I'd thought it was charming when I saw it many years ago. The two things I remembered about the soundtrack were the surf music and the fact that the film makers didn't need synchronized sound. There is one point in the film where a funny noise is a lead into the next shot.
I was so taken with the soundtrack, surf music over the rumble of skateboards on asphalt, that I taped it off the theater speakers shortly after I saw it. (It was a tiny theater and I knew the owners.)
The link above will take you to the film on Google video so you can see it for yourself.
I checked the music credits: Mike Curb and Nick Venet, names which meant nothing to me until I looked up their bios.
Mike Curb, was a Republican Lt. Governor of California from 1978-1982 under the Democrat, Jerry Brown (II). He was involved in some political shenanigans: taking advantage of the law that put the Lt. Governor in charge when the governor is out of state, he tried to get several judges appointed while Brown was "out of California airspace." (The appointments were voided on Brown's return.)
Later, he was immensely successful in the musical business. Check out his bio. I was impressed. Especially so when he made news by calling on Belmont University to rehire a soccer coach who seems to have lost her position for being a lesbian. here's a link to the story in on the Nashville Scene web site.
The other, Nick Venet, worked with recording luminaries from jazz, pop, and world music. Just reading the names Chet Baker,Stan Getz, Chico Hamilton ("Drumfusion"), Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan, and Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross flooded my mind with treasured memories of afternoons just listening to jazz on turntables. (Where did I get the time? Where has it gone?)
He worked with Lord Buckley the great hip and tragic comedian. You couldn't be hip way back in the 50's and 60's without knowing who he was. The two pieces I treasured were "The Nazz", the story of Jesus, "Scrooge", the retelling of Dicken's "Christmas Carole" in a dark ghetto dialect. You can imagine Lord Buckley as a mix of Redd Foxx and Robin Williams topped with the sound effect from Bill Cosby's early records.
A casual mention of "The Nazz", "the carpenter kiddie", "beat up retarded sparrow", or saying "merry Christmas with you" or "What's the matter with you baby?" brought a knowing smile to the cognoscenti. You were home.
Perhaps his most enduring legacy was this bit of trivia from Wikipedia:
"Venet created the "Produced By" credit on singles and albums and started album liner notes for crediting individual performers, musicians, and engineers of pop and rock records. Venet is primarily known for signing the Beach Boys and producing their early material."
He worked with Ravi Shankar, Nat "King" Cole, and Peggy Lee and Kay Starr. Just amazing. Dead at 61 from Burkitt's lymphoma.
No comments:
Post a Comment