From the Couch Hole: I’m Still Alright to Smile

Previously on FTCH, the band on the run didn’t have a logical song about their obsession with buttered corn potato chips. The brand-new day found the witchfinders enjoying a strawberry ginger ale. This week the longer days of work have started with the promise of college football soon as my reward to get through these long days. This week have some patience because the mirror crack’d and trouble is my business. Space Godzilla and Kamen Rider enjoyed a Star-Spangled Pop-Tart together. Remember, FTCH is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Raymond Chandler – Trouble Is My Business (1950) (Published by Vintage Crime): “The voice that answered was fat. It wheezed softly, like the voice of a man who had just won a pie-eating contest.” This essentially completes my 14-month sprint through Raymond Chandler’s major works. This is two novellas and two novelettes. It includes “Trouble Is My Business,” “Finger Man,” “Goldfish.” and “Red Wind.” These were published in the Black Mask pulp in the 1930s. The introduction to the collection written by Chandler is interesting because it’s ten years after the death of the Pulps, an era he correctly predicts would never be duplicated.
  
  The stand out story here is “Red Wind.” The first two stories have the convoluted plots and cast of characters that complicate so many of his novels. The “Goldfish” story is so traditional a mystery, that I wonder if it was meant for a different character other than Marlowe. The “Red Wind” story pulls together the dialog, setting, and characters that I have loved about this project. Marlowe is just minding his business having a rye in his local bar when a man walks in looking for a woman and is shot by another patron of the bar. Of course, it’s never so simple and there’s got to be a femme fatale involved. I have no idea why this hasn’t been updated and made into a current noir film.

Buy Trouble Is My Business

• Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple – “The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side” (Episode 12) (BBC) (1992): “While you’re in St. Mary Mead, I suggest you make contact with an old lady there. Oh, she looks like what you’d expect. Don’t be deceived – she’s got a mind like a meat cleaver.” – Superintendent Slack. This is the great Joan Hickson’s last time portraying Miss Marple. The series ends with a faithful adaptation (I haven’t read the book, but I have heard this compliment applied to the adaptation) that allows Hickson to show off her subtle humor and observational skills. The story is more straightforward than others in the series. Heather Babcock dies of poisoning from a drink that may have been meant to kill aging actress, Marina Gregg. I was surprised that they changed Inspector Craddock to be Miss Marple’s nephew, a detail not revealed in previous episodes. This was an enjoyable series that didn’t move at a fast pace, so it might not appeal to most. Lots of scenes of people talking in sitting rooms isn’t much like today’s mysteries. I’m inspired to watch some more adaptations of these stories for comparison.

Buy Guns N’ Roses – G N’ R Lies

• Guns N’ Roses – “Patience” (from G N’ R Lies) (1988): “If I can’t have you right now, I’ll wait, dear / Sometimes, I get so tense but I can’t speed up the time.” Slash, Izzy, and Duff all play acoustic guitars, Axl sings, and I can only guess why drummer, Steven Adler didn’t make the session. A hint would be that Adler was in rehab when Don Henley subbed in on drums when they performed this at the AMAs. The 1988 album, G N’ R Lies felt rushed after the success of their first album, but this song would have a lasting legacy of hard-rock ballads of the decade. Although I can’t imagine that any of the women this could have been written about having patience with the members of this band, I can still picture living in Dana Point and playing this CD while reading on a Sunday afternoon.

• Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994) (Directed by Kensho Yamashita): “Godzilla! I still have something to settle with you!” – Lt. Sato. While watching the new Godzilla films, I’m working my way forward from the old ones. In short, Godzilla cells float around in space, enter a black hole and then Space Godzilla is born and heads back to Earth. I think upon release, I way overvalued the fights and ignored that the subplots are weak and seem to exist outside of the Godzilla plot. The monster is influenced by an earlier Super Nintendo game, and it has the same depth. The film was rushed to production after the American reboot was delayed. The redesign of Little Godzilla is reminiscent of the ’70s when characters seemed to just be created to sell toys. I’m disappointed that this feels so randomly thrown together. Even the battles, I realize now, are mostly just excuses to use lasers instead of the classic wrestling moves.

Buy Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II / Godzilla Vs. Spacegodzilla Set

• Shin Kamen Rider (2023) (Directed by Hideaki Anno): “You are the masterpiece of the Organization’s insect-hybrid soldier augmentation project.” – Hiroshi Midorikawa. Director Anno completed his Shin series of Godzilla, Ultraman, Neon Genesis Evangelion. and Kamen Rider. It wasn’t until I thought about this that I saw the connection between the government manipulation of young people in Neon Genesis and Kamen Rider. All four films are visually stunning. This might be the weakest of the four, only because it gets bogged down in personal anguish. I have only watched random episodes of previous series going back to the first in 1971. The basic premise has stayed the same, Takeshi is turned into a human/insect hybrid by SHOCKER to do their evil bidding, he escapes and seeks revenge against the corporation, all while suffering for his loss of humanity. If you love motorcycle riding and monster fighting that’s on par with the Ultraman fights, this is your type of film. I’m sad that there won’t be crossovers of the different properties in the Shin cycle, but one can dream. In the meantime, I eagerly await Hideaki Anno’s next project – Space Battleship Yamato.

Buy Shin Ultraman

Best of the Rest

• Soundgarden had opened for Guns N’ Roses on the Use Your Illusion tour. Chris Cornell recorded the song in 2016 while teaching his daughter to play guitar. It was released in 2020, a few years after his death in 2017 and became a #1 posthumous hit. The version doesn’t resonate with me like I thought it might. Maybe it’s Cornell’s personal history getting in the way of it. There’s more depression in this version than actual patience because of love heartache.

