Author: DOuG pRATt

Raging robo calls

Here in Massachusetts there’s a special election today to finish the late Ted Kennedy’s term in the Senate. The state is heavily Democratic, although in recent years we have been fond of electing Republican governors. Right now we have our first black governor, Democrat Deval Patrick, but I predict that in November Charlie Baker, former CEO of a leading HMO, and a Republican, will replace Patrick.

Not since Edward Brooke have we sent a GOP senator to Washington. He served for two terms, and during that time Brooke, who was the first black senator, had an affair with Barbara Walters. Irregularities involving Brooke’s divorce were investigated by an assistant DA named John Kerry, who later took over Brooke’s seat in the Senate. This past October, without a hint of irony, Kerry feted Brooke. Massachusetts politics is such fun.

Anyway, leading up to today’s election, the phone rang constantly yesterday, with robot calls for Scott Brown. There were a couple of automated calls for Martha Coakley, including one with Vicki Kennedy, but mostly the Democratic candidate had live volunteers working the phones.

The calls highlighted once again how it’s the undecided voters — the wishy-washy Charlie Brown contingent — that cost campaigns so much money, although there’s also a need to “get out the vote” among the party faithful. For myself, the decision is very simple. I don’t want a Republican senator.

“I Love” the Lennon Sisters singing Margo Guryan

When the Beatles appeared in America, I was puzzled. My big sister had a book with the Lennon Sisters in an imaginary adventure, like Nancy Drew would have. Was John Lennon related to the Lennon Sisters, who were regulars on the Lawrence Welk Show?

Well, other than the fact that the Lennon Sisters were singers, they had no connection at all to John Lennon, of course. By the mid-sixties their lovely, ultra-sanitized harmonies were considered out of date, but as the decade moved swiftly to the psychedelic era, they did what they could to keep up with the times. In 1967 the Lennon Sisters released “On the Groovy Side,” produced by Snuff Garrett, who had helped Gary Lewis have a string of hits. They look like they’re wearing matching paisley maternity dresses!

D.F. Rogers spotted a copy of this LP in a record bin, and he noticed that one of the songs is “I Love,” written by Lia Pamina’s favorite singer-songwriter, Margo Guryan. Good catch, Denro!

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/ILove.mp3]

Thoroughly Modern Milli

The Hippie spirit lives on in the resolutely independent artist Milli Moonstone! This post has been a long time coming, because I first mentioned Milli two years ago, when I spotted her MySpace page.

Milli Moonstone is Emily Edmonstone, a British singer-songwriter and environmental activist. Milli is an eclectic chameleon, and she defies conventional description. Here, in the intro video to her site, she’s Emily, down-to-earth and matter-of-fact…

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2010/JAN/MilliWelcome.flv 512 384]

… and in this video for her song “Lose Myself,” she’s the playful, free-spirited Milli.

A few months ago, Milli Moonstone put out an EP CD that I ordered, but I can’t imagine she made any money off of me, shipping it to Boston from London. Now Milli has an 11-song album you can download from Amazon.com. Listen to the samples, and you’ll know Milli’s her own genre of music. “Lotsa Money” would go well with belly dancing, and “Good Goodbye” is about the end of a romance, but it could almost be taken as a death scene, saying goodbye to life itself. For contrast, there’s “Over,” which is lovely and powerful. My favorite track is the wild “Flashbacks.”

Last September, Milli was interviewed by Nikki Bedi on BBC Asia.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/MilliMoonstoneBBC.mp3]

During the interview Nikki plays Milli’s song “New Day,” which prominently features a sarongi. I’ll embed the song here, down-converted, so it won’t sound as good as the original, because I want you to buy it.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/NewDay.mp3]

I think there’s a CD version coming of “Lose Myself,” but it can be downloaded right now, so why wait? I realize that a lot of people are sending their extra money to help provide relief to Haiti, but if you have $9 US to spare, please buy Milli’s album. (Note: I make no money at all from anything related to DogRat.com. This site is a hobby and an expense, and that’s the way I want it.)

I know where she’s leaping!

It’s not a leap year, but it’s Rom-Com season, so there’s a new movie called “Leap Year,” featuring Amy Adams, who was so charming in “Enchanted.”

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2010/JAN/LeapYear.flv 600 254]

The 30-second commercials for “Leap Year” that I saw on “The Colbert Report” were all I needed to know it’s a reworking of “I Know Where I’m Going!”, which features the one and only Petula Clark, when she was a child star in England.

The new movie isn’t getting very good reviews, but that isn’t the fault of the original, which is but one of the quirky, unique, and unforgettable productions of The Archers — as Michael Powell and Emerick Pressburger called their collaborations. Give this scene a try, and see what you think of the interplay between these eccentric characters and their ad hoc family.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2010/JAN/IKnowWhereImGoing.flv 512 384]

If you found that clip at all intriguing, you should try the other samples from The Archers that I’ve posted: