The Music of The Flintstones

Before Family Guy, before South Park, before The Simpsons, the first prime time animated series was The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. I watched the reruns every day after school for years. Then suddenly, about ten years ago, I couldn't find the show anywhere on the dial. Come to find that the series' broadcasting rights in the U.S. had been acquired by Boomerang.

The Flintstones was groundbreaking in many ways. Among other things, it was the first cartoon series to include a laugh track and story arcs (e.g., Wilma's pregnancy.) The show was also revolutionary for its regular inclusion of guest star voices (Tony Curtis, Hoagy Carmichael, Elizabeth Montgomery, and James Darren, among others) and for its acknowledgement of and spoofs of pop culture icons and personalities. These included people like Alfred Hitchcock ("Alvin Brickrock") and Ed Sullivan ("Ed Sullystone") as well as TV and movie characters like James Bond ("James Bondrock") and Perry Mason ("Perry Masonary".) 

The Flintstones also made a point to recognize and sometimes parody various pop culture phenomena taking place during the 60s, such as the British Invasion ("The Way Outs" and "Bug Music"), the beatnik movement, the country's space program, surfing craze, and even "The Twist" ("Twitch".)

One of the most unforgettable things about The Flintstones is its music, which incorporated everything from vaudeville tunes, to commercial jingles, to modern pop music. Around the time the first Flintstones movie was released in 1994 (and by the way, how badly did they miss the mark on that one -- thirty-two different writers and that's the best they could do?) I wandered into a long since defunct music store called The Wall and picked up The Flintstones: Modern Stone Age Melodies, which featured many of the most memorable songs from the show's six year run. The best of these include "Rockin' Bird" (from the episode where Fred becomes singing idol "Hi-Fye") and "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In" (which was later covered by Frente'.) 

As a bonus, the album also includes lots of dialog from the show, extra tracks consisting of instrumentals used for the show's transition and chase scenes, and background music.

I only wish Modern Stage Age Melodies included the two songs Ann-Margret performed when she appeared on the show in 1963 (the same year her breakthrough movie Bye Bye Birdie was released) -- "I Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool No More" and "The Littlest Lamb". 

Margret was on Phil Donahue's show many years ago and she fondly recalled her appearance on The Flintstones. A woman in the studio audience then remarked on what a beautiful song "The Littlest Lamb" was and asked Margret to sing it, but she politely declined.)

More Belinda

Was pleasantly surprised to see the positive reaction (both on this blog and on the YouTube channel) about the Belinda Carlisle on Arsenio video I posted recently, so here's another Belinda performance pulled from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives.
 
This one is from an MTV New Year's Eve Concert from 1988. That's quintessential 80s actress Jami Gertz (Square Pegs, Less Than Zero, Lost Boys) and Glenn ("The Heat is On") Frey hosting. Between them, their clothes, and the performers they announce (Poison, Loverboy, Richard Marx, Gene Loves Jezebel, etc.) this has to be the "eighties-est" video ever posted! 


Part 1



Part 2

Related Posts:

Beauty and the Beat Turns 40

Go-Go's Rock the Sunset Strip

Belinda Carlisle on Arsenio Hall

Great Album Covers: The Score, Head Games & Vacation

Go-Go's Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (About F**king Time!)

Airline Magazines, Godfather III, and Madonna... What's the Connection?

Was flipping through an in-flight travel magazine (Departures) and came across this cool ad for Louis Vuitton, featuring five-time Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sophia.

I met Francis Coppola in the early 90s. I was at a really nice movie theater (at least it was back then) –- Loews Ridgefield Park, which is in northern NJ, very close to Manhattan. This theater had ten screens, which back in those days was a lot. It was an odd night because all of the auditoriums were open to the public except one that was hosting a non-publicized special screening of Frankenstein, starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert DeNiro. I look over and there, by the concession stand, is the film’s producer, Francis Ford Coppola himself. He was doing nothing in particular, so I walked over and told him what a fan I was of his films (the three Godfather movies, The Outsiders, and The Cotton Club, in particular.) The greatest living American director (sorry Spielberg, Allen, Tarantino, and Scorsese) was then nice enough to autograph my popcorn bucket. 

As for  Sophia, back in 1990 she was bashed quite a bit for "ruining" The Godfather Part III. The criticism isn't really fair but I will say that when you watch the film, it’s painfully clear that Sophia's part was too much for her. Her father and others should have recognized this and recast the role. 

