R.I.P. Peter Schickele (1935-2024) -- Creator of P.D.Q. Bach

R.I.P. Peter Schickele (1935-2024) — creator of P.D.Q. Bach

With the passing of classical composer and humorist, Johann Peter Schickele (known commonly as Peter Schickele) on January 16, 2024, I’ve found myself revisiting his creative output in my own personal book and CD collection, and the albums available through the libraries, both in CD and in the Hoopla streaming music app. Though he was an accomplished composer of both classical and modern works, Schickele will forever be remembered for his comedic creation — P.D.Q. Bach, the 21st of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 20 children. Schickele introduced his satirical brainchild, P.D.Q. Bach, to both the music and humor worlds in 1965, via the album An Evening With P.D.Q. Bach, and eventually went on to release around 20 albums featuring P.D.Q. Bach’s works (a few were retrospective collections or “greatest hits”). Music fans took the P.D.Q. Bach albums very seriously — Schickele not only brought both a sense of madcap, slapstick comedy and sharp, carefully thought-out parody, but he also injected the compositions with elements of both Classical and Baroque music. Schickele made use of less-common existing instruments (slide whistle, bagpipes, and kazoo, among them), but he also invented various musical instruments, either out of commonplace items found around the house (the “pastaphone”, made with uncooked manicotti), or by combining parts from two or more previously uncombined instruments, such as the Tromboon (a combination of trombone and bassoon). Even the titles of P.D.Q. Bach compositions show Schickele’s absurdist sense of humor: Concerto for Horn and Hardart, Pervertimento for Bicycle, Bagpipes and Balloons, The Stoned Guest, Hansel & Gretel & Ted & Alice, A Concerto for Bassoon v. Orchestra, Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion (I remember playing this one for my final senior concert in high school — at one point, most of the orchestra is “performing” by gargling glasses of water!), Iphegenia in Brooklyn, The Seasonings, Toot Suite, Schleptet in E flat major and A Fanfare for the Common Cold. My late father introduced me to Schickele and P.D.Q. with the album P.D.Q. Bach on the Air, one track of which features a sports color commentating team giving play by play on a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony…still one of the funniest things I’ve ever listened to!

Schickele frequently appeared in character as “Professor Peter Schickele,” from the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, the world’s only expert researcher into the life of P.D.Q. Bach, and served as conductor for many orchestra concert performances of his works around the world. In the guise of the Professor, he would arrive late to the stage, his shirt partially un-tucked and his hair windblown and out of control. Often, he would run in from the back of the auditorium, or slide down a rope from the rafters above the stage, or wing in on a rope from the balcony. He would breathlessly share his oddball knowledge of the oddball composer, and his conducting of the orchestra would often go out of control (with humorous intent). Schickele occasionally appeared in costume as P.D.Q. Bach himself (it is his image on various album covers). Schickele wrote a book about P.D.Q. Bach, The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach, 1807-1742? (published in 1976), in which he artfully mixes satire and seriousness.

Schickele composed the instrumental score for the ecological science fiction film Silent Running (1972), including two original songs sung by Joan Baez. He also created the soundtrack, and narrated the tale, for a 1973 animated version of Where the Wild Things Are, from Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s picture book. In the 1990s and early 2000s, his “Schickele Mix” appeared on public radio stations across the country (as both first-run episodes through 1999 and then in repeat rotation) — in which he provided an education in classic music to listeners. Although he composed over 100 works for classical orchestras, choral groups, chamber ensembles and more — it is for his invention of a crazed classical music composer that he will most fondly be remembered by most of his fans, including me. If you’ve never experienced the mix of serious musicology and absurd satire, you’ve simply got to try one of the P.D.Q. Back titles in the list below from the Lincoln City Libraries. Personally, I highly recommend the album P.D.Q. Bach on the Air, although you’ll have to use the libraries’ InterLibrary Loan service to track that one down!

