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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 25, 2023 12:27:41 GMT -5
They could use the shot of an ewok (Jack Purvis) getting zapped in the butt, by Artoo, from Jedi. Ha! That would work.
"Sufferin' Til Suffrage" reminds me of something Mel Brooks said about Frankie Laine singing the opening theme for Blazing Saddles: that it didn't seem like Frankie knew that this was just a comedy film, but after that performance, Mel didn't have the heart to tell him. In the same way, Mohawk and the backing singers seem unaware that they're only doing a three-minute educational cartoon to be dropped into Saturday morning TV and then probably never seen again, and they really go for it.
Come to think of it, I've had the same thought about Elmer Bernstein's orchestral score for the Heavy Metal movie as well.
Naw, I think they knew. If you listen to the bulk of the songs in Schoolhouse Rock, they are all really clever, lyrically; and, they have great musical arrangements. The people they got to do them were not small timers, in the jazz world (most of the main ones, like Bob Dorough, Jack Shelton and Blossom Dearie). Essra Mohawk, working with Frank Zappa, would have been in tune with this kind of thing. I can see the theme resonating with them, especially Mohawk and especially in the era of the Women's Movement and the Equal Rights Amendment. If she had just done "Interjections," then I might buy that premise. The one Schoolhouse Rock story that I find enjoyable is that of Lynn Ahrens. She was a copywriter at McCaffrey and McCall, the advertising firm that originated the series (David McCall, one of the partners, noticed his son struggled with his multiplication tables, but knew the lyrics to every Rolling Stones song and decided to try to set the tables to music, to help memorize them). Ahrens used to bring her guitar to work, to play during her lunch hour and George Newell, who produced the shorts, noticed it and asked her to take a stab at writing a song. She turned in "The Preamble" and ended up singing it for the cartoon. She has since gone on to win the Tony Award for her work on Broadway. Of course, the best Schoolhouse Rock story involves Ahrens' creation. Newell and others got feedback from Social Studies and Civics teachers about humming, when they administered the US Constitution test. Part of the test is to write out the Preamble and the kids would be humming the song, to remember the words (you had to remember to insert "of the United States" after "We the People."), which I actually did, when I took the test in my high school civics class (well, recited in my head, not hummed out loud). |
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Post by Calidore on Dec 25, 2023 12:48:59 GMT -5
Ha! That would work.
"Sufferin' Til Suffrage" reminds me of something Mel Brooks said about Frankie Laine singing the opening theme for Blazing Saddles: that it didn't seem like Frankie knew that this was just a comedy film, but after that performance, Mel didn't have the heart to tell him. In the same way, Mohawk and the backing singers seem unaware that they're only doing a three-minute educational cartoon to be dropped into Saturday morning TV and then probably never seen again, and they really go for it.
Come to think of it, I've had the same thought about Elmer Bernstein's orchestral score for the Heavy Metal movie as well.
Naw, I think they knew. If you listen to the bulk of the songs in Schoolhouse Rock, they are all really clever, lyrically; and, they have great musical arrangements. The people they got to do them were not small timers, in the jazz world (most of the main ones, like Bob Dorough, Jack Shelton and Blossom Dearie). Essra Mohawk, working with Frank Zappa, would have been in tune with this kind of thing. I can see the theme resonating with them, especially Mohawk and especially in the era of the Women's Movement and the Equal Rights Amendment. If she had just done "Interjections," then I might buy that premise. The one Schoolhouse Rock story that I find enjoyable is that of Lynn Ahrens. She was a copywriter at McCaffrey and McCall, the advertising firm that originated the series (David McCall, one of the partners, noticed his son struggled with his multiplication tables, but knew the lyrics to every Rolling Stones song and decided to try to set the tables to music, to help memorize them). Ahrens used to bring her guitar to work, to play during her lunch hour and George Newell, who produced the shorts, noticed it and asked her to take a stab at writing a song. She turned in "The Preamble" and ended up singing it for the cartoon. She has since gone on to win the Tony Award for her work on Broadway. Of course, the best Schoolhouse Rock story involves Ahrens' creation. Newell and others got feedback from Social Studies and Civics teachers about humming, when they administered the US Constitution test. Part of the test is to write out the Preamble and the kids would be humming the song, to remember the words (you had to remember to insert "of the United States" after "We the People."), which I actually did, when I took the test in my high school civics class (well, recited in my head, not hummed out loud). Oh, poor wording on my part. Of course they knew, I was just commenting on them overdelivering compared to what could reasonably be expected. And thank goodness for it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 25, 2023 13:12:28 GMT -5
