In the early 1980s, Juice Newton absolutely dominated the airwaves. She had hit after hit, then all of the sudden she was gone. What happened to her? I'm not sure, but this video might offer a clue to her disappearance: "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me."
I've been a Pink Floyd fan since my long-ago high school days. I missed the band's late 80s tour for Momentary Lapse of Reason but was fortunate enough to catch the Division Bell tour in 1994, which turned out to be the band's swan song. It was a technically magnificent show, but a bit impersonal (which is understandable, taking place in San Antonio's Alamodome). Now, several decades later, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason brought his Saucerful of Secrets group to Austin for a show in Bass Hall, focusing entirely on pre-Dark Side of the Moon material. I hope to do a full writeup in the near future, but let me just say here that it was magnificent. Fun, warm, personal and joyous. It was a marvelous show and amongst the many highlights was a fantastic rendition of "Fearless," which just so happens to be my favorite Pink Floyd song.
I encountered the music of Le Trio Joubran some years ago and I don't know if "fell in love with it" is accurate, but I did develop a deep appreciation for their sound. I mean, how many international musical groups have successfully based their sound around the oud? Not a whole heck of a lot. Here's their piece, "NAWWAR," performed live.
Previously on Friday Night Videos... Pat Benatar.
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My apologies for being lax in my postings. I've fallen a bit behind, but am catching up now by sharing the two most recent episode of A Moment of Tiki. First up is Episode 47: Kingston Negroni Shootout.
The Negroni is one of the most popular cocktails in the world, but isn't tiki. The Kingston Negroni, however, which uses Smith & Cross rum instead of gin, arguably is a tiki cocktail (or at least tiki adjacent). That got me to thinking (as these things often do) that Smith & Cross was wildly popular because it was the most ester-filled, hogo-laden Jamaican rum readily available in the U.S. at the time. In the years since, we have been blessed with an array of even more potent potables from that Caribbean nation. Might some of the newer, funkier rums make for an even better Kingston Negroni? At the very least, a shootout incorporating a selection of four pungent Jamaican rums would highlight the nuances that separate them from each other and offer deeper understanding of their roles in cocktail creation. So that's exactly what I did. FOR SCIENCE!
Way back in episode 1 of A Moment of Tiki I discussed how I torch bamboo that I've harvested myself. Since then, I've learned that bamboo mites are a serious problem in some parts of the U.S. where bamboo grows naturally, and flame treating at home normally doesn't get the bamboo hot enough to kill all the mites or their eggs. Fortunately, folks in Asia have been using bamboo for centuries and have devised methods to kill these insects and ward off infestation by soaking the bamboo in a solution of borax and boric acid. A bonus of this is that the treatment makes bamboo toxic to other wood-boring insects such as the dreaded powder post beetle and termites. It also offers some protection from mold and fungus. I explore all of this in Episode 46:
It's hard to believe that despite Pat Benatar's legendary career, she never scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard top 40. Crazy, right? She got up to No. 13 with "Shadows of the Night," which is tonight's featured video. It's a ridiculous WWII era fantasy about fighter planes, behind-enemy-lines espionage and fighting Nazis. What's not to love? Oh yeah, it's got a young Judge Reinhold at the beginning as an Allies fighter jock and a young Bill Paxton later as a Nazi officer. I mean, where else are you going to find quality entertainment like that?
Today, Carmen Miranda is remembered--if she's remembered at all--as the lady who wore outrageous hats piled high with fruit. That's pretty much it. It's kind of astonishing that this woman, who was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood during the 1940s, is so utterly forgotten. Part of that is probably due to her death from a massive heart attack at the young age of 46. Even so, it's hard to believe her legacy is so forgotten. The Brazilian performer had an excellent singing voice, was a skilled dancer but, more importantly, simply oozed carisma. Her facial expressions and body language effortlessly convey more personality in a few moments than most performers manage in an entire career. She rocketed to fame fueled by her "exotic" image, but as her career progressed (or failed to progress, depending on one's perspective) she grew to resent being typecast as "South American Woman" and not allowed to display her entire range. So, she was wildly successful yet that success boxed her in. I think all of those elements are on display in "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat." Sometimes a giant banana is just a giant banana.
Previously on Friday Night Videos... Otyken.
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