Friday, July 8, 2011

The Friday Flash!

Some last minute comments as I'm running out the door ... great to see that Blogger is once again jacking with all my type sizes and spacing!!!  Gotta love it!

re:  GENIE AKINATOR.MOBI:
How do it know???
Well, the first time I tried it, the genie became so agitated and frazzled and ultimately got it wrong.  So, I tried another.  He got it right.  (nice pics in living color of your selections too).  Then another ... correct.  So, I went back to my original selectee and realized that I had answered two questions with little known info that would not generally be programmed into any memory unit.  When I answered the questions based on common knowledge, well ... yep, ANOTHER bullseye achieved.  Hats off to the programmer of this piece, as the info input must have been phenomenal, and the cross- referencing / elimination process to achieve the end, a nighmare.  Wow, what a school project this would have been!
Shelley J. Sweet-Tufano
 
Man, we've been having tons of fun with this thing!
David Lewis
 
Yep!  It's pretty damn addictive!  (I think Frannie played it over a hundred times this weekend!!!  lol!  Stumped him six or seven times, too ... but what's REALLY cool is that if / when you DO beat him, that new information can then be programmed into the database for future games.  Pretty soon he'll know EVERY character known to man, living, dead, cartoon or otherwise!!! He even guessed "Casper the Friendly Ghost" in ten questions!!!  lol)  TONS of fun ... so if you HAVEN'T checked it out yet (and we got probably two dozen OTHER responses from folks who also wasted a good chunk of their holiday weekend playing around with this thing ... lol) ... give it a try right here:  http://www.akinator.mobi/
(But do yourself a favor ... and allow and hour or two before you sign on ... 'cause you'll NEVER be able to just walk away after two or three tries!!!)  kk
 
re:  THE BOYS OF SUMMER:
After David Beard sent us his Top 20 Beach Boys / 4th of July Favorites, we figured we'd put together a couple more lists on this topic ... read on!  (kk)
 
In celebration of The Beach Boys and the Fourth of July, I compiled my "Top 20" Beach Boys songs to listen to in honor of this momentous occasion: 
 
California Calling [from 1985's self-titled LP] 
Do It Again [from 1969's 20/20 LP] 
Friends [from 1968's Friends LP] 
Surfin' USA [from 1963's LP of the same name]
Rock And Roll Music [from 1976's 15 Big Ones LP] 
Catch A Wave [from 1963's Surfer Girl LP] 
Wouldn't Be Nice [from 1966's Pet Sounds LP]
This Whole World [from 1970's Sunflower LP] 
I Get Around [from 1964's All Summer Long LP] 
Keep An Eye on Summer [from 1964's Shut Down Vol. 2 LP] 
Keepin' the Summer Alive [from 1980's LP of the same name]
Let Him Run Wild [from 1965's Summer Days LP] 
It's A Beautiful Day [from 1981's 10 Years of Harmony LP]  
Cabin Essence [from 1969's 20/20 LP] 
Spirit of America [from 1963's Little Deuce Coupe LP]
Good Vibrations [1966 single] 
Lady Liberty [B-side to 1986's "California Dreaming"] 
Fourth of July [from 1993's Good Vibrations box set] 
California Dreaming [from 1986's Made in The USA LP] 
Summer In Paradise [from 1992's CD of the same name]
-- David Beard
 
kent,
i just have to weigh in on the boys of summer.
 1. Sail on Sailor
 2. She knows me so well
 3. Do it again
 4.  Spirit of America
 5. God only Knows
 6. Good Vibrations
 7. Catch a Wave
 8. Check my Custom Machine
 9. In My Room
10. Dance Dance Dance
11. I Get Around
12. California Girls
13. The Lonely Sea
14. Amusement Parks U.S.A.
15. So young
The Beach boys are matched only by the Beatles when it comes to great b-side and deep cut listens.
chet coppock
 
An INCREDIBLE catalog to be sure.  Exciting to hear that Brian Wilson is calling his show this month at The Arcada Theatre a "Beach Boys' Greatest Hits" Show ... should be pretty amazing!  (kk)
 
Meanwhile, when we polled our readers for their all-time summer favorites a couple of years ago, 21 songs by The Beach Boys were nominated ... and 16 made our Top 100 List!!!  Here's how they placed (as voted on by the "masses"!!!  lol)  kk
 1 - ALL SUMMER LONG
 2 - CALIFORNIA GIRLS
 3 - I GET AROUND
 4 - SURFIN' USA
 5 - FUN FUN FUN
 6 - WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
 7 - SURFER GIRL
 8 - SURFIN' SAFARI
 9 - THE WARMTH OF THE SUN
10 - KOKOMO
11 - LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
12 - DO IT AGAIN
13 - DON'T WORRY BABY
14 - CATCH A WAVE
15 - GOOD VIBRATIONS
16 - HELP ME RHONDA
 
re:  ON THE RADIO:
Hi Kent!
I have tickets to see the Happy Together Tour on July 13 at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA (just outside of Philadelphia).
Also, thought you and your readers might want to tune into THE PLACE (7 - 10 PM, EDT) on www.wrdv.org, this Sunday, July 10.
My guest will be George Manney, the award winning director (just won the "Best Music Documentary" award from the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival) of "Meet Me on South Street -- The Story of JC Dobbs". George has some AMAZING stories about the music scene in Philadelphia in the late 60's. Promises to be a great show!
DJLadyG
 
