PB & Julie + Julie C. Trivia

The Twelve Nights of Halloween

I am in the midst of my first annual “Twelve Nights of Halloween” celebration. Halloween is my favorite holiday – y’all can have your Christmas and your Thanksgiving and your Easter, but leave me the season of tricks, treats, thrills, chills, bonfires, corn mazes and horror movies. I typically spend a couple of nights watching scary and/or sci-fi movies and television, but this year, I’ve decided to try something a little different. Because I want to revisit some familiar favorites (Stranger Things, Poltergeist) AND experience some new-to-me media (Hush, The Hunger), I’m spreading it out over twelve nights. You can keep your leaping lords, your milking maids and your swimming swans; I’ll take the things that go bump in the night.

I have some pretty specific rules about what types of horror I will – and won’t – watch. I will always say yes to monster stories (Alien, A Quiet Place, Jaws), serial killer thrillers (The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Zodiac), horror-comedies (Tremors, Gremlins, Shaun of the Dead), and psychological horror (The Shining, basically anything directed by Alfred Hitchcock). I will always say no to demonic possessions, torture porn, and splatter/gore. Other subgenres are case-by-case: I typically enjoy ghost stories and I typically don’t care for body horror. If I’m not sure about something, I’ll err on the side of caution and skip it; I don’t need another reason to lay awake at night.

Of course, Halloween-themed media doesn’t have to be horror; whether Halloween episodes of your favorite sitcoms, Halloween-themed baking competitions, animation or a Tim Burton movie marathon, there’s a little something for everyone.

Here’s a peek at my “Twelve Nights of Halloween” watchlist (asterisks indicate a first-time viewing for me):

Double feature: Poltergeist and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Heather O’Rourke and the most
terrifying clown doll of all time

While Poltergeist might seem like the more obvious choice for Halloween, the holiday is an important plot point in E.T. And these films make a natural double feature for me: the two opened just a week apart in June of 1982, both feature otherworldly beings upending a suburban family’s lives, and both were developed by Steven Spielberg (the level of Spielberg’s involvement in the production of Poltergeist has been hotly debated for almost four decades). It’s hard to overstate the impact this pair of films have had on me, and I doubt I will ever tire of them.

You can stream Poltergeist on HBO Max; E.T. is available on Peacock.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tim Curry as Frank N Furter, the “sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania”

What can I say? I grew up in the era of the Rocky Horror midnight movie phenomenon. A tribute to the sci-fi and horror “B movies” of the 1950s and ’60s, Rocky Horror is a horror/comedy/musical hybrid that’s campy as hell and absurdly entertaining. The film was panned by critics upon its initial release in 1975 and struggled to find an audience. But on April 1, 1976, Rocky Horror had its first midnight screening at the Waverly Theater in Greenwich Village, and a cult hit was born. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has the longest theatrical run (forty-five years and counting) of any film in history, but you don’t need a midnight showing to see it – you can stream it on Hulu or Amazon Prime.

“It’s just a jump to the left/And then a step to the ri-i-i-i-i-ight”

Hush*

Since finishing Midnight Mass a week ago, I’m interested in experiencing more of Mike Flanagan’s work. Many of his projects seem too scary for me, so I’m wading in cautiously, beginning with 2016’s Hush. Starring Flanagan’s frequent collaborator – and spouse – Kate Siegel, Hush is the story of a deaf writer named Maddie who has retreated to a remote house in the woods to work on her novel. And since nothing good ever happens at a remote house in the woods, Maddie soon finds herself being stalked by a masked killer. Clocking in at just eighty-one minutes, Hush is barely longer than a television episode, so finding a spot on my schedule for it should be easy (but I’ll probably watch it during daylight hours).