Few realize that the pivotal role in question, that of Mary Corleone, was supposed to be played by Winona Ryder. But Ryder was suffering from exhaustion -- she had just shot Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, Edward Scissorhands and Mermaids back-to-back-to-back. What's more, the actress had experienced some very long work days shooting the last of these films because the production had fallen behind schedule after the original director (Lasse Hallstrom) was fired. When Mermaids did finally wrap, Ryder began shooting G III in Rome, but her then boyfriend, Johnny Depp, reportedly wanted her back with him in the US. Ryder claimed exhaustion and dropped out a month into the shoot. Sophia, who had almost no acting experience, was cast by her father (who had creative control of the picture) as a replacement. The part was rewritten to better suit Sophia and the sexuality of the character was toned down. And again, all of this took place after principal photography had already begun. So all of this considered, it's amazing Godfather Part III turned out as good as it did.

After being skewered by the critics, Sophia pretty much gave up acting but did go on to write and direct the critically acclaimed The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Despite Sophia’s poor performance, Godfather III is still a must-see that’s better than 99% of the movies out there. It has an intricate, compelling plot; maintains continuity with the two preceding films; features great performances by Andy Garcia, Joe Mantegna and others; and was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture of 1990.

Here’s the extended trailer:

Lastly, if you’re a hardcore fan of The Godfather films, I recommend the The Godfather Companion by Peter Biskind, which has the complete story of the production of the trilogy and lots of interesting details about Part III in particular. For instance:

• Diane Keaton wanted too much money to reprise her role as Kay, so Coppola was forced to cut her part down significantly.
• Mario Puzo wrote the first outline for G III way back in 1978. In it, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is a Howard Hughes-like recluse; the Mafia and the CIA are at war; and the film's climax tales place during a Bicentennial parade. (All of this is drastically different from how the final screenplay turned out.)
• During casting, Julia Roberts was the first choice to play Mary. Madonna was also considered but at 31, it was decided she was too old for the part.
• Later, Madonna was seriously considered for the role of Grace Hamilton, the reporter who sleeps with Vincent (Andy Garcia.) At the time, Madonna was coming off the hugely successful Like a Prayer album and was arguably the biggest name in music. Perhaps partially because of this, she demanded a salary of more than half a million dollars (for what amounted to about 15 minutes of screen time) and the producers passed, eventually giving the part to Bridget Fonda.

Related Links:
The Godfather Companion

Belinda Carlisle on Arsenio Hall

Last night, Belinda Carlisle earned the dubious distinction of being the first person bounced off Dancing With the Stars. Jewel and Nancy O'Dell dropped out before the season even began, so we officially no longer have any interest in this this season of DWTS ... Okay, maybe we'll flip over every once in a while just to see what Edyta is (or isn't) wearing. In the meantime, we'll just watch this rare video from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and remember Belinda in better days.

Related Posts:

Beauty and the Beat Turns 40

Go-Go's Rock the Sunset Strip

More Belinda

Great Album Covers: The Score, Head Games & Vacation

Go-Go's Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (About F**king Time!)

Farewell to the Ticket Stub

This week I’m buying tickets for Wicked on Broadway (an anniversary gift for my parents.) These will be "e-tickets" that you print at home, similar to the way you print boarding passes for airline flights. Moving forward, this looks to be the way all forms of ticketing will take place, which is sad in a way because the old box office machine generated paper tickets were nice souvenirs. Just for old times sake, I went into the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and dug out a few of my old stubs. 

(Click for enlarged view.)

USC vs Colorado at the LA Coliseum

Sept 2000

Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes

Oct 1980

The Bangles at the Beacon Theater, NYC

March 1989

Sting at Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

Feb 1994

Belinda Carlisle (her first solo tour) at the Beacon Theater

May 1988

The Go-Go’s at 4th and B’s (San Diego)

July 2004

Billy Joel (River of Dreams Tour) at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Oct 1993

Jacksons (Victory Tour) at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
July 1984

Madonna (Who’s That Girl Tour) at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
August 1987

Commercials We Loved - "Be Like Mike"

Getting pretty sick of that "What's G?" commercial, where a bunch of recognizable (and not so recognizable) athletes simply scroll past a black background. First there was Gatorade, then somewhere along the line we got Gatorade Fierce, Gatorade Rain, Gatorade Tiger, Propel (also a Gatorade product), and G2. And now original Gatorade is just supposed to be called "G"?

