SUMMER FUN WITH ELTON JOHN & THE MUPPETS AT THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA

I've done a bunch of posts about The Paley Center for Media, formerly knows as the Museum of Radio and television.  It is a hidden gem, and has served as a sort of pop culture mecca for me since I moved to New York in 1993.  I've watched different episodes of The Muppet Show and. tv specials about the magic behind the Muppets.  I watched what I thought would be a straight up viewing of the Oscars the year that Isaac Hayes performed the theme song to Shaft, only to find that it was footageof Andy Warhol lounging around with his friends while filming the Oscars.  Weird, right?

And what a treat to get to attend the premier of the VH1 rock dock about the history of Soul Train. I've seen that doc a bunch of times since then, and never fail to be inspired by it.

This summer, I needed a little break from the heat and thought of Paley.  I went to their digital viewing room - an amazing resource, esp. if you want to see old episodes of just about any tv show ever made.  The Center's permanent media collection contains nearly 150,000 television and radio programs and advertisements.

I chose a 1984 television special called Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets.   This is a quiet, thoughtful, and totally captivating piece that has lots of good interview bits with Jim Henson as well as with people who worked with him.

I also enjoyed viewing The Muppet Show starring Paul Simon.  Looooove the bit where he sings Scarborough Fair with the Muppets and it devolves into chaos.

I ended my visit to Paley by watching the musical numbers of Elton John's guest appearance on The Muppet Show.  As the Muppets close out that episode, they are all wearing sparkly, feather-adorned glasses.  Reminded me of what a great place the world is. 

A LIBRARY WHERE YOU CAN WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOWS, NEW AND OLD

Did you know that there is a library in Manhattan (and in L.A.) where you can go and watch thousands of television shows?

I first discovered this library in 1993 around the time I started graduate school in New York. It was housed in what was then called The Museum of Radio and Television. There was a special exhibit called Jim Henson's World of Television. In addition to checking out the exhibit, I went to the library to watch these programs:

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
The Jim Henson Hour: The Secrets of the Muppets
The Muppet Show (with guest Ethel Merman)
The Muppet Show (with guest Paul Simon)

In more recent years, after the museum had been renamed The Paley Center for Media, I went back to view these titles:

Sesame Street - Maria & Luis Wedding
Muppet Show (with guest Harry Belafonte)
Of Muppets and Men
60 Minutes: Backstage at the Muppet Show

All these shows, along with books and articles I read, gave me a decent working knowledge of Jim Henson's work in television and film.

Branching out from all things Henson, I returned to the museum in January of 2010 to be part of the premier screening of VH1 Rock Doc Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. I got to hear some great panelists speak about the show. The lineup included: Danyel Smith, music journalist (who also appears in the film): Big Bank Hank from The Sugar Hill Gang (of Rapper's Delight fame);Questlove, Drummer for the Roots and creator of the doc's musical score; and Tyronne Proctor, Soul Train dancer and currently choreographer.

This summer, I went back for more on Henson and found myself in a new and improved screening room where most titles have gone digital and the viewer can control what she watches with a click of a mouse. If your selection is only available via video, you go back up to the old screening room. Which I did do this time around, as my choice was Great Performances: The World of Jim Henson from 1994. It was great up there - dark and quiet. I kicked off my shoes and watched moving footage of Jim and also his peers talking about him.

Not long after, I went to Paley again and after some searching around the digital archives found living tap legend Savion Glover's Nu York, in which he could be found performing with folks like Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, and (then named) P. Diddy. (Yes, he and Diddy did a tap-off!)

Then I journeyed downstairs to the Bennack Theater to watch a screening of Funny Women of Television, a show produced by The Museum of Radio and Television in 1996. It was a good show, but sorely lacking in representation of women of color.

Here's basic info on Paley, and I encourage you to check out their website to check out their Daily Screenings schedule so ya get to watch things on the big screen as well as on the individual computer screens.

The Paley Center for Media
25 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6129
(212) 621-6600

Open Wed,Fri-Sun 12pm-6pm; Thu 12pm-8pm
Subway: 5 Av/53 St

THIS WED AT PALEY CENTER: SOUL TRAIN, THE HIPPEST TRIP IN AMERICA

It definitely pays to skim Voice Choices, the spotlighted events listing in The Village Voice. That's where I found out about this Wednesday's screening of the premier of a great-sounding documentary called Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America.

Growing up, I watched this show along with Dance Fever and Solid Gold.
So this is gonna be a fun trip back in time.

