Episode 1528 Talkback - Top 5: Wild Card Round!
Adam_Murdough
Posts: 506
Five Geeks. Five topics. Five lists. Zero predictability! That's right, it's Top Five TIMES Five, as each Geek in the studio for this episode sounds off and counts down on a mystery subject of his own choosing. The results are as entertaining as they are eclectic! (1:47:41)
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I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York a week or so back (and ran into Lenny, funny enough). I was there mainly for What’s Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones, which was excellent and is totally worth checking out if anyone in the area can make it there by the 19th of January.
They also had another exhibit on display, Light, Camera, Astoria! going over the history of Astoria Studio, which has been a part of the film-making scene since the 1920s. Anyway, to make a long story short, the studio was sold to the Army in World War II to make war propganda pieces, as well as the longstanding TV series The Big Picture. The army pulled out of the location (pun intended) in the 1970's, and the studio sat there for a few years rotting away.
Eventually, the city got together and landmarked the location, which then led to an influx of money and repairs. And what was one of the first feature films to use the space, adding to its revitalization?
Yup, The Wiz! So we can all thank a version of The Wizard of Oz for keeping one of NYC's biggest gems afloat.
And for @ShaneKelly, they will soon have a permanent Jim Henson exhibit available at the museum. So next NYCC you're in town for, you might have a stop in Queens to make!
@Adam_Murdough I have to ask, as an Oz fan, have you ever seen the charmingly low-budget 1969 film The Wonderful Land Of Oz? Sarah and I host a weekly movie night for our friends and we actually put together an entire Oz-themed month a few years ago which is where we first came across it.
Also, this question is aimed mainly at Chris but any of the Geeks or forum members are welcome to answer as well. Have you read the novel Jaws by Peter Benchley and, if so, what were your thoughts?
My daughter's favorite is:
Mine is:
And now that I say that, I suppose I have to list mine, don't I?
5. Interplanet Janet (she's a galaxy girl!)
4. The Preamble (one of the most useful songs ever written!)
3. I'm Just a Bill (one of my friends pointed out that my trip to DC a year or two back was a complete waste because I didn't get a picture of myself sitting on Capitol Hill!)
2. The Tale of Mr. Morton (one of the 90s additions... come to learn about subjects & predicates, stay for the sweet love story)
1. Conjunction Junction (an obvious choice, sure, but it's the catchiest damn song!)
Chris, movies are my true love. I've been a film buff since I was a kid when I use to watch the classics with my grandfather, God rest his beautiful soul. He loved reading about film history and film making and I take right after him. Guess what his favorite film was? CASABLANCA! Yes, you stand in great company. He absolutely loved that film. To me, it's so much about the script; in my opinion, one of the best written films in film history. The scene with the French Resistance anthem is sung over the Nazi one, led by the great Paul Henreid, still moves me to this day. I was getting giddy listening to your Top 5.
One thing I would like to add to the Jaws scene you mentioned; a film that's definitely one of my all-time favorites. I also appreciated the developing bond between Brody and Hooper and that was a funny line but the part of that scene that stood out for me, that still touches me to this day, is the brief playful interplay between Brody and his little boy. Little special moments like that has become such a standard in Director Steven Spielberg's magnificent body of work.
I'm also one who loves World War 2 history. Have you checked out Ken Burns' The War? I'm sure you have but if by some chance you haven't, it's, in my opinion, the definitive World War 2 documentary; highly recommended.
Electicity - Goodness
Interplanet Janet - Man Or Astro-Man
Three is a Magic Number - Blind Melon
The Magic Number - De La Soul
Not a true cover of the song, and not on the album, but I like it quite a bit.
Verb; That's What's Happening - Moby
Johnny Quest/Stop That Pigeon - The Reverend Horton Heat
I'm Popeye The Sailor Man - Face To Face
Go Speed Racer Go - Sponge
Hong Kong Phooey - Sublime
Open Up Your Heart And Let The Sun Shine In - Frente!
My top 5 cover songs
Tom Waits - Somewhere
Brave Combo - People are Strange
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Butthole Surfers - American woman
As of right now, this is my favorite song. Proof that one can shine a turd
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Beautiful
There was a TV special connected to the Saturday Morning album, featuring Drew Barrymore and some friends watching videos for the songs. It's not always great, but getting to see Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donnelly rocking out to Josie and the Pussycats is a thing that I need to see every now and then. :x
Also, Marvel put out a comic connected to Saturday Morning. It's... it's damn weird is what it is. But if you need a comic book with Liz Phair in it (and yeah, I do), this is your book/
Ep. 505 - The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
A close second is Ep. 624 - Samson vs The Vampire Women which i affectionately refer to as Santos vs the Kardashians.
M
#1 MST3K for me will always be Mitchell. The rest of the top 5 is mutable depending on my mood, but not even Godzilla vs. Megalon will displace Mitchell.
As for top 5 cover songs, I'd have to think about it, but I'm pretty sure Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”—cliché though it may be—Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You,” and Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” all have to be in there somewhere.
