1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 And now, Shickley Mix. Ready, Mr. Shickley? 2 00:00:04,019 --> 00:00:07,840 The answer to that inquiry is yes. Here's the theme. 3 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:35,640 Hello there, I'm Peter Shickley, and this is Shickley Mix, a program dedicated to the proposition that all musics are created equal. Or as Duke Ellington put it, if it sounds good, it is good. 4 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:46,040 And I'd like to take a moment here to point out, with a good deal of gratitude, that our bills are paid by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Endowment for the Arts, 5 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:58,340 with additional support from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. And from this stellar station, whose state-of-the-art studio is studded with stunningly sturdy stories. 6 00:00:58,620 --> 00:01:10,720 Oh man, there goes the alliteration alleviation alarm. So let me just say that what's produced here is distributed far and wide by PRI, Public Radio International. 7 00:01:11,620 --> 00:01:22,300 I'm one of those people. I'm one of those people who hardly ever remember their dreams. I know that you can train yourself to remember them better, you know, writing them down and everything. And I guess if I cared enough, I'd do that. 8 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:30,600 But I've always thought that one of the things that makes remembering dreams difficult is that you're trying, in a logical frame of mind, 9 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:42,360 to reconstruct things that are inconceivable in a logical frame of mind. I'm not talking about things that defy the laws of nature, but you could represent them, say, with an animated cartoon. 10 00:01:43,140 --> 00:01:53,900 I'm talking about things that you literally cannot imagine in a logical frame of mind. I caught onto the tail of such a dream once. It was when I was a student at Swarthmore College. 11 00:01:54,100 --> 00:02:05,980 And just as I was falling asleep, something woke me up rather suddenly. And because of that, I was able to capture the inconceivable thing I was dreaming. I dreamt that I was on the front lawn of the campus. 12 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:16,260 And I was thinking to myself, now, I wouldn't really do this, but if I wanted to make a big impression on campus, I would wear this certain musical chord around. 13 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:27,160 I remember exactly what it was, G6 in the first inversion. It's just like this. It's a sweet chord. Maybe even a sexy chord. 14 00:02:27,380 --> 00:02:38,120 But also a chord that's been used in a lot of, well, trite and kitschy music. And the point is that I wasn't thinking about wearing a big piece of paper with the chord written on it, 15 00:02:38,180 --> 00:02:50,480 or wearing a loudspeaker that was playing the chord, or anything like that. What I was considering was, what I was considering doing in that dream was actually wearing the chord in a way that I can't describe because in a waking state, 16 00:02:50,680 --> 00:03:01,540 I can't picture it. I can't imagine it. It's logically inconceivable. My description of that dream may tell you something about my deep down desire to make a flashy impression on campus, 17 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:11,600 but it doesn't begin to let you in on the actual experience of the dream itself because that is inherently irretrievable, even in any detailed way by me. 18 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:23,860 But what also interests me about that dream is the sartorial ambition it reveals. I think of myself as pretty much of a slob. It's not that I don't care at all. I like my favorite clothes. 19 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:36,160 It's just that I hate shopping for clothes. That is, I hate finding nothing I like and then having to go somewhere else. So I've become one of those catalog cowboys. And then when I do find something I really like, 20 00:03:36,220 --> 00:03:47,600 I hate giving it up when it starts to wear out, as, like the rest of us, it will do. So I end up wearing things that are a little bit frayed around the edges. But I shouldn't complain. As a man, I've got it easy. 21 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:56,320 It's much more complicated for a woman. After all, one of the things that clothing is about is sex and power. Two things. 22 00:03:56,500 --> 00:04:07,800 Two of the things that clothing is about are sex and power, especially sex. And since most men seem to react, shall we say, more directly than most women do, 23 00:04:07,940 --> 00:04:16,640 notice how carefully I phrased that, since that's true, women, if they care, have to figure out how to be attractive without being too attractive. 24 00:04:16,899 --> 00:04:27,180 That is, attractive enough to be attractive but not so attractive as to attract trouble. Men behaving badly often hold women responsible for their manly bad behavior. 25 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:39,580 But even if you believe, as I do, that men are behaving even more badly when they do that, it remains true that women's clothing, or lack of it, can have a megatonically powerful effect on them. 26 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:50,720 Obviously, in addition to being protection from the elements, clothing can be a weapon, or a tool, or even currency, as the three songs in our first suite demonstrate. 