Wed, 22 Aug 2007

I'm not a big fan of what Disney has done to Broadway. I liked Beauty and the Beast, in a "don't expect much" kind of way. I was totally underwhelmed by The Lion King; I thought the innovative staging was undermined by mediocre music and a superficial story of talking animals. (Somehow talking cutlery didn't seem as ridiculous. Go figure.)

But High School Musical raised Lion King to high art by comparison. This story of incredibly attractive teens who resist being labeled as the best ever at one thing, because they want to be seen as the best ever at everything is, from my aged perspective, a terrible lesson for impressionable kids. (And adults for that matter.) As with every production aimed at kids, the adults are either morons or monomaniacal villains, and generally both. And kids manage to resolve all their differences and see the errors of their ways by the final curtain. If it weren't so relentlessly upbeat (and so completely divorced from any reality I've ever experienced or observed), it would depress the hell out of me.

Still, this isn't about art, and it isn't an Afterschool Special. It's Disney doing what they do best and worst: creating a fantasy world that's brighter and cheerier and far more desirable than reality ever was. And making a couple of tons of money in the process. Oh, and giving us the next generation of Britneys and Christinas. Anybody want to take bets on which Musical star will be the first in rehab?

Mon, 13 Aug 2007

So here I sit, considering the album of the episode. And the first thought that arrives is the one that most of the reviewers on iTunes point out: who's gonna be stupid enough to pay ten dollars for the audio of an episode they can have for two? Which, you have to admit, is a pretty good question. And it did get me to buy the episode, if only to show my contempt for Hollywood Records' attempt to get another eight. Huh. And now I've paid for something I could have seen for free. Maybe they're not the stupid ones here.

Fri, 03 Aug 2007

And a big part of the magic of this particular fantasy is the music, here performed by full orchestra some forty years after The Quiet Man. It's movie music of a particularly compelling style, which works rather well without the movie. That's not always the case, as I discovered a few years back at a very special concert by (I think) the now shuttered San Jose Symphony. They chose selections from films, playing scenes on a screen behind the orchestra and then performing the accompanying music. It was kind of awkward, I thought. Maybe it's better this way.

Wed, 25 Jul 2007

Fri, 13 Apr 2007

Unfortunately, the critics didn't agree with me; they were savage in their lack of appreciation. And what they say goes, at least in this case. The play got rejiggered, which didn't help, and closed before long. I saw the not-really-improved version in a touring company version, and can't say I was impressed by the changes in the book, the music or the cast.

But I still love the Pimpernel. Especially the music, which ranges from stately (my ring tone, by the way) to heroic to obsessive to wistfully and desperately sad to the kind of dopey that screams of aristocratic inbreeding. Great stuff, no matter what the critics may have thought.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006

Everwood was a WB show in at least that one respect: its ability to make excellent use of music to enhance its drama. Sadly, it looks like that will be what keeps the later seasons from showing up on video. Hard to believe that in the 21st century a studio could miss negotiating video rights to songs when they're doing the broadcast rights. Hart to believe but, unless the studio is lying to us, all too true.

Wed, 07 Jun 2006

I'm a fan of Garrison Keillor's homespun radio humor; I've spent more than a few hours listening to him tell stories of a place that never was and we wouldn't like if we found it was real. There's a gentleness to the show, the storytelling and the plays and the songs. I'm curious to see how it'll translate to film. And dreading it as well.

But at least we get the album. And that's pretty good. It's a little more star-studded than the radio show. And they probably took more than one take to get it right, not that the radio show seems to have suffered from the demands of live performance. The best compliment I can pay to the album is that it sounds like a particularly good episode of the show. And that's nice, mostly. Which is a Powdermilk Biscuit reference. But then you knew that, didn't you?

Fri, 07 Apr 2006

What's he ranting about?, I hear you cry. Okay, I don't actually hear that. And even if I did, and could, it's at least a few days between when I write this stuff and anybody sees it. So unless I have a portal through time (and judging by the performance of my stock portfolio, I don't), I couldn't possibly be hearing you say much of anything. But I digress.

I'm a child of television. So when I encountered the first of these Television's Greatest Hits CDs, I was in heaven. And now they're here on the iTMS. But not in a good way. 'Cause you see, what I probably paid fourteen or fifteen dollars for back in the mists of early CDdom (or CDness, if you prefer) isn't what you get for $11.99. No, this album is a tiny fraction of the original, with a mere eighteen of the original disc's sixty-five (count 'em!) tracks.

Do you still wonder at my rantitude? I'm thinking not. (Which, contrary to stories I've heard, were not Rene Descartes' last words. Although they should have been.)

