Category: Music

Alizée — French Family Entertainment

Petula Clark always sounds a bit amused that the French called her “sexy Pet.” But, then, what do the French know about what’s sexy?

If you’ve never heard of Alizée, you might be in for a bit of shock, because this is what passes for family entertainment in France. But I’ve never watched So You Think You Can Dance, so what do I know? Maybe it would be considered mainstream in America too.

Here is French superstar Alizée, five years ago, age eighteen. Computer gamer types will recognize this from the World of Warcraft. It was the basis for the Night Elf Dance.

You Can’t Do That With The Beatles

Another Beatles video that I can do better than what’s on YouTube is “You Can’t Do That,” an outtake from A Hard Day’s Night that was assembled for a documentary about the movie on its 30th anniversary. I have it in stereo. The brief scratchy sounds in the right channel are in the source material.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/AUG/YouCantDoThat.flv 440 330]

Petula Catch-Up

Let’s get caught up a bit with some of Petula Clark’s doings.

  • Petula’s interviews on radio and TV tend to be diplomatic about personal matters, but in print she can be quite frank and open about herself. What she reveals at this link is one such example.
  • Coming up on September 13 on PBS is “The 60’s Live!” Petula’s appearance can’t be truly live, as she will be performing in Manila that day.
  • On September 22 Pet will be back in New York, for the delayed appearance with Harry Belafonte at the Paley Center at the Museum of Television and Radio. Click here for more background about that.

For complete up-to-date information, check the American site PetulaClark.net, and in the UK, the Petula Blog.

The Beatles Shout!

Back in ’81 a biography of The Beatles by Phillip Norman, called Shout!, was released. If I ever knew why it was given that title, I’ve long since forgotten.

“Shout!” is also the name of a song by the Isley Brothers that the Beatles performed once on the English TV show Ready, Steady, Go!. With all of the Beatles-related sites, and the many videos posted on YouTube, I’m surprised that I can’t find a good transfer of that appearance. So I’ll provide one here, taken from an 8-inch Laserdisc.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/AUG/BeatlesShout.flv 448 336]

Another Beatles bit of information is that they had some of the first Philips-Norelco Compact Cassette decks in England. Fifteen years later, John Lennon was holding cassettes when he was shot.

Music & Politics In Western Massachusetts

Last Sunday we were at Tanglewood, in Lenox, MA, where the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays every summer. It was an all Mozart program, and well attended, although the age of the audience skewed decidedly 40 and up.

While waiting in the “wine line” during intermission, I happened to stand next to political consultant and former presidential adviser David Gergen. I overheard him discussing — what else? — politics.