is HEARD from the JUKE BOX. He stops momentarily to look in, which is just enough time for them to see him. They run into the street hooting and yelling. "What are you doing in your underwear? Where do you keep your Wheaties!?"
=====================================
[The cheer at the bonfire - 'Do a split, give a yell' - was entirely different in the script, as was Calhoun's speech, which isn't pathetic this time around:]
60. CONTINUED:
CHEERLEADERS
Strawberry shortcake!
Huckleberry pie!
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!
Stand 'em on their heads!
Stand 'em on their feet!
Rydell! Rydell!
Can't be beat!
61. THE BONFIRE
Coach Calhoun and the team stand before the students. Tom and Sandy are exchanging glances as the Coach addresses the crowd.
COACH CALHOUN
And we'll be expecting to see you all back out here after the game for that most joyous of Rydell customs -- the ringing of the victory bell!
He gestures toward a rope that hangs from a tarnished old bell that hangs over the ramp. The Cheerleaders put their hands over their hearts.
COACH CALHOUN
(continuing)
Rydell forever!
The school BAND launches into the VICTORY SONG.
[Oddly enough, shortly after this, the T-Birds' version of the cheer still matches the version that ended up in the film - "Do a split, do a yell, shake a tit for old Rydell."]
=====================================
[A couple differences in the next few pages - Sonny's clever line about having to "put out before she ever gets in" hasn't been refined yet:]
SONNY
A girl is going to have to be willing to go... three-quarters of the way before she can even get in it...
[And Danny's response to "What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?" is considerably more asshole-ish than in the final film:]
DANNY
Search me. I'm clean. Maybe there's two of us. What was he like? Was he short? Was he tall? Come on, baby, lay it on me. I don't got all day to help you.
Sandy has to bite her lip to keep from crying.
DANNY
(continuing)
That don't give me much to go on. Look in the Yellow Pages... Take out a Want Ad... Try Missing Persons.
=====================================
[The beginning of the slumber party scene is *not* Jan dancing to "Brusha Brusha Brusha", which may have been chosen after Jamie Donnelly's casting. The dialogue and directions are entirely different:]
69. INT. FRENCHY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
CLOSE on a bottle of Italian Swiss Colony wine.
PULL BACK TO SEE that Rizzo is pouring from the bottle into the outstretched jelly glasses held by Marty, Jan and Frenchy. Sandy sits somewhat removed from the others looking unhappy. The girls are in baby-doll pyjamas, mules and hair rollers, the room a typical girl's room of the period. A large picture of Vince Fontaine is framed above the bed. He's a good looking man with sharp features and an elaborate hairdo. The room is full of wigs and hair dryers.
Both the RADIO and TV are ON. A 50's TUNE ENDS. The TV is a round Motorola.
JAN
Jeez, look what Loretta Young is wearing!
Marty squints. Frenchy pulls a large magnifying glass in front of the screen.
RIZZO
I can't stand her. I keep waiting for her to get her dress caught in the door.
VINCE FONTAINE (V.O.:)
(on the radio)
This is Vince Fontaine, your daddio on the radio playing stacks of wax for Jills and Jacks out there in Radioland... And now!... going out to Ronnie and Sheila. For the first time anywhere, here's the National Bandstand premiere of a brand new song that's going to set you little dears on your cotton-picking ears!
[The girls' conversation while Frenchy and Sandy are in the bathroom is different:]
Rizzo lights a cigarette and passes around the pack. The girls begin to smoke.
JAN
You know they've got peppermint candy cigarettes now.
MARTY
If you don't watch out, you'll look like the Goodyear Blimp.
JAN
Well, at least I don't have a complexion like pimento cheese.
Marty looks into the mirror.
MARTY
You can't see it through the pancake.
RIZZO
You can't see you through the pancake.
[Two points of interest - "Freddy My Love" is STILL not included in this scene, being replaced at this point by "Sandra Dee"; and the Elvis verse of that song is already intact - written to replace the verse about recently-murdered Sal Mineo.]
=====================================
[An alternate exchange after Danny's 'sloppy seconds' line - notice Rizzo's question is not yet crude, and not as funny:]
RIZZO
If ya think the virgin princess is up there dying of a broken heart, I got news for ya. The best she could do for love was prick an earlobe.
Danny looks at her disgustedly and starts away.
RIZZO
(continuing)
Where are you going? To howl at the moon?
DANNY
That's a better idea than hanging out with you dorks.
=====================================
[At make-out point, before Rizzo requests that Kenickie call her by her first name:]
As they lie on the back seat -- both of them with their eyes closed, Kenickie manages to free half his mouth so that he can dislodge a wad of gum which he sticks on the car light. They kiss a moment more.
RIZZO
(continuing; still kissing)
What happened to the gum?
KENICKIE
It was gettin' in the way.
Rizzo opens her eyes and looks at him meaningfully.
RIZZO
Keep a cool tool, fool.. I'm wise to the rise in your Levi's.
KENICKIE
You still thinking about Zuko?
RIZZO
I got one thing on my mind, baby, and that's you.
KENICKIE
(passionately)
Oh, Rizzo. Rizzo.
RIZZO
I always thought if I was to let a guy, he'd at least call me by my first name.
[In this version, Kenickie (sort of) already knows it:]
KENICKIE
(he has to think)
Yeah... uh... Betty! Betty!
[This repeats just as Hell's Chariot backs into the car:]
KENICKIE
(huskily)
Oh, Rizzo, Rizzo.
RIZZO
(huskily)
Please -- Call me Betty.
KENICKIE
Oh, baby.
RIZZO
Betty!
KENICKIE
Yeah!
Suddenly there is a loud SLAM and Kenickie is pitched over the front seat.
=====================================
[An almost entirely different lead-in before "Greased Lightning" begins:]
87. INT. AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CLASSROOM - DAY
Danny, Kenickie, Sonny, Doody and Putzie stand looking gravely at the damaged car.
KENICKIE
We gotta do something.
PUTZIE
It's a hopeless case.
Kenickie gives him a dirty look.
SONNY
Junk it.
DOODY
Won't have to do much to do that.
Kenickie turns around and looks imploringly at Danny who approaches the car and contemplates it seriously while walking around it.
DANNY
I don't think it's so bad. In fact, it's okay. It's pretty good. No, I don't even think it's good. It's a major piece of machinery... I said a major piece of machinery. We can't 86 it.
