Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Generally regarded as the greatest album ever by a female artist, Blue is a gorgeous, heartbreaking ode to the ups and downs of romantic love. Mitchell wrote and produced the entire album herself, which was inspired by her relationships with Graham Nash, James Taylor and Cary Raditz.
On this day in 1989, Tim Burton’s Batman premiered. The film featured Michael Keaton as Batman – a controversial choice as he was primarily known as a comedic actor and the studio wasn’t certain he could pull off the role – and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Batman earned about $250 million, easily winning the box office race for the year, and won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
This piece contains some amazing behind-the-scenes photos of the shoot.
Dancer, choreographer and film director Bob Fosse was born on this day in 1927. Fosse went to Hollywood in the 1940s with dreams of becoming the next Fred Astaire. After choreographing a dance sequence in 1953’s Kiss Me Kate, Fosse found success on the Broadway stage, choreographing such shows as The Pajama Game, Pal Joey, Sweet Charity, Pippin and Chicago, and winning nine Tony Awards in the process. He parlayed that success into directing films like Cabaret (for which he won the Best Director Oscar), Lenny and the semi-autobiographical All That Jazz. Fosse’s signature dance moves include the use of turned-in knees, sideways shuffling, rolled shoulders, jazz hands and the “Fosse Amoeba”, as seen in this sequence from Sweet Charity. Fosse died in 1987 from a heart attack.
Fosse got the SNL treatment with this 2013 skit starring the brilliant Christina Applegate.
Today is the divine Frances McDormand’s 64th birthday. A three-time Best Actress Academy Award winner (for those keeping score, McDormand just needs one more to tie Katharine Hepburn for the all-time record), McDormand was introduced to movie audiences – and husband Joel Coen – in 1984 with Blood Simple. She has made a career of playing complex, multi-dimensional women in films like Fargo, Almost Famous (a personal favorite), Moonrise Kingdom and Nomadland, and in TV series such as Olive Kitteridge. The winner of Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Emmys, SAGs and a Tony, McDormand is deservedly one of the most decorated actors of all time.
“My Sharona” by The Knack was released on this day in 1979. Catchy as hell (or annoying as hell, depending on your viewpoint), “My Sharona” was a smash hit, holding the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. The song entered the charts again in 1994 after it was featured prominently in Reality Bites.
Stuart Sutcliffe was born on this day in 1940. Sutcliffe met John Lennon at the Liverpool College of Art, and briefly played bass with The Beatles before leaving the band in 1961 to pursue an art career. Sutcliffe died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962. The lovely 1994 film Backbeat tells the story of Sutcliffe’s relationships with Lennon and Astrid Kirchherr.
Backbeat
Author and screenwriter Richard Matheson died on this day in 2013 at the age of 87. Matheson’s work was a huge influence on Stephen King and George A. Romero, and his stories were made into films like I Am Legend, Somewhere in Time, What Dreams May Come and Stir of Echoes. Matheson adapted one of his short stories for the television film Duel, Steven Spielberg’s directorial debut, and wrote for a number of television series, most notably The Twilight Zone.
This week marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Duran Duran’s self-titled debut. The band observed the milestone by releasing a new single, “Invisible”, which I can’t stop listening to. These gents have aged like fine wine.
On this day in 2015, Pixar released Inside Out following a premiere at Cannes in May. Featuring the voices of Lewis Black (“Anger”), Amy Poehler (“Joy”), Bill Hader (“Fear”), Mindy Kaling (“Disgust”) and Phyllis Smith (“Sadness”), Inside Out tells the story of a girl named Riley from the perspective of her emotions, and if you haven’t seen it, please do so as soon as humanly possible (you can stream it on Disney+). Keep the tissues handy, though; those evil Pixar geniuses will get you every damn time.
Me, after watching Up, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Toy Story 3 or literally any Pixar film
On this day in 1992, Tim Burton’s Batman Returns was released. Considered too dark and violent for a PG-13 film, Batman Returns underperformed critically and commercially. Burton was asked to step aside for 1995’s Batman Forever (https://wordpress.com/post/peanut-butter-and-julie.com/3864). Fun fact: Annette Bening was originally cast to play Catwoman but had to drop out when she became pregnant. Michelle Pfeiffer is iconic, but I can’t help wondering what Bening could have done with the role.
On this day in 1954, The Tasmanian Devil – “Taz” – made his debut in the Looney Tunes short “Devil May Hare”. You can stream the short on HBO Max.
Happy birthday to Gena Rowlands, Phylicia Rashad, Ann Wilson, Kathleen Turner and Paula Abdul!
