Redartz: Hi gang! Today, here in the US, there's something going on that will occupy most folks' attention. Can't quite recall it but I'm sure it'll come to me. Anyway, it seems appropriate to keep things quick and light here this go-round. Therefore, it's just a single question, one whose answers may be helpful to us all from time to time.
When you are looking for a brief diversion, mood improvement, or just something to make you smile, what comic title / music/ anything do you turn to?
My remedy for a pick-me-up is an issue of DC's Sheldon Mayer classic, "Sugar and Spike". Those two torrid tots never fail to evoke a smile and a chuckle. Just wonderful light-hearted, charming fun. If no comics are within reach, I'll fire up the tablet and play anything by the B-52's. There's simply no way you can hear that group and not perk up noticeably. Perk up, and probably break out in embarrasing Dad Dancing movements...
Ok, like I said, quick and light. So what lifts your spirits in a pinch?
22 comments:
For comics, I'm kind of with you in that I'd pick any well-crafted 'kids' or YA comics: so Archie will do the trick, or if you want better storytelling, there's the Disney ducks by Barks or Rosa, or some of the YA comics I mentioned in a recent post, like Zita the Spacegirl or Franklin Richards: Son of Genius.
Music: yeah, B-52s are good. I'd also recommend Chicago's greatest hits compilation, Chicago IX, which just packed with hard-driving, feel-good music that's not in the least sappy (and there's even a track entitled "Make Me Smile").
A more recent band that has tons of songs that put a big smile on your face - and make you feel like dancing - is Gogol Bordello. You kind poke around on YouTube to sample their material, it's all good.
I'd also add cartoons as good, quick pick-me-ups, anything from the classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, through old Saturday morning staples from DePatie-Freleng like the Pink Panther, Ant & the Aardvark or Misterjaw to the more recent Spongebob, Penguins of Madagascar or the wonderfully odd yet sublimely funny Grizzy and the Lemmings.
I'd say that for TV, it's probably Space: 1999 or Battlestar Galactica. There's nothing better to take your mind off a situation than by sharing the adventures of people who can't take their minds off their own, namely, being lost in space (another great title, by the way).
For music, I'll say it again, James Brown. Also, I've been getting into some old school Tito Puente. Yes, that's right Tito Puente. Shake that money maker! When no one's looking, anyway.
And seeing as how this is election day here in the U.S. and everyone -- regardless of political affiliation -- is kinda nervous and scared, I'm thinking it's appropriate to read some books today about that master of fear -- Sinestro! You can accuse and question his moral choices, but he's still the strongest and most terrifying Lantern there is. (IMHO)
Cheers!
Musically, I have specific SONGS that help bring my spirits back up to functional levels: The Themes (Marches) from both THE GREAT ESCAPE and 1941; the main theme from QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER; HIM OR ME(WHAT'S IT GONNA BE) by Paul Revere and the Raiders; The Nylons studio recording of KISS HIM GOODBYE; DaVinci's Notebook's (obscure) cover of STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU; MORE LIFE from the musical "NOW. HERE. THIS."; BOUNCING ROUND THE ROOM by Phish--- to name a few favorites, at least. This year on Spotify I've been going to their "This Is: THE MONKEES" playlist a heck of a lot.
Reading: Comic Strip collections have always been a go-to. I finally this year finished Fantagraphics' COMPLETE PEANUTS collection/series. . . 26 volumes! And my wife and I both LOVE "Sherman's Lagoon"-- man, we wish there was more of it!
For actual literature, though-- It's Terry Pratchett/Discworld-- head & shoulders above everything else. Agatha Christie mysteries are next, though, in a strong second place of their own.
For tv viewing, my wife & I first latched onto BIG DREAMS;SMALL SPACES on Netflix (til we ran out of episodes); then all of the available Netflix seasons/episodes of GRAND DESIGNS; and now we're immersed in THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF. On my own, I've gotten so out of sorts that I've begun watching GILLIGAN'S ISLAND from the beginning again-- and it has been a lifesaver, I kid you not. . .
Hey-- don't forget comfort foods in this discussion, eh? Ha-! If I am absolutely down at the heels, making a batch of homemade spaghetti & meatsauce (or meatballs) can restore my faith in an inherently benevolent universe. . .
HB
Mmmmm, spaghetti, with or without meatballs. I love spaghetti. Mmmmmm...
Can't believe I forgot to mention some of the more obvious things in my first comment. With reference to comics, there's what I'm reading right now: the original Wonder Woman stories by Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter, as collected in the Wonder Woman: The Golden Age tpbs (I have the first two). I'm about a third of the way through the first one, and I can say that they are very silly and fun.
Also, on the audio front: podcasts. Honestly, in the past few years I've been listening to them more than music. Sure, there are lots that deal with politics/current affairs/serious social problems, but there are many others that don't - and often help you take your mind off of your troubles, whatever they may be. I'd particularly recommend Radio vs. the Martians, which offers in-depth discussions of various aspects of pop culture, including comics, and any number of shows that can be found on the Fire & Water network (my personal favorites are TreasuryCast and DigestCast (covering, obviously, treasury comics and comics digests).
