Yup, it's another one of them blogging game meme things, pilfered this time from Sarah Jane Elliott. What I've done is this: below is a list of twenty musicians I particularly admire, and what the readers need to do is try to guess my favorite work by each one. Some of these, admittedly, will be film composers; I'd like those suggestions narrowed down to specific tracks, but failing that, feel free to name a general score. I'll bold the entries on the list as the correct guesses roll in.
(Oh, and these are in no particular order; I'm just listing musicians as they come to me.)
1. John Williams ("Yoda and the Force" by The Empire Strikes Back)
2. Hector Berlioz
3. Pink Floyd
4. Van Halen
5. Van Morrison
6. Jerry Goldsmith
7. Sergei Rachmaninov ("Symphony No. 2 in E minor" -- but man, that Second Piano Concerto is enthralling)
8. Enya
9. Kate Rusby
10. The Chieftains
11. Alan Silvestri
12. George Gershwin
13. Frank Sinatra
14. Bobby Darin
15. Lerner and Loewe ("On the Street Where You Live", from My Fair Lady. "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" is right up there, though.)
16. The Platters
17. Ludwig van Beethoven
18. Loreena McKennitt ("The Highwayman", indeed. Great bit of song-storytelling there.)
19. Dougie MacLean
20. Jim Croce ("Photographs and Memories" it is! Although "Operator" is the first Croce tune I really loved.)
Give it a shot, folks!
UPDATE the FIRST: Hokey-dokey, folks -- I'm starting to see the trouble with this particular game. I listed the above musicians with specific songs or works in mind, but now that I see a few of the comments, I'm wondering if my original "favorites" are my real favorites or not! Well, keep commenting -- I'll update this as events warrant.
The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
New at GMR
I've mentioned the book The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Celtic Music, by Fiona Ritchie, a couple of times before in this space, and now my review of said book is up at GMR:
I would imagine that more than a few people first encountered Celtic music through the public radio program Thistle and Shamrock, which has run on National Public Radio for over twenty years. That's certainly the way it was with me. Hosted for all that time by Fiona Ritchie, the show is an institution that takes listeners on a weekly tour of Celtic music, sometimes focusing on the newest music available, sometimes focusing on more classic material, sometimes highlighting the grand "old names" of Celtic music, sometimes leaning toward the newest crossover artists. With Ritchie's extensive knowledge of the music and the infectious enthusiasm and passion that fills each episode, it's the most natural thing in the world that she should write the Celtic Music entry in NPR's Curious Listener's Guide series.
Click the link to read the rest.
Sunday Burst of Weirdness
I've never much liked the movie Se7en, mainly for storytelling reasons -- the first two-thirds of the movie are very engrossing, and the last scene is absolutely chilling. What gets me is that I always feel a huge disconnect between the first two acts and the third act, as if the writers, having gone from point A to point B, couldn't figure out how to logically get to point C, so they just copped out by having "the Killer" simply walk into the police station. When I first saw the film in the theater, I just felt the air going right out of the movie when that happened, and instead of watching the final scene in growing horror, I was basically sitting back and saying, "OK, so how does he kill Gwyneth Paltrow?" (Because frankly, if you couldn't see the Gwyneth Paltrow character's horrible demise coming a mile away -- the fact of it, if not the precise manner -- then you simply don't have a pulse. It's what Roger Ebert calls "the Law of Economy of Characters" at work.)
But that last scene is certainly a good scene, and had it existed in a context that made more sense, I'd be among the chorus of voices deeming the film utterly brilliant.
So where's the weirdness, you ask? Well, it's in seeing that final scene enacted using stuffed animals. Now that's just wrong.
But that last scene is certainly a good scene, and had it existed in a context that made more sense, I'd be among the chorus of voices deeming the film utterly brilliant.
So where's the weirdness, you ask? Well, it's in seeing that final scene enacted using stuffed animals. Now that's just wrong.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Great quote!
I just watched Bull Durham, a movie that's got one of the great all-time screenplays, and I just caught a terrific line that isn't as famous as some of the more familiar ones from the movie:
ANNIE: The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self-awareness.
Man, that's some serious philosophy, there.
Lions and tigers and memes, oh no!
I've stolen yet another "List of Crap About Me" thing, this time from QuirkyChick (whose blog design, by the way, I absolutely love). Enjoy. Or not. (None of this stuff is likely to be any surprise at all to longtime readers. I'm mainly doing this quiz because some of its questions are phrased in a way I haven't seen before.)
V I T A L S
(I'm omitting this section, containing stuff like name, height, eye color, and whatnot because its questions are answered pretty much everywhere you might look for such info on this blog. Moving right along....)
S C H O O L
Are you still in school: No.
Favorite subject: Philosophy and music. (In college, I majored and minored in both.)
Least favorite subject: Economics. I just couldn't shake my sense that it was all made-up mumbo-jumbo that didn't really explain much. But I liked the one econ prof I had in college quite a lot. She was a neat lady. (Still is, I guess. I don't think she's dead.)
Do/did you buy lunch or bring it: Ummmm...is this a high school thing? In my Junior and Senior years, I rarely bothered to even eat lunch. In college, I ate in the school cafeteria a lot the first two years, and then moved off campus the last two years, so my diet then consisted of large amounts of Ramen noodles, canned ravioli, Mac-and-Cheese, and the occasional pizza when a check from Mom and Dad arrived.
F A V O R I T E
Number: I vacillate between 2187 and 1138.
Clothing : Well, my fall, winter, and early spring wardrobe pretty much revolves around the theme you see in the pictures in the sidebar -- sweaters, long-sleeve henley or t-shirts, and overalls. During warmer climate, though, I pack the heavier stuff away in favor of t-shirts and bermuda shorts. As always, comfort is my key when picking clothes. If it's not comfortable, I don't care if it makes me look like Cary Grant. I'm not wearing it. (Obviously, clothing required by work is different, since I don't have the option of not wearing what they tell me to wear, but I work in a place where the required clothing is generally pretty comfortable. And it's nice to not have to sit around thinking, "Gee, what should I wear tomorrow..." Plus, they're pretty lenient about letting us accessorize in ways that add flair and personality to our garb. Such as the Celtic hair ties I recently bought.)
TV show: Hmmm. The West Wing has made quite a comeback this season. CSI is still a favorite. For reasons passing understanding, I am totally hooked on The Apprentice. And even though it's only two episodes old, I can see Eyes becoming a big favorite. That show's just fun. I also like Desperate Housewives, believe it or not.
Fruit: Apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, kiwi.
Movie: Star Wars Epiosde IV: A New Hope.
Scent: Cooking meat. (If this is actually asking about perfume or something like that, I have no idea.)
Ice Cream Flavor: Coffee Haagen-Dasz. Once the subject of a college road-trip at midnight.
Color: Purple. I also like red a lot. And blue. Black is also highly useful.
Season: Fall. Why Buffalo isn't spending money to aggressively market its October climate in the hot states is absolutely beyond me. October is the greatest month of all -- weatherwise, sportswise, it's just an all-around awesome month.