27 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:52,760 See you in about eight minutes. 28 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,200 Thanks for watching! 29 00:06:38,900 --> 00:06:55,300 It's goodbye to Indiana, proud I.D., to keep all the married men home. 30 00:06:57,060 --> 00:07:04,040 These winter nights she's out to catch a cold. That's not the only thing she'll catch, I'm told. 31 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:11,140 Why, just a slight description of an Egyptian makes Papa leave Mama at home. 32 00:07:11,140 --> 00:07:20,360 Oh, my husband, who never spent a nickel before, paid ten bucks, and the bum didn't even get sore. 33 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:26,560 Papa could put an I.D. on a proud I.D. to keep all the married men. 34 00:07:26,700 --> 00:07:38,680 Ten bucks, he paid ten bucks, I could use that ten bucks. I wash, I iron, I cook, I clean the house, I take care of the kids. 35 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,120 Hardly ever go out to a kitchen. 36 00:07:41,140 --> 00:07:48,540 Expensive, he says, but he pays ten bucks to go see some bluesy shimmy like a tin lizzie. 37 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:57,880 He says it's art. Art, ha! The only art they got at that place is the guy who takes the tickets. 38 00:08:01,540 --> 00:08:07,740 I'll show him Aphrodite. Hi, honey, I'm home. 39 00:08:11,300 --> 00:08:19,120 Read in the morning those legs that were tied. 40 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:32,140 That's meant for pedicures, beautiful dames dressed in their underwear drive me insane. Oh, that's the way that it goes. Oh, don't it get up your nose? 41 00:08:33,299 --> 00:08:37,520 Oh, don't you love all that gaudy sherry? 42 00:08:39,220 --> 00:08:40,200 Yes, sir. 43 00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:44,480 I spilled my hot coffee right down my pants. 44 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:54,720 Jump out the chair, now I'm doing a dance. Round the kitchen. 8 a.m., I must be mad, mad for those girls in the lingerie. 45 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:06,900 Oh, that's the way that it goes. Oh, don't it get up your nose? Oh, don't you love all that gaudy sherry? 46 00:09:08,540 --> 00:09:18,940 Yes, sirree. Tea kettle's whistling, my tie is a noose. Orange juice juicer is juicing that juice. Toaster is popping. 47 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:20,780 Toast, give me some air. 48 00:09:21,060 --> 00:09:24,060 I love those ads for ladies' underwear. 49 00:09:24,460 --> 00:09:27,320 Oh, that's the way that it goes. 50 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:36,000 Oh, don't it get up your nose? Oh, don't you love all that gaudy sherry? 51 00:09:37,770 --> 00:09:38,890 Yes, sirree. 52 00:09:50,460 --> 00:09:53,680 He bought me the fur coat five winters ago. 53 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,040 And the gown the following fall. 54 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:05,320 Then the necklace, the bag, the hat, and the shoes. That was late 48, I recall. 55 00:10:07,180 --> 00:10:15,360 Then last night in his apartment, he tried to remove them all. 56 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:21,640 And as I ran down the hall, 57 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:33,450 take back your mink, take back your pails. 58 00:10:33,450 --> 00:10:41,250 Made you think that I was one of those gales. 59 00:10:43,370 --> 00:10:56,590 Take back the shoes and the hat, I saw that. 60 00:10:58,570 --> 00:11:04,710 I thought that each expensive gift you'd arrange was a token of your esteem. 61 00:11:05,530 --> 00:11:14,150 Now when I think of what you want in exchange, it all seems. It all seems a horrible dream. 62 00:11:19,890 --> 00:11:32,320 To from whence it came. And tell them to hollander on. For some other day. 63 00:11:43,900 --> 00:12:09,510 Make you think what you want in exchange. 64 00:12:09,950 --> 00:12:10,430 It all. 65 00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:43,820 Our first suite was called To Clothe or Not to Clothe. It began with David Duesing's arrangement of a song from 1920 called You'll Have to Put a Nightie on Nightie. 66 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:56,820 By Walter Donaldson, Sam Lewis and Joe Young. That was the Robert de Cormier singers from an album called Oh You Beautiful Doll. Next was Ladies Underwear by the group called Drink Me. 67 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:09,440 I say group, it's only two guys, Mark Amft and Winn Evans. And if you're up for a laid back but rather strange ambience, try to catch them live sometime. They're out of New York, I don't know how much they tour. 68 00:13:09,580 --> 00:13:21,260 But I tend to like their stuff. Then last we heard Take Back Your Mink from Guys and Dolls, one of the great works of art of the 20th century. This was the original cast album that was Vivian Blaine and the Hot Box Girls. 