I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SON LITTLE-Tiny Desk Concert #496 (December 18, 2015).

I know of Son Little, although only vaguely.  WXPN has played his song “The River” quite a lot, although I don’t think I’ve heard anything else.

For this Tiny Desk Concert, he’s really stripped down–just his acoustic guitar, a percussionist (Jabari Exum playing a djembe with accoutrements) and a backing vocalist, his sister Megan Livingston.  His playing is even pretty stripped down–his chords are minimal, almost more like accents for most of the songs (although he does play louder from time to time).

As such, this really celebrates his voice which is strong and almost gospel-like.

He plays three songs. “Lay Down,” is a quiet soulful song with perfectly spare accompaniment.  When it ends, everyone seems adorably shy with Little saying, “just mildly awkward enough.”

“Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches” is a bit bigger–Little sings a bit louder and plays louder chords, but it is still quite minimal.

He ends with “The River” which is certainly stripped down from the radio version.  It opens with some claps and he encourages everyone to clap along although “If you’re like clap challenged then maybe… don’t–you know who you are.”  The song has that bluesy rock feel even in this understated form.  And while I like the original better, this is a great version–that quiet clapping and percussion is really nice.

[READ: July 26, 2016] The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982

So far the 1980s see Schulz settling into a few consistent themes in his strips–regular motifs that he mines over and over again.  Although it’s interesting to see how they have morphed over the decades.

Patty is constantly falling asleep in school (and getting D minuses), Snoopy continues to write funny/bad jokes and gets rejection letters about his books (this is usually pretty funny but it’s also surprising as Snoopy is usually the “successful” one); Snoopy also plays a lawyer a lot in these strips.

1981 begins where 1980 left off with Patty loving the story of Hans Brinker.  1981 also has a lengthy section about Valentines Day (a subject that gets more emphasis in some years than others), although this year Sally is the major protagonist (and her Sweet Babboo her object).  1982 also has a Valentine’s Day with Sally–she gets her hand stuck in the Valentine’s Day cards box.

Schulz used to do bible instruction which is why he quotes it so much.  And he occasionally peppers his strips with religious commentary.  There’s a joke about school prayer–Patty has to go up to the board and when her teacher falls ill she shouts “school prayer works, Marcie.”  There’s an amusing joke that Snoopy used to teach Sunday School at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.

Although the running jokes are funny, I love when he gets a new idea.  Like the a fun twist on the dog ate my homework joke when Snoopy as the WWI pilot steals Sally’s homework claiming it is the enemy’s secret papers and he eats them.

Sometimes Schulz gives a one-off joke that’s just silly and funny like when Woodstock “poofs” a dandelion and it “poofs” him back.

There’s a lot of new drama with baseball in this book.  In March 1981 Patty asks Chuck to sell popcorn for her team.  No matter how many times he asks if he can pitch, she laughs him off and tells him to get selling.  Finally, her team is up by 50 with two outs.  She lets Chuck pitch…to her major regret.  In August 1981, Lucy says she’ll ask Billy Martin if he wants something for his field (he was with the Oakland A’s a the time).

In 1982, Charlie’s team is kicked off of their field!  The owner of the vacant lot says if someone got hurt on the field that he might be liable “What’s happening to the world?”  (Seriously, between Snoopy as a lawyer and this thread, litigation is rampant).  For weeks the insurance keeps them off the field until Snoopy’s brother Spike sells the lot to some coyotes (a totally surreal ending to a real problem).

This thread also leads to a new thread in which Marcie tries to perk up Charlie and she admits that she is fond of him. He is shocked!  “You’re fond of ME?” and sally says, “Kiss her, you blockhead!”  Marcie says “I hate to see you suffer all the time” and kisses him o the cheek.  But Charlie blows it.

There’s some trends that are briefly mentioned.  Snoopy dresses as “Joe Preppy” and then later comes back exhausted from an aerobics class.

There’s some reunions of Snoopy’s siblings.  He tries to get Spike to become a pilot and then discovers that his sister Belle is a Red Cross Girl. This story ends with Snoopy typing “and that’s the story of how two soldiers and their sister met in France during World War I.”  Which Lucy says is a really stupid story.

Beginning in June of 1981 Patty talks about women’s sports being on the upswing because a woman won $30,000 playing golf.  So Patty takes it up.  There’s a few weeks of golf strips, with Snoopy being the “masked marvel” while a boy with buck teeth is caddying for “Joe Richkid.”  Patty could have won if Marcie didn’t get angry at Richkid’s caddie.

Patty gets a lot of threads in this book.  In July, a butterfly lands on her nose and stays there for a few days until Marcie tells her it turned into an angel.  Patty runs with this story, telling everyone.