Mon, 03 Apr 2006

Fri, 17 Feb 2006

So perhaps it's appropriate that Capote - The Album is something other than a traditional movie soundtrack. We're used to collections of songs and incidental music. We're even used to albums that combine the music with dialogue, which I first encountered with the soundtrack to Robert Altman's M*A*S*H. But this may be a first: an album that combines the music from the film with the subject of that film reading from the book whose writing is depicted in that film. And somewhat in the way that the movie of Capote recreates some of the look and the structure of In Cold Blood, the album brings together the cinematic and the real life Truman. Which one is more compelling and more penetrable I leave to the reader.

Wed, 08 Feb 2006

What's interesting is that listening to the album before seeing the show doesn't spoil it. In all three cases, in fact in nearly every case I can think of, hearing the songs in context makes them richer and more interesting, indeed even more entertaining. Even a number like The Internet is for Porn, which is both funny and true on record, is worlds better when it's both seen and heard. Which is my way of encouraging you to both listen to and see this Rent-meets-Sesame Street (but definitely not for children) production. Puppet sex has to be seen to be believed, especially when the puppets only exist from the waist up!

Mon, 06 Feb 2006

But I suppose I should say something about this album. I like Mancini's music in the context of the movies that inspired it. And if the performances here are rather on the Muzak-y side, well, so were the originals. If you don't know some of these, go hit Blockbuster. Or wait for TCM to run them. It'll be worth it. Mostly.

Wed, 18 Jan 2006

Now that Farscape is in syndication, there's a chance for a whole new audience to become as addicted as I. And if that should happen to you, you'll need to buy the soundtrack. If only to convert the main theme to a ringtone for your cell phone. That way when it rings and people wonder what the heck is playing, you can start the inevitable conversation about the most remarkable show ever made. Hey, I told you it was addictive!

Fri, 09 Dec 2005

Mon, 28 Nov 2005

Granted, I don't miss Xena as much as I do Buffy. Or Angel. And I'd rather one new episode of Farscape than a whole season of mock Greek legend. But you have to give props to any show that takes creative risks. Like musical episodes. Xena did two; this one was the more original. And if it isn't nearly the triumph of Once More, With Feeling, it still made for an entertaining hour. Which I guess will have to do until Veronica Mars does their own musical. After all, Kristen Bell already has quite the history in musical theater.

Mon, 14 Nov 2005

The point is that I'm a fan. I caught Serenity on opening day, driving two hours to Sacramento just so I could see it with an appropriate audience. And I have to say that this soundtrack album leaves me seriously underwhelmed. Not because the music doesn't work in the context of the film, but because that's the only way it works. It's all cues and setup for some pretty exciting action. But as a listening experience I find it lacking. Guess we'll just have to wait for the DVD to show up. I hear they're talking right before Christmas...

Wed, 12 Oct 2005

I read recently that Joss Whedon's a huge Veronica fan, to the extent that he's supposed to do a guest shot in the new season. Not really a surprise; Veronica's a show Joss might have produced. It's stylish, darkly funny, incisive, smart, surprising, visually stunning and, more relevant to this discussion, musically interesting. Not in the au courant sense of The O.C., at least not exclusively. More in the way Buffy and Angel used different songs in different styles to enhance the storytelling.

I don't want to overstate the similarities between Veronica and Buffy. But they're both rich entertainment. And they're both great ways to discover new and exciting music.

Wed, 24 Aug 2005

Mon, 18 Jul 2005

Anyway, on one trip we were wandering the halls of the Riviera Hotel, where all the high end audio firms had their displays. And I remember hearing the James Bond theme from somewhere. But I knew it wasn't a version I'd heard before. And, being the kind of person I was then (and still mostly am today), I had to track it down. Turns out to have been a track on a not quite released Telarc CD from the Cincinnati Pops. Needless to say, the moment I could get my hands on a copy, I did.

There's lots of good stuff on here, especially if you like classic themes given the full pops orchestra treatment. And not just from the Bond movies, although they're well represented. Lots of other movies, and some TV stuff too.

I'm glad to see Telarc finally represented on the iTMS. Now if we can just get some of their science fictional CDs...

Fri, 03 Jun 2005

Okay, on the scale of philosophical questions, I'd say that rates no more than a 3. But let's give it some consideration anyway. Which would you want to do? And how does the answer change if the play is based on a story you know?

If you're a Python fan, news that Eric Idle was turning Monty Python and the Holy Grail into a Broadway musical must have filled you with a mixture of joy and dread. On the one hand, anything new (or even newish) from the Pythons is cause for celebration. But there's always the risk of destroying a happy memory with an inferior and exploitive piece of dren.

Not that things always turn out that way. With great box office and 14 Tony nominations, Spamalot is clearly a hit. And as the album clearly demonstrates (which shows which side I come down on regarding that philosophical question), they haven't just rehashed a beloved movie. Heck they've rehashed a lot more than that!

And now I can't wait for the chance of a trip to New York to see how the story fits together with the songs. Or if...