Category: Music

Teenage Wasteland

The complete and unforgettable “Jaan Pehechaan Ho.”

Terry Zwigoff used some of this 1960’s Bollywood production in the opening sequence of his superbly realized film adaptation of the comic book Ghost World, by Daniel Clowes. Scarlett Johansson was the breakout star of the movie, but Thora Birch’s performance has always impressed me more.

Guess what? YouTube Movies has the complete Ghost World. Yeah, there are commercials, but it’s free and it’s here. (Note that you will need some form of Google account to watch.)

https://youtu.be/pmW61ytcI18

Zwigoff got in a self-deprecating dig. He played string bass on this R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders album. Yeesh, Thora and Scarlett look unbelievably young but, then, didn’t we all at some time?

It’s Flower Power, Baby

Two months before the famous Monterey International Pop Music Festival in June 1967, there was an equally interesting concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Representing Folk Rock was the Buffalo Springfield. There was Pop music with the 5th Dimension. For Soul, the relatively unknown Brenda Holloway was there. And for a Garage band the Seeds.

https://youtu.be/-NJ9CBixSIk

But wait, there’s more! Singer-songwriter Johnny Rivers, and from Motown the one and only Supremes. Listen to these recordings for their historical significance, not the audio quality.

https://youtu.be/-cBZwgi3Ots

Note that radio station KHJ went by the pre-groovy slang “boss.” KHJ is the same station featured in Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, as heard in the previous post.

Once Upon A Time… In Sydney

Let’s dip our toes back in Rick Dalton’s swimming pool with this track by Los Bravos, from Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood.

The song was originally written and performed by the Australian band The Easybeats, best known for their big hit “Friday On My Mind”. The guitar opening for “Bring a Little Lovin'” was later apparently borrowed by another Australian act, the Bee Gees, for their song “Jive Talkin'”.

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The Rolling Stones album Beggar’s Banquet includes a song called “Prodigal Son.”

There was some initial confusion about the songwriting credit, having not been clearly attributed to the Reverend Robert Wilkins, who first recorded it in 1964.

The song is actually a reworking of Wilkins’ song “That’s No Way To Get Along” from 1929, before he became a devout Christian.