Hush is available for streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things and Firestarter

*Stranger Things*‘ Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)

At the heart of both stories is an extraordinary – and extraordinarily gifted – girl being hunted by government baddies. Stranger Things was pitched as “What if Steven Spielberg directed a Stephen King movie?”, and Firestarter was clearly a huge influence on the Duffers. The CIA-sanctioned human experiments, the children born with special powers, the use of the ITC Benguiat font, even the dreamy, synth-driven soundtracks (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein are obviously Tangerine Dream fans): the reverence for Firestarter is everywhere in Stranger Things.

The original cover for the *Firestarter* novel was one of several 1980s King books to feature the ITC Benguiat font, used to create the
*Stranger Things* logo

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix; Firestarter is on HBO Max.

The Hunger*

A Twitter friend rewatched The Hunger last week and I commented that I’d never seen it, so I decided to remedy that. Generally speaking, vampire stuff isn’t my favorite, but there are exceptions – The Lost Boys, for example. The Hunger was Tony Scott’s directorial debut, so I know it will be visually striking. Plus, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve are the absolute fucking coolest looking vampires I’ve ever seen. I’m setting my expectations low so I can just sit back, enjoy and wonder how they could fit this much hotness into one movie.

You can stream The Hunger on HBO Max.

Double feature: The Shining and Doctor Sleep*

The Shining is an undisputed masterpiece of horror (though Stephen King famously hated it). Doctor Sleep, based on King’s follow-up novel, finds a grown-up Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) recovering from alcohol addiction, working as a hospice orderly (Dan uses his ability to “shine” to comfort dying patients), and attempting to quell his childhood demons. Like Hush, Doctor Sleep was directed by Mike Flanagan and features members of his acting troupe Henry Thomas and Robert Longstreet. Doctor Sleep even contains snippets of The Shining, as Dan returns to the Overlook Hotel and relives the horrors that occurred there. Released in 2019, Doctor Sleep is on the list of “things I just haven’t gotten around to yet”; Halloween seems the perfect opportunity to cross it off my list.

The Shining is available on HBO Max; Doctor Sleep isn’t included with any subscriptions, but you can rent it on Amazon.

Muppets Haunted Mansion*

BECAUSE MUPPETS.

Muppets Haunted Mansion is available to stream on Disney+.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Though the film has the word “Christmas” in the title, The Nightmare Before Christmas has always been a celebration of Halloween for me. Our hero, Jack Skellington, is the “pumpkin king” of Halloween Town. Jack has grown weary of Halloween, so when he stumbles upon Christmas Town, he decides Halloween Town will celebrate Christmas this year instead. Featuring Henry Selick’s brilliant stop-motion animation, voices by such greats as Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara and William Hickey, and music by Danny Elfman, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a delight from beginning to end. Fun fact: The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first animated feature film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects (Jurassic Park took home the prize).

You can stream The Nightmare Before Christmas on Disney+.

“The Slutty Pumpkin” (How I Met Your Mother), “The One with the Halloween Party” (Friends) and “Employee Transfer” (The Office)

Every year, Ted wears his “hanging chad” costume and attends the same rooftop party in the hopes that a woman he met in 2001, known only as “The Slutty Pumpkin”, will recognize him. And this year, Marshall and Lily intend to win MacLaren’s costume contest with their adorable (and weirdly hot) pirate/parrot couples costume. This early episode epitomizes so many of the characters’ defining traits – Ted’s desperation to find love, Marshall and Lily’s insistence on being the world’s cutest couple and Robin’s reluctance to be part of a couple at all.

How I Met Your Mother is available to stream on Hulu.

The only overtly Halloween episode of Friends came in the eighth season when Monica and Chandler decide to throw a Halloween costume party. Highlights include Ross’s “Spudnik” costume, which the gang agrees looks like space doody, and Chandler’s pink bunny (selected by Monica because The Velveteen Rabbit was Chandler’s favorite childhood book). The episode loses points for the icky subplot where Phoebe finds herself attracted to her sister’s fiance (played by Sean Penn) but I love Joey’s Chandler costume.

