Well, dear readers, I have just spent over three hours trying to figure out how to put cues in order for an upcoming score. It arrived on four CDRs for my listening pleasure. The problem is, of course, that the cues are not in order. So, I have scans of the tape boxes and I have to have that on my screen as well as iTunes. Then I locate each cue in order and move it where it belongs. This is not quite as simple as it seems since some tracks have slates and some don’t and so you always have to go back and reference the boxes. The problem with that is that once you start moving tracks around in iTunes it’s very hard to keep track of what came from where. In fact, it is completely maddening and headache inducing. Once you finally have the cues in order you must then reference the movie’s music cue sheet because sometimes the cue numbers do not go in order – in other words, they may put cue 12 after cue twenty. That sometimes has to do with the film being reedited after the scoring sessions. So, it’s really hard to keep everything straight and one makes mistakes and then one has to figure out where one erred and you sit here like so much fish for over three hours yelling at your computer for no reason whatsoever, since the fershluganah computer could give a rat’s ASS what your problems are. But, I got it all done and I’m listening to it as I type these here notes and it is the most gloriously glorious music. I don’t think much of film scores written after the year 1990, but this one is in my top five from the 90s. It’s absolutely brilliant music from one of my favorite composers, and I rank this score in his top five as well, and that’s really saying something. The original CD release of this score has been out of print for a long time, but it’s one I’ve listened to endlessly. It was sequenced by the composer and he’s really good at that sort of album-making. The score on that CD ran about thirty-nine minutes. When I pulled the tapes I knew we had more music than that, and that was solidified when I got the cue sheets, watched the movie and made note of the cues that were on the CD and the ones that didn’t make it.
So, I had a dilemma – do I just leave the album sequence as it was and then include the additional music at the end as bonus tracks, or do I put it all in film order and complete. I was kind of concerned that he’d sequenced it the way he did because there is some repletion in the cues that weren’t used – but there’s also some great, great music. But I’ve now been listening in film order and I LOVE it. But I also love the album sequence and so I am now leaning towards making it a two CD set – one CD the complete score with some alternate cues, and the second CD with the album sequence. It really doesn’t cost that much more to do the second CD and I love this score so much that I may just go that route – if I don’t then I’m doing it in film sequence and complete with only a couple of alternate cues as bonuses. There’s one cue that didn’t make the film and I’d probably use it in the sequence where it was supposed to be.
And that was basically my Friday night. Earlier, I’d gotten up earlier than I’d wanted to to deal with a book thing – had to do the price points in order for it to go off to the printer. That was at ten to eight, and then I went back to bed at eight-thirty and slept until 10:45, when I got up just in the nick of time for my eleven o’clock meeting with Miss Barbara Deutsch. The meeting was fun, and I’ll be helping her with her book’s progress from now on. After that, I answered e-mails, then went for a sandwich and fries, after which I picked up one little package and no important envelope, which I hope will be here today. After that, I did some errands and whatnot and then came home. I then had to write the blurbs for our two new releases, and then I stopped. Literally. I just stopped in my tracks and could not move or do anything. I think all the lack of sleep and having so many things going on over the last month finally just made me feel like I’d slammed into a wall at fifty miles an hour. I had to sit on my couch like so much fish.
Whilst doing so, I finished the Sofia Coppola film, Somewhere, a film that unfortunately doesn’t go anywhere. I liked the little girl (Elle Fanning, Dakota’s sister), and it had very occasional moments of fun, but it certainly is not my kind of film. The transfer looks great, though.
And then I had to listen to one of our new releases, which sounded great, and then I began loading in the four CDRs of the new project into the computer and here it is way after midnight with she of the Evil Eye arriving very early in the morning. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must try and get a little beauty sleep because I most assuredly am not feeling beautiful.
Today, I don’t have a clew. Oh, I have to leave so she of the Evil Eye can do her thing, and then I’m coming back, eating something light and other than listening to the second master of our new releases I’m really going to try and clear my head of everything, so that tomorrow I can begin writing my contextual commentary for the next Gardenia show.
Tomorrow, I shall begin writing my contextual commentary for the next Gardenia show and I’ll be attending an Easter dinner.
Next week we have two rehearsals and I have lots of meetings and meals and I’m seeing God of Carnage, which I’m very much looking forward to. I’d tried seeing it in New York several times but couldn’t even get lousy seats. Thankfully, all I have to do here is write an e-mail to one of the head honchos at the Center Theatre Group and he gets me house seats.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up an important envelope, listen to a master, and then try to zone and clear my head and rest. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Mr. Francis Ford Coppola? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I’m sure I will try to sequence my dreams.