Hiya,
Well, lately I've been exploring the world of European Disney comics, which have quite their own attitude, if you catch my meaning. Italian artists and writers transformed Donald Duck into the Diabolical Paperinik, a cross between Raffles and Zorro. There aren't too many of these stories that have been translated into English, but it's interesting to see Donald get some of his own back, especially when it comes to Scrooge and Gladstone.
Today I've been listening to the Lucky Strike Programs Starring Jack Benny. Dear Lord, what a cast and the show itself doesn't suffer much from being dated or of it's time. Just listened to the last radio episode and I still feel good.
Seeya,
pfgavigan
PFG-- BIG concur on Classic Radio, and Jack Benny's program especially. Sirius/XM's Radio Classics is one of the few reasons I've hung onto the subscription for so long. And you're spot-on-- it's hard to nail down why, but that show STILL works 70 to 75 years down the road. It can have me roaring with laughter when I'm alone in the shop-- which probably has the neighboring units wondering what on earth I could be listening to. . .
Ohhhh that sweet-spot cast, yeah-- It really was an ensemble show, with a deceptively generous comedic tightwad/egomaniac-type as the central organizing figure, y'know?
Good call, this--
HB
When it comes to comics Jack Kirby DCs from the early 70s, Asterix the Gaul, and classic Dredds circa 1980 generally put me in a good mood.
As for music, Kraftwerk can be relied on to lift my spirits, and pretty much any of the Jamaican records that seemed to appear with astonishing regularity in the UK around the late 70s and early 80s - Augustus Pablo, Lee Perry etc - will put a spring in my step. On vinyl, with the bass turned up, obviously.
Enjoy your election my American friends. And good luck Kanye (;...
-sean
Hiya,
Hey HB, think you might find this link interesting.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Jack_Benny
I've read several different legal arguments regarding copyright, but rather think that a lot, in not all of this, is in the public domain.
I can't find evidence of registration. I think they might not have even entertained the possible of people listening to these shows some seventy five years after they played.
At any rate, anyone whose interested give a listen. Good stuff, Maynard.
pfg
A great mood lifter for me is music. For me any 1970s/80s classic rock bands like Chicago, Journey, REO Speedwagon (even the Bee Gees, who deserve more respect IMHO) will do the trick. Lately, I've been watching lots of AC/DC videos, and they just released a new album. I'm not usually a fan of the harder stuff but I see now why they have so many fans worldwide.
In terms of comicbooks, I've read Archie, Casper and all the others but somehow they were never my favourite, although I loved the Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was a kid. I preferred reading Bronze Age Marvel comics, with some DC titles thrown in for good measure.
In terms of TV, classic comedy shows like Sanford and Son always managed to get a chuckle from me, along with classic Scifi/adventure shows like Star Trek TOS, Six Million Dollar Man and Knight Rider.
- Mike 'this is the big one baby' from Trinidad & Tobago.
Music - 80s or Beatles Revolver.
Reading - Hmmm... Archie? or actually just a comic book vs. other literature.
There is no doubt Jack Benny rules the roost for old-time radio comedy. I'll always listen. And for you OTR radio fans WDCB does OTR from 13:00 - 17:00 every Saturday. 90.9 FM streaming also. It's our local college and the show has been going since 1970 I believe. (I did watch Jack on TV on the Decades Channel last Sunday. Too funny! TV or Radio he's a smash!
And let's not forget Jack had the greatest comedy line in all of radio:
Stick-up Criminal: "Your money or your life!!! Well, what's it gonna be!!!"
Jack, after a long pause, "I'm thinking about it!!!"
Great work, all! My spirits are rising already.
Glad several of you have mentioned cartoons, especially Warner Bros. output. Bugs and Daffy never fail to make any day better!
Aaaand, cool to see the love for Jack Benny. Classic comedy in black and white? Sign me up.
My “Instant Feelgood Playlist” is loaded with upbeat, sugary Pop:
George Harrison, “What Is Love”
The Nazz, “Open My Eyes”
The Knickerbockers, “Lies”
Petulia Clark, “Downtown”
The Monkees, “I’m A Believer” and “Listen To The Band”
The Grass Roots , “Temptation Eyes” and “Midnight Confession”
Shocking Blue, “Venus”
Tommy James and The Shandells, “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Spanky and Our Gang, “Lazy Day”
Classics IV, “Spooky” and “Stormy”
The Association, “Goodbye Columbus” and “Windy”
The Archies, “Sugar Sugar”
The Seekers, “Georgy Girl”
Los Bravos, “Bring A Little Lovin”
Tommy Roe, “Jam Up and Jelly Tight” and “Dizzy”
White Plains, “My Baby Loves Lovin”
Kiki Dee, “I Got the Music In Me”
ABBA, “S.O.S” and “Waterloo”
Gallery, “I Believe In Music”
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, “Don’t Pull Your Love”
Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fightin”
Raspberries, “Go All The Way”
Badfinger, “Just A Chance”
The Bangles, “Hazy Shade Of Winter”
Sniff N The Tears, “Driver’s Seat”
Rick Springfield, “Jesse’s Girl”
Tommy Tutone “Jenny (867-5309)”
Shoes, “Too Late”
Donnie Iris, “Ah Leah”
Cheap Trick, “Reach Out”
Focus, “Hocus Pocus”
Toto, “Girl Goodbye”
I’ll probably need to play it on a loop for the next few days...
b.t.