KENICKIE
Yeah! Tell 'em!
DANNY
Look at the lines. Look at the lights. It needs a little work, sure. But it's all here! It's Hydramatic... Systematic... Automatic... Aristocratic...
HE begins to slide into an Elvis imitation as he speaks and moves.
KENICKIE
It's boss!
DANNY
(getting carried away)
Yeah boss!... Yeah, the best. I tell you what it is!... It's Greased Lightning!
KENICKIE
Greased Lightning.
Kenickie and Danny go through a hand-slapping ritual of enthusiasm as the others move in on them.
DANNY
Greased Lightning! Dual exhaust! A good transmission! Fluid drive! Out, in and overdrive. We can do it! We can fix it! Greased Lightning!
[Cue song.]
=====================================
[Unused dialogue at the start of the first Frosty Palace scene. Note that the design of the Frosty Palace was considerable more than a generic 50's diner here:]
FLOW with Danny and Kenickie as they enter the Frosty Palace where the igloo effect is carried out with the booths looking like chunks of ice and the brightly-hued juke box looking like the Northern Lights. The waitresses wear short fur-trimmed skirts with hoods and look like bouffant Eskimos. The place is crowded. The Pink Ladies are in one booth -- Putzie, Sonny and Doody in another -- miscellaneous students in another and, in the middle are Sandy and Tom. She is lost in his oversized football jacket, sees Danny out of the corner of her eye and gives Tom her undivided attention.
The boys greet each other like long-lost friends, but Danny can't take his eyes off Sandy and Tom. He collides with VI, the tough/tender waitress who's seen it all. Vi carries a loaded tray which almost dumps on the floor. They barely catch it, but Vi is a precision waitress who manages to hold the tray on one palm.
DANNY
Great save, Vi.
VI
I used to be with the Ice Follies, honey. It prepared me for life at the Frosty Palace.
She gives him a smile and he turns toward the booth.
KENICKIE
Are you still thinking about that chick?
DANNY
The only thing on my mind is Greased Lightning.
Danny and Kenickie slide into the already crowded booth.
Vi turns from serving a table and stands over the Pink Ladies' booth resting the tray on her hip.
JAN
How about an Aurora Borealis?
MARTY
What's that?
VI
The same as the Eskimo Surprise except it has colored sprinkles.
The JUKEBOX PLAYS an original 50's SONG -- "POOR LITTLE FOOL."
=====================================
[Shortly after, the conversation between Danny and Sandy is a bit different:]
DANNY
How's it going?
SANDY
(coolly)
Oh, it's wonderful. I just love Rydell and I've got so many new friends.
DANNY
(not meaning it)
Glad to hear it.
SANDY
Between meetings, parties and cheerleader practices, I hardly have any time to do my homework.
DANNY
Well, you're just naturally smart, I guess.
SANDY
It does help.
Danny looks at her for a moment. She smiles blithely giving him no encouragement, looking lovely and knowing it. She also knows exactly what she is doing as she feigns disinterest.
Danny is torn and for a moment he drops his pose.
DANNY
Look, Sandy... I'm sorry about the way things turned out... I mean I wish there wasn't anything between us.
SANDY
(sweetly)
But there isn't.
DANNY
There is and you know it!... It's just that I wake up in the morning and I look in the mirror and there I am, Danny Zuko. Then I get dressed and I come to school and I turn into DANNY ZUKO. And there's one you know and there's one they know, but I'm both of 'em and sometimes Danny Zuko says something, but it comes out like DANNY ZUKO said it, but I mean the same thing... You gotta help me, Sandy.
SANDY
That sounds like a wonderful idea for a term paper in Social Psychology.
DANNY
It ain't easy being two people, you know.
SANDY
That's why I'm so glad Tom is such a practical, simple person.
=====================================
[Finally for this installment, there is a bit more between Calhoun suggesting that Danny take up long-distance running, and his failed attempt at hurdles.]
102. SERIES OF SHOTS
of Danny running.
103. EXT. FROSTY PALACE
The Thunderbirds and Pink Ladies are dancing when Danny jogs past. A SONG is HEARD from the JUKE BOX. He stops momentarily to look in, which is just enough time for them to see him. They run into the street hooting and yelling. "What are you doing in your underwear? Where do you keep your Wheaties!?"
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Lorne Michaels' 20 greatest mistakes (part 2)
ADDENDUM - I realized since the first post that Lorne did NOT have anything to do with "It's Pat: The Movie," so our new reason #10 can be "Putting his name on 'Mr. Mike's Mondo Video.'" Either that, or the embarrassing 1976 Beach Boys special.
The second half of why I believe that Lorne Michaels is not the "comedy genius" he is often said to be. Let us begin....
11) Relying on the same characters week after week after week when the show is struggling. Alright, I do understand that this can be a case of 'give the people what they want' in order to keep viewers from running away, but in some cases, the overused characters weren't exactly popular. Take season 21; the show was struggling back to life after 1994-95, with a new cast. When the Cheerleaders took off, it was somewhat understandable to see them again and again that season, because the audience was responding in a big way to something, and they hadn't for quite a while. But also that season, we had Mark McKinney and David Koechner in nearly every episode as the Fops, Lucien and Fagen, sometimes twice in the same episode. Ask anyone who raves about the Cheerleaders or Mary Katherine Gallagher if they found Lucien and Fagen funny. The studio audience didn't.
12) The belief that any one-joke sketch that works in small amounts can be stretched to a feature length film. Saturday Night Live movies are VERY hit or miss, with very few genuine successes, Wayne's World being an obvious choice here. But when a recurring character has been done to death on the show, why believe that an audience would want to see a further 90 minutes of the same repeated schtick? Superstar, The Ladies Man, A Night At The Roxbury, MacGruber, etcetera. We almost got a full-length adaptation of the one-off 'Key Party' sketch that most viewers probably can't remember. The only one we can't blame him for, though, was It's Pat - allegedly Lorne gave that the go-ahead despite predicting its failure.
13) Keeping people looooooong past their prime, even when the audience is tired of them. This is a fairly new occurrence; even former cast members have commented that the show isn't quite the revolving door it used to be. But that's the problem - why does everyone have to go for a Darrell Hammond-esque tenure? What reason is there to keep Fred Armisen on for more than a decade, when he's on another sketch comedy show anyway? He's a particularly good example, because his breakthrough character (Ferecito) hasn't even appeared for several years. We need more change.