Holiday: Thanksgiving.
Thing in your room: Which room? Heck, I dunno. My single-volume of Lord of the Rings, maybe. But really, I don't know. (Oooooh wait, I do know: my writing desk. How'd I forget that?!)
Author: I can't pick just one. But if you held a gun to my head, I'd yelp "Guy Gavriel Kay".
TV channel: The only reason I miss cable is because I can no longer watch the Food Network. For local news, Channel 2 is getting my nod, which is a surprise since local news here has sucked for years.
Shape: Ummmm...the feminine hourglass. Let's move on....
Time: Early evening. Between five and seven.
State: Bliss. (Or are we talking like which of the fifty US states? That would be New York, obviously. Because it's home. But every state is worth being proud of, to its inhabitants, when you get down to it. Well, maybe not Texas. That place is just messed up!*)
Disney character: Peter Pan, with Emperor Cuzco from The Emperor's New Groove a very close second.
Scary movie: The Silence of the Lambs.
» T H I S O R T H A T «
Hot or cold: Weather? Cold. Tea? Hot. Coffee? Hot. Wings? Medium.
Winter or summer: Winter.
Spring or fall: Fall
Shakira or Britney: Dunno who the former is, and utterly detest the latter. Moving on.
MTV or VH1: DVD (I'm keeping QC's answer for this one, since it's perfect)
Rollerblading or skateboarding: Rollerblading. I suck at it, but I enjoy the hell out of it. And I imagine that seeing me coming at one on a pair of rollerblades is a fairly terrifying sight!
Black or white: Black.
Orange or red: Red.
Yellow or green: Green.
Purple or pink: Purple.
Cell phone or pager: Cell phone. (Even though I don't have one.)
Powerpuff Girls or Charlie’s Angels: Charlie's Angels (but only as long as I can have the originals!)
Scooby Doo or Dino: Satchel (from Get Fuzzy)
Y E S O R NO
Are you a vegetarian: No. I long ago decided that nothing ever eats that something else doesn't die, so I'm fine with it.
Do you like cows: Well, I love The Far Side, which has to count for something.
Are you a bitch: Huh?!
Are you artistic: Not with the visual arts.
Do you write poetry: Once in a while. It always stinks.
Can you ski: I've enjoyed Nordic skiing. Never done downhill.
Are you British: What?
Are you straight: Again, what?
Are you evil: Well, the Objectivist Weirdo over on the FSM message boards has told me that I'm evil, but that's the only such testimonial I have as yet.
Is Britney a whore: I have no idea as to her "whoreness". I do think that she's an untalented tart who uses sex appeal to gain fame. If that's the same thing, then yes.
P R I V A T E
Have you ever been in love: Most definitely. More than once, even.
Do you smoke: No.
Do you smoke weed: No. I might have tried it in college, had the guy I knew who did smoke weed on occasion ever had any when I dropped in to visit. But no, I never tried it.
Crack, heroin, anything else: Absolutely not. Never dabbled, either. The strongest thing I ever take is Excedrin.
Beer good or beer bad: Well, that depends, doesn't it? Yuenglings good. Schlitz bad.
Are you the sissy who drinks wine coolers: Great God Almighty, NO!!
» T H E L A S T «
Thing you ate: Peanut M&Ms.
Thing you drank: Water.
Place you went: The Store for the weekly groceries.
Thing you got pierced/tattooed: Never done any of this.
Song you heard: An aria from Tosca, which was playing on the radio on my way home.
Person you instant messaged: I don't IM much anymore, and I don't even remember.
Person you laughed with: The Wife. Other than her, a very good friend at The Store.
N O W
What are you eating: The same peanut M&Ms.
What are you drinking: Nothing. (I finished the water and will be having a Pepsi shortly.)
Any shoes on: My hiking boots.
Hair: Tied back in one of my Celtic hair-ties. (I should post a picture of these sometime -- I think they look pretty cool.)
Listening to: My keyboard, and Little Quinn snoring.
Talking to anyone: No one but me here right now. (The Daughter is outside playing as of this writing.)
L A S T
Last Cigarette: I've never smoked. See above. (I had two cigars in 1995, when two guys I worked with had babies in the same month. That's the only smoking I have ever done.)
Last Alcoholic Drink: A bottle of Yuengling's. It's been a while -- maybe a month or more. I don't drink very much at all any more.
Last Car Ride: An hour or so ago.
Last Good Cry: The frequency has fallen off quite a bit at last, but for a while there I was having these hourly.
Last Library Book: I always have a stack, some of which I read and some of which I don't. I can't recall what I have out right now, except for a book called Brush Up Your Poetry.
Last book bought: The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Celtic Music (of which I should have a review appearing in GMR tomorrow -- I'll post a link if it's there).
Last Book Read: The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: Finding Neverland
Last Movie Rented: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (I also check movies out of the library a lot. Right now I've got Open Range.)
Last Cuss Word Uttered: Probably "dumb ass". I also tend to mutter the F-bomb under my breath, but I really try to not say it out loud except to certain people I trust enough to hear it from my lips. (And there are people I do trust that much, but don't really feel right saying the F-bomb around. It's like, I don't know, uttering the Lord's name in the presence of a nun.)
Last Beverage Drank: Didn't I answer this already? This is the weirdest quiz ever.
Last Phone Call: The Wife.
Last TV Show: Scrubs, which we taped on Tuesday and watched Thursday.
Last Time Showered: This morning.
Last Shoes Worn: Again, didn't I just answer this?
Last CD Played: The soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back.
Last Item Bought: A bunch of food today.
Last Download: Hmmmm...I don't do much downloading, really. If I'm going to own content, I want to own something physical. I'm just not that wild about paying for a transfer of ones-and-zeroes to my computer that might completely disappear if my hard drive ever goes "Kablooey". I know that I'll most likely be forced into doing so over the next however many years, but I'm still not wild about it.
Last Annoyance: Grocery store shoppers who, although the aisle is wide enough for two carts to pass one another, steadfastedly insist on walking down the exact middle of the aisle with their carts. That annoys me greatly.
Last Thing Written: I've started noodling about with some poetry in a leather-backed journal of mine, and I've started jotting the beginnings of a script about life in the supermarket world.
Last Key Used: My apartment deadbolt key. (This is without question the strangest blog-quiz question I've ever seen.)
Last Sleep: I dozed off while feeding Little Quinn about half an hour ago.
Last Ice Cream Eaten: The Store's brand of cookie-dough ice cream, night before last.
Last Chair Sat In: Uhhh...the chair at my computer, duh! (That question almost topped the "Last key used" one from three questions back. But not quite.)
Last Webpage Visited: Assuming we're not talking about blogs, I was browsing eBay a bit earlier.
Well, I'm not sure if I liked that quiz or not. It's got some goofy stuff in there, eh?
