Well, dear readers, let me tell you something – yesterday was a stupid day, almost from start to finish. I do not want or need any more stupid days because I find them stupid. In fact, I find them stupidly stupid and I especially don’t need them during the holiday season. So knock it the HELL off, days. Play nice or I shall have to bludgeon you with a salami. And you know I will, baby, so do NOT push me. I got almost eight hours of sleep and I had a nice chat with Kay Cole. Then the helper came by and picked up stuff – she’s trying to get everything out the door by the end of today, as she leaves for five days tomorrow morning. Then the stupid began. First some guy files a Paypal claim (and escalates it before any response can be made) because he hasn’t received his The Gang’s All Here CD, which isn’t even supposed to ship until the second week of January as clearly stated on the item page. I wrote him a little missive and after about an hour he cancelled the claim. But then Paypal calls me and tells me I have to verify my address because they can’t verify it – you know, the same address they’ve had since the day they began and which apparently has been verified all this time. But now their algorithms did something and flagged me – I got them what they needed, but it apparently wasn’t enough as I have the Kritzerland address AND my home address on file, so I eventually got them that – now it will take forty-eight hours for them to do their thing and then hopefully they will leave me the HELL alone.
After that, I’d about had it with stupid, but then I got a pointless and unnecessary e-mail and that was stupid – I wished the sender a Happy Holidays and that was that – I got a Happy Holidays in return. I mean, it’s CHRISTMAS for heaven’s sake – people just need to BACK OFF and enjoy the holiday season and, you know, maybe spread some damn joy. So, I took a stupid break and went for food – I had a bacon, cheese, and onion omelet, fruit, and an English muffin and I got a cupcake to take home with me. I also found out my favorite hostess there is leaving after Christmas. I think I’ll bring her a little going away gift.
Then I picked up some packages and came home. I uploaded music and listened to more Rachmaninov, including a rather classic 1956 mono recording of the second symphony – really kind of a trend setter in that symphony and very well done in pretty decent mono sound. I also heard a very good 1960 stereo recording of the same symphony conducted by Alfred Wallenstein – very good, too. I also got a couple more Australian Eloquence Phase 4 reissues – the Herrmann classic film music album, which also had the fantasy stuff from another album – very good. And then a two-CD remastering of the Rozsa Ben-Hur/Quo Vadis albums, also very good, especially the Ben-Hur.
When the mail finally arrived at five damn thirty it included a screener of La La Land, so I went and sat on my couch like so much fish and watched it. It’s definitely this year’s hipster movie and a “musical” for people who will not ordinarily watch them – that’s the hip factor. The fact is it’s really not a musical. It’s coy about it and the numbers aren’t coming out of someone’s fantasy or head, so that’s nice. There are no numbers in the final third of the film until the very end. So, I’ll say that it was certainly enjoyable on several levels – it’s very pretty to look at, and Mr. Gosling and Ms. Stone are good together. He’s game and he does okay in the movement department – his voice will not win him any recording contracts and that’s a bit of a problem when you should have a real song and dance man. He gets through it, though. Emma Stone moves fine but her voice isn’t much either, frankly. The plot is wafer thin and wears thin after a while – the film could be twenty minutes shorter really (it’s just a bit over two hours). The director obviously loves this genre and the fact is from the opening minute it is very clear he reveres Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Young Girls of Rochefort. The set colors are right out of Cherbourg and the numbers function almost exactly the same. The only big difference is that Mr. Demy would never have had this much talking. The music, for me, is a problem, too – yes, you can have spiffy orchestrations that are loud and jazzy, but you also have to have music that isn’t the same chord progression in almost every song – it’s very repetitious and this guy is no Michel Legrand, although you’d think he was from everyone falling all over themselves to say he, the director, and the film are the second coming. It’s a trifle, but an enjoyable trifle and I’m glad I saw it.
After that, I put a moratorium on all stupid, listened to music, and will shortly shower so I can wash all this stupid right down the drain. Negativity and stupid take a damn hike and take it now.
Today will hopefully not be a stupid day. I have to do a Costco run, I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, hopefully more screeners will arrive, more music will be listened to and we’ll get the rest o’ the CDs shipped out. And I think we’ll announce Kay Cole first thing tomorrow morning. The first 100 people to order will get a signed copy, so tarry not.
Tomorrow I have stuff happening – an afternoon visit and other stuff, Thursday I have a dinner and I’ll probably visit with our very own Nick Redman earlier, Friday who knows, and Saturday is our annual Christmas Eve Do, and Sunday is, of course, Christmas Day.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a Costco run, eat, hopefully pick up packages, and like that. Today’s topic of discussion: What were your favorite books you’ve read this year? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the stupid day has ended.