Roar!!

My new favorite thing. I think I've listened to it ten times since purchasing yesterday. It's just a great piece of film music, and at 12:17, it's a substantial work as well. I love the booming in-the-distance tympani footsteps that slowly, quietly begin the piece; I love the martial, serio-anxious strings that open the first real melodic sounds, and I love the awesomely broad and big brass sounds that come in with the main theme about four minutes in. I love the just-shy-of-satirical female choir. And I love that, today, someone can write a single piece of music for a film and have it available to the public to purchase.

I also purchased the John Adams score by John Lane and Joseph Vitarelli, and it's a fine piece of work. They don't hit the fife-and-drum sound you so often hear in "revolutionary war" pieces too much, while not ignoring it completely. The main theme (heard over the credits) is a great piece of stirring, dramatic writing, and there are some nicely turned and sweet melodic phrases to be found throughout.

These will hold me nicely until Tuesday, when Momofuku, Elvis Costello's first rock album since either The Delivery Man or When I Was Cruel (depending on how you define "rock") hits stores. And shortly after that, on June 3rd, Aimee Mann has a new album coming out. A good time for this music fan.

Until Whenever

Random Top Ten

Random Top Ten!

Top Ten Sit-Down Chain Restaurants

10. Pizzeria UNO
They used to have a deep-dish seafood pizza, with no red sauce, just a butter-garlic sauce, that was delicious. Long gone, alas.

9. Houlihan's
Decent steaks and such, and good sandwiches. And quiche, which most joints never have.

8. Charlie Browns
One of the few chains where you can get lamb chops. Not great lamb chops, but still. And I like a good salad bar.

7. TGIF
Good appetizers and sandwiches. They had a Jack Daniels pork shank a year or so back that was wonderful, but when I went again a few months back it was nowhere to be found.

6. IHOP
I love a good pancake, and damn it, IHOP makes good ones. Pumpkin pancakes in the fall are anxiously anticipated.

5. Cheesecake Factory
Very generous portions and a big, diverse menu.

4. Famous Dave's BBQ
Excellent ribs and pulled pork.

3. Olive Garden
They've got short ribs on the menu now that are actually quite good - tender and meaty.

2. Outback
They make a very good rack of lamb with a superb sauce.

1. Jose Tejas
Crawfish etouffe and blackened swordfish. Divine.

Until Whenever

If I Ran the World

Scrubs, more so than many other sitcoms, likes to play with the notion of "real" and not real." The daydreams and fantasies that litter the show are clearly portrayed as "not real," within the world of the show, but in addition it has, through various winks and nods, made meta references to the notion that the show itself is "not real" - that is, some of the show's absurdities (the Janitor's ridiculous bizarreness, Ted's over-the-top misery, the Todd's existence as nothing but a walking innuendo), are portrayed as the kinds of things that could only happen on a TV show. In addition, the show has many times over the years played with the idea (which is, again, central to the daydreams and fantasies that are the show's bread and butter) that the stuff we see on screen is only happening in characters' heads. The musical episode is a perfect example - all of the singing was what the sick patient heard in her head, the result of a rare brain injury. Or the revelation that an entire Act of the Brendan Fraser episode was JD's panicked imagination insisting that the guy didn't have cancer.

The show has already taken this ethos to one kind of extreme by having JD imagine almost an entire episode as being a traditional three-camera sitcom. But what if they took it to the other extreme? What if they did, next year on ABC, a complete one-hour episode shot like a traditional "realistic" hospital drama? An episode that made the point that the entire show has been given to us in the form of JD's heightened perspective. So the Janitor is merely an odd guy who mumbles to himself; and Ted is depressed but not wackily so; and Kelso is bitter and mean, but not also funny; and Cox is not nearly as, in the end, as sweet as JD imagines. Film it gritty and real, like an episode of ER, with no jokes - with a typical Scrubs plot without any of the Scrubs narration, or cutaways, or exaggerations. If the show has always been about mixing the pain and real emotion of real life with the dialed-to-11 silliness of over-the-top comedy, give us one episode that shows us what it would be like without the comedy - just as the sitcom episode showed us what it would be like without the realism and emotion.

