Summa This, Summa That
Definitely Lauridsen-y, right? But that’s hardly a criticism (at least when coming from me). As I re-read the words, it doesn’t seem particularly specific as to season, just as to time of day (and to the luminosity of the aformentioned time). It does say “late year,” but it also says “high summer.” So I’m going with “seasonally appropriate enough for posting.” …with an implied “because this is my blog and I’ll do what I want.”
For no particular reason other than because it’s a bit October-y and I like to post thematically/seasonally-appropriate music from time to time and because, unlike Tom McDonald, I don’t know country music much, dark or otherwise.
Also, because I was recently listening to NPR’s “All Songs Considered” fascinating podcast with John Congleton and he brought it up.
And because I was amazed at how instantaneously those first cords brought back (with astonishing vividness) my memories of experiencing that ride for the very first (terrifying) time.
But perhaps most of all, because one can never have too much Thurl Ravenscroft. (That’s got to be on the short list of “Best Names Ever,” doesn’t it? Got to be.)
I stumbled across this quote while flipping through the latest edition of The New Atlantis a few weeks ago, and instantly loved it. (Also, it frightens me. I'm afraid of some day realizing that I've succumbed to that "blindness of spirit" without even realizing it. I don't just want childlike wonder; I need it. We all do.)
...you that sought for magic in your youth but desire it not in your age, know that there is a blindness of spirit which comes from age, more black than the blindness of eye, making a darkness about you across which nothing may be seen, or felt, or known, or in any way apprehended. -- Lord Dunsany, "The King of Elfland's Daughter"
That's from "Fantasy and the Buffered Self," a really wonderful piece from Baylor's Alan Jacobs. Go seek it out, if you've got a bit of extra time; you won't regret it. In addition to bringing Baron Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett to my attention for what feels (regrettably) like the first time, Jacobs' article pretty much single-handedly convinced me that I need to read Neil Gaiman's "American Gods."
A brief-but-important aside: Professor Jacobs' online presence is easily one of my favorite things. If you are not yet familiar with his "Gospel of the Trees", for example, check it out. Now. I can wait.
The Bible is a story about trees. It begins, or nearly enough, with two trees in a garden: the Tree of Life, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The pivotal event in the book comes when a man named Jesus is hanged on a tree. And the last chapter of the last book features a remade Jerusalem: “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” If you understand the trees, you understand the story.
Reitzell does a great job of quickly and succinctly (and humorously) setting up the obstacles that face a composer of video-game music, and an equally great job of describing how he overcame the sizable creative challenge of creating a coherent, immersive, and (most importantly) effective soundtrack for an adventure whose story beats he cannot control.
Aside from being both funny and clever and visually inventive, it’s also an outstanding introduction to the film. Gives us a significant amount of key information in an astonishingly short period of time. And even more importantly, sets the tone for what is to follow. (What follows, incidentally, is a lot of fun. I should watch it again, just to remind myself that the film doesn’t really drop off as much from the astonishing quality of its titles as one as Title-Obsessed as myself might suspect.)
I've loved guitarist Scott Tennant for years, ever since I first saw The LAGQ's "Loose Canon." ...I've loved François Couperin's "Les Barricades Mistérieuses" for ages. ...And I've loved the guitar since long before I even know Scott Tennant and François Couperin existed. ...All of which is merely preface.
Sprung from the fertile creative minds of Irish directorial duo Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, it’s visually stunning, often charming, sometimes unsettling, and entirely unforgettable, displaying a grace and subtlety and a wonderful “blend of simplicity and elaboration” rarely found in contemporary animation. Or, at least, rarely found in works not attributable to a Miyazaki.
I was recently reflecting on the question of whether or not there was a single point in my life from which my love for film originated -- a particular movie or even a particular scene before which I was a fairly mild film viewer and after which I was a full-blown cinematic fanatic. Was there a watershed moment for me? And if so, what was it?
To be honest, I’m not really sure what they thought of me. I like to think that I’m notfull-on R. Lee Ermey. But the realist in me recognizes I’m a bit of a self-important,“Play the Game the Right Way” kind of guy. (Which is funny, since baseball’s very much a later-in-life interest for me. I never played growing up.)
