New Amp for Old Music

Once again we have the opportunity for a musical visit with good, ol’ R. Crumb, who has been living in France for — YOWZA! — 32 years. Robert is delving into 78’s that are even more obscure than his usual fare.

OTRS 141 R. CRUMB’S RECORD ROOM (part 59) “MUSIC OF ETHIOPIA & SOMALIA” special guest’s Robert Crumb & his glorious 78rpm records and that lovable scamp Eden Brower.

I see that I’m not the only one with an audio acquisition. That appears to be a Marantz amp of fairly recent vintage in Crumb’s listening room.

A Tex Me-Too on MeTV Toon-In

I’ve been surprised by some of the cartoons that MeTV has shown on Toon In with Me. “Mother Hubba-Hubbard Hubbard” is a recent example. From Columbia, a studio that seemed perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy, this cartoon is a 100% Tex Avery imitation, with voices probably by Stan Freberg. The surprise is an intact sequence that’s been censored for many years.

The guy who posted that video gets MeTV in HD. I’m jealous, because In Boston the station continues to be aired in SD. I watched MeTV in HD on my many visits to Phoenix. This is the censored scene as it appeared here, on WCVB 5-2.

Something else Boston doesn’t have is MeTV+. This Columbia cartoon takes its inspiration from the Fleischer studio.

Turkey Lips

Turkeys playing harmonicas? Sure, why not. With a few background paintings, and narrowly focused action, this cartoon isn’t ambitious, but the quality of the work is excellent. Voices by Mel Blanc, who imitates Pinto Colvig’s Goofy.

“Harmonica Humdingers” takes its inspiration from Disney’s very ambitious cartoon “The Band Concert”, where Donald keeps interfering with Mickey by playing a lot of flutes.