The Mal Thursday Show #6: The Girl-Getters

This episode of The Mal Thursday Show was inspired by Michael Winner's 1964 film, The System, released in the US two years later under the title The Girl-Getters, and starring the one and only Oliver Reed. The film concerns the misadventures of a group of rogues in a seaside resort, who set out to seduce all the pretty girls who come there on holiday, and has just been reissued on DVD in the UK.

We'll be telling the story of this lost classic of '60s cinema through the music of a bunch of British and American Beat Groups.

Dedicated to the memory of the late, great Ollie.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW!

Also available for download at GaragePunk.com and via iTunes.

Playlist:

THE GIRL-GETTERS: The Girl-Getters
THE SEARCHERS: The System
THE BIRDS: Next in Line
THE SONS OF FRED: I'll Be There
THE BEATIN' PATH: Original Nothing People
MICKEY FINN: This Sporting Life

THE BEAT MERCHANTS: Pretty Face
THE FIVE MORE: I'm No Good
THE KNICKERBOCKERS: One Track Mind
THE STYLOS: Head Over Heels
THE CHEYNES: She's So Respectable
THE DOWNLINERS SECT: Baby What's Wrong

DESTINY'S CHILDREN:

The Collectors
THE LOOT: Baby Come Closer
LES FLEURS DE LYS:

Mud in Your Eye
THE PRETTY THINGS:

You Don't Believe Me
THE RATIONALS: Leaving Here
THE MOCKINGBIRDS:

You Stole My Love

Be sure to check out the other episodes of The Mal Thursday Show, as well as 29 rockin' installments of Florida Rocks Again!, exclusively at GaragePunk.com

Florida Rocks Again!: South Florida, Pt. 1

Airdates:

Wednesday July 30th from 6 to 8 p.m. ET
Saturday August 2nd from 8 to 10 p.m. ET

on Oldies 97.7 WFBO "The Blizzard" in Flagler Beach.

Listen via Live365 at TheBlizzard.US

Playlist:

PROCTOR AMUSEMENT COMPANY: Heard You Went Away
WAYNE COCHRAN: Get Ready
SAM & DAVE: You Don't Know Like I Know/You Don't Know What You Mean to Me
THE SHAGGS: You Got Me Hummin'
THE LAST WORDS: Can't Stop Loving You

Where the Action Is!: Miami
PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Action
STEVE ALAIMO:
Ain't Nothing You Can Do
THE BIRDWATCHERS:
I'm Gonna Love You Anyway/Girl, I've Got News for You
STEVE ALAIMO: Happy

THE AMERICAN BEETLES: School Days
THE LEGENDS: It's Alright
THE CLEFS OF LAVENDER HILL: Stop! Get a Ticket
THE ECHOES OF CARNABY STREET: No Place or Time
THE SQUIRES V: Bucket of Tears
THE INVADERS: She's a Tiger
EVIL: What You Gonna Do About It

WAYNE COCHRAN: Goin' Back to Miami/The Coo
THE CHAMPIONS: Big Bad Beulah
KING COLEMAN: Mashed Potatoes
CLARENCE REID: Polk Salad Annie
DELLA HUMPHREY: Don't Let the Good Girls Go Bad
BETTY WRIGHT: I'm Thankful

THE MONTELLS: Daddy Rolling Stone/You Can't Make Me
GEEKUS: Psychotic Reaction
DR. T & THE UNDERTAKERS:
Blue Blue Feeling/Times Have Changed/Undertakers Theme

THE BIRDWATCHERS:
I Have No Worried Mind/A Little Bit of Lovin'/Can I Do It
STEVE ALAIMO: You Don't Love Me (I Don't Care)/Everybody Knows But Her/Every Day I Have to Cry
THE CLEFS OF LAVENDER HILL: One More Time

Series Hosted by Mal Thursday

Written & Produced by JM Dobies

Co-Produced by Jeff Lemlich

Brought to you by Flagler County Heating and Air Conditioning

Don't Miss Geezerpalooza 2008
Saturday August 9th
at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial

with
The Birdwatchers, Steve Alaimo, The Montells,
Dr. T & The Undertakers, The Dead End Kids, and Geekus
Hosted by Rick Shaw

"PURCHASE TICKETS"

Yet More Reviews at Viewpoints.com

Books:

Tell the Truth Until They Bleed:... - jmdobies says "A Shadow History of Rock n' Roll..."