14) Letting absolute duds of sketches go through writing, re-writing, table reads, set building, and finally a dress rehearsal where they more than likely died with the audience. I'll resist the temptation to pick an easy sketch from one of the infamously bad seasons, and use the example of "Wet 'Em Down" from Kelsey Grammer's 1998 show. This is a one-joke sketch involving the bikini-clad female members of the cast as Baywatch girls, repeatedly being hosed down at the request of their director. One joke, over and over again. The audience doesn't respond at all. Are we to believe that this made the final roster for that week's show, above a bunch of other sketches that were worse? That it was deemed so funny that they willingly built multiple sets, even bringing in cameo appearances from known actors? That it killed in dress rehearsal and was assumed to do so during the live show? Seems like a major lack of judgment.
15) Over-reliance on nostalgia. Sure, it was fun to see Chevy Chase come back and host a couple years after he left the show. The little nod to 'Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger' in a 1985-86 sketch was even welcome. But nostalgia factor has brought back the Wild and Crazy Guys on two occasions, both more than two decades (the more recent being nearly four) since their last regular appearance. Younger viewers are likely completely in the dark when Dan Aykroyd shows up in an episode and it's supposedly a big deal. No one cares that Generalissimo Francisco Franco is dead, forty years after the fact. There's just no reason to rely on nostalgia so heavily when less and less people actually remember the bits that are referenced.
16) Ignorance of the non-Lorne years, even though Dick Ebersol (temporarily) saved the show. One of Lorne's cohorts states in the "Live From New York" book that Lorne never reran Ebersol episodes, which wasn't true; a good many of them ran in the 3 AM 'Classic SNL' timeslot. But how many times have you seen a surprise cameo by, say, Tim Kazurinsky? (Somewhat subverted, as Martin Short has cameo'ed - but Martin has also hosted numerous times because of movies, and his time on SNL was short.) The biggest flub on this topic is that after the 10th season with a killer cast (Short, Guest, Rich Hall, Dreyfus, etc), Lorne started the show from scratch, despite the fact that it finally grew back into an American institution, and nearly killed it. Just to do things 'his way' and keep separate from Dick's work, despite its success. Moving past Ebersol... the show's treatment of the Doumanian season is one asshole move after another. Nothing was more insulting than the opening credits of the 25th anniversary special, where year-by-year cast photos were seen - including a skip from 1979 to 1981. Considering much of the 1980 cast was in attendance that night, this was a slap in the face; made worse by the 'best of the early Eighties' montage skipping them entirely. (Note - the most recent DVD of the special actually has a Charles Rocket clip in the Weekend Update montage; this was only tacked on for the DVD version and didn't appear in the aired special.)
17) Never being the least conscious of when the audience stops responding to recurring characters. There is a very obvious concept known as "diminishing returns" - and what better example than The Californians? Same jokes every time, less and less laughter. More recent installments have died down to a light chuckle from the audience. But, this is certainly nothing new; you can pretty much pinpoint when the audience stopped finding Matt Foley or any of Kristen Wiig's characters funny.
18) Letting sketches be performed twice in their entirety, especially if it's just to please a cast member. There was no reason for Total Bastard Airlines (you know - "buh bye") to appear in two different shows, in two different seasons. Well, okay, in Lorne's mind there was a reason - 'David Spade wants to do it again.' At that point, Spade had more pull than lesser cast members because he was making money; not necessarily because the audience responded to him. And surely enough, the repeat of "Total Bastard Airlines," with only slight changes, died COMPLETELY. The audience had seen the sketch before, and the charm had worn off. A waste of money, crew strength and air time.
19) Keeping Weekend Update anchors whose jokes only get tepid reactions a majority of the time. Some of you are probably thinking "Like Seth Meyers." No, I was mostly thinking Colin Quinn, who constantly fumbled over material, spoiling the phrasing and timing of jokes, and then became either verbally frustrated or pathetic when the audience made no sound. After the first year with Colin, it should've been obvious that he needed to vacate the desk. Instead, the show had *three solid years* of terrible, terrible Weekend Updates, being saved in 2000 when the winning Fey/Fallon combination took over.
20) Choosing flavor of the month hosts that no one recognizes. Remember Peter Saarsgard? When the only jokes you can wring out of a host are "no one knows who I am" and "my name sounds like 'SARS guard'", something is wrong. Or someone more recent - Jeremy Renner, who appeared on the show because 'the Internet wanted him to', and proved to be an awful host who even stated in his monologue (likely unscripted) that he didn't know what he was doing there. And people gave Doumanian hell for booking Malcolm McDowell...
Well, I've probably cemented my spot as someone who will never, ever host Saturday Night Live in his lifetime; but these are simply opinions I've come to after the past couple decades of watching the show. Overall, yes, I give Lorne credit for launching the most successful comedy series in history; and once in a while he makes a real find when choosing cast members. But "comedy genius"? Not in the least.
The second half of why I believe that Lorne Michaels is not the "comedy genius" he is often said to be. Let us begin....
11) Relying on the same characters week after week after week when the show is struggling. Alright, I do understand that this can be a case of 'give the people what they want' in order to keep viewers from running away, but in some cases, the overused characters weren't exactly popular. Take season 21; the show was struggling back to life after 1994-95, with a new cast. When the Cheerleaders took off, it was somewhat understandable to see them again and again that season, because the audience was responding in a big way to something, and they hadn't for quite a while. But also that season, we had Mark McKinney and David Koechner in nearly every episode as the Fops, Lucien and Fagen, sometimes twice in the same episode. Ask anyone who raves about the Cheerleaders or Mary Katherine Gallagher if they found Lucien and Fagen funny. The studio audience didn't.
12) The belief that any one-joke sketch that works in small amounts can be stretched to a feature length film. Saturday Night Live movies are VERY hit or miss, with very few genuine successes, Wayne's World being an obvious choice here. But when a recurring character has been done to death on the show, why believe that an audience would want to see a further 90 minutes of the same repeated schtick? Superstar, The Ladies Man, A Night At The Roxbury, MacGruber, etcetera. We almost got a full-length adaptation of the one-off 'Key Party' sketch that most viewers probably can't remember. The only one we can't blame him for, though, was It's Pat - allegedly Lorne gave that the go-ahead despite predicting its failure.