Until Whenever

Why iTunes Works

Five years ago there would be no way to get a high-quality version of the end-credits "overture" composed by Michael Giacchino for Cloverfield. The piece - 9 minutes in the theater - was too short for a CD. But with iTunes? It's completely feasible to release the piece commercially - as iTunes is doing tomorrow. And I'm thrilled. I love Giacchino's stuff, and have been searching for this piece ever since I saw the film. It does make me wonder, though, why others haven't followed suit. I mean, while lots of films get CD score releases, lots don't. And I can see how a CD release for a minor film's score might not be cost-productive. You have to print, manufacturer, ship. But on iTunes, all you have to do is get them the music. And its already recorded. So why, for one example, isn't there an iTunes album available of Joseph Vitarelli's excellent score? Isn't it just money waiting to be found?

eta - Just saw that there was a CD released for John Adams on April 22. So, bad example. Concept still holds, though.

Until Whenever

A Taste of What Could Be

As uneven, and in some cases, bad, as some of the performances were, the Andrew Lloyd Weber episode had me wistful for how much fun a real Broadway Idol would be for a musical theater geek like me. Preferably done on PBS, where the emphasis would be more on the music and art of musical theater performance, and less on the glitz. That would be sweet.

But if ALW Idol for a night is all I get, I'll take it. So - how'd the kiddies do?

Syesha Mercado - "One Rock and Roll Too Many"
Don't know the song, thought she did a great job with it - selling the sex and sassiness and attitude for all it's worth, and showing how much better use her pipes could be put to in doing Broadway stuff. She even pulled off the "start standing on the piano" thing, which is hard to do without just being dopey.

Jason Castro - "Memory"
Huzzuh? How did someone not steer this kid to a song he could actually do something interesting with? He could have rocked the coffeehouse vibe big-time with "Pilate's Dream." As it was, this was pretty bad, denuding a pretty theatrical melody into nothingness.

Brooke White - "You Must Love Me"
The start-stop was, of course, deadly, just in terms of what it did to her confidence, and the sad thing is I think her take was actually quite good, minus the nerves. That said, what I think made the song a hard one to do really well out of context is how character-based it is - Evita is desperate and needy as she is near-death, and shrill ("you MUST love me"), and those qualities don't work as well outside of the context of the show.

David Archuleta - "Think of Me"
Every damn time I hear this kid sing I feel like I'm living in a bad update of The Emperor Has No Clothes. Why do these people (the judges, the audience, the voters) think he can sing!? He took a delicate little melody and made it into syrupy bland muzak. Ugh.

Carly Smithson - "Jesus Christ Superstar"
Not perfect, and it's one of those odd songs where the instantly identifiable chorus isn't sung by the lead singer, but full of wonderful energy and fun. She did seem to muff some of the lyrics though. I could see this working in a Vegas version of the show.

David Cook - "Music of the Night"
Tactically brilliant. Take the night when everyone was expecting you to bust out an alterna-version of a Superstar song - "Heaven on Their Minds" or "What's the Buzz" - and instead tackle head-on a straightforward interpretation of probably one of Webber's top-five most beloved songs. And nail it. He really couldn't hit that low not the melody keeps dipping to, but it was worth it to make that high note accessible.

Who goes home? At this point, as long as it's not Carly or Cook I'll be fine. I like Castro and Brooke, but they ain't winning, and have run a fine course. And Syesha earned mucho goodwill, so I'm fine with her around for another week or two.

Until Whenever

New Podcasts

I continue to nose around for interesting podcasts from time to time. Some recent finds:

CBC Radio: Beethoven Symphonies in 9 Days
Conductor Bramwell Tovey, of the Montreal Symphony, discusses each of Beethoven's symphonies in these nine podcasts, going over each movement and demonstrating at the piano what Beethoven was doing musically movement to movement. Very accessible to a musical neophyte like me (you don't need much theory at all to appreciate these).

Crackle: Penn Says
Penn Teller points a camcorder on himself and expounds on whatever comes to mind. Very much like a traditional blog, but on video. Penn has interesting views and these short 5-10 minute pieces are just the right size for hearing them - any longer and it would start to get pedantic.

