best original score recap

I was having a hard time deciding which score I should pick to win Best, and I found myself just leaning towards the one I had heard most recently.  Because I’d heard some scores months ago and some days ago, I decided I should listen to them side by side. Below are my comments about the music  as I was listening to it.  

Argo –While many of the pieces are not ones I necessarily want to listen to over and over again, I did think they fit in the movie perfectly; additionally, the pieces, “Breaking Through the Gates,”  “The Mission,” and “Clearing Iranian Airspace” are pure magic, putting the soundtrack squarely in the fantastic category. 

Life of Pi – I remember while I was watching the movie that I loved the music. It was actually a huge part of the movie, and in many ways, helped move the story along. It is beautiful to be sure, and I think my favorite piece is “Tsimtsum,” “Tiger Training,” “Orphans,”  and “Back to the World,” but it’s hard to pick. Most of the pieces are only 1-3 minutes long, and they all ease into each other; really it is one piece of music. It is gorgeous.

Lincoln – Well, it’s John Williams, so I know I’m going to like it. And I do, but that’s about all. I remember while watching the movie that music was power, but the same can be said for all of these scores.  I will say that the “Peterson House and Finale” is absolutely breath-taking (and, of course, the clip they play will be from this).  Overall, the music is beautiful and heads above many other scores, but I’m not feeling it for best score.

Skyfall – I remember remarking on the music when I came out of the theater – the music and the gorgeous cinematography. So I was excited to give this another listen. I couldn't get my hands on it through Spotify, so I purchased it from iTunes.  The stakes have been raised, Thomas Newman, you’d better delight me!  Okay, yes, I remember why I liked this so much as I was watching the movie. It is amazing.  “Jellyfish” and “Silhouette” are two of my favorites (and they are from a beautifully shot scene in the film). “She’s Mine” and “Deep Water,” and “ Adrenaline,” are also favorites. I don’t think it’s going to win though, although I think maybe it should. I think it’s going to be too fast-paced/electric for good old Oscar.

Anna Karenina - this is gorgeous  It starts off so fanciful, and I love the waltz   When I was watching the movie, I remember enjoying the music above all else, and I still enjoy it. I would listen to this again and again.  It is gorgeous, classical, and if I were still in an orchestra and given the choice of which of these scores to play, I would pick this one. I do adore it.

Silver Linings Playbook – Okay, so this is not nominated, but it should be. Three bars in, and I’m reminded how much I love this. Very hip, funny, distressing and beautiful; it helps tell the story of the movie perfectly. God, I almost forgot how much I loved this movie &; the music is bringing it all back. I love it.  “Simple,” “With a Beat,“ and – well, all of them, actually -  are just stunning. I know its not a big grand score, and it is relatively short compared to those nominated, but it just captured the film so well & is quite enjoyable on its own as well. I wish it had been nominated.

book of mormon

Last night my mom and I saw The Book of Mormon.  It was fan-fliping-tastic!  I loved the music and I laughed pretty much non-stop. Even with all the jokes, it managed to have heart & be quite charming. I'll admit, it seems odd to call a musical that has such a comfortable relationship with 4-letter words "charming," but it's done. I stand by my statement.  One of my favorite parts in the whole musical was when the broke out a tap dance. It was amazing.

Everyone talks about how offensive it is, but I certainly didn't find it to be. While I'm sure the language would bother some, and it is certainly not for the faint of heart, on a religious level I was not offended at all.  The take-home message I...um, took home, was that while the writers clearly don't believe in Mormonism & find some of it laughable, they seem have a, "but it makes really polite, happy people, so Mormon it up!" Of course, that may be offensive to some Mormons. I'm just saying if it had been about Catholicism, I don't think I would have been offended (but I try to have a sense of humor about my religion).  I would be interested in what my Mormon friends who've seen it think.

In short: if you have the opportunity, love musical & laughing, then see it!

i could take it no more

Yesterday I heard "Running Down a dream" by Tom Petty on my "oldies" station. I could idly stand by no more.