13) Keeping people looooooong past their prime, even when the audience is tired of them. This is a fairly new occurrence; even former cast members have commented that the show isn't quite the revolving door it used to be. But that's the problem - why does everyone have to go for a Darrell Hammond-esque tenure? What reason is there to keep Fred Armisen on for more than a decade, when he's on another sketch comedy show anyway? He's a particularly good example, because his breakthrough character (Ferecito) hasn't even appeared for several years. We need more change.
14) Letting absolute duds of sketches go through writing, re-writing, table reads, set building, and finally a dress rehearsal where they more than likely died with the audience. I'll resist the temptation to pick an easy sketch from one of the infamously bad seasons, and use the example of "Wet 'Em Down" from Kelsey Grammer's 1998 show. This is a one-joke sketch involving the bikini-clad female members of the cast as Baywatch girls, repeatedly being hosed down at the request of their director. One joke, over and over again. The audience doesn't respond at all. Are we to believe that this made the final roster for that week's show, above a bunch of other sketches that were worse? That it was deemed so funny that they willingly built multiple sets, even bringing in cameo appearances from known actors? That it killed in dress rehearsal and was assumed to do so during the live show? Seems like a major lack of judgment.
15) Over-reliance on nostalgia. Sure, it was fun to see Chevy Chase come back and host a couple years after he left the show. The little nod to 'Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger' in a 1985-86 sketch was even welcome. But nostalgia factor has brought back the Wild and Crazy Guys on two occasions, both more than two decades (the more recent being nearly four) since their last regular appearance. Younger viewers are likely completely in the dark when Dan Aykroyd shows up in an episode and it's supposedly a big deal. No one cares that Generalissimo Francisco Franco is dead, forty years after the fact. There's just no reason to rely on nostalgia so heavily when less and less people actually remember the bits that are referenced.
16) Ignorance of the non-Lorne years, even though Dick Ebersol (temporarily) saved the show. One of Lorne's cohorts states in the "Live From New York" book that Lorne never reran Ebersol episodes, which wasn't true; a good many of them ran in the 3 AM 'Classic SNL' timeslot. But how many times have you seen a surprise cameo by, say, Tim Kazurinsky? (Somewhat subverted, as Martin Short has cameo'ed - but Martin has also hosted numerous times because of movies, and his time on SNL was short.) The biggest flub on this topic is that after the 10th season with a killer cast (Short, Guest, Rich Hall, Dreyfus, etc), Lorne started the show from scratch, despite the fact that it finally grew back into an American institution, and nearly killed it. Just to do things 'his way' and keep separate from Dick's work, despite its success. Moving past Ebersol... the show's treatment of the Doumanian season is one asshole move after another. Nothing was more insulting than the opening credits of the 25th anniversary special, where year-by-year cast photos were seen - including a skip from 1979 to 1981. Considering much of the 1980 cast was in attendance that night, this was a slap in the face; made worse by the 'best of the early Eighties' montage skipping them entirely. (Note - the most recent DVD of the special actually has a Charles Rocket clip in the Weekend Update montage; this was only tacked on for the DVD version and didn't appear in the aired special.)
17) Never being the least conscious of when the audience stops responding to recurring characters. There is a very obvious concept known as "diminishing returns" - and what better example than The Californians? Same jokes every time, less and less laughter. More recent installments have died down to a light chuckle from the audience. But, this is certainly nothing new; you can pretty much pinpoint when the audience stopped finding Matt Foley or any of Kristen Wiig's characters funny.
18) Letting sketches be performed twice in their entirety, especially if it's just to please a cast member. There was no reason for Total Bastard Airlines (you know - "buh bye") to appear in two different shows, in two different seasons. Well, okay, in Lorne's mind there was a reason - 'David Spade wants to do it again.' At that point, Spade had more pull than lesser cast members because he was making money; not necessarily because the audience responded to him. And surely enough, the repeat of "Total Bastard Airlines," with only slight changes, died COMPLETELY. The audience had seen the sketch before, and the charm had worn off. A waste of money, crew strength and air time.
19) Keeping Weekend Update anchors whose jokes only get tepid reactions a majority of the time. Some of you are probably thinking "Like Seth Meyers." No, I was mostly thinking Colin Quinn, who constantly fumbled over material, spoiling the phrasing and timing of jokes, and then became either verbally frustrated or pathetic when the audience made no sound. After the first year with Colin, it should've been obvious that he needed to vacate the desk. Instead, the show had *three solid years* of terrible, terrible Weekend Updates, being saved in 2000 when the winning Fey/Fallon combination took over.
20) Choosing flavor of the month hosts that no one recognizes. Remember Peter Saarsgard? When the only jokes you can wring out of a host are "no one knows who I am" and "my name sounds like 'SARS guard'", something is wrong. Or someone more recent - Jeremy Renner, who appeared on the show because 'the Internet wanted him to', and proved to be an awful host who even stated in his monologue (likely unscripted) that he didn't know what he was doing there. And people gave Doumanian hell for booking Malcolm McDowell...
Well, I've probably cemented my spot as someone who will never, ever host Saturday Night Live in his lifetime; but these are simply opinions I've come to after the past couple decades of watching the show. Overall, yes, I give Lorne credit for launching the most successful comedy series in history; and once in a while he makes a real find when choosing cast members. But "comedy genius"? Not in the least.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Lorne Michaels' 20 greatest mistakes (part 1)
I like SNL. Seriously.... I've studied that show nearly on a daily basis since grade school, and have watched fairly consistently since the 1997-98 season. And yes, obviously, Lorne Michaels deserves a lot of credit for keeping the show afloat and hiring genuine talent - such as the women in the current cast who were clearly all fantastic finds.
But I hear the phrase "genius" attached to Lorne far too many times. For all the success he's had, let's look at things that bore Lorne's name that were far... FAR... from genius.
#1) The 1979-80 season as a whole. The cast photo inside the DVD case is telling - faces of painfully tired individuals who didn't give a damn. The novelty of the 'first five years' burned itself out during season 4. When Belushi and Aykroyd left, the idea of dragging the show out that one last season seemed reasonable enough when five of the core cast members were still involved, but the remaining cast members were in turmoil and in no mood to be funny. Garrett was going through extreme drug addiction and mental issues, Laraine was desperately ill, Gilda and Bill's relationship had fallen apart. Sure, season 5 had its moments ("Senor Lopez", "Stretch Marks") but when the cast was padded with random writers and Dan Aykroyd's brother? The flame of Seventies SNL had gone out, hard.