69 00:13:21,860 --> 00:13:34,300 Music and lyrics by Frank Lesser. And I'm sure you all know about his vicious twin brother Hank, who was known as the evil of two Lessers. I myself am known as Peter Shickley because that's my name. 70 00:13:34,460 --> 00:13:45,860 And the program is Shickley Mix from PRI, Public Radio International. You never know what you're going to encounter on Shickley Mix. And today we're encountering clothes, 71 00:13:46,460 --> 00:13:56,600 which is why the show is called Clothes Encounters. At least I think that's what it's called. It looks great on paper, but it sure is hard to say. Clothes Encounters. Well, so far, so good. 72 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:08,320 You know, I read once that a famous author of books on children was such a controlling husband that when he and his wife were going out for the evening, he would select the dress that she was to wear. 73 00:14:08,460 --> 00:14:19,160 He'd lay it out on the bed and I guess that was that. Well, I'm nowhere near in that class, control-wise speaking, but I have to admit that I do care what my wife looks like 74 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:30,020 to a sometimes surprising and even perhaps embarrassing degree. Now, of course, one of the standard explanations of this phenomenon is that the husband regards the wife as his property 75 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:38,240 and he wants everybody to see what good property he owns. Well, okay, I'm not saying that there's no element of that involved whatsoever, 76 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:48,360 but it really doesn't feel right as the major factor in my own attitude. As I said before, most men are very affected by a woman's appearance. 77 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:59,780 And although I hope I'm cool and hope I don't disrespect women's privacy, I can't pretend that I don't do a certain amount of glancing around. There's an old saying, when you're through looking, you're through. 78 00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:12,840 And that may be true for women as well as men, but men do seem to be especially enthralled by appearances. And speaking as a man who has been sharing a spirited marriage with the same woman for several decades, 79 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:25,440 it's really nice to look at your wife and be attracted all over again. And I do mean all over. Now, I'm not going to get into the old nature-nurture thing here. I don't pretend to know what is due to upbringing. 80 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:38,160 I remember my father once telling me that when he passed a woman on the street, he inhaled. That was when women wore perfume more than they do now. And what is due to the DNA each of us came into this world with. 81 00:15:38,420 --> 00:15:47,380 Better men than I have been arguing strenuously about that for centuries. And recently, it has even occurred to them to listen to what women might have to say about it. 82 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,920 I also don't mean to imply that women don't care about how men dress. 83 00:16:00,740 --> 00:16:12,180 We heard a chick just the other day Cooling out her boyfriend in every way She kept on a-quonkin' full of complaints 84 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:25,180 Like she expected folks to be saints She insisted that he be me So this was her complaint complete Report to the nation 85 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:37,460 I like the dimple in your chin I love the tricky way you grin Still, you ain't no kind of catch 86 00:16:37,460 --> 00:16:50,120 You know why, don't you? Tell him. Boy, your socks don't match The teeth you have are pearly white Oh, both of them Your lips are sweet and they're from pucker rice 87 00:16:51,180 --> 00:16:58,440 You're the kind to lift my latch But doggone you, boy Your socks don't match 88 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:05,480 The shoes you wear reveal your holes One red and one bright blue 89 00:17:06,829 --> 00:17:19,000 They're strangers And I suppose you should introduce those two You've got two eyes of lovely blue 90 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:31,860 Continue, Lou A pug knows I could go for two Though you're the best of all the batch Take no use, son Cause your socks don't match 91 00:17:37,020 --> 00:17:48,620 But your socks don't match 92 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,360 But your socks don't match 93 00:17:50,360 --> 00:18:06,980 But your socks don't match 94 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:10,120 Where reveal your hoes 95 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:17,540 One red and one bright blue They're total strangers And I suppose 96 00:18:17,980 --> 00:18:30,240 You should introduce those two You got two eyes of lovely blue Keep talking A cute little pug knows I could go far too 97 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:42,460 How did Hope get in here? Though you're the best of all the batch Can't know you some Cause your socks don't match You got a red one A blue one 98 00:18:43,420 --> 00:18:45,020 Ain't gonna do some 99 00:18:45,020 --> 00:18:47,380 Your socks don't match 100 00:18:48,880 --> 00:19:01,780 Bing Crosby and Louis Jordan singing Your Socks Don't Match. The band was Louis Jordan in his Timpani Five with Jordan himself doing the sax solo. That had a word in there that is new to me, quonking. 