DALLAS COWBOYS VS. BUFFALO BILLS [CBS]

The 10-3 Dallas Cowboys take on the 7-6 Buffalo Bills in the rain today. The Bills are inexplicably 2 1/2 point favorites. The Cowboys have put up a lot of points in the past few games so the Bills will have to play their “A” game if they hope to win. How will your favorite NFL perform today?

HANNAH WADDINGTON: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS [Apple TV+]

Shot in the Summer of 2023, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas is reminiscent of the traditional Christmas Specials of the 1960s and 1970s: singing, dancing, special guests, comedy, and–of course–beautiful clothes!

Most American audiences will recognize Hannah Waddingham from her role as  Rebecca Welton–the owner of a soccer team–in the comedy series Ted Lasso (2020–2023),  But Waddingham is much more than a talented actress. In Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas she proves she’s a talented singer, too. Waddingham talks about going to the London Colosseum–the site of this extravaganza–as a little girl to listen to her mother, an opera singer, perform on its stage. Those experiences sent Hannah Waddingham into a career of acting and singing.

Because Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas was filmed live, it has the feel of a musical. Waddingham has duets with Leslie Odom Jr. (of Hamilton fame) and her friend, Luke Evans. Waddingham also has not just one, but TWO choirs–the English National Opera and the London Gay Men’s Choir–to amp up the Christmas carols. All in all, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas put me in the mood for the Holidays! GRADE: A

MUSICAL NUMBERS:

FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #772: THE SPACE MERCHANTS By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth

COVER ARTWORK BY RICHARD M. POWERS

I first read The Space Merchants as a serial in Galaxy around 1961. The Space Merchants is a 1952 science fiction novel by American Science Fiction writers Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine as a serial entitled Gavy Planet, the novel was first published as a single volume in 1953, and has sold heavily ever since.

The Space Merchants was the first Science Fiction novel I had ever read that mixed business and sociological elements into a plot about the Future. I was astounded by the world C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl created where marketing ruled (even more than today!).

The Space Merchants deals satirically with a hyper-developed consumerism, seen through the eyes of an advertising executive. In 1984, Frederik Pohl published a sequel, The Merchants’ War. In 2012, The Space Merchants was included in the Library of America omnibus American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1953–1956 (you can read my review here). Pohl revised the original novel in 2011 with added material and more contemporary references.

In 1955, Kornbluth and Pohl published another SF sociological novel, Gladiator-At-Law, that gave new meaning to “court battle.” I plan on rereading Gladiator-At-Law for a FFB in 2024. Sadly, the early death of Kornbluth brought an end to this fabulous SF team that produced so many great short stories and ground-breaking SF novels. If you haven’t read this SF classic, ask Santa to bring you a copy! GRADE: A

FOR CHRISTMAS By Amanda Shires and A CHRISTMAS ALBUM By James Taylor

Although Diane owns over 100 Christmas CDs, somehow we add a couple more each Holiday Season. Amanda Shires For Christmas was recorded during a four-day heatwave in July 2021. According to Shires, the Nashville studio was decorated with sparkly decorations and the musicians wore Christmas hats to celebrate the spirit of a season.

I love Amanda Shires’ opening ballad ‘Magic Oooooooh’, where Shires trills: “It’s Christmas time in June”. This CD includes mostly original compositions (there are two covers, one with new lyrics). Some people say that Amanda Shires sounds a bit like Dolly Parton. Check out the video below and make your own judgement.

While Amanda Shires takes some risks with her Christmas songs, James Taylor plays it safe with A Christmas Album. Most of the songs are familiar favorites. Diane finds James Taylor’s voice soothing and pleasant, especially while we were decorating our Christmas Tree. If you’re looking for some agreeable Christmas music, here it is. What Christmas music are you listening to? GRADE: B (for both)

TRACK LIST:

A1Amanda Shires , Featuring The McCrary SistersMagic Ooooooh4:13
A2Amanda ShiresA Real Tree This Year3:15
A3Amanda Shires , Featuring The McCrary SistersLet’s Get Away3:21
A4Amanda ShiresHome To Me3:39
A5Amanda Shires , Featuring The McCrary SistersBlame It On The Mistletoe3:18
B6Amanda ShiresSlow Falling Snow3:39
B7Amanda ShiresWhat Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?2:28
B8Amanda ShiresSilent Night4:13
B9Amanda Shires , Featuring The McCrary SistersGone For Christmas3:52
B10Amanda ShiresWish For You3:28
B11Amanda Shires , Featuring Lawrence RothmanAlways Christmas Around Here3:12

AA

TRACK LIST:

