How better to ring in the start of the holiday season than with two of my favorite music film obsessives, musician Chaki (The Funk Wizard) & comedy writer/artist/filmmaker Rachel Lichtman of Programme 4, who brought to my attention the 1970 TV spectacular The 5th Dimension Special: An Odyssey In The Cosmic Universe Of Peter Max.
We discuss how this special got on Rachel’s radar, Chaki seeing a restored version of this in a theater with the members of The 5th Dimension in atttendance, what’s the story behind The Glass Industries sponsorship of this special and how they created a ‘real band,' The Glass Bottle, the PBS ‘fake band’ Mulligan Stew, what it was like being a groovy extra in tv/movies during the hippie days, hippies in advertising, Dickie Goodman of Mr. Shark fame writing the music for The Glass Bottle, Rachel’s The 5th Dimension crime show on Programme 4, Dionne Warwick, the obsession within The 5th Dimension to get their vocal harmonies absolutely right, Marilyn McCoo & Solid Gold, the Bee Gee’s Idea TV Special, the steady hand of director John Moffitt (who also directed Mr. Show episodes), how the special was shot in studio 8H in NYC and not in Burbank, Peter Max’s brand of psychedelic art--where art and commerce meet, the weird vibe of Peter Max’s acting in this special, how the Laugh-In writers did not hit the psychedelic needs of this special, Artie Johnson’s problematic and offensive comedy characters in this special, Glen Campbell and Flip Wilson’s much needed energetic turns in this special, the song and the performance of 'Puppet Man', why the children in this special freak us out, the haunting littering commercials made for this special, Chris’s first time seeing the musical Hair, the legendary arrangement of 'Aquarius' banging into 'Let The Sun Shine In. Also, Rachel gives a massive update regarding the future of Programme 4, and Chaki hints at his new collaboration with El Vez entitled “Fuck Ice”.
THE 5th DIMENSION SPECIAL:
Obsolete Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjC3xB7egmY&t=3292s
RACHEL LICHTMAN:
https://www.programme4.tv/contact
CHAKI:
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:
Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.
The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.
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