* I'm kidding about Texas. Even though you guys gave the world two Presidents Bush, Tom DeLay, and the Dallas Cowboys, you guys also have some wonderful music and barbecue that'll make you cry. So I'll call it a wash.
V I T A L S
(I'm omitting this section, containing stuff like name, height, eye color, and whatnot because its questions are answered pretty much everywhere you might look for such info on this blog. Moving right along....)
S C H O O L
Are you still in school: No.
Favorite subject: Philosophy and music. (In college, I majored and minored in both.)
Least favorite subject: Economics. I just couldn't shake my sense that it was all made-up mumbo-jumbo that didn't really explain much. But I liked the one econ prof I had in college quite a lot. She was a neat lady. (Still is, I guess. I don't think she's dead.)
Do/did you buy lunch or bring it: Ummmm...is this a high school thing? In my Junior and Senior years, I rarely bothered to even eat lunch. In college, I ate in the school cafeteria a lot the first two years, and then moved off campus the last two years, so my diet then consisted of large amounts of Ramen noodles, canned ravioli, Mac-and-Cheese, and the occasional pizza when a check from Mom and Dad arrived.
F A V O R I T E
Number: I vacillate between 2187 and 1138.
Clothing : Well, my fall, winter, and early spring wardrobe pretty much revolves around the theme you see in the pictures in the sidebar -- sweaters, long-sleeve henley or t-shirts, and overalls. During warmer climate, though, I pack the heavier stuff away in favor of t-shirts and bermuda shorts. As always, comfort is my key when picking clothes. If it's not comfortable, I don't care if it makes me look like Cary Grant. I'm not wearing it. (Obviously, clothing required by work is different, since I don't have the option of not wearing what they tell me to wear, but I work in a place where the required clothing is generally pretty comfortable. And it's nice to not have to sit around thinking, "Gee, what should I wear tomorrow..." Plus, they're pretty lenient about letting us accessorize in ways that add flair and personality to our garb. Such as the Celtic hair ties I recently bought.)
TV show: Hmmm. The West Wing has made quite a comeback this season. CSI is still a favorite. For reasons passing understanding, I am totally hooked on The Apprentice. And even though it's only two episodes old, I can see Eyes becoming a big favorite. That show's just fun. I also like Desperate Housewives, believe it or not.
Fruit: Apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, kiwi.
Movie: Star Wars Epiosde IV: A New Hope.
Scent: Cooking meat. (If this is actually asking about perfume or something like that, I have no idea.)
Ice Cream Flavor: Coffee Haagen-Dasz. Once the subject of a college road-trip at midnight.
Color: Purple. I also like red a lot. And blue. Black is also highly useful.
Season: Fall. Why Buffalo isn't spending money to aggressively market its October climate in the hot states is absolutely beyond me. October is the greatest month of all -- weatherwise, sportswise, it's just an all-around awesome month.
Holiday: Thanksgiving.
Thing in your room: Which room? Heck, I dunno. My single-volume of Lord of the Rings, maybe. But really, I don't know. (Oooooh wait, I do know: my writing desk. How'd I forget that?!)
Author: I can't pick just one. But if you held a gun to my head, I'd yelp "Guy Gavriel Kay".
TV channel: The only reason I miss cable is because I can no longer watch the Food Network. For local news, Channel 2 is getting my nod, which is a surprise since local news here has sucked for years.
Shape: Ummmm...the feminine hourglass. Let's move on....
Time: Early evening. Between five and seven.
State: Bliss. (Or are we talking like which of the fifty US states? That would be New York, obviously. Because it's home. But every state is worth being proud of, to its inhabitants, when you get down to it. Well, maybe not Texas. That place is just messed up!*)
Disney character: Peter Pan, with Emperor Cuzco from The Emperor's New Groove a very close second.
Scary movie: The Silence of the Lambs.
» T H I S O R T H A T «
Hot or cold: Weather? Cold. Tea? Hot. Coffee? Hot. Wings? Medium.
Winter or summer: Winter.
Spring or fall: Fall
Shakira or Britney: Dunno who the former is, and utterly detest the latter. Moving on.
MTV or VH1: DVD (I'm keeping QC's answer for this one, since it's perfect)
Rollerblading or skateboarding: Rollerblading. I suck at it, but I enjoy the hell out of it. And I imagine that seeing me coming at one on a pair of rollerblades is a fairly terrifying sight!
Black or white: Black.
Orange or red: Red.
Yellow or green: Green.
Purple or pink: Purple.
Cell phone or pager: Cell phone. (Even though I don't have one.)
Powerpuff Girls or Charlie’s Angels: Charlie's Angels (but only as long as I can have the originals!)
Scooby Doo or Dino: Satchel (from Get Fuzzy)
Y E S O R NO
Are you a vegetarian: No. I long ago decided that nothing ever eats that something else doesn't die, so I'm fine with it.
Do you like cows: Well, I love The Far Side, which has to count for something.
Are you a bitch: Huh?!
Are you artistic: Not with the visual arts.
Do you write poetry: Once in a while. It always stinks.
Can you ski: I've enjoyed Nordic skiing. Never done downhill.
Are you British: What?
Are you straight: Again, what?
Are you evil: Well, the Objectivist Weirdo over on the FSM message boards has told me that I'm evil, but that's the only such testimonial I have as yet.
Is Britney a whore: I have no idea as to her "whoreness". I do think that she's an untalented tart who uses sex appeal to gain fame. If that's the same thing, then yes.
P R I V A T E
Have you ever been in love: Most definitely. More than once, even.
Do you smoke: No.
Do you smoke weed: No. I might have tried it in college, had the guy I knew who did smoke weed on occasion ever had any when I dropped in to visit. But no, I never tried it.
Crack, heroin, anything else: Absolutely not. Never dabbled, either. The strongest thing I ever take is Excedrin.
Beer good or beer bad: Well, that depends, doesn't it? Yuenglings good. Schlitz bad.
Are you the sissy who drinks wine coolers: Great God Almighty, NO!!
» T H E L A S T «
Thing you ate: Peanut M&Ms.
Thing you drank: Water.
Place you went: The Store for the weekly groceries.
Thing you got pierced/tattooed: Never done any of this.
Song you heard: An aria from Tosca, which was playing on the radio on my way home.
Person you instant messaged: I don't IM much anymore, and I don't even remember.
Person you laughed with: The Wife. Other than her, a very good friend at The Store.
N O W
What are you eating: The same peanut M&Ms.
What are you drinking: Nothing. (I finished the water and will be having a Pepsi shortly.)
Any shoes on: My hiking boots.
Hair: Tied back in one of my Celtic hair-ties. (I should post a picture of these sometime -- I think they look pretty cool.)
Listening to: My keyboard, and Little Quinn snoring.
Talking to anyone: No one but me here right now. (The Daughter is outside playing as of this writing.)
L A S T
Last Cigarette: I've never smoked. See above. (I had two cigars in 1995, when two guys I worked with had babies in the same month. That's the only smoking I have ever done.)