#2) The 1985-86 season as a whole, the second time (the first being Doumanian's year) that NBC wanted to cancel the show. After Dick Ebersol and most importantly Eddie Murphy recaptured the show's popularity, SNL reached another peak with its all-star tenth season. Then.... Dick left the show to spend time with his family, and Lorne was brought back to much fanfare. However, the all-star cast was dismissed, and Lorne attempted to put together a 'hip, young' cast featuring youthful movie stars such as Anthony Michael Hall, Joan Cusack and, considerably older than the rest, Randy Quaid. A lot of talent was involved. Unfortunately, none of this talent was used, as the entire season consisted of extremely dull sketches, driven-into-the-ground recurring characters and dead audience reactions - which were replaced with canned laughter in reruns. This season was completely written off, on the show even, as a nightmare and a mistake.
#3) The 1994-95 season as a whole, the third time that NBC wanted to cancel the show. God, is it bad. The last half of the 1993-94 season showed that the 'bad boys' cast and its writers were getting tired and worn out, and the audience's non-reaction showed that the damage had been done. Stretch that out for an entire final year with that group, on top of which Chris Elliott (who was already well known) was hired and wasted. Oh, and Sandler and Spade gave up any attempts at effort, and Farley screamed a lot. And there was a lot of fake blood, vomit spray, gay jokes, and Jeanine Garofalo who hated her life. And two more problems that we'll get to in a bit.
#4) Pushing Kristen Wiig to the forefront and considering her the absolute greatest female comedy talent in the history of the universe. Obviously, this topic has been beaten to death - especially after 'that cast photo' from a few seasons back where Kristen was purposely seated *in front of* her cast mates. A good example of putting strong belief in something the audience could not have been more opposed to.
#5) Firing David Koechner after only one season. Yes, David is a 'love him or hate him' kind of guy, and what you see is what you get in most cases - if you've seen him in "Anchorman", you know exactly what persona he's going to carry in other roles. But imagine what heights he could've reached given the chance to pair up with Will Ferrell on the air, for instance.
#6) Not hiring Steve Carell. No, I'm not accepting "he was in The Ambiguously Gay Duo" as compensation. Lorne *has* to look at Steve now and realize he passed on a genuine comedic talent, who, a decade after his failed SNL audition, rode to A-list stardom for said comedic talent. In 1995, we could've had Carell, Koechner AND Ferrell in the same cast. Think about that. (Worth pointing out that a sketch that season, most likely written by Adam McKay - "Wake Up and Smile" - later saw ideas recycled for "Anchorman.")
#7) When Phil Hartman left, Lorne intentionally tried to replace him with another middle-aged actor - Michael McKean. Seriously, when someone is easily one of your most successful and beloved cast members in the history of the show, you cannot just flat out TRY and replace him, and expect people to take to "the new Phil Hartman." Michael McKean, whose career had already hit such peaks as Laverne and Shirley and Spinal Tap, was thrown into a dying show mid-season to fit in with a struggling cast and try to adapt immediately to sketch comedy, which he was unaccustomed to. The result is painful... save for his first sketch featuring his Howard Stern impression (the second and last attempt bombed), Michael got some of the worst material in seasons 19 and 20, and it's agonizing to watch such an accomplished actor wade his way through utter shit. When he even gets air time, that is.
#8) Morwenna Banks. Long story short, Morwenna Banks was a popular English comedienne from a sketch comedy show called "Absolutely", where she was best known for her Little Girl character. With absolutely no reason except grasping at straws when the show was quite possibly nearing cancellation, Lorne hired Morwenna four episodes before the end of the 1994-95 season and flew her to the US to become 'the next Tracey Ullman.' Only problem - her signature character TANKED in its lone SNL appearance. Well.... what then? She had bit parts in sketches, and after those four episodes, was never seen on the show again. An absolutely stupid decision from the get-go, something that her "Absolutely" cast mates also felt at the time.
#9) Norm Macdonald's firing. I've heard it said on numerous occasions that Norm, particularly as the host of Update, was the only funny part of a bad time in the show's history (largely encompassing the 1994-95 season). And yes, he is another "love him or hate him" kind of comic. But for the most part, the audience enjoyed him. That came to an abrupt end mid-season when NBC bigwig Don Ohlmeyer decided "Norm is no longer funny" and Lorne agreed. Way to stand up for a team player. Oh, and the biggest insult? Replacing Norm on Update with Colin Quinn. Some replacement. Though given the history of the show, it's surprising that Norm's on-air "fuck" didn't get him fired despite his successes.
#10) "It's Pat: The Movie." Nuff said.
That's all for part 1 - part 2 whenever I get a chance!
But I hear the phrase "genius" attached to Lorne far too many times. For all the success he's had, let's look at things that bore Lorne's name that were far... FAR... from genius.
#1) The 1979-80 season as a whole. The cast photo inside the DVD case is telling - faces of painfully tired individuals who didn't give a damn. The novelty of the 'first five years' burned itself out during season 4. When Belushi and Aykroyd left, the idea of dragging the show out that one last season seemed reasonable enough when five of the core cast members were still involved, but the remaining cast members were in turmoil and in no mood to be funny. Garrett was going through extreme drug addiction and mental issues, Laraine was desperately ill, Gilda and Bill's relationship had fallen apart. Sure, season 5 had its moments ("Senor Lopez", "Stretch Marks") but when the cast was padded with random writers and Dan Aykroyd's brother? The flame of Seventies SNL had gone out, hard.
#2) The 1985-86 season as a whole, the second time (the first being Doumanian's year) that NBC wanted to cancel the show. After Dick Ebersol and most importantly Eddie Murphy recaptured the show's popularity, SNL reached another peak with its all-star tenth season. Then.... Dick left the show to spend time with his family, and Lorne was brought back to much fanfare. However, the all-star cast was dismissed, and Lorne attempted to put together a 'hip, young' cast featuring youthful movie stars such as Anthony Michael Hall, Joan Cusack and, considerably older than the rest, Randy Quaid. A lot of talent was involved. Unfortunately, none of this talent was used, as the entire season consisted of extremely dull sketches, driven-into-the-ground recurring characters and dead audience reactions - which were replaced with canned laughter in reruns. This season was completely written off, on the show even, as a nightmare and a mistake.
