It's a strange one. It'll all make sense come the next ep.
Your test for today:what the devil is this?
I present a brief and traumatic piece of music from Lum and Abner, another Mystery Organ Question. There's a robot in the rural store, and he's picked up Abner. He is crushing him.
Rogue-Robot Organ Nightmare
There's a song in there. Can you identify it? Answer down in LISTEN below the fold.
I love my job, as I’ve noted whenever I do something that makes me think “lucky, lucky fellow.” Today it was this:
That’s a paddleboat kayak, and I was in a big tank of water at the Boat Show downtown. To get some master shots, we went up the stairs to the catwalk overhead. A shot looking down . . .
. . . that’s looking down at Shari the Shooter, who also edited the final product. Besides new huge boats, they had antiques. I love the look of the old engines:
More music cues from the exceptionally witty and warm-hearted Peg Lynch radio show, "The Couple Next Door." As it turns out, I was right: they did start using different music after a while. They had to. I knew they would.
CND Cue #295 Listen to this about five times, and marvel at the economy and perfection.
CND Cue #296 This is new; nervous and busy, zinging right up to an exclamation mark with a question inside. That's what an interrobang sounds like.
CND Cue #297 All of these are from a larger suite I’ve never heard. Rather generic, but I don’t mind; they’re different.
CND Cue #298 You realize how much the two-note conclusion has become the shorthand for “It’s Done.”
Yes, that’s Margaret Hamilton laughing. Removed and isolated, it’s a bit creepy.
CND Cue #299 You can hear the main theme, which I’m sure is repeated throughout the suite, at the start. Sad mocking oh-you-poor-husband notes towards the end:
CND Cue #300 Two notes - bum-bum - for the end of the show; one note sliding up into the second for the end of a scene.
Now, the Mystery Organ Music.
Again, the rogue-robot music.
What happens when you're crushed to death by a robot? Why, you're buried. First there's a funeral. They put you in a casket. Where would they get the wood for the casket?
And there you go. That's the song. It wouldn't be a total mystery to listeners of the show, since a few characters sang or hummed the song from time to time.
If you’re wondering why there is a robot in a 1945 show about two old guys who run a country store, well, I’ve one word: CONSULTANTS. It’s possible the creators and performers decided to shake things up a bit, but they were doing things that seemed at odds with the show’s character. Lum and Abner got trapped in a cave and almost died. Lum buys a diamond that has a curse, and is followed by an Oriental Assassin. An inventor leaves a mysterious box, which contains a mechanical man. I wonder if they thought the show was getting stale after ten years, or whether the network said “lose the corn, chum.” It’s still a favorite, but I notice the change.
I remember the jingle from childhood or from television - as if there's any difference, I suppose - but I'd forgotten the words. Have you?
Old Spice radio ad, 1959
Updates on the right - Patriotica ads, and a NEW COLUMN at the newspaper. Here. (Scroll down to the Columnists pane; when I did this it hadn't posted yet.) Have a grand weekend!