Nina Hagen tweaks The Tubes: 'White Punks On Dope' and 'TV-Glotzer' (1977, 1978)

An anthem of excess,
'White Punks On Dope' closed out the eponymously-titled
debut album by The Tubes,
released in 1975.

The song was a featured production number for the
San Francisco-based group's live shows, legendary in the bay area and beyond for being as much outrageous and satiric burlesque revue as rock act.

Written as a tribute to a select portion of their fanbase of the era, it struck a nerve and 'WPOD' became a popular graffito for many years following.

In the persona of Glam monster 'Quay Lewd', lead singer
Fee Waybill tumbled off of
his absurd platform shoes almost as often as he fell out of his
silver lame' (or aluminum foil) costume.

The Tubes made an
appearance on British TV's
The Old Grey Whistle Test on Tuesday November 8th, 1977, coinciding with their sold-out ten-day run of concerts at
London's Hammersmith Odeon, during their first overseas tour.
Recordings from those concerts were released the following year as The Tubes' 4th album, What Do You Want from Live.



(Later dates in that concert tour were cancelled when Fee Waybill broke his leg onstage, though reportedly not while in the Quay costume.

When Nina Hagen left East Germany in 1976, her earlier singing career was derailed.
After visiting England at the height of the Punk movement, she settled in Hamburg, West Germany, and formed the Nina Hagen Band in 1977, becoming a fascinating punk diva.

Her version of 'White Punks On Dope' appeared on her first LP, but was not a true cover in the strictest sense;
She changed the lyrics and meaning completely, turning it into a song about television addiction.

- Follow link to the lyrics section of a Hagen website.

Click on the 'Nina Hagen Band' album cover at the top of the left-hand sidebar, then click on 'TV-Glotzer (White Punks on Dope)' to see both the German lyrics and an English translation.

Below, her concert
performance of 'TV-Glotzer' at the Westfalenhalle Dortmund on December 12th, 1978 was televised on an episode of German TV's Rockpalast.



- A chronological collection of other Nina Hagen video clips can be seen at POCIMAS DEL DRUIDA.

- For a collection of rare and early Tubes video clips , follow link to The Tubes Project channel on YouTube.

'Disneyland Showtime' with Kurt Russell, The Osmond Brothers and The Haunted Mansion (1970)

'Disneyland Showtime' first aired March 22nd, 1970 on NBC's Sunday night family-hour staple, 'The Wonderful World of Disney'.

The hour-long program featured Kurt Russell (already a Disney star) running around the Anaheim theme park with
The Osmonds (pre jumpsuits, pre-'70s bubblegum hysteria) and actress E.J. Peaker (fresh from her supporting role in the film version of 'Hello, Dolly!').

(The embedded 'playlist' below should play the program continuously through five segments, also giving you the option to skip ahead.)



Kicky, kitschy fun, with great vintage shots of the park and its patrons, but one of the biggest high points is a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at The Haunted Mansion ride, which had just opened the previous August.

- For more about the program and its production, click over to: 'Haunted Mansion Horror: Disneyland Showtime' at Tulgey Wood.

David Bowie performs with Klaus Nomi & Joey Arias on SNL (1979)

In many ways, the fifth season of 'Saturday Night Live' was a handy portent of the lowering of expectations that would become necessary for survival in the 1980s and beyond (and not just when watching TV).

It was the first season of SNL without Belushi and Aykroyd (replaced by Harry Shearer), and the last season for what remained of the original cast. In Season 6, Charles Rocket & Gail Matthius hosted 'Weekend Update'. If there had ever been a time when SNL was fresh and new, by then it was gone.

Season 5 was not without its high points (they were just becoming fewer and further between).
A huge standout was
David Bowie's musical guest appearance on the
December 15, 1979 episode, hosted by Martin Sheen.

Bowie was in fine theatrical form, playing well to the camera in outlandish costumes, flanked by the perfectly enigmatic Joey Arias and Klaus Nomi as back-up singers.

The story goes that Bowie hired them for this one appearance soon after having heard about Klaus Nomi's performances at various hip New York clubs.

In the first musical segment, Bowie's 'The Man Who Sold the World' was given new life in an arrangement radically different from the 1970 original, one well-matched to Nomi's distinctive counter-tenor harmonies.

Dave's bulky and angular
'space-tux' costume necessitated Klaus and Joey becoming his 'bearers', and helped to inspire the variant that became a signature look for Klaus.

(Both outfits also have roots in the immobilizing cardboard costumes designed by Sonia Delaunay for Tristan Tzara's 1923 dadaist play,
'La coeur à gaz'.)

Below, ▼ 'The Man Who Sold the World'...



(That's Blondie's Jimmy Destri playing keyboards.)

Below, ▼ the second and third musical segments tacked together in one video clip.
'TVC 15' had been a hit single from 1976's 'Station To Station' album, while 'Boys Keep Swinging' was at the time still relatively recent, having been released in the Spring of '79 as a single and on the 'Lodger' LP.

While Bowie danced about during 'Boys Keep Swinging' in his VFX puppet costume, NBC censors apparently had no problem with the lyric 'Life is a pop of the cherry', though they did choose to mute out the line 'Other boys check you out'. Go figure.

