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The Tale Of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra
''The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra'' is the seventh comedy album produced by the Firesign Theatre and released in January 1974 by Columbia Records. It is a send-up of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", which was not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but was referenced in his Holmes tale, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", written in 1924. Track listing Side one - London #"Chapter 1 - Not Quite The Solution He Expected" #"Chapter 2 - An Outrageously Disgusting Disguise" #"Chapter 3 - Where There's Smoke, There's Work" Side two - Chicago #"Chapter 4 - Where Did Jonas Go When The Lights Went Out?" #"Chapter 5 - Pickles Down The Rat Hole!" #"Chapter 6 - The Electrician Exposes Himself!" Title and narrative premise Holmes fans and writers of Sherlockiana have speculated on the nature of the giant rat story for decades. The Firesign Theatre version seems to begin with Watson about to write the tale anyway since the pair are desperate for money, but he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broadcasting, FM. They continued appearing on ''Radio Free Oz'', which later moved to KRLA 1110 AM broadcasting, AM and then KMET (FM), KMET FM, through February 1969. They produced fifteen album, record albums and a single (music), 45 rpm single under contract to Columbia Records from 1967 through 1976, and had three nationally syndicated radio programs: ''The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour'' [sic] in 1970 on KPPC-FM; and ''Dear Friends (radio program), Dear Friends'' (1970–1971) and ''Let's Eat!'' (1971–1972) on KPFK. They also appeared in front of live audiences, and continued to write, perform, and record on other labels, occasionally taking sabbaticals during which they wrote or performed solo or in smaller groups. The Firesign Theat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular use. The violin typically has four strings (music), strings (some can have five-string violin, five), usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow (music), bow across its strings. It can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and, in specialized cases, by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow (col legno). Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical music, Western classical tradition, both in ensembles (from chamber music to orchestras) and as solo instruments. Violins are also important in many varieties of folk music, including country music, bluegrass music, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Firesign Theatre Albums
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1974 Albums
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; following Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's resignation in response to high Israeli casualties, she was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin. In Europe, the invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops initiated the Cyprus dispute, the Carnation Revolution took place in Portugal, and Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt resigned following an espionage scandal surrounding his secretary Günter Guillaume. In sports, the year was primarily dominated by the FIFA World Cup in West Germany, in which the German national team won the championship title, as well as The Rumble in the Jungle, a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire. Events January–February * January 26 – Bülent Ecevit of CHP forms the ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers
''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers'' is the Firesign Theatre's third comedy album, released by Columbia Records in July 1970. In 1983, ''The New Rolling Stone Record Guide'' called it "the greatest comedy album ever made". It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1971 by the World Science Fiction Society. In 2005, the US Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry and called the Firesign Theatre "the Beatles of comedy." Track listing All tracks by The Firesign Theatre Side one #"This Side" – 22:16 Side two #"The Other Side" – 24:12Firesign Theatre. ''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers''. Columbia Records, 1970. Detailed track information and commentary This was The Firesign Theatre's first album wherein a single theme took up both sides of the album. In Phil Austin's notes to the 1987 Mobile Fidelity re-release of this album he says "''Dwarf'' is the story of the five ages of Man and in particular, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus
''I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus'' is the fourth comedy album made by the Firesign Theatre for Columbia Records, released in August 1971 on standard stereo vinyl LP, and Quadraphonic LP and 8-track tape. It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1972 by the World Science Fiction Society. The title comes from a line spoken by one of the two main characters, and contains a pun on the term ''computer bus'' since the story parodies then-developing computer technology. It also parodies Walt Disney parks. Plot This album, like its predecessor ''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers'', is one complete narrative that covers both sides of one LP. The first LP side is 20 minutes 51 seconds, and the second side is 18 minutes 7 seconds. Side one starts with an audio segue from the end of ''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers'': the music box tune played by the ice cream truck chased by George Tirebiter is heard approaching, played this t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychedelia
Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, mescaline (found in peyote) and psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and also non-users who were participants and aficionados of this subculture. Psychedelic art and music typically recreate or reflect the experience of altered consciousness. Psychedelic art uses highly distorted, surreal visuals, bright colors and full spectrums and animation (including cartoons) to evoke, convey, or enhance the psychedelic experience. Psychedelic music uses distorted electric guitar, Indian music elements such as the sitar, tabla, electronic effects, sound effects and reverb, and elaborate studio effects, such as playing tapes backwards or panning the music from one side to another. A psychedelic experience is characterized b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Austin
Philip Baine Austin (April 6, 1941 – June 18, 2015) was an American comedian and writer, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre. Early life and education Austin was born in Denver, Colorado and later grew up in Fresno, California, attending Fresno High School. His mother was a drama teacher which influenced his upbringing as an actor. He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine because it was the most distant point in the continental United States from Fresno. He also attended Fresno State College and UCLA, but did not graduate from any of them. He was in the UCLA Drama Department at the same time as another dropout, Ray Manzarek of The Doors. Career Radio In Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he was one of the first apprentices for the Center Theatre Group and worked on the staff of KPFK radio in Los Angeles. At KPFK he worked with other staffers David Ossman and Peter Bergman who hosted Radio Free Oz on that station. Along with Bergman's friend Phil Proctor, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Best Of The Firesign Theatre
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8-track Tape
The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, which pre-dated the 8-track system, surpassed it in popularity for pre-recorded music. The format was most popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Japan. One advantage of the 8-track tape cartridge was that it could play continuously, and did not have to be "flipped over" to play the entire tape. It is now considered to be obsolete, although there are collectors that refurbish these tapes and players as well as some bands that issue these tapes as a novelty(Cheap Trick's "The Latest" in 2009 and Dolly Parton's "A Holly Dolly Christmas" in 2020 with a track that's only available on the 8 track) The Stereo 8 Cartridge was created in 1964 by a consorti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In The Next World, You're On Your Own
''In the Next World, You're on Your Own'' is the ninth and last comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre for Columbia Records. It was released in October 1975. Track listing Side one #"Police Street" – 21:30 Side two #"We've Lost Our Big Kabloona" – 22:30 Detailed track information and commentary The first side of the album, "Police Street", features a group of sketches interconnected by the kind of police show satire reminiscent of Phil Austin's detective fiction (Austin being best known as the detective character Nick Danger). The highlight sketch is "Give It Back," a mock game show in which losing contestants have to surrender their parents' material possessions to the Native Americans. In surreal fashion, the police satire also plays out a family drama. In this drama the main characters are: the hard-boiled Lieutenant Detective Random Coolzip; his wife, Peggy, who is also his dispatcher; their son, Skip Coolzip, a junior policeman; and their daughter, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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