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5 things : Part 2
Nov. 1st, 2014 10:14 am3. This summer, PBS ran a special on the Dave Clark 5. The documentary was out to state that it used to not be "The Beatles or the Stones" but "the Beatles or the Dave Clark 5". Sure enough, that is what people who were actually there will tell you- whether it's my mom, or the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks, Stevie Wonder, etc (who appeared in the show).
There are two sides of the story, of course, and so you can't blame the need for some re-examining. The DC5 don't fare well in modern re-telling as compared to the Stones, Kinks, or even the Animals. Their run on the charts is pretty amazing and those early singles still stand up.
That said, even though the proposition that DC5 should be considered more important, is hard to arrive to when it seems like the only song they play over and over again is "Glad All Over". "Glad All Over" is fantastic, but from there, it's a bit downhill.
The highpoints are all covered- the influence on Springsteen, 100 million records sold, 15 consecutive Top 20 singles, 18 Ed Sullivan appearances, and first of the British invasion to tour America.
Oddly, the main keypoint about Dave Clark seems to be that he was a smart businessman. He owned the rights to the music, so was able to limit releases of the material, which happened to coincide with a great demand and the rise of compact discs. Similarly, he bought the rights to 60s British shows like Ready Steady Go that no one was interested in, and was able to sell high in the VHS age when people wanted the material in the 80s and 90s.
It's a bit of a strecth to make the Clark the genius he wants this show to make him material. His output after 1970 is certainly not on par with that of solo and band careers of the likes of the Who, Stones, or Kinks.
A big focus was put on his space rock opera Time. In some ways,
time has helped "Time".
It seems incredibly dated and campy (sorry, Dave) though wholly appropriate to the 80s. No more insane than "Kilroy was here" or "Superman III".
Per wiki, it's the story of a musician and his band who have been transported from a concert to the Hight Court of the Universe in the Andromeda Galaxy. The Time Lord Melchisedic calls on the band to defend their role in the universe and save Earth. So there's that.
You know, I get we want to think of Clark as a lost genius, but maybe if this is a masterpiece, then maybe "Dirty Work", "UK Jive" and "Psychoderelict" are too. Time has helped "Time", in that did feature Lawrence Olivier, Burt Bacharach, and Freddie Mercury, and in a post-Freddie world, it's difficult to say anything he touched wasn't Gold. Since it was 1986, you also have Leo Sayer, Julian Lennon, Dionne Warwick, and Cliff Richard.
I appreciated the focus on Clark and he deserves his due, but also thought things were a bit overdone.
4. While I claim I don't watch a lot of serious television (because of time), it does lead to watch a lot of throwaway tv. Penn and Teller's "Fool Us" is certainly that.
Based on the British show of the same name, CW debuted this show which does to magic what "The Voice" and "American Idol" did for music and what "America's got Talent" has done for all sorts of crap.
Magicians come on and try to 'fool' Penn and Teller. It comes across as the kind of show that no one will get passionate about, but a group of people might agree to watch.
Since it's Penn and Teller, it is entertaining; and since if you just heard this show's plot described to you, you would never think of tuning in, P&T of course bring it to life. I can't imagine even the most diehard fans DVRing this, but if you are a fan of the duo, you do need to check out a show or two (Note: This show debuted this summer, as far as I am aware it is still going)
5. I mentioned it here before, but the new season of H2's "10 things you don't know about" is in full swing. H2 is probably best known as History channel's little brother that spends too much time on shows like 'Ancient Aliens".
"10 things" has been on for a few years now, but last year, brought Henry Rollins in as a host. The nature of the show is that it probably isn't more interesting with Rollins as host. It's all about unknown facts. However, Rollins does have a charisma which does contribute to the show.
Though Rollins's reputation did take a hit this summer with his comments about Robin Williams, I do think suicide is one of those things that affect people in different ways, and think Rollins was just moved in a different way than others would.