Frank Bonner, best known as WKRP in Cincinnati‘s Herb Tarlek, has died at the age of 79 due to dementia complications.
Cold Case is now streaming on HBO Max, and I’m happily binging it. The best part of watching an almost twenty year old procedural is playing “Before They Were Famous” with each episode’s guest stars. In thirteen episodes, I’ve already seen actors like Kate Mara, Finn Wittrock, Becki Newton, Summer Glau, Brandon Routh and Keke Palmer.
On this day in 1972, Roxy Music released their glorious self-titled debut album. Roxy Music would go on to be one of the most popular art rock bands of all time, influencing countless artists such as Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Duran Duran and Radiohead. The band was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, after more than twenty years of eligibility.
One of my all-time favorite musicals, Grease, was released on this day in 1978. It’s one of the first movies I distinctly remember seeing in the theater, and I was enraptured. The rest of the world was, too – the movie would become the year’s box office champ, and the film’s soundtrack album would go on to sell about 38 million copies worldwide. Several years ago, my friend Jen took me to a Grease sing-along for my birthday, and it was one of my favorite movie experiences ever. Grease is still the word, my friends.
On this day in 1995, Batman Forever was released. The film earned a then-record $52.8 million in its opening weekend. While Forever is certainly not the best film in the series, it’s also not the worst (that’d be Batman & Robin). The soundtrack – featuring artists like U2, Seal, PJ Harvey, Method Man, Massive Attack and Nick Cave – still slaps.
Happy birthday, Laurie Metcalf! One of the best character actors of the past four decades, Metcalf got her start in the theater and was a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She made her film debut in 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan (a personal favorite of mine) and was introduced to mainstream audiences in 1988 with her role as Jackie in Roseanne. She is the winner of three Emmys and two Tonys, and was nominated for her first Academy Award (FINALLY) for 2017’s Lady Bird (she lost to I, Tonya‘s Allison Janney, and if there was ever a better time for a two-way Oscar tie, I can’t think of it). She also provided the voice of Andy’s mom in the Toy Story films.
Desperately Seeking Susan, with the late, great Mark Blum and Steven Wright
Roseanne, with George Clooney
Lady Bird, with Saoirse Ronan
Toy Story 3
Today would have been Tupac Shakur’s 50th birthday.
On June 12, 1981, audiences were introduced to one of the most iconic movie characters ever, Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark would become the highest grossing film of 1981 and win more Academy Awards than any other movie that year.
George Lucas initially conceived the idea for Indiana Jones in the early 70s. The concept was to modernize the serial adventure films popular in the first half of the 20th century. When Lucas shifted his focus to Star Wars, Steven Spielberg joined the project. The two had ideas for the set pieces, but needed a top notch writer to fill in the narrative, and Lawrence Kasdan was hired for the job (that same year, Kasdan would make his directorial debut with Body Heat).
The casting process is the stuff of Hollywood legend: the early favorite to play the intrepid archaeologist, Tom Selleck, had just signed on to play television PI Thomas Magnum, and CBS refused to release him from his contract. Other actors who read for the part were Tim Matheson and Peter Coyote, the latter of whom – in this humble blogger’s opinion – would certainly have made a better Indiana than Selleck. By the way, other actors supposedly considered for the role include Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray; make of that information what you will. Ultimately, the role went to Harrison Ford, and I don’t think anyone would want it any other way.
Filming was completed in the summer of 1980 at Elstree Studios in England, and on location in La Rochelle, France, Tunisia and Hawaii. The production cost was an estimated $20 million, which would translate to about $60 million today; for reference, today’s blockbuster movies are routinely made for $200 million or more. My favorite story from the set of the film is when Harrison Ford, suffering from dysentery, was slated to film a sword fight scene. Not feeling up to the job, Ford suggested Indiana should just shoot the guy, and one of the most iconic movie scenes ever was born. And, in a recent interview with Uproxx (https://uproxx.com/movies/karen-allen-raiders-of-the-lost-ark/), Karen Allen revealed that she accidentally punched Ford in the face, leading to this fantastic exchange:
“Was he mad?“
“He was slightly annoyed. But I mean, it happens. It happens. I mean, I had never punched anybody in a film before. So they were showing me how to do it, and I was doing my absolute best, and as far as I was concerned his chin just got in the way of my hand.”
