The Beatles Performing Live on Blackpool Night Out, August 1st, 1965

 

Today is a big day for Beatles fans. Today sees the reissue of two popular compilations, The Beatles: 1962-1966, known commonly as The Red Album, and The Beatles: 1967-1970, known as The Blue Album. These were collections of Beatles hits first released in 1973. They are being re-released today with new mixes of many of the songs as well as songs that were not made available on the original 1973 releases. The most notable addition is the "brand new" song "Now And Then," made with a cassette demo from John Lennon's pesonal collection. As well as being released as a single, "Now and Then" is being made available on the 1967-1970 collection.

In celebration of these releases, I present a short television concert the Beatles performed on the British program Blackpool Night Out on August 1st, 1965. The band performs six songs, including "Help!" The Beatles were on the program to promote the release of the film of the same name. The footage here is in color, but I assume this was done in later years by computer rather than from the original broadcast.

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

My Yard Sales Finds from June 2023!

Hey everybody, I made a video! It's like I'm in the 21st century or something!

It's all about the stuff I bought at a neighborhood yard sale. Enjoy!

Welcome Spring 2023!

Ladies and gentlemen--Spring.

Ladies and Gentlemen--Spring

Ladies and Gentlemen...Spring

Holiday List O' Links 2017 Edition

Thanksgiving is exactly two weeks away as I write this, and while many don't like to celebrate the holidays before their time, it's still smart to at least begin holiday preparations now. And that's what these links are all about!

Below are some holidays happenings you may want to work into your seasonal calendar. Take a look!

Reba McIntyre hosts this year's CMA Country Christmas celebration on ABC Monday, November 27th.

Pepsi is releasing a Christmas cake-flavored soda for the holidays. But only in Japan. And it tastes like strawberry shortcake. Because that's what Christmas cake is in Japan. The more you know!

Your favorite TV network and mine, MeTV, is airing blocks of Christmas episodes of their series every Sunday afternoon between now and Christmas. Set your DVRs!

Horror fans sorry to see their favorite season over can take solace in a new Christmas horror movie this year, The Elf. You better watch out!

Elvis Presley fans like myself can rejoice! There is a new album of Elvis Christmas classics remixed with performances by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The regular edition has been available since October 6th, and a deluxe edition will be released Friday, November 24th.

My other favorite music act also has a history of classic Christmas recordings, although of a different kind.

Finally, SiruxXM satellite radio announces their holiday music lineup for 2017.

I hope to have more holiday links for you throughout the season. Thanks! Have a great weekend!

List O' Links for Friday, May 6, 2016

Hi everyone! I don't have much time, or links, today, so I'll make this short and sweet.

As you can see from the graphic above, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! I may not be able to make it this year because reasons, but you be sure to head on out to your local comic shop and pick up this year's crop of great free comics! And be sure to buy something while you're there and keep your comic shop afloat! Find the shop nearest you here!

According to the Washington Post, millenials are not eating cereal because they're too lazy to wash the dishes afterwards. If this is true, we will be easy pickins' for our forthcoming alien overlords.

A man named Billy Mitchell claims to be the "Neil Armstrong of Pac-Man" because he was the first person to win a perfect score. He also famously won a perfect score in Donkey Kong. To say the man is proud of his accomplishments is quite the understatement!

In 1978, Ringo Starr had his own TV variety special. It is, according to Ultimate Classic Rock, everything you'd expect from a late '70s TV variety special starring Ringo Starr. Check it out, if you have the stomach for it!

Finally, if you're a fan of horror movies, particularly Japanese horror, this is your lucky year. A movie is arriving this year that pits the girl from The Ring against the mom from The Grudge. It's like King King vs Godzilla or Freddy vs Jason, but with dead Japanese ladies!

Have a great weekend! Go get some free comics! And don't forget Mom this year! Happy Mother's Day! Exclamation points!

List O' Links for Friday, July 10, 2015

I haven't done a List O' Links in awhile, so it's high time I did so. Click away!

I love Sesame Street, and I love learning more about the series and seeing things about it I haven't seen before. This takes the cake: Sesame Street characters playing hockey against the Chicago Blackhawks! This soundless home movie reel is dated circa 1970, but I think it may actually be from much later in the decade. Either way, it's fun to watch!

This being the 40th anniversary of one of my all-time favorite movies, Jaws, here is a collection of fantastic Jaws fan art! You can also find a few other pieces at my Tumblr site!

While I type away right now, San Diego Comic Con 2015 is in full swing! It's practically always Comic Con here at the blog, but in honor of SDCC, here is a defense of the existence of the awesome Cartoon Network series Teen Titans GO! The article describes it as a "necessary evil," but I think the show is wonderful. It's my favorite product DC Entertainment is making--with the exception of The Flash TV series.

