GLEAMING STEAMING FLAXEN WAXEN – An upate on the HAIR documentary, as promised

In a recent post (17 Feb 08) I mentioned I was going to track down that new documentary about the musical HAIR, and see if I could – as we used to say in the 60s – score a copy. Well, score I did. I found the website, placed an order, then and sat back and waited while the postal service did its thing. And after viewing it, I came to the immediate conclusion: My friends do not pass up an opportunity to see this film. In fact, go out of your way if you have to – it’s a real gem. If you are a fan of HAIR, or you are an ex-hippie, or if you still are a hippie, you will love this film. If you have an historical interest of any kind in the late 60s, the days of love, peace and protest, the anti-War movement, you will love this film.

At a mere 55 minutes, HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In does not require you to hit pause once or twice like so many feature current movies do, but it’s so jam-packed with wonderful insights and memories it has the feel of a longer view. As a documentary, its more than just an account of the (in)famous 60s musical, but a compelling mix of old and new footage of student protests, news clips and actual stage productions. There’s also some old TV footage from the Smothers Brothers and a hilarious spot of James Rado and Jerome Ragni on Johnny Carson. All of this is interspersed with interviews from cast members (Melba Moore, Ben Vereen, Tim Curry, Keith Carradine…) and the visionary creators and producers (Rado &Ragni, Galt MacDermot, Michael Butler), as well as people connected with the international cast.

This film is touching and timely. It puts the Hair experience of the 60s in a much larger context, not only creatively, but socially. It also includes some personal stories – triumphs and tragedies – of those involved. I can just about guarantee you’ll still be thinking about it for some time afterwards. I emailed one of the film’s producers, Pola Rapaport, about showings, and this is what she had to say:

HAIR : Let the Sun Shine In will be shown next internationally in Warsaw, Poland, at the Planete Doc Film Festival, on May 15 and 17th. The next US screenings will be at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 24th and 26th. It will also be shown at the Jerusalem International Film Festival in July.

We are looking for a US television premiere. It played on French/ German Arte a few months ago. Arte provided the basic funding for the film.

When I get more info on US or Canadian etc. showings, I will certainly post them, too. Meanwhile, here’s the website for Ms. Rapaport http://www.blindinglightfilms.com/

And here's the sample video again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klObyJY1W_I
HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In (2007) – a film by Pola Rapaport and Wolfgang Held

ARTHUR C. CLARKE 1917-2008

Arthur C. Clarke, acclaimed writer of over 100 books on space science and the future, and famous for creating the concept of communication satellites long before they became a reality, has passed away at his home in Sri Lanka. Clarke's name is probably most associated (at least with the baby boomers) with the 1968 movie version of "2001" which he collaborated on with Stanley Kubrick. I wonder how many people back in the late 60s dropped acid and went to the matinee of that one! Even pseudo-hippies like me (who were too chicken to actually do acid) could go and watch that famous part near the end (what a light show that was!) and get what I'm told was a pretty good simulation of a trip.

Well, I like to think of old Arthur up there busily finding answers to all the mysteries that escaped him here on Planet Earth. We wish him well on the next leg of the journey.

Here's a short vid of the movie opening, with the signature music by Richard Strauss, "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Strauss created that title in homage to Nietzsche's famous philosophical treatise by the same name (sometimes called "Thus Spake/Spoke Zarathustra")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWnmCu3U09w

And here's the music in context in the movie. It's full of other memorable images, including the apes who, after millennia, finally "get it" (with a little help from that friendly monolith) about using tools. Enjoy the trip (pun intended) down memory lane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdoA3AJ6zGE&NR=1

FRINGE BENEFITS

Folk Rock, Country Rock, and some Acid Rock too. We've been looking to the south and the west (coast) in recent posts. And last time we remembered the musical, "Hair." Now it's time to pay tribute to that staple of the hippie rock era - fringe. Like hair itself, fringe could be a very individual thing. If it was leather, you could leave it natural brown or doeskin white, or have it dyed any color that took your fancy. You could also have it made of synthetic strands, decorated with beads, long or short, thick or thin. Fringe in the 60s/70s was a visible statement of your mindset, lifestyle, politics - you name it. Plus it was a lot of fun to wear. I not only had the aforementioned fringe vest in my youth, but these days I still have fringes on a purse, a jacket, and some work gloves (but now it's more of a "cowgirl" thing, the result of all my years in Alberta). Anyway, in this post we will look at some memorable fringed outfits. These are the standout ones I remembered and could find easily on YouTube, but I know there are others. Feel free to post your favorites.

THE GREAT FRINGES OF ROCK AND ROLL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxGcAm0EkTU
Neil Young is known for several fashion statements, one of which is pictured above on the left. But, as the photo on the right shows, he also had some killer fringe. This is from the album, "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere." I couldn't find a definitive video at YouTube of Neil in full fringe, but this is a nice one regardless, and...he's wearing a jacket that may or may not have a bit of fringe at the elbow...you be the judge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfycUkxbnlk&feature=related
This one starts with Graham Nash solo at the piano, but hang in there, David Crosby steps in at 1:43 to harmonize, wearing a gorgeous brown abundantly-fringed shirt. After a little goofy chit chat in the middle, they duet up again on Marrakesh Express. I wonder where that shirt is today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuVffu0YCa8
At the "Woodstock Nation" fringe was king. Here's Roger Daltry all bedecked, doing "See Me Feel Me" from "Tommy." The video is pretty dark (in the optical sense) in places, but you want to catch the last 2 minutes, when it brightens up, and Roger really works that fringe, and Pete Townshend does his signature jumps and fans the guitar. Love it love it love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nbhZEi2uNg&feature=related
Here we have Jimi, starting out with a familiar riff, then just taking off, with his beautiful blue and white fringe swaying along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmmBa7wDG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ig-6f0g55c
Okay, there's two of these; both still at Woodstock. The first one is actually of Janis (who was really more of a feather than fringe gal) but it's the very first few seconds of the video that shows Sly Stone when he raises his fringed arms like a bird taking to the sky. The second link is for the complete video of Sly's performance of "I Want to Take You Higher" which ends with the same flight. Like the Who video above, it's pretty hard to see in places, but gets better. And that whole performance had to have been one of the most moving of the weekend. And the fringe is the piece de resistance, as far as I'm concerned. Big wow.

Feb. 12/08 Update: Bingo! Just found one of Janis with fringe. Check out the photo at 3:45. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS2YgqDf-bg

GIMME A HEAD WITH HAIR

Now that's a song I bet a lot of baby boomers identify with in a rather different way today than they did back in the late 60s. Who here remembers the musical HAIR? Very good, I'm glad to see so many hands. The show's official title was "Hair - An American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" and it was all that and a bag of...well, never mind. Let's just say it wasn't chips. Perhaps these days the only songs anyone remembers are "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (The 5th Dimension), and the title song "Hair" (The Cowsills). And maybe "Good Morning Starshine" (Oliver) and "Easy To Be Hard" (Three Dog Night). Oh, and I think "Frank Mills" survived total obscurity too, but I don't recall at the moment who recorded it. That may seem like a goodly number of songs, but there's so many more aren't heard any more. I was something of a "Hair" devotee way back when. I had both the original Broadway cast recording (acid green and orange) and also the pink one, done by (as incongruous as it may sound) The Royal Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. Both records had most of the same songs, but each had some good ones the other didn't. Between these two, I think I had everything covered.

Speaking of covered, "Hair" was infamous at the time for including nude scenes in the some of the productions. Many venues banned the nudity part, but other more progressive ones went for it. I saw "Hair" in Detroit, with the Detroit cast, in 1970. While I'm pretty sure there wasn't any nudity in that one, I honestly can't remember. But I didn't exactly have front row seats, so if there was any nakedness on stage, I probably wouldn't have gotten a corrupting peek at anything. Gee, all that censorship for nothing. Of course, the wealthier kids who had close-up seats would have been damaged forever.

Anyway, here's a link that will give you the history of the show, if you're into it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_%28musical%29
As you'll see, the original Broadway cast is to modern popular music what SNL is to subsequent sitcom and comedy movies - a real talent farm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klObyJY1W_I
This is one terrific video, and obviously done recently. Great voices, and a nice touch at the end - the kids meet up with a "slightly older" James Rado (one of the creators of Hair) at the end. The 5th Dimension's version was a more commercial "hybrid" of two "Hair" songs. It was good, but this is the way "Hair" purists like me like to hear it. Peace out.

Later that same day...
I thought I'd put this little post script here for those (like me) die-hard trivia nutjobs. The full title of the above-linked song is "The Flesh Failures/Let The Sunshine In." Here is a link for the lyrics to the Flesh Failures part, which will help you decipher the layers.
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/goodmor1.htm

If you are a Mensa-level trivia buff, you will probably already be aware (sigh - I had to look it up) that the underlying lyrics are from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Here's a link for that, too. Scroll down to Lines 112-114.
http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T53.html
In conclusion, I guess having a production done by the Royal Shakespeare Festival wasn't so incongruous after all...

FOLK ROCK - PART ONE or...STROBE LIGHTS AND INCENSE AND POT - OH MY!

After I wrote my previous post, with that reference to "acid folk, " I got to trippin' on all that groovy music from the late 60s and early 70s that my flatmate and I used to listen to back in our weekend hippie days. We were definitely a long way from what you'd call the hardcore counterculture, but we sure tried to look the part. I had a brown leather vest with rivets and fringe down past my knees; she had a tie-dyed T-shirt with matching headband, and giant hoop earrings; we both wore bell-bottom jeans (with homemade flares). you're probably wondering right about now if I'm going to admit to smoking anything "homemade" too. Well, yes, I did try it out a few times (and yes, I did inhale) but honestly, the whole "get high" thing never really caught on with me. My guess is it's because I'm a Taurus. For those of you who don't know astrology, Taurus is what's known as an Earth (as is solid ground) Sign. It's also a Fixed (as in real steady) Earth Sign. Plus, I also have a few teensy little control issues (as in, "the Observation Deck...no way!!"). So you can easily imagine I wasn't a good candidate for being a stoner. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy other accoutrements of hippie life. Sitting in a darkened room (India print bedspread/curtain over the window) with black light posters on the ceiling, laughing at the glowing lint on everybody's clothes can be a total blast...just not for hours. Of course, I found listening to the music the best part, and that could be done any time, any place, and under any conditions.

Back in those days I had the good fortune to know some actual hippies who were really into "folk rock," and who turned me on to some of the good stuff. Nowadays, it seems like there's all kinds of terms, with different shades of meaning and style: acid folk, freak folk, psych (as in psychedelic) folk. I honestly don't recall all those names back then, but maybe. What's most important to me is the fusion of various elements from "world music" (another more modern term). Instruments and traditions from India and the British Isles were two big influences, both in North America and across the pond. Some of my favorite British artists and groups were (and still are) Donovan, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Jethro Tull.

Here's a few samples from our friends at YouTube. Hope they bring you wonderful memories, but no bad flashbacks, man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2xODjbfYw8
Judy Collins is probably better known for this one, but the late Sandy Denny wrote it and performs it here with Fairport Convention. It will be a long time before we hear the likes of her voice again, IMHO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCSUfTEcWow
This one by Donovan was something of an anti-war song, because of its message of a peaceful Golden Age. Oddly, Scorsese paired it with a scene in "Goodfellas" that is arguably the most violent in a movie known for being violent (it's also available on YouTube). Also, Donovan and the Beatles also had a lot of cross-pollination, which is why the repeating chorus might remind you of "Hey Jude" or vice versa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwT0COKXFMM
Pentangle's Jacquie McShee is another voice of another age. My personal fave of theirs is "Sweet Child" but there's no video of that one yet. But this little thinly-veiled morality song about "saving yourself for Mr. Right" is totally charming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toHlMD50eYY
Every Christmas when I hear that musical line about "ten lords a-leaping" I always picture Ian Anderson. This video may be too long for some...it's practically the Compleat Jethro Tull all by itself...but well worth a look and a listen. Worth while checking out the lyrics, too. http://remus.rutgers.edu/JethroTull/Albums/ThickAsABrick-lyrics.html

or, if you want just a little Tull with your tea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W37x7lNP4DY&feature=related


Coming next post: artists and bands for over here.