Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to Miss Eileen Farrell, a singer I really only knew from her much later pop recordings, pop meaning Great American Songbook. I believe I do have a couple of recordings of her in her prime in other compilations, but I really didn’t take any notice. Two years ago, Sony put out a little box set of her Columbia recordings, and I came into possession of said box. So far, I’ve heard the first three discs – discs one and two being Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the New York premiere of the work from, I believe 1951, and recorded live. I have the Karl Bohm stereo version, which I liked, but this mono recording is something else again, and the performances of the two stars, Mack Harrell and Eileen Farrell – that’s right, Harrell and Farrell – are magnificent. And now, I’m finishing up excerpts from Medea by Cherubini. While I don’t love the music, Miss Farrell is fantastic. So, I’m looking forward to the rest of the 16-CD set, which includes not only her classical output but four popular song albums – two with Luther Henderson and his orchestra, one with Percy Faith, and one with Andre Previn. I have the feeling I have some good listening ahead. The clarity and purity of her voice and tone is really wonderful. Prior to that, I watched a motion picture on Amazon Prime entitled Flightplan. It just came up in a list and I’d only seen it once on DVD back in 2006. It was as bad as I remembered. Well, I don’t think I can put it any better than I did back in these here notes fifteen years ago, to wit:
“I then watched a motion picture from the year 2005 entitled Flightplan, at textbook example of everything I hate in motion pictures today. It starts off with a completely inane pre-credits sequence. Then the inanity continues non-stop for the next eighty-five minutes. These sorts of stories can be fun, but not with this script and this director – the latter is so intent on using every hip computer generated camera move, every hip sound effect, every hip screenwriting 101 cliché that you just want to find the writers and director and bitch-slap them from here to eternity and hell and back. Every time the camera moves, we get a sound that resembles a hurricane. Every time a door closes it sounds like 100 doors closing at the same time. Every time a character breathes it is amplified to the nth degree. Of course, the writers “borrow” the “Miss Froy” window gag from The Lady Vanishes – yes, it’s that plot. A mom and her daughter board a plane, mom falls asleep and when she wakes up the daughter has vanished and no one on the plane remembers seeing her. She’s not on the manifest, Jodie Foster as mom can’t find her boarding pass. The reveal is so lame, so unbelievable, that you sit there bewitched, bothered, and bewildered, with an emphasis on the latter. The one positive thing, and it’s the ONLY positive thing, is Jodie Foster. Other than that, a complete waste of time.”
The film is called a big hit – according to Wikipedia it grossed over two hundred million dollars, most of it overseas. But you’ll pardon me if I simply don’t believe those overseas grosses. It did about eighty million in the US – it’s really easy to inflate overseas grosses. The film generally got the mediocre reviews it deserved.
Yesterday was another day of not much importance. I got seven hours of sleep, got up, and decided to try the banking stuff early, so I went to the two banks where I do my banking and it all went very quickly. No lines at all. Isn’t it funny, things open back up and suddenly no one has any pressing needs to bank, whereas during the shutdown, banking was seemingly a must do every day in every way, hence lines out the door. Then I came home and ordered pasta papa from Hugo’s with a 50% off coupon, which ended up costing exactly what it would have if I’d gone there and eaten. It arrived about thirty minutes later and was excellent and the first pasta in three months. According to Google, it contains around 700 calories, so that was good.
After that, I delivered a Blu-ray of Tonight’s the Night to one of our local Indiegogo contributors. Then I went and picked up a package, after which I came home again and began listening to Miss Eileen Farrell, whilst doing some work on the computer. Then it was the movie, then it was back to the Farrell. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the night before after posting these here notes, I watched The Sixth Sense on Amazon Prime, mostly because I’d just enjoyed Haley Joel Osment in A.I. I own it on Blu-ray, but can’t find it – what else is new? I like the film better now than I did then. The actors are all excellent, it’s pretty well directed, and the writing is fine. The “thing” was not a surprise to me back then, but it still works fine.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, and then we begin the long, long weekend. I’ll be joining Robert Yacko for an early dinner, then I’ll drop some Tonight’s the Night Blu-rays off to Doug Haverty, so that daughter and star Hartley Powers can get hers and I’ll bring Robert’s, as well. Then I’ll come home and watch, listen, and relax.
The weekend is pretty free, and I shall enjoy that. I’ll eat come calorie-friendly fun stuff, I’ll watch stuff, I’ll listen to stuff, I’ll relax, I may visit a couple of stores I haven’t been to in a long time, and then for the fourth of July will have a celebration right here at haineshisway.com – safe and quiet and friendly for all humans and pets.
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, have an early dinner, deliver Blu-rays, and then 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, Eileen Farrell. Blu-ray, whatever takes my fancy. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be enjoying this plethora Farrell, or perhaps a barrel of Farrell.