By the way, some really amazing set photos are available on the internet – here are just a few of my favorites:
A bit nervous about the lack of audience anticipation for the film, Paramount Pictures only mounted a national ad campaign about a week before Raiders‘ release. Superman II (which was released just a week after Raiders) was expected to be the box office winner that summer and in the end, it wasn’t even close – Raiders won the year with almost twice the gross of Superman II, which ended the year in third place behind On Golden Pond (and if you, like me, are wondering, here is the rest of the top ten: Arthur, Stripes, The Cannonball Run, Chariots of Fire, For Your Eyes Only, The Four Seasons and Time Bandits).
On Golden Pond
Superman II
Arthur
Stripes
For Your Eyes Only
Audiences fell in love with Dr. Jones (and Marion too), and we had a villain impossibly easy to root against – the Nazis. We were mesmerized by the set pieces – that boulder! those snakes! the opening of the Ark! – and captivated by John Williams’ iconic score. We booed when Belloq appeared onscreen, we shivered at the sight of the tarantulas and we cheered when the Nazis’ faces melted. I remember seeing the movie in the theater with my parents, and just delighting in every moment; if I had to guess, I’ve probably seen it at least thirty times since then.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loved the film as well. Raiders received nine Oscar nods, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects, winning in the last five categories (more than eventual Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire, which won four awards).
Dan Aykroyd presented this award just twenty-four days after John Belushi’s death
In the forty years since Raiders was released, there have been three additional Indiana Jones films (with a fifth in production now), a television series (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – I especially loved the episodes with a teenage Indy played by Sean Patrick Flanery), several Indiana Jones-themed Disney attractions, graphic novels, tie-in novelizations and video games. In 2003, the American Film Institute named Indiana Jones the second-greatest movie hero of all time (Atticus Finch took the top spot, so I can’t be mad). Tie-in merchandise includes everything from “Professor bow tie” and t-shirts to action figures and Legos. Indiana Jones’ legacy as a pop culture icon is secure, and it all started with Raiders of the Lost Ark.
On this day in 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released. Made for just $10.5 million, E.T. was a massive success, holding the top spot at the box office for twelve consecutive weeks. By the end of its initial run, the film had earned more than $350 million (equivalent to almost $1 billion in today’s dollars) and won the hearts of everyone who saw it. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four (yes, it should have won Best Picture, but the Academy can’t resist a boring historical drama).
Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move will be released on July 1. I love everything about this trailer, but what I love most is the presence of Brendan Fraser, who looks to be experiencing a comeback after years of health problems, depression and backlash from a sexual assault allegation he made against Philip Berk of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. I am 100% here for a Brenaissance.
On this day in 2002, American Idol premiered on FOX. It was the surprise television hit of the summer. Eventual winner Kelly Clarkson would go on to become one of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century, and the show would run for another fourteen seasons on FOX (an ABC revival of the show began airing in 2018).
Gene Wilder was born on this day in 1933. A personal favorite of mine, particularly for his titular role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and his collaborations with Mel Brooks, Wilder was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After some stage and television work, Wilder made his film debut in Bonnie and Clyde. He got his big break with his second movie, Brooks’ The Producers, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His final acting job was a guest spot on Will & Grace, which earned Wilder an Emmy, after which he turned his attention to writing. After a private three year battle with Alzheimer’s, Wilder died in 2016.
The Producers
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
On this day in 1966, The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black” peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The first #1 song to feature the sitar (played by the staggeringly talented multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones), “Paint It, Black” is bleak as hell, telling the story of a man in the throes of grief and depression. A brilliant instrumental version of the song (arranged by Ramin Djawadi) was used in the first episode of Westworld.
The long-awaited film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights has arrived! You can see it in theaters and on HBO Max. Watch the first eight minutes here:
June 8 is Best Friends Day, and I’d like to tell you about my best friend, Lou. She and I have known each other for almost thirty years, and we’ve seen each other through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. About ten years into our friendship, I fell in love with Lou’s brother and in 2005 we became sisters. Lou coined a portmanteau for our unique relationship – frister (friend/sister).
I always laugh when people say things like “my new best friend” or “my other best friend”, because for me, there is only one. Sure, I have lots of other friends, but only Lou could ever qualify as my best friend. She is my person. The person who knows me better than I know myself. The person who would help me bury the bodies.
Beyond the usual qualities you look for in a friend – shared values, loyalty, intelligence, sense of humor, etc – Lou and I share a particular love of pop culture. We live, sleep, eat and breathe pop culture. We can talk about it for hours on end (quite literally), dissecting the amazing movie we just saw, discussing which Beatle is our favorite (hers is John, mine is George), recommending books to each other or creating playlists of mutually loved songs. We speak in movie quotes. We are always in the process of making lists – “favorite non-fiction books”, “best albums of the 80s”, “favorite character actors”, etc. The point is, we are both pop culture obsessives and it is one of the foundations of our friendship. I mean, we met while working at a retail record store, so it’s right there in our friendship’s DNA.
