From w.h.y. Why in Philadelphia this is Fresh Air I'm David Bianculli in for Terry Gross you not back this now you talk back to kind of you walk in the room stops and you know way Today we feature our interview with jazz pianist Dave Frishberg who's known for such witty songs as can take you know where my attorney Bernie I'm hipp and several songs from T.V.'s Schoolhouse Rock he has a new memoir also to mark the 50th anniversary of the doors single light my fire hitting number one on the Billboard chart we listen back to Ray mans Eric about how he came up with his keyboard part and David Edelstein reviews the new film Detroit about the city's 967 writes It's by director Kathryn Bigelow who won an Oscar for her film The Hurt Locker That's all coming up on today's fresh air. First the news. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying North Korea has launched another long range missile it's the latest act of defiance in the face of international criticism she Halley reports from Seoul today's launch was not entirely unexpected the Pentagon says the enter Continental Ballistic Missile traveled about a 1000 kilometers the force lashing down in the Sea of Japan and that it did not pose a threat to North America the projectile was launched from the northwestern Jarkko province along the border with China this comes 3 weeks after North Korea's 1st successful I think v.m. Test souls defense ministry says this latest launch matched the maximum altitude and flight distance of an i.c.b.m. South Korea's president when Jane immediately convene a national security meeting the Pentagon says u.s. Remains prepared to defend itself and its allies South Korea and Japan a guest Cole any attacks or provocations for n.p.r. News I'm she Hayley and saw President Trump is shifting his focus to the next big item on his agenda immigration overhaul he's in Long Island where he touted a national anti gang initiative through which his administration has tied the crimes committed by Emmis 13 gang members in major cities across the u.s. To the need to crack down on illegal immigration but Trump is still expressing frustration with a major setback for Republicans that is the inability to undo the Affordable Care Act Trump says this isn't the end of the fight but we'll get it done we're going to get it done you know I said from the beginning let Obamacare implode and then do it. It turned out to be right let Obama Care employer. Republican Senator John McCain was the one who cast the deciding vote the defeat of the Republicans latest attempt to dismantle Obamacare hours after that crucial vote McCain's office is the 80 year old senator was returning to Arizona to undergo further medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. The tragic and emotionally drawn out medical and legal battle over a terminally ill British baby is over Larry Miller reports 11 month old Charlie Gard has died just one week shy of what would have been his 1st birthday Charlie guards' parents fought in court to send him to the u.s. For experimental treatment and last they fought to bring him home to die and they lost again this case had international exposure President Trump and the pope offered to do what they could to help the baby had a very rare genetic condition that prevented him from breathing and moving on his own as the court battles continued his condition worsened after the u.s. Neurologist who offered to treat Charlie said it was too late the judge ruled Charlie must be transferred to a hospice and as life support withdrawn in a statement Charlie's mother said our beautiful little boy has gone for n.p.r. News I'm Larry Miller in London you're listening to n.p.r. News. Word has come via an linked information network that one of Kashmir's most prominent militant leaders will head a new group that will fight Indian rule in Kashmir from New Delhi N.P.R.'s Julie McCarthy reports that it would mark the 1st time the terror organization has openly operated in the disputed Himalayan territory the al Qaeda affiliated global Islamic bt a front announced the new cell to be headed by Kashmiri militant soccer Mussa Mussa 23 as part of a new generation of homegrown fighters who have exploited social media to win over new converts young fighters like new subs are seen as more ideological and promote strict Islamic law for Kashmir traditional separatists in Kashmir is decades long struggle every judge to the idea of global terror groups fighting there and accuse India of portraying the struggle as extremist claimed earlier it had formed a group in India but again no visible traction Julie McCarthy n.p.r. News New Delhi. The u.s. Is imposing sanctions on Iran for its launch of a satellite carrying rocket into space this week the sanctions are poorly target 6 Iranian entities that said to be part of the Shahid industrial group this announcement coming today from the Treasury Department today a large crowd of activists staged a protest near the Israeli Embassy in Amman Jordan they were chanting Death to Israel they demonstrated after attending Friday prayers at a mosque near the embassy protesting security guard who shot and killed 2 Jordanians at the embassy earlier this week this is