To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Mary Badham as Scout and Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch Listen to the theme from "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Elmer Bernstein https://blog.oganovic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Main-Title-To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-Elmer-Bernstein.mp3...
The Mavericks ~ Here Comes My Baby (1995)
The Mavericks ~ Here Comes My Baby (1995) Mavericks lead singer and guitarist Raul Malo Written by Cat Stevens in 1967 this tune was quickly picked up by an English group called The Tremeloes. Decades later it was covered again by the group performing here, The...
The Big Lebowski (1993)
The Big Lebowski (1993) Messrs. Bridges, Buscemi and Goodman at the bowling alley The story of “The Dude” was not wildly successful in its initial release, but it has since grown into a place on everyone’s short list of cult classics. The film is now...
Orff ~ O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (1937)
Orff ~ O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (1937) Minnesota Dance Theater members performing “Carmina” O Fortuna appears at both the beginning and end of Carmina Burana, a secular cantata and composer Carl Orff’s best-known work. For better or worse it...
Merle Haggard ~ Okie From Muskogee (1969)
Merle Haggard ~ Okie from Muskogee (1969) I first heard this tune performed at an outdoor concert by an all-Native American band. Since that concert — and given the zeitgeist of the time in which it was written — I had always wondered (and I know I’m...
Idiot America by Charles Pierce
Idiot America by Charles Pierce As suggested by its subtitle — “How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free” — the premise of this book is that once upon a time our country was in a certain way enriched by dreamers, eccentrics, and...
Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
Downton Abbey (2010-2015) OK, OK, I will grant you it was derivative from other PBS/BBC dramas. But, honestly, I was instantly at one with the opulent sets, the countless period costumes, the beautiful English countryside, the last-gasp-of-Victorian-era soap opera...
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs by James Chace
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs by James Chace The book is subtitled “The Election That Changed the Country”. This is not hyperbole — author James Chace makes a very convincing argument that, indeed, the U.S. presidential election of 1912 was...
Schindler’s List (1993)
Schindler’s List (1993) Wartime photo from the actual Plaszow labor camp The late film critic Roger Ebert said about Schindler’s List and its director, Stephen Spielberg: The French author Flaubert once wrote that he disliked Uncle Tom’s Cabin because the...
Paul Bowles: A Life by Virginia Spencer-Carr
Paul Bowles: A Life by Virginia Spencer-Carr Ask a literature student “Who was Paul Bowles?” and you’ll likely hear “a well-respected American expatriate writer who lived much of his life in Morocco and whose works draw upon the material he gathered both from the...
Mad Men (2007–2015)
Mad Men (2007–2015) Will Rogers famously said: “Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.” And yet, look around your house, look in the mirror, look out the window as you drive...
Godfather I/II/III (1972, 1974, 1990)
Godfather I/II/III (1972, 1974, 1990) There have been books and movies aplenty about the mafia, but Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy had a particularly epic quality. The cast, the settings, the period costumes, and the scripts with their innumerable...
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) There are so many topics about life in general interwoven here — friendship, racism, aging, self-image, marriage, conforming to expectations — all handled with thoughtfulness and dry humor and spanning a long timeline across...
Elton John ~ Philadelphia Freedom (1975)
Elton John ~ Philadelphia Freedom (1975) EJ and Billie Jean King EJ wrote the this tune and released it in 1976 as an anthem for Billie Jean King’s professional tennis team of the same name. This muscular performance at London’s Royal Opera House is much...
Driving Like Crazy by P.J. O’Rourke
Driving Like Crazy by P.J. O’Rourke PJ O’Rourke illustrated by Lyndon Hayes I can say three things with absolute certainty: I love the writings of P.J. O’Rourke — I have read every one of his books. I know next-to-nothing about cars. This is the...
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dr. Strangelove (1964) Peter Sellers as ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove This dark cold war comedy presents Peter Sellers playing multiple characters. In this scene, his flat American accent and bald spot makeup portray the US President (some say Sellers modeled...
Bruce Springsteen ~ Dancing in the Dark (1984)
Bruce Springsteen ~ Dancing in the Dark (1984) Courtney Cox & Bruce Springsteen A handful of performers over the years have been given what might be called “honorary nicknames” that reflect their special place in the pantheon of performers. Elvis...
Beatles ~ Penny Lane (1967) ~ covered by Elvis Costello
Beatles ~ Penny Lane (1967) ~ covered by Elvis Costello The Library of Congress each year awards the Gershwin Prize for lifetime contributions to popular music. This clip is from the White House ceremony in 2010 when Paul McCartney received the award (you’ll see...
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nazar
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nazar Economists are an easy profession to poke fun at. There’s an old joke: Q: What’s the definition of an economist?A: Someone who didn’t have the personality to become an accountant. Then there is the quote attributed to...
