And Now For Something Totally Different.
Home Alone is a film that I was not expecting I would enjoy. I've seen clips before of the two villains getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter, but I never saw the whole thing.
The story centers around eight-year-old Kevin McCallister who gets left behind by mistake when his family leaves on a Christmas vacation to France. While his mother frantically tries to get plane home, Kevin faces off against two thieves, Harry and Marv, who are trying to burglarize the McCallister house. The result is some of the most iconic mayhem in cinema history.
The only real beef I have with it is at the very beginning when the whole family is treating Kevin like dirt; older brother Buzz in particular was completely unlikable. But this is easily overlooked once Kevin realizes he misses his absent family. To paraphrase Spike Jones, people always hurt the ones they care about. Kevin learns this lesson when he meets his misunderstood older neighbor in a church on Christmas Eve.
Kevin himself is a lot of fun to watch. His adventures are every child's wish-fulfillment fantasies about what it's like to have adult responsibilities and to defend yourself from people who want to hurt you. We feel his frustration with his family and his pain when he realizes how much he misses them. And we're cheering him on the whole time as he takes on Harry and Marv.
The best part of the movie, though, is of course Harry and Marv, known as The Wet Bandits for their habit of leaving the water running in the houses they rob. They are delightfully cocky and overconfident, like two live action versions of Wile E. Coyote from Looney Toons. And just like the cartoon canine, they get their fannies kicked at every turn, except with someone else's traps and not their own.
And of course I cannot forget the score. John Williams' music for Home Alone may not be as easily recognizable as the music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter, Superman, or Jaws, but it is nonetheless beautiful. I would almost call it underrated. Somewhere in My Memory is a magnificent tribute to what the family ought to be. It is a song full of longing, passion, and love. It is also the fourth song I know of that Maestro Williams has written for film.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 12. See it.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
TMSR: YOU KNOW NOTHING, VAL DICTORIAN!
I am going to rant now about a musical that I was in when I was eleven-years-old. Most people will not have heard about this one because it is written for kids who are either in home-school groups or big church groups.
This musical was written by Kathie Hill and is titled Promise U. Ms. Hill's work tends to be okay at best (at least from my own experience), and at worst it is simply glurge. And Promise U falls hard into that second category. What a piece of drek! There are five reasons why I say this:
1) The plot does not exist.
The setting is at a college called Promise University and the whole student body has gathered for a pep rally/study hall Cram n Jam. They are learning about "Precious Promises to Famous Followers of the Past 2,000 Years" or P2F2P2K. Leading the group is the cocky DJ Stan "The Man" and a sexy nerd of a cheer captain Valarie Dictorian. They go through seven so-called Famous Followers, do a cheer after every song and it all culminates in Stan becoming a Christian with everything all hunk-dory at the end.
That's it, there's no conflict or anything. All it is is just talking about various people from history and a promise that applies to them. There's no beginning, no middle, and no real end either.
2) The characters are shallow.
They are little more than cartoony mouthpieces uttering platitudes in stained glass attitudes. A new character comes in every time another "Famous Follower" (oh, give me a break!) is introduced. These characters are not really given a personality so much as they are given a quirk, and these quirks get old really fast. For example, Dee Caffeinate's only trait is her coffee obsession, and Val Dictorian comes off as a condescending know-nothing-know-it-all.
3) The evangelism is all too easy.
Stan admits he's in over his head at the end, but it comes out of nowhere and doesn't feel real. All he has seen and heard was what everyone else was chanting. His character is so flat that I do not believe his life has been changed after accepted Christ. No one talks about dying to yourself and giving up whatever idols are in your life, something that is essential to the Christian life.
4) THE Promise is left out.
The "Precious Promises" are true, but no mention is made at all of the promise that was made in Genesis Chapter 3 and continues through the end of Revelation; the promise of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection and the hope of eternal life with Him in Heaven. The promises are reduced to cutesy sentimentalism that do not require sacrifice of anything. This is a big "No" when writing Christian pieces.
5) The Followers were treated without respect.
If you're going to do a case-study of various Christians throughout history, then the topic needs to be treated seriously. This is not the case in Promise U, instead the Followers are treated with more sentimentality than respect. This is particularly bad with the case of Pocahontas. I'm not going to knock her faith just because it sounded it like the writer was merely speculating. But if she was in fact a strong woman of faith, then she needs more respect than just the Christian version of a Disney Princess!
In short, Promise U was garbage. It is disrespectful towards Christians of the past, is insulting to kids' intelligence, and it had nothing to offer but preachy nonsense.