Winter Wonderland3:36
Go Tell It On The Mountain3:48
In The Bleak Midwinter4:18
Baby, It’s Cold Outside4:19
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town2:58
Jingle Bells3:55
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On The Open Fire)3:54
Deck The Halls2:51
Some Children See Him4:41
Who Comes This Night4:17
Auld Lang Syne3:41

WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #154: A LITTLE INTELLIGENCE By Robert Randall (aka, Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett)

In his informative Introduction, Robert Silverberg tells how he and Randall Garrett became writing partners. “We worked and reworked each other’s manuscripts until they blended invisibly into a single style. Randall and I were, I suppose, science fiction’s odd couple, but we did get the work done, plenty of it, and I remain forever grateful to him for the way he accelerated my incipient carer. When we set up shop toghteter in the summer of 1955, I was a college student who had sold four or five stories and was struggling to get a start as a science-fiction writer. Thrieetn months later, thanks to his tutelage, I had dozens and dozens of stories in print and was voted the 1956 Hugo award as that year’s most promising new author.” (p. 13)

My favorite story in this Crippen and Landru collection from 2008 is the title story, “A Little Intelligence.” In the future, humans and an alien species are at war. A negotiation session is arranged to help stop the war. A group of aliens come to a religious site when Sister Mary Magdalene gets involved in the investigation when one of the aliens is murdered. Did a human commit the crime…or one of the other aliens. I enjoyed the mix of science fiction and crime detection.

Three of the stories in A Little Intelligence are pure detective stories taking place in the future and/or on other planets: “Deadly Decoy,” “The Slow and the Dead” and “A Little Intelligence.” The other stories mix SF elements with occasional crime elements. I wish Silverberg and Garrett had written more stories like these. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION by Robert Silverberg –7

Catch a thief — 15

Deadly decoy — 31

The slow and the dead — 47

The mummy takes a wife — 75

No future in this — 105

Deus ex machina — 127

A little intelligence — 151

Sources — 175

HERE LIES LOVE: THE MUSICAL

Diane, my niece Elise, and I sat in the balcony while Patrick, Katie, and their friend Josephine danced on the floor of this interactive musical. Platforms moved the people on the floor around throughout the show. Other platforms carried the actors across the venue during the performance.

Here Lies Love is a musical with music by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) and Fatboy Slim, and lyrics by Byrne. This biographical musical is based on Byrne’s and Slim’s concept music album based on Byrne’s research on the life of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos. The musical’s score is described as “disco pop.”

The sold-out performance, full of flashing lights, archived photos and videos from the 1960s to the 1980s show the tragic story of the Philippine Government drifting into an autocratic regime ruled by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Imelda grew up in poverty but found her way into the wealthy ruling class of the Philippines–she had a 1000 pairs of shoes!–and purged her poverty-stricken past.

Dancing, singing, impassioned speeches (quoted from the originals) prove to be a heady mix of music and corrupt politics. Many people around us cried as the tragedy unfolded. Here Lies Love crackles with energy and unique staging while telling a heart-breaking story. GRADE: C+

MUSICAL NUMBERS:

Musical numbers

“American Troglodyte”
“Here Lies Love”
“Child of the Philippines”
“Opposite Attraction”
“The Rose of Tacloban”
“A Perfect Hand”
“Eleven Days”
“When She Passed By”
“Sugartime Baby”
“Walk Like a Woman”
“Don’t You Agree? / Pretty Face”
“Dancing Together”
“The Fabulous One”
“Men Will Do Anything”
“Star and Slave”
“Poor Me”
“Please Don’t”
“Solano Avenue”
“Riots and Bombs”
“Order 1081”
“Seven Years”
“Gate 37”
“Just Ask the Flowers”
“Why Don’t You Love Me?”
“God Draws Straight”

60 SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THE ’90s BY Rob Harvilla

I confess: I only recognize about 30% of the songs Bob Havilla analyzes in 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s. But after reading Havilla’s book, I’m going to listen many of the songs he recommends.

60 Songs That Explain the ’90s is a companion to the #1 music podcast on Spotify. This book takes readers through the greatest hits that define a weirdly undefinable decade and explores that decade’s nooks and crannies.

The 1990s were a chaotic and gritty and utterly magical time for musi. Havilla gives readers a guided tour of the confounding mix of genres and lifestyles and superstars: from grunge to hip-hop, from sumptuous R&B to rambunctious ska-punk, from Axl to Kurt to Missy to Santana to Tupac to Britney.

