Quantcast
Channel: 00INDIVIDUAL
Viewing all 796 articles
Browse latest View live

Celebrate the most historic year in modern American history with the 50th Anniversary of 1968 – featuring AUGUST

$
0
0

“Street Fightin’ August 1968” copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

AUGUST 1968

EXPERIENCE the HISTORICAL HEIGHT of POP and ROCK and PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE!
and the Year that Shattered American and World History

– THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME –
SEE: AUGUST 29, 1968, BELOW

Happenings:
Aug 3-4 The First Annual Newport Pop Festival, Costa Mesa, California 100,000 attend
Regular Admission $5.50 !!
00individual was there!


Aug 8 Race riot in Miami, Florida
Aug 8 Republican convention in Miami Beach nominates Richard Nixon for president
Aug 10 Race riot in Miami, Chicago & Little Rock
Aug 11 Beatles launch “Apple Records” label
Aug 20 During the night 200,00 Warsaw Pact Soviet led troops begin to invade Czechoslovakia in response to the Prague Spring
Aug 21 Democratic Convention opens in Chicago, goes on to nominate Hubert Humphrey
Aug 23 Ringo quits Beatles over a disagreement (temporarily).
Aug 25 Arthur Ashe becomes 1st African American to win the US singles championship
Aug 26 “Hey Jude” single released by the Beatles (Billboard Song of the Year 1968, Billboard 10th biggest song of all time 2013)
Aug 28 Police & anti-war demonstrators clash at Chicago’s Democratic National Convention

AUGUST 29, 1968 – Chicago Transit Authority: “Prologue / Someday August 29, 1968”
“Would you look around you now, And tell me what you see
Faces full of hate and fear, Faces full of me
Do you feel the rumblings, As your head comes crumbling down
Do you know what I mean, 
Run, you better, run you know The End is getting near
Feel the wind of something hard, Come whistling past your ear
As they try to get you, Where it will upset you
Now you know what I mean,
Someday you will see how long, 
We’ve waited for the time,
To show you how we’ve died, 
To get together with you all
Twist and turn your head around, ‘Till everything’s unclear
Twist and turn your arm around, Until it is not there
And they’d love to burn you, Or at least to turn you around
Now you know what I mean
Can you look around you now, And tell us what’s to be
Can you look inside yourself, And tell us what you see
As you feel the rumblings, As your head comes crumbling down
And you know what I mean
Someday you will see how long, We’ve been waiting for the time

Aug 30 First record under Apple label (Beatle’s Hey Jude)
Aug 30 John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “One on One” benefit for children at Madison Square Garden, New York
Aug 31 Private Eye magazine reports a John Lennon and Yoko Ono album will have a picture of them nude on cover

Let’s Rock: Album Releases:
Aug 10 Ten Years After – Undead
Aug 12 Big Brother & Holding Company – Cheap Thrills
Aug 19 The Beach Boys – The Best of Vol. 3
Aug 19 The Beach Boys- Stack-O-Tracks
Aug 21 Etta James – Tell Mama
Aug 23 Fleetwood Mac – Mr. WonderFul
Aug 26 Diana Ross/Supremes Sing – “Funny Girl”
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine
The Supremes Live – Live at London’s Talk of the Town
Aug 30 The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Donovan – Live in Concert
Eric Burdon & The Animals – Every One of Us
Frank Sinatra – Frank Sinatra’s Greatest Hits
James Brown – Plays Nothing But Soul
James Brown – Live at the Apollo, Volume II
Sammy Davis Jr. – Lonely Is the Name
The Vogues – Memories
Blue Cheer – Outsideinside
The Miracles – Special Occasion
The 5th Dimension – Stoned Soul Picnic
Country Joe and the Fish – Together
The Jeff Beck Group – Truth
The Vogues – Turn Around, Look at Me
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – You’re All I Need

US Top 20 Singles for the Week Ending August 10, 1968:
Check out these Half-Century Classic Singles in bold that still Rock and Inspire:
Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll! 

1 HELLO, I LOVE YOU – The Doors (Elektra)
2 CLASSICAL GAS – Mason Williams (Warner Brothers/Seven Arts)
3 STONED SOUL PICNIC – The 5th Dimension (Soul City)
4 GRAZING IN THE GRASS – Hugh Masekela (Uni)
5 PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE – The Rascals (Atlantic)

6 HURDY GURDY MAN – Donovan (Epic)
Heavy Rock Trivia!!
For decades there have been disagreements as to who played on this seminal entry into Heavy Metal Rock; especially lead electric guitar.
As per John Paul Jones 2005, “I would like to confirm that the musicians on the record were as follows: Arrangement/Musical Director and Bass Guitar: John Paul Jones, Accoustic Guitar – Donovan, Lead (electric) Guitar – Alan Parker, Drums – Clem Cattini, No other musicians were involved in this session.”
Two members of the Greatest Unknown Rock Band Ever; Rumpelstiltskin: Alan Parker (The Hurdy Gurdy Axe Man), Clem Cattini (The Hurdy Gurdy Drum Lord) laid down the heavy guitar and drums and joined the rest of Rumpelstiltskin; Herbie Flowers (The Master) Bass,  Drums, Alan Hawkshaw (The Hammerin’ Hammond Honcho) keyboards, Peter Stirling (Sterling Silver Voice) – vocals – as the next super session group like Led Zeppelin.

7 LADY WILLPOWER – Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (Columbia)
8 TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME – The Vogues (Reprise)
9 SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE – Cream (Atco)
10 JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH – The Rolling Stones (London)
11 BORN TO BE WILD – Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
12 THE HORSE – Cliff Nobles and Co. (Phil-L.A. Of Soul)
13 STAY IN MY CORNER – The Dells (Cadet)
14 PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN – The Status Quo (Cadet Concept)
15 YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON – Vanilla Fudge (Atco)
16 THIS GUY’S IN LOVE WITH YOU – Herb Alpert (A&M)
17 JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND – The Amboy Dukes /Ted Nugent (Mainstream)
18 DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME – Mama Cass  (Dunhill)
19 AUTUMN OF MY LIFE – Bobby Goldsboro (United Artists)
20 LIGHT MY FIRE – Jose Feliciano (RCA Victor)

August Movies
August 1
Destroy All Monsters (Japan)
August 3
Hang ‘Em High
The first film of The Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood’s production company.
August 7
With Six You Get Eggroll
August 15
Targets
Boris Karloff’s last straight dramatic role.
August 26
Rachel, Rachel

.

The Psychedelic Train Hits The Beach!

“The Psychedelic Train Hits The Beach!” Copyright 2017 00individual TLL

Next stop September 1968!
.
1967 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September
 . . . October . . . November
December

1968 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September . . . October . . . November
December

.

.– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).


1960’s and 1970’s Culture Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hollywood’s Saving Grace: Grab the Rights to these “Top 13 Rock Song Movie Potentials” Part Two

$
0
0


HEY, HOLLYWOOD!

The vast consensus reveals that Hollywood is depressingly uninspired, relying on comic book superheroes, endless sequels, boring tentpoles, fanciful no fun universes, miserable retreads of vintage television series, and horribly miscalculated “reinventions” of classic beloved movies.

So, 00individual has a solution that will relieve Hollywood of the agony of creative thought!
Grab the rights to any of the following songs to create a decent; and by decent 00individual means nothing less than an engaging, fun, entertaining, audio and visual mind-bending film experience.

’60’s and ’70’s
TOP 13 ROCK SONG MOVIE POTENTIALS
Part Two

“Long, Cool Woman In A Black Dress” – The Hollies
(1940’s: when G-Men were Men and Criminals were Men.)
“Saturday night I was down town Working for the F.B.I. Sitting in a nest of bad men Whiskey bottles piling high
Boot legging boozer on the west side Full of people who are doing wrong Just about to call up the D.A. man When I heard this woman singing a song.
A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes My temperature started to rise
She was a long cool woman in a black dress Just a five nine Beautiful Tall
With just one look I was a bad mess Cause that long cool woman had it all.”

“Stoned Faces Don’t Lie” – Sir Douglas Quintet
(Introspective mystery brought about by a photo.)
“The other day saw a picture of an old friend of mine, Back to the days when friends they were so mellow, It made me stop and think as I looked on his face, And I thought about what’s goin’ down today.
Stoned faces don’t lie, baby when you’re high, Stoned faces don’t lie, baby when you’re high.”

“Tokoloshe Man” – John Kongos
(The Grim Reaper, Death? Or just Karma Incarnate?)
“And it makes no difference if you’re yellow or you’re red, When that bad man say tonight is the night you are dead
And it makes no difference if you’re black or you’re white, When Tokoloshe say tonight is the night, it’s tonight”

“From Here To There Eventually” – Steppenwolf
(Superheroes? You want Superheroes? They’ve shaved and tossed their robes for suits; all religions’ Dieties joined together, present day, are back, (yes, they left) to whip some Righteous Ass on those who have twisted and defamed their initial and true intent. Amen.)
“But I remember when I still embraced you, A little prayer would ease my mind,
‘Til I saw that you hide from the misery outside so I left you behind,
But all the other teachings That I’ve tried were ’bout the same, One grain of truth mixed with confusion caused by man,
But since you’re around anyway, May as well get you back on your feet again,(Get right back up on your feet),
Don’t ya know we need somebody to (Do some work down in the street),
You might just touch somebody (Start to think about today),
Throw your robe and staff away (And break away from yesterday),
Ah, tell me can we reach you? ( I don’t know, still we got to go)
From Here, To There, Eventually!”  

“Gone Dead Train”– Randy Newman
(One sex scene takes place all within a ninety minute movie – no wonder he ran out of coal.)
“My engine was pumpin’ steam, And I was grindin’ at you hard and fast
Burnin’ down the rails, tryin’ to heat the way, Haulin’ ass and ridin’ up the track
And I laughed at the conductor who was tellin’ me my coal It would never last
But then the fire in my boiler Up and quit before I came
Ain’t no empty cellar Like a gone dead train.”

A Hazy Shade of Winter – Simon & Garfunkel
(A kid, a teen, a young adult in the 1960s; the best time in U.S. history – and the worst time in U.S. history)
“Look around, the grass is high, the fields are ripe, It’s the springtime of my life.”

“Life’s One Act Play” – Savoy Brown
(A deep, character-driven tale of realization and its outcome . . .)
“My days are shaded gray, And my nights are shaded blue, My face is lined with worry, And my mind is split in two
Feel just like a man, Who’s last real hope is gone, Morality and religion, Didn’t teach me right from wrong
And I need a little something, Oh, just to mellow my days, ‘Cause I’m getting tired of acting, In life’s one act play
The world is changing fast, Ain’t got time to think twice, Wanna keep on the ball, Then you got to pay the price
You can’t judge the future, By looking at the past, And there ain’t nobody out there, Who you can stop and ask
Oh, I need a little something, Just to mellow my days ‘Cause I’m getting tired of acting, In lifes one act play
Some people think, oh yes, they do, They found the way, But they’re a dime a dozen, You can see them everyday
Some people are happy, In their delusions, Oh, I wish sometimes, I could share, I could share their illusions
But nobody really knows, What this life is all about, Those who think they do, Are the ones who should have doubts
Sometimes I wonder, What they are going to do, When their cozy dreams are shattered, And reality shows through.”

“Photos of Ghosts” – Premiata Forneria Marconi
(Five “Ghost Stories” with a connecting theme that is an emotional rollercoaster ranging from spine chilling horror to highlarious comedy.)
“Beside a dried up fountain lie five dusty tomes with faded pasted pictures of love’s reverie.
Across each cover is written, “Herein are Photos of Ghosts.”

“Space Truckin'” – Deep Purple
(The Fifth Element meets Blade Runner meets Fast and Furious.)
“We had a lot of luck on Venus We always had a ball on Mars
Meeting all the groovy people We’ve rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with Borealis We’re space truckin’ round the the stars
Come on let’s go Space Truckin’ “

“Stagger Lee” – Lloyd Price
(Sounds like a typical dispute that escalated – but its all about the backstory.)
“The night was clear And the moon was yellow And the leaves came tumbling down
I was standing on the corner When I heard my bulldog bark
He was barkin’ at the two men who were gamblin’ In the dark
It was Stagger Lee and Billy Two men who gambled late
Stagger Lee threw seven Billy swore that he threw eight
Stagger Lee told Billy I can’t let you go with that
You have won all my money and my brand new Stetson hat
Stagger Lee went home And he got his forty-four
Said, I’m goin’ to the barroom just to pay that debt I owe
Stagger Lee went to the barroom And he stood across the barroom door
He said, nobody move and he pulled his Forty-four
Stagger Lee, cried Billy Oh, please don’t take my life
I’ve got three little children and a very Sickly wife
Stagger Lee shot Billy Oh, he shot that poor boy so bad
‘Till the bullet came through Billy and it broke the bar Tender’s glass.”

“Eight Miles High” – The Byrds
(Although taken literally as a comment on arriving in England; if interpreted on a psychedelic level, it is an acid trip,)
“Eight miles high And when you touch down, You’ll find that it’s Stranger than known
Signs in the street That say where you’re goin’, Are somewhere Just being their own
Nowhere is There warmth to be found, Among those afraid Of losing their ground
Rain gray town Known for its sound, In places Small faces unbound
Round the squares Huddled in storms, Some laughing Some just shapeless forms
Sidewalk scenes And black limousines, Some living Some standing alone.”

“Werewolves of London” – Warren Zevon
(It’s about time for an erudite metro-Monster On The Loose!)
“I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, 
Walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook’s, Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein
Aaoooooo Werewolves of London
You hear him howling around your kitchen door, You better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night, Werewolves of London again
Aaoooooo Werewolves of London
He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent, Lately he’s been overheard in Mayfair
You better stay away from him, He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim, I’d like to meet his tailor
Aaoooooo Werewolves of London
I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen, Doing the Werewolves of London
I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s, And his hair was perfect.
Aaoooooo Werewolves of London.”

“Days Of Future Passed” – The Moody Blues
The phases of a 24 hour day: A True Account of a 24 Hour Day In the Life of a Los Angeles Hippie – 1971

Granted there are some movies already with these titles, and some scenarios and plotlines may seem familiar, BUT helmed with the right creativity these could all be refreshing newly-minted gems.

“Top 13 Rock Song Movie Potentials”
Part One

As a Los Angeles Native who lived through the Golden Age of Hollywood, whose Father worked at Metro Goldwyn Mayer Culver City Studios as a Cinetechnician, and who enjoyed the Movie Culture all of his life, 00individual is doing his part to strive for a film industry based once again on “Ars Gratia Artis” (Art For Arts Sake; M.G.M.’s motto) for the benefit of Hollywood’s survival and for a return to a much-needed “New Hollywood” where entertainment, not politics, is celebrated, enjoyed, and rewarded by, and for, everyone.

If none of the above inspire the Suits, then there is always
the Best Unproduced Property in Hollywood waiting for a greenlight: Click on above logo for the introduction to a mind-bending experience.
– KARMA OUTLAWS –
A MOVIE / VIDEO GAME 
THAT PUSHES NOTHING, EXCEPT THE LIMITS!

..

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

1960′s Historic & Classic Rock Albums . . . . . . . . . . CREAM . . . WHEELS OF FIRE . . . August 9, 1968 50th Anniversary Album & Concert Review

$
0
0

CreamFront
EXPERIENCE ROCK HISTORY!

CREAM – WHEELS OF FIRE – August 9, 1968

Here’s what made the ’60s and ’70s sooooo grrrreat; the music!
Those getting high from Marijuana, Uppers, Downers, and Hashish were all wonderful introductions into new worlds where the five senses became heightened, and a sixth became known.  These ventures into mind-altering drugs and plants saw the emergence of a culture that was represented musically by bands that were experiencing the same things that they were.  The revelations and experiences from LSD, Mescaline, Psilocybin, and Peyote were pressed into vinyl and heard by greatful thankful ears, minds, and bodies.

For an example of what Psychonauts, Rockers, and the Counter-Culture were into in ’68 just take a good look at the Cream Wheels of Fire album cover and the music inside – Psychedelic Hard Rock Blues!

Disc one: In the Studio
Side one
1. “White Room  (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) 4:58
2. “Sitting on Top of the World” (Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon; arr. Chester Burnett) 4:58
3. “Passing the Time” (Ginger Baker, Mike Taylor) 4:37
4. “As You Said” (Bruce, Brown) 4:20
Side two
1. “Pressed Rat and Warthog” (Baker, Taylor) 3:13
2. “Politician” (Bruce, Brown) 4:12
3. “Those Were the Days” (Baker, Taylor) 2:53
4. “Born Under a Bad Sign” (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) 3:09
5. “Deserted Cities of the Heart” (Bruce, Brown) 3:38
Disc two: Live at the Fillmore
Side three
1. “Crossroads” (Robert Johnson, arr. Clapton) 10 March 1968 at Winterland, San Francisco, CA. (1st show) 4:13
2. “Spoonful” (Willie Dixon) 10 March 1968 at Winterland, San Francisco, CA. (1st show) 16:43
Side four
1. “Traintime” (Bruce) 8 March 1968 at Winterland, San Francisco, CA. (1st show) 7:01
2. “Toad” (Baker) 7 March 1968 at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA. (2nd show) 16:15

“Wheels” was an end of Summer ’68 monster, and possibly the highpoint of the originators of the Super Group Power Trio; those were the days, yes they were, those were the days.

00individual was blessed to be in attendance for a truly classic and historic concert:
CREAM with Spirit – March 18, 1968
Anaheim Convention Center Arena, Anaheim, CA (capacity: 9,100)

00individual and a few friends’ seats were mid-way back and mid-way up to the left of stage; back then the music, sound, and performances were great but the band members are these brightly-lit miniature Rock Stars on stage. There were no huge monitor/screens to bring the artists closer to their less-fortunately seated fans back in ’68.
This was 00individual’s first indoor arena concert and it seemed huge even though it was half the size of the Fabulous Forum, so relatively speaking these were good seats!

This concert has always left a definite “flavor” in his mind; it was/is one of those memories that brings him right back to that era of experience – virtually all music can have that effect for one reason or another, but this is sideways from that, more emblematic of a period-shift or state of mind shift.

In August 1968, 00individual was six months away from high school graduation – he was One of the Last of the Los Angeles City School District Mid-Termers and graduated high school in February 1969.
This is important because in 00individual’s world most all of the major bands like Cream were five to ten years older, (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Rollng Stones, and Jimi Hendrix were all ten years older) so there was a nice feel that all of these guys were like older brothers that he grew up with that always pulled 00individual forward into their world of experience which made the real world an incredible adventure.

The “Wheels of Fire” album live cuts were featured, and the fans were treated to lengthy jams plus “Sunshine of Your Love”; Groovy!

00individual had listened to “Wheels”, “Gears”, and “Fresh” so many times that to hear the songs live was truly Far Out!

Cream Lineup: Eric Clapton (guitar), Jack Bruce (bass) and Ginger Baker (drums).
Set List: Spoonful, Sunshine of Your Love, Rollin’ & Tumblin’, Stepping Out, Traintime, Toad, I’m So Glad.

cream33

This double album cover was done in a monochromatic metallic gray and the images were a deliberate display of the psychedelic vibe that CREAM led with Disraeli Gears as part of the Top 13 Historic & Classic Psychedelic Albums of 1967.

Martin Sharp designed the Wheels of Fire gatefold sleeve for which he won the New York Art Directors Prize for Best Album Design in 1969.

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

“The STONED PRIVATE EYE”– 1970’s Noir Thrillers Preview / Sample Episode: “The Rock Concert” . . . . . Season 1 – 13 Episodes – Streaming Now!

$
0
0

STONED00

Recently 00individual had resurrected his 1970’s LSD writing experiment with his good friend and writing partner on the east coast, only without the LSD.
His friend would write a few paragraphs or page and then 00individual would do the same. Neither knew where the plot / storyline was going or of the characters that emerged, yet they wrote a very cohesive and fantastic 40-50 page story full of action, dialogue, and fun.

00individual decided to try to do the same technique but by himself; he had the main character, The Stoned Private Eye, the time period, the 1970s, and the Noir Vibe as inspiration.
But as he began something truly amazing happened as 00individual wrote, the episodes wrote themselves!

Written in a mock treatment style, and other than grammatical corrections, spelling, and a tad of clean-up, these words were laid out as written; the sentences unfolded, dialogue came about when needed, action as well, all written spontaneously.

Each episode was completed well within a normal workday, around eight pages including intro, with approximately 3,500 words, which equals about a fifteen minute read.

There was absolutely no planning, no story; these episodes developed as they were written. There were no rewrites. He just wrote as the plot unfolded with endings mostly unknown until the last paragraphs were written. Tribal Truth.

00individual has been blessed with many past and present special cosmic experiences, and a couple transcendent “meaning of life” ones; but never has 00individual experienced an ongoing Trip like this.
This is what magick feels like.

So, travel back to the psychedelic swingin’ ’70s and spend some time with The Stoned Private Eye – episodes as told to 00individual.

The STONED PRIVATE EYE

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

The following preview / sample is from season 1 episode 7:

“The ROCK CONCERT”

Episode Intro:

The 1960’s were a historic era of cultural and political upheaval worldwide, and Los Angeles along with San Francisco were at the west coast epicenters.
The 1970s amped the Vibe; from the grit of L.A, and glitz of Hollywood, to the sunny beach-lined communities north and south of the Los Angeles International Airport.