Summer is most famous for its hot, sunshine-filled days, but there are plenty of people who enjoy the rain. If you're one of them--and I do appreciate a good rainy day here and there--this site is for you: Rainy Mood. For those days you're feeling serene and introspective, this site provides the sounds of a soothing storm. Rain--it's not just for sadness!

Here's a chance to step back in time to October 1978 and see what was on the tube back then according to TV Guide magazine! 

Finally, artist extraordinaire Alex Ross has unveiled a set of work featuring the Beatles as they appeared in the animated movie Yellow Submarine. I loved Ross's work and the Beatles, so to see the two together is a real treat!

Have a great weekend!

List O' Links for Friday, April 24th, 2015

Why is it so chilly this late in April? I guess it's best to stay inside where it's warm and catch up on these great Internet links!

Did you enjoy Marvel's Daredevil TV series on Netflix this month? I certainly did. Here is a list of all the great Marvel Easter eggs to be found in the series as well as hints of what's to come in the future for the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Be careful: spoilers abound!

In another direction, DC Comics announced a new line of multimedia products for girls aged 6 to 12 years spotlighting some of the great female characters of the DC universe. As the father of a young girl who loves superheroes, I couldn't be happier about this!

Speaking of DC, the first official Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer was released this month. Here's a fan's take on the trailer featuring the incarnations of the characters as played by Adam West and Christopher Reeve. Well done!

It's very possible Yoda is a biblical figure. You just go ahead and check that out right now.

Nearly everyone loves the Beatles, but drummer Ringo Starr doesn't get the respect he deserves--until now. I love Ringo and think he's an outstanding drummer. Go Ringo!

Finally, you can learn a lot about being a man by following the example of Thor. No, not that Thor, the original Norse mythology Thor. Odin's beard!

Have a great weekend!

List O Links for Friday, September 12th, 2014

Hello everyone! Sorry for the radio silence this week, but being Back to School time as you know, I've been busy with both my kids starting their first full week (they started last Wednesday), plus my wife, a teacher, starting her first full week as well. And on top of all that, my kids returned to dance school this week as well. And Tuesday was my wife's birthday. I was busy, folks.

But enough about me, let's get to some links I've discovered lately!

Darwyne Cook is an awesome comic book artist. If you're not familiar with his work, check out these variant covers he's created for some upcoming DC Comics issues. Beautiful!

This week being the 13th anniversary of 9/11, here is a fine article on AOL on the subject.

This August and September marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles first US tour. Here is some footage and audio of the boys from the tour's stop in my hometown, Philadelphia.

Astronomically, it's still summer for another 10 days or so, but in the minds of most people, it's already autumn. For many, it's their favorite time of year, and it's hard to argue against that. For you autumn lovers out there, I highly recommend the Tumblr site Cold Hands, Warm Hearts, featuring beautiful autumn photos of foliage, food, holidays, and other seasonal delights. Check it out!

Finally, is Raiders of the Lost Ark the most perfect film ever made? The Retroist reports, you decide!

Have a great weekend!

August's Underappreciated Music: "In Memoriam" Songs

Hello all. The Labor Day weekend is upon us, and unofficially brings Summer 2014 to a close. I hope your summer was a fun and restful one.

For this month's Underappreciated Music, I decided to go with a theme. I recently came across a couple of songs I cateogrize as "In Memoriam" songs, songs which pay tribute to someone who has passed, particularly a celebrity. The following songs are just a few that represent the concept well.

The first song I feature this month is the one that got me thinking about this theme, the 1972 Righteous Brothers hit "Rock and Roll Heaven." In a sad irony, member Bobby Hatfield is himself no longer with us.



The most beautiful example of this type of song I've ever heard is a dedication to John Lennon, Elton John's "Empty Garden." Arguably Bernie Taupin's best work.



Lennon's Beatles bandmate George Harrison wrote and recorded his own tribute to Lennon, "All Those Years Ago."



Ringo Starr would in turn dedicate a song to Harrison upon his death, the wistful "Never Without You."



Next to the deaths of John Lennon and Buddy Holly, no singer's passing affected audiences like that of Elvis Presley. Here is a tribute to the King, a #1 song from Alannah Myles, "Black Velvet."



Finally, a smooth way to complete this collection is this song, a tribute to both Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, the sweet, soulful "Nightshift."



Everyone please have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend! Next week, we go Back to School!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: The Beatles Forever 1977 TV Special

Welcome back! Sorry for the two week hiatus, but I'm happy to be blogging again. For this week's Tuesday's Overlooked, I discuss the obscure 1977 television special Beatles Forever.

