My Own 9 Years of Beatlemania (and Counting)

EW came out with a great issue last week. As the front cover proclaimed: The Beatles Invade Again! (Just as a side note, I've always loved that picture of John and Paul, from back when they were still getting along). Now that Beatles: Rock Band has been released (I so want it!), along with digitally remastered versions of their albums, rock's greatest band is poised to make yet another splash on the pop culture scene. And while nothing will ever come close to the original Beatles craze back in the 60s, the fact that they still generate such excitement is a testament to their quality as a band and their impact on culture and history.

I didn't officially hop on the Beatlemania bandwagon until the holiday season of 2000. Ah, what a magical time; I had finished high school the previous summer, and had just started at the University of Waterloo, taking my first tentative steps into adulthood. Through December of that year I was working a part-time stint at the Hickory Farms kiosk at our local shopping mall to earn a little extra dough for Christmas. But you see, that kiosk happened to be located right outside the HMV store...and just a few weeks before, the album 1 had been released.

Some of you may recall 1. It was a collection of twenty-seven of the number one singles the Beatles released from their heydays of the early sixties until they broke up in 1970, and the first compilation album on one disc for the band. It also happened to become the best selling album of 2000 world wide, surpassing everyone's expectations and once again putting the Beatles back in the spotlight.

Now me standing at the counter of that Hickory Farms kiosk for a few hours a day, I couldn't help but listen to 1 as it was played over the HMV speakers...and I fell in love. Head over heels in love! From the youthful exuberance of "She Loves You" to the sorrow of "Eleanor Rigby" and the mature bluesy sound of "Come Together", the richness and variety of their music struck a chord with me big time (pun intended). 1 made it's way onto my Christmas list, and it was in my stocking that year. I still have it to this day.

I don't want to make my onset of Beatlemania sound like a religious experience, but in some ways it kind of was. Before that Christmas I was still lingering in my boy band phase of adolescent musical tastes. Once I got into the Beatles a whole world of music opened up for me. As I tried to experience everything I could having to do with the Fab Four I also got into the Stones, the Who and other 60's bands, then I moved on to the eclectic mix that was the 70s. For the last few years I've been way into New Wave and 80s music (still haven't really revisited the 90s yet; go figure). Suddenly the pop music landscape was much bigger and far more exciting than I ever could have imagined.

But the Beatles remain my greatest love, always at the top of my list of favorite bands. A Hard Days Night is also on my list of favorite movies (if you haven't seen it yet, it was re released on DVD back in like 2002, so hop to it!) When George Harrison passed away in November of 2001 I mourned with the rest of the world, partly because I feel like I didn't get the chance to have him in my life for as long as so many others had. With John Lennon assassinated in 1980 (about eleven months before I was born) Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only two surviving members now. I visited NYC for the first time in August of last year, and got the chance to see the Dakota and Strawberry Fields in Central Park, and I'm so glad I did.

While I doubt that everyone will have the same experiences with these mopped topped kids from Liverpool that I have, I am grateful to the Beatles not just for their music and not just for their impact on history, but for opening my eyes to a greater selection of music. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Backstreet Boys, but now I can add "Magic Bus" and "Paint it Black" to my iPod along with "I Want It That Way". And as the Beatles continue to make an impact in the world, I will cheer; I will experience it along with everyone else; I will join in the debates over which songs and albums are better than others; and I will keep listening to the music, no matter what format it comes in.

And you know Beatles: Rock Band will be on my Christmas list this year.

"That's weird. It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone."

You know, I almost don't even need to write this post.

'Cause really, what could I possibly say about this that hasn't been said already?

But I'll say it anyway, just because it makes me happy and it's my blog. The Twilight Zone rocks! (And I'm talking about the original 1959-1964 series, not the two revivals that I'd never even heard of until just tonight when I did some research.)

