Rank and File: My Favorite Year...

Redartz:  Greetings all! For this week's discussion; we're going to update / expand upon a post I did several years ago at Doug and Karen's fondly remembered Bronze Age Babies. That post was dedicated to choosing a favorite summer, and sharing the reasons why. Here's a link to that original post (with thanks again to Doug and Karen):  http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2016/06/open-forum-your-favorite-summer.html#links

As our title above indicates, today we are tweaking that subject to select a favorite year. The characteristics of your favorite year will, of course, be subjective; it's your year, you pick the reasons why. Maybe it was the comics, maybe the television, perhaps it was something more personal. Whatever your reasons, what year do you look back upon with the most warmth?

In that previous BAB post, I named 1975 as my favorite summer. For favorite year, I'm sliding back a year to 1974. My reasons: 

Primarily, that was the year I 'returned' to comics.  I say 'returned' because in one sense, I never left- but 1974 was when my junior high pal convinced me to pick up some Marvel (and later DC) books after several years of Archie and Charlton reading. And that reunion with comics lasted, in one form or another, to this very day. 

But 1974 has more to offer than just that personal milestone. Man, what a year to start reading:

 


Marvel brought out the Giant-Size books, and the Treasury Editions,DC had the 100 page giants.  Gerry Conway and Ross Andru had Spidey fighting Molten Man, Jackal and Mysterio. Thomas and Buckler had the Fantastic Four tackling Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, Frightful Four and the Silver Surfer. The Avengers were dealing with the Celestial Madonna and Kang (repeatedly). Steve Gerber and Mike Ploog were doing Man-Thing. There were Marvel Value Stamps (yes, I was one of those who clipped them out; mea culpa). Just so much comics fun; it was mind-shattering. 










Ah, but 1974 also knocked me out musically. That was also the year I started following pop music, specifically Casey Kasem and American Top 40; and learned there was something called a "Billboard Hot 100". Some of my all-time favorite singles emanated from that halcyon year. Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown". 

Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat". Wings' "Band on the Run". MFSB's "TSOP".

 Ray Steven's "The Streak". Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Carole King's "Jazzman". 

And that merely scratches the surface. Every week tuning in to AT40 was like magic that year.

So there it is, my testament to 1974. What year gets your vote?

Two Questions: Seasonal Songs and Tagalongs

Redartz:  Greetings, gang! Once again, we have a couple of things for  you to ponder over. Let's get right to them, shall we?

1. What songs bring to mind, for  you, a particular season? 

I was thinking about this recently, as Summer is rapidly nearing it's end here in the USA. There's a whole genre known as 'summer songs', and each year much debate can be found on chat sites debating which song will be the 'song of the summer'. But what struck me is that nobody ever speaks about the other seasons! Sure, 'seasonal music' can refer to the holiday-themed tunes you are surrounded with at the end of each year. But discounting those, what songs are linked, for you anyway, to a specific season? I'll give my example right now: Gordon Lightfoots's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". This great tune will be forever associated with Autumn, in my mind. Perhaps because it  was popular in the fall of 1976; I still recall hearing it playing on a radio while helping my Dad rake leaves in the yard. And lyrically, it has some fall-ish elements: referring to the "gales of November". Even the production, the sound of the song, has a wistful feel that almost chills you. So, that's my Fall song.

 Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

2. Name an unusual Team-up / Mash-up that you'd love to see in a comic.  

In the recent post about 'fun' comics, I mentioned the "Archie Meets Batman '66" comics. These days crossovers between companies are returning (although Marvel seems the exception to this), and even crossovers between different media (Green Lantern and the Planet of the  Apes) are becoming a 'thing'. In that spirit, what oddball combo would you like to see; any pairing is fair game. I'm going for some haunted humor in my answer: Casper the Friendly Ghost meets the Ghostbusters! Would Peter and the crew immediately try to capture the ethereal youngster, or would Casper convince the 'busters' to help him corral the "Ghostly Trio"? I'd buy this book sight unseen...

Okay, there's my questions and answers. Now let's hear from you!  

Riding the Retro Metro: Friday June 21, 1974!