For years, this station has been an "oldies" station, with music primarily from the 50's and 60's. Now, when I turn to ###.#, I hear the same stuff I hear on all the other stations in [city name]. There is nothing that sets you apart, and you have left void a niche that you alone have filled in the [city name] area. As someone who loves oldies, this is severely disappointing, and I think that the change in your music selection is a mistake that will cost you listeners. I hope you will reconsider the change you've made and go back to doing what you do best: playing great songs from the 50's and 60's.

kansas's wayward son?

awesome song.

not an oldie.

beth orton

Listen to her, and love her. I've been listening to her all day, and I can't get enough! I thank Panda for introducing me to her on my 26th birthday when she put the song Stolen Car on my birthday mix.

King of Carrots Flowers

I have 2 versions of King of Carrots Flowers on my Ipod. One, by Neutral Milk Hotel, and one version preformed by Tessellation Monkey Head. On random, the version by TMH just came on, and it served as a reminder that Matt has a really nice voice (Panda remarked on this the last time this song shuffled up on the playlist). He should sing more often. And the band should put out more music.

Yeah, sometimes I miss it...

I started playing the violin in third grade. I took one year off (7th grade) and missed it so much that I rejoined the orchestra in 8th grade and continued all through h.s. I was not the best violinist ever, but I was pretty good (improving from a 2nd violinist to 4th chair first violinist in a year's time*).

I loved it. I loved how so many different people could come together and create a such spectacular sounds; ensemble pieces really are quite cool. I think you also become close to the people with whom you make music. Perhaps that is because everyone transitions from suck to (hopefully) great with each new piece of music leaving little room for peer judgement, but quite a bit for encouragement and camaraderie.

When I went to college I again stopped playing the violin. I was not nearly good enough to be in college orchestra, and playing the violin solo was just not for me. Piano - that's a solo job. Violins belong in an orchestra. So, I hung up my violin and have rarely looked back.

Occasionally I find myself missing it, however. Like tonight. Tonight I'm sitting here writing a paper on the rise of China's soft power and I'm listening to a CD of my old violin teacher's quartet. The tone from the instruments is just beautiful and right now, at this moment, I miss playing in an orchestra.

Ah well... that is all.

*Having played both, I don't think it's quite fair to assume 2nd violinists aren't as talented as 1st violinist (although that is how we were ranked in my h.s. ). Generally, 1st violinists play more of the melody, and many times that is easier than what the 2nd violinist had to play.

This blog post brought to you by "Thoughtful Thursdays"

Making up for a week of not posting!

• Thank you Squishy for letting Panda and me borrow Corner Gas. It is my new favorite show. We watched it on Saturday night and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I couple of times I even had to pause the DVD because I was laughing so much.
  
• I think I get a lot more work done in the computer lab at school than in front of my computer at home. I'm not sure why this is, but I think I'll be testing this theory out by spending more time at school. With my extra time I plan to do the things I love: actually see my friends, blog, crochet, and watch T.V.
• I have a lot of crochet projects to start and finish before Christmas. I'm getting worried.
• After class tonight (yes, tonight - Sunday), I went bowling and bowled a 139 - personal best! Yeah, I rock.
• Subway no longer sells Sour Cream and Onion Baked Lays. As you can imagine, I am extremely upset about this.
  
• If you want someone to find your home or your place of business, then post your freaking address where it can be seen easily from the road! I cannot stress this enough.
  
• I am in love with the song Fidelity by Regina Spektor. It has been on both Veronica Mars and Grey's Anatomy. Those two shows have the best music!
  
• I have the 2nd Grey's Anatomy soundtrack. It is great (as you might expect), but I didn't fall as madly in love with it as I did with the first one. If anyone wants a listen, they are welcome. My favorite song on there is I Hate Everyone by Get Set Go (they also sing Wait, from the first album - this song is so good it makes my heart hurt just a little). A close second is Homebird by Foy Vance followed by I Me You I'm Your by Jim Noir.
  