#3) The 1994-95 season as a whole, the third time that NBC wanted to cancel the show. God, is it bad. The last half of the 1993-94 season showed that the 'bad boys' cast and its writers were getting tired and worn out, and the audience's non-reaction showed that the damage had been done. Stretch that out for an entire final year with that group, on top of which Chris Elliott (who was already well known) was hired and wasted. Oh, and Sandler and Spade gave up any attempts at effort, and Farley screamed a lot. And there was a lot of fake blood, vomit spray, gay jokes, and Jeanine Garofalo who hated her life. And two more problems that we'll get to in a bit.
#4) Pushing Kristen Wiig to the forefront and considering her the absolute greatest female comedy talent in the history of the universe. Obviously, this topic has been beaten to death - especially after 'that cast photo' from a few seasons back where Kristen was purposely seated *in front of* her cast mates. A good example of putting strong belief in something the audience could not have been more opposed to.
#5) Firing David Koechner after only one season. Yes, David is a 'love him or hate him' kind of guy, and what you see is what you get in most cases - if you've seen him in "Anchorman", you know exactly what persona he's going to carry in other roles. But imagine what heights he could've reached given the chance to pair up with Will Ferrell on the air, for instance.
#6) Not hiring Steve Carell. No, I'm not accepting "he was in The Ambiguously Gay Duo" as compensation. Lorne *has* to look at Steve now and realize he passed on a genuine comedic talent, who, a decade after his failed SNL audition, rode to A-list stardom for said comedic talent. In 1995, we could've had Carell, Koechner AND Ferrell in the same cast. Think about that. (Worth pointing out that a sketch that season, most likely written by Adam McKay - "Wake Up and Smile" - later saw ideas recycled for "Anchorman.")
#7) When Phil Hartman left, Lorne intentionally tried to replace him with another middle-aged actor - Michael McKean. Seriously, when someone is easily one of your most successful and beloved cast members in the history of the show, you cannot just flat out TRY and replace him, and expect people to take to "the new Phil Hartman." Michael McKean, whose career had already hit such peaks as Laverne and Shirley and Spinal Tap, was thrown into a dying show mid-season to fit in with a struggling cast and try to adapt immediately to sketch comedy, which he was unaccustomed to. The result is painful... save for his first sketch featuring his Howard Stern impression (the second and last attempt bombed), Michael got some of the worst material in seasons 19 and 20, and it's agonizing to watch such an accomplished actor wade his way through utter shit. When he even gets air time, that is.
#8) Morwenna Banks. Long story short, Morwenna Banks was a popular English comedienne from a sketch comedy show called "Absolutely", where she was best known for her Little Girl character. With absolutely no reason except grasping at straws when the show was quite possibly nearing cancellation, Lorne hired Morwenna four episodes before the end of the 1994-95 season and flew her to the US to become 'the next Tracey Ullman.' Only problem - her signature character TANKED in its lone SNL appearance. Well.... what then? She had bit parts in sketches, and after those four episodes, was never seen on the show again. An absolutely stupid decision from the get-go, something that her "Absolutely" cast mates also felt at the time.
#9) Norm Macdonald's firing. I've heard it said on numerous occasions that Norm, particularly as the host of Update, was the only funny part of a bad time in the show's history (largely encompassing the 1994-95 season). And yes, he is another "love him or hate him" kind of comic. But for the most part, the audience enjoyed him. That came to an abrupt end mid-season when NBC bigwig Don Ohlmeyer decided "Norm is no longer funny" and Lorne agreed. Way to stand up for a team player. Oh, and the biggest insult? Replacing Norm on Update with Colin Quinn. Some replacement. Though given the history of the show, it's surprising that Norm's on-air "fuck" didn't get him fired despite his successes.
#10) "It's Pat: The Movie." Nuff said.
That's all for part 1 - part 2 whenever I get a chance!
Monday, March 4, 2013
TMBG - Space Suit demo upgrade!
I know I don't post here much (or... at all) anymore, but I thought I'd share this because of its rarity. A while back, one of TMBG's Podcasts had tracks from a previously unknown 1983 demo tape - one of which was "I'll Remember 3rd Street", a demo of what became known as "Space Suit" nine years later. Unfortunately, the podcast was mono and low bitrate, so the song didn't sound great.
A while back, a fan sent me an upgrade of this track, not only in higher sound quality, but in FLAC (which Trader's Little Helper verified 100% legit). Since no one else seems to have this, I'll post it here. Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?0a851pcs96p2k94
A while back, a fan sent me an upgrade of this track, not only in higher sound quality, but in FLAC (which Trader's Little Helper verified 100% legit). Since no one else seems to have this, I'll post it here. Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?0a851pcs96p2k94
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Orb did the Pink Floyd Trance Remixes (REVISED 10/31)
For Pink Floyd fans, one of the biggest unsolved mysteries involves a series of strange bootlegs that emerged between 1993 and 1994. Someone, obviously a professional DJ, flooded the underground market with a number of 'Limited Edition Trance Remixes' - incredibly trippy, reverb-laden, truly bizarre reworkings of several entire Pink Floyd albums. The creators remained anonymous, though many suspected popular English trance group The Orb (or at least, Orb member Jimmy Cauty), whose styles seemed unmistakable.
While no one in the British music industry knows for sure and The Orb don't speak about the topic, I strongly believe it was them, and I'm going to prove it.....
* The Orb's output ceased during 1993-94, when the mixes were created.
* The Orb's debut album, out by this point, had clear Floyd references - a track called "Back Side of the Moon", and Battersea Power Station (made famous by the 'Animals' sleeve) on its cover.
* The KLF, which featured Orb founding member Jimmy Cauty, were also Floyd fans - the cover of 'Chill Out' was a nondescript photo of sheep in a field, meant as a nod to 'Atom Heart Mother'.
* Pieces of 'Chill Out' appear in many places throughout the mixes, most recognizably in the "Dogs" remix, which heavily samples the track "Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard."
* Not long after the remixes emerged, Richard Wright had the Orb create an authorized Trance Remixes EP for his solo album 'Broken China'.
* In 2010, the Orb put out their album 'Metallic Spheres', the entirely of which features David Gilmour adding Floydian guitar licks over their ambient music. Not surprisingly, this album sounds a hell of a lot like the Trance Remixes.