Until Whenever

Lost Thought

So - that four-toed statue from season one. We've seen this season evidence of time anomalies, if not outright time travel. And, for years, scientists have said that eventually, the pinky toe will go away, given that it no longer has any real function. So - is the statue an artifact from the future?

Until Whenever

Movies I Will Not See in Theaters

Another movie season, another look at all the movies I, in reality, will see on video.

Iron Man
Sigh. I really do want to see this in the theater, as nothing I've seen so far has hinted at anything but a very well-done Iron Man movie. Here's hoping.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
This I might see, given that the wife is an Indy fan as well - might be worth one of our mi-annual movie nights. Also looking good from all early indications - although the much more secretive marketing plan means it could have deep flaws yet to be exposed.

The Incredible Hulk
The promise of lots of scenes of the Hulk going nuts and fighting are very promising, and Norton is always good.

Wall-E
Probably over the twins' heads at this stage, so this might have to wait. The look and feel seem different than other Pixar, which intrigues. And the notion of it being largely dialogue-free is fascinating for me.

Hancock
Will Smith as a rumpled, anti-hero superhero? Honestly, I have no idea if this sounds good to me or not. My judgement sense will not click on for it.

Hellboy 2
Saw the first on DVD and liked it didn't love it. Rinse, repeat.

The Dark Knight
Saw the first on DVD and loved it, wished I had caught it in the theater. Rinse, repeat?

Pineapple Express
I've liked each of the Apatow-driven flicks so far, but have never been a stoner comedy fan. DVD!

Tropic Thunder
Will rent for Downey Jr alone.

Until Whenever

Doin' the Friday Shuffle

1. "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" - Gillian Welch - O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A sweet round-feeling folk song.

2. "Pretty Music" - Lauren Kennedy - The Songs of Jason Robert Brown
One of the lesser songs from Brown's Parade, and one I'm not sure was a great choice for the album.

3. "Porn Song (Explicit Content - Parental Advisory) - Sarah Silverman - Jesus Is Magic
Dirty comedy music from Silverman.

4. "Billy Was Sweet/Paradise Lost" - Michael John LaChiusa -Marie Christine (Original Broadway Cast)
The songs in Marie Christine really run into one another, and don't stand up as "songs" So much. It's a hell of a score though.

5. "Third Stone from the Sun" - Jimi Hendrix - The Essential Jimi Hendrix
Groovy psychedelia.

6. "Keep the Customer Satisfied" - Simon & Garfunkel -Bridge Over Troubled Water
Featuring one of the all-time great trumpet riffs in rock history.

7. "Journey to the Buffalo Killing" - Dave Barry - Dances with Wolves
Majestic without being triumphant. Copland would be proud.

8. "A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics" - James Horner - A Beautiful Mind
This is likely one of my top-20 favorite film score cues. The rolling pianos just work, damn it.

9. "Hello, Goodbye" - The Beatles - 1
Damn you, Target!

10. "Driving Sideways" - Aimee Mann - Magnolia
How is it that this music sounds like it moves sideways?

Until Whenever

Punchline

When I was in high school, we watched in my 10th-grade honors English class, for reasons that now escape my recollection, the Matthew Modine/Nicolas Cage film Birdy. The film is about a troubled youth (Modine) who becomes obsessed with birds, and the idea that he might be able to fly like them. Cage is his friend. At the very end of the film, Modine runs off (I forget why) across the rooftops, with Cage in frightened pursuit, and we, the audience, are made to believe that he might leap off the roof and try to fly. Cage catches up with him, only to see Modine jump! Horrified, he runs over, and we in the audience are expecting a tragic end. But when Cage gets to the edge, he sees that Modine had only jumped to a lower level a few feet down. Modine looks at Cage's horrified/relieved face and says, with all the innocence of a choir boy, "what?" Cut to end credits.

As the credits started in that English class, I turned to my friend and told him that I thought the whole film was one very long set up to that punchline ending. Just one big joke set up. He agreed.

This is also how I feel about There Will Be Blood. We get two and a half hours of gorgeous shooting, deliciously plummy acting, a brilliantly anachronistic score, a very slow-moving plot, and then we get to a scene (which end up being the final scene) in Plainview's home bowling alley. After a ragged, shouty scene between him and the preacher who has served as the antagonist to Plainview throughout, Plainview, for no real reason, beats him to death with a bowling pin. His servant enters, and Plainview,still sitting on the alley floor by the pooling blood of the preacher says (in what actually comes across in a sing-songy punchline cadence), "I'm finished!" Cue end credits.



