Author: DOuG pRATt

Gunn, Peter Gunn

I’m busy at my office desk, doing non-blog stuff. On the Pioneer PL-112D turntable that’s connected to the computer is a cool reissue LP of the Peter Gunn soundtrack by Henry Mancini, with Johnny Williams on piano. It was recorded in 1958, the year stereo records were introduced.

I bought the record new for something like $2.99, probably 40 years ago. Excellent pressing and sound. Some nice person put the soundtrack on YouTube, with an extra 13th track.

"Reissue produced by Ethel Gabriel/All music arranged by Mr. Mancini/From the Sound Track of the NBC-TV Series, "Peter Gunn"/Original album produced by Simon Rady/Recorded in Hollywood, August 26 and 31, and September 4 and 29, 1958"

Gunslinger Nation

I was going to compose a long, carefully thought-out essay on the recent wave of mass shootings. Screw it, why bother? I’ll just borrow a couple of videos from reputable news outlets.

Love the dress, Nora!

I’ll make a prediction. The Second Amendment will be repealed. Not in my lifetime, certainly, but eventually. The extreme interpretation by the Supreme Court, ironically from its “originalist” members, effectively removed “A well regulated Militia” from the amendment, making its repeal inevitable.

Lively Dead Phish

Reliving something I was doing 50 years ago, I’ve been listening to The Grateful Dead’s live album, Europe ’72. In high school I bought the 3-LP set on the recommendation of my friend Tom, who was a student at the Groton School.

Tom was really into the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane. He’s now a Harvard-educated attorney who advises world leaders and is certified to present cases before the World Court at the Hauge, Netherlands. I should have listened to more Dead and Airplane!

After listening to Europe ’72 for a couple of years, needing some fast cash in college I sold it along with some other records. Feeling nostalgic, as I often am, I bought the 50th anniversary 2-CD set. If I’d waited a couple of weeks, it would have cost ten bucks less, but such is the way of Amazon.

That’s my long introduction to this new Phish video. The band is currently on tour, keeping the spirit of the Dead alive.

I’ve never seen confirmation the band’s name is a contraction of Phil Lesh’s name, but that’s always been my assumption. Thanks to my pal Scott Murawski, of the legendary New England band Max Creek, I’ve met Phish bassist Mike Gordon. I didn’t ask him about the name, because another assumption of mine is that anybody who knows anything should know the answer.

A collection of Max Creek live shows, going waaaaay back, is on the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/MaxCreek