News of the Week: Marshall Crenshaw, Willard Scott, and the Butter Lady of the Minnesota State Fair

New Music

I used to collect music. I must have had a few hundred CDs and albums at one point. That’s probably not a lot compared to what some music fans own, the real collectors, the completists. The ones who buy everything and know everything. But I was obsessed with music at one time. In my 20s I could have told you the exact lineups of Deep Purple over the years and which members left and what bands they later formed. I took regular trips to Tower Records and all the local used record stores. I bought all the magazines and even published one of my own.

I have to laugh now because I sold most of those CDs and albums and I don’t really miss them or the collecting. I kept about 50 because I’m not sure if they’ll ever be available again, and even if they are I want the cover art/liner notes. I don’t “collect” anymore, I listen to and curate music the way a lot of people do, through a mixture of stuff I own, streaming services, SiriusXM, and free stuff on YouTube (shhhhhhh).

Here are some new albums for you to enjoy, available on digital platforms, on CD, and all the other ways people listen to music these days:

• The Wild, Exciting Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw by Marshall Crenshaw. This is a retrospective of his long career, an all-live album that has many of his best songs, including early tunes like “Whenever You’re On My Mind,” “Someday, Someway,” “Monday Morning Rock,” and “Cynical Girl,” as well as newer songs like “I Don’t See You Laughing Now” and “Passing Through.”
• Welcome 2 America by Prince. Yes, new music from the Minnesota man who died in 2016, and probably not the last new music we’ll see from him as there are still many songs left in the vault.
• Love For Sale by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett. The second collaboration between the two pop stars, featuring songs like “Night and Day,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “Just One of Those Things,” and possibly a lot more, depending on what version you get.
• The Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann. This 7-CD box set includes music from Citizen Kane, Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fahrenheit 451, and many others.
• No Time To Die — Original Soundtrack. Besides the Billie Eilish title song we’ve talked about here before, the film’s score is by Hans Zimmer, who also did the scores for The Dark Knight, A League of Their Own, The Lion King, Gladiator, Inception, Dunkirk, and many other films. (Out October 1.)

Always on His Mind

Elvis Presley may not have a new album out, but you could have bought his old hair if you beat out the person who made the winning bid of $72,500 at an auction last weekend. The hair was saved by his longtime barber. I don’t know why that makes it sound better, but it does.

Elvis’s electric shaver sold at the same auction for $3000. Note: It’s not the same shaver that cut his hair.

The Butter Lady of the Minnesota State Fair

I wonder if they’ve ever had a Margarine Lady at the fair.

Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning.

 

RIP Willard Scott, Michael K. Williams, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Carolyn Shoemaker, Irma Kalish, Mal Z. Lawrence, and Delores Custer

Willard Scott was the weatherman on the Today show in four decades. Before that, he co-hosted a radio show with Ed Walker, narrated NASA’s weekly space show, created and portrayed the Ronald McDonald character for McDonald’s, and also spent time portraying Bozo the Clown. Scott died Saturday at the age of 87.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Joy Boys.

Scott appeared on the cover of our January/February 1988 issue and wrote an article in the issue titled “Golden Oldies.”

Michael K. Williams played Omar Little on The Wire and Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire. He also had regular roles on The Night Of, The Philanthropist, F Is for Family, and The Spoils before Dying, and appeared in movies like Gone Baby Gone, Inherent Vice, Motherless Brooklyn, and the Ghostbusters remake. He died Monday at the age of 54.

Jean-Paul Belmondo soared to international fame in movies like Breathless, Moderato Cantabile, Two Women, À double tour, Is Paris Burning?, and The Three Musketeers. He died Monday at the age of 88.

She didn’t have much formal training, but Carolyn Shoemaker became an expert in astronomy and earned fame for discovering many comets and asteroids, including the Shoemaker-Levy comet (named for her and David Levy). She died last month at the age of 92.

Irma Kalish wrote for many sitcoms, including All in the Family, My Three Sons, The Patty Duke Show, F Troop, and My Favorite Martian, and produced shows like Good Times, The Facts of Life, Too Close for Comfort, and Valerie. She died last week at the age of 96.

Mal Z. Lawrence was a veteran Catskills, Las Vegas, and Broadway comic. He died last week at the age of 88.

If you’ve seen a TV commercial or print ad that contained food or drink, you probably saw the work of Delores Custer, one of the world’s foremost experts in food styling. She died last month at the age of 79.

This Week in History

Citizen Kane Released (September 5, 1941)

While the movie had its world premiere at the Palace Theater in New York City on May 1, the official release date for the film was four months later. The Criterion Collection has released a new Blu-ray to celebrate the movie’s 80th anniversary.

Frank Sinatra Reunites Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin (September 6, 1976)

Sinatra surprised Jerry during the MDA Labor Day Telethon by bringing out his old partner. Vanity Fair has the behind-the-scenes story of how it happened.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Doubles Tennis Match” (September 5, 1936)

I still don’t understand how men played tennis in long pants.

National TV Dinner Day

I don’t think I’ve had an actual TV dinner in 25 years. Oh, I eat frozen foods and frozen dinners — probably too often — but I can’t remember the last time I had a classic TV dinner, the ones that come in a tray with separate compartments for the meat, the vegetables, the dessert. Do they even make those anymore? I know there’s Hungry-Man and Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s, and while they’re quite good, they’re not the same. I’ll have to check the store this weekend to celebrate National TV Dinner Day, which is Friday, September 10.

Or I could attempt to re-create one using one of these methods. The Los Angeles Times has a recipe for a Homemade TV Dinner (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a brownie for dessert). If you’re watching what you eat, Food Network has a Healthy TV Dinner (lasagna roll-ups, meatless meatballs, peas, and canned peaches). And AllRecipes has 10 TV dinner menus to put together for a meal. The list even has suggestions for what TV shows to watch while you’re eating.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

20th Anniversary of 9/11 (September 11)

There will be specials, documentaries, and special news reports about that terrible day in 2001. TVLine and the Cincinnati Enquirer have lists of shows that premiered this week and those that will air this weekend, and here’s how the broadcast networks will commemorate the day.

U.S. Open Finals (September 11-12)

The women’s final airs on ESPN Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, while the men’s final airs Sunday at the same time and place.

Featured image: Shutterstock