n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the law firm Cooley l.l.p. With offices in the u.s. Europe and China Cooley advises entrepreneurs' investors financial institutions and established companies around the world were innovation meets the law. Students at north part high are like most high schoolers in America when they grow up they want to be somebody's 10 years I plan on being. A millionaire and their principal George Kenny was totally behind them so much so that he turned to an unusual strategy to help them get there. What went right and then horribly wrong this week . This is Fresh Air I'm David Bianculli editor of the website t.v. Worth Watching sitting in for Terry Gross jazz pianist and songwriter Dave Frishberg He's best known as a composer of music and lyrics not books but he's written a new memoir called My dear departed past the recounts his career in and around music the jazz critic might Joyce once wrote The Dave Frishberg writes the kind of songs the Johnny Mercer and Woody Allen might have come up with had they ever collaborated his playful jazzy songs include. A little taste can take you nowhere and my attorney Bernie t.v. Viewers who watch Schoolhouse Rock as kids may still be able to sing along with the number cruncher and his classic explanatory Diddy that couldn't be more topical I'm just a bill. Terry Gross spoke with de Frishberg on more than one occasion asking him each time to sit at the piano the 1st eggs or poor about to hear is from 1991 let's begin by playing the title cut from quality time the album he released after reason visit to Philadelphia and fresh air. I'll be late getting home from the office. And so will you. Because we both got a 1000000 calls to return and a 1000000 things to do. Were not enough each other. Does truth be told we're up to our ears in our careers and we're putting our hearts on hold so down me bring you up to speed. A little to togethers what we need. Do you do something the whole party used to do which is like incorporate a proper nouns you know like names of people from from the ball Yeah responder and it's really funny song you've gotten you've gotten everything. As much. You got your start as a pianist as opposed to a songwriter pianist and singer as a pianist Yes you were sidemen with a lot of musicians you were a house pianist at one of the New York clubs What made you realize that like your ultimate calling was going to be writing songs as well as playing and in singing those songs too well as far as writing is concerned I began to write soon after I got to New York and while I was. A sideman as you say I. I used to try to write so that other singers would be interested or that because I never dreamed of myself as being the singer and I would write to make other recording artists I don't even know who they were but to get their interest to see if maybe you know who you could become a Francis or Paul Anka or what would sing such a thing you know and it turned out that I was writing I wrote terrible stuff it wasn't very good because I didn't mean it you know what I mean I was kind of writing down my song and that doesn't make it it was obvious that I wasn't really that kind of a writer and I was just trying to write amateurishly And so I stopped and I began to just write what came naturally to me and ended up being probably the only one who sings it well what I like about composers singing their songs you know is that if you aren't like relying on a lot of technique then there's something else in your voice and my main purpose is to make sure that the words are all understood Well I think I think composers like you have a way of kind of putting across a song and of putting a certain kind of well the right emotion whether it's with it or are sentiment you know I mean just kind of striking the right the right emotion in the way you're performing it that could be that could be if there's any technique to what I do as far as accompanying myself it might lie in the fact that a lot of times I sing to silence I stop playing when I sing certain songs especially uptempo jazz things and I leave open spaces for my voice to. Execute the music. And then I hear other singers trying to do some of my uptempo songs and I and I wonder why it sounds cluttered and I wonder why they sound why they express difficulty that's a hard song you know to get those things out well then I say well the reason I'm getting it out is because instinctively I stop playing behind myself at that moment and allow the words to happen and of course that doesn't occur to them because someone else is playing the piano and it wouldn't occur to him either you know as an example or was an example of a song where you lay out well for us this is a song like Zoot walks in which is full of jazz articulation you know. That every player's got his own sound Well you see how much there was silence in back of me. And so other singers try to sing this and they got piano player play. Some you know what I mean and they got their stuff going on the back of naturally it sounds a little cluttered you said something once to get in of the New Yorker about lyrics and I quite like the good lyrics come up to the edge of poetry and turn left. Well it was one of those