• P.D.Q. Bach/Peter Schickele albums:
• Peter Schickele Presents an Evening With P.D.Q. Bach (1965) — Hoopla
• An Hysteric Return: P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall (1966) — Hoopla
• Report From Hoople: P.D.Q. Bach on the Air (1967)
• P.D.Q. Bach: The Stoned Guest – Two Madrigals From the Triumph of Thusnelda (1970)
• The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach (1971) (a greatest hits compilation)
• The Intimate P.D.Q. Bach (1974)
• Portrait of P.D.Q. Bach (1977)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Black Forest Bluegrass (1979)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Liebeslieder Polkas – Twelve Quite Heavenly Songs (1980)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Music You Can’t Get Out of Your Head (1982)
• A Little Nightmare Music (1984) — available on Hoopla and also as sheet music
• The Abduction of Figaro (1984) — video/DVD concert program
• P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults (1989) — Compact Disc, Hoopla (Grammy Award Winner — Best Comedy Album)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities (1990) — Hoopla (Grammy Award Winner — Best Comedy Album)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Classical WTWP Talkity-Talk Radio (1991) — Hoopla (Grammy Award Winner — Best Comedy Album)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Music For an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussions (1992) — Compact Disc (Grammy Award Winner — Best Comedy Album)
• P.D.Q. Bach: Two Pianos Are Better Than One (1994) — Hoopla
• P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier and Other Dysfunctional Works for Keyboard (1995) — Hoopla
• The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach, 1807-1742? by Peter Schickele — book, eAudio (Grammy Award Nominee — Best Comedy Album)
• Dreaded P.D.Q. Bach Collection, Vol. 1 (1996) (a greatest hits compilation)
• The Ill-Conceived P.D.Q. Bach Anthology (1998) — Compact Disc, Hoopla (a greatest hits compilation)
• P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem! (2006) — DVD concert program
• P.D.Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour (2007) — Compact Disc, Hoopla
• Also (though not P.D.Q. Bach-related):
• Silent Running (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (xxxx) — Hoopla
• American Piano Duets (2000) — Compact Disc (Schickele is one of multiple musicians featured)

( official Peter Schickele/P.D.Q. Bach web site )

Recommended by Scott C.

Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

Book Review: Be the Bus - The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon by Mo Willems

Be the Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon
by Mo Willems (817 Wil)

A humorous adult book of aphorisms and comments from The Pigeon of the children’s picture book series Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. No surprise, he’s either the victim or the hero in these sayings as the pigeon just cannot understand why he’s not allowed to drive the bus:

 

A sample of his comments:

‘Genius is seldom recognized. THAT is why I wear a name tag.’
‘Dropped food is gravity’s way of sharing.’

 

And a sample of his other planned books:
‘You’re Okay, I’m Awesome’
‘Speed: An Analysis of Cinema’s Greatest Achievement’

 

A quick, funny read that is satisfying. Be sure to read the introduction by The (long-suffering) Bus Driver.

 

If you’re unfamiliar with The Pigeon and curious about the books, be sure to read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld, or Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections from a Grim Reaper’s Yearlong Sabbatical by Brian Rea.)

 

( official Be the Bus page on the official Mo Willems web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
starring Nicolas Cage (DVD Unbearable)

Nicholas Cage plays himself in this comedy/action-adventure. Cage is broke — to be frank — and agrees to go to a super fan’s birthday party in exchange for a large fee. The problem is this super fan — “Javi” played by Pedro Pascal — isn’t just a regular fan, he’s also being watched by the CIA. The CIA decides to recruit Cage to see if he can locate a missing person supposedly kidnapped by Javi’s organization. Javi is enamored by Cage and spends the whole time trying to get him to work with him on a screenplay. It makes for an entertaining film.

I wasn’t sure what to think based on the premise but actually it was very funny. If you’re Nicholas Cage fan it’s a must-watch because there are SO many references to his previous works and Pedro Pascal really gets a chance to show off his comedic skills.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Gone in 60 Seconds, Con Air are just a couple of the movies referenced in this one — really any Nicholas Cage action movie would be good. Being John Malkovich is one that’s an actor playing himself in a satire way.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent web site )

 

Recommended by Carrie R.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Music CD Review: Hey Gurl, It's Christmas! by Randy Rainbow

Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!
by Randy Rainbow (Compact Disc 394 Rai)

Randy Rainbow is a comedian and singer, who first popped up in the pop culture zeitgeist around 2010, doing comedy videos in which he intercuts video of himself with video of various celebrities and/or newsmakers, to make it appear as if they were having phone conversations. His videos got a lot of traction, and then his popularity exploded in 2016 when he turned to making political parody videos set to music. Again, his style was to intercut images of himself with the politicians he was mocking, to make it look like he was interviewing them, but now he created full-fledged musical numbers — liberally borrowing well-known Broadway hit songs but applying his own all-original thematic lyrics. Randy has dozens of these bitingly satirical videos out there, from 2016 to 2021.

In the Winter of 2020, Randy released his first album, this holiday-themed collection of seven songs — Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas! Of the seven, one is a political parody — “Trumps Favorite Things” (set to “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”). One is a completely original song — the title track. And the other five are well-known Christmas songs, with a Randy Rainbow twist. Randy has guest performers with him on several tracks — Kathy Griffin and Alan Cummings are psychoanalysts helping Randy as he deals with the repercussions of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. Broadway superstar Norm Lewis duets with Randy on a mashup of “Merry Christmas Darling/What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” And another Broadway diva, Lorna Luft shares the crooning duties on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” with Randy.

