PBS Digital Studios recently put together an animated version of a 1996 Johnny Cash interview for the Blank on Blank series. In the interview, Barney Hoskyns asks Cash questions like whether or not he could have been a preacher (“No.”). Cash also discusses his jaw pain and how he has to avoid painkillers, revealing all of it is something he just has to deal with: “I’m not brave at all.”
Of course, he also talks about his music, explaining how some of his greatest songs are extensions of himself. He notes how he and an audience interact: “That’s what performance is about, is sharing and communicating.” Check out the interesting 6-minute video.
The full audio of the interview is available for subscribers at RocksBackPages.com. Otherwise, if the video leaves you wanting more Cash, check out this recent post about his “new” album.
What is your favorite part of the interview? Leave your two cents in the comments.
During a news conference on April 7, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower first invoked the use of “dominoes” in a phrase that would be used by four presidents for justifying United States involvement in Vietnam. Thus, was born the domino theory.
During the press conference, Robert Richards of Copley Press asked Pres. Eisenhower to comment “on the strategic importance of Indochina to the free world.” Eisenhower first discussed the situation’s impact on production of materials for the world and on humans being under a dictatorship. Then, he considered the broader implications:
“Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the ‘falling domino’ principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.”
Eisenhower continued that the impact could spread to Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand. Other questions about Indochina followed, as well as questions on other topics, such as the possible statehood of Hawaii and Alaska. But it was his comment about pieces used in a tile game that would have lasting significance. Presidents after him — John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon — would continue to grapple with the fear of not wanting to be the president who let the dominoes fall.
Sixteen years after Pres. Eisenhower’s comments, while the U.S. was still embroiled in Vietnam and while Pres. Eisenhower’s vice-president Richard Nixon now served as president, America had “Domino” on its mind in a completely different context. They were singing along with a hit song by Van Morrison.
Van Morrison’s “Domino” appeared as the opening song on his album His Band and the Street Choir. After being released as a single, it became a top-10 hit and Van Morrison’s highest charting single ever. The album is a “valentine to the R&B” music that inspired the Northern Irish singer.
The song’s title had nothing to do with fears of Communists; it was a tribute to singer Fats Domino. Instead of the “dominoes” behind the nation’s war, the Van Morrison song was an uplifting song of renewal as the singer thinks “it’s time for a change” and only asks for some rhythm and blues music.
The U.S.’s military involvement in Vietnam continued for several more years after “Domino” appeared on the charts. Pres. Eisenhower’s fears of the dominoes falling across the world, though, did not come to fruition. Fortunately, politicians no longer use dominoes to justify military force, and most kids only know “dominoes” as a game or a place to buy pizza. And we still listen to Van Morrison’s “Domino.” Lord have mercy.
What is your favorite Van Morrison song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6 in 1937 in Oildale, California. In honor of his birthday, check out this Austin City Limits performance of “Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today.” Happy birthday Hag.
Haggard appeared on a number of TV shows during the 1970s. We have previously mentioned his appearance on the Centennial mini-series in 1978. You may check out another 1970s TV appearance on a 1976 episode of The Waltons, where Haggard sings “Nobody’s Darlin’.”
What is your favorite Merle Haggard song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
If you have ever wondered what the movie Pulp Fiction (1994) might look like if it had been a video game in the 1980s, CineFix has answered your question. In the following video, CineFix shows the classic Quentin Tarantino film presented in 8-bit video game glory (with a touch of 16-bit). Check it out.
The video is part of CineFix’s 8 Bit Cinemaseries.
I like the old school option to change characters. What is your favorite part of the video? Leave your two cents in the comments.
A new video captures Saturday Night Live alum star Fred Armisen trying out to be the new lead singer of The Flaming Lips. As Armisen takes over the band from Wayne Coyne, he does his best to make the group sound like something besides The Flaming Lips. Do not worry Lips fans, the video comes from Funny or Die. Besides, Armisen is too busy with IFC’s Portlandia and leading the band for NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. {Unfortunately, the video is no longer available for embedding.]
One of my favorite parts of the video is when Coyne sings a part of the wonderful song “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1,” which is from the 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. If you want to hear more of that song, check out this live 2011 performance at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
What is your favorite Flaming Lips song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
. After being released as a single, it became a top-10 hit and Van Morrison’s highest charting single ever. The album is a “