You can stream Friends on HBO Max.

The Office has several notable Halloween episodes, but the cold open for season five episode “Employee Transfer” – where Creed, Kevin and Dwight all show up as Heath Ledger’s version of The Joker – is pure Office gold.

Runner-up: Season nine episode “Here Comes Treble”, in which Dwight gets his head stuck in a pumpkin.

The Office is available to stream on Peacock.

Readers – what’s on YOUR Halloween watchlist?

Quick Hits: October 22

Duran Duran released a new album today, titled Future Past. The band’s latest clip is “Anniversary” (their self-titled debut was released in 1981). The lads still sound great, and this party looked like an absolute blast!

Peter Scolari passed away today from cancer at the age of 66. Scolari was well-known to television fans for Bosom Buddies (co-starring Tom Hanks) and Newhart, for which Scolari earned three Emmy nominations.

The Last Picture Show, adapted from Larry McMurtry’s novel of the same name and directed by Peter Bogdanovich, was released fifty years ago today. The film went on to receive eight Academy Award nominations; it won two Oscars, Best Supporting Actor (Ben Johnson) and Best Supporting Actress (Cloris Leachman).

Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd

Yesterday would have been Carrie Fisher’s 65th birthday, and people were rightfully honoring the legend on social media. YouTube reminded me of the existence of this clip of Fisher roasting George Lucas at his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony. What an absolute boss.

Joan Fontaine was born on this day in 1917. The only person to win an Oscar for acting in an Alfred Hitchcock film (Suspicion), Fontaine was also the younger sister of Olivia de Havilland. The two were a mere fifteen months apart, and allegedly had a pretty severe case of sibling rivalry: de Havilland, having found success in Hollywood and not wanting to share the spotlight, encouraged her sister to change her name (Fontaine was their stepdad’s name) and Joan married one of Olivia’s ex-boyfriends. But the two are best remembered for their respective acting careers, and they remain the only siblings to win leading-role Oscars (de Havilland won two, for To Each His Own and The Heiress).

Fontaine with *Suspicion* co-star Cary Grant

And finally, happy 69th birthday to Jeff Goldblum!

Quick Hits: October 18

Today I learned that one of my favorite novels of the past few years, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six, is being adapted into a limited series for Amazon. Produced by Reese Witherspoon, who selected the novel for her book club back in 2018, the series will star the lovely Riley Keough as Daisy and Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair in the Hunger Games film series) as Billy, Daisy’s bandmate and sometime lover (as the saying goes, it’s complicated). No word on whether the actors will do their own singing, but Keough certainly has the pedigree – she’s the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley (her mom is Lisa Marie). No release date yet, but filming just began last month, so we’re looking at 2022.

West Side Story premiered in New York City sixty years ago today. Based on the 1957 Broadway musical (which drew its inspiration from Romeo and Juliet), the film starred Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood as star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria, who belong to rival gangs Jets and Sharks (Maria’s brother Bernardo is the leader of the Sharks). The film would become the year’s highest grossing movie AND win the Oscar for Best Picture (a rare feat that’s only occured four times in the past forty years*), and is considered one of the greatest movie musicals of all time.

* For the record: Rain Man (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

I finished watching Netflix’s Midnight Mass last night, and I have so many feelings. Mike Flanagan has created a visually stunning rumination on life and death and the perils of religious zealotry. The sprawling cast – including Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Annabeth Gish, Henry Thomas, Rahul Kohli and future Emmy winners Hamish Linklater and Samantha Sloyan – brings Flanagan’s exquisite script to life. The ending (no spoilers here) left me shattered. If you’ve already watched Midnight Mass, please read this wonderful essay written by my Twitter friend Gena Radcliffe. If you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for?