101 00:19:01,900 --> 00:19:12,800 She was quonking. I guess it's complaining or what? Razzing? Anyway, I'm the kind of guy who can buy a sport coat in a store and not notice till I get home 102 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:24,360 that the outside pockets are fake, there are no inside pockets, and two of the buttons are already beginning to come off. But a lot of guys do care, care a lot about their clothes, 103 00:19:24,460 --> 00:19:35,080 even if it sometimes wouldn't be obvious to a Brooks Brothers salesman. Just as my daughter inadvertently saved our family a lot of money by being into second-hand clothing as a teenager, 104 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:46,760 there are some very hip second-hand stores in New York that are almost like costume shops. Anyway, a lot of urban guys affect a look which, were one to label it casual, 105 00:19:47,060 --> 00:19:59,340 would leave one open to being charged with indulging in a considerable degree of understatement. But which, nevertheless, is arranged with just as much care by its wearers as is the Brooks Brothers look 106 00:19:59,340 --> 00:20:09,020 by its wearers. They say that clothes make the man, which happens to be the name of our second suite. It's got four songs in it, and I'll be back in less than 11 minutes. 107 00:21:07,620 --> 00:21:12,360 I'll be right back. 108 00:21:55,290 --> 00:21:56,030 We'll be right back. 109 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:23,440 When I come walking in, in my pair of big chinos The fan's gonna hit the wall 110 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,420 And I wear them because they're humongous 111 00:22:27,420 --> 00:22:40,200 And I wear them because they are tan And there's nothing else in my whole wardrobe I wear Makes me feel like a man No, they're just not prepared for my 112 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:52,280 Big, my pair of big chinos My big, my pair of big chinos My big, they're so damn big 113 00:22:54,540 --> 00:23:01,200 Now I wear a size 34 in the waist They're a size 88 and a half 114 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:07,020 Yeah, they're fatty, I buckle On chaplain-sized chinos, but 115 00:23:07,020 --> 00:23:10,020 Don't you laugh, don't you laugh 116 00:23:10,020 --> 00:23:13,060 And you ain't gonna see my shirt pocket 117 00:23:13,060 --> 00:23:13,640 Don't you laugh, don't you laugh 118 00:23:13,660 --> 00:23:19,820 Cause I buckle them up at my chin And it's only my arms 119 00:23:19,820 --> 00:23:21,720 And my head that sticks out 120 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,800 And the rest is all khaki 121 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,040 You'd better watch out for my 122 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:38,020 Big, my pair of big chinos My big, my pair of big chinos My big, they're so damn big 123 00:23:40,460 --> 00:23:43,520 No one understands me 124 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,920 No one understands me 125 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:56,120 No one understands me No, I gotta break out and express myself 126 00:23:56,120 --> 00:23:59,500 So I bought me a pair of reading lamps 127 00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:02,980 And I strapped them both onto my belt 128 00:24:02,980 --> 00:24:11,860 And I'm going out dancing tonight at the club And all you will see are my wiggling self 129 00:24:11,860 --> 00:24:13,500 And my Big, my pair of big chinos 130 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:23,420 My big, my pair of big chinos My big, my pair of big chinos My big, my pair of big chinos 131 00:24:23,420 --> 00:24:32,520 My big, my pair of big chinos My big, my pair of big chinos My big, they're so damn big 132 00:24:41,550 --> 00:24:53,930 I was shopping for a suit the other day 133 00:24:53,930 --> 00:25:01,810 And walked into the department store He stepped on the elevator and told the girl, dry goods flow. 134 00:25:02,930 --> 00:25:10,790 When I got off the cell and he come up to me, he said, now what can I do for you? I said, well go in there and show me all his sports clothes. 135 00:25:11,050 --> 00:25:23,110 He said, well sure, come on in buddy and dig these fabrics we got laid out on the shelf. He said, pick yourself out one, try it on, stand in the mirror and dig yourself. 136 00:25:27,550 --> 00:25:39,490 That suit's pure hair and bone. Yeah, that's a suit I'd like to own. Buddy, that suit is you. 137 00:25:43,130 --> 00:25:56,090 Yeah, I believe it too. I see for the business, man, you're featuring the natural shoulder that retail, wholesale is in need. It's got the custom cuffs and the walking short, he said. I'm going to let you have it at a steal. 138 00:25:56,310 --> 00:26:07,010 And for the playboy, you have the latest in tweed with the cutaway flap over twice. It's a box back two button western model, he said. Hmm, now ain't that nice. 139 00:26:07,630 --> 00:26:17,950 Ooh, them buttons are solid gold. Ooh, you made a deal, so. 140 00:26:18,650 --> 00:26:23,870 Ooh, that collar's pure camel hair. 141 00:26:24,150 --> 00:26:26,670 Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. 142 00:26:26,830 --> 00:26:28,970 Well, you can just sit that right there on that chair. 143 00:26:46,180 --> 00:26:56,060 Now, you go back there and you get that peep and let me sign on the dotted line. And I'll meet you. I'll get all my paintings in right on time. 144 00:26:57,540 --> 00:26:58,400 Now, wait a minute, brother. 145 00:26:58,420 --> 00:27:07,360 Let me go back there and do a little checking on you. Then the man, he come back, he say, I'm sorry, my man, but you, uh. Your credit didn't go through. 