Well, dear readers, I got a rather fascinating book in the mail yesterday, called Cherish – David Cassidy – A Legacy of Love. What this is is mostly loving tributes from his fans all over the world, people whose lives were impacted or touched by his music and talent. There are tons of photographs and also tributes from some of David’s colleagues. I was asked to write something and was very happy to, so that piece is in the book, too. It’s very well done, 256 pages of love from fans and co-workers.
So, that was fun. It was nice that something was fun because the rest of yesterday was a bit of a struggle for reasons I’ll get to shortly. Otherwise, I’m sitting here like so much fish listening to the fifth symphony of Bruckner with a B, conducted by Eugen Jochum with a J. I had two sets of these symphonies and I think that was a problem – I went back and forth and settled on the other set to listen to all the way through, which, as it turns out, was a mistake. That set, conducted by Gunter Wand, is certainly okay but it didn’t make me love the music and I nuked it out of iTunes. But then came Bruno with a B doing three of the Bruckner with a B symphonies and they were stunning performances and it made me hear the music in an entirely different way. Bruckner was a hugely influential symphonist because his way with the symphony form was quite radical for its day. The performances by Jochum are equally great and that early stereo sound is beyond great – the first of these was recorded in 1958 and the sessions went until the mid-1960s. They simply do not make better recordings today. The music is tuneful, passionate, sometimes lyrical, sometimes even abrasive, and I’m just enjoying all of it. So far, I really love the first two symphonies, the third and fourth aren’t quite as good, at least for me (even though the fourth is, I believe, his most played and revered work), but the fifth is stunning.
Yesterday was a day I couldn’t quite get with and that was due to the cretins next door shooting some hoops at nine in the morning and their little cretin children screaming at the top of their cretin lungs. At that point, I’d had six hours of sleep. I fell back asleep for another hour and this time woke up, struggling with some guck in my throat. I got it cleared up and went back to bed for another two hours and woke up the same exact way, but with much worse guck, which was hideous, causing me to cough maniacally, clear my throat like crazy, but with an awful burning sensation – most annoying and it continued for a few hours but even as I sit here now it still feels as though I’ve got guck that needs to be cleared by the clearing of the throat, even though when I do that there’s nothing there to clear. I’m hoping that by the time I arise this morning it will have abated because it is completely irritating.
Once up, I did stuff that needed doing, I ordered food from Jersey Mike’s – one regular Eyetalian and one mini turkey. They arrived about twenty minutes later and I ate the Eyetalian and put the turkey in the fridge. Then I did Kritzerland show work, and finally I moseyed on over to the mail place to retrieve packages but no mail. I got two little tiny cupcake bites at the cupcake store, then came directly home.
Once home, I ate the mini turkey, had one of the cupcakes and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched three more episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents – two were quite mediocre and directed by my two least favorite directors on the show, James Nielson and Paul Henried. But the first of the episodes I watched was pretty good, starring Darryl Hickman, Mildred Dunnock, and Nehemiah Persoff. And why was it good? Directed by Robert Stevens, that’s why. What a difference a great director makes.
Then I watched the new Blu and Ray of Roman Polanski’s The Tenant, a movie I really like a lot. In fact, it’s the last Polanski movie until The Ghost Whisperer that actually FEELS like a Polanski movie. He made some excellent pictures after but none of them, at least for me, felt like a real Polanski movie like Repulsion or Rosemary’s Baby or Chinatown or – The Tenant. It’s a very weird, Kafkaesque movie, beautifully directed, and Polanski’s great in the lead role. Supporting performances are all tops – Isabelle Adjani, Shelly Winters, Melvyn Douglas, Lila Kedrova. The score by Philippe Sarde is perfectly in tune with the film, and Sven Nykvist’s photography is great. This is, I believe, a new transfer and like all the recent Paramount releases, it seems to have had a bit of grain management, which I really wish they wouldn’t do. I’ll compare to the DVD when I can find it, just to see how that grain looks. Other than that, the color’s excellent and there’s certainly detail and sharpness. There are extras, the only one of which I watched was a new interview with Polanski.
After that, I relaxed and listened to Bruckner with a B and had the other tiny cupcake bite, which was good.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up and hopefully without guck problems because I can only tell you that is a horrible way to awaken. Once up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll do Kritzerland show stuff, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope or two, I’ll eat, and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same, the weekend is some work, she of the Evil Eye, and getting ready for the big final week push to the Kritzerland show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, do Kritzerland show stuff, hopefully pick up packages and important envelopes, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite show biz autobiographies and biographies? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be part of a loving tribute book to David Cassidy.