Other than the political parody song, the two tracks that are most Randy-like (sassy, sarcastic, and flamboyant) are the opening number, “Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas”, where he collaborates with Broadway hitmaker Marc Shaiman, and the upbeat “Make Someone Happy” that wraps up the disc. It’s a short collection, and in true Randy Rainbow style, there is quite a bit of…colorful…language, so if you’re easily offended by casual swearing, this isn’t for you. But if you’ve enjoyed Randy’s online video parodies for the past 5+ years, you’ll love this holiday collection!

(If you enjoy this, Randy has a new album, A Little Brains, A Little Talent, which just came out in November 2021, not yet in the libraries’ collection. Or look for his parody videos online, especially on YouTube.)

( official Randy Rainbow web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

DVD Review: Get Smart (starring Don Adams)

Get Smart
[DVD Get]

“Would you believe…?”

 

Get Smart was a weekly, half-hour television comedy series that spoofed the James Bond and Inspector Clouseau films. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, it ran for five seasons (1965-1970) with only the pilot episode being filmed in black and white.

 

“Missed me by that much.”

 

The stories revolved around CONTROL, a bungling secret spy agency in the US government based in Washington, DC with offices throughout the world. Its major adversary was KAOS, an equally inept, international spy agency staffed with former Nazis, evil scientists, and other dastardly criminals with outrageous plots to take over the world.

 

“Sorry about that, Chief”

 

It starred Don Adams as inept Secret Agent 86 Maxwell Smart, Barbara Feldon as competent Secret Agent 99 (we never learn her real name), and Edward Platt as the long-suffering Chief of CONTROL.

 

“The old bomb-in-the-snack-truck trick.”

 

Much of the fun revolved around the gadgets such as his shoe phone, the protective devices installed inside Max’s apartment, a giant cannon that no one would hear go off because of the equally giant silencer, and the Cone of Silence – which rarely worked.

 

“I asked you not to tell me that”

 

Not to mention Agents 13 and 44 always assigned to ridiculous locations on stakeout such as a locker at the airport, a trash can on the street, and a washing machine at a laundromat.

 

“This is KAOS, we don’t ‘shush’ here.”

 

A favorite villain was Siegfried from KAOS, a former Nazi with an extravagant German accent played by Bernie Kopell (who would go on to play Doc on “Love Boat”) and his enthusiastic sidekick Starker (always pronounced “Shtarker!”) played by King Moody (who would play Ronald McDonald in the 1960s and 1970s).

 

“I asked you not to tell me that.”

 

We also meet Hymie the Robot (played by Dick Gautier), initially created by KAOS but reprogrammed by Max “for goodness and kindness.” Unfortunately, as a logical robot he is literal in the extreme.

 

“Missed me by that much.”

 

As inept as Max is, he somehow manages to save the world for another day.

 

“And, loving it.”

 

The library owns all five seasons. A fun, well-written, witty, hilarious series that also managed to make sly comments on our government, current fashion, and politics. The show won several awards for Best Comedy, Best Writer, Best Comedy Series, and Best Actor. Keep an eye out for cameos by stars from that time period.

[Surprisingly, there were several Get Smart tie-in novels published back in the 1960s when the show was on the air. You can see a list of those on our TV Tie-Ins booklist on BookGuide.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this TV series ] | [ Get Smart description on Wikipedia ]

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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DVD Review: The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Their Friends - The Complete Series

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Their Friends – The Complete Series
(DVD j Adventures)

I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed “The Bullwinkle Show” (packaged here as The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Their Friends) as a kid growing up in the mid-1960s. The series actually premiered in November 1959, and continued for five long seasons and a total of 163 episodes, then continued in re-runs. The central figures were Rocky the Flying Squirrel (voiced by June Foray), and Bullwinkle J. Moose, a dimwitted, curious and lovable figure voiced by Bill Scott, who both lived in Frostbite Falls, MN. They constantly got into wild and improbable adventures, told in a serialized format, which often put them in opposition to foreign spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, and their boss Fearless Leader of Pottsylvania.

Interspersed between Rocky and Bullwinkle’s wild and crazy adventures were other ongoing characters and their stories. These included: the adventures of intrepid Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right, constantly rescuing his would be love, Nell Fenwick, from the clutches of Snidely Whiplash (a loving parody of old silent movie melodramas — in fact, then used only a single piano as their musical accompaniment; Aesop & Son; Fractured Fairy Tales – featuring absurdly comical takes on traditional fairy tale stories; and Peabody’s Improbable History — featuring the genius dog Mr. Peabody and the boy he has adopted, Sherman, and their adventures in Mr. Peabody’s “Wayback Machine” (time travel machine) as they revisited various events throughout history.