Food & Drink:

Blue Sky - Lite Creamy Root Beer - jmdobies says "Low Calorie Root Beer Without..."

Harriet's Original Texas Ranch... - jmdobies says "Spicy and Delicious Dressing and..."

Promised Land Dairy Midnight... - jmdobies says "Delicious, Ultra-Creamy, Super..."

Local Places:

Austin Karaoke - - Austin, TX - jmdobies says "Private Karaoke Rooms Provide..."

Whole Foods - Austin, TX - jmdobies says "Top Quality Natural Products, a..."

Movies & TV:

Abbott & Costello Go to Mars - jmdobies says "Bud and Lou Blast Off to a..."

Casino Royale (2006) - jmdobies says "The Roots of 007 - A Return to..."

Casino Royale (1967) - jmdobies says "Kooky '60s Satire of James Bond..."

The GOOD, The BAD & The UGLY - jmdobies says "Eastwood, Van Cleef, and Wallach..."

Hang 'Em High - jmdobies says "Clint Eastwood Rides for..."

Higglytown Heroes - jmdobies says "Awful Kids Show Is All Downhill..."

High Plains Drifter - jmdobies says "Clint Eastwood Paints the Town Red..."

The Killer Shrews - jmdobies says "Roscoe, Festus, and Deadly Rodents..."

Killers From Space - jmdobies says "Paranoid Cold War Sci-Fi About..."

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - jmdobies says "Downey and Kilmer Are Great in..."

Rawhide - Second Season Vol. 1 & 2 - jmdobies says "Classic TV Western: Great Theme..."

Serenity - 2-Disc Collector's... - jmdobies says "The Crew from 'Firefly' Returns..."

Sesame Street - All Star Alphabet - jmdobies says "Stephen Colbert Leads Stellar..."

Top Ten Clint Eastwood Westerns - jmdobies says "Clint's Greatest Western Movies..."


Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women - jmdobies says "Stupefying Space Oddity With..."

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - jmdobies says "Parody of Music Biopics Gets..."

Savage Hate

When I caught wind of the controversy surrounding Michael Savage's incredibly ill-informed remarks about autism, I thought people were talking about Dan Savage, the gay sex columnist who writes "Savage Love." Turns out Michael Savage is a right wing talk radio host, which explains why I was unfamiliar with his work: I tend avoid these shitbirds like the plague, whether on the radio or on FOX News Channel, who apparently fired Savage a few years back for some particularly poisonous commentary. When FOX News cans you for being too much of a dick, you must really be a dick.

Anyway, here's what Mr. Savage said about the autistism epidemic on his nationally syndicated radio program:

"It's a fraud, a racket...In 99% of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz.'"

This guy makes Imus sound like Gandhi. After his remarks spurred protests across the country, he then backpedaled with a mealy-mouth denial that was in no way an apology:

"My comments about autism were meant to boldly awaken parents and children to the medical community's attempt to label too many children or adults as 'autistic.' Many children are being victimized by being diagnosed with an 'illness' which may not exist in all cases... Let the truly autistic be treated. Let the falsely diagnosed be free."

Inspired rhetoric, you hate-mongering ass-clown.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I have to admit, I was no big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie or the TV show. When I happened to catch the all-singing, all-dancing episode of the Buffy series, I remember saying to myself, "This is bloody horrible," before switching it off. Since then, I have become a fan of Whedon's Firefly series and its big-screen counterpart Serenity, thanks largely to my wife, who is a devoted "Browncoat."

So, when we heard about Whedon's latest venture, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, we were intrigued, to say the least. Concieved during the writer's strike, this comic musical fantasy stars Neil Patrick Harris in the title role as a lovelorn mad scientist, and Firefly's Nathan Fillion as his nemesis, Captain Hammer.

The songs are well-crafted little show tunes that are woven into the plot effortlessly, in contrast to what I rememeber of that Buffy episode. Harris is very funny in the role, and shows a nice singing voice. Fillion plays the role of an egomaniacal superhero, who ends up dating the object of Dr. Horrible's affections, with obvious relish.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a testament to not only Whedon's creativity, but to his frustration with the current mechanisms in place for distribution of his intellectual property. While the Studios were playing hardball with the Writer's Guild, Joss and his collaborators executed this low-budget blow against the empire, as if to say, "We don't need no stinkin' networks!"