See? A punchline!

Until Whenever

Puny Expectations

The buzz on the new Incredible Hulk film has been . . bad. But the new official poster, at least, is . . . good. I don't know - Norton, Jeff Bridges, more action. This thing could still be good, right?

Until Whenever

American Idol - Weighing in At Last

With seven Idols left, and with the Tosy-wheelhouse Andrew Lloyd Weber edition nigh upon us, I figured I might as well weigh in with my thoughts:

Brooke White
May be the one I'd most likely buy an album from, given her laid-back, emotive style and the relative lack of oversinging and melisma-worship. That being said, she's not particularly special (like Melinda Doolittle was - what happened to her, anyhow?), and her style is far too relaxed to win the thing.
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "Another Suitcase in Another Hall"

Carly Smithson
I might buy a Carly album as well, but probably not, given the R&B-light, overly produced and poppy niche they'd surely shove her in. That said, I think she's the most technically assured singer this year, with a very powerful, very controlled voice, and a good command of how to convey a lyric. She does lack a bit of stage presence though, and never appears "effortless."
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "Gethsemane" (Although AI allowing a female to sing as Jesus is highly unlikely)

David Archuleta
Proof positive that a strong choice with some technical control does not a singer make. Archuleta's singing is soulless, contrived, and by-the-numbers, and I have yet to enjoy any of his performances.
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "Tell Me on a Sunday" - something quiet and subdued.

David Cook
His aggressive use of interesting covers is smart and he does them well -he's got a genuine rock voice but doesn't scream things out. I like this guy a lot, and would be curious to see what he does on his own, away from the Idol thumb.
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Jason Castro
He's limited, but so are lots of great singers (not that he's one). Whether or not he can have a post-Idol career will be determined by how good a songwriter he is. Sensitive acoustic guitar types MUST write their own material. It's in a book somewhere.

Kristy Lee Cook
Smart choices and good timing have kept her alive, but, while she's fine, there's nothing at all special here.
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "I Don't Know How to Love Him"

Syesha Mercado
The kind of big-voiced, melisma-laden Mariah clone i have no taste for at all. That said, she has a very strong instrument and good technical skill.
Lloyd Weber suggestion: "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"

Edited to add: Not sure where I saw that this week was lloyd Weber, but it's Mariah Carey. Now I'm just depressed.

Until Whenever

Three by Three

Three things I liked about Enchanted.

• The score and songs. Alan Menken is by now easily the most important tunesmith Disney has ever hired, the ubiquity of "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Disney marketing be damned. His return here to writing pretty and witty vivacious melodies for oversized Disney characters is beyond welcome - it's inspired. The awe-inspiring catchiness of the steel drum-inflected "How Does She Know?" is remarkable, but just as welcome, and less remarked upon, is his big, swooning scoring, which does just as much heavy lifting as the songs. And there are lots of great homages to classic Disney melodies (including some of his own) sprinkled throughout.
• Amy Adams. She's pretty much perfect as a one-dimensional cartoon character who gradually throughout the course of the film discovers and blossoms into new emotions. Completely un-self-conscious, beautiful, and possessed of magical timing, she's a treat.
• The way the film has its cake and eats it too - both mocking and celebrating all the big Disney princess, fairy-tale cliches the studio has made such hay of over the years. That it's Giselle who saves the man, and not the man saving the woman, at the end comes across not as forced feminist girl-empowering role reversal, but as fully a earned natural movement of the story.

Three things I did not like about Enchanted.

• The lack of screen and story time given to the Patrick Dempsey character's girlfriend. I like that she wasn't the typical shrew, horrible woman second fiddle character (although the kind significant other that steps aside when the lead of the film finds true love with another is rapidly becoming a stock device of its own - one Dempsey was on the other side of in Sweet Home Alabama), but a good decent woman in her own right, but wish we knew her better - it would have made her getting the prince at the end all the more fitting.
• The move to New York feels rushed and forced - Giselle is just kind of pushed down a magic well, and we really don't get a good sense of the Queen or her motives.
• The chipmunk's thick Joe Pesci-esque accent. Jarring and out of place.

