bruckhorn

Just got back from the Eugene Orchestra performing Jedi. Much better than their performance of Empire last year-- I heard that the conductor didn't like LTP concerts and that show was the last one of the season (did the orchestra have "one foot out the door"?). This year it was a guest conductor who came out wearing red sneakers. (Team Sith?) And he addressed the crowd acknowledging that it wasn't a traditional orchestral concert and that if someone wanted to cheer, boo, or otherwise react to the movie or the music, they were encouraged to. The little old lady in front of me booed lustfully when Vader appeared. The energy in the room was just so much better than last year. Lots of kids. Yes, people laughed at the Fox Fanfare. There were some low points: the horn soloist cracked a note during the funeral pyre (I audibly winced at it), the orchestra wasn't loud enough for me during the final light saber battle (this may have been due to the choir being sourced from the movie soundtrack rather than being played by synthesizer, thus limiting how loud the orchestra could be without drowning out the choir), and I could see some mattes on various shots (weren't those supposed to be cleaned up for the special edition?) as well as multiple times in the Emperor's Throne Room that looked like green screen instead of the practical set that I know it was. Most of the sound effects were dialed down, or non-existent. Most. The low-end stuff during the space battle was at full volume. Limiting the sound effects really let the music shine. The orchestra totally nailed "Into the Trap". I think the conductor made sure to practice this section a little extra knowing that it's a highlight of the score. I was bopping to the beat, baby! He made sure to point at the screen when John Williams' name appeared and during the lengthy standing ovation he had each section of the orchestra stand, but the loudest cheers were when he hoisted the score above his head. I'm surprised that the Act II intro music isn't based on the Ewok theme-- the first scene back is on Endor and the first musical cue starts 0:03 once the scene starts. A total of 2:14 of the second half is score free. 1:36 of it is before "Ewok Drums". Any conductor doing it better make sure that shoulder is good and loose. Might need some physical therapy after the show. Quote of the day, heard at intermission: "Yoda's death was better acted than any death scene that Charleston Heston ever did." Why Chuck? I have no idea. What about Yoda would make someone think about Heston? Did he have any notable death scenes? Earthquake, maybe? C'mon, when I think of him, the first thing that comes to mind is: "Get your hands off of me, you damn dirty ape!" Runner up: "We'd go to more orchestral concerts, but we don't recognize most of the songs." I never realized that a Beethoven symphony was a song. Okay maybe the Ninth because of the choral part in the fourth movement, but still... Oh, and it's a small world. I live three hours away from Eugene. And for both Empire and Jedi, I had the same couple from a town twenty miles up the road sitting to my right. Different rows, even! I told them that if they're next to me next month for Empire at the Britt Festival, I'm calling a cop. And while I was off on my little day trip, the house across the street was struck by lightning. There was smoke. Police, fire, and electric company all responded. My cats were totally freaked by it all. Considering how I get in thunderstorms (I'm tall and have metal in my head-- how do you think I react?): freaking out, it's nice to know that they are definitely my cats and that I was glad I wasn't home. Sorry kitties, gotta look out for number one. Okay, I'm gonna feed my cats and start thinking about Empire. When the Britt did Star Wars two years ago, I told the director that when they did Empire the trumpet players better bring extra protein shakes and plenty of Chap-Stick because they better be screaming through The Asteroid Field. Scream-ing. I wonder if it had any impact of them doing Jurassic Park instead last year.

Williams does not strike me as a fan of any team. He might go to a game as a social event, but that's it. The association with the Red Sox is due to Williams being a fixture of the Boston arts scene and it's synergetic. But if Williams has a favorite baseball team, I would expect it to be one of the three New York teams from his youth. Not that he would openly admit, perhaps.

If someone is named Bates, does that mean that their every breath is bated? Williams will not win an Oscar for Disclosure Day. The vast majority of Oscar voters are musically illiterate. The Right Stuff won Best Original Score and how much of that was The Planets by Holst (acknowledged in the credits of the film) and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (or Glazunov's The Seasons, if you prefer, but neither mentioned in the credits due to both being in the public domain). 'round Midnight anyone? Vast majority of the movie's score was made up of pre-existing pieces (all copyrighted works cited in the film credits), but still won for Best Original Score. What would make me think that Oscar voters have gotten more musically literate in the last forty years? The proverbial glass is not only half empty, but what is in it is pure poison. Helluva an outlook I have at times. Additionally, I've had an Oscar voter tell me that except for the "big awards" (not defined for me), he voted based on which films he thought were worthy of being Oscar winners without consideration of the specific field of the nominations of the "lesser awards". Maybe not most sensible way to vote, but sure beats the clip I saw of someone stating that they voted for Brexit, but didn't want it to pass. I rewatched the clip to make sure I heard it correctly: a person voted for something that they were against. I can't argue that logic. Weird case of dyslexia? As for Williams getting an honorary Oscar: why give someone with five Oscars an honorary one? The Thalberg [sic?] Award, or a new one like sexiest turtleneck wearer? Sure, why not. But as for an honorary Oscar: give one to someone with a plethora of nominations, but nothing cluttering their mantlepiece. (Preferably not to someone who is determined to have the Oscar end up in some hospital's Butt Box, thank you.)