things I wish I'd never said it's utter nonsense I have no idea what that means oh I get it I know it means to me well I don't know I guess I knew it at the time what it meant to me too but I was horrified to see the wrote it down and I used it. Well I'm just here to I guess embarrass you well no I don't know what that means but I do I do know that. I think a better better more telling little aphorism was said by Frank Loesser who said that lyric writing is not literature and it's not poetry it's journalism and I think that really says it that's Dave Frishberg visiting with Terry Gross in 19014 years later he returned to fresh air to speak with Terry again and once again sat down at the piano you know when you started to play piano What did you play boogie woogie the blues I was a blues player when I was 12 or 13 years old I was deep into Pete Johnson he was my hero Pete Johnson from Kansas City and Joe Turner My brother Mark the guy with the key chain he used to sing like Joe Turner really yeah and so he and I would play the Joe Turner Pete Johnson boogie woogie records and we would copy them I would copy them off the record and and we would and so I began playing the blues I could play in c. F. And g. The blues Well I love to hear you play piano solo. What tell us what you want to play and I know you've chosen it I haven't chosen and let me think Ok while you're thinking I'll say I really love your piano playing so when when you perform on the show I always like to get you to play something I mentioned Jamie Shea and. I love that Jamie Shan band from Kansas City I can play a couple of the things that I remember from the Jamie band which contain Charlie Parker by the way that band did so jump and blues you know and. It was Walter Brown sang with Jamie Chan. I love McShane's playing and I love comp bases playing in p. Johnson's playing I was hooked on the Kansas City jazz musicians do you ever get to see these guys play when urea Well I had occasion to meet and play with Jamie Shannon in Duets and stuff that was really fun that night and so. And I did meet count basi under very odd circumstances once I don't know if you want to go into that it was very strange I was rehearsing. I was rehearsing the show from Milton or me it was going to be arrive a few hours hence and I was rehearsing the band then when I got there to rehearse the Bay I'm from Mel Torme this is a very odd circumstance because I had nothing to do with Mel Torme at the time it was one of those phone calls when I got there the band was Count bases band I was rehearsing them and basically stepped aside and I was the piano and began to rehearse bases band in the Tormes opening number felt completely at a loss and because I hadn't heard the music either so I said well the 1st one is called. Dog around or something it was a bass the piece you know. Everybody ready and Freddie Green was sitting there and I said Freddie you don't have your music and he looked at me with this just this cold look at he says I wrote this. I rehearsed the band and I said let's find him basically from where he was and he said what I mean that's fine that's terrible Let me show you how it's supposed to sound guys to me the day. It was funny actually did you feel in on the joke or insulted not insulted certainly but it was good natured they were mean guys and I knew several of the people in the Bay including the meanest was Marshall Royal when he was on my side. So how did you get to rehearse the band where somebody called me it was going to be late and it was and that whoever was going to rehearse was going to be late with him and they needed somebody to readers the brain and you know this so happened in Los Angeles years ago jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg visiting with Terry Gross in 1905 we'll continue their conversation after a break this is Fresh Air. This is Fresh Air Let's return to Terry's 1995 interview with jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg He's just written a memoir called My dear departed past Here's another one of his most famous songs. In France with my attorney Bernie. I'm impressed with his influential friends. He's got a really big connection and I followed his directions 30 knows his way around and sold his new one. Let's with my attorney Bernie. I'm good friends with the way he runs the store. He's got your season. And an office full of foxes It's amazing all the different things your average guy might need a lawyer. Bernie tells me what to do Bernie lays it on the line Bernie says we always Bernie says we say. We. Just stick. Me in touch with my attorney burning. Up the clutch he can speed right to the scene. And if I'm locked up in the jail with just one phone call from my Big deal he said to call his club collect or deal to leave his answering machine. With my attorney Bernie. Even in the rare imported rack. That's because Bernie is a purist not your colleague. Anyway it's like glass around awhile then takes it. Back. And he tells me. Bernie lays it. Burn he says we. Burn he says we said. There's actually a book of sheet music of your songs it's not like I could sit down and play the arrangements or anything but I was looking through the book of sheet music