1973
Entertainment

Music

In addition to the usual love songs which I generally found depressing having no lover, there were a few fun songs that came out in ’73, "Crocodile Rock"  by Elton John, "Monster Mash" by Boris Picket.  The most memorable music event of ’73 was when went I to my second rock concert to see Elton John at the old Florida Gymnasium in October.  It was his Yellow Brick Road tour and it was amazing.   The old Florida Gymnasium is a relatively small place, and even though smoking wasn’t allowed, the place was so thick with pot smoke all one had to do was inhale to get high. The music, his performance, the light show, it was all spectacular.

Movies

The Exorcist came out the day after Christmas and a joined some friends to go see it.  We first met at one of their houses and smoked a joint then went to the theater in what is now the Regal theater on west University Avenue.  When we arrived, the line was quite long, extending out into the parking lot and I wasn’t sure we would get it but we did.  The movie freaked me out and I have never been to a horror movie at a theater since then.  

The movie Sting came out staring Paul Newman and Robert Redford which I thought was one of the best movies ever.  I went to see Papillion also starring Paul Newman and thought it was quite good.

Several science fiction movies came out in ’73.  I found Westworld, in which computer controlled robots go out of control, interesting.  Clearly, they didn’t incorporate Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics in their programming.  Battle for the Planet of the Apes was released but I didn’t go see it.  Soylent Green about overpopulation of the earth in which Soylent was a major food source coming in different colors with Soylent Green the most liked. It has one of the most classic science fiction movie lines ever when Charlton Heston says, “Its people, Soylent Green is people.”  Years later a “ready-to-drink meal” came out named Soylent although they were out of green.  I’m not sure what was in the drink for I didn’t read the ingredients, but I don’t think it contained people.

The movie Jesus Christ Superstar came out but I didn’t go see it, but Bill did and then he bought the record with the soundtrack from the movie which he then played constantly for several months.  I really got tired of hearing it. I really got tired of hearing it. Bill did the same thing for when he got the Tommy by the Who album, he played the album over and over again, I must have heard the song Pinball Wizard a thousand times. The thing was it was my stereo in the living room he used, all those hours he played the same album over and over was time I couldn’t listen to my albums.  Oh, well, I was tolerant and let it be.

TV

On TV I regularly watched All in then Family and Sanford and Son and the new show The Six Million Dollar Man.  I never missed an episode of Kung Fu which became my favorite TV show.  I would sometimes I watched M*A*S*H but generally found it depressing and was glad they abolished the draft.