Here's info in case you want to go. What better way to get through the Wednesday hump?

Also: The Paley Center of Media (formerly the Museum of Radio and Television) is an amazing, if under-utilized resource right here in New York. I have been there for different exhibits about Jim Henson and the Muppets, and have watched great programs in their screening booths all about Jim's work as a pioneer in film and tv as well as in the art of Muppeteering.

Premiere Screening: VH1 Rock Docs

Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
6:30 pm ET
New York

In Person

Questlove, Drummer for the Roots; Music Producer
Tyrone Proctor, Dancer/Choreographer
Danyel Smith, Music Journalist
Others to be announced.

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Soul Train was one of the most influential and innovative music series of all time, providing a unique window into the latest trends in music, dance, and fashion. The charismatic host of the Soul Train party, Don Cornelius, became a television icon, bringing contemporary African-American culture into the national living room. This documentary, executive produced by Academy Award nominated director Lauren Lazin, spotlights performances and great moments from the show, as well as memories from cast and crew. Among the musicians featured include Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Sly Stone, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie, and Chaka Khan, all with “a groove that will make you move real smooth.”

Participants subject to change.

• This Event

  Members: $10
  General Public: $15

  Buy Tickets

ISAAC HAYES, ANDY WARHOL, & SESAME STREET

While watching this year's Academy Awards, I caught a fleeting glimpse of footage from when Isaac Hayes performed the theme song from Shaft during the Oscars way back in '71. I could see that he was accompanied by dancers, and right then I decided I wanted to see the entirety of that footage. So yesterday I journeyed to The Paley Center for Media (originally the Museum of Radio and Television) on 52nd Street.

I elevatored up to the 4th floor and hopped onto their database to find the 1971 Oscars. The listing appeared as "Tape 1 of 3" and also said in brackets "Warhol Vintage Television." The running of time was listed as 28 minutes and 55 seconds. That seemed odd, given that the Oscars last for 3 to 4 hours. The guy at the help desk was tied up on the phone so I figured what the heck, I'll just go down to a screening booth and see what this is all about.

So down I went to the screening room and entered the program's code. What it turned out to be was this: Andy Warhol had set up a tripod and filmed the Oscars from his own home. So the program alternated between his shots of the show and shots of his friends lounging around while watching the show. In the backdrop were Andy's continuous and barely-audible comments about everything on the Oscars. When Isaac Hayes came on the Oscars, Andy did catch it on film and made his running commentary. To me, it was an irritating blur of images, music, Isaac's voice, and Andy's voice. So I snapped it off and ran back up to the database room to find something else.

I entered "Jim Henson" and "Muppett Show" and scrolled down 'till I found a vintage episode of Sesame Street which featured Lena Horne, The Globetrotters, and Stevie Wonder. Yay! Back downstairs, I got to see a full commercial-free hour of Sesame Street Episode 536 when Maria and Luis were young adults, when Snuffy was still on the show, and when the pace of the slow was much, much slower.

After watching Sesame Street, I went back down to the lobby of the Paley Center to see a wall and video exhibit about women who have helped to shape the history of media. She Made It: Women Creating Television and Radio "celebrates the achievements and preserves the legacy of great women writers, directors, producers, journalists, sportscasters, and executives."

My adventure led me from the 80th Annual Academy Awards to Isaac Hayes to Andy Warhol to Sesame Street to Women Creating Television and Radio. I love how living in New York makes these kinds of adventures possible.

ISAAC HAYES, ANDY WARHOL, AND SESAME STREET

Reprinted from February, 2008

While watching this year's Academy Awards, I caught a fleeting glimpse of footage from when Isaac Hayes performed the theme song from Shaft during the Oscars way back in '71. I could see that he was accompanied by dancers, and right then I decided I wanted to see the entirety of that footage.

So yesterday I journeyed to The Paley Center for Media (originally the Museum of Radio and Television) on 52nd Street. I elevatored up to the 4th floor and hopped onto their database to find the 1971 Oscars. The listing appeared as "Tape 1 of 3" and also said in brackets "Warhol Vintage Television." The running of time was listed as 28 minutes and 55 seconds. That seemed odd, given that the Oscars last for 3 to 4 hours. The guy at the help desk was tied up on the phone so I figured what the heck, I'll just go down to a screening booth and see what this is all about.

So down I went to the screening room and entered the program's code. What it turned out to be was this: Andy Warhol had set up a tripod and filmed the Oscars from his own home. So the program alternated between his shots of the show and shots of his friends lounging around while watching the show. In the backdrop were Andy's continuous and barely-audible comments about everything on the Oscars.