and one of the songs it says word should say you know like. A or moderate tempo or something it says conversationally. You know that's perfect yes that song should after that it's not the kind of. Notation you usually see in sheet music but I thought yes that's exactly right and well it's not that uncommon actually really I think a lot of I think I've seen a lot of songs that have those kind of expressions you know forgetting the old Italian or German expressions conversationally makes a lot of sense you know I liked it a lot of my songs sound so much better if they're sung conversationally like I hear singers sing ballads of mine and they hold those notes up because I know singers they like to hear the sound of their voice and they get caught up in how it feels and how good it feels to produce those tones I think a lot of times it works against the song holding long notes out for a long time you know sometimes I wish I want to tell them when I say conversationally I mean you know you've got to throw that away that's got that's an aside almost or that's a piece of discourse it has nothing to do with holding a note out. But you can tell that to a lot of singers and you got to just. I'm not complaining but a lot of times when I hear singers doing my songs I wish they would sing so much you know I was you know I don't know yeah I don't know what you mean but the last time I saw you perform it was in New York a couple years ago when you did a song called. Well flower. Wallflower lonely Yeah wallflower literally cornflower blue Yeah and it was a real I really liked the song a lot and there was a very actually funny story that went along with the song I'd love for you to tell the story Ok the song well. You know. I tell the story. About how when I was starting to write songs in New York and I'm talking about I had moved to New York and this was the early sixty's in those days it was customary for songwriter to bring the songs directly to the publisher's office and then you sit at the piano and you sing the song and perform it for the publisher and the publisher if he likes it then he has demo records made and so forth but that was the norm. I'll shorten this up but anyway what happened was a guy asked me to write a cowboy song the way he called to play boy song once in a coma since I came back and I wrote to me so I get Think I got a cowboy song so this is it this is what I wrote you know. I'm wallflower lonely. Cornflower blue moon. You'll never know. I feel. Remembering. I tried to forget you. What good does it do. I'm waffling our lonely. Cornflower blue. When we were together. It was sunflower weather. Today only. Seen view. Your love made me happy. More then I knew. But now only one flower and only cornflower So that was my little entry into the country song writing business you know so the guy says to me the publisher says to be Listen to this and he says you mind if I just give you a little tip on on how to construct a song I said no you know please help me out he says Play the bridge for me it's Ok when we were together it was some flowery stuff it was a chord on the word son flour when I said Well let's be 7th he said that's where you lose him. It's what you talking about he says that's not a cowboy chord. Well did you have a witty retort No Later on I thought of a witty retort and then and when I tell the story I pretend like I really said it at the time but I didn't think of it till years later. I should've said to him You mean if I play a b. 7th I lose the audience and he would say yes and then I would say I didn't know it was that easy. But I didn't think of it at the time as a matter of fact probably in those days if I took them seriously and probably avoided b. 7 for a few weeks. Jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg visiting Terry Gross in 1905 His new memoir is called My dear departed past he'll be back at the piano after a break also at the piano in another fresh air interview re man's Eric who told Terry how 50 years ago he came up with the keyboard part for Light My Fire and film critic David Edelstein will review the new movie Detroit I'm David Bianculli and this is Fresh Air. I'm here. I'm no square. Awake I'm aware. In the run. To support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Progressive Insurance committed to offering a streamlined shopping experience where home and auto can be bundled together now that's progressive learn more progressive dot com or 1800 progressive. And from Sony Pictures Classics with Grigsby Baer a new film starring Kyle Mooney is James a young man obsessed with the show break speed bear who's insular world is offended during one night directed by Dave McCary opens Friday July 28th. Support comes from wild berries marketplace locally and I'm proud to carry hundreds of products made by our neighbors right here in Humboldt County while Barry's marketplace keeping it local a supermarket of choice top of the hill g. Street arcade donors include stream does a local company providing streaming services to distribute audio and video signals for more than $700.00 clients and over 90 public radio stations across the country including w n y c And some of cage issues programs learn more at stream guys