* The idea that the Orb were behind the mixes formed immediately upon their release (Andy Mabbett's "Complete Guide to Pink Floyd" was published in 1994, and even then, he referenced their 'Orb-like' quality). Many listeners who recognize the Orb's work, including members of the English music industry, consider the discs to be Orb creations without question.
* Considering that the Orb were still fairly new in 1993-94, for another DJ to so accurately capture their unique styles (for example, reverb-swamped TV clips and sound effects floating amongst the ambient noise) in such a short time is unreasonable.
* The first track on the earliest Trance Remix CD, which would be part 1 of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", is based around a deconstruction of the Orb's own hit "Little Fluffy Clouds".
** Likewise, part 2 of "Shine On" samples 'Chill Out'.
* Given the general dislike towards the mixes (thanks to the 'Floyd is perfect' obsessives), and the Orb's high reputation amongst trance music, one would think they'd deny having created them if they didn't, at least to save face. They've never denied involvement, and inversely, won't flat out confirm it either. As the mixes were unauthorized, this could simply be for legal reasons - and the Orb are known to remain silent on the topic of using samples without permission.
Ironically enough, shortly after compiling this list, I picked an Orb song at random from YouTube - "A Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain", which happened to sample both the signature four-note guitar lick from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and (it seems) the opening ping from "Echoes." More Pink Floyd connections.
On the whole though, I've been listening to the Orb's better known music such as "Blue Room" quite a bit to try and justify this list, and after examining their mixing styles, motifs and gimmicks, have no doubt that they were indeed behind the Trance Remixes.
==========================================
UPDATES
Since there are a number of different Floyd remix CD's out there, I thought I would clarify which ones the Orb absolutely did *not* do.
* 'Absolutely Ambient' -As far as I am aware, this predates the main series of Floyd remix CD's. The styles present are simply not those of the Orb, and the editing and composition of the mixes are somewhat amateur. I wouldn't rule out the possibility, though, that the Orb could have been influenced by this disc; the 'Wish You Were Here' Trance Remix emerged not long after this. I realized that this couldn't be true; the WYWH remix was released in 1993, but the use of a 'Pulp Fiction' sample on this disc dates it sometime after October 1994.
** Since originally creating this post, I located back cover artwork for this album. Credits are given to 'The Stingman' (technical and creative know-how) and 'The Attitude Brothers' (executive producers).
* 'Welcome To The Remix' - This is an odd CD, later re-released with considerably less cheesy artwork as 'Mixed In The Moon'. Though it includes two of the remixes from the 'Wish You Were Here' disc, the other material was more than likely not created by the Orb, but at least one other professional DJ - who, judging from the 'Megamix 21' track, had admirable talent. Other than a re-edited copy of the 1981 "Money" remake, a lengthy trance remix of "Another Brick In The Wall" debuts here, oddly split into two tracks. While entertaining and well done, there aren't any telltale Orb trademarks that allow me to suggest it may have been theirs.
* 'A Collection Of Great Trance Remixes' - Released after the main series had been completed, this German disc (complete with a grammatically-strange cover) seems to be a third party attempt to construct the 'Great Dance Songs' album using previously released tracks from the Trance Remix CD's, as well as the mysterious "Another Brick In The Wall" from 'Welcome To The Remix'. Not surprisingly, the 'Wall' remix sticks out like a sore thumb.
* 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn Trance Remixes', 'More Trance Remixes', 'The Final Cut Trance Remixes' - These discs are often lumped together with the main series, and they shouldn't be. Released five years after the main series, they have nothing at all in common stylistically with the Limited Edition Trance Remix discs, and were actually the homemade efforts of a teen Floyd fan named Alex Wroten, who put them together to the best of his limited audio-editing abilities. The existence of a 'Piper' disc is actually a fairly new revelation; due to eBay sellers cashing in with poor copies of his other two discs, the 'Piper' set took over a decade to reach the public. (Alex also created a 'Saucerful Of Secrets' disc, but this was lost in the midst of computer troubles.)
* 'Floydhead: The Floydian Propulsion Project' - Of course, this was a strictly fan-made project, created by individuals named Seth, Ste-V, Michael Alan, Jimmy Rad, and Hainkm. (Unlike anything else mentioned on this page, this disc is actually available commercially through venues such as Amazon... quite odd, given the actual Pink Floyd material included.)
* The Beatles - 'Sgt. Pepper Trance Remixes', 'Day Tripping: Magical Mystery Tour Remixed', Led Zeppelin - 'Coded: Limited Edition Trance Remix" - These three bootlegs were the work of an individual named Nasty Little Dog, and released on a label called Chelsea Records. Clearly meant to mimic the Pink Floyd discs (note his use of "Limited Edition Trance Remix" to make it seem as though they were related), they are......... well, for lack of a better term, shit. Utter, utter shit. Aside from poor quality rarities from the artists used to pad out the length of the discs (including a couple Beatles outfakes), the remixes themselves are as amateur as they come - playing "I Am The Walrus" in its entirety twice with a ridiculous amount of reverb piled on, for instance. It goes without saying that the Orb had nothing to do with Nasty Little Dog.
While no one in the British music industry knows for sure and The Orb don't speak about the topic, I strongly believe it was them, and I'm going to prove it.....
* The Orb's output ceased during 1993-94, when the mixes were created.
* The Orb's debut album, out by this point, had clear Floyd references - a track called "Back Side of the Moon", and Battersea Power Station (made famous by the 'Animals' sleeve) on its cover.
* The KLF, which featured Orb founding member Jimmy Cauty, were also Floyd fans - the cover of 'Chill Out' was a nondescript photo of sheep in a field, meant as a nod to 'Atom Heart Mother'.
* Pieces of 'Chill Out' appear in many places throughout the mixes, most recognizably in the "Dogs" remix, which heavily samples the track "Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard."
* Not long after the remixes emerged, Richard Wright had the Orb create an authorized Trance Remixes EP for his solo album 'Broken China'.
* In 2010, the Orb put out their album 'Metallic Spheres', the entirely of which features David Gilmour adding Floydian guitar licks over their ambient music. Not surprisingly, this album sounds a hell of a lot like the Trance Remixes.
* The idea that the Orb were behind the mixes formed immediately upon their release (Andy Mabbett's "Complete Guide to Pink Floyd" was published in 1994, and even then, he referenced their 'Orb-like' quality). Many listeners who recognize the Orb's work, including members of the English music industry, consider the discs to be Orb creations without question.
