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October 23, 2020:

THE ALL OVER THE PLACE NOTES

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to some Maurice Jarre soundtrack music, namely Eyes Without a Face.  The early Jarre is weird and kind of unique and fun and the scores are especially suited to the films they’re from.  But I have to say, I don’t care for most Jarre – he’s too repetitious and sometimes heavy-handed.  Lawrence of Arabia, the score that made him a household name, has never been a favorite (I know, heresy), and I think what’s good about it are the orchestrations and arrangements of Gerard Schurmann.  I liked the score to The Collector but outside of the film it just doesn’t play well.  Grand Prix is okay and, for me, his best later score, Jesus of Nazareth is one of his best.  And I do like The Professionals.  Ryan’s Daughter I don’t care for at all.  Topaz is okay but, in the film, his heavy-handed approach actually hurts some scenes.  But Sundays and Cybele, Judex, and Eyes Without a Face are just great.  I’m forgetting lots of others, but these were off the top of my head.  What they were doing on the top of my head I have no idea.  This is what happens when you leave the door aJarre.  We don’t allow groaning here at haineshisway.com.  What else can I tell you?  I can tell you that the Grant Geissman History of EC Comics humungous tome is just great fun.  Even if you skip all the text, which you shouldn’t, it is so chockfull of great images – amazing and some of it VERY rare.  It comes highly recommended by the likes of me.  I think the retail price is $200 but I’ve seen it listed as low as $130.  I also listened to a rather delightful piano concerto I’d never heard by the wonderful Leroy Anderson – it’s on an Erich Kunzel CD from Telarc, along with some other fun piano stuff.  Kunzel is a lightweight, but the concerto comes off well, despite the fact that I have never cottoned to the Telarc sound, which audiophiles were so taken in by.  Certainly, it doesn’t hold a candle to the Living Stereo or Columbia stereo of old.  Anyway, I love Leroy Anderson – what a melodist he was – amazing, really.  I have several discs of his light music and of course I love his musical, Goldilocks.  Already these here notes are all over the place, but we like it that way.

Yesterday was all right in an all right sort of way.  I was up by ten-thirty after five hours of sleep, due to tree trimming noise and then the noise of them putting whatever they were trimming into some grinding machine.  Once up, I answered e-mails, forwarded orders, and then began futzing and finessing the previous day’s work on project one.  I’d have a late-night burst of energy and worked on it until five in the morning.  Once done with that, I plowed forth, both at the piano and the computer.

Then I went to the mail place and picked up a small package, then came right home. I made Wacky Noodles for food – two-and-a-half cups of pasta – and ate it all up and it was very good.  I had a little toasted burger bun with butter with it.  Then I had an apple.

Then it was back to work on project one, which I’m having fun with, although I will say it’s daunting for reasons you’ll understand whenever I decide to talk about it.  Then I took a break and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I finished watching Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, circa 1956.  I only hope for a transfer off the large format VistaVision negative – this film would look stunning.  As it is, it looks anything but stunning.  The cast could not be more perfect and I have to say I was very impressed this time around with the young boy who plays James Stewart and Doris Day’s son – really good.  The Herrmann score is very sparse – I can’t imagine there’s more than ten or twelve minutes of actual score.  What there is is great, and I think the approach was to leave the scoring minimal so that the major concert piece, Storm Clouds Cantata would have the most impact.  Anyway, it’s always fun to see it, and I was also impressed with how great the sets were.

After that, I did more work on project one until I finally had to take a big break.  So, I listened to music and caught up with other stuff on the Internet.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll work on project one, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat something light but fun (maybe frozen dinners, maybe a wrap), and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow I must be up early for she of the Evil Eye will be here, so I’ll go have a light breakfast somewhere, then do some errands and whatnot and then come home.  We have part one of a Zoom rehearsal in the afternoon – that will only take about an hour or so.  Sunday is part two of the Zoom rehearsal and that, too, will take an hour or so.  I think we’re going to have to cut Noah Racey loose – he hasn’t gotten back to me in over two weeks and we’re now up against the clock, I’m afraid.  He and his wife were about to have a new baby so I’m sure that is all consuming, but just a little communication about it would have been nice.  I’ll try to replace him with someone fun.  Then next week we start gearing up for the November show and of course I’ll continue working on project one and I hope to perhaps finish it by the end of the week, at which point I can move on to project two, which will be easier in a way and more difficult in a way.

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, work on project one, hopefully pick up some packages, eat something light but fun, and then at some point watch, listen and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player?  I’ll start – CD, the album with the Leroy Anderson concerto.  Blu-ray, more Hitchcock, I’m thinking, since I’m in that mode, but I also have a Blu-ray of Dolemite is My Name here and that might be fun to watch again.  Your turn.  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have written notes that are all over the place.

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