Naw, I think they knew. If you listen to the bulk of the songs in Schoolhouse Rock, they are all really clever, lyrically; and, they have great musical arrangements. The people they got to do them were not small timers, in the jazz world (most of the main ones, like Bob Dorough, Jack Shelton and Blossom Dearie). Essra Mohawk, working with Frank Zappa, would have been in tune with this kind of thing. I can see the theme resonating with them, especially Mohawk and especially in the era of the Women's Movement and the Equal Rights Amendment. If she had just done "Interjections," then I might buy that premise. The one Schoolhouse Rock story that I find enjoyable is that of Lynn Ahrens. She was a copywriter at McCaffrey and McCall, the advertising firm that originated the series (David McCall, one of the partners, noticed his son struggled with his multiplication tables, but knew the lyrics to every Rolling Stones song and decided to try to set the tables to music, to help memorize them). Ahrens used to bring her guitar to work, to play during her lunch hour and George Newell, who produced the shorts, noticed it and asked her to take a stab at writing a song. She turned in "The Preamble" and ended up singing it for the cartoon. She has since gone on to win the Tony Award for her work on Broadway. Of course, the best Schoolhouse Rock story involves Ahrens' creation. Newell and others got feedback from Social Studies and Civics teachers about humming, when they administered the US Constitution test. Part of the test is to write out the Preamble and the kids would be humming the song, to remember the words (you had to remember to insert "of the United States" after "We the People."), which I actually did, when I took the test in my high school civics class (well, recited in my head, not hummed out loud). Oh, poor wording on my part. Of course they knew, I was just commenting on them overdelivering compared to what could reasonably be expected. And thank goodness for it. I think that is pretty consistent across the series, as all of the singers and musicians treat it like a major recording session. I think they really got everyone on board with the idea of making learning a fun experience, through the music and images. The visuals were quite memorable and I used to look forward to more of the shorts, between cartoons, than the actual cartoons; and, I think stuff like Schoolhouse Rock Live bears out that I wasn't alone in that. If you just listen to the songs, they are great music. "3 is a Magic Number" is an amazingly beautiful song, especially the part about "A man and a woman had a little baby, yes they did, they had three in the family, that's a magic number." Blossom Dearie, on "Figure 8," is just hauntingly beautiful. It has a sort of melancholy tone that gets into your head. Bob Dorough's "Little Twelve-Toes" is just plain weird and kind of spooky. "Verb" was an awesome cartoon and a more exciting superhero than the Super friends were, at the time. "The Great American Melting Pot" is just a perfect blend of writing, music and animation, which really captures the immigrant experience. Of course, you have a few problems, within the series, like "Elbow Room," which tries to highlight the westward expansion; but ignores a big problem with it and doesn't age very well, even though it is a great song and some nice visuals. "No More Kings" and "The Shot Heard Round the World" over-simplify the American Revolution and smack of American Exceptionalism; but, America Rock was done for the Bicentennial celebration; so, I can forgive that, a bit. Things like "Sufferin' for Suffrage" did a better job of capturing important parts of history. I can understand wanting to avoid the problems inherent in trying to use their approach for the Civil War, slavery or the persecution of the Native Americans. I think it is a challenge that should be taken up; but, I don't know if a 3-minute cartoon could capture it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 25, 2023 15:39:38 GMT -5
RIP to Laura Lynch, of the now-Dixie-less Chicks, in an auto accident, in Texas. She was struck head on by another vehicle, while driving in her Ford F-150 pick-up.
Not really my style of music; but, the band took a stand that was unpopular, in their industry, against the War in Iraq, which took a lot of guts, which I can respect.
