Oddity Archive: Episode 285.3 - Ben’s Junk: Thanksgiving Traditions (and not-so-traditions)

[@JontyMaster]

Interesting stuff about Alice's Restaurant. Rest in peace to Alice Brock, a friend of Guthrie's, who inspired the song.

[@VernSherris]

Well, my (Canadian) Thanksgiving tradition is watching "Turkeys Away" from Season One of WKRP in Cincinnati on the Second Monday in October.

[@Peaceful_Rayne]

Other people on dates: Tell me about your job. What are your hobbies? Me: Do you collect rocks? Wanna see mine? Wanna see my VHS collection?

[@holderbee7811]

What are YOUR hardcore Thanksgiving traditions?

[@Bucky749]

I’ve done two different videos on my horror host dvd collection. I probably could do another on random horror hosts

[@neilforbes416]

"Alice's Restaurant" was actually a full-length feature movie in which Arlo Guthrie starred. One scene in the movie shows him visiting his Father, Woody Guthrie in the hospital, likely not long before his death from Huntington's Chorea.

[@CharlesKnox-j5m]

What makes the Peanut specials work, is the jazz score.

[@willheid]

Vince Guaraldi FTW

[@CharlesKnox-j5m]

@willheid Definitely the hero of the Peanut holiday specials.

[@herbcraven7146]

I bought the Charlie Brown Christmas CD about 15 years ago, and it includes Guaraldi's main theme from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. That's really the main thing I love about the special.

[@edwardburek1717]

Mention the words "Charlie Brown", "Snoopy", "Woodstock" or "Peanuts" to me, and all I can hear in my head is the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack.

[@VernSherris]

You hit the nail on the head, Charles.

[@JackMcSomeone]

Honestly, the thing I like most about Garfield is the fact that I share a birthday with Jim Davis (July 28th)

[@zorak1704]

Happy Thanksgiving from W…..K….R….P!

[@marylivingstone9815]

I listen to it every year,too.

[@Jared_Wignall]

My family always watches Christmas Vacation and Planes, Trains & Automobiles on Thanksgiving. It’s been a tradition for many years, so much so we don’t even think of Christmas Vacation as a Christmas movie at this point. I recently got American Movie on Blu-Ray and it’s one of my favorite documentaries, it’s just a shame the Coven short hasn’t been included on the Blu-Ray or the 4K Blu-Ray. So much heart is in it and I find its good to watch get inspired to do something creative anytime I’m trying to do something and I’m essentially stuck for one reason or another. RIP Uncle Bill and Mike Schank. Thank you for the video Ben, I hope you’re doing well. Have a great day and I hope you’ll have a great Thanksgiving next week. Take care!

[@jason3fc]

American Movie is one of my all time favorites. I watch it on Thanksgiving too. " Is that what you wanna do with your life? Suck down peppermint schnapps and try to call Morocco at two in the morning? That's senseless! But that's what happens, man. "

[@TheMediaHoarder]

The Last Waltz was actually one of the very FIRST Blu-Ray releases.

[@mariteaux]

Think I'm gonna give Alice's Restaurant a shot this year, Ben. For all the years I've been watching Archive, I've never actually listened to it, but I've been adventurous with my music this year, so thanks for the suggestion.

[@Vinyljesus95]

American movie is a cinematic masterpiece

[@Moneytane1976]

That last movie was part of the Pirates theme park thing in Florida which was open in the 1970s and featured weird pirate themed rides and a hangout spot for hippies and hard rock groups. More concert venue than park, they also issued several bizarre fairy tale movies and even pornos. The whol park closed around 1976 after disputes over taxes and noise. There was an expedition theme park episode about it. The movie is from 1972 and of course for that era features token diverse kids as well.

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

Santa And The Ice Cream Bunny also reminds me of Jimmy The Boy Wonder where half the movie is just a poorly dubbed cartoon spliced in.

[@edwardburek1717]

Alice's Restaurant on vinyl, cassette, and CD - I'm guessing next year's Thanksgiving special is essentially Benny-boy trying to get an 8-track version.

[@OddityArchive]

Given the length of the centerpiece track, I think an 8-track would just drive me crazy.

[@sf-dn8rh]

Reel to reel

[@jasonhaman4670]

But at that time, I think most R2R releases had been cost-cut to 3.75 ips. And tape formulations hadn't yet developed enough for good quality music at that speed. (Not that they would have cost-increased to use new, better formulations anyway.)

[@OddityArchive]

@@jasonhaman4670 It was available on 7.5ips reel (Warner Brothers most commonly did 7.5ips during the 60's). The best price right now is $150. Can't justify that one.

