Current Watching

[Toby Gymshorts]

Canada also benefits from a _massive_ amount of goodwill from a small corner of South-east London,

[Ray de Galles]

There was an edited down TV Special/DVD called "One Night With You", which is just the sit down concert bit, like Benjm, I only remember the sit down bits so perhaps that's what I watched.

Whenever I watch it, it's astounding how good Elvis is, how good he looks, and how tragic it was that he'd wasted the previous 6 years making dumb movies, and that this was about as good as it got, considering the downward trajectory of his remaining 9 years.

Fun fact/scurrilous rumour: they shot two concerts on the same day, and in between they had to wash Elvis' leathers, which, according to director Steve Binder, were not just sweat soaked - he claims Elvis had ejaculated during the performance. Can't say I blame him.

I wouldn't necessarily call 69-73 a "downward trajectory" creatively for Elvis.

In 69 he made 'From Elvis In Memphis' which is a fantastic album and includes 'In The Ghetto' while 'Suspicious Minds' came from the same sessions.

The live shows and albums & singles that came from them ('The Wonder Of You', 'An American Trilogy', 'Burning Love', 'Steamroller Blues' and 'Polk Salad Annie' amongst the latter) from 1970-73 were great.

There was admittedly an element of schmaltz and self-parody but it primarily produced a lot of astounding performances.

Of course, personally and health wise he was obviously on the slide through that period and those issues took over from 73 onwards.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The live shows and albums & singles that came from them ('The Wonder Of You', 'An American Trilogy', 'Burning Love', 'Steamroller Blues' and 'Polk Salad Annie' amongst the latter) from 1970-73 were great.

Definitely, also Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain

[Ray de Galles]

Yes, I mentioned the former earlier as it was a studio single while that list is of live singles.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Ah right, missed it.

[Sits]

Ahh, poor old Elvis. Because I was 13 at the time, 42 didn’t seem that young. Now I see things a little differently.

[Ray de Galles]

I've probably told the story on here before but the night Elvis died my mum was so grief-stricken that I initially thought my dad (who was away at sea at the time) had died.

She was watching the news and her sobbing woke me up (I was eight) and when I came downstairs to see what was going on she was so upset and incoherent saying "He's gone, he's dead" that I initially didn't connect it with what was on the TV.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I've probably told the story on here before but the night Elvis died my mum was so grief-stricken that I initially thought my dad (who was away at sea at the time) had died.

She was watching the news and her sobbing woke me up (I was eight) and when I came downstairs to see what was going on she was so upset and incoherent saying "He's gone, he's dead" that I initially didn't connect it with what was on the TV.

Gosh. That must have been quite traumatic for you.

I was on holiday in Somerset when he died. We had the radio on, not sure of the channel, possibly Radio Luxembourg, and the DJ said something like "remember where you are right now because in years to come, just like when JFK died, people will ask you were when you heard what you're about to hear."

So, a caravan site at Brean.

(I think).

[Ray de Galles]

It's still a pretty vivid memory so I suppose it must have been quite disturbing, yes.

[Gangster Octopus]

Sitting in the kitchen, listening to the radio. I made an "Elvis Lives" badge at work the next day.

[nmrfox]

Travelling down with family friends to Swansea to see Glamorgan take on Leicestershire in the semi final of the Gillette Cup. It rained constantly, never saw a ball of cricket and the radio in the car played nothing but god-awful to my ears, bloody Elvis songs all day long (with apologies to those who and their family appreciated him far more than my punk attuned ears).

[jwdd27]

Have you read The Essex Serpent, a mystery/romance set in Victorian times on the Blackwater between Maldon and Osea?

I haven't, no, I will investigate - that area of the country is pretty much unknown to me, the only bits of Essex I've been to are the ones which are basically in London but the estuaries, marshes and islands near the coast always seem interesting, possibly because I'm used to flat, wet and faintly unsettling landscapes from the area of North Lincolnshire I grew up in.

[Jon]

That 'From Elvis in Memphis' album is just brilliant and as underrated as albums come. How Great Thou Art is another. It came about a year or so before the Comeback Special and was the first non-soundtrack album he'd recorded for years.