There was a thriving evolution of new ways to live, to expand one’s mind, and new ways to do business. And one of the rising big businesses was within the Drug Culture. The times were ripe for anyone to grab the reins and take hold of whatever they could. All ideas, trends, and concepts if not new, were brought forward from the past to be celebrated. With these near daily new enterprises and concepts came great ideas implemented for the good and some for the bad.

William Trent, a young private investigator, maintains his office and living space above the garages of an adjacent apartment building in the “Ghost Town” area of Venice, California.  The rickety, but sturdy stairs to Will’s office were open for anyone who needed his services.

Will was experienced in both deductive reasoning and altered states of consciousness. He had taken nearly every drug, hallucinogen, and psychotropic known, and used those experience’s benefits to become successful enough to hold down his own one man investigation business.

There was much to be said for certain stoners’ abilities to use their clouded stoned appearance to actually gain detailed insight on those who momentarily let their guard down due to thinking that they were dealing with just another stoned Hippie.

Tonight’s Episode: “The ROCK CONCERT”

By 1972 the California Cocaine Rush was on, everyone was doing Coke.

The thing with Cocaine addiction is equal parts craving and cost. Will knew how to handle his drugs as did many people he knew. The lurid details of drug addiction served as great deterrents for those easily impressionable, for Psychonauts like Will, addiction was never a threat.

Even though the cost and consumption was greater than any drug prior; Cocaine was a constant commodity.  These were the precursor “Rocker” days of Cocaine before the Disco-Culture’s ‘round the clock partyin’ and dancin’ became Cocaine’s Top Customer.

When Cocaine became known as “Nose Candy” Will moved on to Heroin – but Will had a serious joke to those who did neither; and that was that, “he never shot, only snorted.”

Will always kept a small stash of Cocaine for “business reasons” which for him could mean anything from entertaining a client, to assisting in a moment of clarity of deductive reasoning, and as a catalyst for accessing detailed memories. But tomorrow night Will was going out for pure rockin’ fun – he was going with a few friends to see The Rolling Stones at the Hollywood Palladium. This was the Stones’ “Exile on Main Street Tour” and Will was hyped and had some righteous Coke to take and share.

Will’s friend Mike was a deal-maker and drug dealer and he had a pad near Will’s at the beach and one on Lookout Mountain Road in Laural Canyon. Will occasionally handled non-drug tasks for Mike and agreed to a quick job; deliver a package left with Mike to a specific party in Century City. This worked out as it was on his way to Los Angeles International Airport to pick up a good friend who was in for the concert.
Will met with Mike at his pad, got the package, and headed to Century City.

Will soon noticed that he was being followed, it wouldn’t be because of the package as whoever they were had the opportunity to snag it back at Mike’s, so no, he was being tailed to find out to who or where this package was destined. Will was a very good driver experienced at 360s, 180s, and evasive vehicular maneuvers. He figured he’d have some fun with them before spoiling their plan.

Will’s fun didn’t last long, he lost them just zig-zaging through a few streets. Will was actually kinda disappointed. He knew Mike wouldn’t knowingly put him in danger, yet investigation sometimes involved some form of danger. Will shook off the intrigue and focused on the delivery, the Airport, and the Concert.

As he neared Century City he felt the need to allude unseen forces, he knew he was being tailed but saw no one, even after some special evasive moves.
As he entered the underground parking lot groups of office workers emerged from the elevators to their cars.
Will backed-in a parking spot – Will always backed-in for easy fast-forward getaways.
He took the parking lot elevator to the lobby and then non-stop to the fifth floor. As the door opened Will leaned back against the doors edge to the left and right, all was clear. He approached the Lawyer’s office, opened the door and could see a man at his desk through the open door. Will walked through the door and held out the package and as the man reached for it, Will pulled it back: “I need to see some I.D.”
The Lawyer made a smirky face, pulled out his wallet and handed his license to Will. He checked out. Will handed him back his license and then the package. Then Will left, took the elevator to the parking lot, and hit the road to the Airport with plenty of time to spare.

Instead of taking the freeway he decided to take a leisurely cruise and turned off Santa Monica Boulevard onto Sepulveda Boulevard south which would take him straight into the Airport.

Will pulled a nice cigarette-sized personally-rolled joint, one of a dozen he rolled for the hours up to, during, and after the concert, and with his left hand on the wheel and the joint ready to inhale between his lips, with his right hand he dexterously opened a matchbook, separated one single match, closed the book with the one match outside the cover, folded it over with his thumb, positioned it directly over the top edge of the striker, then with pressure from the flick of his thumb the match head slid along the striker, ignited the match, which Will used to light the joint with a deep inhale and with a quick flip of the wrist, the lit match was out.

By the next year, 1973, all matchbooks were Federally mandated to have the strikers put on the back panel for safety; thus the classic one-handed technique was history.

About halfway there Will noticed a car following him – it was the same car from before. This made no sense. He had nothing of interest anymore, nor did he experience any interference with the package delivery, so why the tail?

Will pulled into a gas station and up to a pump, the attendant came out to the driver’s side: “Fill’er up?” This would be a term and a service that would also end the following year. Due to the historic gasoline shortages of 1973 many gas stations closed, and those gas stations that survived did so by eliminating full-service and adopting the self-service station.

As the “gas jockey” filled the tank Will eyed the car parked on the side of the road through his side view mirror. This was starting to bug him.

Will saw that there wasn’t a car parked in front of them but there was one behind.
Will paid for the gas, started up his car, and backed it up and out into the street, but instead of taking it out of reverse to go forward he kept going in reverse and before the guys in the other car knew it, Will had backed-up to their front grill – they were trapped.

Will got out and boldly approached the driver: “What?”
The Driver: “We know who you are.”
Will: “And?”
The Driver shows Will his Federal Bureau of Investigation badge and photo ID.
Will’s personal knowledge of what to look for in fake IDs and his own reading of their vibe tells him that these guys are Feds.
The Driver/Fed Agent: “Now, move your car . . . please.”
Will knows when to quit, and the fact that he’s not a person of interest enough to bring in and interrogate now, only means that there’s something going on that he better know about before it bites him in the ass.

Will pulls away from the curb and heads for the Airport. The Feds continue to follow.

Will does not like this, but as his mind reels with possibilities it only came down to him, something, someone that he is yet to interact with will more than likely be who the Feds want.

This seemed reasonable, however, he did not want to become implemented in some royal Federal crime bullshit, so he had to think ahead; who and or/what would he be intersecting with? Nick would be the first on the list, was his friend in trouble?

As he pulled up in front of the Airport’s airline flight arrivals doorway he parked curbside and ran inside to check the ETAs. His friend Nick’s plane had landed. As he walked back to park his car and then walk back to the arrivals to greet his friend he glanced down to the terminal’s next doorway, there were the two Feds.

Will thought, ”They must be after Nick. What did he do?” There wasn’t much Will could do, he did not even know what was going on, or even if Nick was in trouble, it could be anything.

Will got in his car and waited, just then his friend Nick came through the doorway with a girl and they were laughing and talking until the Feds pulled her aside, and read her her rights as they cuffed her. Nick started to protest and interfere.

Will bolted out of his car and yelled: “NICK!”
That broke Nick’s possible actions worthy of being arrested long enough for the Feds to usher her into their car and drive off leaving Nick flabbergasted.
Will runs over to Nick: “Nick, shit man, you alright?”
Nick: “What was that?”
Will: “Whatever that was be glad you were not considered a part of it, we’re both lucky of that.”
Nick: “I just met her waiting to board the plane for L.A.. Then we sat together and I was maybe gonna blow off the Stones as we were clickin’.”

Will realizes that the truth is whatever she was into she was just using him as cover. The Feds identified Nick but not the girl’s alias, and probably phoned to agents in L.A. to pick up the girl with Nick. Tailing Will was just a precaution in case either of them were involved.

It wasn’t like Will hadn’t had run-ins with the Feds before, they knew his little operation, he was easy to keep tabs on, and apparently they had bugged his phone.

But Will stayed upbeat: “Hey Man, it’s good to see you, c’mon, there’s nothing we can do, shake it off, I’ve got a righteous joint with your name on it for the ride back.”

Back at Will’s place in Ghost Town, Nick and Will talked and laughed over past good times while smoking some stash of the last of the Afghani Hashish made available through connections with The Brotherhood of Eternal Love. This potent Hash was some of the last since the Afghan government made hashish production and sales illegal in 1973.

After listening to some choice albums they both crashed-out to be fresh for tomorrow night with the Stones.

When they awoke it was around 10 AM, Friday June 9, 1972 – in ten hours the concert would begin with Stevie Wonder opening for the Rolling Stones.

There were six of them going in different cars, Will and Nick would pick up Mike at his Laurel Canyon pad and meet the others at the concert. They had their floor positioning already laid out – whoever got there first laid claim with the “wave-over-thru-a-crowd” which people allowed, and didn’t see it as taking advantage but as regrouping with their friends who got there before them.

Will suggested that they head over to Mike’s early – he could attribute this to enthusiasm, excitement, or something else. Nick agreed and after taking out two Cocaine loaded capsules Will tossed one to Nick. Then Will filled an antique cigarette case with about a dozen of the cigarette-styled joints he rolled and was locally-famous for, and then he laid out a line each for the road.
They were good to go.

Will, Nick, Mike, and three other guys were friends since junior high school and reconnected when they could; they were all Stoners and the Stones concert was the perfect place to have a mini-reunion.

As they drove into the city the marine layer faded, and was replaced with a mid-day “June gloom” hazy cloud layer.

When they pulled up down the street from Mike’s pad there were police and an ambulance.
Nick: “What’s goin’ on.”
Will, being cautious: “I don’t know, just hang.”
Will felt a presence, and turned to look over his right shoulder to see Mike crouched down outside the car, his eyes just above the bottom edge of the car window.
Mike taps on the rear door window’s glass: “Will, let me in!”
Will nods to Nick to unlock the back door, Mike crawls in the back: “Go, go!”

Will pulls away and hangs a U-turn.
Mike explains that he was having a good time entertaining a young lady until he realized that she was a runaway.
Will: “Underage?”
Mike sitting up in the backseat: “No, worse.”
Will, not liking where this was going asks: ”What then?” Knowing that it will involve the girlfriend of some bad guy.
Mike: “She ran away from a real bad guy.”
Will does a mental eye roll.
Will: ”Wait, let me finish this for you; her boyfriend showed up, he threatened you and her, you obviously hospitalized the guy, and the girlfriend is sad to see him beat to a pulp and hates you for it and called an ambulance and the police.”
Mike: “I love you, Man,” Mike leans forward and gets Nick’s attention and points to Will: “The Stoned Private Eye.”
Will continues: “I’m not done, you weren’t gonna let a little thing like aggravated assault, attempted murder, or leaving the scene of a crime keep you from seeing the Stones tonight.”
Mike: “Well, yeah, I mean, it was self-defense, I can sort that out later, tonight it’s Jagger, Richards, Watts, Wood, and Taylor.

Will pushes the cassette play button as “Bitch” from the Stones ‘71 album “Sticky Fingers” begins and Will cranks up his state-of-the art sound system.
All three rock out as they drive to the Hollywood Palladium.

There was no search at the door, just show your ticket and you were in. Drugs, alcohol, and whatever, even barely concealed, were allowed entry.
Once inside the trio headed for center right and just as it got thick Will spotted their other three friends who waved them on.

Stevie Wonder opened with a rousing set during a definable high point in his career with his “Talking Book” and “Innervisions” albums.

Once the Stones took the stage, there was Will, standing less than twenty feet away from the World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band.

Will’s group would dip down and do little Cocaine pow-wows and come up to see these Rock Gods, these guys that they grew up with listening and groovin’ to their music, performing live – it was like an insane party.
Out of millions that wished to be there that night only 3,500 Rockers made the cut, which meant that the Stones were performing before one of the Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Audiences; true hard core Stones fans.

Will and friends had epic fun, and left with deafened ears; always worth it.

Mike asked if he could stay at Will’s just for the night, he’d straighten everything out tomorrow, cops were probably at both of his places and he didn’t want to come down after such a historic concert.
Will agrees: “Good idea.”

As they’re leaving, Will is approached by a young woman, a Hippie Rocker Chick.
HR Chick: “You’re William Trent.”
Will, a bit surprised: “Yes.”
As they walk, HR Chick: “I saw your ad in the L.A. Free Press”
Will wasn’t into anymore business tonight and feigned catching up with his friends: “Yes, call that number and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
HR Chick stops walking: “Will, it’s me, Melody.”
Will slows and turns, walks up to her and sees her face clearly as the girl he knew with ponytails and cut-off jeans. And as if from a movie, Will’s memory brings up scenes of his friend’s little sister when they were kids, she was always in the way.
Melody was no longer a little girl but a young lady and Will hoped he wasn’t visibly stunned by her beauty.
Will, grasping for words: “Melody!” “Hi, how are you?”
As they walked toward the exit she took his hand and firmly squeezed it.
Part of Will’s powers of deduction and observation included the knowledge of body language, which is just that, a language, and Melody just told Will that she needed his help and was in possible danger right then.

Once in the parking lot, Will looked around and asked her why she was so scared and just then from behind a car a big guy pushed Will away and grabbed Melody and began to walk away nearly dragging her in the process.

Will liked to play fair but he still had plenty of Cocaine in his system, so without asking a single question he walked over, tapped the guy on the shoulder and handed him a phony one hundred dollar bill: “Here, I think you dropped this.”  The big guy stopped, turned, looked at the Franklin, then at Will, then back to the Franklin and reached for it and as he did Will grabbed his outstretched arm and immediately bent his hand and fingers back flat against the back of his arm at the wrist followed by a nasty throat jab and seeing one of the parking space bumpers behind him merely stood on his foot and pushed him backward, his heel immediately caught and he fell over backward snapping and breaking his ankle while then hitting his head on the steel bumper of a 1951 Buick Super 8. The big guy was unconscious and would come to in great pain and would need an ambulance.

Just then Will realized the usual outcome in a situation like this where, like Mike, he’d end up being the bad guy.
He turned to Melody expecting just that.
But instead she ran up to him, hugged him, then kissed him.
Melody: “Thank you.” “You know Will, I always had a crush on you.”
Will “Melody we were just kids.”
Melody: “We’re not now.”
Will smiles at Melody, then gets serious: “Who is that guy?”
Melody: “A short-time ex-boyfriend who wouldn’t leave me alone, he thinks he owns me.”
She motions at the still unconscious mess of the big guy: ”Thank you.”

Mike and Nick approach.
Mike: “So we were over there watching you kick ass, and I see your rescue didn’t end with “no good deed goes unpunished.”
Mike grins.
Will smiles back: “We need to clear out. Melody do you have a car here””
Melody nods yes.
Will tosses his keys to Mike: “You guys go on, we’re gonna stay in town tonight.”
Will takes Melody’s hand, they look at each other smiling fondly, and walk to her car.

Mike, still feeling the excitement of the night’s epic Rolling Stones concert and kick-ass shenanigans yells from the bottom to the top of his lungs; “ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!” with echoes that seem to reverberate down the concrete canyons of Hollywood up through the Hollywood Hills and out into the cosmos.

.

Written spontaneously over a few hours on June 11 and 12,  2018 with only The Stoned Private Eye, The 1970s, The Rock Concert, and a Noir Vibe as inspiration.

For those who made it this far, and enjoyed this episode of The Stoned Private Eye
and would like more ’70s Psychedelic Noir fun
please take advantage of streaming Season 1 Episodes at

THE STONED PRIVATE EYE

“The Stoned Private Eye” and all characters, names, and entities Copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

.

Celebrate the most historic year in modern American history with the 50th Anniversary of 1968 – featuring SEPTEMBER

$
0
0

“Born To Be Wild – September 1968” copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

SEPTEMBER 1968

EXPERIENCE the HISTORICAL HEIGHT of POP and ROCK and PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE!
and the Year that Shattered American and World History

Happenings:
Sep 6 Eric Clapton records guitar tracks for George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Sep 8 Saundra Williams wins 1st Miss Black America pageant
Sep 14 Jimmy Ellis beats Floyd Patterson in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Sep 14 1st broadcast of “60 Minutes” on CBS-TV
Sep 14 USSR’s Zond 5 is launched on 1st circumlunar flight
Sep 15 Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park” Show on CBS TV
Sep 15 Probable Test flight for a manned fly-around (scooped by Apollo 8)
Sep 16 Richard Nixon appears on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in”
Sep 17 Zond 5 completes circumnavigation of Moon
Sep 20 Mickey Mantle hits final career homer # 536
Sep 22 Zond 5 completes flight
Sep 26 1st broadcast of “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS-TV
Sep 26 Theatre censorship ends in Britain
Sep 26 “Oliver!”premieres in London (Best Picture 1969)
Sep 27 “Hair” opens in London
Sep 28 Beatles’ “Hey Jude” single goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks, 50th Anniversary for this classic!!
Sep 28 Janis Joplin announces she’s leaving “Big Brother & the Holding Co”
Sep 30 1st Boeing 747 rolls out
Sep 30 Supremes release “Love Child”

Let’s Rock: Album Releases:
Status Quo – Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
Bobby Darin – Bobby Darin Born Walden Robert Cassotto
Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation
Bee Gees – Idea
Sly & the Family Stone – Life
The Who – Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
Procol Harum – Shine On Brightly 

US Top 20 Singles for the Week Ending September 28, 1968:
1 HEY JUDE – The Beatles (Apple)
2 HARPER VALLEY P.T.A. – Jeannie C. Riley (Plantation)
3 PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE – The Rascals (Atlantic)
4 HUSH – Deep Purple (Tetragrammaton)
5 FIRE – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (Atlantic)
6 THE FOOL ON THE HILL – Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 (A&M)
7 1, 2, 3, RED LIGHT – 1910 Fruitgum Co. (Buddah)
8  I’VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU – The Bee Gees (Atco)
9 GIRL WATCHER – The O’Kaysions (ABC)
10 SLIP AWAY – Clarence Carter (Atlantic)
11 TIME HAS COME TODAY – The Chambers Brothers (Columbia)
12 REVOLUTION – The Beatles (Apple)
13 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT – Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
14 I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER – Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
15 BORN TO BE WILD – Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
16 ON THE ROAD AGAIN – Canned Heat (Liberty)
17 LIGHT MY FIRE – Jose Feliciano (RCA Victor)
18 MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS – The Grass Roots (Dunhill)
19 MY SPECIAL ANGEL – The Vogues (Reprise)
20 LITTLE GREEN APPLES – O.C. Smith (Columbia)

September Movies
September 18
Funny Girl
Pretty Poison
September 19
Hot Millions
September 22
Psych-Out
September 23
Charly
September 26
Oliver! (UK)

 PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE MONSTER OCTOBER MOVIE RELEASES
THE BEST MOVIE MONTH OF ANY YEAR!  

.

On The Way Through 1968, The Psychedelic Train Dives Deep
And Cruises The Cities Beneath The Ocean’s Floor!

“The Psychedelic Train Dives Deep!” Copyright 2018 00individual TLL

Next stop October 1968!
.
1967 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September
 . . . October . . . November
December

1968 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September . . . October . . . November
December

.

.– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

DEEP PURPLE –“MACHINE HEAD” WORLD TOUR 4-13-1973 San Bernardino Swing Auditorium, CA

$
0
0


EXPERIENCE LIVE ROCK HISTORY!

DEEP PURPLE (MKII)
Fleetwood Mac, Rory Gallager
4-13-1973 Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, CA
(Capacity: 10,000)

Prologue:
The outrage . . .

Sorry to say that we have hit upon a sour note. OK, two sour notes:
First, 00individual doesn’t know how he missed Deep Purple (MKI) earlier in their career leading up to and including the “In Rock” era, (that’s really sour grapes!).
Second sour note; Fleetwood Mac, future masters of Soft-Rock were literally booed with each song they performed until in frustration Christine McVie sarcastically agreed with the crowd’s only request (besides “Oh, Well” – without Peter Green? Blasphemous!) and did a quick “slap the audience in the face with it” version of “the Green Manaleshi (with the two-prong crown)”, cut their set short and left the stage, not a good vibe. 00individual understood Deep Purple’s fan base going slightly mad having to endure soft rock to get to hard rock, but still, it wouldn’t have hurt to hear them out,…
but apparently it did.

The cause, and the effect . . .
This was the record companies’ fault as they used to do weird pairings drawn from their label’s roster of talent when scheduling tours.  Fleetwood Mac were Reprise and Deep Purple, Warner Bros., and they were both Rock bands so voila!
00individual experienced a very nasty display when A&M artist Peter Allen (a gay hit songwriter married to Liza Minnelli and portrayed on Broadway by that song and dance man, Hugh Jackman, that’s right, Wolverine won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actor in “The Boy from Oz”) opened for A&M artists the Tubes up on the Strip at the height of WPOD popularity.  It was the same intolerance by the dominant Tubes crowd who were not booing but just ignoring and rudely talking and laughing while he performed.  This resulted in one of those movie moments where the entertainer stops, gets up from his piano bench and addresses the rude, noisy crowd and the crowd is silent while he rants and as soon as he’s done ranting they go right back to what they were doing – a total Louis Tully/Terror Dog/Tavern on the Green Ghostbusters scene.