I agree with that approach as it allows the concert arrangements to serve as an overture to the score. But if there's an Ultimate Box Set for all nine films, I'd move the concert pieces to separate discs and include "The Adventures of Han", "Theme from Obi-Wan", and "Galaxy's Edge". Gotta have perks for plunking down the dough needed to purchase the box set.

Writing of factual errors, things to correct in the second edition: Platoon came out in 1986, not 1984 Texas had its sesquicentennial (150 years), not centennial (100 years) in 1986 The Force Awakens is Episode VII, not XII And explain why it is repeatedly stated that Williams would play eight holes of golf. The standard is either 9 or 18 with the bar in the clubhouse being referred to as the nineteenth hole. From the Kindle version. I got the physical version, but knew that the small print was not going to be conducive to my eyes. It's been about fifteen years since I last read a complete physical book; e-books ability to change font size is a real plus for me. I was reading this lakeside yesterday and a guy holding a beer walked by and asked, "What's the score?" Not knowing what the guy was getting at, I eloquently replied, "What?" He clarified, "Are you watching the game?" I told him no, while wondering why the fact that I had the Theme from Jurassic Park blasting from my tablet wasn't a big enough clue that I wasn't watching the Oregon-Oregon State game. Or any other game that may have been played at the time. I did get a an extra kick out of the Sinatra in New York anecdote. There were some things that I would have liked expanded on-- a simple sentence here and there mostly, but overall it is a dense, excellent read. "Star Trek made kids want to be astronauts and scientists. Star Wars made them want to be musicians." Probably got the exact wording wrong, but they sure are accurate.

I'm surprised that no one has posted: "Ordered!" So, I'll do it-- ORDERED! More surprised that the shipping is only $7.

I sit corrected. Admission time: I have three of the nominees. One simply due to its inclusion in a boxed set. The other two are from '82. I wonder how many of the votes were based on the film more than the quality of the music?

As part of my job is to read the tax code in the original gibberish, I can confidently report that words do matter as do their meanings. Pleased to hear that the remastering is an improvement in the sound quality.

Argylle is the only one I've seen. I was not impressed. I questioned some of Howard's work in the role, but when I don't think an actor isn't getting a part right, I tend to place a portion of the blame on the director. That's who calls "print" on a take, thus "blessing" the work. As for Worst Score - too many possible nominees. Actually, never a category in this "award" show.

Like trying to remember how many years it has been since an expanded JFK was announced by a record label. I know, the more interesting tidbit is why it's been so long. You think it might be simply waiting for Kevin Costner to sign off on the use of his image? When this biography comes out, I put it in the queue of what I'm reading. Until then, I'll keeping reading.

Composers in the "In Full Score" series: Barry Gary, Basil Poledouris, David Arnold, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, and Michael Kamen. https://chrissiddallmusic.com/collections/in-full-score-study-score-series So, The Hunt for Red October is out of the hunting, but Dancing with Wolves would fit. Although, the use of italics on "very" makes me leery of pretty much every score. Name a score and someone will write something disparaging about it; if only to be a contrarian. As for Star Trek III, Chris, I expect full alternates of "Klingons" (at least the Klingon part, maybe not the Entering Spacedock section) and "Return to Vulcan". The alternate for "Stealing the Enterprise" is merely noting that for the film version, the violins are tacit for the first x measures. Not sure about how different the opening chord is in the two versions, but a separate complete version for a few seconds would be a bit much. I wouldn't say no to it, but the added expense, doesn't warrant it.

Know each other, sure. But the best Her could do was John's cast-offs.

Based on what Chris wrote, he should be announcing the new title within the next month. We can wait that long, can't we? We have no idea when the next Omni title is due, after all.

The talk of the fire hydrants is starting to smack of political fodder. Fire hydrants are designed to provide water for 2-3 house fires, max. No hydrant system has been designed and installed that has the capability of providing enough water to hundreds of fire trucks simultaneously. Now, if you wanna bitch about how many public works systems in the US date from the 1930s and before... I'm not gonna stop you. I remember a tale of a composer suffering from most of his scores getting destroyed due to the Northridge earthquake back in the 90s. The damage wasn't due to structural damage to his studio, or a fire caused by a broken gas line. Nope, it was from the water sloshing out of his pool, downhill, into the studio where the scores had fallen from the shelves in the shaking. He didn't look amused by it, so I didn't pursue which insurance policy was used to pay for the repairs.

The 20th. The day I'm getting my root re-re-canal. What are the chances I remember to check out the sound clips? Should be able to get the shipment in time for my birthday (the day between John's and Jerry's).