Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
In this video essay, Kogonada explores the way that director Alfred Hitchock used the eyes of his subjects to create a sense of terror. The video, which was created for the Criterion Collection, uses only images (and some music) to illustrate how one technique can convey a specific emotion well. Check it out.
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(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
On Saturday, October 4, 2014, country singer Marty Brown returned to Middletown, New York to play before a packed house at Brian’s Backyard BBQ and Blues. This time, Brown brought together an excellent backing band, mixing covers and a number of his great original songs, including songs from his latest CD like “Whatever Makes You Smile.”
Brown, in the midst of a career renaissance after his appearance on America’s Got Talent, performs like a man who knows how fortunate he is to have a second chance at his career. His playing and singing reflect a rare joy that is catching. He happily engages with his audience and tells stories to introduce some of his songs. Several times he asked the audience for input on what they wanted to hear. His genuine appreciation for his fans is not limited to the stage. When he is not on stage, he hangs out with the audience members, moving around and talking to folks, taking pictures, and signing autographs.
I especially enjoyed when Brown dug into his back catalog, as when he played “High and Dry,” the first track on his debut album form 1991 of the same name. Although his voice has grown deeper in the ensuing decades sine he released the song as a young man, Saturday’s performance infected the song with the hard-won blues of an older man who has seen more of life. I liked the new version just as much as when I first heard the song back in the 1990s.
At the Brian’s Backyard BBQ performance, the members of Brown’s outstanding backing band included drummer Vito Luizzi (a member of the late Johnny Winter’s band), guitar player Rob Daniels (who also performs on his own as a singer-songwriter), and professional bassist Chuck Torres. The band sounded great on both the cover songs and on Brown’s originals.
Brian’s Backyard BBQ and Blues is a fun venue with excellent food, great service, comfortable atmosphere, and surprisingly exceptional acoustics. Opening performers during the “Country Fest” evening included Shannon Scott, Alyssa Startup, Matt Johnson, and Rob Daniels, all who did a great job entertaining the crowd. Another opening act was the Jason Casterlin Band, which got the audience going with a fun set of country songs. The Hudson Valley group played a combination of originals and covers like “Wagon Wheel.” Casterlin has an excellent voice, so country music fans should check him out if he plays in your area.
For more on upcoming Marty Brown shows, check out his website or his Facebook page.
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(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Reminding us of the old days when mega-stars would gather together to sing a song to benefit a charity, the BBC is celebrating the launch of BBC Music with a charity single version of the 1966 Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows” to benefit the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. Produced by Ethan Johns, the song is being released by Sony, and Universal, and Warner Music.
The singers include the song’s writer, Brian Wilson. Other stars include Elton John, One Direction, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl, and Baaba Maal. The song also features the Tees Valley Youth Choir and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Check out the “God Only Knows” video, which includes some cool special effects.
The video was filmed at the Alexandra Palace theatre in London.
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(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan has just released the official video for the title track to his upcoming album Boxers (2014). The video, directed by Gorman Bechard, displays Ryan performing “Boxers” intercut with black and white images of actress Audria Ayers. Check it out.
Matthew Ryan’s Boxers album is available for pre-order through Bandcamp on his website and will be released October 14.
Innocent Words describes Boxers as being for “those who have been beaten down by everyday life in a blue collar society.” Similarly, Ryan explained to ARTISTdirect, “It’s a brutal hope at a brutal intersection of our story in a world that feels on the verge of something. And that something will be what we make it or allow it to be.”
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(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
On October 6, 1961, in a letter to the members of the Committee on Civil Defense of the Governors’ Conference, President John F. Kennedy addressed fears of a thermo-nuclear war. He called for a “national understanding” of the need for government and private bomb shelters. “In simple terms,” he urged, “this goal is to reach for fallout protection for every American as rapidly as possible.”
In the letter, President Kennedy recounted that the federal government was moving forward to make fallout shelter space available. But he also urged states and individuals to act. He noted, “The people of this country will be urged, by me, by the Governors and by other leaders to do what is within their means.”
Additionally, Kennedy predicted, “Protection against this threat is within reach of an informed America willing to face the facts and act.” A year later in October 1962, the Cuban missile crisis made fallout shelters seem even more necessary.
Anyone who grew up between the late 1940s through the next several decades will remember these fears of atomic or nuclear war that peaked at various times. While such fears have changed over time, one may look back on those times through popular culture.
My seventh grade teacher gave our class a major assignment where we each had to design a fallout shelter. Each of our shelters had to be planned to protect and house our class indefinitely in the wake of a nuclear war. It was an interesting assignment, and I remember carefully calculating food supplies and the size of the shelter. I suspect today there would be complaints if a teacher gave the assignment to students due to the accompanying nightmares.
The fears of annihilation by the new powerful bombs did not begin and end with President Kennedy. The 1959 movie On the Beach with Gregory Peck was a story about survivors of World War III. In 1964, Henry Fonda played a president contemplating the possibility of nuclear war in Fail Safe. The same year director Stanley Kubrick addressed the insanity of nuclear bombs in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Decades later, the 1983 TV mini-series The Day After terrified a new generation.
Many years ago, I was flipping around the TV channels very late at night and ran across a black and white movie about schoolchildren walking home from school after an alarm warning of a nuclear attack. The film, Ladybug Ladybug (1963), warned about the dark side of our fears. Watching the haunting movie at such a late hour led to me not getting much sleep that night, and the movie has stayed with me.
For full effect, watch Ladybug Ladybug late at night and contemplate the time period where they did not have the Internet or cell phones. The movie was directed by Frank Perry and starred Jane Connell and William Daniels.
Unfortunately, the whole movie is no longer available on YouTube. But here is a scene from Ladybug Ladybug.
One of the most famous “films” about these world-ending fears was the short film made by the U.S. Government’s civil defense branch in 1951 and first shown in 1952 during the Korean War. “Duck and Cover” was aimed at kids, and it begins with an animated Bert the Turtle.
Schoolchildren for many years would learn from Bert the Turtle how to protect themselves by ducking and covering themselves. The advice is ridiculous for someone near the bomb’s target area. But supposedly the suggestion is not so ridiculous for those further away seeking to protect themselves.
Still, like my teacher’s bomb shelter exercise, in retrospect it seems an odd thing to be teaching children. Check it out.
Fortunately, through the hard work of many decent leaders, kids today do not have the same immediate fear of a nuclear war with another country. Unfortunately, human ignorance and brutality have not gone away and have survived in other forms. Today, we cannot even pretend that fallout shelters will protect us from the threats and fears of modern society.
Thus, we can no longer pretend that we are protected by a president’s idea of digging in the ground or a cartoon turtle’s suggestion to “duck and cover.” But at least we are still around.
What do you remember about the Cold War? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)