And to dust we shall return: Midnight Mass, God, death & me – The Spool

Today is composer Howard Shore’s 75th birthday. Shore was the musical director of Saturday Night Live for its first eleven years (and wrote the original theme song) and has scored more than eighty feature films, including Big, The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, That Thing You Do!, Doubt and Spotlight. Shore won three Oscars for his work on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series.

Chuck Berry was born on this day in 1926. A singer, songwriter, guitarist and musical pioneer, Berry helped developed rhythm & blues into rock & roll, earning him the nickname “The Father of Rock and Roll”. In 1986, Berry was part of the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class, which included James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Berry continued to perform live into his eighties; he died on March 18, 2017 at the age of 90.

Quick Hits: October 16

Arleen Sorkin was born on October 14, 1955. Best known as Days of Our Lives‘ Calliope Jones, Sorkin was the inspiration for – and the voice of – Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series.

With John de Lancie as Eugene and
Calliope on *Days of Our Lives*

Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead was released on October 15, 1981, and a franchise (including two sequels and a reboot, a television series, comic books and video games) was born. Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams is quite possibly the greatest horror movie character ever created.

Fight Club was released on October 15, 1999, after a polarizing debut at the 56th Venice International Film Festival. Based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Fight Club was reviled by both the execs at 20th Century Fox and critics; the box office numbers were so-so, but the film found its audience on home media. Today, Fight Club is considered a cult classic and one of the defining films of the Gen-X era.

Netflix dropped new horror episodes of The Movies That Made Us this week, including Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. If you, like me, are a fan of behind-the-scenes glimpses into the film world, I highly recommend this delightful series (other episodes include Die Hard, Pretty Woman, Back to the Future and Ghostbusters).

Speaking of iconic horror movies, Jamie Lee Curtis dressed as her mother’s Psycho character (complete with bloody shower curtain) for the Halloween Kills premiere this week:

On October 15, 2017, Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences due to mounting allegations of sexual assault and harassment. An emergency meeting of the Academy’s Board of Governors – which included Hollywood bigwigs like Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg – voted “well in excess of the required two-thirds majority” to remove Weinstein.

Some of Weinstein’s accusers, including Rosanna Arquette, Angelina Jolie,
Heather Graham, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino

While researching a future post today, I realized that not only did “Purple Rain” (or literally any other song from Purple Rain) not win Best Original Song in 1984, it WASN’T EVEN NOMINATED. Prince did win the award for Best Song Score, but the fact that none of the individual songs were nominated is incomprehensible. And yes, “I Just Called to Say I Love You” really is that terrible.

That Thing Tom Hanks Does!

That Thing You Do! was released twenty-five years ago this week. A charming and exuberant tale of the one-hit Wonders, That Thing You Do! is a perfect little gem of a movie and one of my personal faves.

That Thing You Do! was Tom Hanks’s directorial debut; he also wrote the screenplay and several of the film’s songs (more on the soundtrack in a bit), and co-stars in a decidedly supporting role, as The Wonders’ manager Mr. White. The film’s main star is Tom Everett Scott (who bears more than a passing resemblance to a young Hanks) in the role of Guy Patterson. Guy works in his dad’s appliance store by day and practices the drums by night. When a local band (Johnathon Schaech, Ethan Embry and Steve Zahn, who’s never met a scene he couldn’t steal) needs a temporary drummer for a talent show, Guy is asked to fill in. The band has yet to decide on a name, and they settle on The Oneders (pronounced “Wonders”‘ – Schaech’s Jimmy is a big fan of wordplay). Guy learns the band’s song, a ballad called “That Thing You Do”, but when the lads take the stage at the talent show, Guy’s nerves take over and the song becomes an uptempo number. Jimmy is pissed but the crowd goes wild, and The Oneders take first place.

Yes, that’s an absurdly young Charlize Theron as Guy’s disinterested girlfriend Tina

The band is asked to play at Villapiano’s, a pizza joint located by the airport. After a gig one night, Guy suggests the band make a record, and says he has a relative in the music business (his Uncle Bob records church music).

