Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
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| ''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers'' | ||
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| Studio album by The Firesign Theatre | ||
| Released | 1970 | |
| Recorded | April and May 1970 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 46:28 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Producer(s) | The Firesign Theatre with Bill Driml | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
 linkThe New Rolling Stone Record Guide [1]The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide [2]  |
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| The Firesign Theatre chronology | ||
| How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All (1969) |
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers (1970) |
Dear Friends - Syndicated Radio Program (1970-1971) |
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers is The Firesign Theatre's third comedy recording for Columbia Records. Released in 1970 at the height of their popularity, it is considered by many to be their best work. In 1983, The New Rolling Stone Record Guide called it "the greatest comedy album ever made" [1].
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one
This Side – 22:16
[edit] Side two
The Other Side – 24:12 [3]
[edit] Detailed Track Information and Commentary
This was The Firesign Theatre's first album wherein a single narrative took up both sides of the album.
In Phil Austin's notes to the 1987 Mobile Fidelity re-release of this album he says "'Dwarf' is the story of the five ages of Man and in particular, the five ages of one George Leroy Tirebiter; a man named after a dog" [4]
The piece centers on the character of Tirebiter (played by David Ossman) who is not only named after a dog but is also a former child actor who spends his time watching himself on late-night television.
As his evening unfolds, the listener hears "excerpts" from the fictional movie High School Madness starring Peorgie Tirebiter. This film is a parody of shows like the Aldrich Family radio show and of 1940s youth in general, interspersed with commercials and other staples of late-night television as Tirebiter randomly changes channels.
Ultimately, the piece is about the universal experience of channel-surfing, being only partly concerned with the subjective experience of the main character.
The catch phrase, "This is UTV, for you, the viewer!" was eerily prophetic of what in the following decade would become standard television viewing habits for Americans, after the rise of cable television.
Another satirical comment from the album that has held up well was the slogan of The Howl of the Wolf Movie, "Presenting honest stories of working people as told by rich Hollywood stars" [3].
[edit] Issues and reissues
This album was originally released simultaneously on LP, 8 Track, and Cassette.
- LP - Columbia C-30102
- 8 Track - Columbia 18C-30102
- Cassette - Columbia CT-30102
It has been re-released on CD at least five times:
- 1987 - Mobile Fidelity MFCD-880
- 2001 - Acadia ACA8018
- 2001 - Laugh.com LGH1072
- 2001 (October) - Columbia CK-30102
- 2001 (December) - Sony/Legacy - CK-85775
[edit] Miscellanea
[edit] Origin of George Tirebiter's name
There was a real George Tirebiter, who was a dog [4].
In 1946, a mongrel whose owner had died wandered onto the campus of the University of Southern California and was adopted by the students as an unofficial mascot. The mutt acquired a reputation for chasing cars—hence the name. The dog became so famous that at one point he was kidnapped by rival students from UCLA, who shaved their school's letters into his fur. In 1950 his car-chasing career came to an end when he was run over.
During Tirebiter's run as the USC mascot, a young David Ossman lived nearby. No one could have foreseen that the boy would revive the name 20 years later as that of a classic comedy character. It is a typical example of why Firesign humor appealed especially to college students.
[edit] The five ages of George Leroy Tirebiter
In his notes to the Mobile Fidelity release, Phil Austin says that the five ages of George Leroy Tirebiter are:
- Tirebiter the Child, called Peorge or Peorgie
- Tirebiter the College student, called George Tirebiter Camden N200-R
- Tirebiter the Soldier, called Lt. Tirebiter
- Tirebiter the Actor, called Dave Casman
- Tirebiter the Old Man, called George Leroy Tirebiter
[edit] Other Trivia
Read or watch a performance of Thornton Wilder's play, The Skin of Our Teeth, and you will notice many similarities. The characters and stage manager/narrator often break the fourth wall and address the audience directly. The faux newscasts and abrupt transititions in the play mirror the multimedia stream-of-consciousness that characterize this (and most other) FT performances. Sabina expresses her misgivings about the show. Lt. Tirebiter cannot give his men the order to kill, so he breaks character.
