"Being There" w/Peter Sellers

[George Grand]

I watched this dvd today for the first time since it was released around 1980. I enjoyed it back then and now as well. Peter Sellers lovers will enjoy this. Very unique premise and dry humor.

Thrill seekers can stay away. No explosions, special effects, car chases, gladiators, gore, wizards, Ewoks, kung-fu, hip-hop, or other dumb stuff in general.

[beardog03]

Peter Sellers was a genius !

I really like his stuff....

[DarqueKnight]

I bought the DVD when it first came out in 2001. Excellent film.

[MrBuhl]

This is a great film - I worked summers in a theater when it came out and used to have the poster - one of many now long gone... Great movie though - "you tell Raphael...I ain't taking no"

[SDA SRS 1.2]

EXCELLENT movie!

[shack]

I's a shame only us old guys even know this excellent movie exists. The current crop of "comic actors" (and I use the term loosely) couldn't even stand in Seller's shadow.

[woodyjacobs]

Yep, showing our age. I watched it last year for the first time in 20 years or so, and it still holds up nicely. A great movie.

[cfrizz]

I loved all of his Pink Panther movies. They would have me crying with laughter!

[seo]

" I like to watch."

[George Grand]

I have used "I like to watch" since the first time I heard it.

Shirley was still in good form back then too. Okay, trivia question. When he has to leave the house for the first time. Who is the artist that recorded the music? I don't want to know the name of the song, that's a piece of cake. The artist! For bonus points, who played the drums on it? Googling is cheating, pull the answers out of your head.

[SCompRacer]

Eumir Deodato's funk, Billy Cobham's drums.

Count me in as a Sellers fan.

[George Grand]

If you didn't Google it Rich, you da man.

[SCompRacer]

Hell George, I was there too.

Long ago, I had a second home over at my best bud’s place. Dave P was one of seven to Mr and Mrs P, whom just had me call them mom and dad. They were a very musical family, and all the kids played an instrument. Dave played the sax, his dad played the clarinet, his mom played the piano, Jimmy played the drums, etc. Always spinning on a TT in the background was music. Could be Big Band, Mills Brothers, but mostly it was jazz. Like most blue collar workers in the hood I lived in, it wasn’t unusual to find the head of the household at the table with a couple of quarts of beer after getting home from work. Sometimes the clarinet came out by the second quart, and the first thing heard was 5’2 cause his wife was 5’2 with eyes of blue. I was welcome to join in with my accordion, but I hated being forced to learn it and never mastered it. My bud loved jazz, and he brought me out of my isolated rock genre. Well Dave eventually wed, and his wife to be disliked me so much I could not be the best man or even an usher at the wedding, so we eventually lost contact.

Fast forward to the future, but not quite present day. Several years ago I learned of Norm’s existence through a ‘putie forum we hung out in. We eventually hooked up and got back into audio. Though he doesn’t say much, Norm has a vast knowledge of music and audio. He also loves jazz, and sometimes says a name that generates recognition in a brain cell that I thought was long dead from daily doses of JW Black Label to numb the pain of chasing a corporate career. See, they wanted my thoughts too.

Anyway, that is how I know some things. And Norm, or anyone else, has ever fed me names in the album cover game.



I have a trivia question with five parts. What is playing the post, what instrument is it done with, which genre was it most noticed in, which genre did it originate in, and why didn’t you see it much in modern times?

[George Grand]

I don't understand the first part of the question, "What is playing the post?" Do you mean, "What musical instrument is also referred to as "the post"?

[SCompRacer]

Sorry aboot dat. I should have said "what part of what instrument is used."

[George Grand]

Not a clue.

[Soccerplyr]

Great book. Read it a few years ago. Didn't even know they made it into a movie. I'll have to grab a copy.

[TheReaper]

Sorry aboot dat. I should have said "what part of what instrument is used."
Oh, so you want to know what instrument has posts and holes :D

[mrbigbluelight]

And let us not forget another classic that Peter Sellers displayed his genius in: "Dr. Strangelove".

"Being There", "Dr. Strangelove", the "Pink Panther" series .... understated and subtle performances.

What a master !

[capecodder]

"After the Fox" another lesser known Sellers comedic gem. He was kinda creepy in Lolita as well. Look beyond the Panther series. They were more exploitive of his talents as opposed to showcasing them.

[TheReaper]

And let us not forget another classic that Peter Sellers displayed his genius in: "Dr. Strangelove".
Definately a classic.

PS. Trivia: harmonica and the polka?

[SCompRacer]

PS. Trivia: harmonica and the polka?

Believe it or not… This was mentioned on a Chicago radio program I listen to, Jazz with Dick Buckley, WBEZ, 91.5.

Playing the post was done by a jazz drummer sticking the cymbal stand, or post. It was reportedly seen first with big band drummers. Changes in stand metallurgy, or the stands being made with thinner metals, did not achieve the desired effect.