Last Alcoholic Drink: A bottle of Yuengling's. It's been a while -- maybe a month or more. I don't drink very much at all any more.
Last Car Ride: An hour or so ago.
Last Good Cry: The frequency has fallen off quite a bit at last, but for a while there I was having these hourly.
Last Library Book: I always have a stack, some of which I read and some of which I don't. I can't recall what I have out right now, except for a book called Brush Up Your Poetry.
Last book bought: The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Celtic Music (of which I should have a review appearing in GMR tomorrow -- I'll post a link if it's there).
Last Book Read: The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: Finding Neverland
Last Movie Rented: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (I also check movies out of the library a lot. Right now I've got Open Range.)
Last Cuss Word Uttered: Probably "dumb ass". I also tend to mutter the F-bomb under my breath, but I really try to not say it out loud except to certain people I trust enough to hear it from my lips. (And there are people I do trust that much, but don't really feel right saying the F-bomb around. It's like, I don't know, uttering the Lord's name in the presence of a nun.)
Last Beverage Drank: Didn't I answer this already? This is the weirdest quiz ever.
Last Phone Call: The Wife.
Last TV Show: Scrubs, which we taped on Tuesday and watched Thursday.
Last Time Showered: This morning.
Last Shoes Worn: Again, didn't I just answer this?
Last CD Played: The soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back.
Last Item Bought: A bunch of food today.
Last Download: Hmmmm...I don't do much downloading, really. If I'm going to own content, I want to own something physical. I'm just not that wild about paying for a transfer of ones-and-zeroes to my computer that might completely disappear if my hard drive ever goes "Kablooey". I know that I'll most likely be forced into doing so over the next however many years, but I'm still not wild about it.
Last Annoyance: Grocery store shoppers who, although the aisle is wide enough for two carts to pass one another, steadfastedly insist on walking down the exact middle of the aisle with their carts. That annoys me greatly.
Last Thing Written: I've started noodling about with some poetry in a leather-backed journal of mine, and I've started jotting the beginnings of a script about life in the supermarket world.
Last Key Used: My apartment deadbolt key. (This is without question the strangest blog-quiz question I've ever seen.)
Last Sleep: I dozed off while feeding Little Quinn about half an hour ago.
Last Ice Cream Eaten: The Store's brand of cookie-dough ice cream, night before last.
Last Chair Sat In: Uhhh...the chair at my computer, duh! (That question almost topped the "Last key used" one from three questions back. But not quite.)
Last Webpage Visited: Assuming we're not talking about blogs, I was browsing eBay a bit earlier.
Well, I'm not sure if I liked that quiz or not. It's got some goofy stuff in there, eh?
* I'm kidding about Texas. Even though you guys gave the world two Presidents Bush, Tom DeLay, and the Dallas Cowboys, you guys also have some wonderful music and barbecue that'll make you cry. So I'll call it a wash.
Support your local blogger!
Just a quasi-regular reminder that I sell stuff on eBay from time to time. I've been weeding out the CD collection lately, jettisoning film scores I no longer listen to and classical recordings I don't much care for; I've also listed some of the books I accumulated when I was studying philosophy. The link to my sale stuff is in the sidebar, so go have a look. All items are guaranteed to be of high quality and smell of mint!
(OK, they don't smell of mint. But I'm not selling my junk -- high quality stuff abounds!)
(OK, they don't smell of mint. But I'm not selling my junk -- high quality stuff abounds!)
Friday Random Ten (the Saturday edition)
It's a gorgeous Spring morning in Buffalo! No, really. We tend to have four or five really gorgeous days each Spring, and this appears to be one of them. Much of the snow from one week ago has melted off (leaving much of the ground a muddy quagmire), but according to The Doppler ZX-9000 Accuweather StormCenter DragonSlayer Forecasting Genius Guy on TV last night, we're actually not supposed to receive much precipitation -- if any at all -- for the next several days, so maybe we'll get the ground dried up somewhat.
Anyhoo, I haven't done a "Random Ten" in a while, so I guess I'll do one right now, because it seems to me that "blogging memes" exist for just days like this: when I want to stick some new content up here without thinking too much about it. Because, you know, thinking's hard and stuff.
1. "Jar Jar's Run-in with Sebulba" (from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
2. Java Jive (by the Manhattan Transfer)
3. "Willow Weep For Me" (from Frank Sinatra sings for Only the Lonely, which is one of those "I don't care what kind of music you listen to, if you don't own this your record collection sucks" albums.)
4. "The Time is Now (selection II)" (from Millennium, by Mark Snow)
5. "The Twentieth-Century-Fox Fanfare" by Alfred Newman (from one of the Star Wars soundtracks)
6. "The Raiders March" (from Raiders of the Lost Ark)
7. "Reading Room" (from Road to Perdition, by Thomas Newman)
8. "Niobe's Run" (from The Matrix Revolutions, by Don Davis -- really good score, that. Maybe someday I'll bother watching the movie, but since my one attempt at watching The Matrix Reloaded ended up with me sleeping soundly in my armchair, it may be a while.)
9. "Nothing to Trade" (from Road to Perdition, again. It always amazes me that randomizing my music program still ends up with two tracks from the same album in the top ten, every time.)
10. "Trilogy" (by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I just checked out their "Very Best Of..." album last week from the library and ripped it, mainly because I dig "Karn Evil 9".)
It's just now occurred to me that even though classical and Celtic music together form over half of my music listening, I have very little of either genre on my hard drive. I'm not sure why this is.
Anyhoo, I haven't done a "Random Ten" in a while, so I guess I'll do one right now, because it seems to me that "blogging memes" exist for just days like this: when I want to stick some new content up here without thinking too much about it. Because, you know, thinking's hard and stuff.
1. "Jar Jar's Run-in with Sebulba" (from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
2. Java Jive (by the Manhattan Transfer)
3. "Willow Weep For Me" (from Frank Sinatra sings for Only the Lonely, which is one of those "I don't care what kind of music you listen to, if you don't own this your record collection sucks" albums.)
4. "The Time is Now (selection II)" (from Millennium, by Mark Snow)
5. "The Twentieth-Century-Fox Fanfare" by Alfred Newman (from one of the Star Wars soundtracks)
6. "The Raiders March" (from Raiders of the Lost Ark)
7. "Reading Room" (from Road to Perdition, by Thomas Newman)
8. "Niobe's Run" (from The Matrix Revolutions, by Don Davis -- really good score, that. Maybe someday I'll bother watching the movie, but since my one attempt at watching The Matrix Reloaded ended up with me sleeping soundly in my armchair, it may be a while.)
9. "Nothing to Trade" (from Road to Perdition, again. It always amazes me that randomizing my music program still ends up with two tracks from the same album in the top ten, every time.)
10. "Trilogy" (by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I just checked out their "Very Best Of..." album last week from the library and ripped it, mainly because I dig "Karn Evil 9".)
It's just now occurred to me that even though classical and Celtic music together form over half of my music listening, I have very little of either genre on my hard drive. I'm not sure why this is.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Resist the temptation, I must....
