Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to another fine episode of Sneaky Dragon. Perhaps our finest since episode 156 – that was a doozy.
Just kidding! I can’t even remember that episode!
This week on the show, it’s all about: Sparks shirts-o-mania; IB problems; best bathrooms in Vancouver; Alexander Payne’s Downsizing; The Talented Mr. Ripley and Ripley’s Game and Philip Seymour Hoffman as an alpha jerk; cat issues in Trainspotting and Nine Months; Hugh Jackman sightings; the Overflowing Bathtub Problem; the most useless show host; Annihilation and A Field in England disagreements; self-righteous, self-justified piracy; the Netflix garbage dump; handcuff key pro tips; a touch of body dysmorphia; an awkward work situation; an awkward phone situation; Instagram rants; never-changing cool; Top 5 songs that could be used in a Sparks film soundtrack as requested by Nina Matsumoto (our own third Dragon); board game recommendations; big arms; metaphors for human life; Ghost Wars; and, finally, the trump card to end all trump cards.
This weeks Top 5 songs:
1) “Cats” by Barnes and Barnes from the 2000 compilation Yeah: The Best of Barnes and Barnes
2) “The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)” by The Beach Boys from the 1967 sessions for Smile!
2) “Catch Us If You Can” by The Dave Clark Five from the soundtrack to the 1965 film Catch Us If You Can
3) “I Need A Friend” by The Cowsills from the 1968 album We Can Fly
4) “Hey! (Rise of the Robots)” by The Stranglers from the 1978 album Black and White
5) “At the Zoo” by Simon and Garfunkel from the 1968 album Bookends
Thanks for listening.
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About Bill Mumy: he was also, post “Lost in Space”, in a 1971 movie called “Bless the Beasts and Children”. Does anyone remember the song of same title by the Carpenters? That was the theme song of this film. I haven’t seen the movie for years and years, and it may not hold up now, but really liked it at the time. It has a sweet plot… some outcast kids trying to save captive buffalo. Plus I was in middle school and thought Mr. Mumy was the cutest thing on two legs! 🙂
PS! “Sparks!”, which is a book by Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, and David Dedrick, in case you haven’t heard :-), is great!!!
I remember the movie. I must’ve seen it on TV. I would have been too young to see it at a cinema. But I do remember the Oscar-nominated song being performed at the Oscars. (It lost to “Shaft.”) It might be a good selection for the soundtrack of “Sparks!” the movie!
*MINOR SPOILER ALERT*
It would come in during the tornado/school bus rescue scene. Just as the bus is flying off the broken bridge, everything goes into slow motion and we cut to close-ups of the faces of terrified kids as Karen’s rich contralto voice sings:
Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice
Bless the beasts and the children
For the world can never be
The world they see
Light their way when the darkness surrounds them
And give them love, let it shine all around them
Bless the beasts and the children
Give them shelter from the storm
Keep them safe, keep them warm
That’s a great idea! What do YOU think, David?
Who drew sparks in the what now?
Lots of great classic films streaming on Film Struck.
Thanks for the thoughtful list! I may make a Sparks playlist of my own in Spotify eventually.
Great to see Sparks! attracting lots of 5-star reviews on amazon – I just added my own on the UK site. It’s a lovely book, and I hope all three of you are enjoying this moment to the full.
I could only think of one song about a dam bursting, St Francis Dam Disaster by the hugely under-rated Frank Black and the Catholics. It wouldn’t work for the soundtrack, but it’s fantastic, so here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyRKUIm_74E
Oh, and thanks for recommending Meditation Park last week. Watched it on Netflix at the weekend and really enjoyed it.
A fundamental aspect of Stomach Jazz is all the pants you *didn’t* soil.
RE: Annihilation, the movie I think it’s most often compared to is the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker, which was also based on a book (Roadside Picnic) about strange goings-on in an environment altered by an unearthly influence. It can be found on-line, and is really worth watching.