Even if you've never seen an episode, Rod Serling's pivotal sci fi masterpiece has been referenced and imitated ceaselessly ever since it first aired fifty years ago. You've very likely seen something from The Simpsons (as in many of their Treehouse of Horror stories), Family Guy, Saturday Night Live, etc. that's been lifted from Twilight. Shows like The Outer Limits are direct decedents of Mr. Serling's new-strange-tale-per-week formula. Books, film, radio, etc. have all entered the twilight zone. There's even an amusement park ride at Disney World, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (which I got to revisit last February, and it still left me a quivering mess after I got off it).

When this show is good, it is really good. Thanks to DVDs at my library I've been watching so many episodes I haven't seen yet, many of which have rattled me to the point that I don't watch the show after dark anymore. I recently read that Mr. Serling wanted to use more social commentary in his work with television, to have his own shows to express his political views, but the censors back then were not keen on the idea. So he ended up disguising those view points as sci fi tall tales; pretty sneaky, but boy did it work. Many episodes leave you feeling jarred and unsettled, not only initially but also if you really stop and think about them. While Mr. Serling and company's stories reflect the issues of the early 1960s like nuclear war, many of their themes can be relevant to today's concerns, like terrorism, paranoia and global disasters. And not only did the stories of The Twilight Zone usually mean something, but they also dealt with so many facets of the sci fi genre.

Episodes like "Time enough at last" and "Two" took a look at different scenarios when the worst has happened (in those cases nuclear apocalypse). "Third from the sun" and "The Invaders" used new twists on outer space alien stories. "The Fever" dealt with the subject of addiction. "The Shelter" and "The Monsters are due on Maple Street" illustrated that humankind can destroy itself far better than any outside force ever could. Other episodes covered death, time travel, space travel, the future, robots and a plethora of sci fi subjects. Episodes like "Eye of the Beholder" had awesome twist endings, while episodes like "Nightmare at 20 000 feet", "To Serve Man" and "It's a Good Life" just scared the crap out of you.

And let's not forget the guest stars, actors and actresses who ended up on Twilight before going on to greater fame. Cloris Leachman, William Shatner, Carol Burnett, Robert Redford, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Burt Reynolds and many others all had early career performances on Twilight episodes. Other actors had late career performances on the show, like Mickey Rooney and Buster Keaton. That's a lot of star power.

Truly, this is TV at it's very best; entertaining and thought provoking. Emmy winning and critically acclaimed, Twilight Zone still packs a wallop after all these years, and the name has become synonymous with the idea of stepping into an alternate reality, or just having weird things happen to you. It's opening music and Serling's beginning and ending narration are instantly recognizable. It's earned it's place in pop culture time and again.

There, for what it's worth, I have sung it's praises yet again. Now go watch it and see what I mean. (Oh, and bonus points to whoever guesses where the quote that is the title of this post comes from.)

My profile picture and what it has to do with Mad Men

Some of you may be wondering about my profile picture. Am I some kind of artist on the side? I wish. My latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (see their link on the left) provided a tip on a neat feature found on AMC's website for their show Mad Men, which in turn led to that little retro number you see on my screen.
I confess I have yet to see Mad Men. It has been highly praised by critics and the Emmys, but last I checked this drama about advertising execs in the 60s was still trying to find it's audience, and I'm still trying to find where it airs in Canada. But, given the chance to redesign myself as a classy 60s woman, as the show's website allows you to do, I jumped at it
The game is very easy to use, but because it gives you so many options to choose from to create your new look it also requires a lot of thought. First you have to decide of you're a "suit" or a "skirt" (not overly PC, but true to the time period). Then you select a body and skin type; trying to stick close to myself I went with pale skin and with the medium body shape. The thin body shape was way too thin and real women have curves, gosh darn it! You're then able to choose your hair color and style, your eyes, your nose (not too many flattering options in that category I must admit), your eyebrows and your mouth (cigarette optional). The best part was choosing the clothes and accessories, all great classic styles. What to wear, what to wear? I ended up choosing the fiery red dress with black gloves, pearls and a doughnut (What? I like doughnuts!). Finish off by choosing a background and then you can download your creation as a picture or as wallpaper.
It's a great feature, and I totally recommend it. You never know, you may be a closeted advertising exec from another decade. As EW says, you'll be 50% cooler. Go try it at amctv.com.