Quick “Fleetwood Mac 101” . . .
For the archives, Mick Fleetwood is the Man – and the heart and soul of the band named after him.
Fleetwood Mac, seen correctly in regard to Band and LP eras; removes the futile comparisons as the only thing that connected these different entities was their name and their uncanny Rock Spirit to persevere.
The original all male blues band featuring Peter Green was a Touchstone of Greatness in Blues Rock History creating one of Rock’s truly solid Iconic LPs; “Then Play On”.
The Christine McVie, Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer “Kiln House” “Future Games”, “Bare Trees” band created magical songs that Hippies loved.
The Bob Welch era “Future Games”, “Bare Trees” was actually the progressive bridge to the Buckingham / Nicks era where Fleetwood Mac became not only Pop Rock Superstars but made Rock History with their 1977 top ten best-selling album of all time, “Rumors”.

The result . . .
So, 00individual was pretty pissed-off at this whole display for three reasons:
One; he wanted to hear Fleetwood Mac’s performance for that era, plus, if these idiots would have let them perform they would have for sure done past hits but because of them 00individual was deprived of hearing any of it.
Two; the majority of the clowns that made up the audience were amateurs – if you don’t want to see the supporting acts then don’t arrive when they come on! DUH!
Three; and most importantly, he saw this as the decline of the Counter Culture’s acceptance and appreciation and tolerance of any live performance or artistic offering.  The “times they were a’changin’ and in a negative way.

The beginning of the end . . . 
That was a bummer.  00individual realized right then that the philosophy and lifestyle that the counter-culture tried so hard to maintain was regressing and would never continue in the idealized sense.  That was a sad day; Utopia was slipping away – people were getting ugly.

DPswing73

Deepest Purple . . .
However, life goes on and his Rock ‘n’ Roll Spirit was going to persevere in the face of this Fleetwood Mac coitus interruptus-induced epiphany as he geared-up for a historic assault of the senses by one of his favorite bands from all the way back to the Tetragrammaton label days: Deep Purple!

This was when the iconic classic “Smoke On The Water” was only a year old, that’s right, Rockers were soaking in the time when Machine Head was the new heavy hitter on the Rock Block!

For 00individual’s personal tastes, Deep Purple is one of a few groups who got it right with the righteous use of the Hammond organ. Lee Michaels showed what could be done, as well as Greg Allman (defined the Allman Bros), Peter Bardens (“The Answer” LP), Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum), Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) and then there was Jon Lord.

Like Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac; Jon Lord was the heart and soul of Deep Purple. And it was his command of the Hammond organ that set them apart as hard rockin’, innovative “heavy” leaders of forged in “metal” psychedelic blues and righteous spacey sonic songs.

Jon Lord passed on July 16, 2012 and deserves a lot more than 00individual can relate; so please websearch “Jon Lord” to see the extraordinary depth of his musical life, talents, and contributions to the World of Rock.

00individual remembers clearly the first time he heard “In Rock”, it gave him the feeling of being at the crest of a musical wave that seemed to never break. Here was yet another day with yet another amazing band creating yet more insane Rock.

While he had all of Deep Purple’s LPs up to and including “Who Do We Think We Are?”, there was another band that shared similar sensibilities and 00individual feels that this is a good time for . . .

The Turn On:

QUATERMASS – released in May 1970 featured the power trio of Drum, Bass, and Organ – and Orchestra. The best composed, performed, engineered and produced LP of 1970 – and that’s really a bold statement as there were many solid classics released that year.

Each song on the album is 100% strong, no filler, solid super Hard Rock with an incredible Progressive” use of a real orchestra. You won’t believe it!  This is the definitive synthesis of Rock and Classical Orchestration; they counter-point and blend seamlessly into a beyond-belief sonic orgasmic Rock Fest.

QUATERMASS were easily one of the underlying seminal forces of Metal / Prog  / Blues / Rock and are by far the Best Unknown Band EVER (along with Rumplestiltskin) that somehow slipped through the entire Rock History canon.
00individual has listened to this LP so many times that he can almost recite the whole thing in his head. This album is epic!

Enjoy these samples and CRANK ‘EM UP!
QUATERMASS – BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY  and so was Ritchie Blackmore, as the rest of DP objected to Blackmore’s insistence to record Quatermass’ Black Sheep contributed to his leaving the band for Rainbow in which he recorded Black Sheep Of The Family.
QUATERMASS- POST WAR SATURDAY ECHO – PSYCHEDELIC SOUL BLUES PERFECTION
QUATERMASS – LAUGHING TACKLE – FLAT-OUT AWESOME!

Back to the concert and Deep Purple . . .
After Fleetwood Mac were literally booed off stage Deep Purple knew the audience fan base that they were about to play for – rabid Deep Purple fiends – who literally just could not wait for them to perform.
Deep Purple put on an amazing rockin’ performance; so the fans got what they wanted – and so did 00individual – the most Hard Rockin’, Loudest, Wildest, and Deepest Purple of Deep Purple performing extended full-frontal assault versions of monster hits of the Machine Head / Fireball / Who Do We Think We Are – era.  Whew!

Epilogue . . .
The negative reaction to Fleetwood Mac created a positive reaction in Deep Purple’s performance and 00individual got to experience the classic Deep Purple Mark II line up; and that meant a lot to him.
00individual now realizes the historic aspects of this concert; Gillian and Glover left Deep Purple two months later, and that this could have been one of the Last Late Great Performances of Classic MK II.

Lineup:  Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums).
Setlist:  Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Strange Kind Of Woman, Mary Long, Lazy, Space Truckin’.

DEEP PURPLE – HIGHWAY STAR – JUST LIKE 00INDIVIDUAL SAW THEM! Literally, you don’t show up at a classy function like this without adhering to customary etiquette by administering one of the many favored varieties of required psychedelics – it just wouldn’t be proper – so yeah, there were some colorful trails involved.

For those who missed it, this is a revised 00individual reblog of a very popular post from 2012.

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

“The STONED PRIVATE EYE” – 1970’s Noir Thriller Episode 6: “The Drug Deal” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Season 1 – 13 Episodes – Streaming Now!

$
0
0

Introduction

The 1960’s were a historic era of cultural and political upheaval worldwide, and Los Angeles along with San Francisco were at the west coast epicenters.

The 1970s amped the Vibe; from the grit of L.A, and glitz of Hollywood, to the sunny beach-lined communities north and south of the Los Angeles International Airport.

There was a thriving evolution of new ways to live, to expand one’s mind, and new ways to do business. And one of the rising big businesses was within the Drug Culture.

The times were ripe for anyone to grab the reins and take hold of whatever they could. All ideas, trends, and concepts if not new, were brought forward from the past to be celebrated. With these near daily new enterprises and concepts came great ideas implemented for the good and some for the bad.

William Trent, a young detective / private investigator, maintains his office and living space above the garages of an adjacent apartment building in the “Ghost Town” area of Venice, California.  The rickety, but sturdy stairs to Will’s office were open for anyone who needed his services.

Will was experienced in both deductive reasoning and altered states of consciousness. He had taken nearly every drug, hallucinogen, and psychotropic known, and used those experience’s benefits to become successful enough to hold down his own one man investigation business.

There was much to be said for certain stoners’ abilities to use their clouded stoned appearance to actually gain detailed insight on those who momentarily let their guard down due to thinking that they were dealing with just another stoned Hippie.

Tonight’s Episode: “The Drug Deal”

Will had a rule with his friend Mike, and that was he would do any investigations for him but would not take part in any drug deals. Yet here he was, with Mike, on his way to score a decent quantity of Coke.

Mike was a good guy, Will knew him since they were kids, and they amazingly stayed close in the years after high school. Their “career choices” had them occasionally swimming in the same swampy area of the crystal clear lake that was Southern California.

Mike had been there for Will, just as much as Will for Mike, so when Mike broke the rule and asked Will to provide “assistance” Will knew that this was one of those deals that needed a show of backup.

Mike’s personality was his weapon, he could turn it on or shut it off, but mainly used it to put everyone at ease within deals – it was his technique to balance being real and not phony, but add an entertaining edge to the deals at hand. Will and Mike learned early on that no matter how badass a guy was, given the right material they could reduce them to laughing children.

The deal seemed normal; Mike was making a first purchase from a new dealer named Pappas on recommendation of a mutual trusted friend. These were usually done for the benefit of both parties; a new quality connection, and a new quantity customer. At this stage everyone is “gentlemanly” with a strong dose of testosterone. It is a win-win; not unlike a first date that goes well, and both parties look forward to a second date. This goes on very well until the fucking stops, and it’s time to look for a new connection.

They pull up to an old two-story house in Inglewood.
Mike tells Will: “Casually look up on the rooftops, on both sides of the house.”
Will acknowledges the armed guards: ”You sure about this?
Mike: “It’ll be OK, just be nice badass you.”

They get out of the car and knock on the front door. There’s no answer. Mike goes to knock again and Will grabs his hand and stops him.
Will whispers: “Give ‘em a chance, who gets to the door that fast?”
Mike regains his cool.

The door opens. A heavily tattooed black man let’s them in and leads them to the pool room in the back of the house. There, shooting pool is Pappas.

Mike introduces himself and Will and shakes hands with Pappas. Pappas shakes hands with Will.
And as they proceed to do the “drug cash show and tell” Will gets a funny vibe, not funny weird, an actually funny vibe. This was rare, someone in the room was “funny”.

There were a couple guys still shooting pool, Mike, Pappas, a gunman off to the side, and the black tattooed guy and Will, none of them were funny.

The exchange was made and as Will and Mike were leaving Will almost said something but wisely held back.

On the drive back Will asked Mike if he felt anything odd back there. Mike said no.

Although Will never shrugged off a vibe it could have been some residual vibe; from anything.

Mike was glad it went so smoothly, he made a good deal, but that was to be expected, at first, to rope in new customers, and to keep them.

Back at Mike’s Laurel Canyon pad he stashed half of his deal, and would stash the other half at a secret spot, leaving his beach pad clean.

Will was about to leave Mike to his business when through the front window he saw a car pull up and park down the rural street. Two guys got out of the car; both had hand guns.

Will: “Mike, over here, look, who are these guys?”
Mike: “I don’t know so that’s not good.”
Will: “Someone tipped them off to the deal, they’re here to rob you.” “Check out back to see if it’s just these two.”
Mike runs to the rear picture window to the backyard, he sees no one.”
Mike, back with Will: “It’s just them.”
Will: “What do you want to do?”
Mike: “Let’s welcome them in.”
Mike opens a drawer and tosses Will a loaded Beretta and arms himself with his Walther PPK.
Will: “Seriously? James Bond guns?”
Mike, as if even a question: “Well, yeah.”

The two men approach like they think they’re stealth, one in front, the other around back; all the while Mike and Will see their every move.

Mike whispers: “I’ll take the front.” And motions to Will to take the back. Will knows the layout of Mike’s place and unlatches the back sliding glass door. Then moves to the side and turns the FM radio on to mask any action with sound. Will waited for the intruder.

Mike did the same, the front door was unlocked, easy access; the welcome mats were out.

The sliding glass door began to slide open.
The front door knob turned and slowly opened.

And just as each gun in hand came through the door first, Mike and Will each used the butt of their guns with their steel-fisted grip to come down on the intruders’ wrist’s with a Karate “chop” that insures broken wrists and dislodged guns.

As Will tied and Mike held a gun on them Will realized that these guys could’ve just been the first wave.
Will moves to the window: “It looks clear.”
Will motions Mike to the other side of the room from the bound and gagged intruders.
Will: “How much did you buy?”
Mike: “More than usual.”
Will shakes his head at his involvement.
Mike: “I wanted to keep the beach pad clean, so now I’ll have to move it all to my secret spot.”
Mike pauses in anticipation of Will’s inquiry.
Will doesn’t want to know: “Look, this is exactly why I don’t break the rule, but I relented, and now?” He holds up the Beretta for evidence, and then points to the two bound and gagged intruders.
Will shakes his head again in allowing himself to be right where he was: “What do we do with these two?”

Mike says he has an idea, gathers his stash and a few things, and hands Will a couple duffle bags.
Mike calls the cops as an anonymous witness that two intruders were double-crossed and a third got away, and he then gave his address.

Will and Mike each grabbed a duffle bag and made their way through the thick shrubbery and trees deep in Mike’s rustic jungle backyard property.

Mike stopped, looked around, bent over and removed a panel of moss covered wood to reveal a metal door to underground. Mike pulled open the door and Will descended the steps. Mike followed  and closed the door while a rope pulled the moss-covered panel back over the door.

Will was amazed – he was standing in a deluxe double-wide model Fallout Shelter from the ‘50s!

Mike: “My secret spot; it wasn’t even listed with the property, I guess no one ventured out here in the “jungle” or knew about it. It’s a relic, but I cleaned it up, and it’s fully functional, for a while.”
Mike continues, stoked: “Check this out.” Mike pulls down what looks like a little submarine periscope with handlebars. Will looks through the goggle-like lens to see the house, the street and the backyard.
Will: “How did you do this, all we should see are shrubs and bushes and trees?”
Mike: “After watching all of the Disney specials on the behind the scenes animatronics, I just hooked up a swivel to a few mirrors in a tall camouflaged tube with a camera lens. Pretty cool, huh?”
Will is impressed, but doesn’t feature hangin’ out down there, as he has cases to solve, and stuff.
Mike: “As soon as they haul the intruders away and run their rap sheets they’ll believe the double-cross third guy story and question unknowing me when I get back from out of town.”
Will: “Are all of your deals like this, or was I just lucky?”
Mike: “Yes, this is troublesome. Either Pappas is behind this or a leak went rogue.”
Will, looking through the periscope: “The cops are here, guns drawn, they’re in the house.”

After the cops hauled off the intruders, Will was about to leave, when Mike asked if he could come with him and crash at his place. Will said sure.
Mike: “If I come back tomorrow from “out of town” it will look good.”

Mike snatched some emergency stash from the shelter for later – a vial of coke, a chunk of hashish – and he quickly rolled a joint to smoke on the way to Will’s.

After a stop off in Culver City over a burger at the regionally-famous “The Burger Joint”, Mike reminded Will that just a few miles away and a few years ago of the nights they snuck-in to the M.G.M. studio backlot 3 and literally had the time of their lives. They experienced the dream-like state where walking down the main street of a real western town would magically turn into a New York-style city street and around that corner a Tarzan jungle and around that corner a fortress and around that corner a lake, and in that lake; a pirate ship – it was a psychedelic trip for real!
They talked and laughed about those three nights spent in their own surreal world where climbing to the crow’s nest on the pirate ship and commandeering half-track tanks and jets became real-life real-sized playthings for teenage boys. All the while evading the real-life security guards on their rounds. No one would ever experience that other-worldly fun ever again as M.G.M. demolished the entire backlot 3 for a junior college and apartments. But Will and Mike; they had their fun.

Back at Will’s and once upstairs, Mike prepped a bowl of Hashish while Will checked his cassette phone message machine. He had two messages; both were requests to meet to hire.

Will: “So, how’s this drug deal, “deal”, going to be going forward?”
Will is handed the loaded pipe from Mike and a strike-anywhere wooden match. Will strikes it anywhere and the friction build to sulphur enlightenment responds with an initial large proud flame that settles down to a slow-burning fire whereby Will’s inhalation roasts the aromatic crumbles of Hashish, and fills, then expands Will’s lungs to the point of knowing that if he held it he’d be alright, but if he coughed, he wouldn’t stop until he coughed up a lung. It was good shit.

Mike razorblades-up four lines of crystal coke on a mirror and hands Will a straw as he strikes a match anywhere and hits the bowl.
Will deftly snorts two lines one in each nostril and hands the straw back to Mike as Mike hands Will the pipe.

Mike looks past the lines of coke on the mirror and back at himself: “The only way that I can go forward is to know who the rat is.”
Mike vacuums up the coke: “Will, I want to hire you, for real.”
Will kinda hesitates.
Mike, to further convince Will: “ . . . to solve a mystery?”

Will took payment from Mike for services rendered on many occasions, but never really as a client.
Will, against his better judgement, yet again: “You know I work alone, but in this case I think I’m gonna have to ask for your involvement.”
Will smiles, holds out his hand for the traditional “Brother” hand-shake. Mike smiles and grabs Will’s hand.
Mike: “Feels like we need to sign this in blood.”
Will: “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Will and Mike head out to several beach club hot spots to have some nightlife fun before getting down to business the next day.

Mike took the couch, and Will took a last look through a hole he drilled through the wall at the head of his bed where he put in a small wide angle lens aimed down his stairs and out into the garage area; Will had watched those behind the scenes special effects TV shows too.

The distant mechanical rumble of the trash truck grew louder as Will awoke. It was early, but Will wanted to get an early start by questioning Mike’s trusted friend, Tooney, who arranged the drug deal meeting between Pappas and Mike.

After a morning bowl, Will and Mike hit the road, Tooney also lived in Inglewood, across town from Pappas, past the Fabulous Forum over by the cemetery.

Mike: “Listen, Tooney is . . .” Mike pauses to capture the right words: “Solid, but eccentric.”
Mike realizes that description leaves an open-ended interpretation.
Will: “How about you talk I listen, if you miss something, I’ll chime in.”
Mike: “Cool.”

They enter the gates and follow a cobblestone path through a leaf-strewn yard. The trees surround the house and create a night for day atmosphere.
Mike kind of whispers to Will: “This place must be really creepy at night, next to the cemetery, with a crescent moon, and low-lying mist, and . . .”
Will cuts him off: “I get it, go knock on the door.”
Will did get it, he was getting a slightly evil vibe, but then again he was near a cemetery, where multitudes of evil could be buried.

Once inside, and after Mike introduced Will, Tooney recognized him as the Stoned Private Eye and shook his hand again.
Tooney was gracious and offered them coffee.
Mike: “Well, that would . . .” Will gives a quick short cough.
Mike: “What I mean is that, thanks, but, well, how long have you known Pappas?”
Tooney: “Why? What’s going on? If you have a P.I. then something’s up.”
Will takes Tooney aside in a confident manner and with a low tone: “All we want to do is clear your friend Pappas of any wrongdoing, and Mike trusted your recommendation, so?”
Tooney: “As far as I’ve known him he’s been on the up and up, that’s probably why he’s stayed in show business for so long.”
Will, curiously corrects him: “You mean the drug dealing business?”
Tooney: “No, show business, as a stand-up comedian.”

Will gets one of those mind snaps he just loves when previous puzzles and mysteries are solved within casual conversation.
He looks over at Mike and laughs out loud at the cosmic “funny” joke.
Mike looked puzzled, he couldn’t hear Tooney’s lowered voice.

This probably meant Pappas was a victim too; he had too much of a reputation and business sense to attempt a robbery – that was below him – it was someone in his circle.

Will hustled Mike to the door and thanked the much dismayed Tooney.

While in the car to Pappas’ place, Will told Mike about his first funny vibe and that his radar was blocked from detecting the source of the vibe by the seriousness of the deal.
Mike was still confused.

They pulled up in front of Pappas’ and headed straight for the door, knocked, and are met by the tattooed black man.

Pappas could be heard from the pool room: “Let them in.”

Mike explains what happened and that Pappas has a rat in his circle.
Pappas had a hunch of who it was, and assured them he would take care of it. Then he thanked Mike for the information, apologized for the inconvenience, and looked forward to their next deal.

Will felt funny – again.
Will to Pappas: “Are you performing locally?”
Mike’s eyes widened at Will.
Pappas: “Ah, yes, of course, the Stoned Private Eye, I knew the name was familiar. So, you found me out.”
Mike looks at them both, and still doesn’t know what’s going on.
Pappas takes two tickets from a drawer and hands them to Will.
Pappas: “Saturday, end of the month, at the Santa Monica Civic, I open for Carlin.”
Will: “Thanks, I’ll be there.”

They all shake hands and Will and Mike leave.

Mike to Will as they get into the car: “What was that?”
Will: “That was me closing your case – and getting a bonus from . . . . The Masked Comic.”

.

Experi-Mental 1970’s Noir Thrillers with a Psychedelic Twist

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

..

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

1960′s Historic & Classic Rock Albums . . . . . . . . . . The BEATLES . . . ABBEY ROAD . . . . . . . . . . . September 26, 1969 ––– 50th Anniversary in 2019! plus 00INDIVIDUAL, DEFENSE FOR THE DEAD

$
0
0

abbeyroad007“Beatles” copyright 2013 00individual  TLL

EXPERIENCE ROCK HISTORY!

The BEATLES – ABBEY ROAD – September 26, 1969

00individual Celebrates Abbey Road’s 50th Anniversary – a Year Early!

00individual for the first time in a long, long time is not living in the moment. With project(ion)s already plotted for 2019 – that’s where his head is at, in the future.
And in 2019 many 50th Anniversaries will be celebrated . . .

So . . . 00individual has decided to be the first one on his block to initiate a preemptive strike of the onslaught of attention that the 50th Anniverary Celebration Of The Historic And Classic Beatles’ Album; Abbey Road will unleash by starting the madness a year early!

