I recently watched the 1960 movie version of The Time Machine, the H.G. Wells classic, on Turner Classic Movies. I have seen the 2002 version that stars Guy Pearce several times, finding it far from perfect but charming nevertheless. One interesting difference I noticed in the 1960 version is that the end raises the question: “If you could choose only three books to take with you to rebuild society, what books would you take?”
For those unfamiliar with the story (spoiler alert), the main character builds a time machine and travels through time. Near the end, he travels far into the future and discovers that society has crumbled and that the humans do not have knowledge about the past or how to survive on their own. In the 1960 movie, “H. George Wells,” played by Rod Taylor, leaves this future to go back to his present time briefly, ultimately returning back to the future. One of Wells’s friends in the present realizes that Wells has used his time machine once again and he notices that Wells took three books from his library with him. The friend and Wells’s housekeeper ponder what three books Wells might have taken, but the movie leaves the question open.
The question about the books is not in the 2002 version of The Time Machine, directed by Simon Wells, who is the great-grandson of H.G. Wells. Apparently, it does not appear in the book either, so it is an addition to the 1960 movie version, which was directed by George Pal. It is an interesting question, not asking for your most enjoyable books but for what books should be the basis for civilization.
There are a few discussion boards about the question, including here and here. Many folks raise the possibility of The Bible as one of the books, while others raise concerns about the problems caused by religion. Many others logically insist that the three books should include books on science or history, while others note that one of the themes of The Time Traveler is how humankind’s scientific knowledge has not led to good results. Some raise the point that a medical book would help keep people healthy. Others suggest books on the government or the U.S. Constitution. Finally, there are those who insist that at least one of the books should be a great work of literature, perhaps one that teaches moral lessons.
Of course, there is no clear answer, but your answer may say a lot about you, and the question can lead to good conversations. What three books would you take if you were starting or rebuilding a society? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Back in 1975 as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was opening, Tim Curry discussed his role in the movie on a student TV station.
I remember seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) for the first time when I was in college. It was in the days before the Internet and videos, so the only way to experience it was at a late-night showing with people throwing water and toast. I had just moved to a city from my small town, and the movie was unlike anything I had ever seen. I was not sure what to make of the movie and Tim Curry’s portrayal of Frank-n-Furter, but it was fun, and I would recapture the experience several times through the years, introducing other friends and family to the unusual moviegoing experience.
For decades, actor Tim Curry avoided discussing his iconic role in the movie. But back in August of 1975 when the movie opened, Curry appeared on STOIC, the Student Television Of Imperial College to discuss the newly released film.
In the video, interviewer Mark Caldwell got Curry to open up about his role as Frank-n-Furter, and Curry discussed how he came up with the accent he uses in the film and whether he would be interested in acting in a sequel. As noted on Open Culture, the young Caldwell does an excellent job and we are lucky to have this video still around.
The video interview, unfortunately, is no longer available for embedding here but you can check it out by going to YouTube. Check it out there.
In 2005, Curry would once again discuss The Rocky Horror Picture Show during an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air. That interview focused on his role as King Arthur in Spamalot on Broadway.
This video from Cracked captures nineteen celebrity cameos that you may have missed while watching some of your favorite films, videos, etc. You may have caught some of them, but others were hard to catch — like Glenn Close as a man in Hook (1991) — unless you know about them in advance.
Were these celebrity cameos fun additions to the movies or a waste of talent? Check it out.
What is your favorite celebrity cameo in a film? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Bruce Springsteen remains one of the great living artists who connects us to early rock and roll. Perhaps as part of that connection, he is the artist most likely to sing the classic rock lyrics “sha-la-la.” The lyrics have appeared in several of his performances and recordings.
“Brown-Eyed Girl” Cover
In one example from a recent tour, Springsteen sang the line while covering Van Morrison’s classic “Brown-Eyed Girl” on April 19, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina: “Do you remember when we used to sing / Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah.”
“Darlington County” and “Jersey Girl”
The two “sha-la-la” songs most identified with Springsteen, though, are “Darlington County” and “Jersey Girl.” “Darlington County” first appeared on Born in the U.S.A. (1984), recounting the travels of the singer and “Wayne” heading down South from New York City to meet some girls. “We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top singing / Sha la la la la la la la la.”
Below is a swinging performance of “Darlington County” in London in 2013. Although the original version highlighted Springsteen’s harmonies with Steven Van Zandt, when the band plays live, everyone sings on the “sha-la-la’s.”
