Saturday 9

Saturday 9: California Nights (1967)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
1) Lesley Gore premiered this song on an episode of Batman. She played Pussycat, the protegee of Catwoman. (That explains her outfit in the video.) How many of Batman's nemeses can you name? Lots. The Joker was my favorite. But there's The Riddler, The Penguin, the aforementioned Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Egghead, King Tut, The Black Widow, Shame ...

  2) At least five actors have played The Caped Crusader already (Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale) and Ben Affleck will play him in 2016's Batman vs. Superman. Who is your favorite Batman? (If any Batmen were inadvertently omitted, Sam apologizes.) In my world, there will only ever be one.
 
3) Unlike most superheroes, Batman doesn't have any superpowers. This Saturday, you're more fortunate. We're bestowing any superpower on you that you want. Which would you like? I'd like to magically, effortlessly glide everywhere and slide up banisters. Part Mary Poppins, part Peggy from Mad Men.

 
 
4) Though she's singing of warm California nights, Lesley Gore was a New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and, in February of this year, dying in Manhattan. Which coast have you spent more time on, the West Coast or the East Coast? I prefer the East Coast, especially Boston and Philly, but lately I've spent more time in Los Angeles because my oldest friend moved there.
 
5) Not many people know that while she was making records, Lesley was also a student at Sarah Lawrence and graduated with her BA in 1968. What's something we would be surprised to know about you? I don't change unless absolutely forced to. I still have AOL. I've never changed cell phone providers. In the 1980s, the Columbia Record Club had to literally bribe me to switch from vinyl to CDs. I bet you can guess how I stand on e-books.

6) In 1967, when this song was popular, the best selling new

camera in the United States was the new Polaroid Swinger. Think about the most recent photo you took. Did you use a camera, a tablet, or a phone? My little Kodak Easy Share M350 camera.
 
7) The big fashion trend of 1967 was bright tights, in shades like Hot Pink, Shock Orange and Grass Green. Tell us about something you wore when it was trendy but now you look back and think, "Oh, God, that was awful!" In the 1980s, I spiked my then-red hair with purple mousse. I am only grateful that no photos have surfaced.
 
8) In 1967, drivers complained about "gas wars." The price  was unpredictable and would rise and fall, day by day, as much as 30¢ per gallon. How much does it cost you to fill up your tank today? No car
 
9) Random question: Are there dishes in your kitchen sink right now? Now and always.