Frank De Vol, born Sep 20, 1911

Frank wrote a lot of music for a lot of shows.  He was basically the House Composer for "The Brady Bunch," and the "Bradys" and all the Brady Christmases and weddings.  He wrote soundtracks for 92 movies and TV programs, from the usual light-hearted family fare (Disney's "Herbie" films, "My Three Sons"), to grittier, more desperate tales ("Emperor of the North",  "Murder Inc"), and a few 1960s classics ("Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "The Dirty Dozen", "Pillow Talk").  

 

He made "stock music" for film production.  And he wrote the music for Screen Gems' "dancing stick" animated trademark of the 60's.  

 

 

He also started appearing as a character actor- a role for which he was suited, obviously being some kind of character.  Mostly one-shots, except for his excellent work as bandleader Happy Kyne on Norman Lear's living tribute to the 70's, "Fernwood 2 Night" and "America 2 Night".  His low-key style really fit in with the kind of talk-show surreality they practiced in Fernwood.

 

 

William W.D. "Bud" Prize: Origin Story

I guess this is a bonus video.  Next Sunday is-  well, it's a special day for Old TV Fans.  While I was looking up material for it, I uncovered this appearance by Kenneth Marrs on "Fernwood 2 Night".  Looking at it again, the Radio Dada quasi-interview influence of Bob and Ray is clearer than ever.

 

Charles Fort: an excerpt from The Book of the Damned

 

Charles H Fort collected and wrote about unusual events that were poorly explained, mostly things falling from the sky- meat, spiders, tiny crosses (thus giving his name to the eponymous fortean fall)- but any strange, inexplicable events in general; intrusions on our untidy reality of the many things in Heaven and Earth that are not dreamt of in our philosophy.

 

His influence to our work here at CutUpSound is in his reminder that explanations necessarily follow the event, which itself acknowledges no rules or prior realities.  Reality is not necessarily playing our game.  But whatever the case, keep good notes and use them to bedevil the self-proclaimed interpreters of that reality.  

 

This week's reading is an excerpt from "The Book of the Damned", published in 1919.  

 

"Astronomy" 

Alternate History: Wally Cox

 

Pelfrey & Rhodes: Imperialism, intro music

"Imperialism" was a computer game, produced by Frog City Software and SSI.  The soundtrack was written by Danny Pelfrey and Rick Rhodes.  The opening music sets the theme about 19th Century empire-building in a striking and appropriate way.  

A musical poem, actually.  About the release of the Genie, with the discovery of steam power.  The empires built on that and their inevitable conflict. Valiant heroism riding a rococo filigree of strings.  And through it all, the little MIDI toiling away like a full-blown symphony orchestra.  

play (2:19)

Luciano Albo: She's Leaving Home

 

Wait, that's Jesslyn Fax, in The Music Man-

 

This week's offering is from Luciano Albo, and it answers the musical question, what if the Beatles had been a Motown band?  It might have gone something like this...

 

Play 

Alternate history: Columbo