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February 4, 2007:

2007: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am out of room. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I, BK, am out of room, DVD-wise, and, to a lesser extent, CD-wise. I have two closets in the den, both of which house DVDs and CDs (all my shelving units happily fit in said closets). I got the CD closet clean the other day – got all the extraneous stuff off the floor, everything onto a shelf and I can walk in there now and look and usually find what I need. The DVD closet is in dire need of the same cleanup and today is the day. But, even when clean, it’s going to be hellish to get all the piled up DVDs organized. When I moved here in 2004 everything fit quite nicely. But, two years’ worth of DVD trading has taken its toll, space-wise, and now in 2007 we are having trouble finding places to put DVDs (they are also in the book room closet). Yes, Virginia, it’s 2007: A Space Odyssey here in the home environment. What I may do today is try to weed out things I’ll never watch again and then take them in and get some credit. I will then try to figure out how to organize the closet better – I think there’s a way to gain a little more space if I’m clever. Why the HELL am I going on about space problems? I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you find someone babbling on about space problems? Nowhere, that’s where. I’ve been in the closets a lot in the last few days. I keep going in the closets and then I come out of the closets. Have you come out of the closet lately? It’s ever so much fun, especially in your pantaloons. Speaking of pantaloons, yesterday was quite a beautiful Summery day. I was going to do some garage organization, but it was just too damnably pretty out, so instead I got in the motor car and drove to the west side and visited a few stores I haven’t been to in a while. I lunched at the Broadway Deli in Santa Monica and it really is quite a mediocre place – I didn’t quite remember how mediocre until the food arrived. I then paid a visit to Mr. Nick Redman, who gave me a copy of his latest CD production, which is quite a monumental release of a legendary discarded film score – Mr. Alex North’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Much has been written about Kubrick’s tossing of the score in favor of his classical music temp track. After listening to this marvelous CD I think Kubrick made the right choice back in 1968 – I don’t think the film would have achieved its iconic status with the North score. But, in certain ways, I think the film might have aged better with North’s score, especially in a few key scenes. His music is vastly different in color and tone and character, and it actually gives the film an inner pace it doesn’t have after initial viewings with the classical pieces. This is especially true in the space docking sequence (which is accompanied by The Blue Danube in the film). Once you’ve seen that scene a few times with the Danube accompaniment, it becomes interminable to sit through, whereas the North cue is continuously surprising and magical. Several other cues in close proximity to that sequence also work better with North’s score. How can we possibly know that? Because the booklet notes tell us how to synch the CD up with the film, which is exactly what I did last evening. What a fascinating thing it is, too. For my money, Kubrick was quite correct to want the Strauss piece to open the film (Thus Spake Zarathustra). Kubrick was also correct not to use any music in The Dawn Of Man sequence, up until the smashing of the bones and the appearance of the monolith. North scored most of The Dawn Of Man and it’s really too intrusive – the sequence works beautifully with only ambient and natural sound, like a series of tableaus. But, as I said, from the space docking sequence on, North comes into his own, and it’s really mesmerizing to watch those sequences and see them in a completely new way.

Back in 1993, Varese Sarabande recorded the North score with Jerry Goldsmith conducting. While it received a lot of press at the time, no one really could defend the score based on what they were hearing. Unfortunately, what they were hearing wasn’t a well-performed or well-recorded version of the score. It was ponderous and felt oppressive and heavy and not North-like at all. Later, it came to be known that one cue, which they called Main Theme or something, wasn’t even from 2001, it was the main title for the TV show, Africa – the music had somehow mistakenly found its way into the 2001 box of music scores. Other cues were either abbreviated or mis-titled and the score as presented on that CD was impossible to synch up with the film in any way. So, finally hearing the original recordings is a revelation – suddenly it all sounds like Alex North – beautiful, mysterious, ethereal, with the right balances in the recording. While it would be nice if this release were in stereo, it’s one of the best mono recordings I’ve ever heard – with incredible detail and dynamic range. Unlike today’s crop of composers who must always emulate bad temp tracks to keep their jobs, Mr. North was a complete original, with his own unique voice, and his music for 2001: A Space Odyssey (not to be confused with 2007: A Space Odyssey) is well worth hearing, and, more importantly, well worth synching up with the DVD so you can see how everything would have worked (Mr. North only wrote music for the first thirty-five minutes of the film). Of course, if it wasn’t for the interference and stupidity of a highly-placed Warner Bros. executive in the DVD division, the North score would have been included on the new, upcoming Special Edition DVD coming later this year. Everything was set for that to happen – for the music to be included as an extra, married to the scenes for which it was written, much like the Bernard Herrmann score was for the DVD of Torn Curtain. So, this much lauded executive, who has caused many interesting DVD features to be removed from DVDs, continues to be a giant thorn in the side of cinema fans – only they don’t know it, because he makes sure that he grabs the credit and limelight for everything that Warners does. No one knows what really goes on – maybe someday they will. In any case, if you’re a big fan of 2001, this CD is worth your time and money. It’s a limited edition, and is available at www.intrada.com. And tell them BK sent you.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because the space odyssey will begin first thing in the morning and I must have my beauty sleep.

Last night, I also watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Rock Around The Clock. Not much to say about it, other than it was either the first or one of the first movies to capitalize on the brand spanking new rock-and-roll craze. There are some wonderful musical performances, but the plot is tired (even for 1955 or whatever year it was made) and annoying and it feels endless even at seventy-seven minutes. The transfer is quite nice.

Today, I have a few things happening. The space odyssey, then a meeting at noon with a singer, then some writing, and then supper with our very own MusicGuy – we’re going to Ruth’s Chris Steak House for a dining adventure. I can’t wait.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog (if it’s warm again), write, meet, eat, and clean the DVD closet. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, as I get ready for 2007: A Space Odyssey.

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