Until Whenever

100 Greatest Songs - #s 71-80


80 - "Love, Reign O’er Me" - The Who
The Who at, Tommy notwithstanding, their most melodramatic and theatrical, what with the rain and thunder and general air of sturm und drang. I love that very simple seesawing piano figure the song is anchored by, and the baldly declamatory big piano chords used at the beginning. And Daltry has never been better - he toes the line between singing and screaming here to a T.



79. "Type" - Living Colour
This lead single from their sophomore album is very underrated Living Colour, with a great driving riff that's as heavy and tight as the iconic "Cult of Personality" riff. If the song takes a little too long to end, Corey Glover's sung improvs over the long denouement never get boring.



78. "Moonlight" - Bob Dylan
As gentle and disarming a swinging country ballad as you could hope for, sung in a gorgeously achy hush by the master. And the sweetly innocent, almost archaic lyrics ("Won't you, meet me, out in the moonlight alone?") add immeasurably to the feeling that this song was recorded in the 20s and recently found.

77. "Black Mirror"- Arcade Fire
The opener to Arcade Fire's sophomore album, the truly wonderful Neon Bible, is dark and dramatic, with end-of-the-world intimations lurking in the propulsive arrangement. I adore the midnight-is-nigh falling figure that shows up at the end of the song, with its orchestral quality.



76. "The Only Living Boy in New York" - Simon & Garfunkel
One of those songs not as well-known, not played by the classic rock radio stations, but featuring one of the pair's sweetest and regretful melodies. What makes Bridge Over Troubled Water, the album this is taken from, so effecting is its status as a break up album - only it was Paul and Art who were breaking up. That sad, resigned mood permeates the album, and this track especially.



75. "Paranoid Android" - Radiohead
Radiohead does epic rock, with a long, shifting structure that is oft-compared to "Bohemian Rhapsody." The whole thing hangs together remarkably well, but it's that almost Dylanesque jangly opening section I think I like best.



74. "Visions of Johanna" Bob Dylan
A warhorse that never gets old. Dylan has done this song live more times than I'm sure he even realizes, and yet it keeps improving with age. At nearly eight minutes, it's one of his epics, and yet it doesn't feel long.



73. "Man on the Moon" - REM
This song does a remarkable job of capturing a mood, a kind of bemused, sweetly fond mood, that I'd be hard-pressed to find emulated in another song. Even when the pretty energetic, uplifting chorus kicks in, the mood never settles, but holds on to that sense of loss. And who knew Stipe could bust out an Elvis impression?



72. "Open Arms" - Tracy Chapman
A simple rainbow of a rising, then falling, figure anchors the song throughout, while Chapman sings in that uniquely sweet and sad voice above it. One of her most beautiful, and hopeful, songs.



71. "Cult of Personality" Living Colour
The riff that would forever define them. One of those bands that will always be remembered for their first single. Is it a warning note to not lead with such a great song? I don't know. But that hard and funky riff, and two wildly idiosyncratic guitar solos by Vernon Reid, and Glover's impassioned, full-throated lyrics, make for a lasting contribution to the canon of great rock singles.



Until Whenever

Doin' the Friday Shuffle

1. "See Me, Feel Me" - Pete Townsend - Tommy (Original Broadway Cast)
I'm always surprised by how much of the Who's signature sound survived the transition to Broadway.

2. "That Kind of a Neigborhood" - Stephen Sondheim - Saturday Night (World Premiere Cast Recording)
Sondheim's first score, which would have premiered before West Side Story had one of the backers not died, is easily his most traditionally Broadway-sounding. This is a fun, upbeat number featuring some barbershop-style slow harmonizing in the middle.

3. "I Know Things Know" - Stephen Sondheim - Into the Woods (Original Broadway Cast)
A great "I've learned a lesson" song sung by Red Riding Hood after her encounter with the wolf. "Nice is different than good" is a motto to live by.



4. "Baby Pictures" - Elvis Costello - Punch the Clock
Piano-heavy, old-styled rock.

5. "Never Broken" - Cassandra Wilson - Travelling Miles
I've never been able to really get into this Wilson album, for some reason.