This musical was written by Kathie Hill and is titled Promise U. Ms. Hill's work tends to be okay at best (at least from my own experience), and at worst it is simply glurge. And Promise U falls hard into that second category. What a piece of drek! There are five reasons why I say this:
1) The plot does not exist.
The setting is at a college called Promise University and the whole student body has gathered for a pep rally/study hall Cram n Jam. They are learning about "Precious Promises to Famous Followers of the Past 2,000 Years" or P2F2P2K. Leading the group is the cocky DJ Stan "The Man" and a sexy nerd of a cheer captain Valarie Dictorian. They go through seven so-called Famous Followers, do a cheer after every song and it all culminates in Stan becoming a Christian with everything all hunk-dory at the end.
That's it, there's no conflict or anything. All it is is just talking about various people from history and a promise that applies to them. There's no beginning, no middle, and no real end either.
2) The characters are shallow.
They are little more than cartoony mouthpieces uttering platitudes in stained glass attitudes. A new character comes in every time another "Famous Follower" (oh, give me a break!) is introduced. These characters are not really given a personality so much as they are given a quirk, and these quirks get old really fast. For example, Dee Caffeinate's only trait is her coffee obsession, and Val Dictorian comes off as a condescending know-nothing-know-it-all.
3) The evangelism is all too easy.
Stan admits he's in over his head at the end, but it comes out of nowhere and doesn't feel real. All he has seen and heard was what everyone else was chanting. His character is so flat that I do not believe his life has been changed after accepted Christ. No one talks about dying to yourself and giving up whatever idols are in your life, something that is essential to the Christian life.
4) THE Promise is left out.
The "Precious Promises" are true, but no mention is made at all of the promise that was made in Genesis Chapter 3 and continues through the end of Revelation; the promise of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection and the hope of eternal life with Him in Heaven. The promises are reduced to cutesy sentimentalism that do not require sacrifice of anything. This is a big "No" when writing Christian pieces.
5) The Followers were treated without respect.
If you're going to do a case-study of various Christians throughout history, then the topic needs to be treated seriously. This is not the case in Promise U, instead the Followers are treated with more sentimentality than respect. This is particularly bad with the case of Pocahontas. I'm not going to knock her faith just because it sounded it like the writer was merely speculating. But if she was in fact a strong woman of faith, then she needs more respect than just the Christian version of a Disney Princess!
In short, Promise U was garbage. It is disrespectful towards Christians of the past, is insulting to kids' intelligence, and it had nothing to offer but preachy nonsense.
Met Broadcasts
The Met Radio Season started last weekend but I didn't turn it on as it was Akhenaten Phillip Glass, and I like Glass' music about a much as I like the news Star Wars movies (i.e. not at all). So I will turn it on tomorrow, they'll be broadcasting The Queen of Spades, which I like.
I have not been able to enjoy them as much as I used to because my two jobs require that I be at work on Saturdays. But I still love them a lot, just not when they play operas that I hate.
I have not been able to enjoy them as much as I used to because my two jobs require that I be at work on Saturdays. But I still love them a lot, just not when they play operas that I hate.
Monday, November 18, 2019
The Mad Soprano Rants: Love In Vain/Despairing Songs
I Don't Know, But...has two recent blog posts about what he refers to as "evil songs". These include songs like "Sweet Dreams", "Owner of a Lonely Heart?", etc..
I am not surprised that these songs are described as evil, because quite frankly they are. The thesis of "Sweet Dreams" is that love is a lie and people are only looking to use and abuse people. The music is ghastly as are the lyrics. It sounds like someone has been so badly hurt by a luckless relationship that they have given up on ever knowing love.
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is even more disturbing with the line "Better than the owner of a broken heart". If I may steal from the recent opera The Enchanted Island, hearts that love all will be broken. You cannot love without risking pain. C.S. Lewis once noted that the only place where you are safe from the pains of love is Hell. I myself have heard it said that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
I have sung many songs about unrequited/spurned love, but they were more about how the narrator couldn't go on living without the beloved or dying on a kiss. They never crossed the line by saying that love was a lie or that it was better to never love at all. People need to know that they are loved, and it starts with one person making the decision to love someone. This is not limited to just romantic love, but to friendship and familial love as well.
Granted one person hearing "Sweet Dreams" might say, "Right on," while another says, "I love a sad song." But it's still very sickening to hear such nasty and wicked lyrics oveer the radio.