“It was nearly 50 years ago today . . ,”
September 26, 1969 would be the last true Beatles album release where all four participated in the recording sessions.

The Beatles were in a perfect place in 1969, maybe not as the classic Phenomenal Pop Combo as they were known, but they were definitely at their creative peak.  And if there is one single album where the Beatles rocked, it was on “Abbey Road” ( . . . and standouts on the White Album).

“Shoot coke. Shoot coke. Shoot coke. Shoot coke.”
“Here come old flattop, He come groovin’ up slowly, He got ju-ju eyeball, He one holy roller, He got hair down to his knees, Got to be a joker – He just do what he please.”
“Shoot coke. Shoot coke. Shoot coke. Shoot coke.”
He wear no shoeshine, He got toe jam football, He got monkey finger, He shoot Coca Cola, He say I know you, you know me, One thing I can tell you is you got to be free Come Together, right now, over me.”
Easily one of the hippest songs ever.

There’s no discussion as to what Lennon really says for just like “I Am The Walrus” “Smoke Pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot” that is what was heard and served as a joyful sing-along.
Shoot coke, smoke pot – this kind of fun has been goin’ on since The Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie” with suggestive alternative lyrics and the well-placed “Fuck” in the background,

Although guilty of using Chuck Berry’s songs (and lyrics, like Come Together) as the basis for their hits like The Beach Boys had successfully done, the Beatles turned Berry-inspired, as well as others’, ’50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll hits as basis for their ’60s hits with new titles and “new” lyrics.

Imagine hearing this album for the first time in 1969 – this was brand new never heard before sounds. 00individual’s mind had been altered by then so to hear the Beatles outdo themselves with this cool and far-out Psychedelic Rocker; it just dovetailed with life.

This album would be more important than anyone knew, as this would be the Beatles’ official unofficial “Farewell Album”.

While writing this post nearly 50 years later, Abbey Road still astounds 00individual. It is the essence, quality, and attitude of Rock. 00individual didn’t cast this off as just another Beatles album – far from it. Not to sound creepy but this album has always had a mystical quality that he cannot separate from the music. It’s all good, pleasurable even, but still, mysterious . . . like the times and the state of minds.

Despite tales of dissent among the band, their genius came forth and Music Lovers benefited with a Time Machine Album that is not only sublime whacked Rock, but a sound that triggers instant memories and ambient vibes of truly trippy times.

Released late September 1969, the Abbey Road album rocked throughout and was on heavy rotation back when 00individual and two best buddies had a righteous beach pad rental that was the center of all of the activity for their Tribe of fifteen to twenty regulars.
That winter he had it all, he was nineteen, had his own place, a bitchen art department job, a car, a motorcycle, two girlfriends, a cool group of fellow stoners, classic concerts to attend and classic Rock album releases to enjoy and all the drugs he wanted – Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the best environment – and Abbey Road provided the perfect soundtrack music for the Psychedelic Winter of ’69 – across America, Europe and around the world. Historic! Classic!

50 Years Later This Album Still Oozes Acid-Drenched Beatles Goodness!

The BEATLES – ABBEY ROAD – FULL ALBUM

Side one
1. “Come Together” Lennon 4:20
2. “Something” (George Harrison) Harrison 3:03
3. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” McCartney 3:27
4. “Oh! Darling” McCartney 3:26
5. “Octopus’s Garden” (Richard Starkey) Starr 2:51
6. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” Lennon 7:47

Side two
1. “Here Comes the Sun” (George Harrison) Harrison 3:05
2. “Because” Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison 2:45
3. “You Never Give Me Your Money” McCartney 4:02
4. “Sun King” Lennon, with McCartney and Harrison 2:26
5. “Mean Mr. Mustard” Lennon 1:06
6. “Polythene Pam” Lennon 1:12
7. “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” McCartney 1:57
8. “Golden Slumbers” McCartney 1:31
9. “Carry That Weight” McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, and Starr 1:36
10. “The End” McCartney 2:05
11. “Her Majesty” McCartney 0:23

beatles_cavern_club_1961The Beatles – Black Leather Working Class Street Thugs – the Cavern – circa 1960

00individual is sincerely thrilled to know that the Beatles went out as Rockers –
for if truth be known the Beatles were the thugs portrayed as good boys
and the Stones were the good boys portrayed as thugs,
really.

00INDIVIDUAL, DEFENSE FOR THE DEAD

00individual would be remiss in his duties in regard to the continuing history and tales of Rock ‘n’ Roll to not stand up for the dead.
In this case, John Lennon.
If the stories Paul McCartney has so happily and graphically related recently regarding that he, Paul McCartney and John Lennon masturbated together, (once or twice) when John is not here to defend or confirm the story is, to use the psychological term, chicken-shit.

An average Beatle fan, 00individual has no emotional investment in Rocker’s sexual preferences; Bowie, Jagger, Bowie and Jagger, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Elvis – the list is probably endless. None of it matters unless they make it an issue, and then the fun stops.

But for the living to make claims that may tarnish an artist’s talents and publicly-known personality after they are no longer available to respond, is, to use the legal criminal term, slander (interview with GQ magazine) and once printed, libelous. It is defamation of character at the very least; even if John was a willing participant, which will never be known.

Is McCartney that ignorant, does not care, or better yet, still in an everlasting beyond-the-grave feud with John to the point of sacrificing the integrity of half of the Beatles catalog of songs, let alone the humans involved, including himself?

Here is a small example of the mockery now in place, that can’t be undone.
They all take on a whole new underlying meaning:

Come Together
With a Little Help From My Friends
Meet the Beatles (Beat the Meatles)
We Can Work It Out
All Together Now
Boys
Do You Want to Know a Secret
You Really Got a Hold on Me (circle jerk action?)
I’ve Got a Feeling
It Won’t Be Long
Two of Us
Here Comes the Sun
A Hard Day’s Night
and of course;

Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey

Is this what we have to look forward to after nearly every entertainment icon has already revealed their level of intelligence – the new wave of Rock Stars in deteriorating states of mind feeling the need to reveal things no one needs to hear, read, or know? 

Oh well, grab some popcorn, and let the show begin with your emcee:
Sir Paul McCartney.

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).


Celebrate the Most Historic Year in Modern American History with the 50th Anniversary of 1968 – featuring OCTOBER – A Record Classic Movie Month! ——– and Trip On The “Ice Station Zebra” Mind Blower!

$
0
0

“U.F.O. : Unlicensed Female Operatives – Agent S.E.X.: Special Espionage X Division”
copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

OCTOBER 1968

EXPERIENCE the HISTORICAL HEIGHT of POP and ROCK and PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE!
and the Year that Shattered American and World History

Happenings:
Oct 1 Cult zombie film “Night of the Living Dead” directed by George A. Romero
Oct 2 Mexico City police fire on protesting students, 300-500 killed
Oct 5 Civil rights march in Derry stopped by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)and resulting clashes lead to two days of serious rioting, often considered the start of ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland
Oct 7 Motion Picture Association of America adopts film rating system
Oct 7 Rioting continues in Derry, Northern Ireland after Royal Ulster Constabulary put down civil rights march two days earlier
Oct 9 2,000 students from Queen’s University Belfast try to march to Belfast City Hall in protest against ‘police brutality’, but blocked by loyalists led by Ian Paisley; leads for formation of student civil rights group People’s Democracy
Oct 11 Apollo 7 (Schirra, Eisele & Cunningham) made 163 orbits in 260 hours
Oct 14 1st live telecast from a manned US spacecraft (Apollo 7)
Oct 14 Beatles “White Album” completed
Oct 16 Tommie Smith and John Carlos give the black power salute during the Olympics on the podium in Mexico City
Oct 18 Circus Circus hotel opens in Las Vegas, largest permanent big top in the world
Oct 18 John Lennon & Yoko One fined £150 for marijuana possession. Police find 219 grains of cannabis resin in John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s apartment.
Oct 22 Apollo 7 returns to Earth
Oct 24 Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithful busted for pot, released on £50 bail
Oct 31 US President Lyndon B. Johnson orders a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam
Oct 31 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Album Releases:
3 Mama Tried – Merle Haggard
5 Electric Mud – Muddy Waters
12 Aretha in Paris – Aretha Franklin Live
14 Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages – Tyrannosaurus Rex

16 Electric Ladyland
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
. . and there they were, witnessing the birth of Electric Ladyland. In late ’68 Rockers were chosen to connect to a higher level of Sophisticated Psychedelic Sounds.
Shit got primal with deep emotion as Hendrix carved arcane history with his supernatural ax. Not-so-strangely, Electric Ladyland served as an actual place, a safe harbor, a place they could call home. The sounds struck spiritually-soothing chords within them – the first true excursions into Psychedelic Soul – Hendrix was the original, Hendrix was the best.

16 Three Dog Night – Three Dog Night
19 Dream a Little Dream – Cass Elliot
25 This Was – Jethro Tull                                                (Customized “American Pop” animation cel.)
1, 2, 3, Red Light – 1910 Fruitgum Company
The Book of Taliesyn – Deep Purple US
Bradley’s Barn – The Beau Brummels
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark – Dillard & Clark
The Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
In Person at the Whisky a Go Go – Otis Redding Live
Nazz – Nazz
Sailor – Steve Miller Band
The Second – Steppenwolf
Traffic – Traffic
The Tumbler – John Martyn
The Wonderful World of The Osmond Brothers – The Osmonds

US Top 20 Singles for the Week Ending October 26, 1968:
1  HEY JUDE – The Beatles (Apple)
2  LITTLE GREEN APPLES – O.C. Smith (Columbia)
3  FIRE – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (Atlantic)
4  THOSE WERE THE DAYS – Mary Hopkin (Apple)
5  GIRL WATCHER – The O’Kaysions (ABC)
6  MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS – The Grass Roots (Dunhill)
7  OVER YOU – Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (Columbia)
8  HARPER VALLEY P.T.A. – Jeannie C. Riley (Plantation)
9  ELENORE – The Turtles (White Whale)
10  I’VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU – The Bee Gees (Atco)
11  HOLD ME TIGHT – Johnny Nash (JAD)
12  SUZIE Q. (Part 1) – Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy)
13  PIECE OF MY HEART – Big Brother and the Holding Company (Columbia)
14  MY SPECIAL ANGEL – The Vogues (Reprise)
15  WHITE ROOM – Cream (Atco)
16  SAY IT LOUD – I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD (Part 1) – James Brown (King)
17  REVOLUTION – The Beatles (Apple)
18  HEY, WESTERN UNION MAN – Jerry Butler (Mercury)
19  LOVE CHILD – Diana Ross and the Supremes (Motown)
20  ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER – The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Reprise)

 OCTOBER 1968 MOVIES 50th ANNIVERSARY!

October 1
Night of the Living Dead*


No matter when or where you saw this for the first time in ’68 (for 00individual it was at the Drive-In), it was a gore-filled and viscerally-scary introduction of a full-blown genre:
Zombies and the Undead!

Filmed in glorious black and white and shades of gray, the graphic intense build was riveting!

October 2
Coogan’s Bluff*


Eastwood, straight up. A modern-day take on the Western. The first of five films directed by Don Siegel: Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), The Beguiled and Dirty Harry (1971), and Escape from Alcatraz (1979) – and the second release for Clint’s production company Malpaso.

October 7
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas*

Comic genius Peter Sellers and the luscious Leigh Taylor Young (yum) get stoned on
Alice B. Toklas’ “brownies”.

October 9
Finian’s Rainbow
October 10
Barbarella (US)*

Outer space fantasy with sex kitten Jane Fonda doin’ her thing!

October 13
The Subject Was Roses
October 16
The Boston Strangler
October 17
Bullitt*


Steve McQueen; the Man’s Man.

Car chase history was made throughout the streets of San Francisco.

October 22
Vixen!

Hubba-hubba!

Live a Little, Love a Little
October 30
The Lion in Winter*


Iconic actors in top form recreate the debates between men and women, power, and love,
within a believable cold castle environment.

October 23
ICE STATION ZEBRA*

ICE STATION ZEBRA MIND BLOWER

Viewed repeatedly by Howard Hughes in his later years; Hughes was an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world.

He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an influential figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in Las Vegas – oddities that were caused in part by a worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.

The straight-forward elements of Ice Station Zebra’s story, acting, and direction left no room for comedy, this was all serious business with a startling revelation at the very end that was the most important “political” behind-the-scenes reveal ever. 

Ice Station Zebra was the first movie that caused 00individual to really understand that much of what was reported in, and on the news was only what was deemed for public consumption, and that the truth was beneath the lies and cover stories.  It was a very profound reveal, one that must have fascinated Hughes. And one that truly opened 00individual’s eyes to the reality of the machinations of the world – 50 years ago this month in 70 mm Cinerama!

Although based on Alistair MacLean’s book, Ice Station Zebra, it was also based on real-life events that took place in 1959 – the year of the “International Geophysical Year” program. 00individual had the I.G.Y. Marx playset and even as a kid wondered why there was a need for rockets and missiles. Maybe Ice Station Zebra the movie was an exact re-enactment of what happened and was covered-up world-wide by the “I.G.Y.” story. 

Now I get it, Hughes knew that he was watching the first movie to replicate the truth delivered as a “story”, a movie disguised as pure fiction based on fact to a public, who, just like 00individual, got the end message, but was fooled by the truth.

00individual is sure that the brilliant Howard Hughes, in any one of his repeated viewings, considered, or knew this to be possible. 

Also, dig this, a once in a lifetime experience: M.G.M. STUDIO BACK-LOT 3 ADVENTURES . . . on moonlit nights, in western towns, on pirate ships, and on the Ice Station Zebra set!

*Movies 00individual saw at the Theater – or Drive In.

.

The Psychedelic Train enjoys a stop at Helloween Town Theme Park,
then back on through 1968 toward November.

“The Psychedelic Train Cruises Helloween Town!” Copyright 2017 00individual TLL

Next stop November 1968!
.
1967 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September
 . . . October . . . November
December

1968 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September . . . October . . . November
December

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

“The STONED PRIVATE EYE” – 1970’s Noir Thriller Episode 8: “The Good, the Bad, and the Occult” Season 1 – 13 Episodes – Streaming Now!

$
0
0

Experi-Mental 1970’s Noir Thrillers with a Psychedelic Twist

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

Introduction

The 1960’s were a historic era of cultural and political upheaval worldwide, and Los Angeles along with San Francisco were at the west coast epicenters.

The 1970s amped the Vibe; from the grit of L.A, and glitz of Hollywood, to the sunny beach-lined communities north and south of the Los Angeles International Airport.

There was a thriving evolution of new ways to live, to expand one’s mind, and new ways to do business. And one of the rising big businesses was within the Drug Culture.

The times were ripe for anyone to grab the reins and take hold of whatever they could. All ideas, trends, and concepts if not new, were brought forward from the past to be celebrated. With these near daily new enterprises and concepts came great ideas implemented for the good and some for the bad.

William Trent, a young private investigator, maintains his office and living space above the garages of an adjacent apartment building in the “Ghost Town” area of Venice, California.  The rickety, but sturdy stairs to Will’s office were open for anyone who needed his services.

Will was experienced in both deductive reasoning and altered states of consciousness. He had taken nearly every drug, hallucinogen, and psychotropic known, and used those experience’s benefits to become successful enough to hold down his own one man investigation business.

There was much to be said for certain stoners’ abilities to use their clouded stoned appearance to actually gain detailed insight on those who momentarily let their guard down due to thinking that they were dealing with just another stoned Hippie.

OCCULT

Tonight’s Episode: “The Good, the Bad, and the Occult”

William Trent was at his office and home atop garages in Venice, California, smoking a bowl of Marijuana and admiring yet another beautiful smog-filtered radiant L.A. sunset. Will could tell how bad the air was by how beautiful the sunsets were. The smog actually saturated the colors to near hot pink and neon orange sometimes. Will dwells on this smog issue as he exhales clean non-toxic Marijuana smoke into the surrounding atmosphere.

Will leaned-back in his chair and took another appreciative hit. He had long known that all psychoactive plants were living things that existed to be sacrificed and consumed for the benefit of humans. With each inhale Will was literally taking in the essence of another living entity’s ability to open pathways to higher states of mind while here on the material plane.

Will had been smoking “Pot” since he was fifteen and soon became aware that when he got high he was actually communicating with a plant species. But this wasn’t hard for Will because as a child he had conversations with inanimate objects. One is only limited to what they will accept as reality, and reality, in truth, is just agreement. Mere thinking about going outside the agreed reality opens doors; doors that Will has walked through, and returned with the knowledge offered.

Appreciation for plant species flourished during the “get back to nature” era when people brought nature inside, and the ‘70’s House Plant mania became an absolute must in every household; there were hanging plants everywhere. Will even had a house plant but it was over at Mike’s Laurel Canyon pad, in the backyard, beyond the fence, among the rich soil perfect for a future packed bowl of sacramental appreciation.

“The Secret Life of Plants”, a best seller published in 1973, celebrated plant and human relations as interacting with another lifeform that responds to audio, visual, and emotional vibes; Will knew this to be true for most of his life.

Will leaned forward in his chair, relit the bowl and gazed out the window. All that was left of the sunset was the smoldering ash before being snuffed out as twilight set in.

Will has come to value and embrace twilight; it allows for a clarity of the world he lived in, a world everyone lived in, a place where neither the harsh glare of sunlight that washes color and detail away, nor the heavily shadowed toned-down colors and distortions brought on by nightfall could influence the environment as it truly is.  Twilight; where all is revealed in the “best light”.

According to ancient Occult observations, twilight is the most magickal time of the day and night. Twilight is when dreams come alive, when doors open, when the unreal becomes real, when anything can happen. But only for a while, for as each minute passes twilight loses potency to evening’s encroachment of anticipation and excitement, followed by night’s mysterious revealing dominance, and peaking with midnight’s undisputed power.

Will considered himself knowledgeable to a certain degree of most religions from reading choice books purchased at the Bodhi Tree bookstore up on Melrose Avenue and was a devout reader of the yearly Witches Almanac. At a recent point in Will’s life, he delved into the Occult. Will was a purist and his interest was in hidden knowledge of the higher mind kind.

When on psychedelics Will had many experiences where he was momentarily on another plane of existence, if controlled, these moments brought about beneficial awareness.

With the Occult he fortunately learned early-on that what he was dealing with was not anything he could control, and so he backed off. However, he did gain certain beneficial “hidden” insights that have since proved quite handy during investigations.

His phone rang and he answered in his usual professional manner. It was a friend of a friend of a past client in need of his help. Will agreed to meet at the man’s home. Will always waited to get details in person and not on the phone because he knows that at least once his phone was tapped by the Feds.

As Will parked and approached the stairs to a Beverly Hills mansion, he stopped and looked at all of the beautiful landscaping, then continued up the stairs and knocked on the door. The door was answered by the man who called Will on the phone, Mr. Alan Edgar Poe.
Will side-stepped what many had surely already mentioned about his name by introducing himself properly and complimenting him on his landscaping.

Will was ushered into the den by Mr. Poe, sat down and was offered a hot or cold beverage; he had a bit of cottonmouth so water would be fine. Mr. Poe returned with two cold glasses of water and handed one to Will.
Will: “Thanks, what can I do for you?”
Mr. Poe: “My wife, Helen, had been seeing a psychic, at first just for fun, but then regularly, and she started to take it seriously.”
Will could sense an oncoming uneasiness in Mr. Poe’s voice.
Mr. Poe sits down: ”Then through the psychic, she met up with this group, they call themselves the Disciples of Eternal Adept Deities, and are led by this apparently charismatic “adept” named Master Zorn. It’s all a bunch of bullshit to me, but she just got deeper into it, we had fights, she started staying out later . . . and then I found this.”
Mr. Poe hands Will a small black box: “Go ahead, open it.”

Will could already sense a weird negative vibe from the box. Will declined that he had ESP, he called it “a connection”, and his connection allowed him to pick up on the vibe of certain things.
As Will opened the box there inside was a strange gris-gris amulet on a thin hemp rope. He took it out and examined it. He recognized some of the ancient symbols as having arcane power through his familiarity with the Occult.

Will: “Where’s your wife now?”
Mr. Poe: “That’s the main reason I called you, she’s missing . . . for three days now, and no word from her at all.”
Will understood that this was a man of influence that needed for this situation to be kept quiet.
Mr. Poe can hardly hold back his emotions so Will quickly runs down his fees to divert any further emotional increase by Mr. Poe.
Mr. Poe sobers up, agrees, writes Will a check, and they shake hands.
Will’s reputation precedes him, he could be trusted. He rarely signed contracts as he was known not only as the Stoned Private Eye, but as an outsider who got things done.
Will tells him that he’ll call as soon as he has any information and then he leaves.

As he walks down the stairs he takes the small black box out of his jacket pocket. Standing in the middle of the landscape and gardens he opened the box. The amulet was dark with worn high spots that told of the shiny metal beneath the darkness.
A late afternoon breeze separated a tree’s leaves just enough for a sun-reflected glint off of the shiny metal on the amulet to shoot a piercing white light deep into Will’s brain.