Since I just saw a Max Martin musical, & Juliet (you can read my review here), I thought I’d see what Bob Havilla had to say about Martin and his songs: “A Max Martin joint is never a Max Martin solo joint–often there’s a half-dozen other writers and producers in the mix, and the sheer number of people involved gives you some idea of how difficult it is to generate such simple pleasures. The resulting block-buster songs are less songs than equations, albeit luxurious equations that entail one pop star or another purring sexy-adjacent nonsense direct into your ears.” (p. 13-14)

In 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s you’ll find familiar songs and songs you never heard of (but should have according to Havilla). How many of these songs do you recognize? See any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — ix

Chaos agents — 1

  • Celine Dion, “My Heart Will Go On”
  • Hole, “Doll Parts”
  • Madonna, “Vogue
  • Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
  • Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way”
  • Eminem, “My Name Is”
  • Beck, “Loser”
  • Master P. “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!”
  • Prodigy, “Firestarter”
  • The Chicks, “Goodbye Earl”
  • Erykah Badu, “Tyrone”

Sellouts (or not) (or maybe) — 29

  • Metallica, “Enter Sandman”
  • Pantera, “Walk”
  • Temple of the Dog, “Hunger Strike”
  • Coolio, “Gangsta’s Paradise”
  • Ice Cube, “It Was a Good Day”
  • Reel Big Fish, “Sell Out”
  • The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “The Impression That I Get”
  • No Doubt, “Just a Girl”
  • Fugazi, “Merchandise”
  • Green Day, “Longview”

Women vs. “women in rock” — 53

  • The Sundays, “I Kicked a Boy”
  • The Cranberries, “Zombie”
  • Garbage, “Only Happy When It Rains”
  • PJ Harvey, “Man-Size”
  • Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
  • Tori Amos, “Cornflakes Girl”
  • The Breeders, “Cannonball”
  • TLC, “No Scrubs”
  • Sinead O’Conner, Nothing Compares 2 U”
  • Fiona Apple, “Criminal”
  • Sheryl Crow, “If It Makes You Happy”

Vivid geography, or, everybody hates a tourist — 79

  • Wu-Tang Clan, “C.R.E.A.M.”
  • Mobb Deep, “Shook Ones, Pt. II”
  • Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind”
  • Pulp, “Common People”
  • Bjork, “Hyperballad”
  • Missy Elliott, “The Rain (Spa Dupa Fly)”
  • Outkast, “Elevators (Me & You)”
  • Juvenile, “Back That Azz Up”
  • Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”
  • Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun”
  • Luniz, “I Got 5 on It”

Villains + adversaries — 103

  • Third Eye Blind, “Semi-Charmed Life”
  • Oasis, “Wonderwall”
  • Blur, “Song 2”
  • A Tribe Called Quest, “Check the Rhine”
  • Pavement, “Range Life”
  • Smashing Pumpkins, “Cherub Rock”
  • Limp Bizkit, “Nookie”
  • Offspring, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”
  • DMX, “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem”
  • Brandy + Monica, “The Boy is Mine”

Flukes + comebacks + spectacular weirdos — 131

  • Los Del Rio, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)”
  • Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky Heart”
  • The New Radicals, “You Get What you Give”
  • The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, “Soot Suit Riot”
  • Cher, “Believe”
  • Chumbawanba, “Tubthumping”
  • Tag Team, “Whoomp! (There It Is)”
  • Mark Morrison, “Return of the Mack”
  • Santana + Rob Thomas, “Smooth”
  • Vanilla Ice, “Ice Ice Baby”
  • Natalie Imbruglia, “Torn”

Teenage hijinx — 153

  • Rage Against the Machine, “Killing in the Name”
  • Body Count, “Cop Killer”
  • Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain”
  • Red Hot Chili, Peppers, “Under the Bridge”
  • Alice In Chains, “Would?”
  • They Might Be Giants, “Particle Man”
  • Cake, “The Distance”
  • Weezer, “Undone (The Sweater Song)”
  • Beastie Boys, “Sabotage”
  • Radiohead, “Creep”
  • Pearl Jam, “Yellow Ledbetter”

Sex + romance + immaturity — 179

  • Salt-N-Pepa, “Shoop”
  • Nine Inch Nails, “Closer”
  • Tool, “Stinkfist”
  • Prince, “Gett Off”
  • Boyz II Men, “End of the Road”
  • Liz Phair, “Fuck and Run”
  • Sunny Day Real Estate, “In Circles”
  • Bonnie Rait, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”
  • Dave Matthews Band, “Crash Into Me”
  • Blink-182, “What’s My Age Again?”

