KHAKIS AFLAME

     I just watched two music documentaries lately.  Yeah, I'm a real wild guy.  The first film was about the last five years of David Bowie's life.  They had some home video taken on his last World Tour in 2003 and showed him and his band at a Town Pump (kind of a trucker's 7-Eleven) somewhere in Montana playing one of the 'claw' machines with the stuffed animals inside.  This would be just about the last thing I would probably ever think of David Bowie doing (and not to mention the last State he would be doing it).

 
     Then I watched a documentary about the English band XTC.  I've loved this band for a long time but didn't know much about them as little has been written and they had just a cult following in the U.S.  Andy Partridge seems like a rather chatty bloke but a bit mercurial.  Colin Moulding seems like a quiet genius and Dave Gregory is very thoughtful and concise.  There were some other members of the band but their stays were rather brief.  For whatever reason, I just don't see any of these guys ever hanging out at a Town Pump on Montana playing a 'claw' machine.

     David Bowie's lyrics always seemed somewhat cryptic and a little dark to me whereas most XTC lyrics were direct and even a bit funny at times.  What makes someone continually act dishonest or be unabashedly truthful?  Is it their upbringing?  Their surroundings?  What makes someone impoverished be thankful for what little they have?  What makes someone who has everything still want more?   Alas, big answers seem to be elusive for such a simple mind.  I do know that I'm constantly amazed at what joy these musicians have given to me over the years, even though their approaches to the craft were very different.  Strange but true.

MY TWO SHITS WORTH: EPISODE EIGHT

     Here's a good one.  Kelly Monteith.  A stand up comedian by trade, he came to prominence (perhaps too strong a word) in 1970s, making several appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and was part of the initial wave of observational comedians.  He also played all of the big Nevada casinos of the day.  He got 'noticed' by CBS who offered him a four-week summer replacement variety show in 1976.  His guests were Freddie Prinze, Vicki Lawrence, George Gobel and Gavin MacLeod.  He started making appearances on British talk shows too which led to him getting signed by the BBC to do his own series.
     He says that he pitched this type of show to American networks who flatly rejected him.  "The Kelly Monteith Show" was partially inspired by the old "The George Burns Show" where the main character would talk directly to the camera at certain points during the program.  Garry Shandling would also use this in his 1980s Showtime series.  The Brits ate it up and the show ran for six series (British for seasons) from 1979 to 1984.  During that time he also returned to CBS in 1980 for another four-week show called "No Holds Barred."  Described by many as a comic version of "60 Minutes", no one knew what to make of it (especially those tuning in expecting to watch "Kojak" reruns) and the show disappeared very quickly.
     After his BBC show ended Monteith returned to the states and continued his stand up career and made a few mostly forgettable TV and movie appearances.  His BBC show ran on the fledgling A&E Network in the early 80s (where I watched it as a child) but has also been mostly forgotten.  That's a shame because it was a very funny show and now his very funny Carson guests stints are now showing up on You Tube.  I highly recommend them and also recommend that the BBC get off their arses and put his old show on DVD.