Great Minds Meeting

 Brian Johnson (AC/DC) and Mark Knopfler are both from the North of England, Newcastle to be specific.  Brian has done a series of interviews for his show and this is an excerpt from his interview with Knopfler, done at the site of the former Spanish City amusement park, the setting for Knopfler's great tune Tunnel of Love, which he says he wrote in response to Springsteen's songs centered on American landmarks.  A fun interview which towards the end even has a Spinal Tap moment as the two try to sing a song they heard as kids 60 years ago.

And this is Tunnel Of Love

On Israel And Gaza

Earlier this month, I wrote two posts on Israel/Gaza and one on the implications of the support on American campuses and elsewhere for Hamas.  Rather than do continued posts on those topics I've been   adding additional material and doing some editing on an ongoing basis on each post, particularly on the latter one for which I've also changed the title, so I'm going to repost the links.

Israel/Gaza

Into Gaza

The Right Gesture

On America

The Danger Within: Equality or Equity, Which Side Are You On?

Yes, Indeed

 From Super 70s Sports.  Yes, we had this casserole dish in the 70s.

Every kitchen in America in the 70s came equipped with this exact casserole dish. pic.twitter.com/pIgeiihvPB

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 30, 2023

And it's in the collection of the Smithsonian's Museum of American History!  The CorningWare Ceramic Casserole began manufacturing in the 1960s, was discontinued in the early 90s, but brought back in 2009 due to popular demand.

Bernadette

From the mountain top where they keep the most impassioned love songs of the 60s, it's Bernadette by the Four Tops, written by Holland-Dozier-Holland.  One of the best Motown lyrics, nested in a stirring arrangement, and powered by the vocal intensity of Levi Stubbs.  Released in February 1967, it hit #4 on the charts.

Bernadette, people are searchin' for
The kind of love that we possessed
Some go on, searchin' their whole life through
And never find the love, I've found in you

 

And when I speak of you, I see envy in other men's eyes
And I'm well aware of what's on their minds
They pretend to be my friend, when all the time
They long to persuade you from my side

 
They'd give the world and all they own
For just one moment we have known

Bernadette, they want you because of the pride that gives
But Bernadette, I want you because, I need you to live

Ronnie's Last Stand

Here is the trailer from The Killers, the 1964 film that marked the last movie appearance of Ronald Reagan's career.  Directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Shootist (John Wayne's last film)) and also starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes and the legendary Norman Fell!

The trailer includes the shocking scene in which Reagan slaps Angie Dickinson.  Reagan later said he regretted doing the film and should have retired before making it.

A fantastic original Trailer for Ernest Hemingway’s

THE KILLERS (1964) #LeeMarvin #AngieDickinson #JohnCassavetes #RonaldReagan

pic.twitter.com/kzmyma8p2o

— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) October 6, 2023

Many Rivers To Cross

A soulful ballad written by Jimmy Cliff in 1969 and covered by many artists since.  Featured in the movie The Harder They Come, about a struggling musician in Jamaica, and which helped to popularize reggae music.  I made four visits to Jamaica from 1966 through 1969 and have many fond memories.  The country was much different and was not yet the tourist mecca it became.  My father spent a lot of time there from the mid-60s into the early 70s, both for business and pleasure and knew many people on the island, many of whom I met on my visits.  With my dad we took drives all over the island back in a time when we never worried about our safety.  We mostly stayed in Montego Bay but on one trip stayed with a family in Kingston.  I remember attending a house party with the kids from the family somewhere in Kingston, where I heard music I'd never heard before - the precursor to reggae.