The band gains the attention of a local music manager, Phil Horace, who promises to get their song on the radio. In my favorite scene, Horace delivers, and the gang ends up at Patterson’s, dancing and celebrating. It is two minutes of pure joy, and I can’t get enough of it; my mom and I saw That Thing You Do! in the theater, and we could barely keep our butts in our seats.

Horace turns over manager duties to Hanks’ Mr. White, who offers the band a contract with Playtone Records and a spot on Playtone’s “Galaxy of Stars” tour, performing at state fairs across the Midwest (and wisely insists they change the spelling of the band’s name to The Wonders). Jimmy’s girlfriend Faye (played by the luminous Liv Tyler) is invited along as the band’s costume mistress.

Eventually, the band ends up in Hollywood, where they sit for radio interviews, co-star in the movie Weekend at Party Pier as Cap’n Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters and make an appearance on The Hollywood Television Showcase. The following day, the band is due in the studio to begin recording, but Lenny and TB Player are nowhere to be found (the former is in Vegas for a quickie wedding, the latter is at Disneyland with a group of Marines, whose ranks he’s joining at the end of the summer) and Jimmy quits the band after learning that his contract allows the record company to dictate what the band records. The Wonders, who have the #7 hit in the country, are abruptly defunct – the ultimate one-hit-wonder.

Hanks, whose burgeoning interest in the Apollo space program began when he starred in Apollo 13 the previous year and would culminate two years later with HBO’s masterpiece miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, makes several astronaut references in the film. To begin with, several characters are named after NASA crew members; for example, The Wonders’ lead singer James “Jimmy” Mattingly and guitarist Leonard “Lenny” Haise are named for Apollo astronauts Ken Mattingly and Fred Haise. There’s also a scene in the Hollywood Television Showcase sequence where host Troy Chesterfield (Peter Scolari, Hanks’s Bosom Buddies co-star) interacts with Gus Grissom (Bryan Cranston!). And finally, several of the film’s cast members would go on to co-star in From the Earth to the Moon, including Zahn, Cranston, Chris Isaak, Clint Howard, Chris Ellis, Kevin Pollak and Mrs. Hanks herself, Rita Wilson.

Now, about that soundtrack. The main event is the title track, The Wonders’ one hit. Written by Adam Schlesinger, the late, great bassist and songwriter for Fountains of Wayne, the song is beyond catchy (which is precisely the point). Fun fact: the producers put out an industry-wide notice looking for a ’60s pop song called “That Thing You Do”. They received more than 300 submissions, with Schlesinger’s tune being the favorite. Deservedly, Schlesinger was nominated for an Oscar (the film’s sole nod) and a Golden Globe (he lost both awards to Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber for “You Must Love Me” from Evita). The song was also a hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #41 (the album itself reached #21 on the Billboard 200).

Other songs on the album include the Bacharach-esque “My World is Over”, sung by diva Diane Dane; the surf rock “Voyage Around the Moon” by The Saturn 5; “Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart” by the Supremes-ish Chantrellines; and “Shrimp Shack” by the aforementioned Cap’n Geech & the Shrimp Shack Shooters. All of the songs are credited to the fictitious artists from the movie.

While it didn’t make much money in its initial release ($35 million globally on a $26 million budget), That Thing You Do! found a passionate audience on home video. Recent cast reunions (including a virtual watch party hosted by Rolling Stone in 2020) have thrilled the film’s fans on social media. The film remains a timeless (ahem) wonder that’s as delightful now as it was twenty-five years ago.