Will was stunned, that was no accident, he knew better, it was a sign, but was it a good thing, a warning, or punishment. Will was attune to anything that “the normals” wrote off as something it’s not. He knew that signs were all around, one just needed to be aware, and the more aware, the more it becomes a part of one’s life. After a while it becomes a new language, a mental language.
Some call them symbols, others signs, Will saw them as a connection with something sentient, something that knows exactly how to assist, it is up to the human to open their eyes, and once opened, they can never be closed.

In this case it was a warning, a serious warning as Will felt that he would have suffered serious eye damage had he not had his Polarized sunglasses on. He had been a Polarized lens advocate since wearing the only sunglasses that had Polarization; Mountaineering Goggles. These cool shades had removable leather ventilated side panels which created the goggle look. Will left the panels on, it blocked out light but he could still see peripherally and they looked cool.

He got in his car and headed out to Pacific Coast Highway north to Topanga Canyon to visit a friend, a kindred spirit who had a deeper involvement in the dark side of the occult.

As Will drove up the tree-lined Canyon the sun was still high in the sky but the canyon mountains shielded the sun’s rays and created a prelude to twilight.

Topanga Canyon was known as Hippie Central, a place that became world famous in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70s as the premier expression of the Hippie Boho Lifestyle, populated with musicians, artists, individuals, and a few movie and TV stars; a place where time stood still to maintain an Independent Hippie Back To Nature Vibe.

He slowed to turn onto an old wooden bridge that traversed the wide but shallow stream. Once across the bridge Will drove down a road and took a left at the fork in the road; an eating utensil, a fork, was nailed to a post pointing to the left. Will appreciated and missed this sense of humor and was glad to be on a case that brought him together with an old friend.

He would have called but his friend did not have a phone, it wasn’t a financial thing it was, an intrusion.

As his car’s headlights illuminated the area, Will slowed to a stop to see that he had not visited in  quite some time. His friend’s house was surrounded with vegetation and the roof was covered in moss. The place looked like a house in the shire from the book that was currently extremely popular with the Counter-Culture; J.R.R. Tolkien’s, “the Lord of the Rings”.

Will turned off the lights and ignition, got out of his car, and as he approached the candle-lit house he could hear music, it was a track from Dr. John the Night Tripper’s “Gris-gris” album. Will smiled, and nodded in acknowledgement of the connection, of meaningful coincidence in the realm of  synchronicity.

Will knocked several times before his friend Jonathan Jeffries, JJ to friends, opened the door to a great welcome and hug.

Once inside Will was offered, well anything he wanted, except for a phone call.
Will noticed that the track “Jump Sturdy” was ending and that the next track “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” a moody, tribal, transcendent, rockin’ eight minute track of pure Voudou magick should be honored.
Will removed one of his locally-famous cigarette-style rolled joints of Maui Wowie sprinkled with the dust of Afghani Hash and handed it to JJ.

As Dr. John told tales of casting spells, mixing brews and concoctions, and reminding people of his Night Tripper power, Will and JJ smoked the joint in head-nodding reverie.
The music itself was enough of a drug that one could feel the humid but cool nighttime aura of hypnotic drums, writhing bodies, and revitalizing confidence as the mind walks on guilded splinters.

Near the end of the eight minute meditation on the “arts” the joint had turned into a roach. JJ picked out an object of many from a table and removed a roachclip, clipped the roach, lit it, hit it, and passed it to Will, Will took one last very decent hit as the roach disappeared along with the fading of Dr. John’s epic track.

JJ, with a stoned smiling face: ‘It’s great to see you, what’s goin’ on?”
Will: “A woman has disappeared, my client suspects foul play, and I think it involves the D.E.A.D.
JJ nods in understanding agreement.
Will: “I did not let on about knowing of that cult to him, but if it’s true, that Zorn, or Henry Johnson, or whoever, is a bad guy, I can’t believe he’s not behind bars.”
JJ: “Will, this is all shorthand for us. His karma hasn’t caught up with him yet. Everybody wants to see the instant karma of a bully getting bullied, but it can take a lifetime, or two, or more.” “We do what we can so that when our time comes we can blow this popsicle stand of the material and enjoy the reality that we have worked so hard toward.”
Will smiled in agreement and dug the spacey buzz of the frosted Afghani high.

Will shows JJ the gris-gris amulet.
JJ: “Yeah, I’ve seen these before, the Disciples wear them, I have an acceptance among some of the D.E.A.D., there’s a level of celebrity that goes with what we do and I tend to exploit it a little, but it keeps me in touch, so there’s that.”
Will: “Can you find out if they have her or know anything about her?”
JJ: “ Sure, but let’s do it together, it’s been a while, we’ll take my ride!”
Will follows JJ to his equally green garage.
JJ, as he raises the garage door: “Now’s the best time to do this.”
Will: “Oh, yeah, why is that?”
JJ: “We’re headin’ into the Midnight Hour, Man, you know, “that’s when my love comes tumbling down.”
JJ, feelin’ good from the Maui-Wowie-Afghani and life in general, goes into a Wilson Pickett routine, but is stopped short by Will who gets a psychic chill.
Will: “JJ, they have her, I now know this, whatever you were thinking of, alter it to a rescue mission, this is a kidnapping, or worse. Mr. Poe failed to mention that.”
JJ: “Whoa, I thought this was an info run, not a raid on the D.E.A.D.”
Will: “That’s cool, how ‘bout you point me in the right direction, you’ll keep your status, and I can take it from there.”
JJ takes a deep sigh: “C’mon, get in.”
Will rides shotgun, for real, with JJ’s loaded sawed-off shotgun.
Will: “You sure?”
JJ: “Hey, to tell the truth, things have been a bit boring as of late, I could use a little excitement.”

Will takes four white pills out and hands two to JJ. JJ takes them both but lets the bitter taste melt under his tongue for a faster reaction. Will does the same.

Will smiles: “Where are we headed?”
JJ: “Downtown. There’s a rundown church where they “congregate”. It looks pretty innocent from the outside, but inside its evil.” “I have had the unpleasant experience as part of enjoining my celebrity and keeping in the loop.”
Will: “What’s the security?”
JJ: “Not bad, the couple times I’ve been there it was patrolled by some bouncer types, in hooded robes, with guns.” “It’s a big place and we won’t even know what floor she’s on.”

Upon arrival Will looks at the three story church and the three story building next to it.
Will, smiling and pointing to the adjacent building’s roof: “You feel like flyin’?”

They made their way to the roof of the building and looked across at the church’s pitched roof. The jump across didn’t look unattainable, it was the slide factor that was of concern.
Will: ”Once inside we clear each floor to the bottom, grab the woman at some point, and then head for your car.”
JJ: “OK, sounds like a plan, now show me how to fly, and how not to slide.”
Will backs up to get a running start, he got himself psyched, the adrenaline was pumping on its own and with the backup of the Benzedrine he knew he could do this, he had learned how to tuck and roll, up and out of a fall, he just needed maintain balance.
He took off, and it was that moment when his foot left the roof and he was flying through the air that Will understood why he did what he did. It wasn’t about solving cases, money, women, or the high, OK, it was, but it was also for those moments in life that are rarely repeated but that put him squarely in the Void, a moment of suspended animation, that seems to last forever, until there’s a slanted rooftop hurtling at him.

Will rolls a bit but is stable, balanced. JJ follows Will’s lead.  They gain access through a backside roof entrance.
After they clear a pretty much vacant third floor they descend stairs to the second floor but hear voices.
Will motions to JJ that he’s moving forward. Will peeks around the corner and sees three or four robed Disciples talking in the hallway. They move on down the hall. Will motions to JJ to move on.
As they start down a hall they see that behind the doors are evidence of medical tables and operating tables with restraints.

Will heard a muffled cry for help in the next room. Will untied a bound and gagged woman while JJ kept watch at the door. The woman wasn’t Ms Poe, but grabbed him and clinged on begging for help.
Will to JJ: “What’s goin’ on here?”
JJ: “Bad Juju, Man. Have you noticed the negativity with each floor we descend.”
Will: “Yes, yes.”
The Woman: “There are others . . . down below.”
JJ: “Will, maybe we should get the cops in on this, I mean, this is blatant kidnapping.”
Will: “No, his kind always get off.”  “We have an opportunity to just give karma a nudge.”
JJ looks at Will with cock-eyed raised eyebrows.
Will: “How do we know the machinations of karma, maybe what we do here is part of it?”
JJ: “Fine, let’s just do the nasty and get out of here, the negativity is suffocating.”

Will tells the woman to hide and they’d be back for her. Two doors down there was another woman and Will was wondering where everybody else was, something was wrong, this was too easy, JJ felt the same way. The woman hid, neither were Ms Poe.

Down the stairs to the ground floor there was still no one, but the negative vibe just increased. It was palatable.
Will points to the stairs that go down to the basement. As they both descend they see why the place was vacant, they were all in the church’s basement performing a ritual.

Will whispered to JJ to gather the women and send them out the front and call the police.
Will stayed behind to observe Master Zorns’ Disciples of the Eternal Adept Deities’ “sacred” ritual and be there when the police arrived.

Will felt a chill behind him and turned to see two hooded men with guns motion him down into the mass of about forty hooded Disciples.

On an alter is a nude woman unconscious or drugged. The Disciples part to let the Two Men and Will through. Will knew he could take these two men but needed to see how far this ritual was going to go.

Master Zorn wore a skull-like mask under his hood: “Right on time, bring the Guest Executioner here.”
Will recognized that voice it was Alan Edgar Poe, alias Henry Johnson, alias Master Zorn and realized that he had been hired not as a P.I. but to murder his wife.

The Two Men held tightly to Will’s arms, and with guns in his ribs force him to the top of the altar.

Master Zorn hands Will the sacrificial dagger: “Either you do the sacrificial honors or your friend JJ gets it.”
Zorn points to JJ down and off to the side of the altar with a gun to his head by another hooded Disciple.
JJ shouts to Will: “The women got out, I didn’t.”

Will realized that there were no cops on the way and he was forced between killing a woman, Poe’s wife, or having his friend killed, or killing Zorn and everybody dies. Or, the moment was right to take these two down and serve as a cue for JJ to do the same.

Will was handy with a knife and got real good with throwing knives one summer. He felt the weight of the dagger, the heft, the balance, and threw it spiralling straight up knowing that human nature would direct the Two Men’s eyes upwards for the mere seconds it took for Will to twist the gun out of the man’s hand on his right, shoot him in the foot, just as the dagger came spiralling back down and landed in the floor between Will and the Man on his left with a deep twang sound, and again for that split-second moment that the gunman looked down at the dagger Will came up with a kick into the jaw that immediately knocked him out cold.

Will looked to JJ who had two thumbs up and one bad guy down.
In the early to mid ‘70s martial Arts were a big deal and Will and JJ took lessons together early on and became very good.
JJ: “Takin’ down bad guys, haven’t done that in a while. That felt good.”

“Master Zorn” and the Disciples ran off, and after a call to the L.A.P.D. an APB was put out on Poe, all of the kidnapped women were taken care of and were willing to testify, Ms Poe realized that it was all a scheme to get rid of her, and Will had a check that he wanted to put to good use, so he donated it to one of his favorite animal charities.

A couple weeks later Will showed up at JJ’s to thank him again for his help. JJ was outside, trimming some bushes.
Will walked up to him, lit a joint and took a nice inhale and handed it to him.
Will exhaled: “Thanks again Man, I really appreciated it.”
JJ takes a hit, holds it, then exhales: “You know, sometimes I wonder about all of this, it just keeps comin’, we could die tomorrow and it will still keep comin’.”
Will: “Yeah, I get frustrated sometimes too and sometimes it seems like there’s no point.” “But there is, because there has to be constant pressure to let Evil know that there will always be opposition.” “We help keep the balance where cops don’t know how to tread.”
JJ reluctantly and knowingly agrees and takes another hit and hands the joint to Will. Will takes one last long hit running the joint down to nothingness.
Will exhales: “Anyway, I gotta go my friend, I have a meeting with a new client. Unless you have something to tell me.”
JJ: “How’d you know . . . the telephone wires, way to go Sherlock, yeah, I got a phone, now I’m connected.”
JJ, kinda proud, hands Will a piece of paper with his phone number on it: “Next time call me before you drop by, so, you know, I can better be prepared to take down another cult.”
Will warmly laughs, gives him a Brotherly handshake, gets in his car, and waves goodbye.

On the way to his meeting, Will enjoyed the drive back down the tree-lined canyon boulevard of Topanga to Pacific Coast Highway, then north up to Malibu, as the smog-enhanced setting sun’s red hot cherry scorched the ocean horizon.

 

 

Copyright 2018 00individual  TLL
Written spontaneously with no rewrites over a few hours during June 23 – 25, 2018 with only The Stoned Private Eye, The 1970s, the Occult, and a Noir Vibe as inspiration.

 

.

Experi-Mental 1970’s Noir Thrillers with a Psychedelic Twist

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

..

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

1960’s and 1970’s Culture Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . PSYCHEDELIC EXISTENTIAL ACID WESTERNS

$
0
0

Karma Outlaws Showdown” Copyright 2005 00individual  TLL

PSYCHEDELIC EXISTENTIAL ACID WESTERNS

Among countless historic events during the ’60s and ’70s. the Counter-Culture’s revelations brought on by psychedelic drugs created an entirely new wave of artistic expression that joyfully spread to all levels of society. The “contact high” was equally influential with non-Psychonauts as creativity was culturally contagious.

Those who had a taste of the powers that Marijuana bestowed upon them and liked what they experienced became self taught in the higher psychedelic rituals of other cultures whose adepts were speaking Tribal Truth. Once this new eye and mind-opening psychedelic world became known it was near impossible not to introduce the concepts, themes, sights, and sounds into, and through, music, art, and film.

When certain talents found backing for their films they integrated the psychedelic existential experience. This new psychedelic influence emerged within the normal genres: Comedy: Alice’s Restaurant, Head, The Party, Up In Smoke, Horror: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein 3D, Don’t Look Now, Drama: The Swimmer, The Trip, Joe, The Day of the Locust,
Crime: Performance, Existential: Being There, Vanishing Point, Romance and Mystery: these two solid genres are present to varying degrees within nearly all of the other genres. And then there’s
The Western.

Allegoric Westerns have served as the basis for many modern-day and futuristic films with a theme loved world-wide that depicted; honor and righteousness vs treachery and greed, loyalty and friend-ship vs betrayal and enemies, lawlessness vs enforced law, right vs wrong, good vs evil, all that cool shit that makes for vicarious vindication while living in the real world.

The Acid Western category or Western sub-genre, was pioneered with two 1966 Monte Hellman films, “The Shooting” and “Ride The Whirlwinds”, both starring Jack Nicholson. Hellman directed the enigmatic existential Road Race Western with 1971’s “Two Lane Blacktop” with impressive acting by James Taylor (singer/songwriter) as the Driver, Dennis Wilson (drummer Beach Boys) as the Mechanic, and the great Warren Oates as GTO.

But it was the 1970s when the Psychedelic Existential Acid Western became a popular trend.

So, to put the following in perspective here’s 00individual’s PPOV definition of:
Psychedelic: anything pertaining to, or the result of, the use, understanding, and effects of Psychedelic Hallucinogenic drugs and plant life. LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, and Psilocybin; and in less dramatic degrees, Marijuana/Cannabis, and Hashish, can all provide a different way to see, hear, feel, touch, smell, think, and live.
Existential: anything to do with existence; may involve religious, spiritual, or ancient occult symbolism, concepts, or themes. The Acid Western genre draws much more from the Existential than from the Psychedelic genre.
Acid: usually focused on the grittier psychological aspects of the main character(s) within an existential story Involving subtle to life-changing personal/character introspection, along with tough, possibly revelatory choices, and the repercussions/outcomes from those choices. Epiphanies are a usual by-product for the main characters – or for the viewer.
Western: an All-American original genre based on the free and lawless frontier of the Wild West of the United States during the mid-to-end of the 1800s.

As were many, 00individual was a ’70’s movie fiend, and saw everything, and usually on opening day, and since there was no way to see a kick-ass movie again until it came to TV years later, edited, and with commercials (no VCR ’til the ’80s) 00individual would go back and see it the next day, or at least before it left the theaters.

However, there existed a Temple for L.A. Movie Fans who sought out the more obscure, classic, and in some cases fairly recent movies; the Fox Venice Theater!  Revered as a “Revival House”, it went beyond that with different movies every day of the month and with Midnight Showings of Cult Classics. The Fox Venice was a cornucopia of mostly bizarre or “cult” films such as Tod Browning’s “Freaks”, Salvador Dali’s “The Andalusian Dog, David Lynch’s “Eraserhead”, and Alexander Jodorowsky’s “El Topo”

El Topo – 1970
Alexander Jodorowsky’s “El Topo” (The Mole) encorporated all three elements to make this the true originator of the Acid Western. On a quest for enlightenment, a gunslinger and his son roam the West – shit happens.

Zachariah – 1971
Billed as the First Electric Western; John Rubenstein and Don Johnson are on an existential psychedelic “electric” Western trip with Country Joe and the Fish, Jazz drummer Elvin Jones, The New York Rock Ensemble,  The James Gang, ‘lectric fiddler Doug Kershaw, and written by the Counter-Culture comedy group The Firesign Theater.

The Hired Hand – 1971
Peter Fonda’s existential slice of life involving friendship, love, righteous duty, and irony, on a ranch somewhere in the “West”. With hypnotic cinematography by a young Vilmos Zsigmond. Fonda was given free rein to make any movie he wanted after the success of “Easy Rider”, and so was Dennis Hopper . . .

The Last Movie – 1972
Dennis Hopper’s drug-induced “home movie” is an existential overdose that blends drugs, attempts at scripted dialogue and storyline, and a reality that outdoes any reality show ever as it was reality filmed as a movie – but maybe not always intentionally – a very Acid Western filmed in Peru. Considered one of the Best and one of the Worst Movies ever. Seriously.

Greaser’s Palace – 1973
Robert Downey Sr.’s sardonic and satiric Zoot Suit Christ who comes into a Western town looking for work as a song and dance man is a hoot. Doses of mysticism abound.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – 1973
Sam Peckinpah, the original Hollywood Rebel, directs this existential tribute to the legend of Billy the KId, Pat Garrett, and the West.
The creme de la creme of Western character actors; James Coburn. Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Bob Dylan, R.G. Armstrong, Luke Askew, John Beck, Matt Clark, Jack Dodson, Jack Elam, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Charles Martin Smith, Harry Dean Stanton, Rudy Wurlitzer, Elisha Cook Jr., Donnie Fritts, Dub Taylor, and Bruce Dern, made this an epic Acid Western.
Garrett’s (Coburn) realization when he “shoots” himself is a powerful existential moment, for he knows that as Billy the Kid died, so did he, and the Wild West was just that much closer to being tamed. Whew.

High Plains Drifter – 1973
Clint Eastwood takes the Acid Western to the realm of the Supernatural – ’nuff said.

—————————————————————————————–

And while on the subject of Psychedelic Existentialism;
anyone down for some serious psychedelic fun,
00individual strongly suggests you see and experience
Don Coscarelli’s JOHN DIES AT THE END”
– not to give anything away (as if that’s possible) the drug in the film is called Soy Sauce;
“You don’t choose the Soy Sauce, the Soy Sauce chooses you.”
While 00individual realizes he chose Marijuana, the reality is that Marijuana chose him.

john
If you haven’t already;
SEE THIS MOVIE!

—————————————————————————————–

and for the best representation so far of the sights, sounds, and mindset of the Psychedelic drug experience:
Terry Gilliam’s excellent vision of Hunter S. Thompson’s
“FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS”

—————————————————————————————–

This site does not promote any lifestyle(s) – just reports on and archives them for future posterity.

—————————————————————————————–

Intelligent people are responsible and know their limitations.
Be Responsible and Intelligent – Know Your Limitations.
However, . . .
Limitations are just levels to be explored and conquered, so, . .
Explore and Conquer Your Limitations!

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

HIPPIE PENTAGON LEVITATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 21, 1967 . . . 51th Anniversary! . . . . . . . . . . plus . . TRUE HIPPIE LEVITATION EXPERIENCE!

$
0
0

Pentagonpeopleplus                        “Had the Hippies Been Successful” copyright 2014 00individual  TLL
EXPERIENCE HISTORY and COUNTER-CULTUREs VIBES
A half of a century ago on October 21, 1967 between 100 – 150,000 demonstrators gathered around the Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C. to protest the U.S involvement in the war in Vietnam.

Organized by Jerry Rubin, the Fugs’ Ed Sanders and Abbie Hoffman, 50,000 of the protesters would march to the Pentagon in an attempt to levitate the building and exorcise the evil within and to demand the end to the war that less than half of all Americans now supported.

The Movement was gaining momentum due to a surge in the media coverage of the war – but despite tremendous outpouring of public sentiment and protest, President Johnson continued to escalate the war effort by strengthening the American Troop presence to a half-million
… even as young men were returning in body bags at a rate of five hundred a month.

One of the most iconic photographs of the “Flower Power” movement was taken by Bernie Boston of protester George Harris inserting flowers into the rifle of a National Guardsman.


Jan Rose Kasmir, a high-school student, was 17 when this picture was taken by French photojournalist Marc Riboud.

pentagon574
October 21, 1967 – the Human Be-In Anti-War Protest around the Reflecting Pool.