Golly b.t.-- sooooooo is this an actual Spotify playlist you've created? I would LOVE to sneak it into my own rotation--- ! ("Ah Leah"-- man, I haven't heard that delightful ear-worm in FOREVER!)
HB
Hiya,
Unfortunately for me, when I read "Ah Leah" and had to mentally process that without my morning coffee my brain somehow registered it as "Ah LIDO !!!"
And that song was an ear-worm that I spent years purging from my memory.
Thanks bunches.
pfg
Humanbelly:
Ha, sadly, no — i don’t have Spotify. It’s just a stack of CDs sitting in the passenger seat of my car.
b.t.
Red - I would like to amend whatever I said!
93.9 WLIT of Chicago has started playing Xmas tunes 24 x 7 until January as of today, Nov 6! You can live stream it on your phone/PC. I must say those tunes are a quick "make Charlie happy!" I just tuned in and they are playing "Rockin Around The Xmas Tree!"
What's cool is that they seem to be playing the lesser known versions.
You know what's funny... (funny strange not funny haha. Well, maybe funny haha too!) Play Ah Leah on the Youtube and read the remarks. I tell you every other one is some chick saying how she got named Leah because of that song!
I know that we always avoid politics on BiTBA but.....
GO JOE THE TRUMP SLAYER!!!
Charlie's mention of Christmas songs made me realise that it'll soon be time for me to head to YouTube to start listening to the festive tunes - I usually start around mid-November.
CJ - I might suggest if you want a "slice of american life" that listening to WLIT 93.9 FM Xmas stuff out of Chicago will give you that! (It might even be syndicated nation wide?)
A lady named Delilah runs a show for 4 hours daily (?) and she is famous for these tear-jerking phone calls that come in. "MY husband is in Afghanistan with the Army, our first child was born 4 months ago and he's never seen her, his base has been attached by the Taliban, but we have the Christmas faith he will come home to see his baby girl...etc.
OR, I just lost my job, covid, etc.
You know the stuff that makes one tear up.
Charlie-- I kid you not, my daughter and I have been HOLDING OFF on our own personal dives into Christmas Music because of the electoral pall we've been living under. But yes-- that is just about the biggest comfort-listen possible for me. I almost always play a couple of things before Halloween. . . and it turns out she does the same. (Red, you've probably heard this already---) BUT-- as of Wednesday we concluded that playing it one way or the other ("celebratory" or "in defiance"), so I had Dixieland Christmas playing in my pocket whilst I spent much of the day on the roof, putting up lights on the eaves. . . (Need to get the tough stuff up while the weather is good---).
Colin-- NO HARM OR FOUL WHATSOEVER, as far as I'm concerned. Been having some ugly exchanges with folks who have never strayed out of my home town in Michigan, tho. . . yikes!
And Charlie--- ohhhh that Delilah- I used to love her Christmas programming, but it really has laid 'WAY to heavily into the sappy/syrupy stuff, and it becomes like Hallmark Treacle after awhile. She's an extraordinary and unique woman,no question, but she wears me out. Also, I discovered last year that she broadcasts a lot of those shows from her back-catalog--- not new or current at all. . . Again, puttin' kind of a dent in the ol' sincerity. . .
HB (Santa's big, fat helper---)
HB -there is no denying that a synonym for Delilah might be "syrupy" lol. But, well, that is Xmas in many ways.
(I mean, watching a cartoon about a bald-headed child who struggles with the meaning of xmas and requires another kid, who still walks around with his blanket, to explain it is very emotionally "sweet" as well.)
But the thing I could never figure out is how she recorded all the calls in advance? Clearly they aren't live. But then when would she be doing them or perhaps the better question is how did she solicit them? Is there a 1-800 line open starting in October/November?
Charlie and HB- glad you are enjoying the Holiday Spirit musically! Afraid my preference is closer to Colin; I generally avoid Christmas tunes until Thanksgiving. Probably because I've mostly worked in retail, and many of those stores played holiday music for 2 months. And when you hear it cycled continuously for 8 solid hours, 5 days a week for 2 months, it gets a bit tiresome.
However, I'm going to have to give Delilah a listen...
I'm a little late to the party but here are my contributions.
When it comes to music, I agree with you, Red, about the B52's. The spirit of them just pulls you in. I also always get a lift from Suede's We Are the Pigs, which is odd, as it has to be one of the most Dystopian singles ever made but I always find its remorseless melodrama enervating.
Like Colin, the moment December hits, I'm always off to YouTube to start playing Christmas songs.
When it comes to TV, it has to be old episodes of Doctor Who.
Comics: the very early John Romita issues of Spider-Man.
And, when it comes to films, pretty much any old Hammer horror will do. Also, old Carry On movies which were, kind of, to British comedy what Hammer were to British horror.
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