One of our main loves is music. In 1994, Lou and I moved together to the metro-Detroit area, and with that move came countless opportunities to see live music. From tiny venues like St. Andrews Hall to arenas like Pine Knob and The Palace of Auburn Hills, Lou and I had a plethora of choices, and we made the most of it, like two kids in a candy store. We love a lot of the same artists, so the only issue was how many tickets we could afford to buy that month (spoiler alert: the amount we spent was ALWAYS more than we could afford).
Back in the late 90s, when we started spending a significant amount of time on the world wide web, Lou and I could spend HOURS on IMDb, going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. “Who was that guy in that one movie we loved?” “Oh yeah, THAT guy! Wasn’t he also in that other movie we loved?” We’d spend entire nights doing this. Up to that point, we had to rely primarily on our memories for this information, and having it all at our fingertips was astounding.
When Fight Club came out, Lou was working a lot on the weekends, and I went to see it with another friend. I told her how great it was, but she never saw it while it was in the theater. When I asked her why, she said “You think everything is great”, and I realized I hadn’t been effusive enough with my praise of the movie. From that point on (even to this day), Fight Club became shorthand for the highest recommendation possible, as in “This is a Fight Club-level endorsement”.
One of our favorite things to do is watch awards shows. We used to host Academy Awards parties, creating cocktails to go with the food we were preparing, watching the red carpet footage for hours. We used to drag our asses into work the next day, until finally we got smart and started taking the day off. We’d spend the day lounging, talking about our favorite gowns of the evening or how happy we were that so-and-so won in their category.
Back in 2007, our friendship was altered dramatically when Lou decided it was time to move where she’d always wanted to be, where the sun shines every single day – almost 2000 miles away. So, we have a lot of our pop culture conversations via text (“Are you watching Mare of Easttown?” or “I just watched Tenet and my brain hurts” or “I’m watching The Muppet Show on Disney+ and I still remember every word of the theme song”). We “watch” the Oscars together while we talk on the phone. We continue to make lists together, the most recent being “all-time perfect albums”. She gives me suggestions for my blog. We share trivia tidbits (“Did you know that Angelica Huston was supposed to play Iona in Pretty in Pink?”). We cast the imaginary movie adaptations of our favorite books (The 7 1/2Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a relatively recent example). And we will always have the memories of the pop culture we’ve shared – wiping each other’s eyes in the bathroom after seeing Titanic, laughing together at Henry Rollins spoken-word shows, watching Dazed and Confused together for the millionth time, staying up all night playing Trivial Pursuit and listening to our favorite tunes (I was usually the DJ). I treasure every one of these memories, and I treasure the times with her that I can’t remember, too. She is the Lucy to my Ethel, the Romy to my Michelle, the Patsy to my Edina. She is my frister, my person, my very best friend. I love you, Lou.
June is Pride month, of course, so look for content about LGBTQ+ representation in media throughout the month.
On this day in 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy in a battle officially codenamed Operation Overlord but better known as D-Day. Among those who landed at Normandy were the men of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Band of Brothers, the spectacular HBO miniseries based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book of the same name, tells the story of Easy Company, from their basic training at Camp Toccoa to the capture of the Eagle’s Nest. Band of Brothers was, at the time, the most expensive mini-series ever produced with a budget of $125 million. The series was a critical success; it currently stands at #3 on IMDb’s Top Rated TV Shows list and has a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It won the Emmy and the Golden Globe for best mini-series, as well as the Peabody Award. It is one of the most universally-beloved properties in media. Band of Brothers is my husband’s very favorite; he’s probably watched it more times than he’s seen any movie. One of the interesting things about watching the series now is playing “who’s THAT movie star?” with the supporting cast – among the sprawling cast are future capital-A actors such as Michael Fassbender, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy and James McAvoy.
