Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
When David Byrne appears with a portable cassette recorder and his guitar in the opening moments of the concert film Stop Making Sense, the stage is bare. He says, “Hi! I have a tape I want to play,” and then the pre-recorded backing track accompanies him as he plays a solo version of the band’s first hit, “Psycho Killer.”
One admires Byrne’s ostentation, and later his athleticism. As an additional bandmember joins Byrne on stage, and later as the set for the concert is built behind and around the other Talking Heads, David Byrne rolls out new dance moves that are at times innovative, athletic, and even frenetic. He soaks through several shirts and later, famously, a really big suit.
Driving home from The Varsity Theater last night, we remarked that it’s a good thing that Jonathan Demme filmed Stop Making Sense over four days, for no one would be able to move that much, that quickly, and that artfully in 90 minutes. As one ancestor of mine remarked about the children many years ago, “Where do they get that PEP?” Byrne has moves and restlessness like Jagger. Stop Making Sense is a musical version of one of those martial arts films where the punching-and-kicking gymnast hero never tires or has to use the bathroom.
My son Truman insisted that we see the film on the big screen, and of course, he was right. Over the past two years, Truman has been experiencing fine film the way that I experienced classic masterpieces during the early years of my PhD. The author James Clear would say that Truman is engaging in the sort of “deliberate practice [that] requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance” (Deliberate Practice: What It Is and How to Use It).
Truman will have to decide what sort of performances his practice of film research and enjoyment will improve. Isn’t that what college is for? He’s working on his applications now.
The best part of attending a concert is the opportunity (nay, the necessity) to dance while a favorite band is playing. On October 21st, 1986, a friend and I attended a Billy Joel concert at The Centrum (in Worcester, MA) as part of his The Bridge tour. My friend and I got up to dance from our cheap seats after a few songs, only to be told by a big dude that we were blocking his view. And then when Joel started “Only the Good Die Young,” everyone jumped up to dance, and the big dude had nothing more to say to us.
As I was watching The Talking Heads perform last night, I wondered to myself why I wasn’t dancing. First of all, I didn’t want to embarrass my son who was still costumed like Agent K from Men in Black. Also, I noticed that I wasn’t 17, the age I was the last time I saw this film in a theater. Also, like that big dude in Worcester, I might have felt it was too early in the concert to leave my seat.
But then when the song “Slippery People” began, two women from the audience behind us did jump up to descend the stairs to the front of the theater, and to dance. Hooray for them, I said to myself, and then I accidentally started writing this newsletter in my head, planning to conclude that all of us should be the ones in this life who step up to dance, rather than the ones who just watch the dancers with admiration from our seats.
I agree with Kool and the Gang. In their song “Get Down On It,” they share these immortal words:
How you gonna do it if you really don’t wanna dance
By standing on the wall?
(Get your back up off the wall)
After the film ended and the lights came up, one of the dancers exclaimed, “Hi Truman!” It turns out she was Truman’s retired chemistry teacher, and a subscriber to this newsletter. If such an esteemed and respected member of our community can get her back up off the wall, shouldn’t the rest of us, at least once in a lifetime, follow her lead?
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I look forward to hosting a Pub Quiz this evening, hopefully with you in attendance. If you are in Davis tonight, please come by Sudwerk at 7 PM. Recruit a team, dress for sunset, and join us at the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for almost everyone. Latecomers will find a table to play inside. Even though it is more work for me, we always have more fun with the bigger crowds and more voices.
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on people who are powerful, Halloween, our fellow citizens of Earth, the Vatican, Jimmy Carter, famous sayings, jobs in common, Romanian philosophers named Emil, straps one would use to hold down an orca in your RV, successful hosts, flowers, jokers, vitamins, job-seekers, teenage musicians who make good, post-season play, outraged peers, portable kitchens, famous novels, personal traits, dead Americans, countries of origin, UC Davis, adaptations, French culture, self-confidence, puzzles, The Beatles, sweaters, National Parks, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare.
Thanks to The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, Gena Harper and others who support the Pub Quiz on Patreon. They receive the weekly quiz and all the answers in their inboxes every week. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of supporters. I appreciate your backing this endeavor!
Best,
Dr. Andy
Here are three questions from last week’s Pub Quiz:
- Unusual Words. Starting with the letter Q and ending with a C, what adjective means “Extremely idealistic and unrealistic, often to the point of being impractical”?
- Pop Culture – Television. Sharing a seven-word title with a Poe story, what 2023 gothic horror drama television miniseries on Netflix includes the line “Roderick Usher, your family is a collection of stunted hearts.”
- Another Music Question. What instrument does James Galway play?
P.S. Speaking of which, esteemed flute maestra Rachel Geier will open for California poet laureate Lee Herrick at Poetry Night tomorrow night at 7 at the Natsoulas Gallery. What an amazing night this will be! Dancing will be encouraged.