146 00:27:07,700 --> 00:27:09,700 Why, what you mean? Ooh. 147 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:19,160 Ain't this a shame My heart's in pain 148 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,380 Pure, pure heaven bone 149 00:27:25,460 --> 00:27:31,180 But that's a thing you'll never own Lord have mercy 150 00:27:31,180 --> 00:27:33,660 I got a good job 151 00:27:33,660 --> 00:27:41,310 Oh, my jeans are too tight 152 00:27:42,370 --> 00:27:51,510 I can't feel my feet If I don't keep on dancing My legs will fall asleep 153 00:27:51,510 --> 00:27:58,570 My tiny bombs are better known Than even man or wife 154 00:27:58,570 --> 00:28:05,610 I stand up day and night Cause my jeans are too tight 155 00:28:07,450 --> 00:28:14,650 Well, how did you get your big break? The DJs all inquired Oh, my jeans are too tight 156 00:28:14,650 --> 00:28:16,610 Just buy your jeans 157 00:28:16,610 --> 00:28:27,810 Two sizes small Throw them in the dryer Bleach them till they're paper thin Make sure the knees are ripped 158 00:28:27,810 --> 00:28:39,930 Just hire yourself a roadie Just to help you get them zipped Cause my jeans are too tight 159 00:28:40,950 --> 00:28:50,090 I can't feel my feet Oh, my jeans are too tight If I don't keep on dancing My legs will fall asleep 160 00:28:50,880 --> 00:29:00,490 My tiny buns are better known Than even man or wife I stand up day and night 161 00:29:00,820 --> 00:29:04,250 Cause my jeans are too tight 162 00:29:15,740 --> 00:29:28,050 Boots can be real wobbly Your hat can be too big Just make sure that the jeans are too tight And those Levi's fit Like pigskin on a pig 163 00:29:28,050 --> 00:29:34,910 If they're on you like a blue tattoo Baby, you can be a star 164 00:29:34,910 --> 00:29:38,790 Go buy yourself a busload 165 00:29:38,790 --> 00:29:42,090 Of those denim leotards 166 00:29:43,870 --> 00:29:48,010 Oh, my jeans are too tight 167 00:29:49,030 --> 00:29:53,970 I can't feel my feet If I don't keep on dancing 168 00:29:53,970 --> 00:29:54,990 Just keep on dancing 169 00:29:54,990 --> 00:30:05,210 My legs are gonna fall to sleep My tiny buns are better known Than even man or wife 170 00:30:05,210 --> 00:30:08,690 From the back I'm dynamite 171 00:30:08,690 --> 00:30:12,270 Cause my jeans are too tight 172 00:30:13,590 --> 00:30:17,790 Pass out 173 00:30:17,790 --> 00:30:20,950 My jeans are too tight 174 00:30:20,950 --> 00:30:26,280 To the John in six months 175 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,940 My jeans are too tight 176 00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:52,980 Like Mammy Yoakum said to Dwight. Good line. That suite was Clothes Make the Man. 177 00:30:53,720 --> 00:31:06,680 We started out with Elvis. Elvis Presley singing Blue Suede Shoes. And then from a CD called Greenwich Village Folk Festival, we heard Jim Infantino singing Big Chino's. 178 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:15,680 I guess we're talking about Infantino's Chino's here. And then that very poignant song called Shopping for Clothes was The Coasters. 179 00:31:15,940 --> 00:31:24,580 It was written by the team that wrote most of their hits, Lieber and Stoller. Maybe all their hits. What do I know? Most of their hits. 180 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:34,240 And then finally we ended up with My Jeans Are Too Tight by Jerry House. Well, you know, when you look at that, when you look at pictures of Elvis from the 50s, 181 00:31:34,260 --> 00:31:42,880 you realize that men's appearances are often just as highly stylized as women's. It's like a badge or an ID tag. Take me, for instance. 182 00:31:43,060 --> 00:31:53,320 When I look in the mirror and I see those faded jeans with the 15-year-old belt and that corduroy jacket without any lining and that pretty nice shirt whose pocket, however, 183 00:31:53,500 --> 00:32:05,680 has worn through where the points of the scripto pencil and the pilot pen rub against it, I think to myself, hey, that must be Peter Shickley, the host of Shickley Mix from PRI, Public Radio International. 184 00:32:06,420 --> 00:32:10,540 If you've ever seen Carousel, you'll remember this song. 185 00:32:11,060 --> 00:32:23,590 June is bustin' out of bushes And the rompin' river pushes 186 00:32:23,590 --> 00:32:35,230 Every little wheel that wheels beside a mill June is bustin' out over The feeling is gettin' so intense 187 00:32:35,230 --> 00:32:47,290 Carousel opened in 1945. And a few years after that, we had an assembly in my junior high school that featured a comedian. And he had a routine about his girlfriend, June, 188 00:32:47,650 --> 00:32:57,430 who bought a dress that was two sizes too small. And when she put it on, he said, June is bustin' out all over. And there was this intern teacher. 