On this day in 2002, The Bourne Identity premiered in Los Angeles. You might not realize it, given its cultural impact, but The Bourne Identity was not a surefire hit. Yes, Matt Damon had won a screenwriting Oscar for Good Will Hunting, but he’d spent spent much of the next few years starring in ensemble pieces like Saving Private Ryan, Dogma and Ocean’s Eleven. The movies in which he had the lead, like All the Pretty Horses and The Legend of Bagger Vance, were box office failures. He was not considered a bankable movie star. It didn’t help the film’s case that the director, Doug Liman, specialized in offbeat indie flicks like Swingers and Go. The point is, this was not a guaranteed hit. But thanks to a crackling script by Tony Gilroy and W. Blake Herron, thrilling music by John Powell, breathtaking action sequences and an incredibly talented cast (including Franka Potente, Clive Owen, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox and Julia Stiles), the film was a ton of fun, and moviegoers flocked to it. Matt Damon: Movie Star (and a franchise) was born.
And finally, happy birthday to Robert Englund, a man who clearly embraces his most famous role!
One of the many things I love about How I Met Your Mother is its original songs – from the delightful theme song to “Let’s Go to the Mall”, “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit” to “P.S. I Love You”, “Marshall vs. The Machines” to “Murder Train” (a personal favorite of mine), the show’s creators use this music to give us glimpses into the characters, and – since this is a comedy, after all – for laughs.
We’ll probably dig more into HIMYM‘s original music another time; today, the topic is existing music. There are few things in media I love more than a well-placed pop song, and few have done it better than Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the creators of How I Met Your Mother. It isn’t just the songs they select – although those selections are often extraordinary – but HOW they incorporate the songs into the story. In some cases, the music is used to comment on the action; in others, it’s used as a foreshadowing device. More often than not, the songs are chosen simply because they’re amazing songs. Here are my top 20 favorite uses of pop music in How I Met Your Mother.
During the first part of season 2, in the period when Lily and Marshall are apart, Lily moves in with Barney for an episode. Initially, Barney assumes Lily will cramp his bachelor style, but when a hippie chick spends the night and doesn’t want to leave the next morning, Barney realizes Lily’s potential – making the women he has sex with think he’s married (yes, Barney is disgusting, but we don’t have room in this post to get into that). Barney’s one rule is that Lily not change anything, but Lily has a better idea – redecorate his apartment to make it look like a woman actually lives there. In grand HIMYM tradition, the redecorating takes place as a wordless montage, set to Islands’ “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby”. Islands, borne from the remains of the Unicorns, a band very important to the story of Ted and future baby mama Tracy, are a little twee for my taste, but there’s no denying this catchy little ditty works perfectly here. Each time I watch the episode, the lyrics “Bones, bones, brittle little bones” are stuck in my head for a week.
19. “The Underdog” – Spoon | Episode: “Spoiler Alert”
Ted’s new girlfriend Cathy (the lovely Lindsay Price) talks – A LOT – but Ted has new relationship blinders on and doesn’t see it (hear it?). The revelation leads to the gang discovering previously unnoticed flaws in each other (Ted corrects your grammar, Robin misuses the word literally, Marshall sings annoying songs about everything he does and Lily chews loudly). In the end, everyone sets aside their annoyances to help Marshall celebrate passing the bar, set to “The Underdog” by Austin indie band Spoon.
18. “Beach Comber” – Real Estate | Episode: “Unfinished”
Barney has been “putting the moves” on Ted to get Ted to agree to being the architect of the new Goliath National Bank headquarters (Ted’s design for the building was previously scrapped). Ted insists he is over being an architect and wants to focus on teaching (“finished with that”). But by the end of the episode, Ted realizes his architecture career is unfinished, and goes to meet Barney to tell him the news; in the background, we hear Real Estate’s gorgeous “Beach Comber”.
17. “Let Your Heart Hold Fast” – Fort Atlantic | Episode: “The Final Page – Part Two”
Barney is running the final play out of The Playbook – “The Robin” – a long con to win Robin back for good. The play ends with Robin on the roof of the World Wide News building, and Barney proposing. The episode then gives us a lovely montage of Lily and Marshall with baby Marvin, and Robin and Barney, and Ted – alone at the GNB opening, hoping his true love is still out there somewhere. And it’s all set to Fort Atlantic’s achingly beautiful “Let Your Heart Hold Fast”.
16. “This Modern Love” – Bloc Party | Episode: “Come On”
Ted has finally gotten together with Robin, and happily takes a cab ride back home the following morning – only to find Marshall on the stoop, sitting in the rain and holding Lily’s engagement ring. Ted’s joy is tempered by the knowledge that his two best friends have broken up, ending the episode (and the season) on a melancholic note, a note that is heightened by the lyrics of “This Modern Love”, which bely its upbeat melody and seem to suggest that none of this is permanent.