So I'm walking through The Store today, and when walking past the book and magazine aisle, I notice...the novelization of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Knowing that for five days a week I'm going to be in the presence of a book that will answer every question I have, before the movie comes out, is going to be a serious, serious test of my willpower.
Wish me luck....
Knowing that for five days a week I'm going to be in the presence of a book that will answer every question I have, before the movie comes out, is going to be a serious, serious test of my willpower.
Wish me luck....
Torture Scalzi Week
Actually, he calls it "Reader Appreciation Week", and during that week John Scalzi allows his readers to fill a comment thread with posting suggestions, some of which he answers and some of which he ignores completely. It's certainly an idea worth ripping off! Go give him a suggestion or two. My own suggestion to him is as follows:
While I'm sure you'll be proud of Athena no matter what she ends up doing in life, I'm sure there are things you dream about her doing and things you really hope she doesn't do. So, what profession (or professions) do you secretly pray that she never ends up working in? (I'm assuming legal professions here, of course.)
I think it's BRILLIANT!
Craig points out a pretty nifty damned idea: one of Buffalo's elected officials thinks that, even in the face of fiscal calamity so bad that Charmin recently donated toilet paper to the County so that they could have some in the bathrooms in the County Building, Buffalo should build a new stadium downtown for the Bills. Hearing this idea, I'm reminded of that scene in Roxanne when the Steve Martin character comes upon two of his townsfolk who share with him some supremely goofy idea, and Martin walks off saying something like, "Why, I think it's brilliant! I think it's great! Dare I call it genius? It's like he saw the idea there, ripe on the tree, and he reached out and plucked it and put it in his pocket! And I was there! I saw it happen!"
Of course, I don't think this is a good idea. In fact, I think it's a colossally stupid idea, and I'm not much impressed by the fact that this is coming not from the Bills but from some legislator. The Bills' lease at their current home, Ralph Wilson Stadium, is up in seven years, and this guy is saying that since they'll probably make noises about a new stadium, we should head them off at the pass or something like that.
Hogwash. Nonsense. Bullshit. In that order.
Ralph Wilson Stadium (hereafter "RWS") is a fine facility, even for being thirty years old. It has plenty of parking, it's easy to get to, its sightlines are outstanding. What it probably doesn't offer are all the stadium "bells and whistles" that modern stadiums are supposed to have: lots of luxury seating and whatnot. But the thing is, the stadium can be refurbished to build more of that kind of thing (which they already did back in 1998), and I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to doing that again. Green Bay recently refurbished Lambeau Field, after all. It can be done.
But that -- refurbishing and rejuvenating RWS -- is as far as I am willing to go. A totally new stadium, in downtown? As they say downstate where they're trying to build a stadium of their own (with state tax dollars, meaning that I -- who will in all likelihood never attend a NYJets game -- get to help pay for it), "Fuhgeddaboudit!" Here are my reasons for this:
:: Parking. Stadiums require tons of it, and downtown Buffalo already has a parking glut. A stadium would require tons more parking, which would choke off real estate that I'd rather see developed into parks, businesses, and residences.
:: Economic spinoff. Can't we for all time bury the myth that giant, glitzy sports arenas spark all manner of economic development? It just isn't true. In downtown Buffalo, we've built a really nice minor-league baseball stadium (back when Buffalo was still seriously in the running for getting an MLB franchise), and it hasn't sparked development on its surrounding streets. Neither has HSBC Arena, built a decade ago for the Sabres (and this season maintained by the County without a single dime of revenue coming in from hockey games). Economic development in a place like downtown Buffalo is going to be the result of two things, as I see it: housing for people who want to live in a city, and a more friendly small-business environment that will encourage entrepreneurship. A downtown stadium does none of these things.
:: Frequency of use. How many times would a downtown stadium be used? Well, each NFL team hosts two preseason games and eight regular season games. That's ten. And if the Bills are the top seed in the playoffs, there are two more potential games for them to host. We're up to twelve. (I suppose that if the SuperGlitzy Stadium was domed, it could even host a Super Bowl some year, which would bring the total number of uses up to thirteen.) Then, maybe there would be a handful of large concerts or the like. I think that charitably we might be able to see the SuperGlitzyDome used twenty times a year, tops.
And remember: there will still be a big stadium sitting there to the south, in Orchard Park, not being used. What happens to that land? Does the old RWS still get used once in a while? Is it bulldozed? How expensive would that be?
:: Ralph Wilson. The Bills' owner is, as far as I am concerned, a class act. He's had more than enough opportunities to take the Bills to someplace willing to roll out the carpet for an NFL franchise, and he's shown more backbone and community loyalty than, say, Art Modell, who stabbed his community in the back as soon as the dollar signs were plentiful enough. But the problem with Wilson is this: he is in his 80s. If he dies, the fate of the Bills will be thrown into serious doubt, especially if there is no local buyer wealthy enough to take on the team and keep it here.
For me, the choice is simple. If the Bills need more luxury seat revenue, then figure out a way to build more luxury seats onto RWS. But that's it. This community cannot afford to build a new venue, and either keep or destroy the old one. And if it comes down to one of those "Build me the stadium or the team's out of here" scenarios, then I say without cheer but also without hesitation: "Long Live the Los Angeles Bills."
Of course, I don't think this is a good idea. In fact, I think it's a colossally stupid idea, and I'm not much impressed by the fact that this is coming not from the Bills but from some legislator. The Bills' lease at their current home, Ralph Wilson Stadium, is up in seven years, and this guy is saying that since they'll probably make noises about a new stadium, we should head them off at the pass or something like that.
Hogwash. Nonsense. Bullshit. In that order.
Ralph Wilson Stadium (hereafter "RWS") is a fine facility, even for being thirty years old. It has plenty of parking, it's easy to get to, its sightlines are outstanding. What it probably doesn't offer are all the stadium "bells and whistles" that modern stadiums are supposed to have: lots of luxury seating and whatnot. But the thing is, the stadium can be refurbished to build more of that kind of thing (which they already did back in 1998), and I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to doing that again. Green Bay recently refurbished Lambeau Field, after all. It can be done.
But that -- refurbishing and rejuvenating RWS -- is as far as I am willing to go. A totally new stadium, in downtown? As they say downstate where they're trying to build a stadium of their own (with state tax dollars, meaning that I -- who will in all likelihood never attend a NYJets game -- get to help pay for it), "Fuhgeddaboudit!" Here are my reasons for this:
:: Parking. Stadiums require tons of it, and downtown Buffalo already has a parking glut. A stadium would require tons more parking, which would choke off real estate that I'd rather see developed into parks, businesses, and residences.
