Mad Men Theme Song With a Twist

Bizarre thing I didn’t expect to find: Brian Williams’s daughter singing Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy” to the tune of the Mad Men theme.

Sally Draper's 45s

When Don Draper asks his secretary to buy his daughter some Beatles 45s, here’s what she likely picked up for Christmas 1964:

• “I Feel Fine”/”She’s a Woman” came out November 27 of that year.
• “A Hard Day’s Night”/”Things We Said Today”, July 10, 1964.
• “Can’t Buy Me Love”/”You Can’t Do That”, March 20, 1964.

All are semi-early Beatles releases. The band was still in its early mod period, sporting what the early 60s would think of as long hair but would seem very short come St. Pepper’s full-on hippie look. They wouldn’t start experimenting with different sounds until “Rain” and Revolver in 1966.

The band was pumping out three records a year, and early on their single releases were not collected on the subsequent LPs, so there was a lot to keep up with for the early Beatles fan. Capitol Records, which distributed the band in the US, compiled the albums differently than the UK releases. With Help! in 1965 the releases started to sync up, but in 1964, if Sally had any LPs, she would have had titles like Meet the Beatles!, The Beatles’ Second Album, and Something New. A Hard Day’s Night came out with the film’s release in the late summer but had a slightly different track listing than the UK. Beatles ’65 was the most recent LP Sally could have gotten for Christmas that year, having hit the shelves on December 15.

An Interview with Scott Buckwald, Prop Master for the Hit TV Show Mad Men

Long interview with Scott Buckwald, Prop Master for Mad Men:

There was a typewriter repairman in North Hollywood, California. He couldn’t believe it when all of a sudden someone deposited 24 vintage typewriters on his doorstep and said, “Make them look new”. He probably hadn’t had that much work in the last 25 years. He was probably just about ready to hang up the “Going out of business” sign and cursing the arrival of the laptop computer when all of a sudden here I come with 24 typewriters.

Mad About Mad Men

“What’s wrong—and what’s gloriously right—with AMC’s hit show”—The Atlantic

Brooks Brothers Limited Edition Mad Men Suit

“Brooks Brothers said that the hand-finished, American-made suit is made from gray sharkskin fabric and its two-button jacket features narrow lapels, diagonal pockets and side vents.”—New York Times’s Arts Beat

Mad Men on Sesame Street

Here is Sesame Street’s take on Mad Men.

Jon Hamm's John Ham

For the Mad Men fans out there, “Jon Hamm’s John Ham”.

Might as well check out “Don Draper’s Guide to Picking Up Women” and “A-Holes: Pitch Meeting” while you’re there.

Mad Men Spoiler Report

Rich Sommer hosts a heavily redacted tour of the Sterling Cooper set.

Also discovered: The Footnotes of Mad Men.

The Tech of Mad Men

I was just talking earlier today about how much cooler technology looked when switches, knobs, and lights all looked like airplane components or parts of complicated radio equipment. I think you could make some money selling retro wood console cases for HDTVs. Speaking of: The Tech of Mad Men.

The Film Freak Central Blog: In Retrograde

Short Film Freak Central documentary on the cinematography of Mad Men. I love the point about the show not using steadycams to give it an older look.

10 Muppets and Their Mad Men Counterparts

10 Muppets and Their Mad Men Counterparts.

Mad Men Yourself

Oozing with style, Mad Men Yourself is a lot of fun. See also these promo pictures for season three.

New Haven Commuters, 1961

New Haven Commuters, 1961

In honor of season two of Mad Men coming out on DVD, look at all the commuters drinking and smoking.