It's one of my least favorite Beatles songs, but Ringo's a good guy, and it's one that he managed to write. He says:
I wrote Octopus's Garden in Sardinia.
(And he wrote "Sardine's Garden" in Octopussia.)
Peter Sellers had lent us his yacht and we went out for the day... I stayed out on deck with [the captain] and we talked about octopuses. He told me that they hang out in their caves and they go around the seabed finding shiny stones and tin cans and bottles to put in front of their cave like a garden. I thought this was fabulous, because at the time I just wanted to be under the sea too. A couple of tokes later with the guitar - and we had Octopus's Garden!
Ah! Peter Sellers. I was just watching a Peter Seller's movie last night: "The World of Henry Orient." Recommended. Do a triple feature of movies in which 2 girls get together and things get crazy and show it along with "Ghost World" and "Heavenly Creatures." Or make a double feature with another Peter Seller's movie from the same era, "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" (especially if you disapprove of Ringo's toking):
Can we fit Beatles songs to other stories in the news? I'm thinking of 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' but changing the title to 'Spencer's Plate Glass Window.'
Everyone knows that "The Party" is among the greatest films ever made. My dad was an electrical engineering professor from the 60s through the mid-90s and had many Indo/Pakistani friends and colleagues that would come to our house often. Sellers absolutely killed the "Indian man" of that era/generation. Howlingly.
"Birdie num nums..." :-)
Watch that one after you've had a few tokes only if you've got the straight-jacket crew on speed dial.
I actually just bought a copy of "The World of Henry Orient." After I saw it on TCM I remembered how much I liked it. Actually saw it in the theaters in 1965 when I was 13. Cute, lovely movie. I remember what it was like to be 13 or 14 in the '60's so much different than now. What a pity.
Not my favorite Sellers movie. Has to be "Dr. Strangelove". Awesome.
Weird as it turned out, Ringo was the only one of them who could actually sing.
Kev said...
(the other kev)
Can we fit Beatles songs to other stories in the news? I'm thinking of 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' but changing the title to 'Spencer's Plate Glass Window.'
More like Geithner's Plate Glass Window. (or The Zero's)
Vicki - If you like TWOHO, you should take a listen to "Henry, Sweet Henry," the 1967 musical version. You can find the OCR on Amazon. Music and lyrics by Bob Merrill (not one of his best, but a pleasant score). The show got savaged by the NYT and died, sadly.
There are so many good things about the song that it's a shame that I'm turned off by the lyrics and some of the cheesy effects. Harrison's opening guitar lick is one of his best. (I'd love to own a Leslie.) The tone of the simple bass line is absolutely perfect. That's a lot harder to get right than you think. And yes, Ringo sings it well.
I went to a "weigh 'n' pay" deli near work. Had some heated thing with calamari, clams, and some red sauce. It was protein and edible, but a choice more like the one described by Fred4Pres would have been tastier.
Now imbibing a large Dunkin' Donuts Iced Tea with two wedges of lemon and four Splenda mixed in. Delightfully icy and has a caffeine kick like a mule.
"The Party" did show that Sellers and Blake Edwards could work great together (even if they hated each other) without being part of the Pink Panther series. To me, it's better than the other Sellers-Edwards collaborations, except for "A Shot In the Dark", which really established the blueprint for the Pink Panther series (and was actually based on a Broadway play starring William Shatner!)
Oh gosh. You keep mentioning these films and songs from my youth that I haven't thought about in years. I saw "The World of Henry Orient" when it came out. With my mom.
"....Do a triple feature of movies in which 2 girls get together and things get crazy and show it along with "Ghost World" and "Heavenly Creatures."...."
Isn't it weird that an era with such great music always has the lamest representations of it in the movies of the time. They always show these party scenes which never seem to look or sound like any party I was ever at. Can you imagine actually listening to that music while high. If they thought we were, then I understand why the squares of the time were up in arms about the youngins.
