Friday Night Videos

Sam Harris scored a minor hit in 1984 with "Sugar Don't Bite, which is probably more than it deserved, because it's not a great song. What secured its place as a footnote of 80s music, however (other than the video's unfortunate mashup of 80s fashion with 70s disco), are the striking similarities betwixt it and a certain big hit from Madonna just a few years later. Coincidence? You decide.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Stevie Wonder.

Now Playing: Ray Davies The Kinks Choral Collection
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What's Jayme drinking?

Got a little something different tonight: Plum melomel. For the uninitiated, that is mead (honey wine) made with plums. I made it myself. It's been in the works for quite a long time, the initial honey fermentation starting back in November 2012, keeping the fermentation cool by sitting the carboy in a water bath filled with ice and wet towels draped over it. This had the effect of slowing fermentation to prevent the formation of yucky fusel alcohols. I added the crushed plum juice to start secondary fermentation in June 2013, and finally bottled it in April of this year. That's a long time to invest in something to drink.

I have to say, though, the aging and cool fermentation has proven worth it. The mead pours a clear, light amber in the glass. No carbonation. The mead is not terribly viscous in the glass, not clinging to the sides when I swirl it around. The bouquet... well, that leaves something to be desired. The scent of rubber, dry wood and licorice hits my nose, along with some faintly sour esters and tired honey that give a slight chemical tinge. The traditional "Listerine" profile that marks the presence of those nasty fusels flashes through my mind. After a cautious sip, those worries are dispelled. There's a bright, cheerfulness on the surface here, light cherries, apricot, raspberries and, yes, plum. There's a light, demi-sweetness at work here, not quite comparable to a white zinfandel, but close. It's not cloying. It is, in fact, almost exactly the balance I was hoping for. The mild acidity balances the light sweetness very well, and the tannins give it just the right amount of body to ensure a robust mouthfeel. There's a heavier after taste of dark cherries, stronger plum and maybe currants. There's also an earthy undertone I'm struggling to place. It's almost woody, but not oak. Finally, the alcohol is not obvious in the mouth, but once swallowed there's a definite heat in the throat. The original alcohol potential of the honey was right at 11 percent, but with the addition of the plum and a little additional honey for back sweetening (fermentation hadn't quite been knocked out at that point) I'm guessing the final alcohol content is closer to 13 percent. That's a little higher than I'd intended, but certainly within the realm of acceptability.

I have to say that while imperfect, this batch of plum melomel is among of the best I've made since I started experimenting with mead. The scent is truly unfortunate, as it is quite off-putting, but getting past that it's quite a nice drink. I've got about two cases laid up, so I'll be able to enjoy this vintage for quite some time to come.

Now Playing: Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues
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Friday Night Videos

I've only got a couple of things to say about Stevie Wonder's hit from 1986, "Part Time Lover." First, the video is pretty bare bones: It looks like it could've been a performance clip lifted from Soul Train. I half-expected to see Rick Dees and the Solid Gold Dancers put in an appearance. Second, this song got a lot of airplay on the radio my sophomore year in high school. I mean a lot. And every single time it came on with that opening bass line, in my mind I expected Hall and Oates to start singing "Maneater." Every. Time. And you know what? That still happens.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Paul McCartney.

Now Playing: Billy Joel My Lives
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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas rides again!

Friends and neighbors, if you were broken up about missing the Theatre Under the Stars' production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas staged at Houston's Miller Outdoor Theatre last month (and really, you have every right to be. I was fortunate enough to be a guest for their production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas during it's run at the Hobby Center in 2012, and it was downright fantastic!) then do I have good news for you! News broke yesterday that the Tony Award-winning musical is getting its very own Broadway revival! This marks the first time the show's been performed on Broadway since the original 1978 production enjoyed a spectacular run of 1,584 shows.

