Hilarie Mukavitz – For Muppet fans, December is the time of year when our lives seem to have a Paul Williams soundtrack. He is one writer and performer that I have long suspected has Muppet DNA, he understands them so well: the humor, the idealism, the longing to fit in. His body of work his…
Hilarie Mukavitz – Of the large number of singer-songwriters that have appeared on Sesame Street over the years, one of the most memorable is James Taylor. For those of us watching Sesame Street in the late 1970s and early 1980s, our first introduction to James Taylor was on the Sesame Street set, serenading Oscar and…
Hilarie Mukavitz – As a child, I had an experience of déjà vu as I watched Mel Brooks movies with my father. I knew I had seen the woman who played Lili von Shtupp somewhere before. Eventually I made the connection. “Oh yeah, Grover’s friend!” Madeline Kahn is remembered mostly as a comedic actress, but…
Hilarie Mukavitz – A lot of the artists featured in this series have been lesser known. You might have heard of their work, but odds are you hadn’t heard of them. I’m guessing unless you’re reading this blog from Planet Koozebane, you’ve heard of the Beatles. What you may not know is while the Muppets…
Hilarie Mukavitz – Sometimes being an armchair historian is like going to a party hosted by people in the same group of friends. You start to notice some of the same people showing up over and over again and wonder: “Hey, who’s THAT guy? I want to go over and talk to him!” If you…
Hilarie Mukavitz – My very first rock concert was the Monkees in 1987. My very tolerant father took my best friend and I. My most vivid memory, besides jumping up and down all night and screaming my little 9 year old head off, is Davy Jones shouting out “This is 1987!!” It doesn’t seem like…
Hilarie Mukavitz – If you went to elementary school in the United States, you probably think you know Shel Silverstein. Go to any elementary school library and you will see multiple well-used copies of “Falling Up” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” in the poetry section. You probably had someone read “The Giving Tree” to you…
Hilarie Mukavitz – Once, when I was a teenager, my friend Ben was giving me a ride somewhere. As I got in the car he didn’t say a word, and just turned on the tape. The song was John Denver’s “Grandma’s Feather Bed.” As soon as it got to the refrain I joined in: “It…
Hilarie Mukavitz – One night I was watching The Muppet Movie with my mother. We got to the scene where Rowlf comments on his piano playing, saying, “I’m no Heifetz, but I get by.” My mom turned to me and said “That’s YOU! That’s how YOU play!” Indeed, I know I’m not the only piano…
Muppet Maestros Part V: Randy NewmanAs heard on…The Muppet Show (“Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear,” “Short People,” “It’s Lonely at the Top”) Hilarie Mukavitz – Randy Newman is the greatest American songwriter you’ve never heard of. Some of the Disneyphiles out there might recognize his name as the guy who keeps getting Oscar…
The Muppet Mindset 