The season five premiere finds Ted worried about his first day as an architecture professor. He should be worried; he’s going to fuck it up royally by going to the wrong classroom and spending several oblivious minutes teaching architecture to a bunch of Econ 305 students (including, he would learn later, the mother of his children). It’s excruciating for Ted – and hilarious for us. Vampire Weekend’s catchy-as-hell anthem to not giving a fuck, “Oxford Comma”, is the perfect soundtrack to the proceedings.
14. “Glad Girls” – Guided By Voices | Episode: “Right Place, Right Time”
Ted is telling his kids the story of how he ended up at the right crosswalk at the right moment (he went to his second favorite bagel shop because his first favorite had given Robin food poisoning, he stopped by a newsstand for a magazine, he had to give a homeless guy a dollar). Also at the crosswalk? His ex Stella. The meeting would lead to Ted’s teaching job, which would eventually result in him meeting the mother. As Ted explains that if he could, he’d go back and thank every person who helped him get to that place and time, we hear Guided By Voices’ stomping, infectious “Glad Girls”.
13. “Black Tears” – Miss Derringer | Episode: “The Platinum Rule”
Ted is going on a date with Stella, the dermatologist removing his butterfly tramp stamp. The gang is attempting to convince him not to go, with Barney imploring Ted not to break “The Platinum Rule”, the antithesis to the Golden Rule – never LOVE thy neighbor. Three nested flashbacks tell the stories of Barney, Robin and Marshall & Lily breaking that rule – and the consequences they suffered for doing so. When Barney reaches the “submission” stage of the rule, we see the gang giving in to their desires, set to Miss Derringer’s retro-girl-groupish “Black Tears”.
12. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers | Episode: “Arrivederci, Fiero”
Marshall has to say goodbye to his beloved Fiero (and it had just hit 200,000 miles, too!), and through flashbacks, we see all of the adventures the Fiero has taken them on – Ted and Marshall bonding over road trips home, Lily and Robin bonding over spilled Chinese food and cigars, Barney finally attempting to learn how to drive. How does the guilty pleasure Proclaimers hit factor in? Marshall bought the cassingle back when he first started driving the Fiero, and it’s been stuck in the cassette player ever since. But if you’re sick of hearing the song, don’t worry – it’ll come around again.
11. “Alright” – Supergrass | Episode: “The Duel”
It’s 2 am. Robin has had a long, hard day. We rewind to the beginning of the day, and a montage – set to Supergrass’s delightful ode to youth, “Alright” – shows us that Robin’s day actually started out well. As the day progresses, though, life comes at Robin pretty fast, and at the end of it, all she wants to do is see Ted. The storyline actually concludes in the following episode, “Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.”, and we know things will end badly because, well, it’s right there in the title. But for a brief, shining moment, everything seems “Alright”.
10. “Rewind” – Goldspot | Episode: “Double Date”
Ted meets Jen for a blind date, and partway through the evening, they realize they’d been on a blind date before – seven years earlier. It turns out the date hadn’t gone that well (Jen didn’t reach for the check, Ted didn’t offer her his coat, Jen has too many cats, Ted points out menu typos and tells cheesy dad jokes), and Ted never called Jen for a second date. They attempt to recreate the first date in the hopes of discovering why they’re scaring off potential mates. At the end of the evening, they imagine how things might have ended up if just a couple things had gone differently that first night. The perfect accompaniment? Goldspot’s “Rewind” (“You see, you’re the only star/In the film I never made”). In the end, Ted and Jen realize they want to be loved by someone FOR their quirks, not in spite of them, and amicably go their separate ways.
9. “Young Folks” – Peter Bjorn and John | Episode: “Monday Night Football”
The gang has to miss the Superbowl to attend the funeral of a MacLaren’s bartender none of them can remember, so they DVR it to watch on Monday. They all spend the day attempting to avoid news of the game (it’s especially tricky for Robin because she is literally a news anchor). Ted spends the day working from home and only has to leave the apartment to go get chicken wings from a sports bar. To avoid spoilers, he creates the Sensory Deprivator 5000, a device that ensures he sees and hears nothing. The soundtrack for his perilous, hilarious journey? The whistling portion of the delightful “Young Folks”.
8. “Mother of Pearl” – Roxy Music | Episode: “Milk”
In the penultimate episode of season one, a dating service has matched Ted with his perfect woman – plays bass, wants two kids, reads “Love in the Time of Cholera”, etc. Ted imagines his wedding to the perfect woman, with Robin in attendance, and the scene is set to Roxy Music’s glorious “Mother of Pearl”. Ted realizes that no matter how perfect this woman is, she isn’t Robin, and decides not to go on the date. By the end of the next episode, “Come On” (see #16), Ted would finally win Robin over.