Although California-born Tom Waits wrote “Jersey Girl,” fans also identify Springsteen with the song from his many performances and from his close connection to New Jersey. Springsteen began performing the song during The River tour in 1981, and it appeared as a B-side to Born in the U.S.A.‘s “Cover Me.” “Jersey Girl” finally appeared on an official Springsteen album when a live version closed the box set Live: 1975-85 (1986).
In “Jersey Girl,” the singer tells us he is in love with a girl from New Jersey. It is a touching song, tinged with real-life hope and regret. The singer pleads with a single mother who is exhausted from her job, asking that she go dancing on a Saturday night where everything will be all right.
And then, apparently, they will “Sha-la-la. . .” because the singer is “in love with a Jersey girl.” As in “Brown-Eyed Girl,” one might read the “Sha-la-la’s” as rock and roll talk for sexual relations. Below is an October 2009 performance at Giants Stadium . . . in New Jersey, of course.
“Breakaway”
Springsteen used “sha-la-la” in at least one other original song besides “Darlington County.” The phrase appearing in background vocals for his song “Breakaway.”
“Breakaway” was recorded during Springsteen’s 1977-’78 recording sessions around the time of Darkness on the Edge of Town. But these sha-la-la’s did not see official release until Springsteen put together leftover songs from those sessions for the 2010 release The Promise.
Unlike the other sha-la-la’s in other songs in this post, the sha-la-la’s in “Breakaway” appear in the background, not up front in a chorus. Also, “Breakaway” is one of the rare times where “sha-la-la” does not have any sexual or love connotations.
In “Breakaway,” the “sha-la-la” phrase fills in the spaces in a song about broken dreams. Arguably, the phrase fills in for another topic we do not like to talk about: death. “Janie slid into a car last night (sha la la la, sha la la la) / In a parking lot she gave her soul away . . . .”
“Jole Blon”
On a much happier note, one of my favorite “sha-la-la” songs resulted when Springsteen joined Gary U.S. Bonds on a modern version of the Cajun classic “Jole Blon” on Bonds’s 1981 album Dedication. Among other things, Springsteen contributed some “sha la la’s.”
Here is a 2012 performance where the two men teamed up on stage at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey singing a great duet on “Jole Blon” from an excellent album. Again, it is a love song and the “sha-la-la’s” help fill in the blanks.
“Sha La La”
Finally, if “sha-la-la” is good enough for a chorus, it is good enough for a name of a song. In 1964, The Shirelles recorded a song called “Sha La La” that may have given Springsteen his first love of the “sha-la-la” phrase, even though a more famous song by The Shirelles, “Baby It’s You,” also used the phrase.
Springsteen recently performed The Shirelles’ “Sha La La” in 2009 during the Working on a Dream tour. But prior to that, all of his other known performances of the song occurred in 1975.
Below is a live version of “Sha La La” Springsteen sang by request in 2009. Again, you can figure out what “sha-la-la” means: “When I kissed you and I held you tight / Baby, you made me feel alright / So this is the song that I sang all night / Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la.”
What Sha-la-la Song Should Springsteen Sing Next?
With these six songs, four of which appear on official recordings, Bruce Springsteen may be the living artist most likely to “sha-la-la” in song. It has been awhile, though, since he has recorded a “sha-la-la” song. Let us suggest “Let’s Live for Today” (“Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today”) by the Grass Roots, which Springsteen apparently is yet to sing. Maybe it is time for another new sha-la-la.
Is there a “sha-la-la” Springsteen song we missed? What is your favorite Springsteen “sha-la-la”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Chimesfreedom is a big fan of the debut album from singer-songwriter Andrew Combs, Worried Man. So we are excited that his second album, All These Dreams, will be released on March 3, 2015.
Below is the lead track from the upcoming album, “Rainy Day Song.” From the sound of it, we are not expecting a sophomore slump from Combs. Check it out.
What do you think of “Rainy Day Song”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
I recently watched the 1960 movie version of The Time Machine, the H.G. Wells classic, on Turner Classic Movies. I have seen the 2002 version that stars Guy Pearce several times, finding it far from perfect but charming nevertheless. One interesting difference I noticed in the 1960 version is that the end raises the question: “If you could choose only three books to take with you to rebuild society, what books would you take?”
(1986).
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. Among other things, Springsteen contributed some “sha la la’s.”