dot com It's just seconds away from 1230 you're listening to fresh air right here on Cage us you . This is Fresh Air I'm David Bianculli in for Terry Gross back with more of Terry's 1905 visit with jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg He's just written a memoir called My dear departed past when he spoke with Terry sitting in front of a piano in our Philadelphia fresh air studio she asked him about what may be one of his most famous songs and one that's been in the news lately it's I'm just a bill a catchy explanatory song featured on the children's t.v. Program Schoolhouse Rock a lot of people know this song and it shocks me because I never pay much attention to it I don't watch kids television we have to play it. I well. I'm just a bill. And. It's a long long wait while you're waiting in committee. They leased for a. Song by Jack Sheldon in the original recording of that listen to this Terry couple years ago in Portland a friend of mine was in the hospital and went to visit him and he was sharing a room with somebody else who must have been really sick because there was this big screen a peek behind the screen and this guy was this other patient was ghastly pale and he had saw all kinds of tubes stuck in every orifice looked like he was on his way out I was talking to my friend my friends what you've been doing as well I'm working for Schoolhouse Rock again he. She says gee the thing you wrote years ago I'm just a bill I still hear that and from behind the screen came the voice of the other patient and he said it's your. Bill and I said Yeah I said to the thin air you know and then from behind the screen he began to sing the dying man singing my song. God it was more than I can handle or how odd what a strange very odd you know you never know and I kept saying you're singing too much just do it conversation. So there's a song I want to ask you to do that I think is a fairly recent song although I'm not sure you recorded on one of your recent records it's called snowbound and. It strikes me as being. A song that's almost out of character for you because it's not it's not quite the type of character you usually write for it's not you know this is I guess you know I don't even have a character in mind at all for this the reason I wrote such a song is because a lot of singers have been coming to me and they say We'd like to sing your songs but could you write some we don't want ballads we want something with a little be to God not ballads but write something several of them have said to me that's not so weird that only you can sing it. And I know exactly what they mean I mean weird lyrically are well worth it and also from the fact that the songs that I write are written for characters and a lot of singers kind of sense that they're written for a character and are reluctant to play a character or they don't fit that care or they don't fit the character or they prefer to play themselves so they asked me case or I something I guess there was something more neutral or I call it you know something more neutral is my entry into the neutral and lanes. When it's below. It's 12 below. Streets like ice in it nice to be snow. Snow. Placed in Boulder. Deep in snow. Iran right sucked in tight because we're snow. The bad news is though where there may be more bad weather snow but. The good news is that you wait on him to get. The clock has stopped. The car has popped. What a strong What a sight we'll stay warm through the night because we're snow. Snow. Snow snow so for the fades off into the night I love the song that's you know it because I went to a Scandinavian play this last summer and Ahmed again it was translated into Norwegian Oh no he sang it for me you know the reason it's hip I think I like it better and. I've particularly enjoy songs like that in the winter it's really nice to have those like you know snow snow and films. When the weather gets really bad so I'd like to close with another song and I'd like you to close with another song . More. Correct way of putting it. Let me ask you to choose something and feel free to play something new if you wanted to that that I couldn't possibly request because I wouldn't know it yet or one of your classics or anything you'd like but I'm going to let But you say that that Ok. If I ever sung you were there on this program now I really like them washed it this is a song that's mine with the lyric only the music was was written by Johnny Mandela . And he submitted it to me or gave it to me he had shown it to a bunch of other lyric writers he told me later and he said would you like to take a crack at this and he gave me this long melody that had no wrists and it just went on and on and I thought it was a very difficult assignment. And I wrote a lyric to it and and Mandela heard it and he said well it doesn't quite make it you can do better than that and in so many words and so I had to go back and rewrite the whole thing which made it doubly difficult to try to do something again that you thought you'd finished I ended up with a lyric that I was really proud of it fit the aadmi metrical requirements and. Made sense to you. In the evening. When the kettles on for tea. And all familiar feeling settles all