Well, dear readers, I hope all the mothers out there in the dark had a wonderful day yesterday. I had a wonderful day and I’m not even a mother out there in the dark. Oh, I’ve been a mother, make no mistake about it, but yesterday I was not a mother – I was in creative mode and working merrily away with the East Coast Singer and Mr. Lanny Meyers (of all coasts). We’re a funny little team and there are times I think that neither of them know quite what to make of me, but, then again, there are times when even I don’t know quite what to make of me. But we’re having fun and that’s all it’s about for me – creating in a fun environment.
I got up around nine, did a two-mile jog, answered e-mails and got ready for our rehearsal. We began at noon by singing the songs in their new, spiffy order, and it was instantly apparent to all that the new, spiffy order was much better than the old slightly problematic order. So, that was very good news. I made a few notes as it went along, then we chatted for a while and ran a couple of things just to smooth out some arrangement stuff. Then we went to the Eclectic Café to discuss the patter, what it’s function needs to be, and the specific points it needs to address to set up the songs correctly. I had a pulled pork sandwich, which was of astonishing badness – I ate it because I was hungry, but I only had one bite of the bun, then just ate the innards of it. I’ve decided that a good pulled pork sandwich is not to be found at any trendy jernt. You have to go to a real down-home jernt for good pulled pork. Lesson learned. It came with average sweet potato fries (and not many of them) and I had a small Caesar salad to start.
After that, we came back here and worked on more arrangement and tempo things, made one cut in the opening number, which really helps move it along at the end, and began talking about the intentions of the songs. It was a good day of work and the East Coast Singer is quite delightful to be around, not to mention quite beautiful. And Lanny is always a treat to work with. We also played through a bunch of Christmas songs because come beginning of August I’ll be coming back to New York to record a new Christmas album with the East Coast Singer and Lanny – a nice, big album with a nice, big orchestra – haven’t done one of those in quite some time, so that will be really fun, I think.
Then the East Coast Singer went off to see Follies at the Ahmanson, Lanny went off to do whatever Lanny was doing, and I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched the third of the Branagh Wallander films, based on the novel One Step Behind. Again, I liked the basic plot, but Branagh, who was already getting on my nerves, went the whole acting hog in this one, with several scenes of screaming at the wind, weeping uncontrollably, and begging the guilty party to kill him instead of someone else. Sorry, that is not the Wallander I know or want. And just to make sure of it, I went into the book room and read the last fifty pages of One Step Behind and what I found was the Wallander of the Swedish series – not overemotional, no railing at the wind, everything boiling but under the surface. I also found a completely different ending and sequence of events, so these films, aside from the beginning of the plot and some of the very basic elements, are nothing like the books. In the end of One Step Behind, Wallander doesn’t weep and beg the guilty party to kill him instead of someone else – because the someone else is not even there and there is no scene that even resembles that sort of thing. What we do get is Wallander behaving like a POLICEMAN. As I read the descriptive bits about him, it just made me realize that Krister Henriksson is probably the definitive Wallander on the screen, although I’m looking forward to the actor who played it before him. And I’m hoping those films are closer to the books that the Branagh’s apparently are – I’ve now read bits of the other two that were the basis for the first two films, and those, too, are pretty far afield. That’s why, in a certain way, I prefer the original stories used for the Swedish series. Those they can do in ninety minutes because they’re not based on a four hundred-page book. The other big difference between the two series is that the Swedish is gray and dark and rainy, which helps the mood of despair immeasurably. In the Branagh’s it is relentlessly sunny, with bright blue skies and oversaturated colors. Plus, with the exception of the two bad mutant Swedish episodes, that series is directed with simple efficiency, concentrating on the performances and storytelling, whereas the UK version is rife with fussy directorial “touches”, oppressive close-ups, and that trendy crap of the sides of the image out-of-focus while the center is kind of in focus. It’s just show-off directing and has no point whatsoever in the storytelling – in fact, it detracts from the storytelling.
I then watched the latest episode of Mad Men – it was very good, certainly the second best of this season, but still far from the glory days of the show’s first and second seasons. I then sat in the Jacuzzi for a little while, which was a lovely way to spend twenty minutes in relax mode.
Then I came back in and did some work on the computer. We’re making some changes to the booklet of our new release – those will be to me in the morning, and then can get put in the booklet – at that point, hopefully by Tuesday, we’ll be ready to get it in for approval, as I really want to announce it next week or thereabouts.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I must be up by nine and out the door jogging by nine-thirty. Our rehearsal begins at eleven and will go at least five hours, maybe more, and we’ll eat at some point. This rehearsal will be very specifically for performance things. Then the East Coast Singer will go back home and write some patter, which I’ll then finesse and hopefully add some laughs to. Lanny also leaves on Tuesday morning. I’ll also hopefully pick up some packages.
Tomorrow, I have to catch up on stuff, hopefully get the packaging in for approval, finish choosing the songs for the Kritzerland show, and lock in the last of the performers. Still trying to figure out the guest star, too. I was trying for Bruce Vilanch, but he’s out of town that week, but said he can do one of the shows after that, so perhaps in July. The rest of the week is more of the same, hopefully getting a haircut, locking in the New York book signing, seeing shows, and other stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, rehearse, eat, hopefully pick up packages, rehearse, finish choosing songs and cast and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: If you could have the soundtrack to one never before released score to a 1950s sci-fi or horror film, which would it be and why? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland for a good night’s beauty sleep because I know I need my eight hours if I’m to function properly. Lesson learned.