NO! This Is Not About My Ginger Beer
Although the latest batch is coming along fine. I did the cracking-of-the-seals yesteryon and they barely hissed when opened, meaning the fermentation has almost ceased. As a result I may have a chilled glass from the weakest-brew bottle to celebrate being officially an Old Dastard on Monday, whatever day you're reading this. Art!
Who is this? O I thought you'd never ask! Meet Robert* Southey, the poet, who was the man coining the phrase 'pop' when he heard the cork being pulled from a bottle of carbonated swill. Or 'beverage' as he was all poetic, like. Art!
There they are, the rascals. Conrad will miss their effervescent rage when the cap is cracked of a morning as the contents roil and threaten, since they give off a really nice musty ginger scent. Which is to be expected. Were they to whiff of mangosteen I'd be worried.
ANYWAY that, as per usual, is what we're not talking about. Instead, we're going back to that font of froth 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' and Part Two of our approach to the lyrics of 'Broadway Melody of 1974'. So-called because the song is from 1974. Which is to be expected. Were the title to reference 1874 I'd be worried. Art!
Peter the petunia
Yes, in response to your unanswered question, we have already covered the lyrics to BMO1974, but not the liner notes, which are another story in themselves. Art!
This is the original layout, deliberately confusing and obtuse you might think, and you'd be right. The CD version is at least laid out legibly.
So, onto the notes, which mention Bing Crosby, crooning about 'dollar collar'. Remember this is from 1974, when nobody had a clue about how ruthless and mercenary Bing was, so Peter hit the nail on the head by accident. Art!
"Bing's mask slipped for a moment"
Conrad unsure what the pencil is for - signing a contract after being dipped in blood? Bing might be considered the closest thing to a 'pop' singer in this whole set of notes. Art!
That's Martin Luther King, to whom Peter attributes the jolly command 'Everybody sing!' before ringing the liberty bell. Art!
More pop culture for you, since which program uses 'The Liberty Bell' march as it's theme tune? Yes, 'Monty Python'. Which is acceptable. If it were the 'Nine O'Clock News' I would be mildly bothered.
Next up in this parade of paradigms is 'Leary, weary of his prison cell, walks on heaven, talks on hell.'
Art!
Say how'dyeto to Timothy Leary, South Canadian psychologist and counter-culture cove, who pushed for everyone to take LSD and trip out all the time. The Establishment did not take kindly to a qualified psychologist putting forth such ideas and he spent time in prison for possessing marijuana. That line about 'walks on heaven, talks on hell' may be a sly reference to 'The Doors Of Perception' by Aldous Huxley, which is as far down the rabbit hole as we're going today. Art!
Not being bothered with such nonsense as good taste, Peter goes on to invoke JFK, and a drink I'd never heard of: Orange Julius. Let me dig -
It's made from orange juice concentrate, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, egg white powder and ice. Hmmmm. Probably not the best drink for a diabetic <sighs heavily> but props to Pete for picking a cocktail so obscure at the time, as we are talking 50 years gone. He also mentions another drink: Lemon Brutus. Is this a thing? <checks> Nope. Art!
And now - boring reality intervenes. 'Medicare'. Kudos to a British musician and lyricist knowing that this institution even exists, although he uses it as an introduction to bring in more poppers: "Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are dancing through the air" O rly? What's holding them up, audience anticipation? Force fields? Piano wire? Art!
It's a bit hokey, having to resort to state medical care to rhyme with a pair of hoofers. Then Pete trots out 'Stars and Stripes' the song not the magazine. Art!
- once again we put forward another item we're not talking about, since it is a lot more immediate than a music score.
The liner notes end with 'Then the blackout'. In case you're not counting, this is the third time Rael, our protagonist, may have died, meaning everything that follows is what his quickly-cooling brain delivers up. Ha! take that interpretation, Gabriel!
You Absolutely Do Not Need To Pimp 'Abebooks' To Me
The adverts for the website keep on popping up on Youtube. Art!
They reallllly don't need to promote this site, for did I not go on their website last night and order another 'The Mediterranean And Middle East' Volume I of the Official History? Well yes I did because I was bad.
For the bargain price of £30, which is so low it would have been rude not to buy it.
A Brace Of Bruce
Since I omitted a Bruce Pennington artwork from the 'Sci-Fi Art' Youtube channel yesteryon, I am going to post two today. So there. Take it on the chin and don't look hangdog. Art!
Ol' Brucie has come up with what looks like an industrial processing plant of the 22nd century. Perhaps. Maybe those big spheres fall off once they're full of properly refined Unobtanium? except the plant workers would need extremely heavy-duty PPE. Perhaps it's a 'Get Your Sphere Here' plant? Whichever or whatever, it seems to need a fairly significant vertical component. Art!
No, it's not a time-manufactory. The book is a collection of short stories, so there may be one in there about time, but I'm not going to buy it and read all the stories to satisfy your curiosity. Art!
What you're looking at appears to be a military science-fiction cover illo, with the soldiery clad in rather insectile armour or spacesuits or both. I seem to recall seeing this as a cover, for one of the 'Stainless Steel Rat' novels possibly? There may be a confirmation picture after the one above, let me check.
Conrad triumphant! There's tricks in the old dog yet. You have to trust me that I didn't peek ahead. I have an honest face.
If you went into this book expecting blood and thunder, think again. Slippery Jim Di Griz, the anti-hero, avoids violence if possible and killing at all costs, a nice moral compass. He does steal things, mind, so possibly not quite the most moral character. Harrison is also one to satirise all the tropes in science-fiction quite mercilessly, to humourous effect.
Now I Really Am Old
65 if you haven't been keeping track. Occasionally one gets reminded of how much of a fossil one is, as with the Facebook page for 'Eels'. Art!
It's a brilliant album, well worth adding to your collection. The thing is, as the blurb on FB says, it came out 30 years ago. That was when Butch and Tommy were still in the band and the miserable lyrics of 'Novocaine For The Soul' were being broadcast over the airwaves. A colleague heard the song and asked me to explain exactly what 'Novocaine' was; artificial cocaine as invented by the Teutons during the Second Unpleasantness as the real thing was so scarce.
Do You Hate Your Pet?
Conrad keeps seeing adverts for a pet's medical service that crop up as often as do 'Abebooks' ads. He is not very sanguine about their title. Imagine if your GP was 'Doctor Slaughter', which is a real doctor's name I've been given when at work. Art!
Yes, you read that right: 'Veg'. Imagine taking a high-spirited dog or your average cat in there and they get offered the Veg service. Watch out if they branch off into care for Hom. Sap.
And with that we are done!
I may bloviate later in more detail about Degsy's birthday present whilst eating Wonder Wifey's, we shall see.
* Excellent first name
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