My dear friend Mikael gave me this What Makes People Successful? pamphlet.
Is he tring to tell me something?
Turns out they pretty much answer their own question on the front cover.
"Ambition" and "Industry" are more or less the formula. But naturally they go on about it
inside. There's no year on here but according to Google's AI overview, it's from 1956.
Of course, Google's AI overview also thinks that my name is Claude. It was published by the National Research Bureau which was, again apparently according
to Google, "a Chicago-based firm specializing in shopping center information". That sounds almost unbearably exciting. Anyway, let's flip to the back cover where they have photos of two successful people
to use as examples.
Okay, I'll admit I was expecting something else. The founder of the YMCA? Um, okay, I guess. He was a rich guy who worked his way up from very little, so he fits the story.
But go ahead and ask every single person you know to name ten successful people and not one of them will say George Williams.
As a follow-up question, ask them either who George Williams was or who was the founder of the YMCA and they won't know that either.
Speaking of not knowing people, who the hell is "Georgia's Alexander H. Stephens"?
Turns out he was the only vice president of the Confederate States during the Civil War.
Super.
He was also governor of Georgia later on. I'm sure he was equally awesome at both jobs.
So these are bizarre choices, if you ask me. No Astor, no Morgan? Not even someone more interesting, like, say, I don't know, Mary Pickford or Henry Ford?
In 1956 Chicago this was the best they could think of?
2026 March 25 • Wednesday
Inspired by all the porn movie music I listened to last month,
I decided to read one of the several paperback smut novels that happen
to be lying around Gutbrain headquarters.
Sex Marathon (1969) by the almost certainly pseudonymous Alan Hunter
was actually kind of interesting, mixing a cutthroat, ladder-climbing, kill or be killed
in the corporate jungle story with, naturally, a sex scene every few pages.
First of all, while the book does cover a lot of ground—the anti-hero, Paul, has two
sex partners of different races than his; there's also a surprise lesbian, a neglected alcoholic wife and
statutory rape that's presented
as nothing but healthy, uninhibited good times—there is no sex marathon at any point (though
Paul goes at it with enough frequency and energy that there sure could be). Orgies are talked about but only occur theoretically, off page, and don't include Paul. The
scene on the front cover is not in the book. What is in the book? Paul marries a woman to manipulate her brother-in-law into promoting him
from stock boy to purchasing agent at a corporation that deals in metal products. There's no ceiling to Paul's lust for advancement, money and sex, however, and he's soon
setting up his superiors to fall so he can take their place higher up the corporate ladder.
And then he also wants to have sex with his secretary so that happens a bunch. Numerous other conquests, both sexual and professional, happen about once in each chapter.
Paul takes a lot of risks and manages to make sure they pay off. There doesn't seem to
be an endgame, just more money, more sex, more power. It's a very American novel and while not exactly a satire or critique of business-world
values and their concomitant depravities, it's not that far away from being that. It's also well
written and zips along. Whoever wrote it had no need, expectation or, presumably, desire to be coy or judgmental.
Paul tells his story in the first person and is simply telling us what he does and why
he does it. He's a sex fiend, a sociopath, a user and destroyer of people and he
has nothing to say about it other than that this is who he is and what he's doing. I'm not going to say you should drop what you're doing and read this book (though the text
is available online), but as far as mid-century(ish) acid-pen portraits of
corporate life and its concomitatn sex culture go, Sex Marathon is approximately a zillion times better than
the movie The Apartment.
2026 March 23 • Monday
2026 March 23 • Monday
For the 901st Soundtrack of the Week we've got more
video game music: Data East Sound Team's high-energy soundtrack for Chelnov, a.k.a.
Atomic Runner Chelnov.
After a short (13-second) "Credits-Start", mostly a heroic-sounding fanfare,
the infectious "Chelnov Theme" hits. This might make you think of the Run Lola Run
soundtrack but done video-game style. Like, this is 8-bit or 16-bit or something like that.
It has that bright, tinny, artifical sound and feel. But it can be really good, just like
junk food can be really food in the right circumstances. "Death Rock" has a swinging "Peter Gunn Theme" feel to it and, like many of the pieces
on this record, would probably sound amazing if covered by a surf or instro band. The next track, "Map-Let's Go Go Go" is similar to the great Chopping Mall
score (which will definitely get written up here someday). It has similar
tonality and pulsing, driving feel to it. Next is a cheery number, "Keep Running", with a sunny melody flying over
fast arpeggios, then switching to some crashing chords and a slightly more
shadowy melodic turn. While keeping the techno feel, a mood of suspense and intrigue is added
for "Naming", with call and response figures from two different-sounding
keyboards or whatever they use to make this kind of music. Things get much more dramatic and intense for "Ribigal", with a throbbing
bass line and urgent writing for the melodic lines that build in anxiety and energy. The "Chelnov Theme" is reprised for "Ending-Owatte Shimatta", which concludes
with a flurry of digital music stuttering. A killer funk groove runs through "Title-Opening" with sustained keyboard pads and
a great bass line. "Zone 1-Chelnov Theme" is a pretty straightforward reiteration of the main theme
but "Map Let's Go Go" is very different from "Map-Let's Go Go Go". No Chopping Mall
vibe here, just a killer groove and a simple repeated figure. It's a happy sort of tune. The next five pieces are all zones and they all have insane driving high-energy rhythmic fdoundations.