7. “The Funeral” – Band of Horses | Episode: “Farhampton”
The most haunting and beautiful foreshadowing of the titular mother’s death. In a flashback, Ted has returned to the Farhampton train station, where he will meet the mother the following year, to ask Klaus (the always superb Thomas Lennon) why he doesn’t want to be with Victoria. As Klaus explains how, when you meet the right person, you just know, Band of Horses’ heartbreaking “The Funeral” plays in the background. At the end of the sequence, a taxi arrives at the train station a little ways down the road, an unseen woman grabs her guitar case out of the trunk of the cab and walks up to the platform, and the meeting of Ted and the mother has almost arrived. It is one of the most gorgeous sequences in the series, and I weep every time I watch it.
6. “Victoria” – The Kinks | Episode: “The Naked Truth”
One of the most amazing uses of music as a foreshadowing device EVER. Throughout the episode, we’re treated to bite-size nuggets of the melody, but the lyrics are saved for the end, when we get the big reveal: Ted’s ex Victoria, who is in charge of the cupcakes for the Architect’s Ball that Ted is attending. If you aren’t familiar with the song, or aren’t paying that much attention, you’ll probably miss it (I did, the first time through the episode), which is what makes it so brilliant.
5. “Prophets” – A.C. Newman | Episode: “The Leap”
“The Leap”, HIMYM’s season four finale, hits all the right notes: there’s no cliff-hanger per se, but it sets up the season five storylines – Ted’s teaching job, Robin and Barney’s relationship – perfectly. The literal leap the gang takes to the adjacent rooftop represents the metaphorical leap they’re taking in their lives (okay, for Marshall, it’s just about the literal leap), and the musical choice – A.C. Newman’s soaring anthem to breaking free, “Prophets” – is the perfect soundtrack for ushering them over.
4. “Simple Song” – The Shins | Episode: “Something New”
HIMYM tends to nail the music for the season finale episodes (see #s 5, 11 and 16) , and “Something New”, the season eight ender, is no exception to that rule. The gang – Barney and Robin, Ted and Lily, and Marshall – are headed separately to Robin and Barney’s wedding out on the fictional Long Island town of Farhampton, after which they’ll go their separate ways: Ted’s headed to Chicago for a Robin-less fresh start, and Marshall and Lily are headed to Italy for the year, where Lily will be working in her capacity as The Captain’s art consultant (or will they stay in New York, where Marshall has been offered a judgeship?). Best of all, we get our first honest-to-goodness look at The Mother, the divine Cristin Milioti, buying her ticket to Farhampton, where she’ll play her bass in the band Robin and Barney have hired for their wedding reception. And it’s all set to one of the loveliest love songs I’ve ever heard, The Shins’ “Simple Song”. By the end of the segment, you’re feeling all the feels.
3. “Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear | Episode: “The Window”
Maggie (the lovely Joanna Garcia) went to Wesleyan with Ted, Marshall and Lily, and she was the ultimate girl-next-door. The problem was, Maggie was never single for very long at a time, and each time one of her relationships ended, the window where she was single got smaller and smaller. Now, Maggie’s window is open again, and Ted tries to take advantage of it. Of course, this being a sitcom, Ted forgets that he has a class to teach, and leaves his friends to babysit Maggie until he can get back to the bar. By the end of the evening, Maggie’s window would close one last time, as Maggie tells Ted “the second greatest love story I’ve ever heard”, set to Grizzly Bear’s gorgeous “Two Weeks”.
2. “Thirteen” – Big Star | Episode: “Ten Sessions”
I’ve already professed my love for Big Star in this blog – and will probably do so again – but seriously, “Thirteen” is perhaps the greatest paean to adolescence ever put to vinyl, and it is the perfect soundtrack to Ted and Stella’s “Two Minute Date”. Stella, played by the lovely Sarah Chalke, tells Ted she only has two minutes for lunch and no time to date, so Ted “Teds out” and ambushes Stella for a two minute date. Ted and Stella’s love story ends badly (see #20 on this list), but it certainly started with a bang; whether you find Ted’s over-the-top romantic gesture sweet or kind of creepy, you could not find a better song to set it to.