* Considering that the Orb were still fairly new in 1993-94, for another DJ to so accurately capture their unique styles (for example, reverb-swamped TV clips and sound effects floating amongst the ambient noise) in such a short time is unreasonable.
* The first track on the earliest Trance Remix CD, which would be part 1 of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", is based around a deconstruction of the Orb's own hit "Little Fluffy Clouds".
** Likewise, part 2 of "Shine On" samples 'Chill Out'.
* Given the general dislike towards the mixes (thanks to the 'Floyd is perfect' obsessives), and the Orb's high reputation amongst trance music, one would think they'd deny having created them if they didn't, at least to save face. They've never denied involvement, and inversely, won't flat out confirm it either. As the mixes were unauthorized, this could simply be for legal reasons - and the Orb are known to remain silent on the topic of using samples without permission.
Ironically enough, shortly after compiling this list, I picked an Orb song at random from YouTube - "A Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain", which happened to sample both the signature four-note guitar lick from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and (it seems) the opening ping from "Echoes." More Pink Floyd connections.
On the whole though, I've been listening to the Orb's better known music such as "Blue Room" quite a bit to try and justify this list, and after examining their mixing styles, motifs and gimmicks, have no doubt that they were indeed behind the Trance Remixes.
==========================================
UPDATES
Since there are a number of different Floyd remix CD's out there, I thought I would clarify which ones the Orb absolutely did *not* do.
* 'Absolutely Ambient' -
** Since originally creating this post, I located back cover artwork for this album. Credits are given to 'The Stingman' (technical and creative know-how) and 'The Attitude Brothers' (executive producers).
* 'Welcome To The Remix' - This is an odd CD, later re-released with considerably less cheesy artwork as 'Mixed In The Moon'. Though it includes two of the remixes from the 'Wish You Were Here' disc, the other material was more than likely not created by the Orb, but at least one other professional DJ - who, judging from the 'Megamix 21' track, had admirable talent. Other than a re-edited copy of the 1981 "Money" remake, a lengthy trance remix of "Another Brick In The Wall" debuts here, oddly split into two tracks. While entertaining and well done, there aren't any telltale Orb trademarks that allow me to suggest it may have been theirs.
* 'A Collection Of Great Trance Remixes' - Released after the main series had been completed, this German disc (complete with a grammatically-strange cover) seems to be a third party attempt to construct the 'Great Dance Songs' album using previously released tracks from the Trance Remix CD's, as well as the mysterious "Another Brick In The Wall" from 'Welcome To The Remix'. Not surprisingly, the 'Wall' remix sticks out like a sore thumb.
* 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn Trance Remixes', 'More Trance Remixes', 'The Final Cut Trance Remixes' - These discs are often lumped together with the main series, and they shouldn't be. Released five years after the main series, they have nothing at all in common stylistically with the Limited Edition Trance Remix discs, and were actually the homemade efforts of a teen Floyd fan named Alex Wroten, who put them together to the best of his limited audio-editing abilities. The existence of a 'Piper' disc is actually a fairly new revelation; due to eBay sellers cashing in with poor copies of his other two discs, the 'Piper' set took over a decade to reach the public. (Alex also created a 'Saucerful Of Secrets' disc, but this was lost in the midst of computer troubles.)
* 'Floydhead: The Floydian Propulsion Project' - Of course, this was a strictly fan-made project, created by individuals named Seth, Ste-V, Michael Alan, Jimmy Rad, and Hainkm. (Unlike anything else mentioned on this page, this disc is actually available commercially through venues such as Amazon... quite odd, given the actual Pink Floyd material included.)
* The Beatles - 'Sgt. Pepper Trance Remixes', 'Day Tripping: Magical Mystery Tour Remixed', Led Zeppelin - 'Coded: Limited Edition Trance Remix" - These three bootlegs were the work of an individual named Nasty Little Dog, and released on a label called Chelsea Records. Clearly meant to mimic the Pink Floyd discs (note his use of "Limited Edition Trance Remix" to make it seem as though they were related), they are......... well, for lack of a better term, shit. Utter, utter shit. Aside from poor quality rarities from the artists used to pad out the length of the discs (including a couple Beatles outfakes), the remixes themselves are as amateur as they come - playing "I Am The Walrus" in its entirety twice with a ridiculous amount of reverb piled on, for instance. It goes without saying that the Orb had nothing to do with Nasty Little Dog.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Hot As Sun - FLAC version (re-uploaded!)
Just got a request to re-upload my "Hot As Sun", because the old links were for Megaupload.... so here you go - "Hot As Sun" in FLAC, on MediaFire!
Part One - the original hoax tracklist
http://www.mediafire.com/?7rlfzv0v0di5ji7
01) Maxwell's Silver Hammer
02) Don't Let Me Down
03) Hot As Sun
04) Junk
05) Polythene Pam
06) Octopus's Garden
07) I Should Like To Live Up A Tree
08) Zero Is Just Another Even Number
09) What's The News Mary Jane
10) Dirty Old Man
11) Proud As You Are
12) Watching Rainbows
Part Two - 'Hot As Sun rejects'
http://www.mediafire.com/?56iac06jto9zlgs
13) My Kind Of Girl
14) Suicide
15) You Know My Name
16) Because
17) Across The Universe
18) Lullaby For A Lazy Day
19) Have You Heard The Word
20) Madman
21) One After 909
22) Oh! I Had A Dream
23) Four Knights In Moscow
Artwork
http://www.mediafire.com/?x1ebe611dr6i5zw
Part One - the original hoax tracklist
http://www.mediafire.com/?7rlfzv0v0di5ji7
01) Maxwell's Silver Hammer
02) Don't Let Me Down
03) Hot As Sun
04) Junk
05) Polythene Pam
06) Octopus's Garden
07) I Should Like To Live Up A Tree
08) Zero Is Just Another Even Number
09) What's The News Mary Jane
10) Dirty Old Man
11) Proud As You Are
12) Watching Rainbows
Part Two - 'Hot As Sun rejects'
http://www.mediafire.com/?56iac06jto9zlgs
13) My Kind Of Girl
14) Suicide
15) You Know My Name
16) Because
17) Across The Universe
18) Lullaby For A Lazy Day
19) Have You Heard The Word
20) Madman
21) One After 909
22) Oh! I Had A Dream
23) Four Knights In Moscow
Artwork
http://www.mediafire.com/?x1ebe611dr6i5zw
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