"Zone 2" has kind of a Middle Eastern modality, "Zone 3" keeps that adds some electronic swells
that sound almost like bagpipes. "Zone 4" is similar but with some Miami Vice-style electronic drums while "Zone 5" actually
has more of a swing to it and a more laidback melody with longer tones. "Zone 6" is kind of
like a fusion keyboard solo over a heavy rock beat. Swaying and insistent keyboard motifs call and respond to each other over another great
groove in "Destarian-Death Rock" and then some minor key figures over a straight pounding
drum sound brings you "Game Over". Triumphant and happy music is soon back with "Zone 7-Keep Running", which has a very bright
melody line as well as some electronically manipulated vocal sounds used percussively. "Queen Destarian 1" and "Queen Destarian 2" are both pretty heavy sounding, like this is
a final boss situation. These are serious pieces with dramatic and strong chords and a no-nonsense
beat. Finally "Ending-It's Over" gives us another reprise of the great "Chelnov Theme". I don't really want to play the game but I kind of want to play some of this music.
2026 March 20 • Friday
Here's another new video! A few weeks ago in Toronto, Gary Popovich filmed
Chris Cawthray, Andrew Furlong and myself playing a few songs in Annette Studios. The audio is
from the studio board and Gary's video, one single-shot moving-camera take, was enhanced
in post-production by filmmaker Nora Cawthray.
So what you see here is a
cover of Beck's "Paper Tiger". Beck is, of course, my second favorite Scientologist (after John Travolta),
and I do like playing this one. There were be another two videos coming soon!
2026 March 18 • Wednesday
New to the YouTube channel! Scott Friedlander shot, recorded and edited
the video of the
second of two times the Claire Daly/Ed Price/Rob Price trio
played a gig!
I wish we had played more. There were many times I played with Claire at her apartment,
sometimes just me, several times with Ed, at least once with Andy O'Neill on drums. And there were gigs I did with Claire with Dave Miller on drums. She was the real thing, an amazing person and an incredible musical force. Every time I got
to play with her I felt so inspired and energized. If only I'd met her earlier and played with her more. We lost her to cancer on October 22, 2024. You should buy her records, especially Vuvu for Frances,
which I think was her last record and one that I know was very important to her.
2026 March 16 • Monday
Wow here we are at the 900th Soundtrack of the Week! I think maybe
I've got a hundred more of these in me and then I quit at a thousand. In the meantime, this week I'm listening to Roy Budd's beautiful and melancholy score for
Man at the Top.
The "Opening" starts with harp and strings and then cymbalom comes in with a suggestion of the main theme. Fans
of John Barry's score for The Ipcress File will probably like this. The cymbalom handles the "Main Titles" solo, a slow 3/4 piece with ascending and descending four-note
phrases that could be heard as the four words in the title. This CD presentation places the "End Credits" music next, which is pensive
and mysterious, long string tones, harp and eventually a restatement of the main theme. The music gets more energetic, percussive and driving for "The Journey Continues"
as sharp piano pulses and fastly struck high-hat or some other metallic percussion
instrument pushes urgently. The main theme appears on cymbalom at the end. The piece that's actually called "Man at the Top" is more dramatic and suspenseful,
bringing in snare drum and low, ominous, long bass tones contrasted with sharp, high,
plucked strings. A variation of the main theme is played over a tense but cool groove. More unsettling sounds from the strings start off "Night Is Falling" but then there's
a lot of space and vibes, cymbalom, flute and piano all take turns filling it before combining
with other instruments. "Bedtime" is a sweet and lovely feature for acoustic guitar and electric piano, the main theme
again, but it's such a nice piece I don't mind hearing it so much. The flute starts out with the main theme duties on "In the Woods", soon to be joined
by strings and vibes. Plucked bass then adds a bit of bounce and there's an ethereal feel
that turns menacing and then intensely dramatic with very high-pitched string writing. A very short (29 seconds) cue comes next. "Peeping Robin" is a brief interval for strings,
almost like a bridge between "In the Woods" and "Change of Plan", which is more pensive string
writing that also has vibes and electric piano adding to the atmosphere. Then the pounding
and driving piano/percussion motif from "The Journey Continues" reappears. Then it's lounge time with "Bossa Nova", which is for sure a very conventional bossa nova
piano trio piece, very nice, you've heard others like it before. A very short solo cymablom and harp take on the main theme is "In the Office" and then "Joe Is Being
Followed" reiterates the piano/percussion mood from "The Journey Continues" but with the addition of guitar
and cymbalom. Another beautiful presentation of the main theme is presented by cymbalom and harp in "Swept Up in
Memories", followed by a reprise of "In the Woods". The piano trio returns in "Mingle with Me", but this time it's a relaxed, gently swinging
piece that plays around with the main theme a bit. The first of three bonus tracks is "Demo Jingle", a funky piece with wah-wah guitar. It's really cool,
with a great synth sound. "You Can Never Trust a Friend" is a laidback, acid rock soul whatever sort of piece that's also
really nice. Finally there's a bit of library music strings with square funk rhythm for "Pipe Tobacco".