Quick Hits: September 28

Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder’s transcendent double album, was released on this day in 1976. Generally regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, Songs in the Key of Life almost didn’t happen. In 1974, Wonder planned to retire from recording and emigrate to Ghana; plans were made for a farewell concert. But Wonder had a change of heart and re-signed with Motown in August 1975 (his contract was for seven albums, seven years and $37 million – a record at the time – and gave Wonder complete creative control). Anticipation was high for the album, and Wonder more than delivered; Songs in the Key of Life was a critical and commercial smash. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album Chart, and stayed there for thirteen consecutive weeks (it was dethroned by Hotel California on January 15, 1977). It was the second best-selling album of 1977 behind Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. It earned Wonder his third Album of the Year Grammy in four years (Paul Simon, accepting the award for 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years, jokingly thanked Wonder for not releasing an album that year). Prince called it the best album ever made. It is, in short, a masterpiece.

The upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson movie has a brand new trailer. Licorice Pizza (which takes its name from a now-defunct L.A.-area record store chain) stars Cooper Hoffman (offspring of the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman) and musician Alana Haim, and returns PTA to the San Fernando Valley of his youth. The trailer, set to David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?”, is spectacular; I simply could not be more excited for the release of this film, which will apparently premiere only in theaters.

Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” was released on this day in 1981. It went on to become the top selling single of the DECADE. As a result of the cheesetastic video (it’s about exercise, wink wink), leg warmers and headbands became fashion staples.

Actor JT Walsh was born on this day in 1943. One of the greatest character actors of the 80s and 90s, Walsh got his start in theater and appeared in the original Broadway cast of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross. Walsh didn’t appear in a feature film until 1983, the year he turned forty; he made more than fifty movies in less than fifteen years. Walsh, a heavy smoker, died of a heart attack on February 27, 1998; he was just fifty-four years old.

Legendary R&B singer-songwriter Ben E. King was born on this day in 1938. King, a member of the vocal group The Drifters (“Save the Last Dance for Me”), is best known as the singer and co-writer of “Stand By Me”. The song, inspired by an early 20th-century gospel hymn (which itself was inspired by the Book of Psalms), was a top ten hit in both 1961 and 1986, when it was featured in the film of the same name. King died in 2015 at the age of 76, following a brief illness.

Quick Hits: September 26

Today is Olivia Newton John’s birthday. My first major musical idol, Newton-John is a singer, songwriter, actor, breast cancer survivor (three times!) and activist. I was young when Grease came out but I absolutely remember seeing it in the theater; I remember what I wore that day, and the movie they previewed before the show (The Swarm, for the record). Why do I remember that day so vividly? Because that was the day I fell in love with Olivia Newton-John. All of America fell in love with her too; Grease was a box office behemoth. Newton-John was the #1 pop star in the early 80s, thanks to Physical. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to see Olivia in concert, and it was a blast. Her voice couldn’t quite hit those “Xanadu” high notes anymore – but she was still rocking those black leather pants.

Sandy in her black leather outfit was the sexiest woman I’d seen in my (admittedly young) life.

*Physical* went 2x platinum, and its title track sat atop the *Billboard* Hot 100 for a record-tying ten weeks.

Netflix released the third teaser for Stranger Things 4 yesterday, and it is a doozy. We still don’t have a release date, but the fourth trailer (due November 6th) should answer that question.

The Brady Bunch premiered on this date in 1969. The series aired for five seasons on ABC, and infinity in syndication. My college bestie/sometime roommate Shari (who also premiered on this date in 1969 – happy birthday, Shari!) would catch the 4:05 and 4:35 airings on TBS and make a game out of who could guess which episode it was the fastest.

Dirty Harry (along with its first two sequels, The Enforcer and Magnum Force) is now available to stream on HBO Max. I’d never seen Dirty Harry, so hubby and I watched it last night. Its casual racism and male-gaze voyeurism are hugely problematic, but it is entertaining as hell. Eastwood is iconic, Andrew Robinson is delightfully unhinged as the Zodiac-inspired “Scorpio” killer and Lalo Schifrin’s score is killer.

Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story opened at the Winter Garden Theater on this date in 1957. The production was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical (it lost to The Music Man) and was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie.

