I put that envelope under that garbage.
Very funny song. To this day, I still quote the line to my students, “I was sittin’ on the Group W bench with the oppressed, repressed, suppressed . . . the mother rapers . . . the father stabbers . . . the FATHER RAPERS . . . .”
I don’t even think about Alice or her restaurant on Thanksgiving Day or any other day for that matter.
Years ago I had company over on Thanksgiving that insisted on playing that song in front of elderly relatives that have since passed on. They thought that these old folks were going to be entertained or enlightened by it. They sat through the entire 20 minutes in stony silence. Definitely an awkward moment!
I used to enjoy my trips to the real Alice’s Restaurant, because it always involved a motorcycle ride. One of the few things I miss about living in the Bay Area.
http://www.alicesrestaurant.com/
I’ve always enjoyed Alice’s Restaurant but his “City of New Orleans” is one of his best and I never get tired of listening to it.........
How does the 50th anniversary of a 1967 song occur in 2015, anyway? Common Core math? Or did the PBS people “identify” this as the 50th anniversary, therefore it is?
Fond memories of youth. We always felt special when songs mentioned something about Massachusetts. And for those of us who grew up there, there’s nothing like Thanksgiving in New England. Package that up for us with some humor and beat, and you’ve a winner.
Interesting interview overall. Love the fact that it’s about music first and foremost for him, and that he thumbs his nose at being put in a box.
The comments about why he registered as a republican are...thought provoking...and could provoke different thoughts today than they might have 20 or even 10 years ago...especially the part about “guilt by association”.
Several months later, a windmill which had been near the garbage pile, mysteriously disappeared from the property. It had been disassembled over night, and carried away, piece by piece. The neighbor was justifiably angry, as there was some value to complete, but unused, windmills as collector's items and antiques. I found out many years later, that the same person who dumped the garbage was the one who stole the windmill. He got the last laugh.
I saw it back in 1970 at the theater. A waste of time. The University students really went for it as the bookstore had several cartoon books of the movie, poorly drawn.
Actually, the poorly drawn cartoons were better than the movie.
The only thing memorable about the movie was the trailer shown a few days before, especially the scene where the camera moves away from what appears to be the cover of SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND and all the characters are singing the theme to Alice’s Restaurant.
I distinctly remember a Tiny Tim character singing his heart out.
The song was very clever and very timely, but I remember seeing the movie and not being at all impressed.