I am not surprised that these songs are described as evil, because quite frankly they are. The thesis of "Sweet Dreams" is that love is a lie and people are only looking to use and abuse people. The music is ghastly as are the lyrics. It sounds like someone has been so badly hurt by a luckless relationship that they have given up on ever knowing love.
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is even more disturbing with the line "Better than the owner of a broken heart". If I may steal from the recent opera The Enchanted Island, hearts that love all will be broken. You cannot love without risking pain. C.S. Lewis once noted that the only place where you are safe from the pains of love is Hell. I myself have heard it said that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
I have sung many songs about unrequited/spurned love, but they were more about how the narrator couldn't go on living without the beloved or dying on a kiss. They never crossed the line by saying that love was a lie or that it was better to never love at all. People need to know that they are loved, and it starts with one person making the decision to love someone. This is not limited to just romantic love, but to friendship and familial love as well.
Granted one person hearing "Sweet Dreams" might say, "Right on," while another says, "I love a sad song." But it's still very sickening to hear such nasty and wicked lyrics oveer the radio.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
New Statue
He would have been fifty-seven today, had cancer not taken him in 2017. It still hurt to think about it.
A statue of Dmitri Hvorostovsky was unveiled in Novodevichy Cemetery today. It's amazing how much of an icon he is over in Russia. But here in the U.S., he's hardly known at all unless you're a Russian immigrant or an opera geek.
I really have no words to describe just how much Dima meant to me, but it was through his performance over the radio of Eugene Onegin that I fell in love with opera to being with. With that dark velvety voice, that piercing dark eyes, and that white mane, what women wouldn't be swept off her feet by him?
What makes his loss all the more painful is that he was fifty-five when he passed. Now that shouldn't be too unusual, but we all had the hope that Dima would sing until he was eighty. So it does feel like he went too soon.
A statue of Dmitri Hvorostovsky was unveiled in Novodevichy Cemetery today. It's amazing how much of an icon he is over in Russia. But here in the U.S., he's hardly known at all unless you're a Russian immigrant or an opera geek.
I really have no words to describe just how much Dima meant to me, but it was through his performance over the radio of Eugene Onegin that I fell in love with opera to being with. With that dark velvety voice, that piercing dark eyes, and that white mane, what women wouldn't be swept off her feet by him?
What makes his loss all the more painful is that he was fifty-five when he passed. Now that shouldn't be too unusual, but we all had the hope that Dima would sing until he was eighty. So it does feel like he went too soon.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Art Is Calling For Me
I really wish I could find a full synopsis of The Enchantress, because I want the context for this song. It was written in 1911 but the lyrics are such that I would swear it was written by the musical comedienne Anna Russel.
The song is your typical "I Want More" piece sung by a young lady (Stellina) who has everything but is not satisfied. She wants to be the next Adelina Patti and sing on the stage. Lines such as "I hate society,/ I hate propriety!" highlight the lady's rebelliousness. As I do not know the story, I would say it is open to interpretation whether or not this is a woman with genuine talent who could conceivably make it on the stage, or else a wannabe who's just bored with high society.
As it was written in 1911, most of the references are to singers who were around at the time (Luisa Tetrazzini, Nellie Melba), and who are unfortunately not as well-known in our culture today unless you're an opera geek.
The song is your typical "I Want More" piece sung by a young lady (Stellina) who has everything but is not satisfied. She wants to be the next Adelina Patti and sing on the stage. Lines such as "I hate society,/ I hate propriety!" highlight the lady's rebelliousness. As I do not know the story, I would say it is open to interpretation whether or not this is a woman with genuine talent who could conceivably make it on the stage, or else a wannabe who's just bored with high society.
As it was written in 1911, most of the references are to singers who were around at the time (Luisa Tetrazzini, Nellie Melba), and who are unfortunately not as well-known in our culture today unless you're an opera geek.
The music is surprisingly easy—relatively speaking, of course—but it is also very high, going up to a high B-flat. But then this piece also allows for a lot of ornamentation. Given what this song is about, it works perfectly. In my own practice, I have ended the song on an E-flat about High C. I have heard other recordings of sopranos going into cadenzas.
Art Is Calling For Me is fast becoming a favorite of mine, if for no other reason than it is fun. This is a song that I would recommend to other sopranos, and maybe even the daring mezzo.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Double Whammy 2
Two great opera singers died this past week, soprano Jessye Norman at 74, and tenor Marcello Giordani at 56. I had only seen Ms. Norman in a few clips of Die Walkure, but I remember seeing Signor Giordani in the encore simulcast of Verdi's Ernani in 2012. But they were both really awesome singers who were adored by opera lovers everywhere.
They will be greatly missed.
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