Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a recording of the Peter Maxwell Davies arranged and orchestrations for Ken Russell film of The Boy Friend. For my money, those arrangements and orchestrations are brilliant. This recording, from the 90s, I believe, is mostly the dance music stuff missing from the soundtrack release. While this should be brilliant it is anything but – one of the worst recorded albums in history, in my opinion. The ineptitude of it is mind-boggling, actually. It sounds like it was recorded with a couple of mics placed about a block away from the band. Embarrassing. And the band isn’t too hot either and the tempos are funereal. There is simply no excuse for it and the music deserved a lot better. The producer, engineer, and conductor should hang their heads in shame. No, if you want the real deal the soundtrack is the way to go. Thankfully, at some point someone made a complete bootleg using music from the DVD for the dance music omitted from the LP/CD. That’s what I’m listening to now because I could stand no more of that awful travesty and I wanted to hear the dance music done properly. But those arrangements and orchestrations are incredible. Prior to that, we had a music rehearsal for the workshop I’m directing of a new play with music. We have a good cast and while this all happens very quickly, I think it will be fun. And prior to that, I watched part one of a hit-piece HBO documentary (something they’re known for – one-sided hit pieces) called Leaving Neverland, about the two men who accused Michael Jackson of heinous acts. And if you just watched the documentary and did no research you’d believe every word of it. But there’s nothing worse than a director doing a one-sided agenda-laden documentary and that’s what this is. In responding to all the criticisms and the debunking that’s been done, he’s nothing but defensive in all his responses. The same HBO thing plagues the Woody Allen documentary – two filmmakers with an agenda, presenting a one-sided hit piece of the most specious kind. The two men accusers in Leaving Neverland have changed their stories so many times, people have lost count. Everything they say, every timeline they present has been discredited, disproven, and debunked. There’s a thirty-two-minute film on YouTube that points out every single falsehood and calls out the director for his numerous manipulations. And, of course, what do we get with this so-called director? Endless drone shots, recreations, and every other documentary “style” cliché of the past decade. I suppose I’ll finish it, but once you’ve heard the opposing side, you can’t really take anything in this thing seriously. And yet, as with the Woody hit piece, people don’t do the research and just believe everything in these documentaries.
After our rehearsal, I stopped at Subway and got their very low-calorie turkey and ham sandwich and I came home and ate it and it was very nice. And here we are.
Yesterday was something or other. I got a bit over or under seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, ordered two tacos from the local Mexican jernt I like, that arrived and I ate both tacos – very good. Then it was some Sami stuff (the Emmy people sent the second e-mail to members about our show, so hopefully that will get some folks to view it), then I watched the first two hours of Leaving Neverland, then shaved and showered, after which I moseyed on over to the theater and we had our three-hour musical and the rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I need to do some work on the script for the workshop, I’ll check the mail place to see if anything’s there, I’ll eat, I need to set up a meeting/meal, do some Sami stuff, and then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is another music rehearsal and I suspect it won’t take too long, in which case I’ll start blocking the thing. Then we go straight through to doing the show on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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 the script for the workshop, check the mail place, eat, set a meeting/meal, so Sami stuff, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, not needing to listen to any more inept recordings or one-sided documentaries.