Monthly Archives: April 2017

  • At the End of the Day, the Best?

    Lame DogUncategorized

    Attention.  The Dog has a matter of cultural significance for your consideration.  Who is the greatest living figure in popular music who is not a household name?

    Before we can proceed, we must define terms.  What is popular music?  That could encompass everything other than classical music.  But in order to prevent our inquiry from becoming unwieldy, let’s limit ourselves to the non-classical music of the English-speaking world.  And let’s also steer clear of the grand traditions of Broadway and the specialized realm of jazz.

    Next, what is a household name?  For present purposes, let’s define that as a name immediately recognizable to the general public of the United States.  In that way, we can avoid the daunting task of tracking everyone who is — or is not — very famous somewhere. Also, let’s assume that if a musical group is a household name, its members and ex-members likewise qualify as such, even if they may be less familiar in their individual capacities.

    Now comes the really hard part.   What does it mean to be great and how should it be measured?  That’s endlessly debatable.  But here are some possible criteria:

    — Someone with a  career of long standing, going back more than a generation.

    — Someone whose achievements as a songwriter include a substantial body of work with finely crafted lyrics and beautiful melodies.

    — Someone who is an outstanding performer on a musical instrument.

    — Someone with a stirring and memorable voice.

    — Someone who remains a creative force, having continued to tour and release new material in recent years.

    — Someone who is highly respected in music circles and has broadly influenced others in the field.

    So who best fits the bill?

    Honestly, I don’t know.   I haven’t done enough research and would lack the discernment to express a reliable opinion even if I had. But it may well be (more…)

  • Oliver Wallace — Fighting Hitler With Help From Donald Duck

    Lame DogComedy

    One day in 1942, Walt Disney approached a composer on his staff with a special rush assignment.  He needed a song for a Donald Duck cartoon intended to poke fun at the German enemy.  The composer, Oliver Wallace, had written scores for many cartoons as well as songs for the movie Dumbo.  But this time he felt stumped. That evening while biking to a store, he later recalled: “The music came to me in one flash.  It nearly knocked me off my bicycle.  My mouth opened in surprise.  There followed a second surprise.  Words came out of that mouth.” The result was “The Fuehrer’s Face,” which Oscar Hammerstein, II, later praised as the “great psychological” song of the conflict, as in psychological warfare.

    Before long, the zany bandleader Spike Jones recorded a version in which he used a “birdaphone” — a rubber novelty shop device — to punctuate each reference to “the Fuehrer’s Face” with a Bronx cheer.  The next year, the cartoon was released.  Unfortunately, the birdaphone was replaced with a trombone.  But the overall effect was such that it was awarded the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

    The film can be seen on youtube.  But I prefer the superior quality of this clip, which is among the vast trove of interesting material available on the France-based website dailymotion. (more…)

  • Thistle in the Heart — Eric Bogle and James MacArthur

    Lame DogFolk

    Years ago, Lame Dog had the pleasure of seeing the Australian songwriter Eric Bogle in concert. Bogle performed many of his fine songs, but not the one that first made the Dog prick up his ears. That can be heard in the clip below. Bogle supplied the melody and the chorus. The remainder is credited to a poem by James MacArthur.

    I always assumed that MacArthur was a minor nineteenth century literary figure.  In fact, he died in 1981 and, as far as I know, never published a word. (more…)

  • Bloom Again — From Stealing Pets to Crazy Ex

    Lame DogComedy

    After releasing two comedy albums, Rachel Bloom, along with her collaborator Aline Brosh McKenna, began pitching an idea for a television series. Bloom wanted to portray a brilliant but unhappy Manhattan attorney who impulsively abandons her big firm career and moves to a boring town in California to pursue an obsessive crush on a hunky Asian guy. And it’s a musical.

    Unfortunately, Bloom was suffering from anxiety and depression. (Oh no! That topic has returned!) But she sought psychiatric help and, improbably, “Crazy Ex-Girfriend,” which is now in its third season, became a critically acclaimed success. In addition to her achievements as a comedy writer and singer, Bloom won a 2016 Golden Globe Award for best actress for playing the lead role.

    While I haven’t yet had an opportunity to watch much of the show, I’ve been enjoying videos of the featured songs. I’m especially fond of the following clip. Here, we get to listen in on the protagonist’s inner rap monologue as she employs her formidable social skills to impress her boyfriend’s parents (and reduce her romantic competition to “bupkis”). (more…)

  • “It’s the Seventh Grade Dance in the Shed” — A Salute to Rachel Bloom

    Lame DogComedy

    I think we could use a pick-me-up after that last post on depression. Anyway, I’m looking for an excuse to tout a comedy powerhouse.  Plus she just celebrated her 30th birthday (on April 3rd).

    Rachel Bloom grew up in Southern California but was something of a neurotic New Yorker at heart. In addition to a behind the scenes stint as an intern at Saturday Night Live, she cut her teeth with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, an improv troupe whose other graduates include Amy Poehler. Bloom first attracted widespread attention in 2010 with a rude song about wanting to have sex with the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. It was in poor taste as she was 23 at the time while Bradbury was 90. But I reserve the right to change my mind about that some day in the distant future.

    The following year, in 2011, Bloom hit her hit her stride with this video. Notice that she comes on like an (even more) over-the-top Rebecca Black before taking a bizarre turn:

    Behind the laughter lurked a shadow. Back when Bloom herself was in 7th grade, she was

    (more…)