over me and it's your face I see. And I believe that you are there. And I Godden. And I stop to touch a rose and feel the battle soft and sweet against my nose. I smile and I suppose that some may be. There. When I'm dreaming. And I find myself awake without a warning. And I rub my eyes then fantasize and all at once. This is Morning. And my fantasy is fading like a distant star Don the my dearest dream is gone. I sometimes think. There's just one thing to do. Attend the dream was true or. Tell myself that you out there. Beautiful So I like it a lot and I'm proud of the lyric it was a tough one to write 5 it's always so wonderful to have you on Fresh Air I'm so glad you were able to come back and do the show again and thank you so much thanks Terry jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg visiting with Terry Gross in 1905 His new memoir is called My dear departed past coming up Raymond's Eric keyboard player for the doors remembers the genesis of Light My Fire which hit the charts 50 years ago this week this is Fresh Air. Donors include United Indian Health Services and a grant from the California Endowment health care needs are covered by medical or Covered California you i.h.s. Can help people in the Indian community and role in these programs learn more at 4652960 or you i h s cover me at c r i h b o r g. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the George Lucas Educational Foundation creator of Edutopia celebrating 25 years of showcasing what works in k. Through 12 education learn more at Edutopia dot org And from Audible with the new original podcast series The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson contributor to This American Life about the unintended consequences of when tech took over porn can be heard at Audible dot com slash butterfly This is Fresh Air This weekend it will be 50 years since Light My Fire by a rock group called the doors hit the number one spot on the billboard singles chart. To celebrate that anniversary we'll listen back to an interview Terry Gross recorded in 1998 with Ray mans Eric he played keyboards for the doors alongside guitarist Robby Krieger drummer John Densmore and singer songwriter Jim Morrison Jim Morrison his lead vocalist was the most iconic member of the doors but as man's Eric told Terry coming up with the song arrangements was a group endeavor somebody would bring a song in and then everyone would go to work on it so Robby came in with a song he said I got a new song called Light My Fire the 1st song Robby Krieger ever wrote what a genius he is he's just the greatest guy great guitar player and great songwriter he plays the song for us and it's kind of a Sonny and Cher kind of and and and. And I fire as I go Ok Ok good chords What are the chord changes there any shows me in a minor to an f. Sharp minor. And that's like whoa that's hip. That's cool. That's when he went into the Sonny and Cher part. He said no no no no no no no no you're going to Sonny and Cher kind of song here man and that was popular at the time Densmore says look we've got to do a Latin kind of beat here let's do something kind of a Latin groove. And I'm doing this left hand line so Jon Stewart. And we set up this Latin groove and then go into a hard rock 4. And that Robbie's only got one verse he needs the 2nd verse and Morrison says Ok let me think about it for a 2nd and Jim comes up with the with the classic line and our love becomes a funeral pyre you know you know that it would be untrue You know that I would be a liar if I were to say to you Girl we couldn't get much. Higher is Robby's than Jim comes the time to hesitate is through in other words seize the moment seize the spiritual Ellice the moment the time to hesitate is through no time to wallow in the mire try now we can only lose Well this kind of heavy try now we can only lose meaning the worst thing that can happen to us death and our love becomes a funeral pyre our love is consumed in the fires of Ogden a and it's like God Jim what a great great verse man so we've got verse chorus verse chorus and then it's time for solo So anyway the verse to the verse goes right to. You know you've heard it a 1000000 times. And then into the chorus. So it's time then for some solos we've done a verse chorus verse chorus now what do we do we're going to play some solos we're going to stretch out here's where John Coltrane comes in here's with the doors jazz background John's a jazz drummer I'm a jazz piano player Robby's a flamenco guitar player and we all said you know we're a minor Let's see what do we do. It then ends up on it so how about. My favorite things John Coltrane It's my favorite things except Coltrane's doing it in d. Minor. But the left hand. Is exactly the same thing. Is in 3. 