“America” was a Simon and Garfunkel song on their 1968 album Bookends. Yes drastically rearranged it in 1970.
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Where’s Ron?
Florida Governor DeSantis is missing in action during the latest Covid spike.
Covers: Jamaica Say You Will
Los Lobos recently covered this Jackson Browne song. The first version of “Jamaica Say You Will” was by the Byrds in 1971 while Browne’s own version was released in 1972.
Covers: Pancho and Lefty
The tweet about Emmylou Harris prompted me to write this post. “Pancho and Lefty” (1972) is a song by Townes Van Zandt. The cover by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard (1983) is the best-known version.
Hamsters in the news
History of the Hula Hoop
A recent History Channel episode of Toys That Built America included the origins of the Hula Hoop. The Hula Hoop was very popular in my childhood. The film The Hudsucker Proxy is a fictional story of the invention of the hoop.
Watch the whole show here.
Joan Anderson, who twirled her way into hula hoop history, dies at 101
The negative impact of conservative judges
Massacre at Central High
I recently watched Massacre at Central High (1976) in the outstanding Blu-ray/DVD package from Synapse.
This is a unique low-budget horror film about high school students. A new student at Central High finds that the school is run by bullies, one of whom is an old friend. He challenges the bullies who cause him to have a crippling accident. He takes revenge but finds that the oppressed students (the fat kid, the nerd, the pot smokers) are no better now that they are no longer intimidated. There are no adults in the film until the end which is at a high school dance.
Synapse includes a long extra with new interviews of actors and others involved with the film.
Saturday Night Live circumcision in a car parody ad (1978)
The original commercial showed a diamond being cut in the back seat of a car. The SNL parody had a rabbi performing a bris where the male infant is circumcised.
This is a link to the SNL parody
Do you remember the Unknown Comic from The Gong Show?
The Unknown Comic was on The Gong Show over 150 times. He performed with a paper bag over his head. He was really comedian Murray Langston.
Interview with him from the A.V .Club
Sad! 