Neil Diamond and Adam Sandler: What A Fine-Looking Jew

Everybody's favorite zayde Neil Diamond sings Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" in honor of the first of eight crazy nights tonight. Note how he changes the "smoke your marijuanukah" line - and the animated chest hair.

Happy Chanukah, everybody! May all your dreidel spins be gimels, all your latkes delicious, and all your Chanukah gelt tax-exempt. (HT: The Daily Swarm.)

Poultry Emotion

Many of us will have turkey on our plates tomorrow, so in honor of feathered bipeds everywhere, and with gratitude and appreciation for the Muppets and Queen, and for feathered, furry, plush and human families everywhere, a very special version of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

My Life As A Toy

I've worked for Barbie. And for Joan Jett.

Now one brilliant item combines both: Mattel's Joan Jett Ladies of the '80s Doll.


There are also Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Harry dolls, but I didn't just buy either one of those on Amazon. A tiny, perfect Joan, however, complete with red Chucks and white Gibson, will take a place of pride in my office soon.

I love rock 'n' roll!

Postcard From Nicaragua

The classic 20-gig iPod I've had since 2004 finally passed away after many hours of service, just before I left for the airport for my flight to Nicaragua 10 days ago. I typically travel with it and a JBL OnTour setup that provides me with a soundtrack wherever I am. Nonetheless, I was neither musically nor aesthetically deprived.

For evidence of the latter, see the photo below of the grand staircase in the 19th-century home of generous and gifted friends in Granada, one of the oldest cities in the Americas, where I slept in an antique, mosquito-netted four-poster bed, soothed by the sound of tropical rains and wakened by the bells of the cathedral next door.



On a side trip to the surf destination San Juan del Sur, a friend was kind enough to lend me a horse. There is a reason that riding through a jungle and cantering along an otherwise inaccessible beach is the stuff of fantasy. My steed was white, and named Pablo Picasso, so I couldn't get the Jonathan Richman song of the same name out of my head. I also sang "Caballito Blanco" to Pablo, which I learned as a child in Chile.

Thus, when it came time to go clubbing, I was prepared for Latino men whose stares I could not resist. My Spanish held up well enough for me to crack jokes, decline invitations, and read mash notes from the smitten. I also had the new-to-me experience of being piloted around a dance floor by a smiling fellow whose eyes were at an awkward level that made staring both impossible and unnecessary. But we were dancing to a 9-piece band playing the Nicaraguan classic "Pobre de Maria," a tragic story of a poor campesina in the big city, so I didn't mind.

I managed to refrain from the Internet most of the time, but of course it found me:


And now, the Apple Store awaits.

Knew What He Was Doing When He Caught My Eye

The most recent chapter of the Phil Spector story is a tragedy that can't be undone. But I'll miss thinking about him as the guy who created this wall of sound for The Crystals:

She's About A Mover

I'm not at SXSW this year, so I'm living vicariously through the Twitter posts of the ShoreFire-ians who are (two Wavy Gravy sightings!). But when I saw in Billboard that there'd been a couple of Doug Sahm tributes in Austin, one starring former client Alejandro Escovedo and the other featuring current clients Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles, I knew I had to post this video of the Sir Douglas Quintet playing "She's About A Mover," one of the greatest happy-dance songs ever - and dig those shiny suits!

You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother...

(Shut your mouth.)

That would be Shaft, John Shaft. Sadly, the man who penned the film's immortal theme, Isaac Hayes, has died, at 65. The Times obituary by Ben Sisario may forever redefine the parenthetical use of "furthermore."

Hayes' first recording session was with Otis Redding. With his partner David Porter, he helped create the distinctive sound of Stax Records, which released some of my favorite music of all time.

I produced a soul music project once that wound up being mostly Stax artists, and when I drove cross-country on my way back from LA to NYC, planned my route so I could visit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on McLemore Avenue in Memphis , one of the better museums anywhere, which contains, among other exhibits, Hayes'1972 peacock blue, gold-trimmed two-door Eldorado Cadillac.

The next time you use a manual toothbrush, try doing it in rhythm to the opening of this tune and see if your recommended two minutes don't go a lot faster:

Holy Hullabaloo, Batman!

I've previously mentioned my fondness for Hullabaloo!, the mid-Sixties prime-time TV show on NBC that featured all the acts you might expect, from Paul Anka to the Zombies, as well as some you might not, such as Judy Collins. There was a regular infusion of the British Invasion (Chad and Jeremy, the Kinks), undoubtedly helped along by Beatles manager Brian Epstein's appearance as the host of a London segment, and lots of Motown, including Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. A similar show called Shindig on ABC was its antecedent, but I don't remember it being as good.

Hullabaloo!'s dancers were a highlight of every show (they included Michael Bennett and Donna McKechnie, best known as creator and star of the original production of A Chorus Line), and a segment called "Hullabaloo! A Go-Go" featured a dancer in a cage, shaking it while wearing a fringed minidress and short white go-go boots.

