Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Mark's Mop Mystery

Several of you inform me that the unintelligible word in the song "Caldonia" is "mop." This, of course, raises a new question, which Randy Skretvedt already addressed in an e-mail to me...

That's the word, clearly audible in both the Louis Jordan and Woody Herman recordings. Just why they say "mop," that's a question for the ages. Probably for the same reason that dissonant post-war jazz (ugh!) was called "bop" and contemporary music is called "hip-hop." Not to forget the Ames Brothers' hit "Rag Mop," and a Louis Armstrong number of the late '40s called "Mop Mop."

Enough with Mop, Bop, and Hip-Hop; I'll stop with this slop before I pop. Or before you call a cop.

Okay...Randy isn't sure. Anyone else have an idea?

• Posted at 3:02 PM · LINK

Tipping Point

The other day (in this post), I said that whoever sent me the largest tip could name a topic and I'd write something here on that subject. I got a lot of nice small-to-medium gratuities from you folks — thank you kindly — and one huge one from a gent who seemed to have earned the right to tell me what to write about. So I contacted him and asked...and his request was that I write something here about what a great president George W. Bush was, how the Iraq War was a stroke of genius, how the nation is so much better off because of Bush 'n' Cheney. Based on past e-mails this gent has sent me, I came to the conclusion he wasn't kidding.

I took it as a challenge. I decided to write a little piece about the positive accomplishments of the Bush administration and all the great things that will surely come out of our invasion of Iraq...and you have to believe me that I tried. I don't hate those guys but I think they did a really, really bad job of doing everything except enriching the upper class at the expense of everyone and everything. I've been trying for two days now and I've spent way too much time on it and, well...

I just sent the guy his money back. That amazes me as much as it's probably amazing you at this moment. I really thought I could be bought and I'm amazed to find out otherwise.

So the "contest" is open again with the following rule change: The top donor can name a topic for me to write about but it can't be about the wonderfulness of George W. Bush or anyone like him. If you'd still like to send me a tip via PayPal, you can do so via this link. If you don't get to name a topic, you'll at least get the warm glow of knowing you helped me buy weird stuff off eBay.

• Posted at 1:59 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Okay, I said earlier here that I was a big fan of a musical comedy performer named Doug Eskew. Here's why. This is a number from the 1992 Tony Awards...a selection from Five Guys Named Moe. Mr. Eskew is the tall one, and while his show didn't win any trophies that night, I remember thinking that they walked away with the telecast and sold a lot of tickets...

By the way: I've never quite been able to understand one word in this song. What is it we're supposed to yell when he asks, "What makes your big head so hard?" "Mud?" "Mop?"

• Posted at 9:35 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

I've been watching the right-wing reaction to that article by Robert Draper — the one that itemizes an appalling number of screw-ups by the Bush administration and lays them all at the feet of Donald Rumsfeld. So far, I see no one arguing that Draper got anything wrong. Here and there, someone tries to spin things as if Draper is exonerating Bush and Cheney of any blame since it was Rumsfeld who erred so much, not them. Need I point out that if Rumsfeld's management style had succeeded, those same folks would be giving George and Dick all the credit?

If you come across a spirited debunking of Draper, let me know. In the meantime, I note this blog post by Conservative strategist David Frum, who seems to accept that it's all so and that Republicans need to learn from it, not ignore it.

• Posted at 9:34 AM · LINK

Moose and Squirrel on Radio!

Today on Stu's Show, Stu's got a good one! His guests are Keith Scott and June Foray. Keith is one of the top vocal performers in Australia, heard everywhere as an announcer, narrator and as the voice of many top cartoon characters. He's also a fine historian of animation voicing and on the Jay Ward studio. And as if all weren't enough, he's also taken over as the voice of Bullwinkle J. Moose, carrying on the role created by the late, great Bill (no relation) Scott.

And June Foray is...well, June Foray. She's Rocky the Flying Squirrel. She's Natasha Fatale. She's Granny, the owner of Tweety. She's the first lady of cartoon voicing, a true living legend of the art form.

Stu Shostak will have these two gifted folks in his studio today from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific time. If you live on the East Coast, it's 7 PM to 9 PM, and if you live somewhere else, you should be able to figure it out from that. You can listen live. You can even phone in. The show repeats for the next week in the same time slot but it's more fun if you listen live, which you can do by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio at the appointed hour. Don't miss this one.

• Posted at 1:06 AM · LINK

This Joint Is Jumpin'

Carolyn and I had a great time down at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown L.A. this evening. They have a new production there of Ain't Misbehavin', the musical revue based on the work of Fats Waller that played Broadway in the seventies. This one is said to be a faithful replica of that one and whether it is or not, it's enormously entertaining. Waller co-wrote (or just made famous) a lot of wonderful songs and the show consists of five great singers and a seven-piece band just performing the hell out of those tunes.

The five performers are Armelia McQueen, Debra Walton, Eugene Barry-Hill, Roz Ryan and Doug Eskew. They're all sensational but I was especially delighted to find Mr. Eskew in the cast. He's long been one of my favorite stage performers. Maybe later when I post today's video link, I'll show you why.

Anyway, I didn't care much for the last two shows I saw down at the Ahmanson. They made up for it tonight. If you're in or around L.A., it's there 'til the end of the month and it's real good.

• Posted at 12:13 AM · LINK