Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to John Williams’ soundtrack to Earthquake, a motion picture about an earthquake, having just finished listening to John Williams’ soundtrack to The Eiger Sanction, a motion picture about the Eiger sanction. I saw the former at the Chinese Theater in Sensurround and the latter at the Hollywood Pacific. Interestingly, The Eiger Sanction opened on May 23, 1975, and also opening that night on Hollywood Blvd. were Breakout with Charles Bronson at the Hollywood and The Wind and the Lion at the Egyptian. I happen to know this because I was on Hollywood Blvd. that night for about five hours, shooting “The Lights and the Smiles” for The First Nudie Musical, a rather memorable night. I would have seen The Eiger Sanction the following week, my first break to see a movie since pre-production began in March. Earlier in the evening, I’d watched the first hour of The Eiger Sanction, which I don’t think I’ve seen all the way through since 1975. I remember feeling it was a big letdown back then, even though I loved Clint Eastwood. It had a weird plot, took too long to get to the mountain climbing but once there it was spectacular. And I bought the soundtrack LP because I loved the score. Varese Sarabande released it on CD, but recently it came out complete (the LP was a re-recording) and listening to the complete version was really fun and it’s still a great score and very typical of the 1970s and Williams in that pre-Star Wars period. As to the movie, it still doesn’t work but I haven’t gotten to the mountain scenes yet. The transfer showing on Prime is very nice. Earthquake is playing now, and it has a classic Williams theme, too. Then I’ll do the two other disaster movie scores, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, an LP I listened to every morning for over a year. Haven’t revisited any of these in many moons.
Yesterday was another day of rest and relaxation. I slept almost ten hours, got up, answered texts and e-mails, then I went to Taco Bell for food. I brought that home and ate it all up and it wasn’t the greatest batch. I also noticed their prices have gone up a bit, then again, whose prices haven’t gone up and some more than a bit. After that, I had an interesting text volley with David Wechter about our earlier in the year project, then I watched a couple of irritating YouTube videos. My latest discovery that showed up in the “shorts” are food videos, wherein the “reviewers” are basically imitating Dave Portnoy’s pizza shorts. These are all people in their early twenties so how seriously can you take any of it. But the worst part of them is the eating of whatever their eating. Either they’re enhancing the sound of the crunching and chewing, or they have a mic in their mouths. It’s disgusting and apparently every foodstuff had hugely loud crunch, even rice. I mean, it’s ridiculous, but these kiddies are making huge money doing this and I mean HUGE – they get millions of views and them more kiddies jump on the bandwagon, and each is more obnoxious than the last. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish and watched the first hour of The Eiger Sanction.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I was going to Zoom with David Wechter, but I’ll push that to Thursday because I have to eat and then we’re having a brush-up rehearsal. I’m not sure I have to be there for it, but I think the cast is expecting me to be. And there are a couple of things that have gotten too sloppy for my tastes, so we’ll clean those up. After that, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow through the weekend is working on the project with David Wechter and more relaxing and watching and listening and catching up.
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, eat, have a brush-up rehearsal, 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, happy to be listening to John Williams and his 1970s classics.