When Isaac Hayes came on the Oscars, Andy did catch it on film and made his running commentary. To me, it was an irritating blur of images, music, Isaac's voice, and Andy's voice. So I snapped it off and ran back up to the database room to find something else.I entered "Jim Henson" and "Muppett Show" and scrolled down 'till I found a vintage episode of Sesame Street which featured Lena Horne, The Globetrotters, and Stevie Wonder. Yay!

Back downstairs, I got to see a full commercial-free hour of Sesame Street Episode 536 when Maria and Luis were young adults, when Snuffy was still on the show, and when the pace of the slow was much, much slower.

After watching Sesame Street, I went back down to the lobby of the Paley Center to see a wall and video exhibit about women who have helped to shape the history of media. She Made It: Women Creating Television and Radio "celebrates the achievements and preserves the legacy of great women writers, directors, producers, journalists, sportscasters, and executives."

My adventure led me from the 80th Annual Academy Awards to Isaac Hayes to Andy Warhol to Sesame Street to Women Creating Television and Radio. I love how living in New York makes these kinds of adventures possible.

AHMIR THOMPSON - AKA QUESTLOVE - PRESENTS HIS NEW BOOK, MO' META BLUES

Fow a while now, I've been following Questlove, drummer for The Roots, on Twitter.  Read a whole bunch of interviews with him, too. He has this really nice combo of humor and a serious ability to reflect on and analyze music and its relationship to everything else in life.

In addition to catching him on his nightly gig with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, I've seen him live twice.  The first time, he was a panelist at the premier screening of the VHI rock doc Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America (see my post on it HERE).  Given the huge role that Soul Train played in his own life, Ahmir made for a fantastic presenter at this Paley Center event.

The second time I saw - and briefly met - Ahmir was last week at an event to promote his new book Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove.  At Powerhouse Books in Dumbo, Ahmir answered questions posed by both his co-author Ben Greenman and by audience members.

Questlove first shared his reluctance to write the book. "I thought my story would be boring, " he stated.  [Wait.  What??!! ] He continued:  "My life has not been mired in the narrative of drugs and violence where I was saved by music."  

He also expanded upon his reputation for having an incredible musical memory, one where he refers to particular songs to recall moments in his own personal history.  The first time he heard guitarist Bill Withers, at age 2, is when he cut his left hand pretending to play a glass guitar-shaped ashtray.

As the son of a singer, Ahmir grew up steeped in music.  His parents pretty much eliminated television in order to make room for music.  His childhood home contained a 5000+ record collection, one which reflected the particular tastes of each member of the family.

Questlove remembers 1996 as being a turning point in the life of Hip Hop.  "It's when Adam and Eve bit into the Apple: Hip Hop discovered consumer culture."

Here's an abbreviated, paraphrased recap of  the audience Q and A portion of the evening:

Q:  What are you listening to now?

A: Comedy records, including Tig Notaro. 

Q:  Who would be part of your dream music collaboration?

A:  Bill Withers.

Q:  What do you think of Kanye West's new album, Yeezus.

A: You have to listen to live with an album for a month before you pass judgement on it.

Q: What do you hope to have written four years from now?

A: I am writing a book about Soul Train.

Q:  How do you have time to do everything you do?  [Ed Note: In addition to being a drummer, Ahmir is a DJ, music journalist, record producer, and joint frontman for the The Roots, which is the in-house band for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.}

A: I will answer this question in 10 words or less:

Average
Workday
19
Hours
Time
For 
Absolutely 
Nothing 
Else 
Dammit!

Post Script: The day after the PowerHouse event, Ahmir tweeted: "First day of summer. Sick. :( " and I tweeted back: "The world needs you well-rested, good man."

I wanna see this guy live a good, long life.

Photo Credit: biography.com

WHAT WAS THE MAGIC OF SOUL TRAIN? (DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF DON CORNELIUS)

This post, originally published in 2010, is dedicated to the memory of Don Cornelius.
Last Wednesday, January 26, The Paley Media Center held a permiere screening and panel discssion of VH1's Rock Doc Soul Train: the Hippest Trip in America.

The makers of this film did an amazing job of capturing the historical significance of Soul Train as well as the accomplishments of its founder, owner, and host Don Cornelius.

Interesting Facts About Soul Train

* Soul Train is the longest continuously-running first-run syndicated television program in the country.

* The dancers on Soul Train were the heart of the show, but were not paid. As guest panelist and Soul Train dancer Tyrone Proctor said, "Dancers are often at the bottom of the totem pole."

* Chicago native and Soul Train founder Don Cornelius, an interviewer of players in the Civil Rights Movement, was one of the first African heritage people to own and run a television show. He hosted the show from 1971 until 1993 an and guest hosts appeared from then until 2006, including Mystro Clark, Shemar Moore, and Dorian Gregory. Cornelius, who owned the show for its entire run, sold it to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

* Don was not a big fan of Hip-Hop, but aired the artists anyway because he wished to give people what they wanted.

The Panel Discussion

The post-screening panel discussion was made up of these folks:

Moderator: Danyel Smith, Music Journalist (who also appears in the film)

Guests: Big Bank Hank from The Sugar Hill Gang (of Rapper's Delight fame)
Questlove, Drummer for the Roots, Creator of Musical Score for the documentary
Tyronne Proctor, Soul Train Dancer, Choreographer

By the time all the panelists got up to the stage, Danyel Smith was choking back tears of deeply-felt emotion. I think the deep significance of this film and of the show had hit her.

Big Bank Hank, of Sugarhill Gang fame, said right after the screening: "I'm standing on history, on sacred ground." He shared that although Don was noted to not have big love for Hip-Hop, Mr. Cornelius gave Hank a warm welcome onto the set.

From the number of stories shared by Tyronne, the former Soul Train dancer, you could see that the dancers were truly the heart and soul of the show. In order to get onto the set, Tyronne was smuggled in via the trunk of a car! He talked about the anticipation of each weekend that the show was filmed, and of the reciprocal admiration between the show's dancers and its musical guests. Tyronne talked about how Don Cornelius made something which was audio - African American music - into something visual.

There were other former Soul Train dancers in the audience, and they shared their own vignettes from back in the day.

Questlove said although his parents were strict with him growing up, even on the tv-watching front, they did wake him up at 12:30 am so he could join the family in watching the 1:00 am airing of Soul Train (that's the time it came on in Philly). Since the early years of Soul Train episodes were not recorded, Quest worked his ass off to find and collect VHS recordings of the show from as far away as Japan. He is said to carry the whole show around in a bag of VHS tapes!

Here's an exerpt of Glide Magazine's interview with Questlove about his work on the Soul Train doc:

Soul Train is probably the most influential show of my entire life. It’s often pained me that I would have to go through extreme measure$ – and when you spell the word “measures,” there should be a dollar sign through the “s” at the end of “measures” – to collect the show. I guess the reason it’s so hard to get is, not foreseeing the future of VHS and DVDs, you know, a digital future, Don [Cornelius] really never made any publishing arrangements or artist arrangements for future reruns or reselling of the show. It prevented Soul Train from ever showing reruns, even though the original show lasted for a good 36 seasons.

[...]

Strange enough, the one of maybe four shows that I was allowed to watch in my childhood was Soul Train. So, this instantly became a labor of love because a lot of my memories of first seeing television, all of them have to do with Soul Train. It was kind of scaring people a little bit, because as they were showing me the reruns, I was recalling to them . . . At first, they didn’t believe me. They were like, “Ok, what three-year-old has a memory of Michael Jackson doing the robot for the first time?” It would be to the point where they would ask me, “Well, what are your memories of episode 206, with the Average White Band and the Main Ingredient?” And I’d be like, “Ok, they were performing on the floor. I remember Don Cornelius talking about collard greens and black-eyed peas in the introduction.” And they started jaw dropping, because they put the tape in, and you know, I’ve not seen this since I was a kid. It’s because it was the only thing I was allowed to watch. My parents didn’t want me sitting in front of a TV four to five hours a day. Instead, I sat in front of a turntable four to five hours a day.

WHAT WAS THE MAGIC OF SOUL TRAIN?

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to February's Black History Month.

Last Wednesday, January 26, The Paley Media Center held a permiere screening and panel discssion of VH1's Rock Doc Soul Train: the Hippest Trip in America. The makers of this film did an amazing job of capturing the historical significance of Soul Train as well as the accomplishments of its founder, owner, and host Don Cornelius.

Interesting Facts About Soul Train

* Soul Train is the longest continuously-running first-run syndicated television program in the country.

* The dancers on Soul Train were the heart of the show, but were not paid. As guest panelist and Soul Train dancer Tyrone Proctor said, "Dancers are often at the bottom of the totem pole."