189 00:32:57,870 --> 00:33:10,330 You know, he was a grown-up to me, but I suppose he was in his early 20s. And that joke hit his funny bone like a 10-ton truck. And he could not stop laughing. I mean, everyone else finished laughing 190 00:33:10,330 --> 00:33:21,050 and then turned around and looked at him at the back of the auditorium, his face red, gasping for breath, very embarrassed, but unable to stop. Now remember, this was the late 40s. 191 00:33:21,110 --> 00:33:32,870 That joke was considered a bit on the edge for a junior high school anyway. So his paroxysms of laughter were particularly inappropriate for a teacher. I've always wondered what became of him. 192 00:33:33,050 --> 00:33:45,990 Did he go ahead and make teaching his career? Or did he opt for a more solitary path? Or did he opt for a more convivial profession, like gem cutting? Or a more convivial profession, like bartending? But if you're not going to get into trouble with your potential employers, 193 00:33:46,290 --> 00:33:58,730 it's wonderful, isn't it, to laugh so hard you have trouble catching your breath. How often does that happen? Not often enough, as far as I'm concerned. Today's program is called Clothed Encounters. Get it? 194 00:33:59,070 --> 00:34:11,190 And when I started putting the show together, I was thinking about all different kinds of clothing, and we deal with hats on another program. But it didn't occur to me, that I was going to be in the show. That I'd run across a song that refers, however tangentially, 195 00:34:11,550 --> 00:34:22,090 to the only article of clothing that we in this culture wear almost continuously, around the clock, when we wear it at all. Hey, it's tidbit time, folks, 196 00:34:22,230 --> 00:34:32,179 and today's tidbit is called Diaper Pin. I'm so afraid 197 00:34:32,739 --> 00:34:36,659 Of all the places I'm going In love with places I've been 198 00:34:36,659 --> 00:34:40,400 So come and let me tell you the tragic story 199 00:34:41,739 --> 00:34:45,040 Of how it began With those long pretty fingers 200 00:34:46,570 --> 00:34:48,580 Running up and down my horn 201 00:34:49,429 --> 00:34:51,500 The fingers that have captured me 202 00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:57,560 And held me so near since the day I was born They're the very same fingers 203 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,340 That goes to pushing inside 204 00:35:00,380 --> 00:35:03,640 Push a button and elevator starts 205 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:05,000 This lonesome ride 206 00:35:05,590 --> 00:35:07,820 And then as high above the ground 207 00:35:07,820 --> 00:35:16,560 I'm going round, I'm going all alone Blowing on and on to spin The diaper pin Pinning up the mood that I'm in 208 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:17,860 Up in that old 209 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:28,900 Old black tragedy called the blues How I wish I could lose All of the memories of yesterday I know all those days have gone away now 210 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:37,520 But they keep calling me back somehow There is nothing quite so soothing As all of the pleasures found in losing 211 00:35:38,220 --> 00:35:39,580 Myself in the memory 212 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:41,660 Just like the time 213 00:35:41,660 --> 00:35:52,640 When my baby said to me My darling, you must be the one made for me Why, yes, as plain as can be I know by your feeling Yours and mine agree 214 00:35:52,640 --> 00:36:03,280 We have been so long without each other there In the gloom Doomed to destiny Take me in your arms forever Hold me tight 215 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:07,980 Kiss me so soft and light Yes, it's all right Just blame the night 216 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:09,620 Shine on, oh moon 217 00:36:09,620 --> 00:36:10,760 And make the future bright 218 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,340 Oh, yes, it was a beautiful beginning 219 00:36:14,060 --> 00:36:24,580 But, oh, it's so sad Too bad these things must have an ending The devil in words like We two won't do I'm through with you Came around and brought a change 220 00:36:25,620 --> 00:36:34,420 And left me in a world So different and strange World so new World so lonely and blue I really don't know what to do 221 00:36:34,420 --> 00:36:38,780 So afraid of where I'm going Wish I'd been 222 00:36:38,780 --> 00:36:44,260 I'd hate to feel just like the baby Being stuck again The same old pain In the end 223 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:50,520 I think I'd rather be alone Alone with sweet saxophone To blow and blow and blow away in memory 224 00:36:51,760 --> 00:37:00,640 I know I'll never be free I know But what difference can there really be If we just wait until we've made a few more trips around the sun 225 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,240 Perhaps I'll know much more about it then 226 00:37:02,780 --> 00:37:05,460 Until then I'm so afraid of where I'm going 227 00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:07,780 And so in love with where I've been 228 00:37:11,860 --> 00:37:18,860 King Pleasure singing Diaper Pin, which consists of King Pleasure's lyrics to Stan Getz's 229 00:37:18,860 --> 00:37:30,560 improvisation on the chord changes of Harold Arlen's That Old Black Magic. Although actually Getz himself came up with the title, since his first son had just been born when he recorded 230 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:41,220 his instrumental version of Old Black Magic. You know, that whole art form of putting words to improvised solos, I was just thinking about it as I was listening to that thing, 231 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:48,400 that that whole art form is based on the availability of recordings. Before recordings, nobody would 232 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:55,580 ever remember that carefully, what the improvisation was like. Well, now we come to clothes encounters 233 00:37:55,580 --> 00:38:06,680 of the third kind. In our next and last suite, clothing is used metaphorically. Now of course, just because metaphor is a college type word, doesn't mean that metaphor is a good word. 234 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:16,360 Metaphors are only used in college type writing. I remember hearing a nice country song once, in which a guy is worried that his girl's falling out of love with him, and 235 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:28,720 the refrain went something like, well I ain't heard no thunder, but it feels like it's gonna rain. Metaphorical clothes has three numbers and lasts about nine minutes. I'll see you then. 236 00:38:30,220 --> 00:39:01,240 The bride, I said the soldier, dressed in white, dressed in white, dressed in white, 237 00:39:01,260 --> 00:39:14,660 dressed in his red coat. I, with my trumpet, my sword and my flag, I murdered the minute. 