:: Economic spinoff. Can't we for all time bury the myth that giant, glitzy sports arenas spark all manner of economic development? It just isn't true. In downtown Buffalo, we've built a really nice minor-league baseball stadium (back when Buffalo was still seriously in the running for getting an MLB franchise), and it hasn't sparked development on its surrounding streets. Neither has HSBC Arena, built a decade ago for the Sabres (and this season maintained by the County without a single dime of revenue coming in from hockey games). Economic development in a place like downtown Buffalo is going to be the result of two things, as I see it: housing for people who want to live in a city, and a more friendly small-business environment that will encourage entrepreneurship. A downtown stadium does none of these things.
:: Frequency of use. How many times would a downtown stadium be used? Well, each NFL team hosts two preseason games and eight regular season games. That's ten. And if the Bills are the top seed in the playoffs, there are two more potential games for them to host. We're up to twelve. (I suppose that if the SuperGlitzy Stadium was domed, it could even host a Super Bowl some year, which would bring the total number of uses up to thirteen.) Then, maybe there would be a handful of large concerts or the like. I think that charitably we might be able to see the SuperGlitzyDome used twenty times a year, tops.
And remember: there will still be a big stadium sitting there to the south, in Orchard Park, not being used. What happens to that land? Does the old RWS still get used once in a while? Is it bulldozed? How expensive would that be?
:: Ralph Wilson. The Bills' owner is, as far as I am concerned, a class act. He's had more than enough opportunities to take the Bills to someplace willing to roll out the carpet for an NFL franchise, and he's shown more backbone and community loyalty than, say, Art Modell, who stabbed his community in the back as soon as the dollar signs were plentiful enough. But the problem with Wilson is this: he is in his 80s. If he dies, the fate of the Bills will be thrown into serious doubt, especially if there is no local buyer wealthy enough to take on the team and keep it here.
For me, the choice is simple. If the Bills need more luxury seat revenue, then figure out a way to build more luxury seats onto RWS. But that's it. This community cannot afford to build a new venue, and either keep or destroy the old one. And if it comes down to one of those "Build me the stadium or the team's out of here" scenarios, then I say without cheer but also without hesitation: "Long Live the Los Angeles Bills."
Hurg!
That's an expletive we used to deploy on rec.music.movies, back in the day when Usenet was good for more than porn spam and whatnot. It applies now because I've managed to post just one thing here the last two days, which was mostly not my fault: yesterday, for some reason, I was completely incapable of getting into Blogger. Ah well, here I am again.
So, what's new?
So, what's new?
Where's the "Wish you were here" card?
Sean points out (in the middle of a grab-bag linkage post that's got some other cool stuff, so go have a peek) Postsecret, a photo-blog that consists of postcards sent to the address of Postsecret's blogger. The catch is that the postcards are (a) anonymous, and (b) feature confessions of deep, dark secrets. There's some whacko stuff, some icky stuff, and a few that are kind of haunting. This is the type of thing that fuels my writerly imagination.
EDIT: I've changed the date of this post so I don't have a single post bumping an entire day's worth of stuff off the main page, just for now. A small thing, perhaps, but it's the small things that bug us most of all, right?
EDIT: I've changed the date of this post so I don't have a single post bumping an entire day's worth of stuff off the main page, just for now. A small thing, perhaps, but it's the small things that bug us most of all, right?
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Coolness Elsewhere....
Time for a grab-bag of linkage while I work on some other stuff:
:: Patrick of Fantasy Hotlist has an interview with writer L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
:: David Brooks says that liberals' problem is that they're not "philosophical" enough; Digby says he's full of bird poop. Advantage: Digby.
:: What's worse than a woman than having to endure a root canal? Having to endure a root canal while already pregnant. Oy. I can imagine the conversation that will ensue the first time Kellie's child, someday years hence, asks the fateful question, "What was it like when I was in your belly?"
:: Mr. Sun on this spring's TV lineup:
:: Patrick of Fantasy Hotlist has an interview with writer L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
:: David Brooks says that liberals' problem is that they're not "philosophical" enough; Digby says he's full of bird poop. Advantage: Digby.
:: What's worse than a woman than having to endure a root canal? Having to endure a root canal while already pregnant. Oy. I can imagine the conversation that will ensue the first time Kellie's child, someday years hence, asks the fateful question, "What was it like when I was in your belly?"
:: Mr. Sun on this spring's TV lineup:
Diagnosis: Fervor. Randall Terry interviews various people and calls them butchers and murderers. Family-friendly.
Joan of AARP. Bea Arthur stars as a frightenting, nasty, strident old woman fighting against privatization of Social Security. Andy Griffith guest stars in steamy cameo as recently widowed Matlock.
Vatican Idol. You help pick the next pope. Simon: "If I'm being honest, you're just not holy enough."
:: GAAHHHH! Cute couple alert! Stop the cuteness! (Kidding aside, that's a nice picture. I love seeing what the faces behind the words in Blogistan look like.)
:: Darth Swank reviews Sin City.
:: John Scalzi has lost a cat. Condolences to him and his family. The major downside to living with cats is that you inevitably lose them. It's therefore a good thing that the major upside to living with cats is, well, living with cats.
How long can THIS keep up?
Michelle is posting again. I keep wishing she'd move into Blogistan full-time, since she is (a) a big Star Wars fan and (b) smarter than me.
(But really, comparing reading Byzantium's Shores to eating marshmallow Peeps? That's the best simile someone as well read as Michelle could come up with? Ewwwwwwwww! But, a compliment's a compliment, and I'm blushing now. Which reminds me, that's another benefit of beards -- they conceal blushing, somewhat. Of course, that benefit is rendered inoperative if one's blushing is also accompanied by waving one's hands in front of one's face and going, "Oh, nnooooo...", but luckily, I never do that. (A claim which I can make since, to my knowledge, none of my coworkers read this blog.))
(But really, comparing reading Byzantium's Shores to eating marshmallow Peeps? That's the best simile someone as well read as Michelle could come up with? Ewwwwwwwww! But, a compliment's a compliment, and I'm blushing now. Which reminds me, that's another benefit of beards -- they conceal blushing, somewhat. Of course, that benefit is rendered inoperative if one's blushing is also accompanied by waving one's hands in front of one's face and going, "Oh, nnooooo...", but luckily, I never do that. (A claim which I can make since, to my knowledge, none of my coworkers read this blog.))
Most...addictive...game...ever....
Slickball. This thing is freaking evil. Imagine Marble Madness, but apparently with Myst-like gizmos that have to be activated before you can make progress. At least I think that's what's going on here, since I kept dying very early in the damn game.
AGGGHHHHH!!!
AGGGHHHHH!!!
Exploring the CD Collection, #11
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
original score composed and conducted by John Williams
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
(This is the first post in what should end up being a series of six posts in a mini-sequence within the ongoing "Exploring the CD Collection" series. If all goes according to plan, there will be six of these when I'm done, culminating sometime in May with my thoughts on the score to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I will be listening anew to each score in the Star Wars series and posting thoughts on those listenings.)