123-1238 minor the doors Light My Fire is in 4 we're going from a minor to b. Minor. So it's the same thing is. And that's how the solo comes about and then we just go. So it's John Coltrane's My Favorite Things. Coltrane's Ole Coltrane and then. That's the chord structure then I would solo over it. Robby would solo over it and at the end of our 2 solos we'd go into a. Real against for. And I'm keeping the left hand going exactly as it goes that hasn't changed that's the 4 on top of it is 3. Into the turnaround. And we're back verse one verse 2. We're back into our Latin roots so it's basically a jazz structure it's verse chorus verse chorus state the theme take a long solo come back to stating the theme again and we said how do we start the song we just jump on a minor 2 and I am sure we you know I'm going to do that some family will be in isolation and we need something more that we can just vamp a little bit and I started this I put my box Oct back to work with my Bach hat on and came up with a circle of fifths. So I started like this. Like a Bach thing like. So same kind of thing. Be flat i'm And so I'm in Jean Jean f. Up to be flat. A flat to the 8. To a major 8 major Yeah that's it and then we'll go to the a minor I'm thinking all this to myself so that's how the introduction came about. The flag. A flag. And the drums and everything seemed comes in sync. And a Latin desk and then it's a hard rock so that's how light my fire goes that's the creation of light my fire and you come up with this great organ solo in the middle of all that was just luck which is of course cut out of the single right. And that your producer figured we gotta get this on the radio so we got to do a singles version and it was like a 6 or 7 minute drive 7 minutes we had to cut down 7 minutes to 2 minutes and under 3 minutes you know 2 minutes of 45 seconds to 50 would be ideal so he calls you into the office plays you his version Yeah it was edited very simple Rothchild brilliant genius with a producer and a brew spot Nick was our engineer those 2 guys were those were the set of Door Number 5 Door Number 6 Paul said I'm going to I'm going to make an edit here imma do some edits I'm going to cut light my fire down from 7 minutes to 235 to 15 I said good luck and I don't see how you're going to do it I figure he's going to have to do a little bits and cuts and here and there and. 2 days later Rothchild calls and said Ok me and I got a simple. Out of how did you do it so fast you got a 1000 cuts and he said no no no I'm just come on and I'm not going to tell you what I did how I did I just want you to listen to it so the song Stars were all in the control room on the big speakers at Sunset Sound The song starts. With a regular introduction and then is into. And it's going along in an account of a life that's going along now we're into the 2nd verse the time to hesitate is through no time to wallow in the mire try now we can only lose our love becomes a funeral pyre everything's going exactly a come on baby light my fire nothing has changed everything is exactly the same Come on baby light my fire try to set the night on fire now it's time for the souls I think there is the end it man and we're into the solos. I don't know where easy this insane. Where I'm supposed to go. You know play my organ solo what happens it goes. It goes to the. Bank into the turnaround and there's like no no there's no. I'm out I've got 3 minutes so to Robbie's got 2 and a half minutes of solo it's all gone and then verse number 4 it's time to hesitate no time to wallow in the mire trying to be in love becomes a funeral pyre cry baby light my for coming to light my fire try to set the night try to set the night on fire try to set the night there is the end of the song and that's it it's 2 minutes and 45 seconds long and there are no solos in the entire song and I thought I'm going to kill this guy and Paul said Hold it hold it listen I know the solos aren't there but just think you don't know the song you've never heard the song you're 17 years old you're in poker chips See you're in Des Moines you're in Masooma Montana. You've never heard of the doors all you know is a 2 minute and 45 2nd song is going to come on the radio it's called Light My Fire does that work and we all looked at each other and said you know what man you're right it does it works that's Ray mans Eric of the doors recorded in 1998 he died in 2013 at the age of 74 Light My Fire hit the top of the singles charts 50 years ago this week. That's Light My Fire by the Doors the most popular song in the country 50 years ago this week coming up film critic David Edelstein reviews the new movie Detroit This is Fresh Air. Support comes from the arcade a playhouse presenting Jonathan Richmond with drummer Tommy Larkin Saturday July 29th at 8 pm Richmond a founder of the seventy's group the Modern Lovers plays music that's rooted in rockabilly with world music influences tickets at the works while Barry's or reserve at 821575 Learn more at arcade at Playhouse dot. This is Fresh Air The director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal won Oscars for their 2008 film The Hurt Locker and had a box office hit in 2012 with the hunt for bin Laden film 0 Dark 30 their newest collaboration is Detroit based on a deadly motel encounter between law enforcement and civilians during the city's 1967 riots film critic David Edelstein has this review Kathryn Bigelow's film to Troy traumatizes what happened at a motel called the Algiers on the 3rd night of the city's summer of 1967 riots more than 40 people died in those riots among them a white cop which I highlight because his death was on the minds of police when