Top 5 School House Rocks! songs:
1. “The Shot Heard ’Round the World”
2. “I'm Just a Bill”
3. “The Energy Blues”
4. “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here”
5. “Verb: That’s What’s Happenin’”
Top 5 Movies That Made a Profound Impact on Me (or whatever Chris said along those lines):
(Note: These are not necessarily what I consider to be the greatest movies of all-time, but rather the ones that impacted me in a special way at the right time.)
1. Star Wars — I like Empire much better, then and now, but I was the perfect age (four days after my 7th birthday) when it came out, and it was a dominant force in my childhood.
2. Blade Runner — This was when I realized there was more to science-fiction than lazer guns and spaceships.
3. Broadcast News — This one hit me where it hurt. I watch it whenever I get depressed.
4. The Lion in Winter — One of the most smartly written films ever made. Brilliant dialogue, brilliant performances.
5. Sleuth — The original with Olivier and Caine. I was probably 10 or 11 when I first saw it, and it impressed upon me just how much you can do in a film with so little.
Coincidentally, I came across our copy of the "Schoolhouse Rock" 30th anniversary DVD yesterday. Had forgotten we owned it. "Conjunction Junction," "I'm Just a Bill," and "Figure Eight" were my personal faves back in the day. Anyone see the recent SNL skit where they spoofed "I'm Just a Bill" with regard to Obama signing executive orders to bypass Congress? It's really funny. If you liked Schoolhouse Rock, you should check it out on the Youtubes.
I'm embarrassed to admit I've never seen Tootsie, Lawrence of Arabia, Bullet or Casablanca from Professor Eberle's list. Now The Godfather? I bet I've seen that 100 times easy and is without a doubt my favorite movie of all-time. Matter of fact, I came across it this weekend while flipping through the channels and stayed glued to it for the 101st time.
Pants, you picked a few School House Rocks that I barely remember (Zero the Hero, for instance).
Shane, you've once again let the the listeners have a glimpse at heart and soul, you may claim to be a rage machine, but the sense of nostalgia and sentimentality tells a different story.
Murd, I knew that there were quite a few Oz books, but I had no idea that there were that many. I was fascinated and ended up sitting in the parking garage at work until you completed your segment this morning. Yeah, I was a little late, but much better informed when I got in the door.
Chris, great list. My own list of influential movies is a little different:
5 - The Cask of Amontillado - one of the local networks did themed movie weeks after the news (at least during the summer). I would stay up late when I was in grade school during the summer and watch movies with my dad. The week they did Edgar Allen Poe movies (all Roger Corman fare, I think), I made it through the Raven (which I adore) and, I think Fall of the House of Usher before getting to Cask. I made it no farther. Cask freaked me out - I woke up in the middle of the night that night and was certain someone was bricking in my bedroom door. To this day, I'm not a fan of spaces with only one way out and really don't like confined spaces.
4 - The Abominable Doctor Phibes - Classic Vincent Price horror revenge flick. Incredibly cheesy, but this was the movie that got me over the hump with a disapproving and overprotective father when I was courting his daughter. I was sitting in their kitchen doing homework and talking about a movie that I'd just seen at a friends place. As I described it he walked through and immediately recognized it and declared that he hadn't seen it in years. As it happened, I had a copy in my car. We spent the rest of the evening watching both it and its sequel and with that I won him over. The relationship with his daughter was doomed to fail, but it was the doorway to the start of my first serious relationship.
3 - The Fountainhead (1949) - As an architecture student I was shown this in a class, this one was huge. Gary Cooper's Howard Roark declaring "I don't build to have clients. I have clients in order to build!" was a monumental moment. Did I mention Gary Cooper?
2 - Silent Running - I'm not sure what it is about this movie, but it's another one that I remember watching with my dad as a child and it stuck with me. I remember not understanding what would compel the company to give the orders that they did, nor the crew to follow them and both marveling in the bravery and being appalled at the peril faced by the little service droids. So, yeah, I think I got at least part of the message. Also Bruce Dern!
1 - Bladerunner - This was the big one. The one that made me notice architecture, design and planning and how they could impact, for good or ill the environment and people that interact within their confines. I'm not sure that I would have considered a career in architecture without seeing this movie first.
1. Goodfellas
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Godfather
4. Sunset Boulevard
5. Jaws
1. Little Twelvetoes - Chavez
2. No More Kings - Pavement
3. Three Is a Magic Number - Blind Melon
4. I'm Just a Bill - Deluxx Folk Implosion
5. The Tale of Mr. Morton - Skee-Lo
1. Samurai Champloo
2. Cowboy Bebop
3. Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate OVA
4. Gungrave
5. Azumanga Daioh
Honorable Mention: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Top 5 Manga (in a particular order):
1. Fullmetal Alchemist
2. 20th Century Boys (including 21st Century Boys)
3. Yakitate!! Japan
4. Genshiken
5. Hellsing
Honorable Mention: Attack on Titan (since it's still going on)
1. A Day in the Life
2. Tomorrow Never Knows
3. You Never Give Me Your Money
4. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
5. Rain
Honorable mention to Mean Mr. Mustard... where part of my name comes from.
1) Empire of the Sun (starring a 12 year old Christian Bale in the greatest child acting performance of all-time)
2) The Bridge on the River Kwai
3) The Great Escape
4) Stalag 17
5) Victory