Fans of The Dark Knight will undoubtedly object, but here are the Hullabaloo! dancers cavorting to the "Batman" theme:

Get Even Smarter

The movie version of Get Smart is out today, and while from the trailer it doesn't seem nearly as funny as the TV series written by two of the world's greatest comic geniuses, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, it will probably become one of those movie remakes I go to primarily because of the theme song, a list that has included The Jetsons, Mission: Impossible and Life of Brian. (The last is in its own way a remake of King of Kings, isn't it? And don't you find yourself whistling "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" right about now?)

The "Get Smart" TV theme was written by Irving Szathmary, who doesn't seem to have written much else. The movie music is credited to Trevor Rabin (yes, of Yes), and what I've heard of the theme arrangement makes me suspicious (too many strings, not enough brass). But I will sit with my popcorn and see if anything in the film can equal this classic opening sequence:

Hammers Of The Gods

Last night I was witness to an amazing thunderstorm in Central Park. It was flashy and loud, and my dog, who as a Southern California-raised girl is used to such qualities, but not in weather, didn't like it one bit.

Lightning forks lit up the sky, so powerful and clearly etched that it looked like Zeus and Thor were having a throwing contest, and it made me think of songs about thunder and lightning, including:

• "Thunder Road," by Bruce Springsteen;
• "Knock on Wood," by Sam and Dave ('It's like thunder, lightning - the way you love me is frightening");
• "You Love The Thunder" by Jackson Browne;
• "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors (if that's playing on classic rock radio, you know it's raining);
• "Chain Lightning," by Steely Dan

And a list like this wouldn't be complete with the thunderously heartbreaking Johnny Thunders:

Forget The Red Bull, Have A Shot Of Josh Fix

Newsweek called the B-52's album 'Funplex' “a sonic shot of vitamin B12" and the same could be said for Josh Fix's debut album 'Free at Last'. I've been substituting my addiction to sugar free Red Bull with a daily viewing of this video for "Don't Call Me In The Morning."

Josh has also been bringing the same fever to the stage at Arlene's Grocery every Tuesday night this month.

Iron Man Is "Institutionalized"

I really loved Iron Man, one of the better superhero movies ever. Great performances by Robert Downey, Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Palrow and Terence Howard (and the best robot team since R2D2 and C3PO) and strong direction by Jon Favreau give life to a smart, action-packed script.

Music plays an important part in the movie, including the accidental destruction of a Bluthner piano, which horrified me more than the subsequent pulverizing of a mint-condition Lotus (and, in a production that features blatant product placement throughout, made me wonder, why not Fazioli or Bosendorfer?).

The song choices by music supervisor Dave Jordan, also responsible for Transformers and The Fast and the Furious, were excellent, especially Suicidal Tendencies' hardcore plaint "Institutionalized," used perfectly to express our hero's angst. (Yes, that is indie-film superstar Mary Woronov as the mom in the original video below.)



Wired's Listening Post blog has an excellent rundown of various kinds of Iron Man music, past and present. Who knew the Cardigans covered Black Sabbath?

Prince Is A "Creep"

If you were at Coachella this past Saturday night, chances are you saw this: Prince playing Radiohead's "Creep" as part of a two-hour set. And chances are that I envy you.

Remembering MLK Jr and James Brown This Weekend

The 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination is today, April 4. A good deal of programming will air over the next few days in honor of Dr. King's legacy and the effect that his untimely death had on our country.

One such show, "The Night James Brown Saved Boston," airing on VH1, is about James Brown's televised concert in Boston the night after MLK Jr. passed away in April 1968. The event, and James himself, were largely responsible for keeping the city relatively peaceful. While Boston listened to the godfather of soul, many American cities were literally going up in flames as people reacted to the assassination. Read more about the program on VH1.com and listen to an interview with the show's director on NPR. It airs at 9PM Eastern Time on Saturday.

Here's a clip of the concert where James tells the crowd, and the police, to calm down as tension starts to build.

Brooklyn Is Everything

Lifetime Brooklyn resident and FoSF (Friend of Shore Fire) since before he was born Derek Garcia (who's 16) just won a prize from Brooklyn Community Access TV (BCAT) for this nicely done video. It got me excited about what may be Astroland's final season, as well as seeing the Cyclones and checking out the Seaside Concert series (link shows last year's lineup).

Sad All Over

One of my earliest ambitions was to be a dancer on Hullabaloo!The swinging music! The white boots! The fringed dresses!

I think that's where I may have first seen the Dave Clark Five. So learning of the death of lead singer Mike Smith was especially sad for me. Here they are, in happier times:

Prehistoric musical theater

YouTube Friday

Continuing the theme of high-tech music from yesterday's Herbie Hancock post, check out this laser harp. What will Joanna Newsom fans think?

Herbie Can Teach Us All Something

Herbie Hancock shows Tatiana Ali and other children how a synthesizer works, in a clip from the '70s. He's still showing us all how to use technology creatively.

Yes He Can

Our client Herbie Hancock is featured in this video, which after only three days has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube. You'll also see him on the Grammys, playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with Lang Lang.



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