Myths vs. mortals — 207

  • Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
  • The Notorious B.I.G., “Juicy”
  • Selena, “Que Creias?”
  • Dr. Dre, “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thing”
  • Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
  • Britney Spears, “…Baby One More Time”
  • Aaliyah, “One in a Million”
  • Get Boys, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
  • Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor”
  • Shania Twain, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”

Big feelings. — 237

  • Tom Petty, “It’s Good to Be King”
  • Janet Jackson, “Together Again”
  • Black Box, “Everybody Everybody”
  • Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas is You”
  • The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
  • Gin Blossoms, “Hey Jealousy”
  • Counting Crows, “A Long December”
  • Mary J. Blige, “Real Love”
  • Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, “The Crossroads”
  • Lisa Loeb, “Stay (I Missed You)”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 265

BUFFALO BILLS VS. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS [CBS]

The 6-6 Buffalo Bills, coming off their BYE Week, find their Playoff prospects fading with only five more games left on the schedule. Today’s opponent, 8-4 Kansas City Chiefs, could dash the Bills’ Playoff dreams with a win. It’s Crunch Time for the Bills in KC. The Chiefs are favored by 3 points.

How will your favorite NFL perform today?

Merrily We Roll Along (musical)

Merrily We Roll Along is a 1981 American musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The 1981 musical flopped, but this new incarnation of the play appeals to audiences and critics.

The show tells the story of how three friends’ lives and friendship change over the course of 20 years. The plot focuses on Franklin Shepard, a talented composer of musicals who, over those 20 years, abandons his friends–Charlie Kringas, Shepard’s lyricist, and novelist Mary Flynn–and songwriting career to become a producer of Hollywood movies. Like the play on which it is based, the show’s story moves in reverse chronology, beginning in 1976 at the friends’ lowest moment and ending in 1957, at their youthful best.

Part of the success of this latest version of Merrily We Roll Along may be due to the cast. Franklin Shepard is played by Jonathan Groff (aka, King George in Hamilton), Charlie Kringes is played by Daniel Radcliffe (aka, Harry Potter), and Mary Flynn is played by Lindsay Mendez (she won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in a Broadway revival of Carousel).

I enjoyed Merrily We Roll Along but when I left the theater, I wasn’t humming any of the songs. GRADE: B

MUSICAL NUMBERS:

Act I
Overture – Orchestra “Merrily We Roll Along” – Company
“That Frank” – Franklin Shepard, Mary Flynn and Guests
“First Transition” – Company
“Old Friends” (Part I) – Mary and Charley Kringas
“Like It Was” – Mary
“Franklin Shepard, Inc.
” – Charley
“Second Transition” – Company
“Old Friends” (Part II) – Mary, Franklin and Charley
“Growing Up” – Franklin and Gussie
“Third Transition” – Company
“Not a Day Goes By” – Beth
“Now You Know” – Mary and Company
Act II
Entr’acte – Orchestra
“Act Two Opening” – Gussie
“It’s a Hit” – Franklin, Charley, Mary, Joe and Beth
“Fourth Transition” – Company
“The Blob” – Gussie and Company
“Growing Up” (Part II) – Gussie
“Good Thing Going” – Charley
“The Blob” (Part II) – Company
“Fifth Transition” – Company
“Bobby and Jackie and Jack
” – Charley, Beth, Franklin and Pianist
“Not a Day Goes By” (Reprise) – Beth, Franklin and Mary
“Sixth Transition” – Company
“Opening Doors” – Franklin, Charley, Mary, Joe and Beth
“Seventh Transition” – Franklin Shepard Jr., Beth and Mrs. Spencer
“Our Time” – Franklin, Charley, Mary and CompanyExit Music – Orchestra

FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #771: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS By Hunter S. Thompson

When I first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, a drug-fueled odyssey, it blew my mind! I hadn’t read anything like it!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Doctor Gonzo, as they arrive in Las Vegas to chase the illusive American Dream through a drug-induced haze.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is Hunter S. Thompson’s most famous book and is noted for its lurid descriptions of illicit drug use. Hallucinations are everywhere! In addition to the warped Reality in this book, Thompson delivers a plenty of comedy.

Illustrated by Ralph Steadman, the novel first appeared as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971 before being published in book form in 1972. It was later adapted into a film of the same title in 1998 by director Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, who portrayed Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, respectively.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas hit me like a bolt of lightning back in 1971. I was familiar with Hunter S. Thompson’s writings in Rolling Stone, but nothing prepared me for the drug carnage in the pages of this novel. While high on almost every page of this book, Raoul Duke and Doctor Gonzo explore the state of America in the early Seventies and analyze the political and social actions of the 1960s. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas can be read for the comic situations, but there’s a serious side to this book, too. This is an American literary classic! Have you read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? GRADE: A