The SNL appearance served as catalyst for Klaus Nomi's career, escalating his status on the
New York City club scene and leading to his (sadly brief) stint as an international recording artist.

- Follow link to
Madeline Bocchiaro's 1997 reminiscence of her friendship with Klaus, including some nice behind-the-scenes tidbits regarding the evening of the SNL appearance...

"...I asked [Klaus and Joey] who did their fabulous makeup (the meticulous details were not visible on TV). They boasted that they'd done each other's makeup; 'Joey did mine and I did his, and we did David's!' Boys will be girls."

Joey Arias is still active as a NYC-based singer, author, and performance / drag artist.

Klaus Nomi died in 1983. He was one of the first celebrities to die of complications from AIDS.

- The 2004 feature-length documentary film, 'The Nomi Song', is available on DVD and is highly recommended viewing. As of this writing, it can also be viewed online for free at SnagFilms.

Saul Bass discusses his work on film titles (1977)

Saul Bass (1920 - 1996) was a prolific and influential graphic designer.

Among many achievements in animation and poster and logo design, his work in the arena of title sequences for film changed the industry.

In 'Bass On Titles', a 35-minute film produced in '77, he discussed his work and showed several examples.

See also:
Saul Bass on the web

(Found via lightgreen)

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan - Tennessee Bird Walk (1970)

An old favorite, the biggest chart hit for Florida husband & wife duo Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan.

David Bowie performs 'Stay' live on Dinah Shore's talk show, 1976

As first broadcast on 'Dinah!',
January 3rd, 1976.

(Some details of the daytime talk show appearance are available at the
Bowie Golden Years website.)

Bowie's recording of the song was first released three weeks later on his classic 'Station To Station' album.



You can also view this clip with a lengthy intro from Dinah Shore (with guests Henry Winkler and Nancy Walker) at Dailymotion.

YouTube has excerpts of the rest of this Bowie TV appearance, including:

- Sitting and chatting with Dinah immediately following his 'Stay' performance.

- Joining Nancy Walker and Henry Winkler ("The David Bowie of 'Happy Days'") on the couch for more interview.

- David takes part in a brief martial arts lesson. (No, seriously)

- A loss in video quality as Bowie performs 'Five Years'.

Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen (featuring Bill Kirchen) - Live in '71

The Cody band performing 'Seeds And Stems (Again)', 'Hot Rod Lincoln', and
'Jailhouse Rock' in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971, as seen in the concert film 'Ten for Two'.

Commander Cody - Everybody's Doin' It

A musical interlude from the 1976 Roger Corman flick,
'Hollywood Boulevard'.

William Shatner - 'Taxi' (1973)

Big Bill 'sings', from a 1973 appearance on 'Dinah's Place',
Dinah Shore's mid-morning NBC talk show.

In case you're not familiar with Harry Chapin's original 1972 chart hit, Click here.

William Shatner - Rocket Man (1978)

William Shatner was co-host of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films' 5th annual Saturn Awards, held in
Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.

1978 marked the first year that the ceremony was televised.

Celebrity presenters and performers for the telecast included
Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Mark Hamill, Quincy Jones, Wayland Flowers and Madame, Ray Bradbury, Buster Crabbe,
Stan Freberg, Buzz Aldrin, Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss and Wolfman Jack.

In the video clip, co-host Karen Black welcomes Bernie Taupin, giving the song's composer the honor of introducing Mr. Shatner. Ouch.

The Osmonds - Crazy Horses (x7)

Because no one demanded it; several clips of the uncharacteristically hard rockin' title track to the Osbro's 1972 LP (second only in
heavy-osity to 1973's 'The Plan', their ambitious Mormon doctrine freakout concept album).

Check the fashions, the moves, the delivery, the 'message' lyrics - - and good luck forgetting Donny's whinnying keyboard riff...

Below: ▼ perhaps the best of the bunch, dating from either '72 or '74, depending on who you believe.



Below: ▼ from a '73 German appearance, Jay gets out from behind the drum kit to strut in earnest throughout his lead vocal performance...



Below: ▼ lip-synching but spirited,,,

Below: ▼ hot and sweaty at Ohio's State Fair in '72...



Below: ▼ screaming fans and full-tilt Osmania at a '73 UK concert...



Below: ▼ funky flair and a slower tempo as part of a 'Donny & Marie' tour, later in the '70s...



Below: ▼ further changes by 1980, in concert in Provo, Utah...

Tom Waits appearance on Fernwood 2 Night, 1977

Tom Waits performs 'The Piano Has Been Drinking', and sits down for an interview with Barth Gimble and Jerry Hubbard.

Original airdate: 8/1/77

Bad Brains meets Leonard Nimoy

In 1979, 'Pay To Cum' was the earliest single released by
Washington, D.C. hardcore punk pioneers Bad Brains.

'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins' was a song included on Leonard Nimoy's second LP, 'The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy', in 1968.

His lip-synching performance of the song was broadcast well in advance of its commercial release on the July 28, 1967 episode of 'Malibu U', a short-lived TV variety series.

- Click here to see a black & white version of the full 'Bilbo Baggins' video, with introduction by Rick Nelson.