As an analytical, math-oriented guy, I find Berkeley’s style of staging fascinating. I definitely appreciate the flowing movements in this clip, but what really stands out are the dozens of neon-tubed violins that light up twice during the instrumental break. That, coupled with Mervyn LeRoy’s directing, results in a beautiful scene.

Prepare to be blown away…and remember, this was filmed 78 years ago in 1933 without the aid of computers!

YouTube – Busby Berkeley’s violin sequence
(posted by YouTube user takethetube9010)

To me, this performance is more enjoyable and impressive than today’s music videos and pop star performances. Someday, innovation and beauty will make a comeback, right?

In 2010, I saw Gold Diggers of 1933 at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City. I usually hate musical numbers in movies, but I admit, one of the scenes I enjoyed the most features Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money,” including a verse in Pig Latin! Enjoy:

YouTube – Gold Diggers of 1933 – “We’re in the Money”
(posted by YouTube user chackwor)

Children’s TV music!

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 9:

• my previous recording gone wrong,
• my childhood neighbor’s record collection,
• being unfazed by 20 year old records as a child,
• trains with no passengers,
• are 20 year old CDs cool and impressive today?,
• the level of musical sophistication and variety in children’s TV shows from the 1970s and 80s (Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Great Space Coaster, etc.),
• Sesame Street Jazz #3 video,
• Sesame Street Pinball Number Count video,
• Sesame Street Capital I and Lowercase N video,
• composer Joe Raposo,
• The Electric Company LY (Tom Lehrer) video,
• Sunbow Productions (Ford Kinder, Anne Bryant, Spencer Michlin, and Barry Harman),
• and the music of Jem.

Download this episode:
46 minute MP3 file – 42 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-009.mp3)

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 8:

• figuring out the best spot to stand on the train platform,
• my weird experience coming out of the PATH station this morning,
• scaffolding in NYC,
• being more efficient when paying for groceries,
• most people in front of me in line taking 10 times longer than I do,
• bank tellers and post offices,
• most people entering and exiting elevators too slowly,
• unusually warm weather,
• my hatred of obnoxiously loud motorcycles,
• why it’s so important to leave comments on podcasts,
• the importance of online interaction and discussion,
• buying an electric guitar soon,
• and being realistic and reasonable about my music equipment and prices.

Download this episode:
31 minute MP3 file – 28.3 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-008.mp3)

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 7:

• Tanya Donelly (founding member of Belly, The Breeders, and Throwing Muses),
• musicians moving away from rock music as they get older,
• my introduction to Juliana Hatfield and Blake Babies,
• a dummy wanting to pull the PATH train emergency brake because a passenger fainted,
• digital audio and non-linear editing vs. cassette tapes,
• Hatfield’s superb minimally-produced rock album Bed (1998),
• Become What You Are (1993) and Only Everything (1995),
• Hatfield’s book When I Grow Up: A Memoir (2008),
• meeting Juliana Hatfield (Maxwell’s in 2005, Knitting Factory in 2008, and Bowery Ballroom in 2008),
• asking her to be a guest on The Paunch Stevenson Show,
• Jessica Simpson,
• and does the cream really rise to the top?

Download this episode:
33 minute MP3 file – 30.2 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-007.mp3)

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 6:

• watching TV shows illegally,
• growing up with free 24 hour streaming radio and TV content,
• getting used to paying for songs and TV shows on computers,
• getting used to paying for cable TV years ago,
• the fragmented world of online music and TV content (iTunes, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Rhapsody, etc.),
• the Overnightscape Central podcast,
• Wayne from Sparetime Radio talking about George Carlin,
• most people being too arrogant and/or afraid to admit they’ve been lied to, poisoned, and cheated their whole lives,
• turning a blind eye vs. dealing with new knowledge and stressors,
• my questions about chemtrails,
• socially acceptable smoke vs. unacceptable smoke,
• and dangerous substances being viewed as harmless to people who grew up with them.

Download this episode:
47 minute MP3 file – 43.3 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-006.mp3)

Jig dolls!

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 5:

• more current music I actually like (Camera Obscura, Rilo Kiley, and Dolores O’Riordan),
• bad audio mastering,
• my extreme hatred of asymmetrical headphones,
• Creative Commons vs. copyrighted music and art,
• my Creative Commons photos on Flickr being used on blogs and in books,
• Frank Nora talking about jamendo.com free Creative Commons music site,
• jig dolls (also known as limberjacks- video),
• and not being able to copy and paste the file path in MS Windows or Mac OS X.

Download this episode:
22 minute MP3 file – 20.2 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-005.mp3)

Screaming Orphans!

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 4:

• the Goodrob13 Music Show on the Overnightscape Underground podcast network,
• the 53rd annual Grammy Awards (2011),
• today’s pop stars focusing on outlandish costumes and gimmicks instead of good music (Lady Gaga, Cee Lo Green, etc.),
• wondering how people in the future will judge today’s music,
• feeling stupid saying current artist’s names,
• today’s music having no lasting value (disposable music),
• the New Kids on the Block revival,
• nostalgia,
• current music I actually like (Screaming Orphans and Dean and Britta),
• clips of Screaming Orphans songs (“Liar,” “City of Chicago,” “Give a Little,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Don’t You Cry,” and “Circles”),
• L’Avventura (2003),
• Tony Visconti,
• good arrangements,
• and clips of Dean and Britta songs (“Out Walking,” “Night Nurse,” and “Moonshot”).

Download this episode:
34 minute MP3 file – 31.1 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-004.mp3)

The lost art!

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 3:

• the lost art of TV theme songs and commercial jingles,
• what do those songwriters, musicians, and vocalists do now?,
• a generation that finds it weird for products to be advertised with songs,
• the Toys “R” Us song (“I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid”),
• the irony of enjoying commercial jingles while living an anti-commercial life,
• Mount Airy Lodge,
• judging theme songs and jingles out of context on their own merits,
• acknowledging the nostalgia factor,
• the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes song (“The taste of Tony’s Frosted Flakes brings out the tiger in you”),
• the Tootsie Roll song (“Whatever it is I think I see becomes a Tootsie Roll to me”),
• gum commercials,
• hoping for a revival,
• and a small selection of my favorite intros and jingles (The Electric Company, Alice, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, One Day at a Time, Big Red, Charles in Charge, Dennis the Menace, Green Acres, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Juicy Fruit, The Munsters, Laverne and Shirley, The Addams Family, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Mr. Ed, Bod, We’re Not Candy, Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Jem, Tootsie Rolls, The Great Space Coaster, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Magic Garden closing theme).

Download this episode:
46 minute MP3 file – 42.1 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-003.mp3)

The Free Design!

Goodrob13 Music Show episode 2:

• naming the show,
• creating new content efficiently (recording during my commute),
• PATH train problems,
• analog tape saturation vs. digital clipping,
• getting used to recording while walking in NYC,
• the fourth reason I find current music unlistenable (lack of charisma and likable personalities),
• indie artists acting too serious and pretentious,
• video games,
• fun vs. dark and edgy,
• the irony of public figures wanting privacy,
• late 1960s-early 1970s jazzy pop group The Free Design,
• plain and simple singing voices vs. today’s affected vocals,
• the horrible Free Design remix album The Now Sound Redesigned (2005),
• and some short clips of Free Design songs (“Make the Madness Stop,” “I Found Love,” “Bubbles,” “Girls Alone,” “Butterflies Are Free,” and “2002 – A Hit Song”)

Download this episode:
48 minute MP3 file – 23.3 MB (right-click to save)

Listen to this episode:
Download audio file (goodrob13-music-show-002.mp3)