6. "Act 2, Scene 4 'Who will walk with me' " - Jake Heggie - Dead Man Walking
Heartbreaking aria, as Sister Prejean looks in vain for someone to help her get through watching the execution.

7. "The Other Side of Summer" - Elvis Costello - Mighty as a Rose (Bonus Disc)
An acoustic, live version of Costello's Beach Boys homage.

8. "Sanctus" - Requiem - Mozart
Big choral sound at its best.

9. "20th Century Fox Fanfare" - Alfred Newman - Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
Classic.



10. "The Ballad of Floyd Collins (Reprise) - Adam Guettel - Floyd Collins (Original Cast Recording)
A beautiful, heartbreaking ballad - acoustic guitar and a half sad/half angry voice singing about Collins' impending death.

Until Whenever

TV on DVD

My post on the waiting game got me thinking about TV on DVD, and how investing in a series, especially a long-running one, is a serious commitment - in terms of time and money, and how when it comes down to it, there are only a handful of series I really want to own outright, that I really think I'll revisit down the road. They are:

(Already own)
Lost - I'm very eager, actually, to watch all six seasons in the summer of 2010, and see how well this all hangs together.

Freaks and Geeks - At 13 episodes, this is not much of an investment, but these episodes are easily worth returning to.

Firefly - Another short one that will be easy to revisit. Hoping to hook the wife on this one.

The Simpsons - I have the first ten seasons, all that've been released. At this point, the little bit of a collector that resides in me will probably insist on continuing to get these, even if I'm starting to doubt that I'll revisit all of these episodes ever, especially since I have been watching each set as I get it.

(Want to own)

Sports Night - Another short one I'd love to spin through again someday.

The West Wing - Saw all of these on rental, and would like to go through the series again someday. Even the maligned latter seasons I found very enjoyable.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Saw this one on rental too, and I know I'm going to want to go through it again. Great storytelling, and I'm betting there are things I missed the first go-round.

Gilmore Girls - A show the wife and I love equally, and would both like to watch again from the beginning.

Deadwood - Rented all, would love to go through again someday, to better bask in the luxury of the language know that the plot won't be so cryptic.

The Sopranos - Saw a lot of this piecemeal, and will most definitely want to go through in more concentrated fashion.

Battlestar Galactica - Catching up on Season Three episodes I missed last year now. This will play better than any of the above save maybe Lost, I think, as a single whole.

Once and Again - Assuming they ever release season three.

Pretty sure that's it - the bottom line is that for most series I like I don't feel the need to watch every episode a second time.

Until Whenever

Buried Beauties - Tania Raymonde

I haven't done one of these in ages, but the last episode of Lost inspired me. I remember when Alex first popped up, and I recognized her as the enthusiastic, socially awkward girl from an early episode of Malcolm in the Middle. She has grown into a quite-becoming young woman.

Until Whenever

Almost There . . . Almost There . . .

When do you buy a DVD of a film you really want to own? For many people, it's when it's released. But I am cheap. And I don't buy DVDs often - for the few I really want, I typically wait and put them on a birthday or Christmas list. But there are many films I really want to own, but assume that a fancier edition, with many more extras, commentaries, etc. will be released eventually. And in those cases, we enter the waiting game. (I hate the waiting game! Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!)

I have been waiting to buy U2's Rattle and Hum on DVD for ten years (roughly). After all, they filmed several concerts. And lots of backstage stuff. And so for ten years I've been assuming that a big 2-disc special edition would be forthcoming. And none has. And I still do not own Rattle and Hum.

On the other hand, I just may break down and buy Sweeney Todd. Even though this edition, while 2-disc, seems light. No commentaries - and Sondheim has done commentaries on DVDs of his stage productions - Passion and Sunday in the Park with George for sure. If Sondheim does a commentary on an edition of Sweeney Todd a few years down the pike, I will have to buy that version. And I hate buying two versions of the same movie. Don't think I've done it yet on DVD. So - do I wait? I may not be able to, in this case. But for something like Children of Men I have been waiting - over a year now. I keep almost pulling the trigger, but there has to be a more deluxe edition coming. Right?

Anyone else play the waiting game with DVDs?

Until Whenever