And last but not least, The Beatles’ Abbey Road (the final album they recorded together, it was released prior to Let It Be) was released on this day in 1969. The album, my personal favorite by the band, contains my favorite Beatles song, George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun”.

Quick Hits: September 25

Yesterday was the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Nevermind, the landmark Nirvana album that ushered in the grunge era.

September 24, 1991 is often named as the best new release day ever (this was when we still went to physical stores to purchase music). Besides Nevermind, notable releases from that day include Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, the Pixies’ Trompe le Monde, Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger and Van Morrison’s Hymns to the Silence. While researching this piece, I found this delightful article written by Justin Sayles of The Ringer. Sayles and his team used a scientific method to determine the actual best new release date of all time (spoiler alert: it’s September 24, 1991).

The Biggest Album Release Dates in Modern Music History, Ranked – The Ringer

On this day in 2018, Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexual assault; his conviction was overturned earlier this year when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that Cosby’s 5th and 14th Amendment Rights had been violated. And Cosby’s 60+ (alleged) victims still wait for justice.

On July 27, 2015, thirty-five of Cosby’s accusers told their stories to *New York* magazine.

Shel Silverstein was born on this day in 1930. A favorite of mine from an early age, Silverstein was a poet, cartoonist, songwriter and playwright. Perhaps best known for his children’s books such as The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein was also a Grammy-winning writer of songs like “A Boy Named Sue”, made famous by Johnny Cash, and “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone'”, first recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. He was also a leading cartoonist at Playboy beginning in 1957; over twenty-three installments, the magazine sent him to various locations around the world for a feature titled “Shel Silverstein Visits…” Silverstein died from a heart attack on May 10, 1999.

Happy 70th birthday, Mark Hamill! Best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series, Hamill has appeared in more than ninety films and television series and done extensive voice work, including the role of The Joker in several DC Comics properties. Hamill (@HamillHimself) is a god damn delight to follow on Twitter, if you don’t already.

On this day in 1954, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer were married on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.

The Beatles, a Saturday morning television series featuring animated versions of the Fab Four, debuted on ABC on this date in 1965.

On this day in 1976, Paul Hewson, David Evans (along with his brother Dik) and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement placed on a school bulletin board by Larry Mullen Jr. Mullen was looking to start a band, and Feedback was born. By 1978, Dik Evans had left the band, and the remaining foursome christened themselves U2. In 1980, when the lads were still teenagers, they recorded their debut album for Island Records, Boy. Over their forty year career, U2 has sold an estimated 150 million albums and won twenty-two Grammy Awards, more than any other band in history. In 2005, U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

From left, Clayton, Mullen, Hewson (better known as Bono) and David Evans AKA “The Edge”

Quick Hits: September 22

Survivor season 41 premieres tonight, and you better believe I’ll be watching (I’ve never missed an episode). Survivor took last year off due to the pandemic and they’ve made a few pandemic-related changes to the format, such as shortening the filming time from 39 days to 26 to accomodate a 14-day quarantine agreement the show made with the Fijian government.

Almost Famous was released on this day in 2000. Featuring a lovely cast, an Oscar-winning (and semi-autobiographical) screenplay and a killer soundtrack, Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe’s love letter to music – and to the people who love the music. You can stream Almost Famous on Amazon Prime.

Lost premiered on this day in 2004. By turns intriguing and infuriating, Lost is one of my favorite series – but I fully acknowledge its flaws. What a pilot episode, though! J.J. Abrams gave the project a cinematic feel, opening on an eye that we’ll soon learn belongs to our hero, Jack Shephard. Fun fact: Jack was initially going to die halfway through the pilot – and be played by Michael Keaton. When the producers came to the ridiculously obvious conclusion that Jack was the leader of this ragtag group of survivors, Keaton dropped out and the role went to Matthew Fox. You can stream Lost on Hulu.

