THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DUCK DANGER


  As we age, we see clearer the things that influenced us in our youth.  The genius that we were exposed to that we took for granted. Two such groups, seemingly unrelated, had a monumental impact on how I looked at words - as wordplay and as lyrics.  The comedy sketch troupe, The Firesign Theater and the band, Little Feat.  Individually, both genius in their own right. Firesign - collectively, Proctor, Bergman, Ossman, and Austin - masters of double-entendre, the parody of meaning, and of delivery.

  On the other hand, Lowell George - with his Brian Wilson-like quest to capture the ‘sound in his head’ - offered a mastery in alliteration and “cartoon consciousness” with his lyrics. “Lady in a turban in a cocaine tree” would fit right into any Firesign sketch, as every Little Feat song should be playing on the way to Future Fair.

  Both battled with a short-sighted record label unsure of how to market them; and both were best when listened to as a whole. The sum of the parts were good, as later years would show, but together it was genius. Sadly, I discovered them both on the backside of their peak, only to savor their genius through their records of the early half of the 1970’s.  Forget Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Story songs, Disco and Glam rock, these two groups embody what the 1970s were all about, I wish there’d been more.  

  What drives this comparison now - all these years later, I hear you ask? Just a simple overlooked clue - just look at the album art. Look close. Apparently, I had never listened to them with the dust jackets laid out side by side - otherwise I would have noticed the obvious hint. Not the same art - from the likes of Robert Grossman and Neon Park - but they exist on the same plain and beckon us into a world undiscovered.  If you’re hip, revisit. And if this is all new, seek out both Firesign and Feat, play side A of one and side B of the other, mix and match, you won’t regret it.










Somebody was paying attention!!!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tell Me About the Dragons, George.

Image
  (Cue: The theme from Patton)      A nd if I were more ambitious, I would step before a video camera, walking up in front of a giant American flag and speak this aloud:       “When John Steinbeck began his retelling of Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Mort d’Arthur in 1956, he failed to include the legend of his own creation, that of of St. Lenny and the literary allegory of substituting a rabbit for the mythical dragon. Even upon it’s posthumous 1976 publication, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights , Steinbeck’s “unfinished” manuscript failed to acknowledge St. George and St. Lenny at all - hence, the “unfinished” I suppose.   Regardless, we still celebrate St. George today - all things George, in fact.   The Sainted "George" - George of Lydda was a Roman soldier - and not a Knight - but he’s rumored to have killed a dragon, which is much cooler than refusing to denounce one’s Christianity (for which he was killed and later ...
Read more

The YES Initiative!!!

Image
These days we find ourselves surrounded by more and more negativity. If there was only a word to help us feel better...oh, wait, there is. The word is "YES." We face the word "NO" too many times through out the day, try using yes instead. Doors open, smiles appear, opportunities galore appear to you. We need to bring the word back into our social vernacular, but where do you start? Well, I don't know if this will work or not, but is worth a try. Please print this flyer, quickly clip open the dashed lines and post it somewhere where will see it, or copy them to friends to post. I'd like to see how far this can spread. Please mark in the comment section that you have done so, so as to keep track. Let's put this word out there and see if we can make one person's day better. What do you say? Yes!
Read more

"Sit Elsewhere, Before You Break Something! said the Ellison-man."

Image
Appreciation by James Patrick Lockett Melancholy ain’t just Lassie guarding some cantaloupes. Nor is it the word that properly describes how I feel today.  There are forty-eight synonyms in the Thesaurus for ‘sad’ and not one of them adequately convey how I feel.  Just one of the many things I already miss about Harlan Ellison – I’m sure he would look at me and throw out ‘lugubrious’ or ‘woebegone’ or just a simple, ‘low.’ I’d started writing half a dozen times, different things the passed couple of days, and all the words always seemed to just mock my feelings.  Maybe it’s not time yet.  So, I sat eating (Hydrox) cookies and re-re-re-reading Ellison short stories – feeling sorry for our loss and mad that death slipped in like a thief in the night and took Harlan in his sleep.  Normally, that’s the way we all want to go, but there’s something lily-livered about not having the guts/spine/pluck (take your pick) to risk encountering Harlan’s wrath.  ...
Read more