For better and for worse, The Old Grey Whistle Test was probably the most resolutely serious music program ever broadcast on television. During its 16-year run it showcased only the most earnest exponents of whichever musical style was currently popular, and given that the program's heyday coincided with the early '70s, some of the footage included here (e.g., the prog noodlings of the Edgar Winter Group) will provide humor as exquisite as only unintentional comedy can. However, the good stuff collected here is very good, both in terms of performance (Tom Petty snarling "American Girl", a pre-irony U2 whooping up "I Will Follow") and historical interest, notably a shockingly youthful Elton John crooning "Tiny Dancer."
Viri is a trendy bar waitress, Lissa works in a supermarket and sings hip-hop, Valeria veterinary studies, Yvonne tries to find a place in the world of music and Lourdes does tattoos on the premises of his brother Pogo.
In 1933, a mischievous ten year old, Archie, is left in the care of his unattentive father, Charlie, a reluctant gangster indebted to mob boss Benny “The Bomb” Palladino.
Crystal believed she had the ideal existence: a passionate spouse and a classy life. But all that comes failing down when her husband tries to kill her.
Om lives in Bombay, India, in a small apartment with mother and sister. Om and his mother are of very conservative taste, when it comes to wearing clothes, however, the sister is not.
As a kid, Leo thought he possessed, like a magician, the secret power to make things happen. As a young man, he certainly knows how to make things happen with women.
Robert McChesney lays the blame for the US's current state of affairs squarely at the doors of the corporate boardrooms of big media, which far from delivering on their promises of more choice and more diversity, have organized a system characterized by a lack of competition, homogenization of opinion and formulaic programming.
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Have you watched The Old Grey Whistle Test Vol 1 yet? What did you think about it?
