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January 31, 2010:

MUSIC BY DAVID SHIRE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, yesterday I saw my old pal David Shire at a CD signing. I hadn’t see him in over eight years, although we’d spoken on the phone a few times, especially when I was getting ready to reissue the David Shire At The Movies CD I co-produced for my label Bay Cities about eighteen years ago. It was great to see him again, although we didn’t really have more than five minutes to chat. He seemed very happy to be there, and happy so many fans showed up to get CDs signed. Shire is one of the greatest of all unsung film composers. He has written some of my all-time favorite film scores. What he never had, unfortunately, was a breakout film like a Star Wars or Star Trek or Jaws or whatever. He toiled mightily on films that played a week or were critical hits but didn’t click with audiences. But the work he did on films like The Conversation, The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3, The Hindenberg, The Promise, Max Dugan Returns, Old Boyfriends and many others, was astonishing – astonishing in variety, astonishing in composition, and astonishing in how score and film worked together. His gift for melody was and is up there with the best of them. His work for the stage is equally wonderful. He is, as they say, the real deal. Our very first soundtrack release on Bay Cities was Shire’s masterpiece – his score for Return To Oz, a movie that critics loathed and audiences stayed away from. I happened to love the film, and the score was a work of genius. It was that release that led us to do the Shire At The Movies CD. The idea was to do small chamber versions of his film music and David loved the idea and came up with fantastic versions of his best themes. It was a unique album and for anyone who hasn’t gotten himself a copy I cannot recommend it highly enough. Same thing if you can find Return To Oz. He is a great talent that never has quite gotten his due. But that’s Hollywood, isn’t it? They would rather have the same droning crap in every movie rather than let someone who actually knows and understands what film music can do and is supposed to do. I’m proud to know him, and I’m happy to have played at least a small part in spreading the Shire gospel.

Of course, I had to leave the home environment quite early yesterday, as she of the Evil Eye arrived to do her cleaning thing. I shipped a few packages, had some bacon and eggs, did an errand, and came home. I then spent ninety minutes smoothing out what I’d written the day before, as well as making some additions and deletions and moving a few things around. I managed to write one new page before our very own Mr. Nick Redman arrived. We went to Dark Delicacies for the signing, stayed an hour and then Nick went on his merry way and I sat down at my computer like so much fish.

I’d already figured out there was no way to attend the concert with edisaurus – it was just too far and I was too behind. So, I proceeded to write about twelve pages. I then took a ninety-minute break and watched Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, which was a weird movie that I just didn’t care for at all. I then wrote about five more pages. I was negotiating treacherous territory but I think I got through it okay. Then I printed out over 130 pages, which is what I wrote in the last week. And that was my day and that was my night.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button because The Story Goes On in the next section – The Story Goes On – music by David Shire.

Today, I shall get up early, look at what I wrote yesterday, then go to Staples and Xerox pages, which I’ll then deliver to muse Margaret. I do believe I’m in the last 100 to 150 pages, but we shall see – it’s really hard to tell how long certain events will take to write about, although at this point of the book, I think things will be moving along pretty quickly. Then a friend is coming by and we’ll have an early lunch, and then the rest of the day will be filled with writing.

In fact, this week will be mostly filled with writing. I do have a few errands and whatnot to attend to, as well as a couple of meetings, but I really want to write as much as possible this week.

Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Hustle, for today is the birthday of our very own dear reader Michael Shayne. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader Michael Shayne. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER MICHAEL SHAYNE!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, Xerox pages, deliver pages, lunch, and write. 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, shall we, whilst we always remember that It Goes Like It Goes – music by David Shire.

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