Hot Trax '73: O'Jays! Seals & Crofts! Al Green! Dottie West! More!
New songs on the charts 50 years ago this week!
Picture Sleeves:
Pop Culture Roundup: Tom Baker! Little Richard! David Crosby!
ITEM! Tom Baker shares a heartwarming story about being "Doctor Who."
ITEM! A new Little Richard documentary sounds good.
ITEM! David Crosby and the screenwriter of "Jaws" nearly made an apocalyptic hippie movie in 1971.
ITEM! Also, Crosby's 10 greatest tunes, per The Guardian.
ITEM! Marvel is releasing a batch of X-Men-inspired sneakers.
Pop Diary: Jack Kirby Collector, 'Borgen', 'Abbott Elementary'
Jack Kirby Collector #85. "Kirby Animated" is the theme of the latest issue of TwoMorrows' mag dedicated to the co-creator of the Marvel Universe, and it's pretty great.
I loved the heck out of "Thundarr the Barbarian" when I was a kid, although I was getting a bit long on the tooth for Saturday morning cartoons when it started. Vintage interviews with writer Steve Gerber and Joe Ruby, founder of the Ruby-Spears animation studio, detail Kirby's work on that series and others, some actually produced, others not. There's also a ton of Kirby art, including production pieces for potential series and three full pages of storyboards from the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series.
But I think the article I liked most is the non-animation-related piece by Will Murray's on the visual evolution of the FF's Thing. Ben Grimm is one of my all-time comics characters and it was fun reading this history of how transitioned from bumpy to rocky.
Order a copy here.
"Borgen." My wife and I are a couple of seasons deep into this Danish series focused on all of the political intrigue surrounding newly elected Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen), her communications officer Kasper Juul (Pilou Asbæk) and political journalist Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen) and it's compelling stuff.
Watching, I sometimes get so caught up in the storylines and acting that forget I don't speak Danish and lose track of the subtitles (there's an option on Netflix to watch dubbed versions, but I just don't think it would be the same). The show realistically captures the challenges facing Birgitte as she tries to lead responsibly within the pressure cooker of politics - (inter- and intra-party squabbles, scandals, media scrutiny) - while also trying to keep her marriage together and parent her two children.
Although first aired from 2010 to 2013, the show still has a lot to say about the problems of the world, society and, especially, politics today. A newly filmed fourth series is on Netlix now, too, and the way things are going, we'll probably keep barreling through and watch that one soon, too.
"Abbott Elementary." We're also late the party on this one. Face it, we're too snobby to steep to network sitcoms. Or at least we think we are. But then we recall things like "Parks and Recreation" that, while being dumb a lot of the time, was also quite funny and enjoyable a lot of the time. This is a like that.
Set in an, um, elementary school, it's a comedy and about a staff of goofy teachers and mainly centers on Janine Teagues (played by Quinta Brunson, who also created the show) an earnest second grade instructor who continually tries to innovate and do good things in the face of prevailing disinterest and mediocrity. Basically, she's Leslie Knope and the school is the Pawnee Parks Department. But there are original, and good, laughs here.
You can't help cheering for Janine and the rest of the cast is very strong and funny, particularly Tyler James Williams as floundering teacher and wannabe teacher Gregory and Janelle James as the checked-out, shouldn't-be principal, Ava.
Good stuff that goes down easy, and it's not in Danish.
See a Preview for the New Animated Film 'Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham'
Inspired by the comic book series by Mike Mignola, Richard Pace and Troy Nixey, BATMAN: THE DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM is a 1920s-based tale that finds explorer Bruce Wayne accidentally unleashing an ancient evil, expediting his return to Gotham City after a two-decade hiatus. The logic/science-driven Batman must battle Lovecraftian supernatural forces threatening the sheer existence of Gotham, along the way being aided and confronted by reimagined versions of his well-known allies and enemies, including Green Arrow, Ra’s al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Two-Face, James Gordon and Bruce’s beloved wards. Prepare for a mystical, often terrifying Batman adventure unlike any other.
BATMAN: THE DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM will be available to own on Digital, 4K and Blu-ray on March 28, 2023.
New Music Releases: Stones in Mono! 90s Bangers! Blue Note Classics and More!
Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.
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Pop Culture Roundup: Captain America! Willow! Comics!
ITEM! A look back at the 1979 Captain America TV movie.
ITEM! Disney+ will air a "Willow" making-of doc.
ITEM! A cool-sounding British exhibit looks at the art of creating comics.
So Long, David Crosby
Legendary singer David Crosby is dead at age 81, Variety reports.
With bandmates Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, Crosby set down the template for ’60s L.A. folk-rock in the Byrds during his stormy 1964-67 tenure in the group.
Bonding with Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield and Graham Nash of the Hollies amid the glitter of L.A.’s late-’60s Laurel Canyon scene, Crosby launched CS&N, whose multi-platinum 1968 debut inaugurated rock’s supergroup era.
The addition of another volatile member, Stills’ erstwhile Buffalo Springfield colleague Neil Young, added to the act’s commercial luster. However, a constant clash of egos within Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, fueled by the rock excesses of the era, toppled the act during the ’70s, though its members would regroup sporadically over the years as a recording and touring unit. Crosby’s most stable association was with Nash: The duo recorded and toured regularly into the new millennium.
While never the principal songwriter in either the Byrds or CSN&Y, Crosby was an integral part of the densely layered harmony front line that launched both those acts’ multiple chart hits.
I always thought that Crosby's first band was a lot cooler than the one he's best known for, so here he is with the Byrds at the Monterey Pop Festival. I'm not so sure I agree with his JFK theories (which are contradicted by the lyrics of this song!), but it's a beautiful performance, nevertheless:
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