• I went camping a couple of weekends ago, and I had s'mores that were out of this world!
  

Several little things...

So, I went up to the farm this weekend with my dad and we brought back so much delicious, delicious sweet corn! Mom and I spent 5 hours canning it so it we will have the tasty goodness all year round. Three cheers for corn!

If you turn your eyes to the heavens, you may have noticed that we are currently under a new moon. This made for spectacular stargazing up at the farm. Last time I was there (also a new moon), my dad and I saw what appeared to be a falling meteorite. We watched it blaze across the dark sky for (I'm not exaggerating) over 3 minutes, but I digress... This past Sunday, so many stars were out and we actually saw the Milky Way. It was pretty awesome.

The power is back on at work! YAY! because the air conditioning is on and because I can get my stuff done before my vacation, but BOO! because I'd planned to leave work today at 11:30 to get errands done before my vacation. Now, I can't use the "it's so hot I might literally die if I stay here" excuse to leave and do my personal stuff.

I watched the Music Man for the first time last night. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before (I love musicals), but the fact remains: I hadn't. I loved it. Loved it. If you haven't seen it you should. I'm kind of on a musical kick right now, and I think tonight I'll watch Singin' in the Rain.

My friend Rachael gave me this CD by Eve Cassidy. I enjoy the whole CD, but I really love the first track, It Doesn't Matter Anymore. The song, written by Paul Anka and originally recorded by Buddy Holly is, is just beautifully sung by Eve Cassidy. I can't get it out of my head.

Standing the Test of Time

I love the oldies and I'm not afraid to say it! In highschool the oldies station was number 1 on my "preset" and I listened to it every day on my way home from school. I just can't get enough of them. Well, with my new iPOD I find that I listen to the radio less and less when I'm in my car, and I miss my oldies. So, the other night I put some of my favorite olidies on Cooper. I got some Peter Paul and Mary, some Hermen's Hermits, and some Turtles. I also put on a few songs by the totally awesome Sam Cooke. All of his songs are great, but a couple of my favorites are Another Saturday Night, Only Sixteen and Cupid. He has alot of other popular songs (Chain Gang, Wonderful World, Twistin' the Night Away....). If you don't have music by him, you are missing out. NPR has had several stories about him, and if you haven't heard them I suggest you check them out. The link takes you to one story, and you can acces the others from there.

Crap-assed CD players

Today I'm working on the most mundane of my job duties, so I thought I'd pop in the Slater Kinney mix FishFrog so selflessly made for me. Unfortunatley, my crappy CD player will not recognize the CD. I am bummed.

Imagine This

I am currently listening to a CD my friend Casey made for me for my birthday. The first track is a version of Imagine. Singing the lyrics? Pres. Bush. Well, he's not singing it exactly. It's a mix of words taken from his speeches to make up the lyrics of the song. Its pretty freaking awesome.

You can go to the Wax Audio website here to read about what they do and to download different stuff.

Songs in my head

Very often I get songs in my head. Lately, I've found I am often singing the following:

"Dre-e-e-e-am. Dream, dream dream dream. Dre-e-e-e-am."
"Forever young. I wanna be forever young. Do you wanna live for ever? Forever? Forever?"

And at work, usually at work events:
"I gotta get out of this place. If its the last thing I ever do. I gotta get out of this place..."

Now, none of these songs are songs I that listen to often or even like (expecially the forever young song - I hate it. Yet, one of them is going through my head most of the time).

Do you get the same songs stuck in you head? If so, what are they?

They Might Be Giants ask a Tough Question

The song, Snail Shell, brings up a important question we must all ask are selves - would you put a snail where he has to be?

As I read Matt's story about the cat on the side of the road I became at once depressed & angry (that Matt could not help the animal) and hopeful (that the ladies could and did). If put in a similar situation how would you have reacted?

Do you feel it is one's duty to act to help those who cannot help themselves, and if so, what lengths should one go to before giving up? Do you have different standards for different classes of those that need help (such as wealth v. poor; animal v. human; child v. adult; etc...)