I can remember a time in my life when the music from Star Wars was not a big part of things, but that time in my life is really brief, being confined to my first six years. John Williams's Star Wars music isn't the first music that I remember, but it's the first orchestral music I distinctly remember. (My pre-SW memories are a mishmash of country and Broadway stuff, a lot of which I have come to love dearly as I explore those areas.)
The film opened when I was five, but since we didn't get to see it until the fall of 1977 (or late summer), I might well have been six by the time we saw it. Or maybe I was still five, since my birthday is in September. Ach well, who knows. Anyway, being a dumb-ass first grader, I didn't like it the first time I saw it - - in fact, I actually fell asleep watching it, and I didn't start to grok Star Wars until my sister basically wore me down with her own enthusiasm for it. I agreed to go see it again with her, and that was that. I've carried the mortal wound ever since.
Shortly thereafter, in a record store in Portland, Oregon (where we lived at the time), my older sister bought the soundtrack album. It was a double-LP release in a gatefold cover in black with a giant Star Wars logo on front and a big picture of Darth Vader on the back, if memory serves. My sister played the hell out of those two records, and a few years later when her own Star Wars fandom subsided, she gave them to me. Strangely, though, she gave them to me after I had bought my first record with my own money, from my own allowance: the soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back, so I actually didn't get to know the music from Star Wars really, really well until after I already knew the music from TESB really, really well.
Anyway, I played those records into the ground for a while, and then my musical interests went in other directions, and I didn't return to SW all that often, except as mood-music for when I sat around late at night writing my grand bit of SW fanfic. College came, and I stopped listening to SW entirely, until I bought that OST album on cassette. Truth to tell, I did not own any SW music on CD until late 1993, when a 4-disc boxed set of music from the films was released. I still own that set, and though I rarely play it anymore in favor of the 1997 deluxe CDs released in conjunction with the Special Editions, it occupies a place of honor on my CD shelf and I'll probably insist that it be buried with me when I fall under a Sith lightsaber.
And of course I have ripped the SW scores to my hard drive for easy, point-and-click listening when I want. So I've heard the scores (of the original trilogy, at least) on LP, cassette, one CD release, then another CD release, and as MP3s on my hard drive. That's devotion, folks.
As I've become older and as I've learned more and more about music, I've still returned occasionally to the Star Wars scores, which have become old, reliable friends to me. Playing them every so often gives me a feeling not unlike listening to a Beethoven Symphony after months of, well, other stuff: there's something relieving about coming back to a long-known masterpiece after a long while of playing new music, other music, music that might be as good but not as well known. And the experience almost always finding something new in John Williams's work.
So, what shall I say about this, the first-ever score to a Star Wars movie? Much has been written about Williams's use of the leitmotif method in his music for these films (including this post of mine), so I don't have anything new to add on that front. What struck me on this listen was the way some of Williams's prime compositional influences can be detected, but not in the way that people usually claim.
It seems to me that a lot of the standard clichés about John Williams's work don't really apply. To mention just two: The orchestration in a couple of very brief spots within the score really does sound like Holst's "Mars: The Bringer of War" from The Planets, and a couple of bits of action music - - notably in the Death Star escape sequences - - have a Korngold-esque sound. Williams blatantly blends a Korngold-esque march in the Throne Room scene with an Elgarian one, and there are more modernistic moments during the Tatooine scenes that hark back to Stravinsky. Williams combines a lot of styles in this score, so much so that he's often accused of doing "pastiche" at best or simply ripping off his forebears at worst. I don't think that either claim does justice to his work here.
Williams, it is true, has never been much of an innovator. His is a musical voice that looks backward rather than forward. For some that is a criticism, but it's always been that way: while Wagner was breaking musical boundaries all over the place, his contemporary Brahms was staunchly looking back to classical form. While Stravinsky was causing riots with The Rite of Spring, Rachmaninov was looking back to the height of Russian Romanticism. Many other examples abound. What John Williams has always done is blend disparate elements into a unique musical voice (and it is unique: to the experienced ear with this music, John Williams is as instantly recognizable a composer as you'll find).
As far as I am concerned, two remarkable sequences of music in Star Wars: ANH show where Williams breaks free of simple pastiche into something all his own. The music underscoring the dogfight between the Millennium Falcon and the four TIE fighters takes on a punching sound that stands apart from the rest of the score, nearly perfectly mirroring the rapid-fire editing of the sequence. When Roger Ebert once asked George Lucas to pick a "signature shot" from one of his films to represent what he is as a filmmaker, Lucas picked the entirety of this sequence, since he values editing above all else. There are few action sequences I've seen that more perfectly blend editing with the music.
The other such sequence comes during the Battle of Yavin (the Rebels' attack on the Death Star). The battle as a whole features some very thrilling music, some of it militaristic, some of it not. The score in this sequence does so much to add to the kinetic energy as the fighters first leave the Yavin moon and then pick up speed as they attack the Death Star, but that's not the part that always stands out for me. For a score often derided as being merely derivative, the passage that leads up to Darth Vader's shooting down Biggs stands out, as muted trumpets peal out dissonant chords over screaming strings and woodwinds that provide rhythm. That passage, brief as it is, always makes me shiver, and it's a passage that I've yet to find presaged in Korngold, Herrmann, or anywhere else.
Of course, all of that would be irrelevant if John Williams did not possess an extraordinary gift for melody. In addition to the Star Wars Main Theme, which is probably the most famous single cinematic melody of the last thirty years, the score also boasts Leia's Theme and Ben Kenobi's Theme, both of which are benchmark themes of the overall saga, almost instantly recognizable as Star Wars music - - in fact, what was originally Ben Kenobi's Theme has become more of a "Light Side of the Force" motif as the saga has developed through the years.
Star Wars is one of the warhorses of the film music world, and with good reason.
Next week: The Empire Strikes Back.
original score composed and conducted by John Williams
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
(This is the first post in what should end up being a series of six posts in a mini-sequence within the ongoing "Exploring the CD Collection" series. If all goes according to plan, there will be six of these when I'm done, culminating sometime in May with my thoughts on the score to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I will be listening anew to each score in the Star Wars series and posting thoughts on those listenings.)
I can remember a time in my life when the music from Star Wars was not a big part of things, but that time in my life is really brief, being confined to my first six years. John Williams's Star Wars music isn't the first music that I remember, but it's the first orchestral music I distinctly remember. (My pre-SW memories are a mishmash of country and Broadway stuff, a lot of which I have come to love dearly as I explore those areas.)
The film opened when I was five, but since we didn't get to see it until the fall of 1977 (or late summer), I might well have been six by the time we saw it. Or maybe I was still five, since my birthday is in September. Ach well, who knows. Anyway, being a dumb-ass first grader, I didn't like it the first time I saw it - - in fact, I actually fell asleep watching it, and I didn't start to grok Star Wars until my sister basically wore me down with her own enthusiasm for it. I agreed to go see it again with her, and that was that. I've carried the mortal wound ever since.