Kent ...
The WCBS-FM, A to Z Countdown
Day 1 - 6/28/11 (9:00 AM) = ABC - Jacksons
Day 9 - 7/6/11  (7: 54 AM ) = Zorba The Greek -
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
For some reason I don't think it took this long last year.
Frank B.
LOVE these A-Z, no repeat 8-10 day long marathons.  Half the fun is guessing which song is coming up next!  (kk)
 
Also this weekend The True Oldies Channel is doing a "Two-Hits Wonder" Weekend ... we all know about the One Hit Wonder artists ... but what about the acts who had big chart showings TWICE, most certainly thinking they were on the road to major stardom ... and then just disappeared off the charts forever.  Should be some interesting pairings this weekend!  (kk)
 
Last Sunday we featured the Summer of 64! Stop by and join us, won't you? The show was a lot of fun and again, my listeners loved it! It's always such a good time ... my favorite part of summer!
Forgotten Hits Fans, Artists, and Bands from the best musical era, 1955 - 1975, with a focus on the music of the 1960s
Thanks again for the web site and all that you do to keep those gone but not forgotten hits alive!
Moochas smoochas ...
DJ Scarlett Hayze
Revolution Radio

 

Thanks to Kent Kotal and his wonderful web site, we are reliving the greatest songs from the summers of the sixties every Sunday night at 7 pm ET on the Scarlett Hayze show live on www.myrevolutionradio.com
re:  ARTIE WAYNE'S BOOK:
I absolutely loved his ebook.  Couldn't put it down.  I was sorry when I finished it.  I wanted more and more and more.
the great and wonderful Malcolm
Passed your note along to Artie ... who said:
Wow, Kent ... that's great!
Thanks!
Artie
 
re:  INSTRUMENTAL HITS OF THE '60's:
Hey, Kent!
I was just scrolling through the FH comments page and I noticed 'The Complete Pop Instrumental Hits Of The Sixties, Vol. 1'.  I took a quick look at it at Amazon and noticed some "CD debuts".  Looks like something worth getting for sure!
Which brings me to a quick story: I had gotten some CD's in the mail over the last two days and announced it on Facebook.  I did so just because I felt like it, and because music is always a great conversation starter.  So, someone I went to high school with asked me, "Ed, you still buy CD's?" followed by an "LOL".  Now, granted, he could have been busting my chops - and I mentioned as such to him - but I told him that my collection wouldn't be nearly as impressive as it is if it weren't for the CD format.  I then gave him some examples of what's in our collection, i.e. the complete Chess recordings of Chuck Berry, the complete Sun singles boxes, not to mention the prewar blues CD's that are available in abundance thanks to Document Records overseas (it is my goal to buy the entire Document catalog).
Then I saw 'The Complete Pop Instrumental Hits Of The Sixties, Vol. 1" collection.  CD's are still in demand and new titles are being released constantly, despite the fact that many people download - something I've done but don't make a habit out of.
Anyway, just had those things on my mind so I thought I'd drop you a line.
Ed
It's an INCREDIBLE collection and well worth collecting the entire series.  (I can't wait!!!)  I, too, prefer buying CD's rather than downloading (but they're getting tougher and tougher to come by.)  Thank goodness for online services like Amazon.com and catalog houses like Collectors' Choice!  
By the way, someone asked earlier about the licensing for all these classic instrumental tracks.  FH Reader Randy Price (who put these compilations together ... and his also the pop music genius behind "The Super Charts" that we talk about from time to time) told me:
Let me tell you a little bit about the new CD set Complete Pop Instrumental Hits of the 60s, Vol. 1: 1960. This set, with which I was proud to be involved as a compiler and co-producer, contains all 71 instrumental tracks that peaked on the Hot 100 during 1960 (plus 10 bonus tracks). It's the first in a planned series that will eventually feature the release of every instrumental that made the Hot 100 during the '60s (all in top-notch sound quality, and many in stereo for the first time in their single versions). Complete details are available at the Eric Records website: ericrecords.com.
The set does include literally every instrumental to appear on the Hot 100 during 1960. The label releasing this set is a newly-created one based in England, so all the tracks are in the public domain there (therefore, do not need to be licensed); only the publishing fees have to be paid for each track (so the songwriters get their royalties).
–- Randy Price
 
 
re:  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE KIDS TODAY?!?!?:
I know, I know ... spoken like a real old fart ... but seriously ... have they no taste?  No culture?  
Check out this link that Ron Smith just sent me!  (kk)
The Onion reports that Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream" is considered "the funniest thing you've ever seen" by teenagers.
-- Ron Smith
HERNDON, VA–The record collection of area parents Donald and Peggy Schnell is "totally hilarious," son Andrew Schnell, 16, reported Monday.  "Dude, check this one out," Andrew told friend Ben Witt, holding a copy of the Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass LP Whipped Cream & Other Delights. "Is that the funniest thing you've ever seen, or what?" 
The teens accidentally stumbled across the record collection while searching for a long-rumored bottle of brandy in the Schnell family den. The collection proved a treasure trove of comic fodder, featuring such artists as The New Christy Minstrels, The Fifth Dimension, Helen Reddy, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Jo Ann Castle, The Carpenters, Glen Campbell, Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops, John Denver, Boots Randolph, and Ferrante & Teicher.  Music and pop-culture experts agree that the Schnell record collection is one of the most hilarious in the country today.
You can read the whole thing here:
I'm sorry, but if THIS ain't art, then what is?!?!  Heck, we've even been known to post this cover a time or two here in Forgotten Hits!!!  (kk)