This special, which aired Thanksgiving night, November 24th, 1977, was a tribute program to the Beatles, as you can imagine, with a list of performers that was quite a unique mix. Ray Charles, Diahann Caroll, Anthony Newley, Mel Tillis, Bernadette Peters, and Paul Williams were the star performers, and the special was hosted by Tony Randall (who also performed). To my knowledge, the special only aired once, and it has a negative reputation, and I can understand why. Based on the clip below, the special has all the trappings of a bad 1970s variety special. However, having a fondness for such kitsch, I find it amusingly quaint.

I'll let you judge for yourself. Enjoy! If you want more, you can listen to the entire audio portion of the special courtesy of WFMU-FM's blog here. 

Fun fact: this special aired exactly one week after the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.

Thanks!

Ladies and Gentlemen...Spring is Here

February's Underappreciated Music: Covers of Beatles Songs

 

This month saw the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival in America, and many things have been said about the band lately. One of those things is their talents as songwriters. This talent is evident not only in the band's own recordings, but in the recordings of their songs by others. The fact that the Beatles' songs can be interpreted beyond what the band did with them is a strong testament to their songwriting ability.

Here, without comment, are some of my favorite cover versions of Beatles classics. Enjoy!

List O' Links for Friday, September 6, 2013

After a long hiatus, List O' Links is back! Spend the first weekend of the new school year with these links!

Vocals by famous singers isolated from musical tracks have become common thanks to the Internet the last couple of years. If you're a Beatles fan like I am, you'll enjoy these isolated vocal tracks from Abbey Road.

This article is a year old, but I share it's sentiment. The author pontificates on the autumn tradition of reading the Fall Preview issue of my former employer, TV Guide!

Speaking of autumn traditions, here is a list of notable observances throughout the month of September.

August 28th was legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby's birthday. Here is a list of virtues Kirby lived by that helped him create his work throughout his long career.

As long as I'm posting a list o' links about lists, here's another: Salon.com's 23 signs you're a secret narcissist.

Finally, the Countdown to Halloween that I participate in begins October 1st as usual, but one eager blogger is already counting down on his own! His blog is Dinosaur Dracula, and a couple of weeks ago, he sampled the newly returned Monster cereals Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy. Check out his hilarious review here.

Have a great September!

May's Underappreciated Music: James Ray, I've Got My Mind Set On You

This is my first attempt at a new (to me) blog meme, Underappreciated Music, appearing the last Thursday of every month on several blogs, some of which also take part in Tuesday's Overlooked Film/TV. My entry this month is the original version of "I've Got My Mind Set On You," recorded by R&B singer James Ray in 1962, but became a #1 hit for George Harrison in 1987. It definitely sounds like an early '60s R&B tune, because it is, but is as enjoyable as Harrison's fine remake. Enjoy!




For comparison's sake, here is the remake by Harrison.



Have a great weekend!

List O' Links for Friday, April 26, 2013

It's Friday, it's the last day of the work week, and you've got a computer in front of you. Don't let it go to waste! Put that nasty work aside and check out some fun links!

The producers of the San Diego ComiCon have announced the 2013 Eisner Award Nominees for the prestigious comic book and graphic novel awards.

With our troops still stationed in Afghanistan, they have enough to worry about in regards to dangers from their surroundings. But what about the danger they put themselves in by making bad choices? Fortunately, they have a hero to watch over their own carelessness--Bagram Batman!

What happens when you wring out a wet washcloth in zero gravity space? This awesomeness!

Hollywood can't help but remake itself over and over again. Here are 13 unnecessary remakes of 80s movies currently in development.

DirecTV has announced a new 24-hour channel for dogs. No, not a channel about dogs, a channel with dogs as the intended audience. Draw your own conclusions.

Finally, two talented youngsters perform a sweet version of the Beatles' "Let It Be." Nice.

Have a great weekend!

VHS Treasures at the Goodwill

Yesterday I had the chance to do something I rarely get to do--peruse the aisles of the local Goodwill thrift store. It's true that 99% of the things you'll find there are junk, donated by others mostly to get the tax write-off and to dispose of stuff they no longer have use for but don't have the heart to throw away, lest it be destroyed forever. It's the inanimate objects equivalent of "doggie heaven"--the stuff isn't dead, it's just gone away to roam the pasture freely.

I only had a few minutes to spare while I was there, so I didn't take stock of the entire store. I focused on the one area I thought would bare the most fruit--the VHS tape aisle. You see, despite this being the 21st century, with its lightning-speed Internet, streaming media, high-definition picture, and on-demand services, I still have no less than four--count 'em, four--VCRs in my home, two of which are parts of TV/VCR combos (remember them?). While I also have four DVD players and am addicted to YouTube, I still have a decent library of VHS tapes that I don't plan on parting with. In fact, as will be evidenced by this article, I have no trouble replenishing my stack of tape--as long as the price is right.