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When Harry Met Sally (1989) This rom-com — probably my wife’s favorite movie of all time — purports to address (if not answer) the ever-vexing question: can men and women ever really be friends without romance (and whatever follows) mucking things...
Weezer ~ Buddy Holly (1994)
Weezer ~ Buddy Holly (1994) Weezer Weezer is another group my son Teddy introduced me to. In this song, the very singable melody and nostalgic lyrics about Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore made it instantly popular. However, the video took it to another level becoming...
Wadjda (2013)
Wadjda (2013) Can a young girl and her bicycle speak volumes about the universal aspiration for freedom of movement? Especially in the extremely conservative monarchy/theocracy that is Saudi Arabia? A place the where improvement in women’s lives has moved at a...
Traitor to His Class by HW Brands
Traitor to His Class by H.W. Brands FDR and Sir Winston Churchill Brands makes a compelling case that it is not hyperbole to state that the President was, as the title of his book suggests, a “traitor to his class”. A well-known joke of the time — one that the...
The Tonight Show (1954 – present)
The Tonight Show (1954 – present) The famed sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer – who I guess was paid to worry about these kinds of things – purportedly said: “Johnny Carson has done more to ruin America’s love life than anyone else in the country....
The Lost Spy by Andrew Meier
The Lost Spy by Andrew Meier British author Andrew Meier, whose book is subtitled “An American in Stalin’s Secret Service”, has exhaustively reconstructed the tragic life of Isaiah “Cy” Oggins (1898 -1947) in this carefully researched book. Oggins...
Paul Simon ~ You Can Call Me Al (1986)
Paul Simon ~ You Can Call Me Al (1986) Paul Simon withstood huge criticism from some quarters by virtue of opening up South African music to the world at the very time western countries were tightening anti-apartheid economic sanctions. I believe hindsight confirms...
I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
I Love Lucy (1951–1957) I recall watching the various incarnations of Lucille Ball’s TV shows with my mom and dad. As a woman AND a comedienne, she was undeniably a trailblazer within the still young medium of television. Lucy was willing to do anything in the...
Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971) For many of us growing up in the 50’s and 60’s Sundays were structured by attending church in the morning, eating a large dinner in the early afternoon, and watching The Ed Sullivan Show at night. Ed was a journalist and had no performing...
Debussy ~ La fille aux cheveux de lin (c. 1909) ~ Lang Lang, piano
Debussy ~ La fille aux cheveux de lin (c. 1909) ~ Lang Lang, piano Achille-Claude Debussy The English title — one of Debussy’s series of short preludes for piano — roughly (and clumsily) translates as “the maid with the flaxen hair”....
Copland ~ Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Copland ~ Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) Aaron Copland was probably the best-known and most popular American composer of classical music in the 20th century. In her extensive two-volume biography of the man author Vivian Perlis quotes fellow composer (and...
Bach ~ Gigue Fugue (c. 1705) ~ Ken Cowan, Organ
Bach ~ Gigue Fugue (c. 1705) ~ Ken Cowan, Organ I once asked a very good organist I know if he thought Johann Sebastian Bach (shown here in a statue in Leipzig, Germany) was able to play all of the organ music he wrote. My friend said, “He could, but he...
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) I have a theory as to the success of this movie. Yes, you can’t help but love the story of an underdog triumphant, and there were engaging performances by all of the principals — Richard Gere, Louis Gossett Jr., and Debra...
30 Rock (2006–2013)
30 Rock (2006–2013) I always had to watch NBC’s 30 Rock on a delayed basis on my DVR. I had to do this in order to pause an episode as often as needed in order to look up some pop culture reference, meme, urban slang, or non-sequitur by one of the characters...
Palestrina ~ Sicut Cervus (c. 1604)
Palestrina ~ Sicut Cervus (c. 1604) Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina The Latin words set here by the Renaissance master Palestrina translate as “As the hart longs for the flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God.” The weaving in and out of the...
Puccini ~ O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi (1918)
Puccini ~ O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi (1918) Cover of Puccini’s original score What makes for a great tune? What is the gift that Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lennon and McCartney, Carole King, and others like them have? ...
Jersey Boys (soundtrack) ~ Oh, What a Night ~ (2005)
Jersey Boys (soundtrack) ~ Oh, What a Night ~ (2005) The “original” Four Seasons This clip shows the “big finish” from the movie Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. This segment arguably deserves a special place in...
Billy Joel ~ Uptown Girl (1983)
Billy Joel ~ Uptown Girl (1983) Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley I always found this tune reminiscent of The Four Seasons (posted elsewhere), and the video shown here is among my favorites. At that time Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley (shown above) were married so...
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blazing Saddles (1974) This movie is peerless (and fearless) in its unapologetic send-up of political INcorrectness — while at the same time serving as an homage to the American western. Forty-plus years later it still makes me howl with scenes of: KKK robes...
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Chariots of Fire (1981) If, as I noted elsewhere on this blog, Blazing Saddles always makes me laugh, then Chariots of Fire is the counterpoint – a film that always makes me cry. This is an all-too-rare movie about people of faith struggling with their beliefs...