In August 1981, Patty tries a new outfit–a poofy dress with her hair pulled back (she looks insane).  She gets especially angry because Marcie tells her it looks bad.  In October, Patty tries to enroll in a gifted school because she assumes it’s a school where kids get gifts.  This goes on for several days until she catches on and is very embarrassed.

Lucy and Linus are still very present in these strips, although I feel like I haven’t said too much about them.  But Linus gets a good week-long strip when he’s afraid to get take a sliver out of his finger–hilariously accurate.  And speaking of incredibly accurate.  Sally writes a letter to her grandma thanking her for the stationary and pen and pencil set and then she looks at Charlie and says “I hate writing letters.”

Pigpen makes a one strip return with Lucy saying “I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

Snoopy has a rare Honus Wagner card worth $25,000 (in 2013, it fetched $2 Million).

Sally gives a report in which she says that Joan of Arc was most likely anorexic.

The 1981 football joke is that he is doing it again and again.  As the year draws to an end, Charlie brings Snoopy a meal and says that major funding came from a grant from our family.  Snoopy says If they have a pledge night, I’m leaving.

There’s a few jokes about bugs are taking over Snoopy’s water dish.  Santa Bug comes in one strip and in another they are lined up to see an event.  This premise pops up from time to time.

In December 1981, Sally scratches out a name, “Once they get scratched off my Christmas list they never get back.”

As 1982 opens, Charlie says that years are like candy bars “we’re paying more, bu they;re getting shorter.”

Marcie gets a brief thread when she is made Patrol Person.  Patty is very upset: “I’m into jealousy”, but it winds up exhausting Marcie and then she falls asleep in class (“Zonk city”) which allows Patty to take over her shift (and she is quite the abuser of power).

In January 1982 when Patty does poorly on her test, she says she watches a lot of TV, listens to the radio and reads magazines: she blames the media.

There’s some tennis this year and Snoopy winds up with his old partner Molly Volley who has suddenly gotten very fat (but is still good).

In May 1982 Snoopy is literally fishing for compliments and finding them.

In June 1982 the punchline is “Doug Hennig should disappear so fast.”

In Summer 1982, Sally goes to bean bag camp where they lie in a beanbag, watch TV and eat snacks.  She gains a lot of weight and can’t wait to sign up again next year (she even spoils Citizen Kane for us–Schulz has spoiled this movie many times).

The little red-haired girl is mentioned occasionally. Linus says that since they can’t have dinner or coffee, Charlie should ask her to stand on a corner and eat an orange.  The punchline of that thread is very funny.

In August 1982 Patty is infuriated that the nightly new’s sports coverage was only about men.  Then she lists two dozen women who could be covered in the sports news.  When Marcie asks what they should watch next, the options are The Men, A Man for all Seasons, and All the King’s Men.

In September 1982 we meet a new character!  Snoopys’ other brother Marbles.  Marbles has spots but otherwise looks like Snoopy.  Marbles visits but is utterly perplexed by Snoopy’s WWI imagination.  It’s the first time that everything is directly called into question.  Everything that Snoopy says Marbles simply questions it.  Marbles is wearing jogging shoes which Snoopy says isn’t weird “Mickey Mouse had been wearing yellow shoes for fifty years.”

Snoopy is jogging and Linus says “I’ve been watching you from way off you’re looking great.”  Snoopy replies, “The secret to life is to look good at a distance.”

In October, Patty is going to enter a bowling competition.  When she signs up Patty says that Marcie’s not gong to enter “she’s not what you call athletic”  Marcie replies, “But I don’t fall asleep in school and get D Minuses either.”  Patty comes close to winning but gets another split.  Meanwhile Charlie needs only 5 pins to win but he gets so distracted he throws the ball out the front door.

And the ball rolls all the way to the pumpkin patch which makes Linus think it is the Great Pumpkin–a great link and one I never saw coming.

Rerun makes some appearances, mostly on the back of the bike but in December 1982 he is on the floor crying and Lucy gives him a cookie.

In December 1982 we learn that Patty is really into art–and is pretty good at it.

And Santa Claus returns at the end of 1982.  Snoopy tells Woodstock all about Santa, but then says ol’ Santa just couldn’t care less about an innocent little bird and a faithful dog.  But they do get presents after all

Lynn Johnston of For Better or For Worse does the introduction.  She talks about how when you make a comic strip, you have created and can control and entire world. You know how the bullies will be dealt with.  You can also be any of the characters you invent.  I love her idea that Daydreaming is just rewinding a mental video and watching it again.  But being able to control and direct fantasies requires a unique talent.

She says that Sparky was all of his characters but Snoopy was the one through which he soared–spontaneous, slapstick, silly, and wild.

When Sparky was on his death bed he said it wasn’t fair because he hadn’t finished yet.

I’m becoming more and more curious to see how the strips ends.