Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like do much fish, listening to the sixth symphony of Jean Rivier, a French composer from France. I think I’ve heard some of this before, but I didn’t have anything at all in the Music app, so I’m listening again. Clip Grab and the Internet are not being friendly at the moment – the first three symphonies I grabbed took about five seconds to download. Since then, it’s taking fifteen to thirty minutes, which is utter nonsense. He’s an interesting conductor, rather in the Milhaud world, some music sounding like soundtrack music, others sounding not like soundtrack music, but he lives in a tonal world and that’s the world I reside in. I’m also uploading ten episodes of Sami for engineer John Adams, who’ll make sure we’re within the Amazon audio specs plus he’ll smooth out any audio differences, volume-wise, between episodes and within episodes. He’s very good at this stuff so I think this step will be a good step. It’s telling me it will take two hours and forty minutes, which is, of course, nonsense. These are low-resolution files and the ten episodes together are just over two hours and that shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes. Alas, it’s not taking fifteen minutes. Thanks to a dear reader alert, I watched a lovely documentary on PBS on Meredith Willson. What an amazing life he had. Sadly, he never really topped The Music Man, which is a perfect musical, something the recent revival team failed to understand. My real first exposure to Mr. Willson was The Unsinkable Molly Brown, whose national tour was the first Broadway musical I ever saw, starring original stars Tammy Grimes and Harve Presnell at the Biltmore Theater. I loved it and then got to do the show just a couple of years later. Then the film of The Music Man opened and that became one of my all-time favorite musical films (and still is) and I learned every song by heart, including the tongue-twisting Trouble. I saw the movie over and over again during its exclusive run at the Paramount, in glorious stereophonic sound on their huge screen. When I got the cast album of Here’s Love that was a disappointment, even to my teen ears. And after that, there was his final try, 1491, which I’m sorry to say I missed when it played here. I don’t know why I didn’t go down there and see it. It’s amazing how popular with the populace Mr. Willson was during his radio days. He also wrote two symphonies, which I know I have here somewhere and now want to hear again. Anyway, it was very enjoyable and just the kind of thing I felt like watching. This sixth symphony of Jean Rivier is really interesting and to my liking. Next up will be his seventh and last symphony, then I’ll go back to his first symphony and continue from there.
Yesterday was okay and at times very much not okay, but such are the way of things these days. I did get eight hours of sleep, so that was good. Once up, I answered e-mails and then had to get right on proofing close captions for three episodes of Sami – unfortunately, these three were riddled with errors and it took me a long time to get through them, like almost two and a half hours. Then I made me a batch of Wacky Noodles, but for some reason it was less than I usually make even though I measured out the same amount I always do. Bow tie pasta made by Kroger and that won’t be a mistake I make again, because their pasta is kind of rank. After eating, I had a long telephonic conversation, got Marshall Harvey the title cards for the trailer, and then we had to get the flyer for the March Kritzerland show done. I also finished choosing the songs and I got everyone their music, so that’s done. Thanks to dear reader Jrand, I also found us a piano player and fortunately he seems to know his Sondheim and he also saw a Kritzerland show so he knows our vibe and our xylophone. Here’s the flyer for the show.
Then I had one of them mini-bundt cake things that was supposed to be chocolate chocolate chip but was in fact something wholly other that I did not care for, almost like a carrot cake or bran muffin kind of taste. Then I watched the Meredith Willson thing, then made a nice salad with Bob’s bleu cheese dressing and that was very good. And that brings us up to speed.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll check and see if there’s any mail to get, I’ll wait to hear about a telephonic call that David Wechter and I have to have with someone, and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be relaxing days, but I will be seeing a show on one of those days. Otherwise, I’ll hope another blurb or two comes through and that will be that. And hopefully a major miracle will present itself sometime soon or there will be yet more hell toupee.
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, check for mail, wait to hear about a telephonic meeting, 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, nothing. Blu-ray, nothing. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen the Meredith Willson program, which just makes me want to bask in the glow of The Music Man all over again.