[@plushifoxed]

When I was in 2nd grade, some hapless teacher's assistant put on Planes Trains and Automobiles for us all to watch, on a day when the teacher was out. Possibly they genuinely thought the movie was in fact a "Lots and Lots of Trains"-like videotape for kids. They let the movie roll the whole way through, too. I barely remember any of it, but it just feels funny to get exposed to an R-rated comedy at the tender age of 7 or 8 or whatever.

[@Bucky749]

He did a live version of Alice’s restaurant the full album and pbs did a concert that for the 50th anniversary you can get on dvd maybe you should look in getting those to ad to archives collection

[@MrScottbot101]

I agree completely about the film version of Alice’s Restaurant. A couple issues I had with the film were that it included far too many additional characters to pad out the running time, and, for the most part took itself way too seriously. If they would have stayed on story they would have had a classic.

[@Foxonian]

I live about an hour away from the real Alice's restaurant. It's in Stockbridge Ma.

[@CharlesKnox-j5m]

I still try to make time to catch the annual MST3K Turkey Day marathon on various Fast streaming services.

[@HereForTheComments]

5:30 I thought the trash cleaning came before the Thanksgiving dinner itself? Also, I thought they dumped the trash off a cliff, not at the city dump.

[@OddityArchive]

They did drop the trash off the cliff...onto the landfill below.

[@djhrecordhound4391]

--Only format you're missing of Arlo is the 8-track...so here's how it goes: "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" starts Pgm 1 and ends on Pgm 3. Part 1 fades fast when he says his first "I wanna k*ll", and his rant starts after switching to Pgm 2. Part 2 fades as Arlo asks, "Alright now?" to kick off audience chorus at the end. --That release of Last Waltz is excellent, including the bonus stuff still playing the music after film ran out. Do you have any Ronnie Hawkins with them as his Hawks, or any Levon and The Hawks post-Ronnie? --Grew up with Charlie Brown on TV, nice to see the DVD --Plains Trains And Automobiles was best experienced in a theater; laughing with the audience Yaknow, I'll ramble too much If I keep going... Enjoy Thanksgiving, Ben and all m'friends in the USA, sendin love from Canuckyland!

[@OddityArchive]

I don't have any Ronnie Hawkins outside of his appearance in "The Last Waltz".

[@dorourke105]

I loved Planes Trains and Automobiles but then again it is one of those your mileage may vary type of movies

[@unconditionalprong]

I got that 4K Criterion put out for The Last Waltz recently. Thanks Ben for encouraging me to go and watch it next week!

[@GatorGirl]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with Thanksgiving media traditions. Yes, I listen to Alice's Restaurant every year (I have the CD version). I like to pair it with WKRP's Turkeys Away. Even after all these years it still makes me laugh. But I have to disagree about the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - that's actually my second favorite Charlie Brown special. I guess having grown up in the '70s it feels comfortable to me. My favorite is actually It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown. I just love watching Peppermint Patty and Marcy trying to make colored eggs, and cooking the every which way EXCEPT boiling them. I can imagine how you feel about American Movie. It must have been terribly frustrating going through your recording days. But you've managed to create something unique and special that a certain segment of the population truly responds to, so don't ever forget that. We do appreciate you. :)

[@OddityArchive]

It takes forever for that WKRP episode to kick into gear, but once it does, the payoff is terrific. I actually saw that one again recently while battling a cold.

[@jasonhaman4670]

Similar to you putting mariteaux on to Alice's Restaurant Massacree, you've interested me in this WKRP episode. Putting that on my to-do list.

[@jasonhaman4670]

I second that about Ben's music. He's in my top 10, probably top 5, artists in the past few years in terms of how much time I spend listening to music. And an impressive range of genres/styles.

[@VernSherris]

@@jasonhaman4670 It's a great episode, Jason. Richard Sanders' narrating the Turkey-Give Away fiasco is fantastic.

[@VernSherris]

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly". - Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump) in the closer segment.

[@thekidfromiowa]

How bittersweet! The album was released the same month Woody died. I can’t help but think about how Arlo went through a similar predicament to yours, watching his father deteriorate. In his case, it was Huntington’s disease.

[@daveporter0217]

I need to add Last Waltz to my Playlist. The Weight is my favorite song, so it is apropos.

[@jennymaurer5170]

I gotta say planes trains and automobiles is my favorite John hughes’ film next To breakfast club?

[@CharlesKnox-j5m]

Add The Bob Newhart Episode, "Over The River And Though The Woods" to your Thanksgiving watch list.

[@sf-dn8rh]

With em ordering Chinese food, and Bob giving the line drunk, "I love coffee!"

[@VernSherris]

There are the Cheers Thanksgiving episodes, to add to the annual watchlist; the Thanksgiving episode from Season 11, and from Season Five, Shelley Long's final season on the show.