All these series features wry, satirical humor, outrageous puns, over-the-top action sequences and healthy doses of cornball silliness. But in the midst of the tongue-in-cheek humor, the writers managed to slip in quite a bit of actual educational content for the “kiddies” who’d be watching. Some of the content holds up well today, over 50 years after they originally aired, but some are painfully dated. Fortunately, cornball humor usually stands the test of time. The Bullwinkle stories would always end with actor William (Cannon, Jake and the Fat Man) Conrad’s voice-over narrator giving hints and possible titles for the next installment — and frequently engaging in verbal sparring with Rocky and Bullwinkle — the series regularly “broke the fourth wall”, with characters acknowledging the viewers and talking directly to us. There were occasional appearances by Bullwinkle in a short feature called “Mr. Know-It-All”, in which the unflappable moose claimed to be an expert on a variety of topics — with hilarious results.

This massive DVD collection includes several special features, including an interview with Rocky’s voice, June Foray, some classic TV commercials, a highlight on Bullwinkle’s songs, examples of some early Bullwinkle puppet introductions to the cartoons, and more. This series has been adapted into live-action feature films twice (Boris & Natasha — 1992 — in which Rocky & Bullwinkle do not appear, and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle — a 2000 mix of live-action and computer animation); Dudley Do-Right was adapted into a single 1999 live-action film (which flopped); and Mr. Peabody and Sherman became a successful animated full-length film in 2014. None of those hold a candle to the originals — even though the originals had substandard animation, the writing and voice work was top notch.

Highly recommended.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try to track down the original animated Underdog series, from the same approximate time period.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ Wikipedia page for the original Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Their Friends television series ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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DVD Review: Isn't It Romantic?

Isn’t It Romantic?
[DVD Isn’t]

I prefer to take actress/singer Rebel Wilson in small doses but, in this movie starring her, I’m okay with the whole shebang for once. Wilson plays Natalie, an overlooked junior architect who, through a head injury, seems to have been transmogrified into a life full of glamor, power, and [shudder] treacly romance. As she navigates her resulting relationship with a dream-guy boyfriend, she starts losing touch with her work bestie, Josh. How does it all turn out? This has a surprisingly sweet tone in among the surrealism and sarcasm, and it pairs Adam Devine with Wilson again (Pitch Perfect movies) for satisfying chemistry. Liam Hemsworth and Priyanka Chopra round out the main cast.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try watching the films What Women Want, Bride and Prejudice or Leap Year.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Isn’t It Romantic? web site ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

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Radio Play Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Hexagonal Phase (as Book-on-CD)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Hexagonal Phase
adapted from the novel And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer, based on the original novels by Douglas Adams (Compact Disc Hitchhikers)

I’ve been a fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy stories, by the late Douglas Adams, since the early-1980s, when I first saw the television version of HHGG, starring Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickenson as Trillian, Stephen Moore as Marvin, David Dixon as Ford Prefect and Paul Jones as the Voice of the Book. That TV series had actually followed the production and airing of HHGG as a radio play, with many of the same actors recurring their roles from the radio production in the TV series (a major exception being that voice actor Geoffrey McGivern was replaced by David Dixon as Ford Prefect). And, yes, viewing the TV show did ultimately get me started on reading all the books in the series as well.

Adams passed away in 2001, after having written 5 volumes in the “Hitchhiker’s trilogy”. All five of those were ultimately produced as multi-part radio plays, with the same actors in the key roles throughout all the stories. In 2009, an official authorized new entry in the Hitchhiker’s series was released by author Eoin Colfer — And Another Thing… — Two different radio play versions of this title were produced, one in 2009 and a second in 2018. That second version reunited most of the cast members (Jones, Davey, Dickenson, etc.). This CD set is the commercial release of the 2018 radio play.

When I reviewed the novel for our Staff Recommendations pages in 2009 (see link below), I ended up a little disappointed in it — it didn’t really live up to the quality of the original Douglas Adams stories. But, having sampled this 2018 radio play adaptation, my opinion has improved. As a radio play, with all the familiar voices reviving their comedic roles, this turns out to be a fun, entertaining sci-fi romp. The story itself is a little all-over-the-place, but the character bits are — at times — hilarious, and the sound effects, special effects and music all add to the overall production. This is a fun show to listen to!

[ Wikipedia page for this production web site ]

See Scott C.’s review of And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer in the November 2009 Staff Recommendations!

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you listened this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!