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18 comments:
What about Magic Christian where Peter Sellers plays Ringo's Dad? With Raquel Welch also for extra cheese factor!
(the other kev)
Can we fit Beatles songs to other stories in the news? I'm thinking of 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' but changing the title to 'Spencer's Plate Glass Window.'
Everyone knows that "The Party" is among the greatest films ever made. My dad was an electrical engineering professor from the 60s through the mid-90s and had many Indo/Pakistani friends and colleagues that would come to our house often. Sellers absolutely killed the "Indian man" of that era/generation. Howlingly.
"Birdie num nums..." :-)
Watch that one after you've had a few tokes only if you've got the straight-jacket crew on speed dial.
Can we fit Beatles songs to other stories in the news?
How about Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
I actually just bought a copy of "The World of Henry Orient." After I saw it on TCM I remembered how much I liked it. Actually saw it in the theaters in 1965 when I was 13. Cute, lovely movie. I remember what it was like to be 13 or 14 in the '60's so much different than now. What a pity.
Not my favorite Sellers movie. Has to be "Dr. Strangelove". Awesome.
Vicki from Pasadena
Weird as it turned out, Ringo was the only one of them who could actually sing.
Kev said...
(the other kev)
Can we fit Beatles songs to other stories in the news? I'm thinking of 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' but changing the title to 'Spencer's Plate Glass Window.'
More like Geithner's Plate Glass Window. (or The Zero's)
Is it just me, or does this read a bit like the "marijuana" tag is for the state of the author rather than the state of the composer?
Vicki - If you like TWOHO, you should take a listen to "Henry, Sweet Henry," the 1967 musical version. You can find the OCR on Amazon. Music and lyrics by Bob Merrill (not one of his best, but a pleasant score). The show got savaged by the NYT and died, sadly.
There are so many good things about the song that it's a shame that I'm turned off by the lyrics and some of the cheesy effects. Harrison's opening guitar lick is one of his best. (I'd love to own a Leslie.) The tone of the simple bass line is absolutely perfect. That's a lot harder to get right than you think. And yes, Ringo sings it well.
I love octopus salad. Cooked, sliced and served cold over a bed of vinegary Japanese seaweed. Does that make me a bad person?
I went to a "weigh 'n' pay" deli near work. Had some heated thing with calamari, clams, and some red sauce. It was protein and edible, but a choice more like the one described by Fred4Pres would have been tastier.
Now imbibing a large Dunkin' Donuts Iced Tea with two wedges of lemon and four Splenda mixed in. Delightfully icy and has a caffeine kick like a mule.
Is Octopussia where Octopussy is from?
wv: trituma, down the road from Octopussia.
"The Party" did show that Sellers and Blake Edwards could work great together (even if they hated each other) without being part of the Pink Panther series. To me, it's better than the other Sellers-Edwards collaborations, except for "A Shot In the Dark", which really established the blueprint for the Pink Panther series (and was actually based on a Broadway play starring William Shatner!)
Oh gosh. You keep mentioning these films and songs from my youth that I haven't thought about in years. I saw "The World of Henry Orient" when it came out. With my mom.
"....Do a triple feature of movies in which 2 girls get together and things get crazy and show it along with "Ghost World" and "Heavenly Creatures."...."
And "The Parent Trap"...
A Shot in the Dark. Pant-pissing funny.
Sellers' second to last movie was "Being There", which I find something of a commentary on the mania leading up to the 2008 election.
Isn't it weird that an era with such great music always has the lamest representations of it in the movies of the time. They always show these party scenes which never seem to look or sound like any party I was ever at. Can you imagine actually listening to that music while high. If they thought we were, then I understand why the squares of the time were up in arms about the youngins.
I thought Being There was his last movie; if not, what was the swan song, then?
wv: "reeness" -- the uncle that diddles little boys.
A little gem with Sellers is" The Wrong Box", also appearing Michael Caine, Dudley Moore, John Mills, and Ralph Richardson.
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