Memories I wish I had

I'm departing a bit here from my usual kid memories to talk about some adult-ish memories I wish I'd had. If you see this movie, you'll wish you remembered these bands, too: Cookin' Bag. Black and White Affair. Cold, Bold & Together. Soul Swingers. And if you remember these bands already, bless you.

I geek-freak out every year at the Seattle International Film Festival (which is why you haven't heard from me for a bit. I'm geeking until the festival ends.) I have big love for American indie film and even bigger love for documentaries. Throw in local Seattle music history and I'm bursting with fruit flavor at the mere thought. Enter Wheedle's Groove.

Wheedle's Groove tells the unsung story of Seattle's rhythm and blues/funk scene in the late 60s and early 70s--which would have been an interesting enough story for diehard music lovers. But the fact that many of these bands were such amazing talents--as good or better than their more-famous contemporaries--makes the story even more compelling. And the music? Um, it grooves like Sly and the Family Stone. Or maybe Earth Wind & Fire. Take a listen.

Why didn't any of these talented musicians and singers (save for Kenny G) become famous? Blame disco, racism, Seattle isolation, the rain, or something.

Last night's screening was attended by not only the director (Jennifer Maas) but also several of the musicians featured in the movie, many of whom now live ordinary lives in Seattle.

Oh, and that Wheedle thing? The Wheedle on the Needle was the Seattle Supersonics' early, hairily orange mascot.

I want bionic boobs

Not really. But a bionic, uh, head of hair would be great!

But seriously, Lindsey Wagner as The Bionic Woman was one of my idols growing up. (She was kinda like Marie Osmond, only with lighter hair and better tennis skills.) I loved that she was beautiful and athletic both. And smart.

I used to wear my hair much like Jamie Sommers' hair and I copied the way Lindsey ran one hand through it (her hair, not my hair),  in what I thought was a very cool, casually elegant gesture.

My favorite episode, which nearly made me pee my pants with fear, was "Doomsday is Tommorow." The Bionic Woman talks to a computer named ALEX 7000 who, in a very evil turn of events, tries to kill her with things like oxygen-eating foam. No, really--it's scary even today. Take a look at this clip. And how cute is her outfit, despite being in mortal danger while she tries to save the world from a doomsday device that will Kill Us All? It just wouldn't do to repair your bionic leg with an unattractive neckline!

I'm of two minds about the show as seen through adult eyes. The show sometimes is almost campy and scenery-chewy and at other times is genuinely interesting and well-done.

I've been waiting for The Bionic Woman on DVD for years. Now hulu.com has the first season available, which I've been enjoying. A lot. Hulu on my laptop is not quite the same as DVDs on my huge TV on a rainy Sunday while I'm drinking milkshakes and eating nachos, but Hulu will have to do until the DVD set is released, supposedly later this year.

Dearly departed deliciousness: Flicks candy

But wait, LBHG, you say. They still make Flicks, you say.

Alas, they make only a chocolate-flavored product in a tube that calls itself Flicks. But this product is not the Flicks of my childhood. Not the Flicks my grandma would buy me at Food Giant in West Seattle. Not the Flicks that slid out of their bright red tube directly into my mouth. Not the Girardelli Flicks made of real chocolate.

The original Flicks' wrapper is here at the geekily cool Candy Wrapper Museum.

Click if you must see the new Flicks. But I warned you.

I'm a Cancer, and my name is LBHG

This is going to come across as an inappropriate song for a child to remember. And really, this blog is about 70s kid memories, not 70s adult memories.

But I had this song on a K-Tel cassette tape. Even as a kid, I thought it was over the top silly. Today it comes across as two steps past creepy into funny.

If you don't remember it, you have to listen. You just have to. Click to hear the swoony, the romantic, the snigger-inducing Floaters with "Float On."

This song honestly contains the line "sharing your love with Larry." Swear to God.

Wakadoo, muskrats, and Patti Smith

Kids are people, too. Could a television show in the 70s make you feel validated and important? This show thought so. Remember the theme song yet? I believe Wakadoo was the show's mascot dog.

I remember being desperately sick with a stomach virus and watching an episode on our black and white portable TV in which Maureen McGovern sang "The Morning After," and life seemed impossibly sad. Hey...I was sick, okay?

The show attracted some interesting and surprisingly big stars, including Kiss. And Patti Smith. Really. Nothing says "role model for kids" like barfing blood onstage and angry punk screaming. Oh, and Patti Smith sang "You Light Up my Life." Click here if you don't believe me. Patti turns corn syrup into wine on national TV. You absolutely must listen.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the musical coolness spectrum, here the show's house band, Special Delivery, joins Captain & Tenielle for a rousing rendition of one of the most fetid songs ever, "Muskrat Love." Note that Tenielle sings the song with sincerity and tenderness toward the twirling muskrats. Touching, really. If you can watch all of that clip, you have a stronger stomach than I do.

Climb the orange stairs for $25,000. Or some prunes.

My dad loved game shows. I'm not sure his brain ever stopped thinking and processing. Though my brain obviously didn't think at the same level as his, I loved watching game shows with Dad, especially the often-forgotten "Treasure Hunt" (technically "The New Treasure Hunt.")

I so wanted to walk up the orange stairs and grab a big brightly wrapped box to see whether I would get "clunked" (given a crappy prize) or else win $25,000, a trip to Hawaii, or even something weird and cool. I liked to think I had some sort of kid instinct that would lead me to a winning box, which I'd cleverly choose because it was the prettiest or the purplest or the smallest.

After a bit of "Let's Make A Deal" type stuff, the host, Geoff Edwards, would take forever to finally reveal what the contestant had won. Jeff offered tease after tease, fake after fake, leaving us all in a state of desperate wanting.

Watch this episode, filled with suspense, drama, and prunes.

Scooby Doo rulz

Scooby Doo rules the Cartoon Universe. And you know, I'm not sure why Scooby Doo rules. He just does, and everybody thinks so. 

Saturday mornings were all about Scooby Doo and Cocoa Puffs and my footed PJs. We only had one TV in the house, and I can imagine my parents didn't like Saturday mornings much, what with us sugar-hyped kids up at 6 am and dorky cartoons on the TV.

The picture above is of one of my Favorite Things: the Scooby Doo ceramic thingy my mom made (made!) in ceramics class in 1975. (Ceramics were big in the 70s, but that's a whole 'nother post.)

Scooby Doo debuted in 1969 and still airs in syndication. For more details on Scooby's evolution, visit Scoobyaddicts.com.  Or just listen to the theme song.