* Chicago native and Soul Train founder Don Cornelius, an interviewer of players in the Civil Rights Movement, was one of the first African heritage people to own and run a television show. He hosted the show from 1971 until 1993 an and guest hosts appeared from then until 2006, including Mystro Clark, Shemar Moore, and Dorian Gregory. Cornelius, who owned the show for its entire run, sold it to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

* Don was not a big fan of Hip-Hop, but aired the artists anyway because he wished to give people what they wanted.

The Panel Discussion

The post-screening panel discussion was made up of these folks:

Moderator: Danyel Smith, Music Journalist (who also appears in the film)

Guests: Big Bank Hank from The Sugar Hill Gang (of Rapper's Delight fame)
Questlove, Drummer for the Roots, Creator of Musical Score for the documentary
Tyronne Proctor, Soul Train Dancer, Choreographer
By the time all the panelists got up to the stage, Danyel Smith was choking back tears of deeply-felt emotion. I think the deep significance of this film and of the show had hit her.

Big Bank Hank, of Sugarhill Gang fame, said right after the screening: "I'm standing on history, on sacred ground." He shared that although Don was noted to not have big love for Hip-Hop, Mr. Cornelius gave Hank a warm welcome onto the set.

From the number of stories shared by Tyronne, the former Soul Train dancer, you could see that the dancers were truly the heart and soul of the show. In order to get onto the set, Tyronne was smuggled in via the trunk of a car! He talked about the anticipation of each weekend that the show was filmed, and of the reciprocal admiration between the show's dancers and its musical guests. Tyronne talked about how Don Cornelius made something which was audio - African American music - into something visual. There were other former Soul Train dancers in the audience, and they shared their own vignettes from back in the day.

Questlove said although his parents were strict with him growing up, even on the tv-watching front, they did wake him up at 12:30 am so he could join the family in watching the 1:00 am airing of Soul Train (that's the time it came on in Philly). Since the early years of Soul Train episodes were not recorded, Quest worked his ass off to find and collect VHS recordings of the show from as far away as Japan. He is said to carry the whole show around in a bag of VHS tapes! Here's an exerpt of Glide Magazine's interview with him about his work on the Soul Train doc:

Soul Train is probably the most influential show of my entire life. It’s often pained me that I would have to go through extreme measure$ – and when you spell the word “measures,” there should be a dollar sign through the “s” at the end of “measures” – to collect the show. I guess the reason it’s so hard to get is, not foreseeing the future of VHS and DVDs, you know, a digital future, Don [Cornelius] really never made any publishing arrangements or artist arrangements for future reruns or reselling of the show. It prevented Soul Train from ever showing reruns, even though the original show lasted for a good 36 seasons.

[...]

Strange enough, the one of maybe four shows that I was allowed to watch in my childhood was Soul Train. So, this instantly became a labor of love because a lot of my memories of first seeing television, all of them have to do with Soul Train. It was kind of scaring people a little bit, because as they were showing me the reruns, I was recalling to them . . . At first, they didn’t believe me. They were like, “Ok, what three-year-old has a memory of Michael Jackson doing the robot for the first time?” It would be to the point where they would ask me, “Well, what are your memories of episode 206, with the Average White Band and the Main Ingredient?” And I’d be like, “Ok, they were performing on the floor. I remember Don Cornelius talking about collard greens and black-eyed peas in the introduction.” And they started jaw dropping, because they put the tape in, and you know, I’ve not seen this since I was a kid. It’s because it was the only thing I was allowed to watch. My parents didn’t want me sitting in front of a TV four to five hours a day. Instead, I sat in front of a turntable four to five hours a day.

I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE

I know that New York is known for its nightlife, but honestly, I've never been part of it - at least on week nights. This week, however, I've discovered how great it is to go out on a "school night." There is an intimacy about night that I love, a space carved outwhere people put aside the worries of the work day and focus on hanging out together or going to cultural events.

Tuesday, I went to Comedy Night at Housing Works Book cafe. On the plus side, some of the comedians me falling out of my seat. On the minus side, some of the material was downright racist.

Wednesday (tonight) I went to the premier of the VH1 documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. I'll be reporting back on that in the next day or two. Fun standing inches away from The Sugar Hill Gang! It was followed by a panel of people who were part of Soul Train in some way. The event took place at The Paley Media Center, which is a hidden gem of Manhattan.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I'll be heading out to a party for volunteers of Housing Works. I can't wait to meet everybody!

Lesson learned this week: don't wait 'till the weekend to do something fun. Week night outings are energizing and keep the week going strong. Makes me feel like I'm living every day to the fullest.