Vintage Cleveland TV: C. Miller Chevrolet

Two things were Clevo Pop Culture staples on TV in the 1970's; horror movie hosts and hilariously on-camera stiff car salesmen. Ed Stinn, Del Spitzer, Ed Mullunax, Rick Case; the lineup was endless.

But none of those held a candle to C. Miller, baby. Looking and sounding straight out of a low-budget Roger Corman drive-in movie, C. was a staple on Clevo TV hawking his Chevys in spot after hilariously bad spot.

In this "Hee Haw" inspired spot, C. invents The Christopher Walken School Of Cue Card Reading w/ some inspired diction while shilling his Chevys:



And from 1979, C. crows about his auto sales while displaying impressive acting chops, ending w/ his classic catch phrase:

"My name is rev, and I am Canadian"

You know, I've been up here 7 years this July, but it seems like I've been here all my life, and I mean that in a good way. I've joked about it to friends, listeners on the show and here on the blog about how I've embraced Canuckedness like the proverbial crushing teenager, and it's all true. I can't imagine living anywhere else.

How bad is my hyper-nationalism now? I can rage along w/ this classic Molson commercial from 2000 now along w/ "Joe":



And I can't watch and listen this awesome Arrogant Worms song w/o getting a lump in my throat:



Pathetic, I know. But I love this place; it's my home. And when I get my citizenship later this year, I can truly say along w/ my boy The Shat, "My name is rev, and I am Canadian":

"Christmas Sermon"- Rev. Billy

Rev. Billy is an unholy trinity of Abbie Hoffman, Andy Kaufman, and Brother Theodore, and this is pure Gold:

"The Highwaymen (Musical Tribute) Promo Video"

Holy shit, a Wayne Newton impersonator is playing Johnny Cash in an obscure Highwaymen covers/tribute band; how's THAT for range!:



The guy doing Waylon is actually pretty good..

"All Alone"- Lenny Bruce

Lenny at his most charming, biting, and melancholy:

"Brave Captain"- fIREHOSE

I lived in Columbus, OH the same in the 80's as Ed Crawford when we (and everybody else) were unrepenant minutmen worshippers; when word got out that D. Boon died on tour in a van accident it was soul-crushing.

Ed did what any fan wishes he could do; hook up w/ George Hurley and Mike Watt and convince them to live on w/ Ed himself as the new guitar player/singer/songwriter.

"Brave Captain" from their first record "Ragin' Full-On" is a College Rock classic, and Ed basks in Rock God Glory:



And an incendiary live performance:



captain, there are doubts
regarding
your ability
to lead them
the men
lead them
there are doubts in your ability
there's too many blanks in your analogies
lieutenant there is talk
pertaining interpretations
the problems
describ
e them
problems
there are doubts in your ability
there's too many blanks in your analogies
the enemy turns captain
the captain turns civilian
the lieutenant becomes casualty
the lieutenant becomes casualty
the enemy turns captain
and the captain turns civilian
the lieutenant becomes casualty
the lieutenant becomes casualty
there are doubts in your ability
there's too many blanks in your analogies
there's too many doubts in your ability
there's too many blanks
in your analogies ....

"A Day At The Races"- Jim Carroll

Hilarious:

"TV Eye/1970"- The Stooges

There are many things that make The Stooges appearence at Cincinnati's Crosley Field in 1970 one of the all-time great moments in rock music; the absolutely hilarious/clueless commentary from the ultra-square announcer ("we seem to have lost him, we're trying to get a light on him now.."); The Ashton's and Dave Alexander laying down an absolutely ferocious free-jazz groove; and of course Iggy, who whips the crowd into a frenzy as he has fun w/ peanut butter, among other things.

Iconic:

"Fix You"- Young At Heart

From the fantastic documentary "Young At Heart"; Fred Knittle does Johnny Cash one better in this heartbreaking (and much better than the original) version of Coldplay's "Fix You":

"Walk On By"- Dionne Warwick

"Walk On By" is the greatest of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Dionne Warwick Trinity; David's lyrics are the picture of minimalist (but always expressive) storytelling as Bacharach's arrangment lays a smoldering subtle groove w/ an all-time piano riff in the chorus. And Dionne Warwick's voice back then was as pure an instrument as it gets.

This electric live performance is glorious:

"Water Walk"- John Cage

John Cage got it right, of course: Life (and the Chaos surrounding it) Is Music.

From the long-running "I've Got A Secret" hosted by Garry Moore: