That's what the cat has brought us the past two mornings. Well, yesterday's was dead. Today's present we found still alive, behind some boxes up in the spare bedroom. There were feathers everywhere but the poor little thing was okay. After we moved the boxes he hopped away under the bed and when I went for him under the bed he flew into our bedroom. That's when we knew he was okay. So I opened the windows, closed the bedroom door, and off he flew, free at last.
I guess I should have known something was up when I heard the cat-door open and the cat running around like a maniac. I thought he was just burning off steam because he's been cooped up lately due to the cold and snow. My wife was exercising downstairs with the TV volume turned up loud and I had music playing in the kitchen loud enough to drown out the TV. So if the bird was making any noise during the episode I couldn't hear it. All the while he was being tortured by the damned cat. I didn't know what was up until my wife came back up the stairs and saw feathers everywhere.
I hope this isn't the twelve days of Christmas, cat-style. Two mornings in a row is plenty. No more birds please. Though I guess it's better than the bunnies he brings us each spring.
The cat shows no remorse whatsoever. He sleeping soundly in his usual spot, his day's work complete.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Movie Critic
More positive confirmation on your host's excellent taste in movies. Last week James Lileks, this week Terry Teachout, who tweeted last night:
Follow the links in the link above, then go rent "Local Hero".
Mrs. T and I just watched a movie called "Local Hero" that I found utterly disarming.
Follow the links in the link above, then go rent "Local Hero".
Excerpt
"The Church’s enemies forgot that it does not have adherents because of its personnel, but because it is an ark of faith. The atheists, though often articulate and courageous and knowledgeable, and heavy-laden with the ammunition provided by the fatuity and hypocrisy of much Christian history, can never deal with the insuperable evidence of spiritual forces, miracles, and any ecclesiastical concept of grace. Nor can they surmount the challenge of man’s inability to grasp the infinite, the absence of an end and beginning of space or time. In these vast areas, notions of the supernatural and the deity will always circulate, no matter how great dissent may be."
Conrad Black, Catholicism, and the Oceans, Will Survive, at NRO
Conrad Black, Catholicism, and the Oceans, Will Survive, at NRO
Monday, December 13, 2010
Podcasts!
I've decided to add podcasting to my repertoire. I recorded this a few minutes ago and added it to the site. It's simply a vocal version of the Rock and Roll's Greatest Singers post just below. I still have to work out the details about submitting to iTunes and RSS feeds and the like, but that will come when I have a little more time. This was just a test and I'm fairly happy with it. I stumble a few times and mispronounce "sui generis" (it's soo-eye, not soo-eee) but for my first time out of the gate I'm happy with it. Anyhow, let me know what you think.
[audio:RollingStonesGreatest.mp3]
[audio:RollingStonesGreatest.mp3]
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?
And say yes to one and leave the other behind? Yes, once again I've changed my blog theme. So in two days I went from iNove to Copyblogger and now to the Carrington Blog theme. I like this one too. Today. Who knows tomorrow?
Rock and Roll's Greatest Singers
I've had much pleasure recently reading neo-neocon's blog, which I discovered a few weeks back. She's good. I disagree with her take, however, on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Of course I have my quibbles but I think they pretty much got it right. It's hard to argue with Aretha at #1. Her voice has always seemed a bit of a miracle to me, a combination of power, range, passion, and control that no one else can even come close to. If one were to argue it would have to be on the grounds that, since her late-60s pinnacle, she really hasn't been making great music overall. The sparks of brilliance over the years have been overshadowed by bad decisions, career missteps, lousy song choices, etc. The voice remains though, and I will accept her at #1.
Likewise, I won't argue with Ray Charles at #2, though I wouldn't have put him there myself. Undeniably great, top-ten certainly, but I would have picked John Lennon at #2, just ahead of Dylan and Elvis. As it is, Rolling Stone has him at #5, so it's not as if he's slighted. And that's my point: the list has all the right people just about where they should be. They have Elvis at #3 and Dylan at #7 so again, they are in the ballpark. I would have dropped Sam Cooke a few notches - Rolling Stone has him at #4 - not because I don't love his voice but because his songs in the rock and roll genre, while quite good, aren't overwhelming. He wasn't around long enough to build up the body of work a #4 should have and besides, his greatest singing was done during his days singing pure gospel with The Soul Stirrers.
Al Green gets his due at #14 though I would have switched Green's place on Rolling Stone's list with Otis Redding, who comes in at #8. Al Green was sui generis, there's never been anyone like him. Otis, as great as he was, had a tendency to worry his songs to death. Had he lived longer, I expect he would have discovered the value of restraint in his singing and challenged for the #1 spot. That's how great his voice was. (Oh my, I'm just rereading this before posting and that last line I wrote is nearly the title of what I consider his greatest song, "That's How Strong My Love Is." I wasn't even trying for an allusion there but I got it. Heh.)
Some people on the list don't deserve to be anywhere near it. Some day a generation will look back on #47 Jim Morrison, see through the hype, and recognize him for what he really was - an egotistical, no-talent hack, with an overblown and pretentious vocal style beyond all reason or taste. Until then we must all endure. The Doors had a few top-forty hits during their time but they weren't the be-all-and-end-all people make them out to be now. Their real popularity came later, after Jim Morrison was dead and his myth was created. But that's all it is, a myth. The music is there to listen to, if anyone really cares to. Had he lived, I'm certain The Doors would have faded from sight within a few years and would just be a footnote in rock and roll history.
There are two glaring problems with the list. To begin with, how can Rolling Stone rank Robert Plant, at #15, ahead of Mick Jagger, at #16? Besides The Beatles, The Stones are the only band that could possibly make a claim to the greatest in history. And Mick Jagger's voice was the most distinguishable part of the band. He's great, a voice made for rock and roll, perfect for the type of music he sang. It's one of the touchstones of rock and roll, that voice. Robert Plant was a screamer, an effective on to be sure, but no way can he be compared to Mick Jagger. This was a bad miss by Rolling Stone and by ranking the one immediately ahead the other, they made sure everyone noticed.
The final bad call is similarly glaring, and the biggest outrage in my book: Van Morrison at #24, with David Bowie ahead of Van at #23. Excuse me? Van Morrison is one of the all-timers. The man has a voice for the ages and he's been proving it for almost fifty years now - he is still making terrific music and exploring new territory with his vocals. Like Mick Jagger (and like Dylan) the most distinguishable thing about Van's music is his voice. To me, he's a top-five pick (so there's my top five: Aretha, Lennon, Dylan, Elvis, Van.) I understand he's not for everyone so I'll accept him ranked somewhat lower, but please, #24 with David Bowie (!!) ahead of him? What are David Bowie's great vocal performances. Does he have anything that can even touch "Madame George" or "Cyprus Avenue" or "Listen to the Lion"? Even on a minor song like "Cul De Sac" (which admittedly after forty years I still have no idea what it's about but hey, with Van, that's part of the charm), he's spectacular. Listen to it whole but pay particular attention to the scream at about the 4:56 mark - it's one of the greatest screams in rock and roll history and it blows Rolling Stones rankings right out the door. Thank you.
[audio:CulDeSac.mp3]
Likewise, I won't argue with Ray Charles at #2, though I wouldn't have put him there myself. Undeniably great, top-ten certainly, but I would have picked John Lennon at #2, just ahead of Dylan and Elvis. As it is, Rolling Stone has him at #5, so it's not as if he's slighted. And that's my point: the list has all the right people just about where they should be. They have Elvis at #3 and Dylan at #7 so again, they are in the ballpark. I would have dropped Sam Cooke a few notches - Rolling Stone has him at #4 - not because I don't love his voice but because his songs in the rock and roll genre, while quite good, aren't overwhelming. He wasn't around long enough to build up the body of work a #4 should have and besides, his greatest singing was done during his days singing pure gospel with The Soul Stirrers.
Al Green gets his due at #14 though I would have switched Green's place on Rolling Stone's list with Otis Redding, who comes in at #8. Al Green was sui generis, there's never been anyone like him. Otis, as great as he was, had a tendency to worry his songs to death. Had he lived longer, I expect he would have discovered the value of restraint in his singing and challenged for the #1 spot. That's how great his voice was. (Oh my, I'm just rereading this before posting and that last line I wrote is nearly the title of what I consider his greatest song, "That's How Strong My Love Is." I wasn't even trying for an allusion there but I got it. Heh.)
Some people on the list don't deserve to be anywhere near it. Some day a generation will look back on #47 Jim Morrison, see through the hype, and recognize him for what he really was - an egotistical, no-talent hack, with an overblown and pretentious vocal style beyond all reason or taste. Until then we must all endure. The Doors had a few top-forty hits during their time but they weren't the be-all-and-end-all people make them out to be now. Their real popularity came later, after Jim Morrison was dead and his myth was created. But that's all it is, a myth. The music is there to listen to, if anyone really cares to. Had he lived, I'm certain The Doors would have faded from sight within a few years and would just be a footnote in rock and roll history.
There are two glaring problems with the list. To begin with, how can Rolling Stone rank Robert Plant, at #15, ahead of Mick Jagger, at #16? Besides The Beatles, The Stones are the only band that could possibly make a claim to the greatest in history. And Mick Jagger's voice was the most distinguishable part of the band. He's great, a voice made for rock and roll, perfect for the type of music he sang. It's one of the touchstones of rock and roll, that voice. Robert Plant was a screamer, an effective on to be sure, but no way can he be compared to Mick Jagger. This was a bad miss by Rolling Stone and by ranking the one immediately ahead the other, they made sure everyone noticed.
The final bad call is similarly glaring, and the biggest outrage in my book: Van Morrison at #24, with David Bowie ahead of Van at #23. Excuse me? Van Morrison is one of the all-timers. The man has a voice for the ages and he's been proving it for almost fifty years now - he is still making terrific music and exploring new territory with his vocals. Like Mick Jagger (and like Dylan) the most distinguishable thing about Van's music is his voice. To me, he's a top-five pick (so there's my top five: Aretha, Lennon, Dylan, Elvis, Van.) I understand he's not for everyone so I'll accept him ranked somewhat lower, but please, #24 with David Bowie (!!) ahead of him? What are David Bowie's great vocal performances. Does he have anything that can even touch "Madame George" or "Cyprus Avenue" or "Listen to the Lion"? Even on a minor song like "Cul De Sac" (which admittedly after forty years I still have no idea what it's about but hey, with Van, that's part of the charm), he's spectacular. Listen to it whole but pay particular attention to the scream at about the 4:56 mark - it's one of the greatest screams in rock and roll history and it blows Rolling Stones rankings right out the door. Thank you.
[audio:CulDeSac.mp3]
Christmas Movies
I watched The Red Shoes last night, skipping Meet Me in St. Louis, which was playing on TCM. I love Meet Me in St. Louis, especially the music, but I've had The Red Shoes recorded for awhile now and one of my goals this weekend was to watch it. So I did, assuming there would be other opportunities to see Meet Me in St. Louis over the next few weeks - it's one of the great Christmas movies. And it has my favorites Christmas song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I think I mentioned that in one of my very early posts on this blog. Terry Teachout did catch Meet Me in St. Louis last night and he posted the following tweets while watching:
I agree with those opinions. Nothing makes me feel like Christmas more than hearing Frank Sinatra singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." It conjures up memories from my childhood like no other Christmas music, not even Johnny Mathis' original Christmas album, which my father played constantly during the Christmas season.
I should have recorded Meet Me in St. Louis but I'm running short on DVR space and I wanted to record some others coming up today, including my favorite Christmas movie, The Shop Around The Corner. You want a great Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie, there's your ticket. It's A Wonderful Life is okay, I suppose, but it never really did much for me. On the other hand, The Shop Around The Corner is a perfect little gem, a beautifully told story with not a line out of place or a moment that's missed. It has humor and drama and romance, and it has one of Jimmy Stewart's finest performances. Of course, it was directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch and if you've heard about the famous "Lubitsch Touch," that combination of grace, elegance, wit, and charm, you won't find it in more abundance than here. It's on TCM this morning at 10:15 but if you miss this run it plays often on TCM during the Christmas season so there will be other opportunities. Just to give you a taste, here is a clip of the first few minutes. See how brilliantly all the characters are in introduced. Within minutes, we've already formed opinions about them:
[youtube]ixppr_TVQHY[/youtube]
I also recorded Roman Holiday and The Lady Eve, neither one Christmas movies but movies I'll happily watch again during this Christmas season. I've got a lot of time off between now and the new year and I traditionally watch a lot of movies during this period. This year will be no different.
As for last night's The Red Shoes, it is very well done. I didn't think a backstage drama about ballet could keep my interest for over two hours but it did. Powell and Pressburger film the ballet scenes with great skill, making it a movie rather than just a film of a stage performance. The acting are fine, especially Anton Walbrook as the dictatorial director, and Moira Shearer is lovely and an awfully talented dancer. My reservation with the movie is the end and what leads to the end. SPOILER ALERT!! The character Ms. Shearer plays is so down to earth, has such a level head, it seems implausible that she'd fling herself out a window in a suicidal act. It comes out of nowhere, even though we know it's coming. Perhaps they should have made her less lovely, shown how much dancing meant to her, rather than have her mouth the words. She doesn't have the glint in her eye when she talks about her dancing, that monomaniacal passion that the great ones have. We don't get that without dancing her life is meaningless. She has to choose between her lover and her dancing but we never get the feeling that dancing is everything to her. So she jumps to her death. The irony, of course, is that Moira Sheater was one of the greatest ballet dancers of her time - she undoubtedly had what it took to convey those feelings. Still, it's not a reason not to watch the movie. It's terrific in all ways except that slight misstep of characterization.
Every musician I know thinks that "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a perfect song--and so do I.
The tune is as good as anything that Schubert or Brahms ever wrote.
I agree with those opinions. Nothing makes me feel like Christmas more than hearing Frank Sinatra singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." It conjures up memories from my childhood like no other Christmas music, not even Johnny Mathis' original Christmas album, which my father played constantly during the Christmas season.
I should have recorded Meet Me in St. Louis but I'm running short on DVR space and I wanted to record some others coming up today, including my favorite Christmas movie, The Shop Around The Corner. You want a great Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie, there's your ticket. It's A Wonderful Life is okay, I suppose, but it never really did much for me. On the other hand, The Shop Around The Corner is a perfect little gem, a beautifully told story with not a line out of place or a moment that's missed. It has humor and drama and romance, and it has one of Jimmy Stewart's finest performances. Of course, it was directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch and if you've heard about the famous "Lubitsch Touch," that combination of grace, elegance, wit, and charm, you won't find it in more abundance than here. It's on TCM this morning at 10:15 but if you miss this run it plays often on TCM during the Christmas season so there will be other opportunities. Just to give you a taste, here is a clip of the first few minutes. See how brilliantly all the characters are in introduced. Within minutes, we've already formed opinions about them:
[youtube]ixppr_TVQHY[/youtube]
I also recorded Roman Holiday and The Lady Eve, neither one Christmas movies but movies I'll happily watch again during this Christmas season. I've got a lot of time off between now and the new year and I traditionally watch a lot of movies during this period. This year will be no different.
As for last night's The Red Shoes, it is very well done. I didn't think a backstage drama about ballet could keep my interest for over two hours but it did. Powell and Pressburger film the ballet scenes with great skill, making it a movie rather than just a film of a stage performance. The acting are fine, especially Anton Walbrook as the dictatorial director, and Moira Shearer is lovely and an awfully talented dancer. My reservation with the movie is the end and what leads to the end. SPOILER ALERT!! The character Ms. Shearer plays is so down to earth, has such a level head, it seems implausible that she'd fling herself out a window in a suicidal act. It comes out of nowhere, even though we know it's coming. Perhaps they should have made her less lovely, shown how much dancing meant to her, rather than have her mouth the words. She doesn't have the glint in her eye when she talks about her dancing, that monomaniacal passion that the great ones have. We don't get that without dancing her life is meaningless. She has to choose between her lover and her dancing but we never get the feeling that dancing is everything to her. So she jumps to her death. The irony, of course, is that Moira Sheater was one of the greatest ballet dancers of her time - she undoubtedly had what it took to convey those feelings. Still, it's not a reason not to watch the movie. It's terrific in all ways except that slight misstep of characterization.
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