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Post by Calidore on Dec 25, 2023 20:28:56 GMT -5
Oh, poor wording on my part. Of course they knew, I was just commenting on them overdelivering compared to what could reasonably be expected. And thank goodness for it. I think that is pretty consistent across the series, as all of the singers and musicians treat it like a major recording session. I think they really got everyone on board with the idea of making learning a fun experience, through the music and images. The visuals were quite memorable and I used to look forward to more of the shorts, between cartoons, than the actual cartoons; and, I think stuff like Schoolhouse Rock Live bears out that I wasn't alone in that. If you just listen to the songs, they are great music. "3 is a Magic Number" is an amazingly beautiful song, especially the part about "A man and a woman had a little baby, yes they did, they had three in the family, that's a magic number." Blossom Dearie, on "Figure 8," is just hauntingly beautiful. It has a sort of melancholy tone that gets into your head. Bob Dorough's "Little Twelve-Toes" is just plain weird and kind of spooky. "Verb" was an awesome cartoon and a more exciting superhero than the Super friends were, at the time. "The Great American Melting Pot" is just a perfect blend of writing, music and animation, which really captures the immigrant experience. Of course, you have a few problems, within the series, like "Elbow Room," which tries to highlight the westward expansion; but ignores a big problem with it and doesn't age very well, even though it is a great song and some nice visuals. "No More Kings" and "The Shot Heard Round the World" over-simplify the American Revolution and smack of American Exceptionalism; but, America Rock was done for the Bicentennial celebration; so, I can forgive that, a bit. Things like "Sufferin' for Suffrage" did a better job of capturing important parts of history. I can understand wanting to avoid the problems inherent in trying to use their approach for the Civil War, slavery or the persecution of the Native Americans. I think it is a challenge that should be taken up; but, I don't know if a 3-minute cartoon could capture it. The talent they showed in creating the songs in such a variety of musical styles is astounding. And they worked for their purpose also; I don't think there were any segments that I was disappointed to see come on. "Verb" is my personal favorite. |
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Post by foxley on Dec 26, 2023 1:38:05 GMT -5
R.I.P. to British actor Richard Franklin, probably best known to readers of this board as Captain Mike Yates of UNIT on Doctor Who from 1971 to 1974, who has passed away following a long illness. He was 87.  |
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Dec 26, 2023 21:58:39 GMT -5
RIP to speculative fiction author Richard Bowes who passed on the 24th at age 79. In addition to producing fiction, he wrote fashion copy in the Garment District, designed board games, sold antique toys, and worked at New York University Libraries. -M |
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Post by Calidore on Dec 27, 2023 11:57:58 GMT -5
Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, who starred in Parasite has been found dead at 48. Haven't seen official word yet, but it looks like suicide, and he has been under investigation for drug use. Tragic.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 27, 2023 15:33:46 GMT -5
Comedian and musician Tom Smothers, of The Smothers Brothers, has passed at age 86. I was too young to remember their TV show, but my parents had two or three of their albums and I definitely listened to them. One of our the great political comedians of the time. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 27, 2023 15:41:21 GMT -5
RIP to Laura Lynch, of the now-Dixie-less Chicks, in an auto accident, in Texas. She was struck head on by another vehicle, while driving in her Ford F-150 pick-up. Not really my style of music; but, the band took a stand that was unpopular, in their industry, against the War in Iraq, which took a lot of guts, which I can respect. Apparently the other pick-up crossed into her lane. Terrible. Point of clarification: I just read her obit earlier and couldn't believe that one of the Chicks could be 65. But as the obit explained, Lynch, a founding member, she had left/been asked to leave the then-Dixie Chicks in 1995 and was replaced by Natalie Maines, well before their calling-out of George Bush and their being canceled by the country music world before canceling became a thing. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 27, 2023 15:56:39 GMT -5
Comedian and musician Tom Smothers, of The Smothers Brothers, has passed at age 86. (...) Damn, that's too bad. I was also way too young to watch the Smothers Brothers show in its first run, but they seemed to appear regularly on variety shows and whatnot throughout the '70s. He was very talented and funny. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 27, 2023 16:11:12 GMT -5
Comedian and musician Tom Smothers, of The Smothers Brothers, has passed at age 86. (...) Damn, that's too bad. I was also way too young to watch the Smothers Brothers show in its first run, but they seemed to appear regularly on variety shows and whatnot throughout the '70s. He was very talented and funny. The pair showed up on the Tonight Show, at least when Johnny Carson was hosting, a lot. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 27, 2023 16:59:53 GMT -5
Damn, that's too bad. I was also way too young to watch the Smothers Brothers show in its first run, but they seemed to appear regularly on variety shows and whatnot throughout the '70s. He was very talented and funny. The pair showed up on the Tonight Show, at least when Johnny Carson was hosting, a lot. And their own show was really a breakthrough. And, like the Dixie Chicks, canceled by the same type of crowd. Pete Seeger sang "Waist-Deep in the Big Muddy" on their show in early '68 after having been blacklisted by the networks for years and prevented from performing it by CBS earlier that season. Memorable for the way he sang "And the big fool said to push on," clearly a slap at LBJ. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 27, 2023 17:12:07 GMT -5
And their own show was really a breakthrough. And, like the Dixie Chicks, canceled by the same type of crowd. (...) Over the past few years, I've watched a number of clips as well as a few whole episodes that are posted on YouTube. It truly was an outstanding show for its time, and the humor really holds up well. |
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Post by Calidore on Dec 27, 2023 17:29:52 GMT -5
The Smothers Brothers TV show was a bit before my time as well, but my dad was a big fan and would show us whenever they later appeared somewhere on TV. If looking up their comedy on YouTube, don't sleep on Tom's yo-yo stunts.
I love that Pete Seeger story. CBS blocked him out the first time, so the brothers just booked him again for the same performance, and CBS relented the second time.
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