I mentioned Firesign Theatre in a different thread recently, and then I started to wonder how many folks here in Grylliland have ever even heard of them, let alone heard them.
It is, I think, safe to say that among people of my generation, dropping some line from one of their albums (almost always from one of the first four) and gaining recognition, usually another FT line, was on a par with the secret society handshake or however else people in the same subculture identify one another.
Anyway, what with the discussion of psychedelic music and such on several other threads, it struck me that there may well be many of you who don't know this material but would really enjoy it. Lord knows if there was ever such a thing as psychedelic comedy, Firesign Theatre is it. It looks like three of the first four albums (Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers; How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All; and I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus)are available on CD (and, I assume, downloadable) from Amazon and elsewhere. I assume the fourth, Waiting For The Electrician Or Someone Like Him, is also available somewhere. These, and not the later works or the compilations, are the way to go. Some of the later work is good but not nearly consistently as good as those first four.
Oh well, there it is, my hopeless (and, I hope, largely unnecessary) attempt at passing along a bit of the best of 60s and early 70s culture. You may now proceed to the Funway, which is already in progress.
P.S. -- My inclination would have been to post this in the general chatter forum, but for you forum purists, I have decided somewhat arbitrarily that Hobbies & Entertainment is the closest available more specific category.
"love is like porn, you know" -- Ali
Re: How Many Bozos Are On This Bus?
The purists aren't against the free placement of threads, they're against placement of threads in violation of rules. Or maybe they're just opposed until thread welfare ends.
Re: How Many Bozos Are On This Bus?
I've heard of them, mostly via fortune files and such. I think it's kind of second-hand transmission of outsider subculture. I think you're a bit older than I am - I get the feeling that geeks of my generation don't really know them directly, but our geeky forebears were into them, so we know about them that way.
Re: How Many Bozos Are On This Bus?
A friend of mine got an A for handing in a recording of Firesign Theatre's "Temporarily Humboldt County" as his term project for a "Westward Expansion" class.
Actually, he did the whole "Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him" album, but the important part was "Temorarily Humboldt County"
"But if it makes you feel better, I would also enjoy a world in which there are men, women, transsexuals, genderqueer folk, etc. who all enjoy pelican role-play." - JD
"Extraordinary conditions do not create or enlarge constitutional powers."
Re: How Many Bozos Are On This Bus?
When I was much younger (teens?), I saw one of their vinyl albums at the local library. It think it must have been Everything You Know Is Wrong, and I must have been intrigued by the cover, so I checked it out. It was pretty funny; the parts I remember are:
- Gas music from Jupiter, and the alien who commands the people of Earth, "All must learn to play the piano!"
- The "what to do in the event of alien invasion" bit, with the nutso military officer who, at breakfast, informs his family, "Men! Honey, and men ... two flying saucers have just ... landed on my plate." "The eggs, sir?" "Oh ho ho! That is exactly what they want you to believe! Now, men! We have been invaded by superior consciousness. What course of action do you suggest?" "Uh ... pass the syrup, general?" "Good thinking, Chuck -- but syrup won't stop 'em! Next?"
- Magog Brothers Carpet Warehouse, or something. Their warehouse was just hit by a meteor and now everything must go! "Good God! It's Magog Brothers!"
- Bear Whiz Beer.
- "Your American forefathers took drugs!" classroom film. "An alternate look ... at an alternate history ... for an alternate culturrrrrrreerrrrerrr!"
- Some sequence where a couple were showing their vacation films to some scientist with a German accent, documenting that they discovered some lost tribe or maybe space aliens or something. What I remember is them narrating the film on the record: "Okay, here we are floating down the river ... you'll see there are some rapids ... okay, now the really dangerous part is coming up ... WHOAA!" "Oooh! Yes, zat certainly appeared dangerous!" "And now we continue on down the river ... "
More recently, a girl I used to work with gave me a Firesign Theatre VHS tape -- it was given to her as a gift, but she didn't want it -- but I haven't got around to watching it yet. It got packed away somewhere by accident.
"My intellect is gigantic, monstrous, terrifying."
Re: How Many Bozos Are On This Bus?
"Bear Whiz Beer! It's in the water.. that's why it's yellow!"
Everything You Know Is Wrong has it's good points, but the early stuff is still much better. Also, I'd actually advise against anything visual. At the very least, don't judge them by that tape. The fact is that their genius was in creating heavily layered audio humor -- psychedelic radio, complete with sound effects. As soon as you seem them going through their paces in person, it just becomes amusing shtick. You, of all people around here, should be delighted by their first four albums, Stevo. If you'll send me your e-mail address at [redacted], I'll send you the url to a site from which you can, um, audition some of their best stuff.
EDIT: I got several messages from other folks at the e-mail address I posted. That's not a problem, but unless I have a pretty good sense that I already know you, I tend not to respond to unsolicited messages. Not trying to be a jerk; just explaining, is all.
"love is like porn, you know" -- Ali