And indeed, the price was right in this instance. The store is having a sale--I still find that funny, a thrift store having a sale--on video tapes this week: two tapes for 99 cents. 99 cents! How can any video Luddite turn that down? I left the store with six videos in all, and here they are!

The first thing I noticed (besides the fact that they had a healthy dose of betamax tapes available, but that's another story), was The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. I've known of the film for nearly as long as I've known of the Beatles, which is a really long time, but I've never actually seen it. Now, for only half a buck, I can watch it whenever I want.

The next tape I picked up is another Sellers classic, Murder By Death, also starring Eileen Brennan, Peter Falk, David Niven, and Alec Guinness. I saw a short segment of the film in my early adolescence, but that's about it. This movie would later be ripped off somewhat by the 1980 TV-movie Murder Can Hurt You, which I've written about before.  One notable thing about the packaging of this tape is that the cardboard box (as opposed to a "clamshell" box) has a flap you can close on the side rather than a constantly open slot. Boxes with that flap weren't made for very long and aren't easy to find, although I do have a copy of Dr. Strangelove with the very same box and flap. It must have been common for video released by Columbia Pictures at one time--both Murder By Death and Dr. Strangelove are Columbia video releases.

Next is a tape containing two episodes of the Disney/Jim Henson coproduction Dinosaurs, featuring a nuclear family of dinos acting like your typical American sitcom family. This is sure to be a hit with my two little ones, and it was a favorite of my wife when it first aired circa 1990.

The next two tapes are full Disney productions: The Rescuers, the 1978 film starring the voice talents of Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor, which I don't recall ever seeing, even though I was the target audience when it was first released. The store also had the sequel The Rescuers Down Under, but I didn't want to potentially waste 50 cents on a sequel when the original is yet to be judged. Ever the cheapskate am I!

The other Disney film is the original Love Bug, which has always been a favorite of mine from the first time I saw it, and I can't wait to share it with my children. I was determined to drive a car just like Herbie one day, and I haven't yet given up on that dream!

Finally, the tape that is the most obscure of my new collection, and it's a Christmas special--The Gift of Winter. This is a Canadian animated special featuring the same characters from the bizarre yet awesome Halloween special Witch's Night Out, which is one of the first things I ever blogged about. In this one, Bazooey, Small, Tender, and other characters petition Old Man Winter to ease up a bit on the town, but later regret their decision. I have yet to actually see this special, but I'm happy to finally add it to my collection after all these many years.

If I have time, I'd like to go back to Goodwill and pick up some more tapes. Two for 99 cents people!

List O' Links for 06/22/2012

Have nothing to do? Need some cool linkage so you can surf the Web? No problem! I got you covered!

I love the Beatles, but they have a surprisingly large share of haters as well. The Onion AV Club runs down 18 anti-Beatles songs!

As long as we're hating, here's a list of the 16 worst superhero costume designs of the '90s.

We're list crazy this week! Here, according to Mental Floss, are 31 company and product acronyms spelled out. Maybe these will come in handy the next time you play Scrabble.

The blog Channel Ocho asks the eternal question: Why Batman?

Lastly, for all you hardcore music fans out there, you know you've always wanted to learn this, so I'm happy to help you out. Here is a concise history of The Rise and Fall of the Beautiful Music Radio Format. You're welcome.

Have a great weekend!

List O' Links For Week of 3/26-4/1

As you can tell the last few months, I haven't been nearly as prolific a blogger as in the past. But that doesn't mean I'm not on the Web--quite the contrary. I'm always coming across cool and interesting stuff, so much so that I'd like to start a new feature at the blog that showcases some of the things I find. I hope to do this weekly, but we'll see how it works out. Here we go!

At comic book journalism site Comics Alliance, staff writer Chris Sims explains in fascinating detail why Spider-Man is the best comic book superhero ever.

At the espionage in pop culture blog Double O Section, author Tanner educates us on the surprising antagonism between two British pop culture icons--The Beatles and James Bond.

At ComicBooked.com, writer The Ronyn explains why Michael Bay isn't to blame for desecrating the Transformers--Hasbro is.

Pac-Man is still a video game icon, even after 30 years. But you know who doesn't get credit--the Ghost Monsters. D.S. Cohen at About.com remedies that here.

Finally, Tuesday's Forgotten Film/TV has been one of the most important features sustaining the blog the last year or so, but that's not the only way to experience overlooked art. You should also check out the Monthly Underappreciated Music at Todd Mason's blog and Friday's Forgotten Books at Patti Abbott's blog.

Have a great weekend!