Now wait a cotton-picking minute, you're probably thinking to yourself right now. If you know your Whorehouse history (and you know you do) you're looking at your Ann-Margret soundtrack and saying, "But Jayme! What about Ann-Margret's successful run as Miss Mona circa 2001-2002? I didn't just imagine that, did I?" You, you certainly did not. You are correct the immortal Ann-Margret headlined a successful re-staging of Whorehouse, along with Gary Sandy of WKRP in Cincinnati fame as Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd. The original play's songwriter, Carol Hall, even penned a new song, "A Friend to Me," for Ann-Margret. It was kind of a big deal. The thing is, that was a national touring show. It played pretty much everywhere except Broadway.

So what do we know about this new show? Not much, actually. It's more or less the same show Larry L. King, Peter Masterson, Carol Hall and Tommy Tune struck it two-thirds rich with (as King liked to say) back in 1978. The announced director/choreographer is Rob Ashford, a big name in Broadway circles. He's got Tony, Emmy and Olivier awards on his mantlepiece, so it's hard to argue with his credentials. He was the creative force behind “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” with Daniel Radcliffe, "Macbeth" with Kenneth Branagh, “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Rachel Weisz, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and the 81st Academy Awards. Other than that, little information has been released--no theatre, dates or actors are known.

On the bright side, there continues to be no movement on Universal's remake of the mediocre 1982 film version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. While it's hard to imagine the remake could do much worst than Burt Reynolds singing, the fact that the producers, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, are the folks who gave us the Twilight movies. I can see it now: All the prostitutes sparkle beautifully in sunlight.

Enough of the history lesson, Jayme (you're saying to yourself right now, I'll wager). Tell us what's really important--how does this impact your book on the history of the Chicken Ranch brothel in La Grange, Texas? In all honesty, it doesn't. At least, not directly. The history and the entertainment are two different things, and apart from broad strokes, are pretty much separate animals. Where this could help me is in raising the public awareness of the Chicken Ranch. As the Broadway production ramps up, more and more folks are going to grow curious about the real story behind the infamous brothel. If the run is successful and the revival earns some Tony Award nominations--maybe even winning a few--then that exposure is multiplied. Anyone with a comprehensive book out on the subject could stand to capitalize on the ensuing publicity quite nicely. At least, that's what I'm telling the editors currently considering my book.

Hollywood Reporter: 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' Sets Broadway Return in 2015
Variety: ‘Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ Heads Back to Broadway
Playbill: Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Will Stomp Its Way Back to Broadway, Run by Rob Ashford
Broadway.com: The Chicken Ranch reopens! The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Will Return to Broadway
USA Today: Rob Ashford to helm new 'Whorehouse' on Broadway
Star Tribune: Revival of sex romp musical 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' coming to Broadway
Dan Cirucci: 'Whorehouse' On Broadway? Yes, It Opens In 2015!

Now Playing: Night Ranger Greatest Hits
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Friday Night Videos

The worst thing, perhaps, about hit singles off of soundtrack albums is that their videos generally suck. In most cases, very little creativity or budget goes into them. Instead, a bunch of clips for the movie in question are strung together with maybe a few scenes of the actual performer. In essence, it's treated like one only commercial for the film. Which may or may not help at the box office, but dramatically shortens the shelf life of the song. Case in point: "Spies Like Us" by Paul McCartney. This was one of his last hits prior to the music world writing him off as completely irrelevant, and to be honest, it really is a piece of audio fluff. But it's a catchy piece of audio fluff that's a good deal of fun. And despite the obvious drawbacks of the soundtrack clip video, McCartney, Dan Ackroyd and Chevy Chase do seem to be having a grand old time. Curiously, despite "Spies Like Us" being McCartney's last top-10 hit (to the best of my knowledge) it has never on any McCartney album or hits compilation. I mean, nobody's arguing it ranks among his best work, but compared to some of the drivel he's put out over the decades, it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Peter Wolf.

