Assemblage of notes, posts, responses, texts from a Friday morning: the Grateful Dead's 8/21/72 "Dark Star," SGA, the world, Fall Guy (1947), Hockey East, Roger Corman, Mysterians

Friday 3/13/26

Latest cheapie noir for me: Monogram’s Fall Guy from 1947, based on Cornell Woolrich’s bluntly titled story, “Cocaine.” Narcotics were an unusual subject for a film at the time. Here they’re under the surface, so to speak, but you know what’s what and it isn’t good.

Stayed up late (for me) to watch the Celtics-Thunder game. What a tilt that was, even with White and Tatum out of the C's line-up. If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets to his spot around the free throw line, it's like he can't miss. Time and time again--same spot, bucket, same spot, bucket. A beautiful player to watch.

Also spent the night listening to the Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" from the Berkeley Community Theater on 8/21/72. The "Dark Star" from Veneta on 8/27 garners the gushier encomiums, but it could be the third best "Dark Star" of that week. It's less "musical," more of an exercise, which can't be said about the two BCT Dark Stars preceding it. Grist for my "Dark Star" book. In the history of Dark Stars, the two BCT versions play a similar developmental role to the Dream Bowl versions of 2/69.

Garcia and Weir attempt to begin "Morning Dew" during the 8/21/72 "Dark Star," only to be reabsorbed into what is happening and what's about to. It's like this audible lower layer of a musical palimpsest, or a quote pitched in a different key of a jazz number within a jazz number that becomes integral to the latter. And then they eventually go into "El Paso." As for 8/27: it's not an organic progression to me. It could be a practice. Extracurricular rather than curricular or purely "musical."

I hope it went well last night. I've been thinking about those children since you told me about them. The things that people do to others...the defenseless, the vulnerable, the innocent...those poor kids. It's like there's that and then people doing nothing but posting photos of themselves. This world.

Just checked…I have a piece on The Wasp Woman in progress. I’ll see where I get with that, but definitely pencil me in for The Masque of the Red Death and also The Pit and the Pendulum if you would/possible, as I feel these are the two key films of the Poe-Corman cycle and I have them earmarked for my book. I also plan to write on Targets at some point, and if I can bang through some stuff perhaps that can be here in the next little bit, but any of these films I just mentioned would make for good Guides at Halloween. 

Stuff from me will start coming in soon, but likely one piece at a time for time’s sake. Like an assembly line! 

I've been listening to the 1984 Dallas reunion concert by Question Mark and the Mysterians since I was in high school, and I remain taken aback by how good it is. There's a surprisingly rich history of live garage rock albums--from the likes of the Litter, Shadows of Knight, Seeds, Standells, Human Beinz--if you know where to look and this may be the best of them all. It's also among the filthiest things I've ever heard.

Greetings, buddy. Maine-BC tonight! Feel like this would have been a better game last year. I like Maine in this one. BC's been on a slide, can't score; they tend to fall off at the end of seasons, and this year their perch wasn't nearly as high to begin with. The only two Hockey East teams I think belong in the NCAA tournament are PC and UMass. The latter has the most to lose by someone other than themselves or the Friars winning the Hockey East tourney. Hope all is well in Maine. Fiction coming your way soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDzLUbym6Y69I&v=zLUbym6Y69I