Shortly thereafter, in a record store in Portland, Oregon (where we lived at the time), my older sister bought the soundtrack album. It was a double-LP release in a gatefold cover in black with a giant Star Wars logo on front and a big picture of Darth Vader on the back, if memory serves. My sister played the hell out of those two records, and a few years later when her own Star Wars fandom subsided, she gave them to me. Strangely, though, she gave them to me after I had bought my first record with my own money, from my own allowance: the soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back, so I actually didn't get to know the music from Star Wars really, really well until after I already knew the music from TESB really, really well.
Anyway, I played those records into the ground for a while, and then my musical interests went in other directions, and I didn't return to SW all that often, except as mood-music for when I sat around late at night writing my grand bit of SW fanfic. College came, and I stopped listening to SW entirely, until I bought that OST album on cassette. Truth to tell, I did not own any SW music on CD until late 1993, when a 4-disc boxed set of music from the films was released. I still own that set, and though I rarely play it anymore in favor of the 1997 deluxe CDs released in conjunction with the Special Editions, it occupies a place of honor on my CD shelf and I'll probably insist that it be buried with me when I fall under a Sith lightsaber.
And of course I have ripped the SW scores to my hard drive for easy, point-and-click listening when I want. So I've heard the scores (of the original trilogy, at least) on LP, cassette, one CD release, then another CD release, and as MP3s on my hard drive. That's devotion, folks.
As I've become older and as I've learned more and more about music, I've still returned occasionally to the Star Wars scores, which have become old, reliable friends to me. Playing them every so often gives me a feeling not unlike listening to a Beethoven Symphony after months of, well, other stuff: there's something relieving about coming back to a long-known masterpiece after a long while of playing new music, other music, music that might be as good but not as well known. And the experience almost always finding something new in John Williams's work.
So, what shall I say about this, the first-ever score to a Star Wars movie? Much has been written about Williams's use of the leitmotif method in his music for these films (including this post of mine), so I don't have anything new to add on that front. What struck me on this listen was the way some of Williams's prime compositional influences can be detected, but not in the way that people usually claim.
It seems to me that a lot of the standard clichés about John Williams's work don't really apply. To mention just two: The orchestration in a couple of very brief spots within the score really does sound like Holst's "Mars: The Bringer of War" from The Planets, and a couple of bits of action music - - notably in the Death Star escape sequences - - have a Korngold-esque sound. Williams blatantly blends a Korngold-esque march in the Throne Room scene with an Elgarian one, and there are more modernistic moments during the Tatooine scenes that hark back to Stravinsky. Williams combines a lot of styles in this score, so much so that he's often accused of doing "pastiche" at best or simply ripping off his forebears at worst. I don't think that either claim does justice to his work here.
Williams, it is true, has never been much of an innovator. His is a musical voice that looks backward rather than forward. For some that is a criticism, but it's always been that way: while Wagner was breaking musical boundaries all over the place, his contemporary Brahms was staunchly looking back to classical form. While Stravinsky was causing riots with The Rite of Spring, Rachmaninov was looking back to the height of Russian Romanticism. Many other examples abound. What John Williams has always done is blend disparate elements into a unique musical voice (and it is unique: to the experienced ear with this music, John Williams is as instantly recognizable a composer as you'll find).
As far as I am concerned, two remarkable sequences of music in Star Wars: ANH show where Williams breaks free of simple pastiche into something all his own. The music underscoring the dogfight between the Millennium Falcon and the four TIE fighters takes on a punching sound that stands apart from the rest of the score, nearly perfectly mirroring the rapid-fire editing of the sequence. When Roger Ebert once asked George Lucas to pick a "signature shot" from one of his films to represent what he is as a filmmaker, Lucas picked the entirety of this sequence, since he values editing above all else. There are few action sequences I've seen that more perfectly blend editing with the music.
The other such sequence comes during the Battle of Yavin (the Rebels' attack on the Death Star). The battle as a whole features some very thrilling music, some of it militaristic, some of it not. The score in this sequence does so much to add to the kinetic energy as the fighters first leave the Yavin moon and then pick up speed as they attack the Death Star, but that's not the part that always stands out for me. For a score often derided as being merely derivative, the passage that leads up to Darth Vader's shooting down Biggs stands out, as muted trumpets peal out dissonant chords over screaming strings and woodwinds that provide rhythm. That passage, brief as it is, always makes me shiver, and it's a passage that I've yet to find presaged in Korngold, Herrmann, or anywhere else.
Of course, all of that would be irrelevant if John Williams did not possess an extraordinary gift for melody. In addition to the Star Wars Main Theme, which is probably the most famous single cinematic melody of the last thirty years, the score also boasts Leia's Theme and Ben Kenobi's Theme, both of which are benchmark themes of the overall saga, almost instantly recognizable as Star Wars music - - in fact, what was originally Ben Kenobi's Theme has become more of a "Light Side of the Force" motif as the saga has developed through the years.
Star Wars is one of the warhorses of the film music world, and with good reason.
Next week: The Empire Strikes Back.
Shaving is for the weak!
Via MeFi I saw this article about "wet shaving" yesterday. Apparently, to get a really good shave, you're supposed to make sure your whiskers are good and moist by at least wetting them with a hot, wet towel or by waiting to shave until after showering. And you're supposed to use a brush made from badger hair to apply high-quality shaving lotion. And you're supposed to use a high-quality razor, as opposed to a disposable. And you're supposed to...ach, screw it. Just do what I did: Grow a beard. I've never found that the beard is any more "itchy" than my face was when I shaved regularly -- in fact, it's a good deal less itchy, except for when I trim its edges slightly, and when I do that, the itchiness lasts only a couple of hours. I keep the beard trimmed fairly close, but this affects the beard, not the skin of my face, which remains nicely itch-free. That's what it's mainly about, as are nearly all of my fashion decisions: comfort. I don't have any great theory that my beard makes me look particularly masculine, but I have the factual knowledge that it spares me a particularly irritating morning ritual.
(Well, OK, I do have the wistful hope that my combinbation of long hair and beard makes me look like a cast extra from The Lord of the Rings. But at least I admit that the hope is wistful.)
By the way, apparently some guy decided that he wanted to test the idea that a beard keeps one's face warmer in winter, by shaving off half of his beard. That someone would willingly go through a winter looking like that in the name of science either speaks well of science, or poorly of that someone.
(Well, OK, I do have the wistful hope that my combinbation of long hair and beard makes me look like a cast extra from The Lord of the Rings. But at least I admit that the hope is wistful.)
By the way, apparently some guy decided that he wanted to test the idea that a beard keeps one's face warmer in winter, by shaving off half of his beard. That someone would willingly go through a winter looking like that in the name of science either speaks well of science, or poorly of that someone.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
And now I'll bludgeon your childhood to death with a tire iron....
Geez. Somehow, Byzantium's Shores is the number three result for "George Lucas raped my childhood". Suck it, fanboys. I'm the original fanboy. Pinheads. Take your Matrix and your Batman and suck cold, hard Death.
OK, I think that's out of my system. Move along!
OK, I think that's out of my system. Move along!
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