Category Archives: Art

Trains, Boats, Planes and Names

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William Howard Ashton was born in Liverpool. After an apprenticeship at British Railways (later British Rail), he began a singing career as “Billy Kramer”. Shortly thereafter, a friend (John Lennon) suggested he add the “J”. Having become Billy J. Kramer, he acquired a manager (Brian Epstein, who had a great deal of success with some other performers from Liverpool).

Kramer’s manager put him together with a group from Manchester called “The Dakotas”, whose manager had given them that name because, for some reason, he wanted them to do a show dressed up like American Indians.

In 1963, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recorded John Lennon’s “Bad to Me”. It reached #1 in the U.K. and #9 in the U.S.

Two years later, they had their last U.K. hit with “Trains and Boats and Planes”, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It didn’t do well in the U.S., losing out to the version by Dionne Warwick (born Marie Dionne Warrick in East Orange, New Jersey). But I think it’s worth hearing.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

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If you enjoy a good crime movie, you might consider watching The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. It’s in German and was directed by Fritz Lang, who made Metropolis and M and later emigrated to the U.S. It’s old-fashioned in some ways, which is understandable, since it was completed in 1933. 

But there are many aspects of it that feel current. A criminal mastermind, Dr. Mabuse (in German, that’s pronounced “Mah-boo-zeh”) has lost his mind and is locked up in an insane aslyum. He spends his days and nights writing perfectly conceived plans for various crimes.

Unfortunately, Dr. Mabuse is being cared for by a physician, Professor Baum, who is almost as crazy as he is. Professor Baum collects the plans Dr. Mabuse tosses on the floor and uses them to build a criminal empire.

Professor Baum eventually directs his criminal minions to launch a crime wave like no other. He orders them to blow up a chemical plant, destroy food supplies, poison the water, create epidemics and debase the currency, all with the intention of terrorizing the population:

When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by fear and horror, and when chaos has become supreme law, then the time will have come for the empire of crime.

There is a quirky but clever police inspector leading the investigation and a disgraced detective who tries to redeem himself. A suspect is interrogated. Ballistic evidence is considered. A strange message is decoded. An early version of a SWAT team is summoned to deal with barricaded criminals. A couple is locked in a room and told they only have three hours to live. There are explosions and a car chase. There are jokes and special effects.

Aside from the crisp black and white photography, the dated decor and the subtitles, this movie could be playing at a multiplex near you!

On top of that, the movie has political overtones. Fritz Lang was seriously concerned about the Nazis taking power. When the crazy Professor Baum issues his commands, he sounds like a dictator giving threatening orders to his subordinates. It’s said that Lang used actual quotations from the Nazis in the movie’s script.

Before The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was released, the German minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, ordered it banned. He claimed that it would incite public disorder and decrease the public’s confidence in the government. He may have had a point, considering that the film is about an extraordinary criminal organization and the government in question was run by Adolph Hitler.

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Albuquerque House For Sale – Fixer Upper With Story To Tell!

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This one will go fast!

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/reb/4098553645.html

So This Is Love, Real Love

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It’s funny how you can immediately recognize a song you haven’t heard in decades. “So This Is Love” by an obscure California group called the Castells has been locked away in my brain since around 1962. I heard it the other day and it was like bumping into a very old friend.

The Castells lasted about five years but never had a big national hit. “So This Is Love” only got to #21 nationwide, but went all the way to #9 on KRLA in Los Angeles, my station of choice in the early 60s.

By the way, if you want to see how one of your favorite songs did on the record charts in Los Angeles in 1962, or New York in 1969, or Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1971, you can visit http://las-solanas.com/arsa/index.php. It’s a non-profit site that does an amazing job presenting such information, especially for the mid-60s, when just about everybody listened to their favorite AM radio station.

Coincidentally, Chuck Girard, one of the Castells, later became a member of the Hondells, who I wrote about earlier this month. I hope he’s enjoying all this belated publicity.


Art Is Long, Life Is Short, Lunch Is Important

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I took this picture a couple days ago. You might wonder what these people are doing:

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They were at an exhibit by the artist James Turrell. I’d read about him and written about him, so I figured I should go to the exhibit. It was at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the one that looks like this:


The part of the museum that looks like a funnel is open from the floor to the ceiling. The people on the floor were looking up at this large work by Mr. Turrell: 

Installation Views: James Turrell

Unfortunately, due to a combination of ignorance, impatience and bad timing, when we looked up at the ceiling, the view wasn’t that impressive and we didn’t hang around long enough to see if it got any better (which it did, since it was designed to go through a series of changes).

There were some other works by the artist on display, but the best one had a long line of people waiting to see it. The wait was said to be one hour, so we moved on. 

As someone once said, ars longa, vita brevis.

Lunch, on the other hand, was excellent.