[@kyllew420]

Have you seen Dutch found out about it a few years ago and now it’s my tradition to watch every year

[@OddityArchive]

The early 90's movie? Haven't seen it in ages.

[@kyllew420]

It’s a classic and I think John Hughes did it!

[@UKGareth316]

It's weird for me that I only went to usa twice during 2 different thanksgiving and the second of these I 1st heard Alice's Restaurant

[@lutello3012]

American Movie is one of my favorite docs. Maybe I should make it a Thanksgiving thing. Coven isn't included on the 4K disc? 🙄 I bet it's just a 2K upscale too.

[@OddityArchive]

From what I've heard, very little effort has gone into any of the post-DVD issues.

[@mightyfilm]

That Garfield special, along with the rest of them, are all over the internet. I think the official Garfield channel has it up here on KZbin. Tubi has it, but under Garfield and Friends as an 8th season. Of course, that's in contrast to the only legally available on AppleTV Peanuts specials. While I find the Thanksgiving Peanuts special underrated, I do prefer the Garfield one. If nothing else, you get Pat Carol as Jon's Grandma just stealing the one scene she's in.

[@Code7Unltd]

Since Paramount acquired Paws Inc., they've been quite loose with Garfield's back movie catalogue.

[@mightyfilm]

@@Code7Unltd It was like that right up before the buyout. It's got to be like the situation they had with the Ninja Turtles. They owned the characters, but they didn't have the rights to the 1980's animated series. Up until recently, they couldn't air it or release it on home video. My guess is Garfield and Friends, the specials, and The Garfield Show are under ownership of another company (Wildbrain, maybe). I know the new movie was promised to Sony before the VIacom buyout.

[@Code7Unltd]

@@mightyfilm I know the Garfield and Friends (and it's specials) are with 9story since the restoration of 'and Friends' first started. As for the '80s Ninja Turtles, it's license on video was tied up with Lionsgate since Family Home Entertainment first released the tapes and Artisan retained the license to make compilations and season boxes.

[@r66fplaysgames]

​@@mightyfilmActually they're owned by 9 Story Media.

[@mightyfilm]

@@r66fplaysgames Yeah. One of those little organizations not tied to a bigger entertainment conglomerate that can afford to just dump their properties online. I'm sure Garfield and Friends is on at least 3 streaming services and YT at this point. Time will tell if 9 Story will sit on the rights to the older Garfield material like Fred Wolf Films did with the 80's TMNT, or if Viacom will find a way to buy up all the prior Garfield media. They haven't even made an effort to put forth a new Garfield project, and are just giving us merchandise and video game appearances so far.

[@ephtue]

KBCO would play it

[@CharlesKnox-j5m]

Creeping up on 50K subscribers.

[@VernSherris]

That is awesome news for Ben, Charles! Let's hope he gets that 50 000 subscribers mark!

[@OddityArchive]

I've been floating at the same subscriber numbers for over a year. If I hit 50K, I doubt it'll be anytime soon.

[@mikemayberry7121]

Even though we don't agree on much musically, I respect your opinion as a fellow musician. That said, have you ever listened to Rory Gallagher? I think you'd really like him.

[@OddityArchive]

I love Rory Gallagher.

[@mikemayberry7121]

@OddityArchive That's awesome! Do you have a favorite? Mine is probably Top Priority. It'd be really cool if you showed off a Rory album next time you do a Ben's Junk about your physical media collection. Love the channel!

[@lascheque]

I absolutely love The Band, but I disagree to the overall notion out there that the movie is the greatest concert film ever. The performances are amazing, but Scorsese did not really know what he was doing. He was mostly concentrating on Robbie Robertson reducing other band members to sidemen. That there is not a single close up of Richard Manuel during his lead vocal parts in I Shall Be Released is really infuriating to me and completely lacks any respect towards a great musician.

[@OddityArchive]

I certainly won't argue that Robbie's ego factored in quite a bit.

[@scrunchgumpgins4711]

What model of iPod do you use? Is it a 5th gen? 6th gen? Some other model?

[@OddityArchive]

160GB-I think 6th gen-whatever the current model was back in 2008.

[@JimVim]

Met Robbie Robertson in a Yorkville Eatery signed BB King T-Shirt FYI Ben. Still use Sony Walkmen own 3 Panasonic New Old stock. Fluance 81 Elite TT Sony SS5 Speakers Techniques Dual Tape Deck w Sony AV Receiver. AR Film is a Stinker of a Cult film BUT mildly entertaining as a Anti-War Hippy Comedy. Hope your Dads condition is not stressing you out to much. Dealing with same situation. Play with Your AV Gear to cope I do the Same. Hi Hi Hi from CDN-Gobble Gobble!!!