Redartz:  Hello again, fellow time travelers! We are off on another journey to the Bronze age, courtesy of the Retro Metro. Today's destination is one very close to my heart:: June of 1974. I only recently started collecting comics, and my interest is skyrocketing. And although the topic on everyone's mind these days is the Watergate tapes, the tapes I'm most interested in are the ones I've recorded off Casey Kasem's American  Top 40. And speaking of the top forty, let's check out the apex:

On top of the US 'Billboard Pop Chart:  Bo Donaldsen and the Heywoods, "Billy, Don't Be a Hero"

Apparently this song has been used in a recent "Billy Jack" movie, but it was actually written about an soldier in the U.S. Civil War.

Rounding out the top five:
2.  The Stylistics, "You Make Me Feel Brand New"
3.  Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown"
4.  Ray Stevens, "The Streak"
5.  William DeVaughn, "Be Thankful For What You Got"  

Man, I'm really loving the pop charts right now! Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" is my favorite song right now: "Sometimes, I think it's a shame, when I get feelin' better when I'm feeling no pain". Great. Then there's Ray Stevens and "The Streak": the king of novelty/comedy tunes strikes again. Everyone on the school bus just goes nuts for that song. And there are tons of ther cool hits:  Wings, "Band on the Run"- an amazing song with three distinct sections; Paul still has it.  The Hues Corporation, "Rock the Boat"- an incredibly catchy tune. Steely Dan, "Rikki Don't Lose that Number"-just getting to know these guys, and really like this tune. I'm planning to pick up their album "Pretzel Logic" (great name).  ABBA, "Waterloo" (debuting this week on the top forty)- a new group from Sweden; this song is a prime piece of pop. May have to pick up their lp as well.

 Tops in the UK:   Gary Glitter, "Always Yours"

As it's Friday, chances are the tv viewing tonight will be good. Checking out the listings:

US Television Schedule:


 
ABC:  The Brady Bunch, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Odd Couple, Toma

Our family is still following the Brady family. Personally, I'm more excited about the show following them: Lee  Majors in "The Six Million Dollar Man". Kind of a superhero without a costume, but with appealing action and a great theme.
And after that, "The Odd Couple" is still going strong. Thanks to a perfect cast led by the incomparable Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, this show always promises laughs. 

CBS:   Dirty Sally, Good Times, The CBS Friday Night Movies

Afraid "Dirty Sally" is unknown to me. Many friends watch "Good Times", but as I'm pretty much tied into ABC's schedule, I never catch these shows.

NBC:  Sanford and Son, Lotsa Luck, The Girl With Something Extra, The Brian Keith Show, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour

Same situation here; although my parents will sometimes tune in Dean Martin.

BBC1:  The Friday Western: The Younger Brothers, Skywatch, The Nine O Clock News, A Man Called Ironside, The World of Stan Smith

BBC2:   Gardener's World, The Money Programme, World Cinema: Detruire Dit-Elle, All the Buildings Fit to Print

But hey, what a month it's been on the Spinner racks! It's an embarrassment of riches; this new comics fan has waaaay too much to choose from. Just take a look:

Wow, where to begin? That Amazing Spider-Man issue is the first thing I grab. What a cover, what a villain, what a book. Andru's Goblin looks just fine. Then I also have to grab that great Spectre book. Not getting many DC's at this point, but that looks fantastic. And speaking of fantastic, I'm getting that Avengers issue- my first Avengers comic, and picking it due to the Fantastic Four appearance. 

Then there's that Doctor Strange issue: have to get that, continuing the excellent Silver Dagger story. And now there's all these Giants and magazines to consider. Definitely need to get the Savage Sword of Conan; a beautiful Red Sonja story awaits within by Esteban Maroto and Neal Adams. Plus how can I resist the first issue of Planet of the Apes? Well, I can't. Could you? 

And capping it all off, the first Marvel Treasury Edition; with Spidey no less! All the great Spider-man artists represented. And that cover just hypnotized me; I stared at it all the way home on the city bus the other day when I picked it up. I'm scrounging everywhere I can to gather the needed funds for this month's goodies.  

Well, since we've probably spent our limits at the newsstand, guess it's time to head back on the Retro return trip. Hope you enjoyed this brief visit to the stellar year 1974; I sure did! And even if you're not old enough to fully remember that year's attractions, let us all know what you think of them...

 




closing