Maybe this next generation will think of Rollins more in terms of Dorris Kearns Goodwin and less in terms of Greg Ginn. Okay, probably not, but it's great 'throwaway' viewing, and it does generally hit on history you don't run across (which is probably more history than you would get on the channel's other shows).
There are two sides of the story, of course, and so you can't blame the need for some re-examining. The DC5 don't fare well in modern re-telling as compared to the Stones, Kinks, or even the Animals. Their run on the charts is pretty amazing and those early singles still stand up.
That said, even though the proposition that DC5 should be considered more important, is hard to arrive to when it seems like the only song they play over and over again is "Glad All Over". "Glad All Over" is fantastic, but from there, it's a bit downhill.
The highpoints are all covered- the influence on Springsteen, 100 million records sold, 15 consecutive Top 20 singles, 18 Ed Sullivan appearances, and first of the British invasion to tour America.
Oddly, the main keypoint about Dave Clark seems to be that he was a smart businessman. He owned the rights to the music, so was able to limit releases of the material, which happened to coincide with a great demand and the rise of compact discs. Similarly, he bought the rights to 60s British shows like Ready Steady Go that no one was interested in, and was able to sell high in the VHS age when people wanted the material in the 80s and 90s.
It's a bit of a strecth to make the Clark the genius he wants this show to make him material. His output after 1970 is certainly not on par with that of solo and band careers of the likes of the Who, Stones, or Kinks.
A big focus was put on his space rock opera Time. In some ways,
time has helped "Time".
It seems incredibly dated and campy (sorry, Dave) though wholly appropriate to the 80s. No more insane than "Kilroy was here" or "Superman III".
Per wiki, it's the story of a musician and his band who have been transported from a concert to the Hight Court of the Universe in the Andromeda Galaxy. The Time Lord Melchisedic calls on the band to defend their role in the universe and save Earth. So there's that.
You know, I get we want to think of Clark as a lost genius, but maybe if this is a masterpiece, then maybe "Dirty Work", "UK Jive" and "Psychoderelict" are too. Time has helped "Time", in that did feature Lawrence Olivier, Burt Bacharach, and Freddie Mercury, and in a post-Freddie world, it's difficult to say anything he touched wasn't Gold. Since it was 1986, you also have Leo Sayer, Julian Lennon, Dionne Warwick, and Cliff Richard.
I appreciated the focus on Clark and he deserves his due, but also thought things were a bit overdone.
4. While I claim I don't watch a lot of serious television (because of time), it does lead to watch a lot of throwaway tv. Penn and Teller's "Fool Us" is certainly that.
Based on the British show of the same name, CW debuted this show which does to magic what "The Voice" and "American Idol" did for music and what "America's got Talent" has done for all sorts of crap.
Magicians come on and try to 'fool' Penn and Teller. It comes across as the kind of show that no one will get passionate about, but a group of people might agree to watch.
Since it's Penn and Teller, it is entertaining; and since if you just heard this show's plot described to you, you would never think of tuning in, P&T of course bring it to life. I can't imagine even the most diehard fans DVRing this, but if you are a fan of the duo, you do need to check out a show or two (Note: This show debuted this summer, as far as I am aware it is still going)
5. I mentioned it here before, but the new season of H2's "10 things you don't know about" is in full swing. H2 is probably best known as History channel's little brother that spends too much time on shows like 'Ancient Aliens".
"10 things" has been on for a few years now, but last year, brought Henry Rollins in as a host. The nature of the show is that it probably isn't more interesting with Rollins as host. It's all about unknown facts. However, Rollins does have a charisma which does contribute to the show.
Though Rollins's reputation did take a hit this summer with his comments about Robin Williams, I do think suicide is one of those things that affect people in different ways, and think Rollins was just moved in a different way than others would.
Maybe this next generation will think of Rollins more in terms of Dorris Kearns Goodwin and less in terms of Greg Ginn. Okay, probably not, but it's great 'throwaway' viewing, and it does generally hit on history you don't run across (which is probably more history than you would get on the channel's other shows).