“The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)” – George Harrison | Episode: “Big Days”
There could be no other choice for me for the #1 spot. My favorite song from my favorite Beatle from his sublime album, All Things Must Pass, “Let It Roll” is actually used in multiple episodes, starting with the season six opener, “Big Days”. The episode begins “A little ways down the road…” and we are at a wedding. We’re probably forgiven for thinking, with the little information we have at this point, that Ted is the groom (spoiler alert: he’s not). Over the course of several more episodes, we will return to this wedding day, each time getting snippets of Harrison’s gorgeous ode to Friar Park, the Victorian mansion built in 1889 by Sir Frank Crisp and purchased by Harrison in 1970. As is the way of HIMYM, giving us tiny parcels of information episodes, or even seasons, before giving us the big reveal, we won’t know who the groom is until the end of season six (“Challenge Accepted”) and who the bride is until the end of season seven (“The Magician’s Code”).
Honorable mentions:
“Monkey Man” – The Rolling Stones | Episode: “Zoo or False”
“Lifesize” – A Fine Frenzy | Episode: “Doppelgangers”
“Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect” – The Decemberists | Episode: “Ted Mosby, Architect”
“Gorgeous Behavior” – Marching Band | Episode: “The Naked Man”
“Parallel or Together” – Ted Leo and the Pharmacists | Episode: “Matchmaker”
“The Man in Me” – Bob Dylan | Episode: “The Front Porch”
“Monday” – Mikey & The Gypsys | Episode: “Shelter Island”
This list represents just a fraction of the songs featured on the series over the years. There are a bunch of songs I love – by artists I love – that didn’t make it the cut; artists like Fountains of Wayne, Pixies, Radiohead and Regina Spektor are among some of my very favorites, but I wanted to focus on the way the songs were used within the context of the specific episodes. I made a playlist of about sixty of my favorite songs from the show, which includes the songs from this list and many more cool tracks.
It’s my birthday! Some other folks with May 22 birthdays: Arthur Conan Doyle, Laurence Olivier, Bernie Taupin, Morrissey, Brooke Smith, Naomi Campbell and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Actor, author, talk show host and professional curmudgeon Charles Grodin passed away this week at the age of 86. Grodin got his start in television series like The Virginian. His big movie break came in 1972 with The Heartbreak Kid. His films include Heaven Can Wait, Seems Like Old Times, The Great Muppet Caper,Midnight Run and Beethoven. In 1993, he co-starred in two of my favorites, Dave and Heart and Souls. In the mid-90s, he took a hiatus from Hollywood to raise his kids, but returned to acting in 2006 with The Ex.
The Heartbreak Kid
Beethoven
Midnight Run
Heart and Souls
On this day in 1985, A View to a Kill, the 14th James Bond film and the last to star Roger Moore, premiered in San Francisco. Featuring the glorious Christopher Walken and Grace Jones, an iconic Eiffel Tower set piece and a kick-ass theme song by my beloved Duran Duran, A View to a Kill was a delightfully cheesy way for Moore to exit the series.
On this day in 1992, Johnny Carson made his final appearance as the host of The Tonight Show. His guests were Robin Williams and Bette Midler. When Midler sang “One for my Baby (and One More for the Road)”, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
On this day in 2017, a suicide bomber killed twenty-two people and injured some 800 more after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. On June 4, Grande hosted a benefit concert, “One Love Manchester”, that aired live on broadcast television, radio and social media.
On May 27, HBO Max will air the long-awaited Friends reunion. The trailer dropped earlier this week.
On this day in 1928, a test audience was treated to the first depiction of Mickey Mouse, in a silent short called Plane Crazy. By the end of the year, Disney would release its first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie.
On this day in 1958, Gigi premiered in New York. Starring Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan, Gigi tells the story of a courtesan-in-training who falls in love with a wealthy Parisian playboy. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, with music by Lerner and Loewe, Gigi was nominated for nine Oscars, and it won in every category, including Best Picture and Best Director.
On this day in 2002, Bowling for Columbine made its premiere at the Cannes film festival. Directed by Michael Moore, the film explored the causes of increased gun violence in the United States. A critical and commercial success, Bowling for Columbine won a special prize at Cannes, as well as the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
James Mason was born on this day in 1909. The devastatingly handsome Brit made one top-notch film after another, including A Star Is Born, Lolita, North by Northwest (a personal favorite), The Boys from Brazil and The Verdict. Fun fact: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Belinda Carlisle (The Go-Go’s) is married to Mason’s son Morgan, and their son is also names James.
With Martin Landau in North by Northwest
from left – James Duke Mason, Belinda Carlisle, Morgan Mason
On this day in 1967, Paul McCartney met future wife Linda Eastman.
PB & Julie + Julie C. Trivia 