they heard what seemed like sniper fire from the nearby Algiers 3 people would die by the end of the incident it plays out like a war crime. Bigelow has spent her last decade making movies about the psychology of war 1st with The Hurt Locker then 0 Dark 30 which was castigated in some quarters for saying without evidence that torture elicited useful intelligence on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal were stung now they've chosen to tell a true largely forgotten story in which torture doesn't work their poster boy for torture is a white patrolmen Crouse played by the British actor Will Poulter with his arched satanic eyebrows early on Krauss shoots a looter in the back but that's nothing next to what he'll do with the Algiers. The title Detroit is way too broad The film opens as if it's going to show the history and disintegration of an entire city but the focus quickly shifts to the motel we arrive at the Algiers in the company of performers having a bad day Larry Reed played by Algy Smith sings with the soul music vocal group the dramatics who are about to hit the stage at a fancy theater packed with Motown executives when a call comes to evacuate after their bus is swarmed by rioters the dejected Larry and his pal Fred glimpse in a way says the sign for the Algiers where there's an ongoing party they flirt by the pool with white girls from Ohio and end up in the motels an excess in the room of a man named coral played by Jason Mitchell That scene is the film's most dramatically complex Carlin a friend improvise a play with Caro in the role of a white cop hassling a black civilian but things get too real Karl pulls out a gun and shoots his costar only not really it's a starter pistol still the prank emboldens Carl he fires his fake gun out the window at the distant police and whoops with glee as they dive for cover and so we arrive at the movie's Dark Heart the sequence in which black men among them Larry Fred a Vietnam vet played by Anthony Mackie and the 2 white women face a wall well cops led by Kraus pace and back of them punching and pistol whipping them demanding to know where the gun is the interrogation goes on for more than an hour on screen the camera on top of the captives as they plead and weep they take one guy into a room and pretend to execute him they take another guy but this time. The game turns lethal when nothing else works they torment the white girls for supposedly having sex with black men members of the audience with which I saw the film began to cry out halfway through and so did I our hopes were kindled by the hovering presence of other cops and National Guardsman but no one intercedes not even a black security guard played by John Boy a guy who'd attempted to ingratiate himself with the National Guard and now watches with quivering passive itty Bigelow style is a visceral meant to trigger our fight or flight instinct she and bowl give us a little insight into the psyche of the cops or the black security guard there are major gaps in motivation and logic we don't even see how the riots ended what Bigelow does incomparably is put us in that room inducing feelings a powerlessness beyond our capacity to imagine on our own she keeps that feeling going through the court room scenes as the cops are put on trial with infuriatingly predictable results movies like Detroit are a kind of historical accounting by examining and reanimating the events of that night Bigelow ensures that what happens in Detroit doesn't stay in Detroit David Edelstein is film critic for New York magazine. On Monday's show Tom Perrotta author of the novels little children election and the leftovers which was adapted into an h.b.o. Series His new book Mrs Fletcher is about a single mom and her son and how they both are transformed after he leaves home for college the story is about major life transitions and the sexual transitions that can accompany them hope you can join us. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller our technical director an engineer is Audry Bentham with additional engineering support from Joyce Lieberman and Julian Hertzfeld our associate producer for online media is Molly see Venus. Directs the show for Terry Gross I'm David b. . Support for n.p.r. Comes from a visit station I'm from the Public Welfare Foundation committed to advancing justice and opportunity for people in need more information at Public Welfare dot org And from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation providing scholarships throughout the nation to exceptionally high performing students with financial need from middle school to college more information about Cook scholarships is available at c.f. Dot org. 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And in Ferndale data 8.7 on translator k 204 ga. 1 o'clock on the dot and it is Friday again it's the 28th of July this time I'm Danielle or I am here for the cage as you Magazine and that's why you're listening as well hope you'll stay tune for the next half hour it's a community news magazine produced right here at Humboldt State University. And it's Friday so we've got a communique of events for you Dan waar go reading and it's edited and compiled by Fred McLaughlin and.