Fall has finally fallen, fuck yeah. The AC is switched off since it has been in the low to mid 70’s all week. Autumn is a short season in New Orleans so we have to enjoy it while it lasts. I even wore a sweatshirt the other day. Not a big deal where many of you live but after the hottest September on record, I am giddy
In honor of the season, I’m growing a beard for the first time in several years. But if it gets too itchy, I’ll shave it off. Perhaps I should try some hipster beard oil or some such shit. I draw the line at a man bun; not that I have enough hair to have one but if I did, I wouldn’t.
The big local story continues to be the Hard Rock Hotel collapse. They imploded the cranes last Sunday, which made things less bad. We’ll take less bad, y’all. I’m hoping that City Hall will learn a lesson from this mess and stop letting developers run over them in the future. Real estate developers are the worst.
This week’s theme song is credited to Lennon & McCartney but it’s more Macca than John. It’s one of my favorite early Beatles songs, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or as Paul would say, WOOOOO.
We have three versions of Things We Said Today for your listening pleasure: the Beatles original, Dwight Yoakam’s 1997 cover, and a more recent version by New Orleans singer, Debbie Davis.
It’s time to stop talking and jump to the break.
If you thought we were finished with our theme song, you have another thing coming. Here’s Paul McCartney live with a medley of Things We Said Today and Eleanor Rigby.
Now that we’ve looked at all the lonely people, it’s time to dive into our second act.
Impeachment Mania: Harvard history prof and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore takes a deep dive into the history of impeachment going back to 14th Century England.
I particularly enjoyed the bit about legendary lawyer Luther Martin who defended Justice Samuel Chase in the first impeachment trial:
…at another blue table sat Chase and his lawyers, led by the red-faced Maryland attorney general, Luther Martin, a man so steady of heart and clear of mind that in 1787 he’d walked out of the Constitutional Convention, and refused to sign the Constitution, after objecting that its countenancing of slavery was “inconsistent with the principles of the Revolution and dishonorable to the American character.” Luther (Brandybottle) Martin had a weakness for liquor. This did not impair him. As a wise historian once remarked, Martin “knew more law drunk than the managers did sober.”
He did indeed. He later successfully defended Aaron Burr at his trumped up treason trial. I call it that because, along with Gore Vidal and John Marshall, I believe it was a political trial to punish Burr for his opposition to Thomas Jefferson. It was as trumped up as the trials in the Insult Comedian’s fantasies.
In the early days of impeachment, the targets were the King’s henchmen. Lepore’s piece makes me wanna impeach Pompeo and Barr for starters. They have it coming, y’all.
The Luther Martin spiel gave me an earworm:
Thanks, George. I considered making possum jokes since that was George Jones’ nickname but I don’t feel like playing possum. I should probably hide after that sentence.
Listomania: We begin the segment with a seasonal list at Vulture: 30 Great Black-and-White Horror Movies Worth Revisiting. It’s an excellent list despite clumping the Universal horror flicks together instead of highlighting the best of the bunch.
Notice that I had a cavil about the list. It happens every time. Since I compiled Louisiana oriented movie and music lists for the Bayou Brief, I have sympathy for all the list makers out there. Someone’s gonna be unhappy with your choices. I regard such lists as fodder for discussion. The devil is always in the details, just ask Chris Isaak:
A weird online list discussion took place recently on the Tweeter Tube. It was over a Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time. There was a screen shot floating around so most of the commentariat did not bother to read the list and note the date, 2008. Some of the complaints involved artists unknown to the broader public 11 years ago. That’s one of my pet peeves, people who comment without reading a link. I take particular umbrage when it happens with one of my posts. Read them, then weep, y’all.
Let’s circle back to the horror movie list and give Edgar Winter the last word of the segment. Can an instrumental have the last word? Discuss among yourselves.
Goliath: Dr. A and I just finished watching season 3 of Goliath. We watched it slowly (2 episodes at a time) because we enjoy spending time with the regular characters so much. Billy Bob Thornton and Nina Arianda not only rock, they rule.
Dennis Quaid plays charming and ruthless villain Wade Blackwell who’s an almond tycoon. His scenes with Billy Bob are a sight to behold.
This season combines neo-surrealism with a water-centric plot reminiscent of Chinatown. No spoilers from me. Suffice it to say that season 3 of Goliath lives up to its illustrious predecessors.
Here’s the trailer:
Goliath is streaming on Amazon Prime. I give it 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+ If you haven’t seen the first two seasons, make it so.
The last word of our second act goes to Hot Tuna:
Now that we’ve watered the lawn, let’s begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.
Separated At Birth: It’s World Series time. It’s kinda fun that the Washington Nationals finally made the big dance the year after losing their franchise player Bryce Harper.
This week’s pairing is former Devil Rays and Cubs manager Joe Maddon with master thespian Spencer Tracy.
Maddon is returning to the American League to manage the Angels. It’s unclear if he’s hiring Spencer Tracy as a coach…
The last word of the segment goes to Terry Cashman:
The Movie List: Bette Davis had a long and illustrious career but its impact was lessened by her preference for working with leading men such as George Brent and Herbert Marshall instead of stars of equal stature. She did not like surrendering top billing so she rarely worked with the top male stars of the day. That’s one reason why she appeared in fewer great films than contemporaries such as Hepburn and Stanwyck.
My Top Ten Favorite Bette Davis Movies:
- All About Eve
- The Little Foxes
- The Letter
- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
- Deception
- Now, Voyager
- The Man Who Came To Dinner
- The Petrified Forest
- Jezebel
- The Star
I try not to repeat myself. I posted Bette Davis Eyes in this space a while back, so I’ll skip it. That’s my version of self-restraint. Impressed? I’m not.
Saturday GIF Horse: Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve vatch the Founding Fathers dance:
That is, of course, a clip from 1776, not Saturday Night Live but if you want to see Dieter dance, here he is:
For some reason Dieter asked his guests to touch his monkey. I always found it as creepy as Austin Powers’ teeth. In honor of Dieter and his monkey, here’s the German version of Peter Gabriel’s Shock The Monkey:
Speaking of German language versions of famous rock songs:
No more Teutonic tunes. I promise.
Weekly Vintage Video: This week’s video is a seasonal favorite. Whoever posted it forgot part of the title, Bloodletting (The Vampire Song):
Let’s close things out with some live music.
Saturday Classic: Too much focus has been placed on Badfinger’s tragic story. They were a helluva band. This 1974 bootleg proves my point:
That’s it for this week. The last word goes to Goliath’s dynamic duo, Nina Arianda and Billy Bob Thornton.
