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4.16pm
26 May 2014
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Firesign Theatre, a trippy comedy troupe, liberally laced their humor with
every possible send-up, pun and artifact of counter culture terminology.
First, the album cover of “How Can You Be in Two Places at Once,
When You’re Not Anywhere at All?” (1969) depicted Groucho Marx and
John Lennon on a placard with the message “All Hail Marx and Lennon”
in phony Cyrillic lettering.
There are some Beatle references in this recording in the cut entitled
“The Further Adventures of Nick Danger” which is a parody of a 1940’s style
radio serial about a private detective.
Nick’s nemesis in this spoof is named Rocky Rococo, a take on Rocky Raccoon .
There are other Beatles references in the piece…listen yourself…see if you can catch them:
Googling NOT PERMITTED!!!
list=PLyctCt4DHRJgP_z3tntPomJddMpAM88fB
If any FT fans are cruising Beatles Bible, we know you can add to the list.
The following people thank S. B. Fields for this post:
Von BonteeI know when it's a dream.
4.23pm
26 May 2014
Offline The Further Adventures of Nick Danger:
Part 2
index=7&list=PLyctCt4DHRJgP_z3tntPomJddMpAM88fB
Part 3
I know when it's a dream.
4.42pm
28 May 2014
Offline Thanks! I’m suddenly more interested in firesign theater now!
thisbirdhasflown
The following people thank thisbirdhasflown for this post:
S. B. FieldsBy hook or by crook, I'll be last in this book.
5.45am
1 December 2009
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I used to own the first few Firesign Theatre records, haven’t played any of them in 20+ years but they were interesting and unique and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, especially after a “jazz cigarette”. But to me comedy recordings have a pretty short shelf life; a half-dozen playings counts as a lot. I certainly couldn’t listen hundreds of times like I could to an album of music that I loved.
Another Firesign Beatles reference (which you of all Beatlebiblers shouldn’t have overlooked, S.B. Fields! 
) – The track on their debut album is titled “W. C. Fields Forever”
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
11.44am
16 September 2013
Offline The only Firesign Theater recording that I am familiar with is “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers.” The, uh… “inspiration” for that enigmatic title supposedly comes from the back cover photo of Bob Dylan’s album “Blonde On Blonde.” But I suppose this tidbit might be better appreciated by the folks over at the “Dylan’s Bible” website, if such a site was to exist. http://www.copertinedvd.org/co…..-_back.jpg
3.16pm
26 May 2014
Offline vonbontee said
I used to own the first few Firesign Theatre records, haven’t played any of them in 20+ years but they were interesting and unique and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, especially after a “jazz cigarette”. But to me comedy recordings have a pretty short shelf life; a half-dozen playings counts as a lot. I certainly couldn’t listen hundreds of times like I could to an album of music that I loved.Another Firesign Beatles reference (which you of all Beatlebiblers shouldn’t have overlooked, S.B. Fields!
) – The track on their debut album is titled “W. C. Fields Forever”
Ahh Comedy!
IMHO, without their comedy genes, the Beatles would have been just another run-of-the-mill-but-incredibly-great-band.
If I follow their comedic connective tissue, in no particular order, just flowing out like endless names inside a Crackerbox Palace: Goons, Pythons, Bonzos, Rutles, Magic Christians and Firesign Theatrics…it mostly boils down to John’s quick wit, pun-ditry, and silly poetry which owes a lot to the nonsense verse and playful rhymes of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and Ogden Nash.
You are correct, Vonbontee, ‘W.C. Fields Forever’ (on Waiting for the Electrican, or Someone Like Him …not to be confused with Waiting for Godot…hmmm) was not cited in my original overture at the start of this thread. My intention was, and is, to elicit FT references to Beatles from fellow Biblers. You hit one nail on the head…the FT track (WCFF) ends with the stoned guru reciting lyrics from The Word . Good work!
For the record, except for recent (last week) youtube forays into Firesign Theatre, I have not listened to them since 1976. I don’t have to, because they are etched in my brain. Forward Into the Past!
This following excerpt about Goon member Spike Milligan is from the website thebeatleshk.com under Song Stories: “He told Spike Milligan that ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ‘ and several other songs had been partly inspired by his love of Goon Show dialogue. “We used to talk about ‘plasticine ties’ in The Goon Show and this crept up in Lucy as ‘plasticine porters with looking glass ties’,” says Milligan who, as a friend of George Martin, sat in on some of the Sgt. Peppers sessions. “I knew Lennon quite well,” he said. “He used to talk a lot about comedy. He was a Goon Show freak.”
I know when it's a dream.
