That Guy on TV - John Graham's Blog, Resume, and Hootenanny
That Guy on TV - John Graham's Blog, Resume, and Hootenanny

Lost Hits of the Late Seventies

No surprise here, but oldies radio doesn’t play all the oldies. You’ll hear Electric Light Orchestra’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” a million times before “Strange Magic” ever pops up. Who’s the band in the pic up there? Exactly. The Sylvers had three Top 40 hits in 1976 and 1977, but you’re probably not going to hear them outside of a “Saturday Night Disco” specialty show. (Yep, they’re all brothers and sisters.)

Sean Ross writes the Ross on Radio column and recently broke down what he considers the songs of 1975-1979 with the biggest Lost Factor – “songs have the widest gap between hit status then and a lack of airplay today.” Go check out the full list, but here’s three personal favorites.

Donny and Marie, Bay City Rollers, and Shaun Cassidy all lost staying power for being so tied into the Teen Beat pop of the ’70s and their squeaky clean images. You grow out of sweetie Scott Baio and grow into sweaty Robert Plant. I insist this Shaun Cassidy #1 is still a fun bit of cotton candy. It’s produced by Michael Lloyd, who also was behind Belinda Carlisle’s “Mad About You” and “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing.”

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1970s, Music
August 27, 2020 | 3:50 pm

“Goes Wrong” So Right

I saw a fantastically funny show on Broadway about three years ago, “The Play That Goes Wrong.” Now, there’s a sorta sequel on Amazon Prime in the US and I want to make sure you know about it.

The hook of “The Play That Goes Wrong” is a play within a play. Amateur actors ruin a performance (and the set) of a creaky mystery called “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” In fact, the bad actors are played by a cast that’s rehearsed each flubbed line and escalating catastrophe with split-second timing. That original cast, The Mischief Theatre Company, has been performing versions of the show together since 2012.

Here’s a condensed chunk of the original show, for a charity benefit in 2015, with bonus cameos by Kylie Minogue and John Groban.

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Makes Me Laugh, TV
August 26, 2020 | 4:30 pm

Missing Melona

No one is traveling at the moment, but a particular nibble or sip can spark a memory and drop you right back in Memphis or Paris. Melona, a South Korean ice cream bar, does it for me. I first had a Melona bar lounging with my family by a swimming pool in Waikiki. One bite and the aloha is back.

Started in South Korea in 1992, Melona is essentially blended fruit and milk. You’ve got a few additives, but nothing scary. Think of it as a Creamcicle that’s not orange. The original flavor was a Korean melon called chamoe. Honeydew is now the most popular, but there’s also strawberry, banana, mango, and coconut. Because it’s actual fruit puree, Melona bars tastes fresh, not like Laffy Taffy. Bonus, a single bar is only 110 calories.

Melona was imported first to Hawaii, became a big hit there, and then spread to the mainland.  Since 2017, Lucerne Foods makes Melona for the American market. You can probably track down Melona at your local Costco or Safeway, but the safe bet is your town’s Asian supermarket.

Food
August 6, 2020 | 8:42 am

I Kinda Directed a Los Lobos Music Video

I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of talented people on projects big and small. Today, the story of meeting a band I loved in high school and making an unofficial video for one of their songs.

Senior year of high school, the fall of 1984, must be when I first heard Los Lobos. “Will the Wolf Survive? didn’t hit big on radio, but it got constant MTV play. It’s about trying to preserve Mexican culture while living in mainstream America. It’s also a metaphor for musicians who want to be heard. A white high school kid in Iowa can’t relate directly, but I think everybody knows about feeling like an outsider.

Not long later, Los Lobos’ biggest commercial success was their 1987 cover of “La Bamba,” from the Ritchie Valens biopic starring Lou Diamond Phillips.

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1980s, Music, Orlando
July 21, 2020 | 12:01 pm

Tangy Pickle Doritos

Doritos is learning from the Oreo overlords. Give us a new flavor and we’ll buy it at least once to see if it’s any good. I’m looking at you, Carrot Cake Oreos. The latest fad flavor, Tangy Pickle Doritos, is mostly available at Dollar General and Circle K, although I got mine from a local unbranded convenience store.

Most disappointing – no dill in Doritos Tangy Pickle. There’s a Lay’s Dill Pickle potato chip, but Tangy Pickle Doritos just has vinegar, garlic, and salt. Lay’s and Doritos are both PepsiCo brands, so you know dill can be done.

Tangy Pickle Doritos are sour and salty, but taste nothing like a pickle. If you like vinegar potato chips, these are a cousin – or maybe Flamin’ Hot Limón Doritos if they weren’t hot. More frustrating, Tangy Pickle Doritos have, temporarily, forced Doritos taco-flavored tortilla chips  off shelves. You can use the Doritos product finder to track flavors in your zip code and Taco is nowhere. C’mon – “Taco” goes back even further than “Nacho Cheese.”

As a palate cleanser, here’s a Taco Doritos commercial from 1977 with Avery Schreiber and Vito Scotti. Vito doesn’t talk here,  but he was in everything from “Hogan’s Heroes” to “The Godfather,” and was Italian Cat in “Disney’s The Aristocats.”

Food
July 14, 2020 | 2:13 pm
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John’s Work

  • John’s Resume
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About John

John Graham is That Guy on TV – an Emmy-winning producer/writer/host and owner of Mosquito County Productions, based in Orlando, FL.

Over the years, John has produced YouTube videos with millions of views, worked with Muppets and Princesses, won two regional Emmys for travel reporting, interviewed celebs from Ariana Grande to Hillbilly Jim, and done thousands of live news broadcasts. (You know it’s me writing this, right?)

Get ahold of me at John@thatguyontv.com

Favorite Sites

  • Edible Orlando
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  • Boing Boing
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  • Gods & Monsters
  • Dana Gould
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  • Penn & Teller

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