Well, dear readers, it is the fourth of July, there’ll be fireworks in the sky, and parades will go marching by, march away because it is Independence Day, from the song of the same name by yours truly and truly yours. Yes, it’s Independence Day, the day when we get to be independent and do anything we wish as long as it involves barbecue and fireworks and running about in our bathing dresses. I, for one, am very excited to be independent on Independence Day, and I’m excited for barbecue and fireworks and to run around in my bathing dress, which is a lovely shade of periwinkle blue – I should have worn green – oh, a Follies reference. Speaking of Follies, the new mixes continue to come to me via e-mail and they sound amazingly amazing. We had a little scare on Who’s That Woman because the original mix has lots of present drumming (maybe too present) and it was pretty much buried on our eight-track session master. That was baffling and the engineer and I had a long chat about it and I thought we might have to do a little sleight-of-hand to make it work – there was one other track where I felt the hi-hat was a little far back, but in that mix I preferred it that way to the original, where it really pulled me away from the vocal. But happily it was pilot error and some EQ plug-in that he used inadvertently rolled all the high end off the drum track and basically made the drums go bye-bye. He fixed it, and then sent me version two and it sounded absolutely astounding. I am truly hoping that people will be as bowled over by this new mix as I am.
Yesterday, I was awakened at eight-thirty by the ringing of the telephonic device. I fell back asleep and then was awakened by the ringing of the doorbell device at ten-thirty. It was the gas company come to check the gas meter. I opened the gate, he did his thing, and then I answered some e-mails that needed answering. Then I went and had a sandwich and onion rings, after which I picked up a couple of packages. Then I came home and did some work on the computer, and then I decided that was it for work. So, I immediately sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a Swedish crime film, a two-parter, called Sebastian Bergman, starring Rolf Lassgard, star of the original Wallander films and also co-star of the Beck movies I’ve been watching. I’m sure this was meant to be a series, but apparently it didn’t happen. I enjoyed it very much, but it’s practically killed by the awful shaky-cam direction, which is hideous from start to finish. These fools who overuse this now-tired device just don’t get that the direction becomes all about the direction and the fool doing it, and constantly makes the viewer aware that he’s watching a camera having palsy, rather than keeping the viewer involved in the story. Blechhh. But I liked the telling of the tale, writing-wise, and the actors were wonderful.
I then took a thirty-minute swim in a very heated pool – that was very enjoyable, too. Then I watched the first half-hour of Mr. Billy Wilder’s great motion picture, Double Indemnity, which has just come out on a UK Blu and Ray. I’ll talk about it after I’ve finished watching it. Then the three new Follies mixes came in and I reveled in those (even without the drums). He should be finished with everything by Friday and I’ll probably go over there that very night to finesse them, although frankly they don’t need much finessing. One of the big upsides of doing this, of course, is that what we’re using is first generation – the album masters are second generation, so these tapes are really crisp and clear.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep. I shall then be lazy, watch motion pictures, and then I shall await an e-mail telling me whether the partay I was invited to is actually happening or not. If it’s not, I’ve told the inviters that they’re welcome here if they like.
Tomorrow and Friday I’ll be doing some liner note writing, but mostly I’m having ME days because if this holiday happened over a weekend, we’d have an extra day off, so why not? I have a meeting or two and a meal or two, too. The weekend has a meeting or two, too. Or should that be too, two?
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be lazy, watch motion pictures, maybe attend a partay, and watch some fireworks in the sky. 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 where there will be fireworks and independence galore.