Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from the Disney Pocahontas. This is one of Disney's more underrated scores of its 90's "renaissance" era. The movie itself has gorgeous animation but is otherwise marred by historical inaccuracies and so-so casting. The music, however, is a real selling point. "Colors of the Wind" won an Oscar, but I prefer the title character's "I want" song "Just Around the River Bend" and the chorus numbers "Mine, Mine, Mine" and "Savages."
Hurried out to work even before the CD ended. It was the same deal as yesterday. We were dead before and after the Eagles game. There were two guys sweeping and doing carts even as I arrived; another girl came in to sweep after I left. I mostly pushed carts, though I also mopped the bathrooms at one point and put cold items away. Frankly, I got very bored. There just wasn't a whole lot to do.
It was such a lovely day, I took the long way home down Nicholson Road. They weren't busy, either, not even around the Audubon Crossings shopping center entrance. Not only was it too sunny and warm for shopping, but the Eagles were playing their local rivals the Giants. Not a bit of traffic anywhere.
(And no wonder it was so quiet. I checked my phone before I left and discovered that the Eagles were mauling the Giants. They went on to win big-time at the Met 28 to 3.)
Put on the original cast CDs of the Hugh Jackman Music Man revival from two years ago when I got home. Jackman had apparently wanted to play this role for years, and his instincts were solid. He was a terrific and delightfully persuasive Harold Hill. He seemed to especially get into "Marian the Librarian" and "The Sadder-but-Wiser Girl." Sutton Foster, who usually plays Merman-type belters or goofy tomboys like Millie and Jo, was miscast as the daintier Marian, and there were some weird re-writes to the innocuous "Shipoopi." Otherwise, this was honestly an enjoyable show, especially if you're already a fan of Music Man like me.
Switched to The Monkees Present next. I've been listening to those three Rhino Handmade sets I picked up a decade ago that are super-rare now. This is my favorite of the two albums Mike, Micky, and Davy did as a trio after Peter left. In fact, I think it's one of their most underrated albums. It features by far my favorite song Mike did for the group, the anthem "Listen to the Band." Micky digs into his Native heritage with "Mommy and Daddy" and finishes out the album with the charming "Pillow Time," written by his own mother Janelle. Davy's best song is the rollicking "Looking for the Good Times."
Finished the night at YouTube with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. (I took a shower a bit later.) The channel's owner celebrated hitting 75,000 subscribers with episodes he considered to be underrated or not as often discussed. My favorite came from 1974, the time that Allen Ludden was on the show. Gene grabbed a bad answer of his and handed it to Betty White in the audience to tear up...and then Fannie Flagg gave Betty her bad answer, too! There was also the time in 1975 when a poor young woman was so nervous, she couldn't stop tapping her feet and crying. Gene took her hand to help her feel better and focus. The one from 1976 had Gene and the contestant stepping into the wings when the panelists kept complaining they couldn't see the Audience Match board.
The classic moment for 1978 was when Gene auctioned off a poster of Loni Anderson in a bathing suit, and Charles won it. One of my favorite syndicated shows from 1980 had Bob Barker's chair sinking below the desk. Betty White also sank down in her seat in solidarity before they found Bob a new chair that was much too high. Needless to say, Bob wasn't happy about any of this. 1981 saw the panel celebrating Charles' birthday onstage, complete with a very pretty little cake.
Nighttime episodes had their own classic moments. Cranky Joey Bishop figured into two of the earliest, complaining in a 1976 episode that a contestant said she wanted to win money to go home when she lived in Burbank. Armed Forces soldiers won big in the nighttime in 1977, 1980, and 1981. Poor Eva Gabor lost her toenail when an overly enthusiastic young Air Force officer accidentally kicked her foot in 1980. Betty had more luck in the Head-to-Head with a sweet Naval officer in 1981.
Celebrate some lesser-known but still delightful Match Game episodes in this hilarious marathon!
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