I Am the Walrus...The Back Story
I am the Walrus is one of those songs who's lyrics don't seem to make any sense at all, but there's a story behind it.
John Lennon received a letter from an English teacher who informed him she was using Beatle lyrics to teach her students poetry. At the time John was working on 2 totally different pieces, so he mashed them together and was noted as saying, "I wonder what the little buggers will make of this."
Oh my God, they killed Kenny!
...YOU BASTARDS!
The Story Behind South Park's Kenny
Trey Parker (South Park) patterened 
Kenny after a kid he knew in school who always had an oversized parka, that would muffle his voice when he spoke. He was also a kid in a poor family, who would miss school for prolonged periods causing the other kids to speculate that he might be dead
What I've Learned From Watching Sci-Fi
Pt 1
English is the true universal language
English is obviously the universal language of all existence.. All alien civilizations, all alien computer and AI sytems, and all alien signage are fluent in English...more so than many of us.
What I've Learned From Watching Sci-Fi
Pt 2
Canada's the safest place to live on earth
Canada is obviously the safest place on Earth. Nearly all movies and TV shows that are about alien invasions, or alternate universes -
Nazi invasion of North America? There never seem to be any Canadian Cities targeted. Natural disasters? None ever seem to happen here. Alien invasion? They always leave Canada alone. In fact, you'll often see a blanket of white cover everything north of the US in the graphics used in these movies & shows.....
.....But my favourite is an old Twilight Zone about the earth falling into the sun. It begins with a guy moving from NYC to Toronto the escape the heat.
What I've Learned From Watching Sci-Fi
Pt 3
The "Bad Guys" can't shoot straight
The "Bad Guys" are incompetently bad shots - as pointed out in Family Guy's Star Wars spoof
stormtrooper 1: "Have any of us ever hit anything with one of these?"
stormtrooper 2: "I got a squirrel once!"
stormtrooper 1: "Nice!"
A night of heavy partying can sometimes save your life
Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) was partying in Boston one night and stumbled back to his hotel room to go to sleep. He woke up with such a bad hangover that he decided to sleep in and miss his flight back to California. His flight turned out to be one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center on 9/11.
What's in a Name?
When Jimmy Page put his new band together in 1969/1970, he played a demo for his friend, fellow Yardbird guitarist Jeff Beck, who commented that the sound would probably go over.... "like a led balloon...actually make that more like a led zeppelin"
What's in a Name - Part 2
South Park's Trey Parker's parents were named Randy and Sharon....same as Stan's in the show. Matt Stone's parents were named Gerald and Sheila....same as Kyle's parents in the show. Matt Stone is also half Jewish (mother's side) same as Kyle in the show.
Accidental Success - Pt 1
Porcupine Tree
Steven Wilson and a friend were working on a screenplay about a forgotten fictional progressive rock band from the early 70's called "The Porcupine Tree". While writing, Wilson decided that he should try writing music for the soundtrack. He soon realized it was sounding not too bad, and instead of a movie, we ended up getting a real band called "Porcupine Tree" which developed into one of the most respected and popular bands in the genre until they disbanded "circa 2010". Steven Wilson now has a successful solo career, PT's drummer is now a permanent member of King Crimson, and other members are working on various other solo projects.
Accidental Success - Part 2
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
In 1994 Savatage recorded the album "Dead Winter Dead". On that album was a tribute to the "Cellist of Sarajevo" known for dodging snipers and playing his cello on piles of rubble during the Serbian civil war. This piece was Christmas Eve Sarajevo - 12/24. The record company wanted their producer to re-work other Christmas classic in a similar method. He worked with Savatage, but since it was not a Savatage project, they called this project the "Trans-Siberian Orchestra". With multiple plainum albums, and annual tours which are always in the top 10 grossing tours of the year, TSO became a fixture. Unfortunately, the founder - Paul O'Neill - passed away in 2017.
A Morbid Coincidence
Dream Theater released it's long awaited live DVD of the Scene's From a Memory Tour. The cover art had an adapted DT logo replacing the chained heart with a chained apple, and the NYC skyline in flames above with WTC clearly visible. The release date of ot was actually Sept 11, 2001....so literally as the planes were smashing into the WTC on 9/11 this DVD was hitting the shelves. It was immediately withdrawn for new cover art, but there are still thousands out there as morbid collector's items
The Battle of Los Angeles
In 2011 there was a movie called the "Battle of Los Angeles" with the premise of an alien attack on Los Angeles. But did you know the concept was based on an actual Battle of LA?
On Feb 24, 1942 (middle of the night) air raid sirens went up all over LA. Believing a Japanese attack was imminent, the air batteries went up and searchlights scanned the sky focusing in on a hovering staionary object. 1400 Anti-Aircraft shots fired at it, but no success in bring it down. It then just took off. There have been various attempts to explain, with no definitive answer. Below is the LA Times newspaper photo the next day.
| R & R - Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||
The artists at bottom are not in the R&R Hall of Fame. Based on the Elegibilty Requirements (below), cases could be made for any of them...some more than others. It's not a case of specifically liking them - you can have issues with any of them - but the body of work by each can be easily applied to the listed requirements |
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| Elegibility Artists—a group encompassing performers, composers and/or musicians—become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. Besides demonstrating unquestionable musical excellence and talent, inductees will have had a significant impact on the development, evolution and preservation of rock & roll.
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