[Sits]

I haven't, no, I will investigate - that area of the country is pretty much unknown to me, the only bits of Essex I've been to are the ones which are basically in London but the estuaries, marshes and islands near the coast always seem interesting, possibly because I'm used to flat, wet and faintly unsettling landscapes from the area of North Lincolnshire I grew up in.

Ah right fair enough. Whereas growing up in the Thames Valley, and my last 22 years here, it generated sufficient mystique for me that I’d like to have a look around some day.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Just watched a documentary about the Palio Di Siena. Extraordinary stuff. The whole event tells you an awful lot about the human desire to connect to place and the intense emotions of rivalry.

[ursus arctos]

And corruption

[Nocturnal Submission]

Oh, yes. Though that appears to be an accepted and integral part of the "game."

[ursus arctos]

As it is in Italian culture as a whole

[Satchmo Distel]

Watched the first episode of Wild Bill on ITV. Rob Lowe is a disgraced top American cop who takes a job as Chief Constable in East Lincolnshire.

It was OK. I suspect its going to have the fairly obvious redemptive story arc, and his relationship with his daughter will be healed and he will find emotional healing and acceptance as well. But ignoring all that guff, I think it's the first time East Lincolnshire has been the setting for prime time drama and it actually feel like it addresses the issues faced by the area without proposing an easy resolution like 'if we could all understand that we are the same underneath we could all get along'. That side of things is interesting. Rob Lowe, not so much.

Also Rob Lowe doesn't act so much as spit out lines in a deadpan way. Doesn't matter if he's doing comedy or drama, his delivery is the same note every time.

My wife and I watched this last night. There is some sly humour which we enjoyed but it is all cliche in the main, although some of that may have been deliberate parody. It was fun to watch and not too time-consuming (6 x 45 minutes).

[Hot Pepsi]

I think I will persist with The Third Day, but I doubt I’m the only one who is losing patience with shows that are all about keeping the audience guessing about what is actually going on.

That’s fine in Twilight Zone episodes that lay a half hour or even a film that lasts two hours, but to have to wait weeks and weeks - or years! - to figure it out an have to remember details week to week can be irritating.

This is partly a pandemic problem - my brain just doesn’t have the bandwidth - but I gave up on Lost after one season and really hated the last two seasons of Westworld (but watched them anyway).

But at least Third Day isn’t just about the mystery for mystery sake. Jude Law and Katherine Waterson’s characters are interesting regardless.

[slackster]

Took a look at the first 2 episodes of Ratched (netflix) over the weekend, which gives a backstory to the monstrous Nurse Ratched character from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Beautifully filmed, lovely costumes and locations, plenty of nods - both visually and musically - to other horror/suspense classics. But the story felt ultimately a bit empty and the actors hammed up the stereotypes so much I don’t think I’ll bother watching any more.

[WOM]

Yeah, it's a Ryan Murphy joint....and they all benefit / suffer in pretty much the same way.

[Hot Pepsi]

I've still not read or seen 1FOTCCN. It sounds so demoralizing.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Having staggered towards the finishing line of the entire run of Desperate Housewives, I can't face another full run for now but easing myself gently into the boxsets of the first two seasons of Taxi that I bought a couple of weeks ago.

So far it's basically been one episode each for the main characters to establish themselves - Alex goes to meet his long lost daughter, Banta loses a fight, Bobby (Kenickie) can't get an acting job, the one who doesn't last long gets married on the spur of the moment, Elaine tries to impress her gallery friends, Louie doesn't want to go to his high school reunion, Latka gets married so he doesn't get deported (with Christopher Lloyd doing the honours). In this episode I'm watching now Banta's girlfriend gives Alex a "Black Beauty" and now he's whizzing his fucking tits off.

The next two episodes are the two-parter "Memories of Cab 804" which gave me a Proustian rush just seeing the title, but I'll save them til later in the weekend.

[Cal Alamein]

Thoroughly intrigued by A PERFECT CRIME on Netflix. It regards the 1991 murder/assasination of Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, who was responsible for the de-nationalization of state assets as East and West Germany merge. I'm through episode 3 of 4.