Friends premiered on this day in 1994. The pilot, which features Monica sleeping with Paul the wine guy on their first date, was controversial; NBC, concerned that viewers would see Monica as a slut, asked for some edits. Test audiences responded with a wholehearted shrug, and NBC let the issue go. Nearly twenty-two million people tuned in to Friends that night, and the series lasted ten seasons.

Hubby had never seen The Insider, so we watched it last night. It’s held up well, and Russell Crowe’s performance still blows me away. Crowe should have won the Oscar for this, but Kevin Spacey – who has not held up well – beat him; Crowe took the Best Actor prize the following year for Gladiator. If you’ve never seen this flick, you can check it out on Amazon Prime, but hurry because it leaves on the 30th.

Warning: PMRC Advisory

On September 19, 1985, hearings were held before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee regarding inappropriate content in popular music. The hearing was requested by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), headed by wives of the Washington elite including Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator and future-VP Al) and Susan Baker (wife of Treasury Secretary James).

The PMRC, funded by Beach Boy Mike Love and Joseph Coors, was seeking to create a rating system similar to that used for motion pictures. As the “Washington Wives” saw it, objectionable content could be broken down into four main categories: sex, violence, drug & alcohol use and the occult. The PMRC wanted the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to voluntarily implement a labelling system so parents would know whether the album contained offensive material.

In preparation for the hearing, the PMRC compiled a list of songs they referred to as the “Filthy Fifteen”. Comprised of six pop or R&B singles and nine heavy metals tunes, the list had at least one example of each of the four categories. References to genitals and female masturbation particularly riled these ladies up, as did glam metal odes to teenage rebellion and allusions to witchcraft and the devil.

The “Filthy Fifteen”:

“Darling Nikki” – Prince
“Sugar Walls” – Sheena Easton
“Eat Me Alive” – Judas Priest
“Strap On ‘Robbie Baby'” – Vanity
“Bastard” – Mötley Crüe
“Let Me Put My Love into You” – AC/DC
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister
“Dress You Up” – Madonna
“Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” – W.A.S.P.
“High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)” – Def Leppard
“Into the Coven” – Mercyful Fate
“Trashed” – Black Sabbath
“In My House” – Mary Jane Girls
“Possessed” – Venom
“She Bop” – Cyndi Lauper

At the hearing, Senator Paula Hawkins (R-FL) held up the covers of albums like Def Leppard’s Pyromania and W.A.S.P.’s self-titled debut as evidence of the depravity of popular music. She also presented the videos for Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (also a member of the “Filthy Fifteen”). “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was targeted specifically because it “glorified violence”, but it’s comically violent, like a Bugs Bunny cartoon; the comic effect is heightened by the presence of actor Mark Metcalf, imitating his Animal House character Doug Neidermeyer.

Appearing as opposing witnesses that day were Frank Zappa, John Denver and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who told the committee that “The full responsibility for defending my children falls on the shoulders of my wife and I, because there is no one else capable of making these judgments for us.”

In the end, the hearing was just a formality; the RIAA agreed to put a generic “Parental Advisory” sticker on records with explicit content. In 1990, the first album to receive a sticker was 2 Live Crew’s Banned in the USA (gangsta rap was in its infancy in 1985, but I would have loved to see Tipper Gore try to face off against Ice-T).

The sticker was a big deal in those early years; at that time, the nation’s biggest record retailer – BY FAR – was Walmart, which refused to sell any album carrying a sticker. Record companies, much to the chagrin of artists, began releasing “clean” versions of albums to be sold at Walmart. Many artists used their lyrics to protest the use of the sticker. An entire album, Just Say Anything (the fifth in Sire Records’ Just Say Yes series), was dedicated to free speech in pop music; as you may have guessed, the album was adorned with a “Parental Advisory” sticker.

As part of its “Earworm” video series, which I HIGHLY recommend, Vox put together this excellent clip explaining the link between “Satanic Panic” and the PMRC.