• One of the worst and best things we get with streaming is flexibility. The strategy for FOX and their Animation Domination has been to release non-linear television episodes outside of the normal schedules. Last season we had additional episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy on Disney+. The recent announcement that Bob’s Burgers (FOX) was delayed until January was balanced by the announcement of a special holiday episode on Disney+/Hulu. Fox has tried to move on from their old Animation Domination schedule, but the momentum remains for the older shows no matter how much they try to kill them (think about the Family Guy episode dump on Thursdays). The only thing that sticks with fans is what is going to happen to our cherished Bob’s Burgers Halloween episodes.

• By my reckoning, I’ve had over thirty different Pringles flavors in the past eight years. My general disappointment with them in the past twelve months had me swearing off of them. The Lite Beer combinations just didn’t spark my enthusiasm. Then I read about their new partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings. There will be three new flavors – Parmesan Garlic, Asian Zing, and Medium Buffalo – just in time for tailgating this fall. They keep pulling me back in.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• Sunday Morning Tuneage from 8/22/2010, the kids were back to school, and I was working every day of the week, including some very late nights. It was exhausting, even just remembering the hours spent in that store at North Texas. I was super busy but finding time for Adult Swim with my favorites, Children’s Hospital and Boondocks.
  
  My #52 Top TV Show of All-Time was Buffy The Vampire Slayer (WB/UPN) (1997-2003): This is the rare show that I have ranked with less than 50% watched at the time. Now, I’m still two seasons short of being finished. I misjudged this show after watching an episode or two of the first season when it debuted. I had gone back to start it when released on DVD, and I was rewarded with a show that gave me everything I loved about Scooby-Doo along with a dash of horror, science fiction, and traditional high school drama. It’s a clever show that subverts most of the tropes of shows like this. This is a fair rating and I might cheat a little and put Angel on the same line item, even though I’m only a season into that show currently.
  
• BEST MALE SINGING DUOS OF ALL-TIME (2010)
  • 10. Erik B. & Rakim
  • 9. Sam & Dave
  • 8. The Brothers Johnson
  • 7. The Blues Brothers
  • 6. Outkast
  • 5. Loggins & Messina
  • 4. Pet Shop Boys
  • 3. Steely Dan
  • 2. Hall & Oates
  • 1. Simon & Garfunkel
    
• BEST MALE SINGING DUOS OF ALL-TIME (2026)
  • 10. The Everly Brothers: I might not know them beyond their Greatest Hits, but I do recognize that we probably wouldn’t have most of the rest of this list without their harmonies. Start with “Wake Up Little Susie.”
  • 9. The Black Keys: The most debated addition to the list. They are here because they set the tone for what male duos would be in the new century. Start with “Lonely Boy.”
  • 8. The Righteous Brothers: Not actual brothers, but soulful as all get out. They are not heavy on quantity of hits, but big on quality of hits. Start with “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”
  • 7. Sam & Dave: The mix of soul and Gospel never sounded better. They feed off of each other, often with that call and response you get in church. Start with “Soul Man.”
  • 6. Outkast: When they debuted, we didn’t have the term “Dirty South,” and we understood that it wasn’t exactly G-Funk. Big Boi and Andre 3000 have a great chemistry, and neither is the weak link in the duo. In a different world, they may have been an avant-garde art school band, but their geography and environment gave us one of the top Hip Hop groups ever. Start with “The Way You Move.”
  • 5. Steely Dan: They would be one of the biggest enigmas of the ’70s. They are rock but also somehow jazz. They laid the groundwork for Yacht Rock. They also have one of the most impressive family trees of the decade when you look at all of the names on their musicians. Start with “Peg.”
  • 4. Wham!: How did I leave George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley off of the first list? They had a perfect mix of New Wave, Pop, and British Soul. It didn’t even sound culturally inappropriate when they did a rap song (mostly). Start with “Careless Whisper.”
  • 3. Tears for Fears: A duo doesn’t have to be built upon great harmonies or hip hop raps. They just have to have a chemistry that you can feel in their songs. That’s what puts Tears for Fears with Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal on this list. They found a sweet spot in New Wave with soul influences. Start with “Head Over Heels.”
  • 2. Daryl Hall and John Oates: Their version of Philly Soul didn’t have an equal on the charts. It’s not just awesome harmonies and deceivingly funky grooves, but they tapped into a crossover market that appealed to multiple groups. There’s a good reason they are the best selling pop duo of all-time. Start with “Sara Smile.”
  • 1. Simon and Garfunkel: I knew when I read the title that this duo would remain at the top spot. They succeeded at a time when their style of music didn’t command the respect that it had earlier in the ’60s. They sold records because their talent was undeniable. It’s an incredible mix of voices that you couldn’t have planned any better. Start with “The Boxer.”

Buy Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits

1976 in Review

• August – The Amazing Spider-Man #159 (Marvel Comics): Cover by Gil Kane. Written by Len Wein. Art by Ross Andru. Why don’t I remember the Spider-Mobile which was being repaired. This is an interesting team up between Spider-Man and Doc Ock against Hammerhead. I could never keep track of Hammerhead’s status. He seemed to die every couple of years.
• August 12 – Gerald Ford signed the National Swine Flu Immunization Program law to immunize 200 million people against the swine flu.
• August 28 – TV Guide. Cover illustration by Mark English. The Six Million Dollar Man was about to start its fourth season on ABC and it would be a whopper. The season would start with “The Return of Bigfoot, Part 1” starring Ted Cassidy as Sasquatch and Lindsay Wagner as the Bionic Woman. The crossover would conclude a few days later on The Bionic Woman. Bionic people were at their all-time high in popularity in the Fall of 1976.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“Girl, I think about you every day now
Was a time when I wasn’t sure
But you set my mind at ease
There is no doubt you’re in my heart now” – Guns N’ Roses