Available for free for a limited time at drhorrible.com, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog will then be available through iTunes.

Overnight

The BLOG! Movie of the Week is Mark Brian Smith and Tony Montana's documentary Overnight, which charts the rise and fall of one Troy Duffy, who went from bartender/bouncer to Hollywood legend when his screenplay for The Boondock Saints was purchased by Harvey Weinstein of Miramax, who sweetened the deal by giving the neophyte writer the opportunity to direct the film, and also buying him the bar where he worked. Things quickly went south, as Duffy's hubris and general obnoxiousness alienated the studio, who put the film in "turnaround," leaving Duffy to scramble for a deal that gave him half of the original budget and no home video rights.

Meanwhile, his awful rock band, the Brood (not to be confused with the all-girl garage band of the same name) scores a record deal with Atlantic Records. Unfortunately, the same arrogance and self-aggrandizement that sabotaged the movie deal leads to Duffy blowing the record deal as well, as the band's CD (Release the Hounds, under the new band name Boondock Saints) sells only 690 copies, and the band gets dropped like a bad habit. Overnight is like watching a trainwreck in slow motion, a trainwreck where the conductor is a foul-mouthed, paranoid, bullying blowhard.

I lived in Massachusetts for many years, and worked in the rock n' roll business for almost as long, so I instantly recognized Boston-bred Duffy as a particularly noxious variation on a couple of archetypes: The Rock Fascist, usually a guitar player, who overrules every other guy in the band, because he knows it all; and The Masshole, a species unique to the Commonwealth, with the characteristic traits of racism, sexism, anti-semitism, and alcoholism.

Ironically, The Boondock Saints has become a cult film (one critic called it a movie "for those who find Quentin Tarantino too cerebral"), doing very well on DVD, but as I mentioned, Duffy failed to secure any backend on the Home Video rights, so he did not get a penny beyond his original deal. The closing montage shows Duffy's friends (including the filmmakers) and bandmates all working menial jobs. Meanwhile, Duffy has persevered, apparently none the wiser for his ordeal (for which he seems to think himself blameless), and is threatening to make Boondock Saints 2.

Fascinating, horrifying, and appalling, while remaining compellingly watchable, Overnight is one of the best documentaries ever made about the entertainment business. Duffy had the unprecendented opportunity of having both a movie and a record deal, but he blew it in epic fashion. The documentary ends with a quote from celebrity biographer and fellow pariah Albert Goldman:

"No man is really changed by success. What happens is that success works on the man's personality like a truth drug, bringing him out of the closet and revealing what was always inside his head."

Florida Rocks Again! Hall of Fame Vol. I/It's Alive!

Airdates:

Wednesday July 9th, 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday July 12th, 8 t0 10 p.m. Eastern Time

on WFBO Oldies 97.7 The Blizzard in Flagler Beach

Listen via Live365 at TheBlizzard.US

Playlist:

The CLASSICS IV Story:

Spooky/Everyday With You, Girl/Pollyanna/Stormy/Traces/Cherry Hill Park

The HOYT AXTON Story:

Joy to the World/Greenback Dollar/Snowblind Friend/Never Been to Spain/Boney Fingers/The No No Song

The ALLMAN JOYS Story:

Spoonful/You'll Learn Someday/We Gotta Get Out of This Place/Shapes of Things/Changing of the Guard

HOUR GLASS: Gotta Get Away

RAY CHARLES: What'd I Say

SAM & DAVE: Soothe Me

STEVE ALAIMO: Nobody Cries for Me

THE OUTSIDERS: Summertime Blues

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl

THE ROEMANS: Misirlou (bed)

THE OUTLAWS: Freeborn Man

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: Dreams

LYNYRD SKYNYRD:

I Ain't the One/Call Me the Breeze/Sweet Home Alabama

FRED NEIL: Everybody's Talkin'

Series Hosted by Mal Thursday

Written & Produced by JM Dobies

Co-produced by Jeff Lemlich

Brought to you by Flagler County Heating and Air Conditioning

Don't Miss Geezerpalooza 2008

Saturday August 9th

at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial
with

The Birdwatchers, Steve Alaimo, The Montells,

Dr. T & The Undertakers, The Dead End Kids, and Geekus

Hosted by Rick Shaw

"PURCHASE TICKETS"