Really people, how many versions of this product do we need?... IATSS! (It's all the same shit!) And now it's supposed to be called "G", as if shortening to just the initial is somehow hipper?

Get over yourself Gatorade. Get back to basics, ditch the fancy new advertising and resurrect this old school commercial.


Related Posts:
Commercials We Loved - "You Will"
Commercials We Loved - "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker"
Commercials We Loved - "Laptop Hunters"
Commercials We Loved - Super Mario Land 2
Commercials We Loved - Cindy Crawford & Little Richard for Charlie
Commercials We Loved - Fruit of the Loom and Big Fig

Pop Culture Fiend Handicaps Dancing with the Stars

Drop everything, read this, then get your bet down. (No joke, there's a legitimate line for this in Vegas.) The Pop Culture Fiend has studied, broken it down and come up with the odds for this season's DWTS contestants:

Lawrence Taylor (retired football star) – Maybe because they're so used to repetitive training and using their entire bodies, but athletes in general and football players in particular (Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Warren Sapp) always do well on this show. LT's also got personality, a great smile and experience in front of the camera. Odds: 4-1

Nancy O’Dell – Dropped out due to injury.

Jewel – Dropped out due to injury.

Holly Madison (Playboy model, reality TV star) - Madison comes to this competition straight off a collapsed reality show. She’s in this largely to remain in the spotlight and improve her Q-rating, but as a late replacement for Jewel, she's had less practice time and is at a distinct disadvantage. Odds: 15-1

Ty Murray (rodeo star) – When his wife Jewel dropped out due to injury, Murray’s chances went right with her. The novelty of seeing he and his wife competing against one another is now gone and Murray has zero name recognition on his own, thereby placing him near the bottom in terms of fan favorites. Odds: 40-1

David Alan Grier (actor-comedian) – Funny guys (Adam Carolla, Jeff Ross) don’t usually do well on DWTS. But Grier was recently on Carolla's radio show and seemed like he was taking this competition pretty seriously. Call it a hunch but we have him as our best longshot. Odds: 10-1

Gilles Marini (actor) – Okay, I never watched Sex in the City so have no idea who this guy is. I know he’s French (maybe that’ll help him?) and his partner is two-time winner Cheryl Burke, who may be the best of all the professionals. Odds: 8-1

Steve-O (reality TV star) – First off, great pick by the DWTS producers. Steve-O's irreverent personality has the potential to really liven up the show and also pull in an entirely new demographic of viewers. But even though he’s paired with Lacey, one of my new favorite dancer, we doubt Steve-O can dance or is interested in putting forth the effort needed to win. Odds: 35-1

Lil’ Kim (recording artist) – Just a quick side note: Lil' Kim was on one of the entertainment shows the other day, and she has had so much cosmetic surgery on her face and her body, she’s virtually unrecognizable from when she first started out in the rap game. Nevertheless, Kim's a performer who seems to love being back in the spotlight. It'll be interesting to see how she’ll click with her partner Derek Hough. Odds: 12-1

Shawn Johnson (gymnast) – The multi-medal winning Olympian has a lot going for her. She’s cute, used to competing, and her gymnastics background gives her all the athleticism, conditioning, discipline, balance and grace she needs to win. It’s all just a question of how well everything translates to the dance floor. Any way you slice it, she’s  the favorite and a lock to make the top three. Odds: 3-1

Chuck Wicks (country singer) – Word is, Wicks has been dating Julianne Hough for awhile (the two opened for Brad Paisley on his last tour.) Hough, it seems, had made up her mind not to return to the show this season but was talked into staying because the producers agreed to have Wicks as a contestant and then pair the couple up. Julianne’s another of our favorites and she’ll no doubt pull out all the stops to get her and Wicks through each week. Even so, we say this duo's dancing (and their relationship) will both be over quickly. Odds: 10-1

Denise Richards (actress) – After running off with her friend Heather Locklear’s husband (Bon Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora) Richards runs the risk of being unpopular among women viewers. She’ll need to not only dance well but also make nice with everyone in order to repair her image as a man-stealer and make it through. Odds: 8-1

Belinda Carlisle (singer) – Not only is she 50, but the Go-Go’s singer came off as somewhat indifferent in previous reality show appearances on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Celebrity Duets. Belinda will have to curb any apathy, be really engaging, and show a lot of personality to last even through the first few weeks. Odds: 25-1

Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) – He’s a gregarious guy but has too much girth and too little name recognition.
Odds: 50-1

The Dichotomy of Nancy and Tonya: A Timely Look Back

It was 1994 -- 15 years ago almost exactly -- that Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding faced off at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Kerrigan, after being attacked and clubbed in the leg by an associate of Harding's at the US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, could not compete. Harding took first place at the event and secured a spot on the Olympic team and, after she denied involvement in the Kerrigan attack, the USOC (with no proof to the contrary) had no choice but to allow Harding to compete in Lillehammer. Kerrigan, meanwhile, in an unprecedented move by the USOC, was given a spot on the Olympic team in place of Michelle Kwan, who had finished second at nationals. A media frenzy ensued as reporters and cameras followed Harding and Kerrigan's every move leading up to the Olympics.

The next month, Kerrigan and Harding had their showdown at the '94 Games (which incidentally, were the first to be staggered -- i.e., held in a different year -- from the summer games.) The ladies figure skating final that year was packed with contenders and star power, including China's Chen Lu, Canadian national champion Josée Chouinard, reigning World silver medalist Surya Bonaly, and two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt. Shown in prime time, the broadcast was one of the most watched in US history. An estimated 45 million people (representing about 48% of all households in this country that owned TVs) tuned to watch this intro (culled from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives) and the ensuing drama.



When it came time for Harding to skate, she missed her first jump, then, to most everyone's amazement, interrupted her routine, skated over to the judges sobbing and explained that her shoelace had broken. Harding was allowed to fix her shoe and skate again later, but in the end, Ukraine's Oksana Baiul won the gold medal. Kerrigan (with her Katherine Hepburn looks) had to this point been a media darling and object of sympathy, but -- after seemingly pouting on the medal stand after winning silver -- came off as a sore loser.

It's interesting to see the dichotomy of these two over the last decade -- how fulfilled and content Kerrigan seems today, while Harding appears still bitter and resentful about everything that's transpired. Admittedly, she's had a much harder life than Kerrigan, both before these events took place and after. After all, she grew up poor and struggling to find the funds for training, dropped out of high school, was (allegedly) physically abused by her mother, banned for life by the US Figure Skating Association, cited for multiple DUIs, claims she suffered domestic violence at the hands of various boyfriends, failed at both boxing and singing, and to this day, she's still reviled by the public for her role in the plot against her rival. Even during last fall's Democratic Presidential primary, the two campaigns wound up referencing Harding in a negative way.

And of course, Tonya was also the star of one of the very first celebrity sex tapes. Way before Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian were on anyone's radar, Harding's ex-, Jeff Gillooly sold a home video of he and Tonya having sex on their "wedding night", though later it was revealed that they were just role-playing.

Kerrigan, by comparison, has pretty much led a quiet life since Lillehammer. Upon her return to the US, she was skewered by the media after being caught on-mic complaining during a Disney World Parade honoring her. Afterwards, she retreated from the spotlight and retired from figure skating, only to quickly pop up as the star of a few professional skating shows. She hosted Saturday Night Live, got married, had a cameo in the Will Ferrell comedy Blades of Glory, but has spent a good deal of her time just doing charity work and raising her three kids.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Monday was Dr. Seuss' (Theodore Geisel's) 105th birthday. 

Everyone knows his books and their lasting impact on education, reading and our nation's youth, But I dug into the Pop Culture Fiend Archives to find a great example of how Geisel's writing style and the poetic meter he employed have influenced and inspired other creative works and permeated different facets of our popular culture. In this clip from Moonlighting, watch David, Maddie (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd) and a maitre d' go at it Dr. Seuss style.

If You Liked Planet Terror...

Was watching TV the other night and saw a commercial for House of the Dead: Overkill -- a new zombie-killing, first-person shooter -- and was immediately struck by how much the graphics, gameplay, and characters remind you of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror feature from 2007's Grindhouse. Looked into it and it seems the game's creators were indeed "inspired" by Rodriguez's ode to good ole 70's exploitation splatterfests. Just like in the movie, there's a hospital setting, bulbous, gelatinous mutants that explode in sprays of blood, plus a stripper character that's a dead ringer for the film's star, Rose McGowan. And the entire game has that worn out B-movie film look. Even the game's packaging looks like the Grindhouse movie poster. 

Related Links:
House of the Dead: Overkill trailer