On this week's episode of Mark Steyn on the Town, we celebrate two very different songwriters, and some ring-a-ding-ding movie themes.
To listen to the programme, simply click here and log-in.
~Thank you for your kind comments about last week's edition. Anne says:
Great show as always Mark! Enjoyed your selection of songs and chat to celebrate Don Black's birthday.
So did Catherine:
Thank you Mark for yet another totally unmissable show. Many happy returns of the day to the great Don Black, a legend. The first two tracks from Matt Monro set the standard for these songs – wonderful.
Fran Lavery, a First Weekend Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, also enjoyed the birthday observances:
There are lots of useful nuggets of wisdom in your interview with Don Black, Mark. I love the notion that the real stuff in life to cling to are the family and work that gives us satisfaction and that we can share with the world. I can easily see how Don Black was the least weird person in show business. He's also a very gracious man with a nod to you for the great title of his book. Oh, and 'dedication and detachment,' they don't seem to go together quite like a horse and carriage but they really do. Who would've thunk it? Happy 87th Birthday, Don Black, and many more to come.
Olga, a Mark Steyn Club member from Arizona, was worried our Café Continental was turning into a Munich beer garden:
What a relief to learn that 'Du spielst ne tolle Rolle' is from the 60s, & not from a darker time in German history! Mein Deutsch is just barely enough to pick out the dancing on tables bit ~ & who doesn't love dancing on tables!
I think I rather prefer this original to the English lyric, which, justifiably or not, always evokes baseball associations, &, frankly, dancing on tables seems far more appealing.
Nancy, a Montana Steyn Clubber was more struck by last week's Café Imperial:
I will listen to this show again and again - with pleasure! One comment on Paul Kelly's 'Winter Coat': the repeated lyric 'my winter coat my winter coat my winter coat' put me in mind of Veggie Tales (an observation, not a judgment). La Boheme's Colline ain't got nothin' to worry about...
Thanks for another delightful program Mark!
Nicola Timmerman, a Mark Steyn Club member from francophone Ontario, enjoyed our French Number One hit:
Love that song l'ete indien strangely written by Italians, not Canadians! Also si tu n'existais pas and of course Champs Elysees.
You could do a whole show on the Dassin family what with Joe's father being married to Melina Mercouri, having directed and written Never On Sunday and being later blacklisted. Though you probably have already!
And one more from Teresa Maupin:
Great accompaniment to my literal fence mending DIY chore. Although it did interrupt my task at hand when I felt a dance move coming on! Ha.
~On the Town is Steyn's weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe or 12 noon North American Eastern. You can listen from anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here.
As you know, Mark is a great believer in old-school appointment listening, and loves the way Serenade's Saturday schedule flows through the day. However, we appreciate that many potential listeners are, at the appointed hour, shampooing the cat. So, as a bonus for Steyn Club members, we post On the Town at SteynOnline every weekend. You can find all our previous shows here.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, as we commence our ninth year, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio at its regular times next weekend:
Saturday 5pm London time/12 noon New York
Sunday 5am London time/9pm Los Angeles
