Playlist Addition

[Dave Monroe]

Finally saw West Side Story on the big screen tonight.
 Accept no substitutes.  Amazing film, except for all
the Richard Beymer/Natalie Wood crap.  Astounded that
NW's credited as the star.  Russ Tamblyn (like Richard
Beymer, later of "Twin Peaks") seems to get more
screen time, and, certainly, more interesting things
to do, than anybody else.  Rivalled only by Rita
Moreno on the latter count.  Even George Chakiris ...
anyway ...

                                               
"Cool"

Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (1957)

Boy, boy, crazy boy 
Get cool, boy 
Got a rocket in your pocket 
Keep coolie cool boy 
Don't get hot 
'Cause man you got
Some high times ahead
Take it slow
And Daddy-o
You can live it up and die in bed

Boy, boy, crazy boy
Stay loose, boy
Breeze it Buzz it
Easy does it
Turn off the juice, boy
Go, man, go
But not like a yo-yo school boy
Just play it cool, boy
Real cool

Boy, boy, crazy boy
Stay loose, boy
Breeze it Buzz it
Easy does it
Turn off the juice, boy
Just play it cool, boy
Real cool 


... "cool," "rocket," "yo-yo."  I'm sure the Cold War
context of WSS has been commented on: the mutually
ruinous rivalry between opposing factions; the
escalation of the weapons race at the "war council" in
the candy shop (rubber hoses, belts, right on up to
switchblades); the "melting pot" Jets vs. the
seemingly homogeneous (save the Asian-looking Chino)
Sharks; there's even a shot of the UN Building in that
opening pass over NYC; and so forth ...  

But reminds me, once again, as potentially problematic
as "Keep cool, but care" might be as a rule for
living, had Kennedy 'n' Kruschev neither kept cool nor
cared ca. October 1962, it wouldn't matter if Pynchon
had never published V. et al., 'cos we most likely
wouldn't be around to discuss him, it, them anyway. 
Given that the novel at hand was ultimately published
in 1963, this might not be an irrelevant context to
keep in mind ...

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