PR #2 Don't Bogart That Joint, My Friend

In this episode, I try to say ''um" less. I start out with some
Beatles news. First was the tenth anniversary of the "Let It
Be...Naked" album, which was Paul McCartney's attempt to strip Phil
Spector off the record. Phil Spector is in jail for murder. The
Beatles weren't getting along, even though George looks ecstatic on
the cover of "Let It Be". I grew up hearing the strings on "The
Long and Winding Road", but Paul hated it. I don't know why, but it
was probably because Macca is a control freak. The second
anniversary was that of the last George Harrison album,
"Brainwashed", which was released after his death. It's a great
album. Jeff Lynne of ELO and the Traveling Wilburys and George's
son, Dhani, finished the album. I talk about the movie "Easy
Rider", the classic motorcycles and hippies saga. I saw this movie
as a freshman in college. I wrote a paper about the music in the
movie, but I bet it was tripe, since I didn't have the internet and
was pretty naive musically. The movie starts out with a drug deal.
This reminds me of the cartels outside my cinder block shack. The
cartel member is dressed nice. They sell the coke to Phil Spector
at the airport before he takes off to London to screw up "Let It
Be". I talk about how small gas tanks are on chopper motorcycles,
so they had to stop a lot on their way to New Orleans. There is
some heavy-handed symbolism when they change a motorcycle tire in
front of a blacksmith shoeing a horse. They meet a hitchhiker who
takes them to a scary commune with screaming kids and goats. Worst
of all are the mimes, who speak when they aren't supposed to. They
try to grow corn. Free love ain't all that great. Lucy agrees. I
talk about how destructive hippies are, giving examples of
Woodstock and Altamont, as well as the parking lot after the
Grateful Dead hit Seattle. I finally remember the name of Dennis
Hopper's character. There's some foreshadowing when they get to New
Orleans. They go to a whorehouse and see Toni Basil of "Mickey"
fame. The movie ends tragically. The movie holds up well, but the
camera work has aged. The music is good - Steppenwolf, Byrds, etc.
"Don't Bogart That Joint", my friend. I talk about the book
"Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck, which takes place in Monterrey,
California. It's a great setting for a novel. I love Steinbeck. Doc
is a marine biologist who makes money selling octopi and stuff like
that he collects in the tidal flats. Vagabonds live in the Palace
Flophouse, led by Mack. The book has a sense of whimsy. Steinbeck
has a gift for illustrating the common man without pretension.
There is a sequel called "Sweet Thursday", and it's a great book,
too. It was written years later when Steinbeck was more
experienced. The movie of "Cannery Row" is a hybrid of those two
books. The guy who plays Mack was the shooter in "The Jerk". He
hates these cans! The movie is narrated by John Huston and stars
Nick Nolte and Debra Winger. I do a poor imitation of Navin
Johnson. I can't say the actor's name very well. I observe the
passing of the great Lou Reed. I love the "Berlin" album. Most
people just know him from the song about the transvestites. I do
some housekeeping regarding the first episode. The intro song is my
song, "Chemical Marriage" off the Saturn Lander eponymous album. "I
Love Rock and Roll" was by the Arrows. Kim Fowley was a svengali,
not a savant. Kim Fowly produced three songs by Flash Cadillac and
the Continental Kids on the American Graffiti soundtrack, which I
love. Fowley wrote for Helen Reddy and others. The Gettysburg
Address has less than half the words of the Barenaked Ladies song I
talked about. The sitcom I talked about with Bronson Pinchot was
"Perfect Strangers". They found the bones of Coneheads in France,
just like they said on SNL years ago. I quote Jack London. My
website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast
archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt
Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at
bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening!