pop cultured

I’ve never particularly been a fan of Britney Spears, but I was intrigued when, after all the trouble the Spears girls have gotten into the past 2 years, their mother, Lynne decided to pen a book. Titled “Through the Storm”, I can sum this book up in a couple of words: snooze fest.

I thought Mrs. Spears’ book would be interesting, but it’s written in a semi-defensive mode, with lame excuses for just about every faux pas the Spears family has made. Some of the choices were just plain stupid: Lynne, allowing her teen daughter to go on the tour without either of her parents (a family friend acted as guardian). Britney’s parents, allowing Rolling Stone to do a photo shoot of a teenage Britney, in her bedroom in a bra and shortie shorts. Then acting shocked when RS puts the shot on their cover (Lynne  thought the family would have a say in which photos were used). The family, standing by dumbly as Britney’s then-companion Sam Lufti allegedly threatened them and drugged their daughter (even more wacky is how Spears met Lufti—he crank called Lynne and she actually met with him!).

The book left me feeling depressed, to be honest. It’s sad that the Spears family didn’t have better guidance, more trustworthy advisers and handlers. And their family definitely suffered because of it.

This book may be interesting to die-hard Britney Spears fans but to me it was just sad.

Anyone who grew up in the 70’s and watched PBS has got to remember this one: Ubbi Dubbi, the language from the “Zoom” show. Each episode, Zoom would feature a segment of kids speaking in this mysterious language.

I could never get Ubbi Dubbi right, although the instructions aren’t all that hard. To speak Ubbi Dubbi, you have to say ”ub” before each vowel sound in a  word. For example, “pop cultured” would be “pubop cubultubured” in Ubbi Dubbi.

I always had a hard time trying to speak Ubbi Dubbi. But thanks to the internet, the kids today have it much easier. The Zoom website at PBSkids.org actually has an Ubbi Dubbi translator!

I’m sorry, but I must take a break from reporting on TV sitcoms for a minute. Legendary artist Andrew Wyeth died yesterday at his home in Chadds Ford, PA at the age of 91. And what a life he led in those 91 years!

Wyeth was known for his unique style, and critics either loved it or hated it. His most famous painting was his 1948 piece called “Christina’s World” . But Wyeth continued to paint for decades after that, even into 2008

.One of my favorite quotes about Wyeth’s art came from his son, Jamie Wyeth. “At one level, it’s all snowy woods and stone walls. At another, it’s terrifying. He exists at both levels.”

It’s true. If you’ve ever had the privilege to see Wyeth’s works in person, they no doubt haunted you afterwards.The art world has lost a master. Thankfully we have a huge body of work to remember him by. 

Photo: Evening at Keurner’s/Andrew Wyeth

He was known as “The Man of 1000 Voices”  and it was true-  prolific voice actor Mel Blanc voiced all of the great ones.

He started his early career in radio and then became a sidekick on The Jack Benny Show. But it was  Blanc’s voice work for  Warner Brothers and then Hanna Barbera Productions that brought him his biggest claim to fame.

Some of Mel Blanc’s most famous voices included the voice of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny (probably his best known), Tweety Bird, Pepe Le Pew, Foghhorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Speedy Gonzales, Barney Rubble (and Dino!), Wile E. Coyote  and The Tasmanian Devil.

When Mel Blanc died in 1989, the world became a more silent place.

Do you remember this fashion trend? Back in the day (okay, back in MY day– the mid 1970’s) Levi’s corduroy pants were the coolest thing to wear to junior high. Boys and girl both wore them. The cords came in a variety of cool colors, had to be straight leg (at least in my part of the country) and absolutely had to be cuffed at the bottom. What a fashion statement– and they looked great with my “Aaaay Fonz” t-shirt!

I owned a tan pair and a blue pair of the coveted Levi’s cords. I wanted the emerald green but never got them! Wondering if the cuffed cord trend will ever be cool again….

Back when I was a kid, one of my favorite Christmas albums was “A Partridge Family Christmas Card”. Not only did I get to hear my favorite Christmas songs on this album, but I got to hear David Cassidy’s dreamy voice as well!

This wasn’t just a corny album of Christmas ballads. The Partridge’s had a few “rockin” songs as well—okay, well as “rockin” as you could get for 70’s bubblegum pop. My favorite track was called “My Christmas Card to You”. 

Shirley Jones also performed a few solo songs on “A Partridge Family Christmas Card”, showcasing her beautiful voice—I especially love her version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.

I still own this album today, in CD version.  If you were ever a fan of The Partridge family, you should own it too!

Want a surefire way to get you in the mood for Christmas, while escaping the madness of it all? Try reading John Grisham’s book, “Skipping Christmas”. It’s a hilarious look at some of the absurdities we all experience during the hectic holiday season. Every Christmas season this book takes me away from it all- and I laugh out loud in the meantime (which is a rarity when I read).

If you’ve read other books by Grisham, you will surely find “Skipping Christmas” to be different. It’s the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a couple who decide to skip all the Christmas hoopla and instead take their money and go on a cruise. But their friends and family don’t let them get away with it too easily.

Oh, the movie version of this book, called “Christmas With the Kranks” doesn’t have anywhere near the charm of the  book.  Skip the movie and just read the book.

 I remember begging my Daddy for this album when I was 5 years old.  I saw it while we were Christmas shopping at a big department store—there it was, in all its vinyl glory, the album “Christmas With the Brady Bunch”.  My dad did end up buying it for me, which made him the  greatest father in the world in my book,  and when we got home I carefully climbed up to the turntable (it was on a  shelf) and played it. This is one of my earliest childhood memories. Seriously.

The album featured solo songs by all of the Brady kids- Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby and Cindy- and then some group songs.

Of course my beloved record album is long gone, but I did replace this gem on CD a few years ago. Definitely a hoot—and a blast from the past!

We have Christmas songs (“Silent Night”, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”), Easter songs (“Here Comes Peter Cottontail”) and even a few Halloween songs (“Monster Mash”, etc.) but I was scratching my head this morning trying to think if there are any popular Thanksgiving songs.

I knew there was a song that mentioned pumpkin pie, and then it dawned on me: Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 folk song, “Alice’s Restaurant”.

“Alice’s Restaurant” could possibly be one of the longest songs in history (I think it’s over 20 minutes long), which is why you don’t hear the full-length version on the radio much.

Still, Thanksgiving is the central theme to this song. The song also inspired the 1969 movie of the same name. Turn on your radio this Thanksgiving while you’re making your stuffing— it’s the one day of the year you may actually hear this song.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With pop hits like “Runaround Sue” and “I Was Made For Dancing”, Leif Garrett was one of the hottest teen idols of the 1970’s. I never dug his music, but thought his looks were totally dreamy.  Unfortunately, as happens to many child stars, Garrett got into trouble experimenting with drugs and alcohol. A car accident in 1979 left a passenger in his car (his best friend at the time, Roland Winkler), paralyzed.

Garrett spent the next two decades battling his demons, going through messy lawsuits and finally reuniting with Winkler in 1999 for a VH1 “behind the Music” episode. Through the 80’s he had bit parts in films, appearing in movies like ‘the Outsiders” and “The Spirit of ‘76” and he also continued with his singing career, although he went from singing sugary pop tunes to alternative music.

Never married, Garrett had 2 high-profile relationships: he dated Nicolette Sheridan in the early 1980’s and he dated Justine Bateman in the late 80’s.

He continued to struggle with drugs into the early 2000’s. In 2007 he released an album, “The Three Sides Of…”. Today he lives in California and continues his work as a singer.