Surfing with...

Does anyone remember Joe Satriani's Surfing with the Alien CD from 1987?  It's the one spotlighting our favorite comic book surfer, Norrin Radd, as depicted by John Byrne.  Alas, the Apple Music version has replaced the Silver Surfer with a stylized guitar headstock.  It's still a rockin' instrumental Jam by one of the finest guitarists still around.  I'm listening to it right now in fact... or I was until iTunes crashed on me.

Coincidentally (really it wasn't planned), I had on the Original Television Soundtrack for Hawaii-Five-O while I was working yesterday.  It contains TWO iconic themes by Mort Stevens & His Orchestra.  The first is the main theme song, which I'm pretty sure my brother had piano sheet music too (Ventures version). And the second, entitled "Call to Danger", has portions that were used for CBS Special Presentations.  "Grumps" will be sure to recognize it.  "Mc Garrett's Theme" is now playing, and it's a smooth lounge lizard groove that would make Jackie Gleason proud.

While I don't have my own official theme music, the closest thing would be Ferrante and Teicher's "Theme to Midnight Cowboy", which I can play on repeat for hours at a time.  I just switch up whatever I'm listening to and it becomes my living soundtrack, whether it be instrumentals or anything else.  Why should Shaft be the only one living with music wherever he goes?

One of the topics today, if you haven't guessed it by now, deals with surfing.  Specifically, pop culture surfing, which is how I like to describe the ebbs and flows of my latest passions and distractions (i.e. entertainment).  Now, I know next to nothing about physical surfing, except for when it comes to the internet (double entendre).  But I like to refer to my latest craze as "riding the wave".  And while the conditions are good, I need to just go with the flow and enjoy the ride.

Which brings us to my current fan focus...

TARZAN!

I'm currently over halfway through one of the Edgar Rice Burrough's novels, which I hope to write about soon.  I won't reveal which one yet, but I'll give you a hint, it's not #1, but it once featured a cover by Neal Adams.

Since I'm not ready for that post yet, and I'm scheduled to help watch my granddaughter today, I wanted to get something out.  So I thought I'd set the stage with how this Tarzan wave began:

It all started on vacation nearly three weeks ago, when my family and my Aunt saw the musical production of Tarzan by the River City Community Players in Leavenworth, KS.  My Aunt has an uncanny (and much appreciated) habit of getting us front row seats at most of these events when we're in town.  Despite Tarzan not being clean shaven (don't get me started again), it was a great production, very physical too with the staged combat.  The ape make-up was particularly stylized, not exactly POTA-like at all, but effective nonetheless. As an added bonus, I'm using my ticket stub as my bookmark for said novel mentioned above.

Next, I received/retrieved? my latest issue of RETROFAN magazine from TwoMorrows publishing.  Issue #39 features an article about Ron Ely, TV's Tarzan.  Incidentally, I have my BACK ISSUE, and RETROFAN periodicals, not stuffed in a magazine short box, but on a shelf in my study like any good librarian would display.

Then my beloved wife and I watched the 1984 film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, staring Christopher Lambert, Ian Holm (Bilbo), and Andie MacDowell.  I remember seeing it when I was almost 14, and having at least one of the comic book adaptations.  Apparently, it won three Oscars, including Best Writing and Best Make-Up.  It's a very interesting film in the 2001: A Space Odyssey vein, and not just because it has ape-like creatures.  It's more because there isn't a lot of dialogue in most scenes.

Anyway, it realistically shows Tarzan's upbringing in the jungle, and it's no Disney movie, that's for sure.  However, when he get's to Scotland, the movie starts to drag a good deal, until right before the end.  It's still worth watching despite (I think) how it deviates greatly from the source material in certain plot aspects.

But then I went to my at-home used bookstore and selected one of my almost complete Neal Adams cover Ballentine Book editions.  If only I'd picked up that one in Delaware two years ago, I'd have them all!  But that's the story for next time...