The Vietnam War began November 1, 1955 – the Vietnam War ended April 30, 1975.
20 years of senseless death.

On the lighter side:EXPERIENCE HISTORYHIPPIEVIBESWhile the Hippie/Protesters’ attempt at levitation was unfortunately not successful,
one night five years later in 1972 00individual was involved with one that was.

At 10 PM one night while closing up the Crane’s record store that 00individual managed on Pacific Coast Highway in Palos Verdes, California, a couple of co-workers’ friends showed up to set the stage for a supernatural evening.

After letting them in and locking the front door, someone suggested that the group of five, three females and two males, should attempt to levitate – which 00individual had heard of but had not experienced, yet.

The solitude of the record store at night and of all the massive amounts of talent and creativity emanating from the bins and racks of records created just the right ambiance and everyone was totally and seriously into the vibe, which was crucial for success.

Here was their Occult procedure: there had to be at least five willing and dedicated individuals, essentially, true believers.  One sits on an average non-folding chair, preferably wood (organic), the other four, after a brief ritual, place a predetermined single finger under and at the edge of the four-cornered (or equidistant) chair’s seat and levitate the chair and the fifth individual nearly above their heads with no effort!

The ritual is a simple one, the first part of the ritual can be done with both hands or with just the hand with the finger that the individual will use (all four individuals must obviously be in agreement), in counter-clockwise order, (to unite and initiate the group’s counter gravity mindset force) each individual places their open hands palms down out at arms’ length with each palm centered over/above the others, the very bottom hand is palm up (this traps the energy), each hand hovers above and below the next individual’s hand without touching with hands stacked at least four high – eight if using both hands, but not necessary, as only one finger is used.

Silence and seriousness is golden, minds are focused, and soon each individual will feel rising heat in their palm and top of their hand that increases in intensity, this can happen relatively quickly. When all agree that the heat/time/vibe is right, all four individuals place their predetermined single finger in position just under the edge of the chair and effortlessly levitate the fifth individual and chair nearly above their heads.

They were so successful at levitating the first person with only four single fingers that they each took turns being levitated!  Male or female, size or weight, it didn’t matter all were successful and equally amazing feats!

After much giddy fun, 00individual set the alarm and locked the back door of the store and they all “levitated” into the night.

This is a perfect example of mind over matter and shows that the apparently impossible is in fact possible.  All those stories where a mother literally lifts a car to free her trapped child are examples of the supernatural strength everyone has within them that is available during times of extreme stress – and during times of dedicated joining of like minds.

.

There are scenes with glimpses of people doing this in the 1987 movie “The Gate” and in the 2013 movie “This Is The End”.

00individual considered trying this with a group of very talented but jaded young co-worker dudes in an R&D sector back in 2009 but was aware of their youthful too-hip cynicism and knew it would never happen.

Which once again says a lot for the state of mind that the Counter-Culture was in back then – they truly believed that anything was possible – and it was – through their efforts they helped end a war.

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

Halloween Special from The Stoned Private Eye: Season 2 Preview Episode: “The Halloween Party” Season 1: 13 Episodes – Streaming Now!

$
0
0

Experi-Mental 1970’s Noir Thrillers with a Psychedelic Twist

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

Introduction

The 1960’s were a historic era of cultural and political upheaval worldwide, and Los Angeles along with San Francisco were at the west coast epicenters.
The 1970s amped the Vibe; from the grit of L.A, and glitz of Hollywood, to the sunny beach-lined communities north and south of the Los Angeles International Airport.
There was a thriving evolution of new ways to live, to expand one’s mind, and new ways to do business. And one of the rising big businesses was within the Drug Culture

The times were ripe for anyone to grab the reins and take hold of whatever they could. All ideas, trends, and concepts if not new, were brought forward from the past to be celebrated. With these near daily new enterprises and concepts came great ideas implemented for the good and some for the bad.

William Trent, a young private investigator, maintains his office and living space above the garages of an adjacent apartment building in the “Ghost Town” area of Venice, California. The rickety, but sturdy stairs to Will’s office were open for anyone who needed his services.
Will was experienced in both deductive reasoning and altered states of consciousness. He had taken nearly every drug, hallucinogen, and psychotropic known, and used those experience’s benefits to become successful enough to hold down his own one man investigation business.

There was much to be said for certain stoners’ abilities to use their clouded stoned appearance to actually gain detailed insight on those who momentarily let their guard down due to thinking that they were dealing with just another stoned Hippie.

Tonight’s Episode: “The HALLOWEEN PARTY”

October 31, 1974, it was All Hallow’s Eve and everyone at the party was in costume, including Will, he was enjoying the evening fun by dropping some reliable acid and showing up as a Priest. While maybe not an original choice, the last ten months of the aftershock of the “scariest movie of all time”, “The Exorcist”, was still fresh in everyone’s mind; Will felt vindicated. And he also felt that he may need to perform an “exorcism” that night.

The party was given by a music producer who was one of Will’s past client’s. He had a Gothic styled mansion on the beach cliffs of Broad Beach in northern Malibu.
The interior was transformed by Hollywood special effects crews to resemble a haunted mansion with cobwebs, suspenseful lighting, and remote-control ghosts, monsters, and skeletons around every corner. There was a secret surprise scheduled and timed as a “midnight special” Halloween sight and sound extravaganza with all of the scary elements and some as yet unseen coming to life. Will knew about this; he had a friend on the crew.

One of the Producer’s bands, famous for their “Shock Rock” performances, hit albums and singles, played live for the ballroom filled with monsters, vampires, witches, outer space aliens, and the undead.

Halloween was always a fun day and night to trip, as the night’s fantasy took on a surreal parallel universe where everyone is the same, only different, with masks to cover their personality for a night, to be free to take on another.

Will was unmasked, deliberately, he never wanted his peripheral vision blocked. In his line of work, evil took joy in a sucker-punch, Will took joy in seeing it coming – and cutting it off.

But tonight it was all fun, just seeing old acquaintances, meeting new people, and tripping out.
Will was nearly as well known as some of the celebs, rockers, and stars in attendance; only his notoriety was not worldwide, nor nationwide, but within the “discreet” locals of Los Angeles.

The party was Rockin’; there were wild creative costumes, people were drinking, dancing, getting high, and having a great time. Will stood at a second story railing overlooking the ballroom of gyrating monsters, vampires and ghouls.

People were moving up and down the second story walkway until one stopped near Will, and from behind him he heard in a sexy voice: “Father forgive me for I have sinned.”

For a second there Will felt what it was like to have someone confess their sins to him. In his psychedelic state, he realized that no mortal can give absolution to another mortal, heck, he didn’t believe that even immortals could, that’s something that someone can only do for themselves.

He turned to see a friendly face, Melody Anders, the younger sister of a childhood friend.
Melody: “Will!”
She put her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
Will, surprised: “Melody. Wow, nice makeup, you’ve got the sexiest zombie award for sure.”
Will, a bit hesitant: “It’s been a couple years.”
Melody: “The Stones, the Palladium, my freedom, and you. I had a great night.”
Will: “Me too.“
Melody, kinda proud: “You must wonder why I’m here. I made myself a nuisance around town until I got an A&R job after I brought the label two talented bands.”
Will: “That’s great, really, your Brother would be, is, very proud of you, I am sure.”
Melody: “I miss him.”
Will: “So do I.”

Will takes her hand and they descend the stairs to the dance floor where Will starts to playfully dance with her.
Will lets the psychedelia take him away, these are rare moments, where the real world has been transformed into a supernatural reality – a usual fun aspect of a normal acid trip.
But now Will was on another level where everywhere he looked was real, therefore any hallucinatory aspects would be beyond the anthropomorphic beings all around. It is moments like that when it is easy to let go, give in to the cosmic, live the realistic illusion.
And this was it, the realistic illusion: Will was giving absolution to a beautiful undead girl while dancing and rockin’ out to some serious fun Shock Rock.

Then, all of the lights went out. The only visible image was the ballroom’s second story glass dome that framed a full moon and stars.
Before anyone could panic the lights came back on to everyone’s applause, and the band in typical Rock tradition picked-up right from where they were “unplugged”.

When around so many people Will’s vibe reading was hard to single anyone out, it was all a blur, unless something very evil was introduced into the mix.

Will asked Melody if she wanted to go outside and catch some sea air. They walked out to the cliffs where other monsters and outer space creatures where taking in the full moonlit night.
Sexy as she was in her undead mini-skirt, Will could see that she was cold, and gave her his Priest’s robe.

Will and Melody had this weird hot relationship; he knew her as a little girl, a teenager, and a young woman, and as the younger sister of a good friend who died in Vietnam. They had history.

Will held her close and as their tongues slowly intertwined, Will savoured the moment as he, a priest, was makin’ out with a beautiful undead woman that he had feelings for – this was psychedelic.

Will always, well almost always, gave in to the psychedelic excursions into the wild, as long as he had his Psychedelic Buddy there to remind him: “Maintain, it’s the drug, Man.”.

He had experienced many things on hallucinogens, but knew that even though his Psychedelic Buddy’s words were Tribal Truth, there was an unspoken truth that sometimes those experiences were real.

Psychedelics have the power to provide access to another plane, another dimension, or a separate reality; which could merely be a vibration away and as real as the current universal “agreed upon” reality.
And sometimes, psychedelics provide straight access to one’s higher self.
Right now Will’s higher self was obliterated by primal urge.
Will looked into the undead woman’s eyes and said: “Let’s go.”
Melody smiled, agreed, and they made their way to the mansion’s back door.

About halfway through the mansion toward the front door the lights went out again.
Less than a minute later the lights came back on to an aborted round of applause, as there were men in clown costumes – with guns.

From Will’s view he could see an armed clown at the back door and an armed clown at the front door and two more to the sides with another probably in a getaway clown car, five clowns total; Will had a quick psychedelic image of clown after clown coming out of a Volkswagen Beetle, and couldn’t believe he could clown around at a moment like this.

The demands were simple; wallets, cash, jewelry – and under the threat of death everyone complied – no one wanted to test the threat.

As the Clowns gathered their loot, Will waited until a Clown came for his valuables. Will was wearing a very valuable-looking, but fake, cross and when the Clown demanded his wallet and cross, Will said no.
And before the situation devolved into a “hand it over or I shoot the girl” situation Will made an unexpected move.
Will, after glancing at his watch and in a loud voice: “I don’t know who you clowns are, but there are Demons that just love your kind, unlike me, they have no mercy.”
The Clown at the front door, stepped forward as the leader.
Will raised his hand looking at his watch again: “On this Hallowed evening, let the dead rise and celebrate the good and damn the evil.”
Will ended by pointing his damnation at the Leader Clown.
Leader Clown, angry: “Who is that, clown, er, a, priest? Take him . . . ‘
With one last glance at his watch Will interrupts loudly: “May God smite you Clowns!’”
Nothing happened.
Will again, loudly: “May God smite you Clowns!’”
The lights went out again only this time spectral ghosts appeared and drifted around the ballroom, accompanied with horrible howls and groans. Monsters moved out from the shadows and bats flew about – and people screamed – it was the timed midnight celebration of special effects!
Will smiled and used the distraction to easily disarm the Clown next to him and execute a quick gunfisted karate chop to the neck.

Will moved Melody off to the side and motioned for her to stay as he moved low among the scared people toward the back door, and used the blocked peripheral side view of the armed Clown’s mask to blindside him with one perfectly-placed punch, and he was out. Will motions for people to leave out the back.

As even more effects, emerging dry ice, shrieks and wails, lightning flashes, strobes, and more animatronics join in the cacophony, the Leader Clown sees that he has lost control and yells to his men and heads for the door.
In the meantime Will had exited through the kitchen out the side and to the front of the mansion and approached the getaway car driver.
The second that the driver looked at Will’s priest collar, a normal distraction, Will punched him in the face unconscious.

The Leader Clown and the two others with their bags of loot ran for the getaway car.
Just as they are ready to grab the car door handles, the car moved ahead a few feet, they try again, the car leaps forward out of their reach.
Will is having a little fun knowing the risk so he lines up the car and with the leader on the driver’s side and the other two on the passenger’s side, unlocked the automatic door-locks and punched it in reverse, kicked open the passenger’s door and opened the driver’s side door wide – hitting all three and taking off two doors.

Will felt incredibly invigorated, ready to go another round.
By then someone had called the cops; there were sirens approaching.
Will could see Melody amongst all of the other partiers leaving a Halloween Party they’d never forget.
Melody sees Will, and hand in hand they run off to their cars. She gets in her car and Will tells her to follow him.
Will sees in his rear-view mirror the Clowns get up and limp away with the other costumed partiers, some of them clowns as well. These guys were gonna get away with it.

Back at Will’s, Melody asked him: “That was some Hellfire Preachin’ – you were scaring me.”
Will: “I knew about the timed celebration and preachin’ allowed me to take advantage of the distraction.”

While both were experiencing exciting adrenaline rush residue from the insane Halloween party, Melody, still in undead makeup, and Will, all in black in his priestly white collar, decided to consummate the fantasy in Will’s bedroom.

After bathing in the psychedelic afterglow of a lustful and devout union of necrophilia, Will’s mind began to take on the baser elements of being the Stoned Private Eye, nagging questions, things just enough out of place that they create a mental itch.

As Melody dosed off, Will realized that it wasn’t a random robbery, it was well-planned in advance, but not planned too well, more of an opportunistic robbery, as they weren’t aware of the midnight special. That would safely eliminate any crew involvement, they pulled it off as scheduled and inadvertently helped foil most of the robbery.

Although this was an invitation only party, there were staff who planned and carried it out, within those groups there was someone with enough juice to know a “gang” that could pull this off.
The culprit would be pretty easy to spot if Will were given the chance.

The next morning Will’s priestly duds were on the floor and Melody had risen from the dead and removed her zombie makeup. They were two people who had survived one Hell of a Halloween night.
It was Friday, a workday for both of them.
Melody gathered her things, and Will walked her down the stairs to her car. She gave Will a warm kiss, got in her car and drove off.

Upstairs Will’s mental itch would not go away so he called the Producer and got the names of the companies providing the food and the firm handling the payments and contracts.

Thinking that it would be more efficient to weed out the suits first, as the instigator was probably some out of place underling, he headed over unannounced to the Producer’s attorney and accountant law offices.

Without saying a word Will had assessed the half dozen employees present, resulting in nothing.
The Receptionist: “Can I help you?”
Will, as he flashes a convincing ‘60’s toy Man From U.N.C.L.E. badge: “Don’t be alarmed but can you tell everyone that they need to leave quietly, the bomb squad is on the way.”

Will holds up his badge as he motions for everyone to quickly leave.
As the employees, accountants, and lawyers file past no one registers with Will.

Then he sees him, Ill-fitted clothes just bought from a used clothes store, sure sign of an ex-con, and out of place here, but obviously being given a chance, yet he already looked guilty as sin for something, he was the “inside man”. This was not the way to begin your life outside prison bars.

As the man walked by, Will felt compassion for the man whose vibe was suppressed anger. But Will felt the man’s anger was not against his employers, but against his controllers.
Will read the man’s name on his badge as he walked by.

Once everyone was out in the lobby Will announced that it was a false alarm.

Will waited outside the building at quitting time and followed the man to his car.
Will, from behind the man: “Ed Barnett.”
Ed Barnett turns and faces Will.
Will: “If you want to save us both some time, and by that I mean prison time for you, just tell me who you’re into and I’ll leave you out of it, and nuh, nuh, before you tell me they’ll kill you or something, what do think they’d be thinkin’ right now, if they saw you talkin’ to me, they’ll find out who I am, a private investigator, and you become a liability; expendable.”
Ed: “You don’t know what it’s like in there, it follows you outside.”
Will: “You help me now and they’ll maybe just extend your probation, you get caught up in this any deeper and you’re back in for assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, grand theft, and a lot more, even as an accessory before the fact, you’ll still see a few years, so . . .”
Ed: “Fuck you, you’re just like the cops, act like you give a shit until you get what you want.”
Will: “I can call right now and have you arrested for breaking probation, don’t ask for what, whatever will get you in a room where the questions won’t be so nicely presented to you like I am doing.”
Will: “For God’s sake man, give yourself a break, start over, I hear Arizona’s nice, or any place where no one knows you, but right now I need a name.”
Ed knows Will is right, and realizes he needed to get out of sight and out of trouble’s mind.
The name Ed gave Will felt true, and if so, roadies’ took a hit.

The name was “Wild Bill” Halloran ex-cellmate of Ed Barnett and current roadie for the Shock Rock Band that played at the party. Wild Bill probably pressured Ed with his life for the party information and to add them to the guest list in order to plan the robbery with other ex-cons; only Wild Bill didn’t know about the midnight special either.

Will took all of this to his local P.D. connection with only Wild Bill Halloran as the instigator. Once arrested, Wild Bill was angry at the cons who he blamed for the screw up, so he took them down with him, by then Ed Barnett was long gone.

Will took credit for breaking and solving the case and his P.D. connection made the collar.

This case pissed-off many cops, for while they were out taking down “information” from the celebs and stars who were at the party, Will was out solving the case.

Will didn’t really have a client for this “case” but he did receive a hand-delivered envelope full of one hundred dollar bills from the Producer with a note of thanks and to please meet with him at his earliest convenience.

Will called him up and arranged a meeting for that afternoon.

.

Copyright 2018 00individual TLL
Written spontaneously over a few hours during July 30 – July 31, 2018 with only The Stoned Private Eye, The 1970s, The Halloween Party, and a Noir Vibe as inspiration.

Celebrate the Most Historic Year in Modern American History with the 50th Anniversary of 1968 – featuring NOVEMBER

$
0
0

“Magic Carpet Ride” copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

NOVEMBER 1968

EXPERIENCE the HISTORICAL HEIGHT of POP and ROCK and PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE!
and the Year that Shattered American and World History

Happenings:
Nov 1 Motion Picture Association of America introduces rating system (G, M, R, X)
Nov 4 “Wichita Lineman” by Glen Campbell, his 12th album and Billboard Album of the Year 1969
Nov 5 Republican candidate Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon is elected President of the United States, defeating Democrat candidate Hubert Humphrey. Clueless Nixon co-opts the peace/victory sign as his signature trademark at the height of the Counter-Culture’s Peace and Love movement – and wondered why people thought he was a Dick.

Nov 11 John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear nude on cover of “2 Virgins” album. Was this absolutely necessary? Nobody wanted to see that.
Image shown hair as a pubic service.

Nov 12 US Supreme Court: Epperson v. Arkansas, court declares unconstitutional Arkansas law banning teaching evolution in public schools

Nov 14 “National Turn in Your Draft Card Day” features draft card burning
Nov 14 First European lung transplant
Nov 14 Yale University announces it is going co-educational
Nov 22 1st interracial TV kiss (Star Trek – Captain Kirk and Uhura) Really?

Nov 22 Beatles release “Beatles” (White Album), their only double album
Nov 26 34th Heisman Trophy Award: O.J. Simpson, Southern Cal (RB)
Nov 28 John Lennon is fined £150 for unauthorized drug possession
Nov 29 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their 1st album “Two Virgins” in UK

Album Releases:
Nov 1 Living the Blues – Canned Heat double LP; studio + live
Nov 1 Wonderwall Music – George Harrison Soundtrack
Nov 8 Diana Ross & the Supremes & The Temptations Duets
Nov 12 Neil Young – debut album
Nov 13 Love Child – Diana Ross & the Supremes
Nov 20 Eivets Rednow – Stevie Wonder released under pseudonym Eivets Rednow
Nov 22 The Beatles (The White Album) – The Beatles
Nov 22 Dusty… Definitely Dusty Springfield
Nov 22 Elvis – Elvis Presley Soundtrack to 1968 TV special
Nov 22 The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society – The Kinks
Nov 29 Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins – John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Ars Longa Vita Brevis – The Nice
Astral Weeks – Van Morrison
Back Here on Earth – Gordon Lightfoot

Blues from Laurel Canyon – John Mayall
50th anniversary for this great Blues album AND this month also marks John Mayall, Father of the British Blues, 85th Birthday!

00individual has a ticket to see him perform live and celebrate his 85th birthday at the Canyon Club this month! Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Blues; the Fountain of Youth! Mayall is proof.

Born to Be – Melanie Safka
The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse – Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Gentle on My Mind – Dean Martin
Help Yourself – Tom Jones
I’ve Gotta Be Me – Sammy Davis Jr.
The Ice Man Cometh – Jerry Butler
The Marble Index – Nico
Promises, Promises – Dionne Warwick
Release of an Oath – The Electric Prunes
This Is My Country – The Impressions with Curtis Mayfield
Time Out! Time In For Them – Them
The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands – The Turtles
Wee Tam and the Big Huge – The Incredible String Band

US Top 20 Singles for the Week Ending November 16, 1968:
1 HEY JUDE – The Beatles (Apple)
2 THOSE WERE THE DAYS – Mary Hopkin (Apple)
3 LOVE CHILD – Diana Ross and the Supremes (Motown)
4 MAGIC CARPET RIDE – Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
5 HOLD ME TIGHT – Johnny Nash (JAD)
6 WHITE ROOM – Cream (Atco)
7 LITTLE GREEN APPLES – O.C. Smith (Columbia)
8 WHO’S MAKING LOVE – Johnnie Taylor (Stax)
9 ABRAHAM, MARTIN AND JOHN – Dion (Laurie)
10 ELENORE – The Turtles (White Whale)
11 FIRE – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (Atlantic)
12 OVER YOU – Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (Columbia)
13 SWEET BLINDNESS – The 5th Dimension (Soul City)
14 FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE – Stevie Wonder (Tamla)
15 MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS – The Grass Roots (Dunhill)
16 HEY, WESTERN UNION MAN – Jerry Butler (Mercury)
17 CHEWY CHEWY – The Ohio Express (Buddah)
18 ALWAYS TOGETHER – The Dells (Cadet)
19 SUZIE Q. (Part 1) – Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy)
20 REVOLUTION – The Beatles (Apple)

NOVEMBER 1968 MOVIES
November 6
Head
November 15
The Shoes of the Fisherman
November 16
The Legend of Lylah Clare
November 20
Lady in Cement
November 24
Faces
November 27
Hellfighters
November 30
The Shakiest Gun in the West.

The Psychedelic Train goes full-on Holographic Psychedelectriglide, and cruises the transition of seasons, then on through 1968 toward December.

“The Psychedelic Train Cruises Autumn ’68!” Copyright 2017 00individual TLL

Next stop December 1968!
.
1967 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September
 . . . October . . . November
December

1968 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September . . . October . . . November
December

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

1970’S HISTORIC & CLASSIC: CAR MOVIES, MOVIE CARS, TV CARS, & CAR CHASES

$
0
0

“Two Lane Blacktop” 1971

1970S HISTORIC CLASSIC CAR MOVIES, TV CARS, & CAR CHASES

The 1970s will forever go down as the absolute best decade for car movies, movie and TV cars, and car chases in film history.

Here’s the proof from the days when what one saw was real nuts ‘n’ bolts, metal ‘n’ flesh, heat ‘n’ rubber, roar ‘n screech, dare-devil ‘n’ life-threatening, as in, no CGI – which made all of the real stunts that much more exciting, and is why today, they’re not.

Here ’tis;
Vanishing Point (1971)
existential road film starring a Dodge Challenger,
The French Connection (1971) harrowing non-permit NY shoot – car vs train race – insane,
Two Lane Blacktop (1971) the Driver and the Mechanic vs. GTO for pink slips
Duel (1971)
Spielberg’s road rage chase: a 1971 Plymouth Valiant DeLuxe vs. a Peterbilt 281 tanker truck,
Le Mans (1971) the Real Deal with Steve McQueen.
The Getaway (1972) Steve McQueen at it again.
The Last American Hero (1973) moonshiner wants to be the best NASCAR racer in the South,
The Seven Ups (1973) great, gritty ‘70s New York with one of the best chases ever,
The Man w/the Golden Gun (1974) AMC Hornet leaps a broken bridge, spins 360 degrees in mid-air, lands upright,
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) on the run in a Dodge Charger,
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) a professional car thief must steal 48 vehicles over five days,
Death Race 2000 (1975) the murderous Transcontinental Road Race becomes national entertainment,
Race with the Devil (1975) occult thriller blends car chase and horror genres,
The Gumball Rally (1976) coast-to-coast race,
Grand Theft Auto (1977) Two lovers in a stolen car on the run to get married in Vegas.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Burt and his Trans Am,
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Lotus Esprit Submarine Car,
The Car (1977)
an evil sentient custom 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III,
The Driver (1978) features the first night time car chase,
Mad Max (1979) a future dystopian cop and his supercharged V8 Interceptor vs a savage motorcycle/car gang. Truly insane.

 

 

 

 


MOVIE CARS:
Porsche 911s 1970 Le Mans 1971,
Lincoln Continental Mark III 1971
The Car 1971,
Dodge Challenger 1971 Vanishing Point 1971,
Pontiac GTO 1970 Two Lane Blacktop 1971,
(on the left in the header image)
Chevy One-Fifty 1955 Two Lane Blacktop 1971
(on the right in the header image)
The car features custom-built straight axle with coilovers, a tunnel-rammed 454, M-22 Muncie Rock Crusher 4-speed, ’60s Olds posi-traction rear, a no-nonsense gasser-style black interior and custom built fiberglass front end, fiberglass doors with sliding windows and fiberglass trunk lid. The “Two-Lane Blacktop” ’55 has been featured in national car magazines, numerous national car shows and was displayed at the Smithsonian Institution to inaugurate an exhibit on Route 66. In 2009, James Taylor was reunited with the car where it was featured at a concert, after which Taylor introduced and screened “Two-Lane Blacktop” for the audience.
Chevrolet Impala 1958 American Graffiti 1973,
Ford Mustang 1973 Gone In 60 Seconds 1974,
Lotus Esprit 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me 1977,
Pontiac Trans Am 1977 Smokey & The Bandit 1977
Ford Falcon X
B Mad Max 1979.

 

 

 


TV CARS:
Dodge Charger 1969 Dukes Of Hazzard,
Ford Gran Torino 1975
Starsky & Hutch,
Pontiac Firebird Esprit 1977 Rockford Files,
Ford Thunderbird 1957 Vega$,
Peugeot 1959 Columbo,
Ford Mustang Cobra II 1976  Charlie’s Angels,
Ford Galaxie 500 1973 Streets of San Francisco,
Mercury Pickup Truck 1950
Sanford & Son,
Chevy Impala 1966 Baretta.

Ford Mustang 390 V8 GT Fastback 1968 Bullitt
Although not a ‘70’s car movie, ‘68’s “Bullitt” has to be acknowledged as the originator of the featured car chase movie with a 1968 390 V8 Ford Mustang GT Fastback, San Francisco, and that’s right, Steve McQueen.
 

The ‘70’s mania with cars also influenced Cartoon Shows – it was all about speed & races.

 

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).


John Mayall celebrates his 85th Birthday at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills – and the LSD Trip of the Historic California Fires

$
0
0

This is not the sunrise.

So, the fire is running the mountain top ridge behind 00individual’s place which is backed up to the Santa Monica Mountains in Agoura Hills.

Time’s are more bizarre than usual with one ‘hood over in Thousand Oaks the Borderline shooting, and in his own ‘hood the Woolsey Fire that had jumped the 101 and was heading his way.

The off-shore winds kept embers away, yet the fire storm went down from the top of the mountain directly behind him into a canyon and up to a closer ridge. (“Fires don’t burn down hill.” – tell that to the wind)

At this point all valuables and pets were loaded to jam, but even though the Police came up the street announcing Mandatory Evacuation Orders, 00individual and three fiends decided to stay and watered down the whole back area.

As the fire continued toward the back of the house flame bursts reached 50 feet and the heat could be felt.

After 36 hours of loading up and mostly fire-fighting with three hoses, the flames burned out with only small flare ups as the last of the “fuel’ burned out just beyond the soaked area – they were spared.

Had they complied with the Mandatory Evacuation Order they would not have been allowed back in the area, back to their homes – which only poured salt on many wounds.

00individual has lived and experienced fires, floods, and mudslides through over a decade in Malibu, half of that time as a Malibu USPS Postman, and lived on P.C.H., Point Dume, and back at the end of Triunfo Canyon – even back to the Big Rock “Big Rock” P.C.H. closure days. But this time it has been beyond catastrophic with complete devastation – worst in California history.

While 00individual’s heart goes out to the people, families, and animals affected by this unfathomable disaster, he would like to comment on the vibe that takes hold.

What 00individual went through was chilling and unreal and was assisted by a constant level of adrenaline released to sustain hours of standing, holding a hose, and not letting up. Plus there was the mental, emotional levels one reaches when presented with the unknown and the possible loss of everything.

In a very real, yet surreal way, this was equal to any LSD trip, whereby not only are the sights and sounds unreal but so was the situation and the environment. The outcome was unknown – what would the next moments bring? Only with this trip it was not a drug, but reality. Dealing with a force of nature has its psychedelic mind-adrenaline reactions and actions – fight or flight.

Once the fires subsided in his area the closures didn’t, and while 00individual’s place is buffered from the ambient sounds of the 101 freeway by a decent hill, once it was shut down the normal day and night white noise hum of traffic left the area in total silence – it was very eerie. And when the electricity went down the occasional light buzz of insects and the sound of sirens off in the distance were all to be heard.

All fast food, restaurants, and banks were closed, first because of the electrical outage, and then because employees could not enter the evacuation area; only a market was open and because of being within the closed area 00individual could make it to the market and back – had he evacuated he would not be allowed back in the area to his home.

With off/on ramps and canyon entrances blocked by the Police, the revolving blue and red lights created the desired effect – disorientation.  00individual was experiencing a prequel vibe to the lock-down of martial law, for any number of reasons, and probably some unheard of as yet.

However, despite shootings, catastrophic fires, deaths, closures, evacuations, internet and electrical outages, and the full-frontal assault to take down the human spirit, one Man leads the way to regain lost spirit – celebrating his 85th birthday this month, the Godfather of the British Blues, the Legendary John Mayall!

John Mayall – November 15, 2018 – Canyon Club, Agoura Hills – Capacity 1000

It had been one Helluva week, but after all of the ash settled, there was a moment in time that rejuvenated the soul.

Last night at the local Canyon Club (“Where Music Meets The Soul”) 00individual, along with the fortunate ones who were able to attend, witnessed the vitality, humor, compassion, musicianship, and proof that Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Blues are the source of the Fountain of Youth.

John Mayall, legendary leader of the Bluesbreakers, turns 85 at the end of this month, and he is amazing; his stamina, quick-wit, and masterful prowess on guitar, keyboards, and harmonica should give anyone, at any age, who experienced his performance a sense of wonder about what can be accomplished, with joy, within one’s lifetime.

While thanking all of those who made it to the show and acknowledging the fires, he performed Nature’s Disappearing from the 1970  “USA Union” album.

Mayall exudes a sense of agelessness and mentioned his young state of mind while briefly reflecting on the ’70s.

00individual fully enjoyed this concert on many levels; as life affirming, as experiencing Blues performed by The Best, as a link to the past (Mayall’s albums mark time), as that unnamable feeling that live Rock ‘n’ Blues contributes literally to one’s soul, and as the healing powers of the Blues, Rock, R’n’B, Soul, and Jazz.

To be in the presence of a Man who hand-picked some of the future most revered names in Rock to join the Bluesbreakers as far back as the ’60s with Eric Clapton, John McVie, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor, and a list too long for here; and the albums, A Hard Road, Blues Alone, Crusade, Turning Point – was truly humbling. And to hear that unique voice again, infused with the energy, creativity, and appreciation for music and performing live was a gift from the Man, John Mayall.

Mayall, looking like a bespectacled Doc Brown, with Greg Rzab on bass, Jay Davenport on drums, and Carolyn Wonderland, Mayall’s first female guitarist on lead, slide/bottleneck, and vocals; the Blues were deep and the jams tight with world-class rotating solos.

After the last song, as they were leaving the stage 00individual yelled “Happy Birthday, John”, Mayall turned, knew not who said it, but raised a hand in 00’s direction – he heard it, recognized it, and that was great.

00individual has a lot to be thankful for – just being alive and healthy, with family, and with a roof over his head, and with an empowering intimate night with a Blues Legend – everything else becomes secondary.

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

“The STONED PRIVATE EYE” – 1970’s Noir Thriller Episode 4: “HOLLYWOOD HILLS” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Season 1 – 13 Episodes – Streaming Now!

$
0
0

INTRODUCTION

The 1960’s were a historic era of cultural and political upheaval worldwide, and Los Angeles along with San Francisco were at the west coast epicenters.

The 1970s amped the Vibe; from the grit of L.A, and glitz of Hollywood, to the sunny beach-lined communities north and south of the Los Angeles International Airport.

There was a thriving evolution of new ways to live, to expand one’s mind, and new ways to do business. And one of the rising big businesses was within the Drug Culture.

The times were ripe for anyone to grab the reins and take hold of whatever they could. All ideas, trends, and concepts if not new, were brought forward from the past to be celebrated. With these near daily new enterprises and concepts came great ideas implemented for the good and some for the bad.

William Trent, a young private investigator, maintains his office and living space above the garages of an adjacent apartment building in the “Ghost Town” area of Venice, California.  The rickety, but sturdy stairs to Will’s office were open for anyone who needed his services.
Will was experienced in both deductive reasoning and altered states of consciousness. He had taken nearly every drug, hallucinogen, and psychotropic known, and used those experience’s benefits to become successful enough to hold down his own one man investigation business.

There was much to be said for certain stoners’ abilities to use their clouded stoned appearance to actually gain detailed insight on those who momentarily let their guard down due to thinking that they were dealing with just another stoned Hippie.

hollywood hills0

Tonight’s Episode: “HOLLYWOOD HILLS”

Diamonds, rare jewels, and gemstones laid out on a vast distant landscape of black velvet transformed into the reality of the midnight lights of Los Angeles as seen from high atop the Hollywood Hills.

William Trent was having visual fun while tripping on the LSD he had taken earlier before attending the party hosted by a past client. He was out on the terrace taking in the cool night air when several guests came out and offered him a toke on a joint. Will smiled and took a nice hit, held it, and passed it back.

During the early ‘70s the excesses of the ‘60’s became the norm; Cocaine, LSD, Marijuana, Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Hashish, Hallucinogens, Tranquilizers, Angel Dust, and Heroin, were all an influential aspect on society. Within the Counter-Culture expanding one’s mind while tripping-out was a favorite pastime, especially at events like Rock concerts, or parties, or anytime.

Will was known as The Stoned Private Eye, which had become a positive, not a negative, as he attracted people in need of help by someone who understood what was going on in the surreal world. Just like Arthur Conan Doyle’s master of deduction Sherlock Holmes, Will needed his own “7 percent solution” between cases to keep him sharp and keep his mind active. Unlike Holmes’ Cocaine “assistance”, Will’s weapon of choice was Psychedelics, he liked the strangeness.

Out on the terrace, still high on LSD, Will engaged the couple in some fun conversation. Their laughter attracted interest from the guests inside, who came out to join in the fun. Soon the terrace became the party and Will, socially spaced-out, disappeared down an adjacent flight of stairs out into a terraced garden that also looked out upon the gem-laden city.

As he looked up into the sky and the stars he felt the expanse of space and could feel the curvature of the earth. It was as if there was an invisible dome that could be spiritually felt but not seen.

Will became aware of someone descending the staircase behind him. As he turned to greet the party-goer her sexy silhouette became framed by a first floor lit room. As she came closer to him Will noticed something familiar in her walk, Will knew this walk, but before the light fell on her face, she spoke, “Hello, William.”

Most of Will’s friends and associates knew him just as Will, there were only a few who called him by his given name; she was one.

Will: “Emily, I didn’t see you upstairs.” “How have you been?”
Emily pauses, looks him in the eye, “The Stoned Private Eye, eh?”

Will mastered the art of not only maintaining on all sorts of drugs but tapping into a higher state of communication bordering on extra sensory perception while on them. He sensed a playful but agenda-driven vibe from Emily.

Will; “I haven’t seen you since . . .” Will is interrupted by Emily: “Since the Doors concert, July 5th 1968.” She points south, “Right down the road a piece at the Hollywood Bowl.”
Will’s mastery faded upon remembering the sequence of events of that night after the concert.
Will: “Listen, I’m sorry about how that all turned out but I had no choice.”
Emily obviously still angry over the events that happened more than three years ago had the right to be.
Emily: “No choice?”
Will, realizing that this was unresolved and seeing the need to be resolved, asked her if she came with someone.
Emily: “If I did, do you want me to just leave without even a word as to why?”
Will was just getting in deeper.
Will: “Do you want to leave, we can talk.” She agreed and they left the party.

Down on the Sunset Strip they sat in a booth over coffee at Ben Frank’s, a well-known restaurant hangout for Rockers like Zappa and the Mothers, the Doors, Love, the Stones when in town, and many other colorful denizens of Hollywood and beyond.

Will was phasing on the LSD and was in the post-peak world of psychedelia. He looked at the girl from ‘68 now a woman in ’71 who sat across from him, she looked troubled beyond Will’s actions of long ago. Will realized that she was not really mad at him, but that it was just a way to “break the ice” so she could relate what was really wrong.

Will; “I’ll tell you what happened that night if you’ll tell me what’s got you so scared right now.”
Emily looks out the window then back to Will, tears building in her eyes.
Emily: “I’m in trouble.” She pauses, takes a cigarette case out of her purse, and removes a cigarette – Will provides a light as her hand shakes and the cigarette trembles. After a drag that seems to relieve her momentarily, she adds, “Real bad trouble.”
Emily continues: “You know I wanted to be an actress, well, I got an agent, did some modeling, magazine print work, and some movie extra work, and then suddenly I was cast in a pretty decent TV pilot for a new show, and it all happened so fast, that I. . .” She stops, looks out the window again, “It was like unreal.”
Will, puzzled but concerned: “Well, that all sounds great, congratulations Emily.” “So what’s the trouble then?”
Emily: “I’m not stupid, far from it, I could spot the drug dealing and other illegal acts within the production, that’s nothing new.” “But . . . “
Emily takes Will’s hand from across the table, grips it tight and then says, “Will, I saw someone get killed.” “And I think they know that I saw.”

Will, shaken out of his psychedelic afterglow by her revelation: “When, where did you see this?”
Emily: “Last night, I was one of the last to leave the dressing room area when I heard the Director in a heated argument with someone else, then suddenly I heard a gunshot.”
Will: “And?’
Emily: “I heard what sounded like a body drop to the floor.” “I was scared.” “I didn’t know whether to run or stand still or hide, I hid.” “Then I heard other voices and then movement, then all was silent.”
“No one looked around for witnesses, so I thought I was in the clear, I grabbed my things and headed for the exit.” “Just as I pushed on the rail handle I looked down the hall and there at the end stood a man who just looked at me. I pushed the door open and ran to my car, as I drove away I could see the man at the door watching me leave.” “They know someone saw, and they know it was a female, they’ll narrow it down to me and I don’t want to die over being a witness to murder.”

Will, in intense thought: Did you see any of this or just hear it?”
Emily: “I was behind one of those big scene divider curtains so no I couldn’t see anything, just hearing it was enough.”
Will: “What were they arguing about?”
Emily: “I couldn’t make it out, just spurts of angry words of accusation.”
Will: “Like?”
Emily: “Something about not taking care of something.”
Will asks: “Who was threatening who, was it the Director?”
Emily: ”I’m sure it was the Director, he was always yelling at someone. I recognized his voice,”
Emily: “The Director killed someone.”
Will: “Allegedly killed.” Emily looks at him with a frown.
Will: “Hey, do we know that for sure, or that it was not the Director who was killed? Everything needs to be taken into consideration – have you been threatened or approached?”
Emily: “No, not really, I only came to this party to be among people, to feel safer, maybe. It was amazing that you were there.”
Will ponders: ”Yes . . . it was.” He slips her a piece of paper and a pen: ”Here, write down the address of where this happened, I’ll look into it tomorrow. I think it best you stay with me tonight.”
Emily: “Thank you William.”

Will slept on his couch and woke up to the smell of fresh coffee. Emily approached him with a mug.
Emily: “Black, right?”
Will smiled: “Thanks.”

After a morning bowl of Maui Wowee Will told her to keep the door locked, don’t open it for anyone, and that there’s a gun in the big coffee can in the kitchen. Also for emergencies Will showed her a disguised access to and from the garages that he “remodeled” and also a good old fashioned trap door that assured broken bones upon landing on the garage’s concrete floor below. And then he left for Hollywood.

As Will pulled up down the street from the small studio, he saw an unmarked police car parked up the street, not a Narc car as they were really obvious, this was nondescript.

Something was not right. He slouched down and back toward the passenger’s side at an angle, a ploy that appears no one is in the driver’s seat, yet from the slightly elevated view from the passenger’s side allowed for great surveillance and yet immediate seat-slide, start-up, gas-peddlin’ if necessary.

Two officers emerged from the front door, got in their car, and left.

Will popped a few Bennies, crossed the street, and cautiously opened the front door to the studio. There lying on the floor was a dead Security Guard. He quickly and quietly scanned the immediate offices. File cabinets had been rifled through, drawers were opened, and there were no cameras or movie equipment anywhere.

Will figured it was obviously a high-financed front, but wondered what’s with the dead Security Guard, and the two cops? Before he left he went to the area where Emily said the murder happened. There was some blood on the floor left over from a sloppy clean-up job. Why clean-up one murder yet leave another in the front office? Had he arrived just after the cops killed the Security Guard?

These questions whizzed by as Will had a Pavlovian response to the Benzedrine; his brain’s memory anticipated the come on and actually mimicked the soon elevated rush effects to come – before they even dissolved in his system.

He was about to leave when the two cops entered the front door. Will crouched down and back in the shadows. There wasn’t much talk between the cops as they carried the security guard out the back entrance. Will took this as his getaway move and left out the front and got in his car. He hung a U-turn and cruised past the back alley to see the cops put the security guard in the trunk of their unmarked police car. He waited out of sight and then followed them when they left.

Will hung back so as not to attract suspicion. He would have gone to the Police under any other circumstances, but not now, he did not know how far the two cop’s involvement was as there was rumored to be an unaccountable not-officially sanctioned faction of the L.A.P.D. that acted with impunity.