238 00:39:19,930 --> 00:39:48,520 I took the minutes, and what could I do? For see how the black men kneel, he said. The gay 239 00:39:49,300 --> 00:40:33,520 purple hours, the hours of faith. I, said the parson, in his black cloak. I, with my book, I cast my holy rock, and see how the people kneel at night. 240 00:40:44,990 --> 00:40:45,510 Ooh. 241 00:40:47,850 --> 00:41:04,560 You slew the year, the sweet precious years, the years of truth. I, said the lover, in 242 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:26,560 her gay gown. I, and my breasts and my eyes, I slew the year, I slew the year, I slew the 243 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:35,880 years. My silly dove, and see how you kneeled to me in love. 244 00:41:53,660 --> 00:42:08,220 Through the years I go wandering once again, back to the seasons of my youth, I recall the 245 00:42:08,220 --> 00:42:15,100 box of rags that someone gave us, and how my mamma put those in front of me, and how 246 00:42:15,100 --> 00:42:26,020 rags to use there were rags of many colors but every piece was small and i didn't have a coat 247 00:42:26,020 --> 00:42:34,520 and it was a way down in the fall mama sewed the rags together so in every piece with love 248 00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:44,540 she made my coat of many colors that i was so proud of as she sewed she told a story 249 00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:53,040 from the bible she had read about a coat of many colors joseph warren then she said 250 00:42:53,040 --> 00:43:01,700 perhaps this coat will bring you good luck and happiness and i just couldn't wait to wear it 251 00:43:01,700 --> 00:43:14,200 and mama blessed it with a kiss my coat of many colors that my mama made for me made only from bread 252 00:43:14,540 --> 00:43:29,680 but i wore it so i was rich as i could be in my coat of many colors my mama made for me 253 00:43:31,340 --> 00:43:42,130 so with patches on my britches and holes in both my shoes in my coat of many colors 254 00:43:42,130 --> 00:43:50,510 i hurried off to school just to find the others laughing and making fun of me 255 00:43:50,510 --> 00:43:51,470 and my 256 00:43:51,710 --> 00:44:03,010 coat of many colors my mama made for me and oh i couldn't understand it for i felt i was rich 257 00:44:03,010 --> 00:44:11,530 and i told them all the love my mama sewed in every stitch and i told them all the story 258 00:44:11,530 --> 00:44:20,130 mama told me what she sewed and how my coat of many colors was worth more than all their clothes 259 00:44:21,710 --> 00:44:32,430 but they didn't understand it and i tried to make them see that one is only poor only if they choose to be 260 00:44:33,810 --> 00:44:42,230 now i know we had no money but i was rich as i could be in my coat of many colors 261 00:44:42,230 --> 00:44:48,210 my mama made for me made just for me 262 00:44:48,210 --> 00:45:43,690 me of your sweat 263 00:47:09,010 --> 00:47:20,800 i don't mean that the clothes in these songs aren't real but in all three of the numbers they 264 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:30,840 obviously stand for more than just clothes me of your sweat We started out with a song from the Joan Baez album called Baptism. It's Who Murdered the Minutes. 265 00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:42,680 The lyric is from a poem by Henry Treese. And the composer is the no longer young American composer Peter Shickley, who was also conducting the ensemble. 266 00:47:43,660 --> 00:47:53,860 Then we had what somebody told me recently was Dolly Parton's first hit, Coat of Many Colors. And she wrote that song as well as was singing it there. 267 00:47:53,860 --> 00:48:03,480 Of course, that was another version of Joseph in his Technicolor mind coat or whatever that is. Then we had, finally, Laurie Anderson doing Sweaters. 268 00:48:04,100 --> 00:48:12,340 Now, most of, not all, but most of the numbers we've been dealing with on this show have been about a specific article of clothing. 269 00:48:12,460 --> 00:48:23,760 A coat or some underwear or a nightie or some blue suede shoes or some big chinos or a suit or jeans. I think it's... 270 00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:34,040 It's time now to go out with the whole outfit. You know, let's put on the whole dog there, as it were. Here's Ella Fitzgerald. And this is an interesting rendition of this song 271 00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:45,340 because there's no doubt that we're talking about what is usually considered men's clothing here. But it sounds just fine with Ella singing it. Top hat, white tie, and tails. 