2026 March 11 • Wednesday
Available now! The Elite Travelers self-titled vinyl EP, limited to 100 copies!
It's on special flamingo pink vinyl!
Of course it's also available on various digital/streaming platforms and the digital
version includes a bonus track, a cover of Maurice Jarre's theme from the movie
Jacob's Ladder. Get the vinyl here at Bandcamp. And here is a list of digital/streaming resources. If you're within striking distance of Toronto, come see our record relase show
at The Emmett Ray on April 19th!
2026 March 09 • Monday
The 899th Soundtrack of the Week is Jo Jo Dancer,
Your Life Is Calling, which mixes some of the stand-up bits from the movie
with a little of Herbie Hancock's score and a bunch of songs by various artists.
It starts with Chaka Khan's powerful "My Destiny", a tough electro-funk dance song and then
goes from there into the classic "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays. You almost
certainly know this song. Herbie Hancock's "Off the Cliff" is a short, funky instrumental followed
by "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. You know this song too. You also know "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" but this recording is
by Gladys Knight and The Pips and it has a different feel, borrowing some energy
from gospel and really swinging. Side A ends and Side B begins with more stand-up snippets and then we get Marvin Gaye's
"What's Going On", which is still as great as always. "Michelle" is another Herbie Hancock piece, one which sways and swings at the
same time and has feels like a love theme. The Spinners take the next track, "Mighty Love", the first song on the record
I wasn't familiar with. It's a really good sunshiney soul-pop number with strings. After that it's gospel time with Mahalia Jackson and "In the Upper Room".
I usually find gospel to be on the boring side but this one has a sultry swing
feel to it, a relaxed tempo that seems unbearably exciting. And of course
Jackson's voice has incomparable power and beauty. Herbie Hancock brings out the synth for "Theme for Mother", a piece of dramatic
underscore that suggests both menace and melancholy, followed by "Bass Behavior/Burn
Ward", which mixes a funky rhythm track with dialogue from the film. After one more stand-up clip, the record ends with the famous "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker
and The All Stars. You know this song.
2026 March 02 • Monday
Jimmie Haskell scored the 1971 movie Zachariah but the film
and its soundtrack album also feature music from James Gang, Elvin
Jones and others. It's the 898th
Soundtrack of the Week.
The first track is Haskell's main title theme, a lovely piece featuring flute
and electric guitar that's a bit pastoral, a bit melancholy, airy and dreamy. The energy
picks up when the rhythm section and strings come in. Then we get James Gang's contribution, "Laguna Salada", an instrumental
number that appears only on this record and subsequent compilations. It's the classic
line-up with Joe Walsh on guitar and it's typically awesome. The drummer is the MVP here. Country Joe and The Fish come next with "We're the Crackers", a great rock vocal number
with piano and electric guitar contributing a lot to the sound and feel. There's some
dialogue first that's probably from the movie. There's definitely characters talking
from the film after the track. Jimmie Haskell's arrangement of the "William Tell Overture" starts out straight but
then drums come in and give it a backbeat. After that comes a second song from Country Joe and The Fish. "All I Need" is
a sunny and funny acoustic number about dreams of getting rich. "Ballad of Job Cain" is thick with multiple violins and bluegrass singing about the
title character. These layers of fiddles are really cool. And then, hooray! James Gang are back with "Country Fever". There's a great drum intro,
then the bass comes in with a heavy riff, soon joined by guitar, and this time we get
to hear Joe sing too. It's awesome. Flip the record now and you get three Haskell cues in a row. "The Lonely Ride" begins as the main title did, with flute and electric guitar. Soon strings
and rhythm section join them for mellow, swaying music. "Camino/Used Horse Salesman" has a bit of dialogue from the movie before launching
into a tough rock instrumental that uses horns effectively and has some great electric
guitar playing too. At the end it unexpectedly swerves into a Dixieland jazz
bit that's presumably source music since you hear characters from the movie
talking during it. "Camino Waltz" is a pretty waltz piece with piano and strings and
something like glockenspiel in there too. It's nice. Then we have a piece called "Gravedigger" by The New York Rock
Ensemble. I guess it's kind of rock-classical fusion, rock rhythm
section with oboe and piano. Eventually a singer joins in. It's pretty good and I bet it works
great in the movie. The last band to join the party is White Lightnin' with a song called "Shy Ann".
This is a straight bluegrass number, just banjo and fiddle. The last two tracks are Jimmie Haskell again, with "Matthew", which starts with characters
screaming in the movie before getting into a very atmospheric, dreamy place with eerie
strings and reverby/tremolo electric guitar as well as some other electric sounds and
a trumpet feature, and then a reprise of "Zachariah".
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