Now Playing: Various artists Celtic Moods
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The sounds of space

Welcome to my latest obsession: Sounds from space. I know, I know, space is for all practical purposes a vacuum (unless you're designing an interstellar ramjet) so sound as we know it doesn't exist there. And even if it did in the thin stellar media, we'd need fantastically sensitive microphones to pick up any hint of audio.

Well, I thought so, until I stumbled across the "NASA Space Sounds" video below when it was being shared around the interwebz recently. Instruments aboard Voyagers I and II, as well as several other space probes, recorded an array of electromagnetic signals that, when converted to sound (think of it as running it through a space age amplifier) the result is a strange and eerie ambient sound that is utterly engrossing. To my ear, at least, the pieces are evocative of the non-classical music soundtrack from 201: A Space Odyssey. So that's bonus points right there.

The sequences sampled below are taken from a series of 5 CD put out by Laserlight in 1990 titled "Symphonies of the Planets" as well as an additional volume a few years later titled "Celestial Love Songs." Long out of print, they're quite pricey to purchase second hand. Fortunately, they're readily available as MP3 (as well as other format) downloads online, the only drawback being the file labeling isn't consistent and therefore it's challenging to keep track of individual tracks. And since all data, audio and video released by NASA is public domain, fans of these fascinating ambient sounds may download with a clear conscience that no copyright is being violated.

Alas, in my obsessive research, I've learned that things aren't so cut-and-dried. Yes, NASA does take collected electromagnetic data and convert it into audible sound, but the raw, unvarnished audio doesn't sound all that much like what we hear on the CDs. That's because Laserlight (or Brain/Mind Research, which handled the production) didn't just take the NASA audio and burn it to disc. They ran it through an intergalactic version of the nefarious Auto-Tune, processing it heavily and looping, over-dubbing and sweetening with synthesizers to the point where many of the actual "space sounds" are tenuous at best. In fact, some pieces, such as the samples of "Song of Earth" and "Voices of Earth" in the video above simply do away with the source material entirely and re-orchestrate it. I guess that make it an artistic interpretation of the data rather than an objective representation (which opens up the whole objective/subjective reality can of worms, but I digress...).

What's more, it brings copyright into question. It is clearly established law that what is public domain cannot be subsequently copyrighted (publishers may copyright specific presentations of public domain materials, but not the content itself, which is why you can find free 1920s jazz downloads online, as well as the complete works of Charles Dickens, even though publishers put out new editions every few years). However, derivative works of both copyright and public domain can be copyrighted, but only that which is new and derivative is thus protected, ie the original which is incorporated into the derivation remains in the public domain. In this particular case, I would expect the Brain/Mind Research productions to be fully covered by copyright protection. Being out of print is irrelevant. However (and I'm full of caveats today, aren't I?) their persistent and insistent claims (indeed, the entirety of their marketing and mass appeal) that the audio is direct from NASA, with no claims of alteration on their part would, at least superficially, serve to undermine any copyright protection as, has been pointed out previously, all NASA materials are automatically released to public domain. For Brain/Mind Research to assert their copyright on these works, they would effectively have to admit false advertising, which would significantly diminish the value of said works. It's an interesting academic question, albeit one I doubt anybody is going to bother exploring any time soon.

Authentic or not, I find the interpretations of space sounds interesting and appealing. I'll be keeping an eye on Ebay and the like in case a CD shows up for a bargain price...

Now Playing: NASA Voyager Recordings Symphonies of the Planets
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Friday Night Videos

I saw Peter Wolf's "When Women Are Lonely" exactly once, on MTV, back in 1990 or 1991. I never saw the video again, never heard the song on the radio. It was off Wolf's Up to No Good album, which received no airplay and flopped, thus relegating him to that subset of former hit makers who have to content themselves with putting out critically acclaimed albums few people hear. Still, I fell in love with the song and have waited a long time for the video to resurface on YouTube. Enjoy.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... "Weird Al" Yankovic

Now Playing: The Kinks Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
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