The protagonist of TSOOT is George Antrobus, purportedly the inventor of the wheel. In a news broadcast in DCTD, there is a reference to Antrobus inventing the wheel in 1938 BC. The FT newscast seems to be taking place in a post-apocalyptic setting similar to TSOOT. No one was born (after they changed the water)—except dark-hued aquarium children. There had been a 100 year war with the cows. Fred/Adolf Tirebiter, shares much with George Antrobus. They are both archetypes of the American Pater Familias. Antrobus becomes President of the Humans; Tirebiter becomes Peoples Commissioner. They find themselves on opposite sides of a war/trial with their sons.
Of course, The Skin of Our Teeth has often been linked to James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, but that, as they say, is another story...
Another literary forebear of "Dwarf" is Krapp's Last Tape (1958) by Samuel Beckett. The aged Krapp listens to tape-recorded monologues he made each year throughout his life. The aged actor Tirebiter half-dozes in front of the TV, switching channels, all of which are coincidently showing films and TV appearances he made through his long career.
George's failed pizza-to-go order is the other half of Nick Danger's conversation from How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All.
At one point the proposed title for this album was "We'll be Hieronymus Bosch in Jest a Minute, but Faust . . ." [4]
The LP release of this album included a poster of the group [3].
The Mobile Fidelity CD release of Dwarf is very rare. During the late 1990s and up until 2001 the bidding on Ebay for copies of the Mobile Fidelity edition regularly reached the $125 range with one copy actually selling for $250 in 2000. The price for the Mobile Fidelity CD has dropped, however, since this title became available again.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Marsh, Dave, and Greil Marcus. "The Firesign Theatre." The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. 175-176.
- ^ Smith, Ronald L. The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide. Iola: Krause, 1996.
- ^ a b c Firesign Theatre. Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers. Columbia Records, 1970.
- ^ a b c Firesign Theatre. Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers. Mobile Fidelity, 1987.
- ^ For information about the various releases and re-releases of this album, see the following:
"FIREZINE: Linques!." Firesign Theatre FAQ. 20 Jan. 2006 <http://firezine.net/faq/>.
Firesign Theatre. Firesign Theatre. 19 Jan. 2006 <http://www.firesigntheatre.com/>.
At the Official Firesign Theatre Website, see specifically [1] - ^ Firesign Theatre. Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers. Mobile Fidelity, 1987.
This description of Tirebiter's "ages" are quoted directly from the notes to the Mobile Fidelity release.
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| Performers |
| Phil Austin • Peter Bergman • David Ossman • Philip Proctor |
| Albums |
| Commercial |
| Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him • How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All • Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers • I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus • Dear Friends • Not Insane or Anything You Want To • The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra • Everything You Know Is Wrong • In the Next World, You're on Your Own • Forward into the Past • Just Folks . . . A Firesign Chat • Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe • Fighting Clowns • Lawyer's Hospital • Shakespeare's Lost Comedie • The Three Faces of Al • Eat or Be Eaten • Shoes for Industry: The Best of Firesign Theatre • Anythynge You Want To • Back from the Shadows • Pink Hotel Burns Down • Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death • Boom Dot Bust • Bride of Firesign • Radio Now Live! • Papoon For President • All Things Firesign |
| Non-commercial |
| Dear Friends - Syndicated Radio Program • A Firesign Chat with Papoon • Let’s Eat - Syndicated Radio Program • The Proctor-Bergman Report • The Cassette Chronichles |
| Related to Firesign Theatre |
| TV or not TV • How Time Flys • Roller Maidens From Outer Space • What This Country Needs • Give Us A Break • Daily Feed 1988 Newsreel - The Daily Feed • The George Tirebiter Story Chapter 1: Another Christmas Carol • George Tirebiter's Radiodaze • The George Tirebiter Story Pt.2 Mexican Overdrive / Radiodaze • A Capital Decade Daily Feed 1989 Newsreel - The Daily Feed • The George Tirebiter Story Pt.3 The Ronald Reagan Murder Case • Down Under Danger • Tales Of The Old Detective And Other Big Fat Lies • David Ossman's Time Capsules |
| Bibliography |
| The Firesign Theatre's Big Book Of Plays • The Firesign Theatre's Big Mystery Joke Book • The Apocalypse Papers, a Fiction by The Firesign Theatre • Backwards Into The Future: The Recorded History of the Firesign Theatre |