City of Lies by Ramita Navai
City of Lies by Ramita Navai Navai is a British-Iranian journalist who has had rare access to the people and places that make up the toxic underbelly of Iran’s capital. This is a story the ayatollahs and apologists for the regime do not want us to know about. The...
Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)
Hill Street Blues (1981-1987) Shows about cops and bad guys have existed forever but I’d say that Hill Street Blues — with its large cast, rapid scene shifts, imperfect characters, gritty plots, people filmed talking and walking — changed the...
Chance The Rapper ~ Sunday Candy (2014)
Chance The Rapper ~ Sunday Candy (2014) This Grammy award winner is ubiquitous, having performed on stages all over the world, on late night talk shows, and even at the White House. He has moved rap forward by writing lyrics that are thoughtful and even complex,...
Adams ~ A Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)
Adams ~ A Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) Ferrari (left) and Lamborghini John Adams John Adams has always sought out-of-the-box inspiration for his works: Richard Nixon traveling to China Robert Oppenheimer (the “father” of the atomic bomb) and the...
Britten ~ Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945)
Britten ~ Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945) Benjamin Britten Although nowadays it is performed as a stand-alone concert piece, this work derives its name from the fact that it was originally commissioned for an educational documentary film...
Paul Robeson: a Biography by Martin Duberman (1989)
Paul Robeson: a Biography by Martin Duberman (1989) The phrase “larger-than-life” is probably over-used nowadays but for Paul Robeson (1898-1976) it is an apt characterization. He had: A towering physical presence, a handsome face, and a mega-watt smile. An intellect...
Bernstein ~ West Side Story: Mambo (1960)
Bernstein ~ West Side Story: Mambo (1960) Album cover for the movie West Side Story The Young People’s Concerts featuring Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic – Sunday afternoons on CBS – helped turn me on to classical music. Because of those Sunday afternoon...
Rome 1960 by David Maraniss
Rome 1960 by David Maraniss The summer and winter Olympics are pretty much a snooze for me. Therefore it may seem unlikely how much I loved this detailed description of the summer events held in Rome in 1960. In a book subtitled The Olympics that Changed the...
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire ~ (2009)
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire ~ (2009) “Bollywood” movies are being welcomed in the US, and among the most popular has been Slumdog. It opened my eyes to both the mystery, the promise and enigma that is India. The movie also took an unusual approach in...
Jenkins ~ Gaudete Christus es Natus (2009)
Jenkins ~ Gaudete Christus es Natus (2009) Welsh composer Karl Jenkins (b. 1944) has been all over the map musically — rock, jazz, soundtracks, even television commercials. Here he takes a medieval melody and sacred Latin text (translated as “Praise,...
Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story by Steve Hodel
Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story by Steve Hodel The brutal murder in Los Angeles in 1947 of Elizabeth Short (AKA “the black dahlia”) remains an unsolved crime. There are many unusual and grisly details associated with this homicide: where the body was found, how...
Damages (2007–2012)
Damages (2007–2012) In the Netflix portfolio, there have been some terrific shows but Damages remains for me at the top of the list. Glenn Close plays a ruthless lawyer with a dark past. The foil to her character is Ellen Parsons (Australian actress Rose Byrne) who...
West Wing (1999–2006)
West Wing (1999–2006) Martin Sheen as Pres. Bartlett Besides a terrific ensemble cast, West Wing also recruited numerous acting heavyweights for guest appearances, including Hal Holbrook, Marlee Matlin, Karl Malden, Mark Harmon, John Goodman, John Larroquette, Alan...
House of Cards (2013-2018)
House of Cards (2013-2018) Kevein Spacey as Pres. Underwood NOTE: I have decided to leave this older post (below) on my blog site in spite of two unrelated but disturbing stories that surfaced in October 2017. The first involves the personal misconduct of the star of...
Boyhood (2014)
Boyhood (2014) If there were ever a movie for which the term “one-of-a-kind” applies this is it. So far as I can tell nothing like this has ever been seen before nor could it likely ever be replicated — the same actors playing the same characters in...
Beach Boys ~ Fun, Fun, Fun (1964)
Beach Boys ~ Fun, Fun, Fun (1964) These guys were solid on their instruments, and their vocals were amazingly complex — almost like barbershop quartet harmonies. The movie Love and Mercy portrays the relentless recording studio perfectionism of the...
Ken Burns’
Prohibition(2011)
Ken Burns’ Prohibition (2011) The technique of zooming into and out of a still photo — as well as panning around it — has come to be known as “the Ken Burns effect”. It creates the illusion of the photo being animated. Among his many...
When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner
When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner Harold Kushner Harold Kushner is a rabbi from the Boston area who wrote this book after his young son died from progeria, a rare and incurable congenital condition that causes early and irreversible signs of...
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