Author: DOuG pRATt

A Mitch in Time

Mitch Miller, the man who seemed to have inspired the formation of countless gay men’s choruses, has died. Miller was a major force in the music industry for many years, and his importance can’t be minimized, but his music wasn’t for me. Twenty years ago, a review I liked of a Mitch Miller Christmas album that had been released on CD was short and to the point — “Welcome to Hell.” Ray Conniff worked with Mitch Miller at Columbia, and I love his album We Wish You A Merry Christmas. I’ve always wondered if that’s Mitch on the cover. (I had a huge crush on the girl when I was a kid, whoever she is.)

I also have an appreciation for the singing of the delightful Lennon Sisters, who were favorites of Lawrence Welk. But there was always something too cloying and mechanically rote for my taste in Mitch Miller’s recordings. His most famous failing was not realizing that the times they were a’changin in the 60’s, when John Hammond brought Bob Dylan to Columbia. But an inability to appreciate talent outside of one’s own taste is something that could be said of many of the old-style A&R (artist and repertoire) men in the music business.

The superb vocalist Jo Stafford worked with Miller. In the persona of the perfectly off-key Darlene Edwards, Jo recorded a dead-on parody of the famous Mitch Miller sound.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/AUG/BabyBumbleBee.mp3]

Fanway Park

Eric (who is now only one month away from starting college) and I were at Fenway Park in Boston today to see the Red Sox play the Detroit Tigers. It was a lackluster game, with the Sox leading 3-0, until the 9th inning, when Detroit tied the score. The Sox won on a well-played bunt. [Samjay says that “well-placed” is the correct sports term.]

The two tickets cost $250. Considering the crowd that was there, and the money people spent on food, etc., the thing I want to know is, “what recession?”

An Electronic Heart of Glass

A month ago I mentioned it was Debbie Harry’s 65th birthday, and played Hanging on the Telephone. A much more technically advanced recording from Blondie’s album Parallel Lines is Heart of Glass. Here’s an explanation of how it was put together. I don’t know know yet who made this video, but it seems to be from England, and it’s excellent. Thanks go to David Barsalou for pointing it out.

That’s a yacht to spend on a wedding

Chelsea Clinton is already 30? Well, nobody can say she’s rushing into getting married. The speculation that the wedding and reception would run into millions of dollars is way off target, apparently, but no matter what it’s costing it’ll be a lot more than what 99% of everybody else spends. Hey, the Clintons can afford it, and they’re not complaining about paying taxes.

John Kerry, on the other hand, continues to be a disappointment. As a Massachusetts taxpayer, I don’t believe his assertion that he always intended to pay Baystate taxes on his Ocean State yacht. Of course, what Kerry did was perfectly legal, so the only thing that’s wrong is the inherent duplicity.

I met Kerry only once, briefly, during my reporting days, and I can tell you the aloof thing is for real. Kerry couldn’t be bothered by a nobody kid reporter like me, and he wasn’t even a senator yet. Around that same period of time, when Ed Brooke was a senator, Ted Kennedy gave me his undivided attention for a 20-minute interview. For all of his personal failings, from that experience I realized Ted knew that loyalty was something he had to earn and couldn’t take for granted.

Unemployment going Hire and Hire?

What’s wrong with the unemployed? Why are they still out of work? Sure, it’s been reported that, on average, there are at least five applicants for every job, but if every one of those jobs gets filled, then the increased demand for goods and services will create more jobs, and the cycle will continue until we have full employment, and we’ll be back to having inflation, instead of deflation, in no time. See? It’s easy to understand!

So the problem must be, it has to be, with those who are unemployed, and not the government’s failure to pump enough borrowed money into the economy with public works projects and make-work jobs. So what, exactly, is wrong with these people who are looking for work, but finding none? The Onion explains the problem, and the solution…

Report: Unemployment High Because People Keep Blowing Their Job Interviews

According to the findings, seven out of 10 Americans could have landed their dream job last month if they had known where they see themselves in five years, and the number of unemployed could be reduced from 14.6 million to 5 million if everyone simply greeted potential employers with firmer handshakes, maintained eye contact, and stopped fiddling with their hair and face so much.