After several blocks of tailing, Will decided enough’s enough and at a stop grabbed an old gray wig and thick lensed glasses out of a bag he kept in his car and put them on then slouched down a bit to appear like an old man at the wheel.

He pulled up alongside the cops and with his window down started cursing at them in an old man scruffy voice. As the light turned green, he continued ranting and waving his fist.

Will always blacked out his license plates when on unsure ground and at the next light he pulled up alongside the cops once again only this time he flipped them off with both hands.

He knew this would be the point where the cops would usually exert their power but with ulterior motives and a dead body in the trunk they resisted.

So when the light turned green Will pulled out and cut them off, although the cops resisted thus far Will knew that their egos could only take so much, so with the Benzedrine pumping through Will’s system he took the cops on a crazy chase letting them get close to tailgating and braking occasionally to get them even more pissed off, as by now they realized that they couldn’t run Will’s plates.

Wills knew of a perfect “dead man’s curve” and headed west on Sunset through Beverly Hills and once above the University of California, Los Angeles he pulled a 180 at the 405 and back-tracked east on Sunset, the cops followed. As he roared down the steep incline back above UCLA he made sure the cops were right on him and when he reached the bottom near the left-angled “dead man’s curve” he deliberately spun out into another 180 degree turn causing the cops to fly fast past him.

Unable to negotiate the immediate turn the unmarked police car flipped over repeatedly, the trunk opened, and the security guard flew off into the bushes.

Will never saw righteous retribution against Evil as a moral issue; when it comes down to you or them, there’s no question, and Evil feels the same way.

Whatever this was all about, Emily was certainly in danger. Will continued on Sunset west to Pacific Coast Highway and south to Venice.

As he pulled up to his place the lights were off and it seemed unlikely that she was sitting in the dark. Someone was up there with her, waiting, waiting for Will to open that door.

He felt a non-threatening presence right behind him and turned to see Emily as her outstretched arms hugged him.

Emily: “Those men, they’re from the studio, one looks like the one who spotted me,” “I saw them heading for the stairs and hid in the far side of your closet like you said when suddenly the floor opened to steps to the garage.” “They haven’t left and it’s been about a half hour.”
Will, as if to himself: “Two down, and two more take their place.”
Emily: What happened at the studio?”
Will: “Come on, I’ll tell you while we drive, my car’s around the corner.”

Will relates everything as they drive, then asks: “Why were you at that party last night?”
Emily: “I was invited by one of the producers of the TV show.”
Will: “Who? What’s his name?”
Emily: “Frankie Richman”
Will: “Frankie Richman was a client, he invited me to his party. This is all getting too coincidental. Other than a drug deal gone wrong as a motive for murder, this seems like something bigger.”

It was the Security Guard that bothered him. What was the Guard guarding? There was nothing of value left behind?

Will: “What was the TV pilot about?”
Emily: “It was a comedy about the lives of three men who worked as . . . Security Guards.”
Will: “The Security Guard wasn’t there to protect . . . he was one of the actors.”

Will pauses, reflects, and while driving lights up a joint. He takes a hit then doubles his intake with another deeper inhale, “the 00”, holds it, then exhales out the open window.

Will then realizes and reaches a point of comedic frustration: “He wasn’t a guard or an actor, he was part of this new TV show we’re in called, What The Hell is Goin” On?”

For the first time ever to Emily’s knowledge of him did he seem actually angry. She had seen him determined, focused, humorous, spaced, professional, charismatic, sexy, and very stoned, but not angry, and this anger was not directed toward those alleged killers, but at himself.

Heading east on Sunset Boulevard, and before turning left on Crescent Heights / Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Will’s high kicked-in as he glanced to the right of the intersection where the purple glory of Pandora’s Box, protest central for the 1967 Riots on the Sunset Strip once stood, and gave a mental good vibe nod to the now triangular slab of concrete separating lanes of traffic.

He continued on north past Hollywood Boulevard, then just past Houdini’s “Castle” onto Lookout Mountain Avenue, pulled over and parked.

Will to Emily: “Stay here, I’ll only be a couple minutes – I just need to do something.”

Will disappeared up a flight of stairs that were mostly obscured by foliage.  And a couple minutes later he returned. Emily noticed a marked difference in his attitude, he seemed revitalized, confident.

Emily: “Will, you OK? I mean . . “
Will politely interrupts: “Yes, yes I am, now let’s solve this mess.”

Will backtracks to Hollywood Boulevard, east, and up Outpost Drive into the Hills.
They pull up in front of the Party House from the night before.

Emily: “Why are we here?’
Will: “Listen, I brought you along because it was the safest place for you, but now I want you get in that car’s trunk.”
Will points to Frankie Richman’s Rolls. Will had ridden in it when Frankie was his client and knew that he hid a key under the fender.
Emily: “What? Why?”
Will: “Trust me it will be the safest place for you right now, don’t worry, when the trunk is opened everything will be alright.”
Emily looks worried and puzzled, but trusted him and complies.
Will locks the trunk and heads for the party house.

Will knocks on the front door, then rings the doorbell, there’s no answer, Will tries the doorknob, it’s open, he cautiously goes inside.

Once inside Will moves across the big living room toward the terrace. Two men with guns emerge on each side of Will, one from the hallway and the other from the den. Will raises his hands.
Will: “I’m unarmed!”
Will knew that this was his only opportunity.
Will: “There will be no need for more violence, especially if you want both the money and the drugs.”

The two gunmen look to each other.

Will: “I initially thought that this was a drug deal gone wrong – am I right Guys? I’m right, but then I realized that this was not just any drug deal gone wrong, this involved bigwigs, studio heads, dealers, distributors, and cops. Well, I just had to tell someone about this. Murder, mayhem, should I go on?”

Will knew that this dialogue would draw out the facilitator, Frankie Richman.

Frankie walks into the room: “Will, what a story you spin I should hire you as a writer, you’re great as a P.I. but you do have a knack for a, well, an ABC Movie of the Week script.”
Frankie, with a snicker: “So, who did you tell?”
Will: “Oh, no one at the L.A.P.D. I know you’re covered.” “But the F.B.I. is interested in drug sales, and especially distribution across state lines, oh, and kidnapping.”

Frankie is suddenly taken aback: “What . . . you . .  what kidnapping?”

Will not only blew Frankie’s mind with his knowledge and apparent turn of events, but by omission Frankie unknowingly confessed to the other deeds.”

Will: “Why that nice young actress you were hoping to pimp soon, Emily?” OK so you wanted her dead instead.” “Go take a look out on the terrace.”

Frankie goes out onto the terrace to see F.B.I. agents prying open his trunk to rescue Emily while others were coming up the stairs. Frankie just stood there in disbelief.

Will to the two gunmen: “If you guys hurry you can maybe get away out the back.”
The two gunmen run out the back.
Will, mostly to himself: “But I doubt it.”
Just then gunfire is heard, then it stops.

Will goes over to the terrace and looks down at the two gunmen face down in the grass and Frankie in handcuffs being led down the stairs.

An F.B.I. agent approaches Will, they shake hands both covering the others left hand in a sign of mutual friendship.
Agent: “Thanks for contacting The Man, we responded immediately.”
Will: “Like I knew you would.”
Agent: “The courts will be busy; Hollywood bigwigs will go down and take others with them, their connections will surface, a decent-sized drug distribution ring will be shut down, and many will be doing a long stretch in prison.”
Will nods and smiles: “We’ll be ready to testify when needed, and thanks.”

Will meets up with Emily at his car.
Will: “What did I tell you?  Everything is alright!”

Will adds: “We’ll both have to testify, but just tell the truth and. . “
Emily interrupts him: “But, …”
Will stops her: “The truth is Frankie wanted you dead, kidnapping is just the gateway drug to the truth.” “Remember, Evil does not play fair – so sometimes neither do we.”

Will opens the car door for her, shuts it, and gets in on the driver’s side.
As he starts up the car Emily snuggles up next to him.
Will slowly pulls from the curb and puts his arm around her.

 

Written spontaneously over a few hours on June 3-4, 2018 with only The Stoned Private Eye, The 1970s, the Hollywood Hills, and a Noir Vibe as inspiration.

.

Experi-Mental 1970’s Noir Thrillers with a Psychedelic Twist

SEASON ONE – 13 EPISODES – STREAMING NOW!

..

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

Celebrate the Most Historic Year in Modern American History with the 50th Anniversary of 1968 – featuring DECEMBER

$
0
0

“Mrs. Claus” Copyright 2018 00individual TLL

DECEMBER 1968

EXPERIENCE the HISTORICAL HEIGHT of POP and ROCK and PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE!
and the Year that Shattered American and World History

Happenings:
Dec 2 US President Richard Nixon names Henry Kissinger security advisor
Dec 3 Elvis comeback special airs on NBC


Dec 6 Rolling Stones release “Beggar’s Banquet” LP
Dec 7 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit
Dec 7 Richard Dodd returns a library book his great grandfather took out in 1823 from the University of Cincinnati
Dec 9 NLS (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco.
Dec 10 Joe Frazier beats Oscar Bonavena in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Dec 10 Japan’s biggest heist, the still-unsolved “300 million yen robbery”, occurs in Tokyo.
Dec 12 Arthur Ashe becomes 1st black to be ranked #1 in tennis
Dec 12 Rolling Stones film TV show “Rock ‘n Roll Circus”- it is never aired
Dec 12 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Dec 20 The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
Dec 21 Apollo 8: 1st manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders
Dec 21 David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Graham Nash (CSN) premiere together in California
Dec 21 Glen Campbell’s album “Wichita Lineman” goes to No. 1 in the US
Dec 23 1st US case of space motion sickness
Dec 23 82 members of US intelligence ship Pueblo released by North Korea
Dec 23 Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders become the 1st men to orbit the Moon
Dec 24 Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from Book of Genesis
Dec 25 Frank Borman’s Christmas reading while orbiting the Moon
Dec 26 Led Zeppelin’s concert debut in Denver as opener for Vanilla Fudge
Dec 26 Bruin Ted Green sets NHL penalty record of 3 minors, 2 majors & 2 game misconducts in a game against NY Rangers in NY’s Madison Square Garden
Dec 27 Apollo 8 returns to Earth
Dec 27 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Dec 28 -30 Miami Pop Festival – first major rock festival on America’s east coast – 100,000 attend


Dec 28 Beatles’ “White Album” goes #1 & stays #1 for 9 weeks
Dec 30 Frank Sinatra records “My Way” with lyrics written by Paul Anka and based on the French song “Comme d’habitude”
Dec 31 1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian TU-144)
Dec 31 NY Jets win AFL championship

Album Releases:
1 Head – The Monkees Soundtrack
2 Cruising with Ruben & the Jets – The Mothers of Invention
6 Beggars Banquet – The Rolling Stones
6 James Taylor – James Taylor
8 For Once in My Life – Stevie Wonder
11 Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears
23 The Natch’l Blues – Taj Mahal
23 Any Day Now – Joan Baez
Brooklyn Bridge – Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge
The Circle Game – Tom Rush
The Family That Plays Together – Spirit
I Love How You Love Me – Bobby Vinton
Jewels – Waylon Jennings
Live at the Copa The Temptations
Love Is – Eric Burdon & The Animals
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas – Frank Sinatra
The Soft Machine – The Soft Machine
Sweet Child – Pentangle

US Top 20 Singles for the Week Ending December 21, 1968:
1  I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE – Marvin Gaye (Tamla)
2  LOVE CHILD – Diana Ross and the Supremes (Motown)
3  FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE – Stevie Wonder (Tamla)
4  ABRAHAM, MARTIN AND JOHN – Dion (Laurie)
5  WICHITA LINEMAN – Glen Campbell (Capitol)
6  STORMY – The Classics IV Featuring Dennis Yost (Imperial)
7  WHO’S MAKING LOVE – Johnnie Taylor (Stax)
8  BOTH SIDES NOW – Judy Collins (Elektra)
9  I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME – Bobby Vinton (Epic)
10  MAGIC CARPET RIDE – Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
11  HEY JUDE – The Beatles (Apple)
12  CLOUD NINE – The Temptations (Gordy)
13  CINNAMON – Derek (Bang)
14  SEE SAW – Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
15  CHEWY CHEWY – The Ohio Express (Buddah)
16  SCARBOROUGH FAIR – Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 (A&M)
17  I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME – Diana Ross & the Supremes & the Temptations (Motown)
18  BRING IT ON HOME TO ME – Eddie Floyd (Stax)
19  THOSE WERE THE DAYS – Mary Hopkin (Apple)
20  SOULFUL STRUT – Young-Holt Unlimited (Brunswick)

 DECEMBER 1968 MOVIES
December 12
The Killing of Sister George
December 16
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK)
December 18
Hell in the Pacific
December 19
Skidoo
December 20
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
Three in the Attic
December 21
Once Upon a Time in the West (Italy)
December 22
The Night They Raided Minsky’s
December 24
The Love Bug
December 25
The Sergeant
The Stalking Moon

.

“The Psychedelic Train Engineered By Psychedelic Psyanta Takes Point For Santa Claus!”
Copyright 2017 00individual TLL

Next stop January 1969!

1969, the last year of a truly incredible decade.
.
1967 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September
 . . . October . . . November
December

1968 Archives
January . . . February . . . March . . . April . . . May . . . June
July . . . August . . . September . . . October . . . November
December

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

The 1960’s and the 1970’s – The Last Era Before “The Loss Of Innocence”

$
0
0

“Goodbye To An Era” Copyright 2018 00individual  TLL

The Last Era before THE LOSS OF INNOCENCE

Growing up in the ’50s as a single-digit Rocker life was very much like the classic TV show “Leave It To Beaver”. The family structure, morals, the difference between right and wrong – which was difficult to strictly obey – just like it was for the Beav, were unquestioned traditions. But it was mainly about respect for everyone at any age, including animals big and small – all of this came naturally just like “Please” and “Thank You” in a world that observed and returned common-sense decency.

00individual admits to being part of the youthful rebellion of the ’60s and ’70s; but he was fortunate, he had experienced a natural age and growth progression (both physical and mental) at a time when that was possible. It also gave him a perspective of the traditional societal standards compared to open-minded and individual thought.

Although the black, white, and gray ’50s were slow movin’, and the colorful ’60s and ’70s picked up speed, those environments allowed for information to be acquired while gaining personal experience for the maturation process to allow for a fully-developed human individual able to interact in-person with other civilized humans.

That is all gone, it is straight to exposure of every facet of the world from the moment of recognition of self.  A social development that is apparently an evolutionary requirement for competition and survival in today’s world. Although 00individual doesn’t think that’s how it will play out.

However,

. . . while every child that grows up in this world will not know any different of what they will never experience, it will not be them that suffers the loss that they will never know, but a horrific loss to history and to those past and present generations who did, and who understood the preciousness of the innocence of childhood.

Innocence had a vital place in one’s growth – before it was replaced with insanity unleashed at every level.

. . . if only they knew.

No more was the essence of innocence reflected than in the Pop music of many groups of the ’60s and a little bit of the early ’70s. With early Brit bands; The Beatles, Peter and Gordon, Donovan, Chad and Jeremy and many others, and in the U.S.; Pop heroes The Beach Boys, The Turtles, and the band that truly represented Innocent Pop Rock the best – John Sebastian and The Lovin’ Spoonful.

The titles speak volumes as do the lyrics, the music, and the sentiment:

The Greatest Hits of the LOVIN’ SPOONFUL 
Do You Believe in Magic?
– 2:04 Younger Girl – 2:23 Didn’t Want to Have to Do It  – 2:06 Daydream – 2:18 Summer in the City (John Sebastian/Mark Sebastian/Steve Boone) – 2:39 You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice (John Sebastian/Steve Boone) – 2:29 Rain on the Roof – 2:13 Six O’Clock – 2:38  Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? – 2:00  Darling Be Home Soon – 3:34 Full Measure – 2:42 She Is Still A Mystery – 3:01

That’s it folks, while there can and will be imitators, this sound, these songs, and the uplifting feelings and appreciation for all ages that they provide can never be duplicated because the people and the times still knew of innocence.

Are we witnessing an evolutionary step?
A bypass of unnecessary wasted time in a world that has no use for natural progression?

Maybe.

With advanced A.I. and human gene manipulation taking place today, in the very near future innocence will literally be an outmoded human experience; a joke of a thing of the past.

In that case, today’s child is well prepared.

.

But for those who would like to vicariously experience innocence in Paradise:
“In The Future The 1960s And The 1970s Will Be Seen As A Mythic Paradise.” 

.

00individual would be remiss in his overall duties not to acknowledge the wonderful blend of the ’60s and of the ’70s within the ’80s – the absolute end of innocence – the vibe was still good, not as good, but the ’80s still had playfulness in the air.
And then . . .

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear directly below on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

1960′s Historic & Classic Rock Albums . . . . . . . . . . The Beatles (White Album) November 22, 1968 50th Anniversary!

$
0
0

THE BEATLES – The White Album
50th Anniversary!

1968: the Most Historic Year in Modern American History was coming to an end; as was the undisputed most influential band ever, The Beatles.

All of the tales told of the Beatles demise were obvious; four talented musicians who stopped touring in ‘66, the death of Manager Brian Epstein in ’67 made them personally involved in legal and financial conflicts, they had artistic differences, and all four worked on solo album projects. And then there was Yoko. The band oath of no wives or girlfriends while recording was broken by John with Yoko’s involvement (again, seriously was that necessary?) 00individual believes this was just a ploy used by John to advance the breakup process, McCartney took the bait and by ‘70 they realized the band would not regroup.

There were so many tracks on this double album that the grooves were so narrow that it took three returned copies to Crane’s Records in Inglewood and a brand new needle before 00individual had two vinyl records that didn’t skip.

Looking at the titles brings 00individual back to the ending days – the end of the 12th grade, and heading into the end of the 1960’s decade, 1969. Trippy.

Side one
1. “Back in the U.S.S.R.” McCartney 2:43
2. “Dear Prudence” Lennon 3:56
3. “Glass Onion” Lennon 2:18
4. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” McCartney 3:08
5. “Wild Honey Pie” McCartney 0:52
6. “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” Lennon, with Yoko Ono 3:14
7. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (George Harrison) Harrison 4:45
8. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” Lennon 2:43
Total length: 23:39
Side two
9. “Martha My Dear” McCartney 2:28
10. “I’m So Tired” Lennon 2:03
11. “Blackbird” McCartney 2:18
12. “Piggies” (George Harrison) Harrison 2:04
13. “Rocky Raccoon” McCartney 3:33
14. “Don’t Pass Me By” (Richard Starkey) Starr 3:51
15. “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” McCartney 1:41
16. “I Will” McCartney 1:46
17. “Julia” Lennon 2:54
Total length: 22:38
Side three
1. “Birthday” McCartney with Lennon 2:42
2. “Yer Blues” Lennon 4:01
3. “Mother Nature’s Son” McCartney 2:48
4. “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” Lennon 2:24
5. “Sexy Sadie” Lennon 3:15
6. “Helter Skelter” McCartney 4:29
7. “Long, Long, Long” (George Harrison) Harrison 3:04
Total length: 22:43
Side four
8. “Revolution 1” Lennon 4:15
9. “Honey Pie” McCartney 2:41
10. “Savoy Truffle” (George Harrison) Harrison 2:54
11. “Cry Baby Cry” Lennon, with McCartney 3:02
12. “Revolution 9” Speaking from Lennon, Harrison, Ono and George Martin 8:22
13. “Good Night” Starr 3:13
Total length: 24:27

The Rock
!965 – The Beatles – “I’m Down” – the B-side to the single “Help” – it took the Beatles until 1968 to finally return and kick some “I’m Down” ass and blow the roof off with some Hard Rock.

There are the expected amount of ballads, love songs, and ditties, but it was the Rock of the opening track, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” that clearly sent the message that these Lads still had some Rock that needed to be cut loose. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”, “Birthday”, “Yer Blues”, “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey”, “Helter Skelter”, “Revolution 1”, “Savoy Truffle” – this was some much-needed Rock to add to their Pop catalog.

The Album Cover
While the extremely understated choice for the cover was an obvious diametrically opposed reaction to the overwhelming detail and color of their Sgt. Pepper’s album cover – and once the Stones went lenticular with Their Satanic Majesties Request,  what was the World’s Greatest Pop Band to do? Apparently nothing. And it will always be seen as a lost opportunity. A blank white album cover with an embossed “The Beatles” and numbered may have sounded revolutionary chic back then but it wasn’t – it was a disappointment and a lazy uninspired attempt at making a non-statement. Boo!

The Cult of Album Rock
Even with the FM radio stations, only the most favored tracks were played, 00individual remembers these songs as strongly as the “hits” – evidence of many repeated listenings. The Cult of Album Rock through listening to albums repeatedly by oneself, or in a group, a party, or just hangin’ out was like the air, and the 1968 White Album was a terrific decade-ending precursor to The Beatles’ true Farewell Album – 1969’s Abbey Road..

.

– Please disregard any advertisements that may appear on this site –
00individual does not endorse nor receive any payment of any kind from any advertiser(s).

Viewing all 796 articles
Browse latest View live