The Beatles cartoons produced for TV in the 60’s don’t have a good reputation, but producer Al Brodax later redeemed himself with Yellow Submarine. The TV cartoons found their way to the Internet Archive a year ago, and they’re still there.
To see the playlist and browse selections, click here.
It’s Sean’s birthday, too. He’s 45 today.
Yesterday I received my copy of Atlas at War!, an excellent collection of pre-Marvel war comics. The book includes six stories illustrated by Joe Sinnott, whose passing continues to sadden me.
I am enjoying the Atlas war book, and the recently released Marvel mini-comics book, and the new CD compilation of psychedelic singles from the defunct White Whale record label. I am looking forward to an upcoming graphic novel illustrated by Colleen Doran and, most of all, a companion book to Peter Jackson’s long-anticipated re-release of Let It Be in a greatly expanded edition.
But I have a problem with all of this enjoyment by acquisition. It goes back to everything I had to do after my father’s death, nearly three years ago. One part of that was the monumental amount of work clearing everything out of the house. It was a painful process, from first shipping the items that were wanted by my siblings, through making the threat of legal action to get money from the company that ran the estate sale. Dealing with the Kia dealership in Peoria, Arizona that bought my father’s 2014 Soul was a comparable nightmare.
My point is that, being an old retired guy, I want to begin the process of de-cluttering my possessions and, in turn, my life. Buying more stuff isn’t the way to do that.
Here Come the Huggetts (1948) is a surprisingly thoughtful comedy that effectively conveys a feeling of British post-war life. The cast includes precocious Diana Dors and England’s sweetheart Petula Clark.
Diana was only 13 months older than 15-year-old Pet! I wonder if working with Diana had an effect on Petula? Because as she told me herself she was surprised and amused that the French later called her “Sexy Pet.”
From the “Funny Because It’s True” file, Dors’ real name was Diana Fluck. And, yes, that’s Diana on the “Sgt. Pepper” album cover!
A question in the comments about a microphone coincides with a video chat I watched yesterday. Noted recording engineer, musician, and author Brian Kehew discusses his work in the studio, and how the Beatles worked in the studio. Somewhat ironically, Kevin is apparently using the mic in his laptop computer.
We have the 1918 pandemic, the unemployment rate of the Great Depression, and the race riots of 1968, all at the same time. There’s no need to wait for hindsight to have 20/20 vision about 2020, and the year isn’t even half over!
Something that’s overlooked about John Lennon’s infamous heckling of the Smothers Brothers at the Troubadour in 1974 is that he knew Tommy Smothers. Yeah, Lennon was being a jerk, and he acknowledged it ever after, but in a way he was just being a pain in the butt to a friend.
