Toad away to that great parking lot in the sky, Peter Bergman founder of Firesign Theater died today.
You young'uns may not know who he was, but Firesign Theater got a few of us here on the Saloon through our high school and college days. Vinyl that was, as the article in the New York Times quotes Bergman as saying,
"...made to be heard about 80 times.”
Other quotes about Bergman and Firesign's works from the article:
“a mind-boggling sound drama” and a “work of almost Joycean complexity.”
...their albums were so filled with “intricate wordplay, stunning engineering and use of sound effects, breakneck pacing and, of course, a terribly complex story line.”
the Library of Congress placed “Don’t Crush That Dwarf” in its National Recording Registry in 2005.
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers" was their third album.
On the occasion of Peter's death , reflecting upon those old albums, I just realized that in some ways, living in China is a lot like being in the middle of a Firesign Theater album. Belated thanks to Peter and FS for preparing me for the "mind-boggling drama" of life and teaching in China.
RIP