272 00:48:53,420 --> 00:48:56,080 I'm putting on my top hat. Hat. 273 00:48:57,020 --> 00:48:59,360 Tying up my white tie. 274 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:08,820 Brushing off my tails. I'm duding up my shirt front. 275 00:49:09,660 --> 00:49:15,020 Putting in the shirt studs. Polishing my nails. 276 00:49:16,140 --> 00:49:22,840 I'm stepping out, my dear, to breathe an atmosphere that simply reeks with class. 277 00:49:23,240 --> 00:49:24,120 Yes. 278 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:37,640 And I trust that you'll excuse my dust when I step on the gas. For I'll be there. Putting down my top hat. 279 00:49:38,580 --> 00:49:40,880 Bussing up my white tie. 280 00:49:41,720 --> 00:49:43,660 Dancing in my tails. 281 00:49:45,540 --> 00:49:58,170 I just got an invitation through the mails. Your presence requested this evening. 282 00:49:58,190 --> 00:50:06,790 It's formal. A top hat, a white tie, and tails. Nothing now could take the wind out of my sails. 283 00:50:08,450 --> 00:50:20,110 Because I'm invited to step out this evening with top hat and white tie and tails. I'm putting on my top hat. 284 00:50:21,130 --> 00:50:23,330 Tying up my white tie. 285 00:50:24,250 --> 00:50:33,010 Brushing off my tails. I'm duding up my shirt front. 286 00:50:33,870 --> 00:50:39,370 Putting in the shirt studs. Polishing my nails. 287 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:47,470 I'm stepping out, my dear, to breathe an atmosphere that simply reeks with class. 288 00:50:49,450 --> 00:50:58,690 And I trust that you'll excuse my dust when I step on the gas. For I'll be there. For I'll be there. 289 00:51:00,390 --> 00:51:02,610 Putting down my top hat. 290 00:51:03,850 --> 00:51:08,930 Bussing up my white tie. Dancing in my tails. 291 00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:30,940 Ella Fitzgerald singing Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails by Irving Berlin with Paul Weston and his orchestra. You know, this has been sort of a confessional show here. 292 00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:39,940 And just listening to that last number, I'm a little nervous. I had a memory I hadn't thought about for a while. And that is that when I was in high school, my mother made me a shirt once. 293 00:51:40,780 --> 00:51:52,940 And it was a little bit like a Dolly Parton situation there. I was just thinking. Because she made me this shirt from scratch. No pattern or anything. And I got to school and all the kids started razzing me. 294 00:51:53,000 --> 00:52:04,620 They said, hey Peter, why did you... They probably said Pete. They said, hey Pete, why did you wear your pajamas to school? Now that's probably enough to turn any guy. Into an anti-clothes horse. 295 00:52:04,940 --> 00:52:16,460 But clothes definitely make a statement. We all have friends who really don't seem to care what they wear. But that's a statement too. My specialty is buying jackets and pants separately. 296 00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:27,580 And then nothing goes together with anything else in the closet. Except that just about everything goes with jeans. Which I'd be happy wearing just about every day for the rest of my life. 297 00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:38,600 I wore a necktie once in 1965. Now seriously folks. I've probably worn a tie at least a dozen times since then. By the way. You know who was quite the clothes horse? 298 00:52:38,860 --> 00:52:43,360 Apparently spent a lot of money on clothes? A short little guy named Mozart. 299 00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:07,360 And that's Sickly Mix for this week. Our program is made possible with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Endowment for the Arts. 300 00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:19,260 With additional support from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. And from this radio station and this program. And its members. Thank you members. And not only that. Our program is distributed by PRI. 301 00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:30,640 Public Radio International. We'll tell you in a moment how you can get an official playlist of all the music on today's program. With album numbers and everything. Just refer to the program number. 302 00:53:30,780 --> 00:53:43,320 This is program number 135. And this is Peter Sickily saying goodbye and reminding you that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi. You're looking good. See you next week. 303 00:56:15,700 --> 00:56:18,760 Bye. I'm stepping up my dear to breath. 304 00:56:18,960 --> 00:56:22,740 An atmosphere that simply reeks with class. 305 00:56:24,620 --> 00:56:30,760 And I trust that you will excuse my dust when I step on the gas. 306 00:56:31,700 --> 00:56:33,900 Or I'll be there. 307 00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:44,580 Putting down my top caps. Messing up my white victorious coat of arms. Dancing in my taise. Taking the 308 00:56:47,600 --> 00:56:58,720 If you'd like a copy of that playlist I mentioned, 309 00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:06,640 send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Shickley Mix. That's S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E, Shickley Mix. 310 00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:16,320 Care of Public Radio International, 100 North 6th Street, Suite 900A, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403. 311 00:57:17,820 --> 00:57:20,960 PRI, Public Radio International.