Back in the olden times, when many of your grandparents were looking for musical entertainment, they'd turn on the radio, which was a box that was somehow connected to a person playing "records." These records were large platters - actual physical objects! - that spun around and emitted music through a process no one really understands any more. The only way you could hear the song again was to either own the platter yourself, as well as the spinning machine, or wait until the radio box emitted it again.
It was quite a primitive system! No wonder they got us into Vietnam!
Anyway, the aborigines of those times, living in a world with no internet - and, almost incomprehensively worse, no Framed! - still had their stars. And one of them was this week's guest, Del Shannon. Del grew up in a small town in Michigan and released his first (and only) #1 song early in 1961, a song called "Runaway." He went on to have a few more hits like "Hats Off To Larry" and "Keep Searchin''' before ending up as an oldies act. His story ended tragically with his suicide in 1990 at the age of 55.
Del's big hit was co-opted by TV's "Crime Story" in 1986, and became the theme song for the show. He obligingly changed the lyrics to better fit this set-up, and the result is this week's video, a mixture of "Crime Story" and latter-day Del Shannon onstage. It's not a great video and not a great song, what with all those changed lyrics. On the other hand, the captions are really pretty good, so what the hell.
Enjoy, but be back here again next week, when Framed actually visits the present! We have that power!
1 - "Hulk mad! Hulk smash guitar!"
2 - "No point in busting this marijuana cigarette. I'll follow it instead and it'll surely lead me to harder drugs
3 - "You know, in the pre-Beatles world we inhabit, you're really quite attractive, baby."
4 - "You're a hostage, lady, so just don't do anything stupid. Don't be a dummy."
5 - "No, that actually is a gun in my pocket."
6 - "Is it possible that, someday, musical success will depend on 'Showing America who you are as an artist' in some sort of grotesque, televised contest? No, I suppose not."
7 - "Victim is a male Caucasian, 50s or 60s. Shows signs of TTP, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than two weeks after starting Plavix."
8 - "Whoa. These are the best readers' comments yet!"
9 - "Hello, future? I need a two-way wrist radio, a jetpack, and a robot dog! Oh, and better music! Right away!"
10 - Aw! Gunno, The Sentient Weapon, misses Framed. Aw!
11 - "I think Mr. Spacely liked me, honey."
12 - "That's not Gummo, you dopes! That's just a helium balloon that hates Rush!"