Month: February 2022

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Friday Classical Dump

While no one’s paying attention, I’ll slip in another elitist post. I went to see this ensemble last night, and it was a smoker of a performance of Schubert, Bartok, and Beethoven Op. 131. I think these groups relax and take more risks when playing in backwater towns like Memphis, and the results are often tremendous. The cellist might look like an assistant night manager at Kroger, but musically he’s a badass; he was pushing them all to the brink in the Beethoven. Here they are in 2nd mvmt. of Beethoven Op.135. I’ve said it here before, and I’ll say it again: the late Beethoven string quartets and piano sonatas, at 200 years old, are still ahead of the times.

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Another King: “She Used To Pound Down”

Carole King rules. Songs I forgot she wrote but probably you guys all know:

  • I’m Into Something Good (Herman’s Hermits)
  • Chains (Beatles)
  • The Loco-Motion (Grand Funk Railroad)
  • The Porpoise Song (Theme from “Head” The Monkees Movie)
  • Up On The Roof (The Drifters)

I included the above because I enjoy the Scottish punk versions of things, and go Monkees of course. In describing Up On The Roof:

Appropriately enough, the song was born among the rat-race noise of a crowded city street. “Carole came up with the melody in the car – an a cappella melody,” …

A peaceful moment above the fray would have seemed like heaven to King – a young woman with two children and a demanding full-time job in a hit factory. The sophisticated arrangement was overseen in the studio by King herself, who was barely 20 years old at the time. “Carole used to hang in there with us tough,” Drifters member Charlie Thomas told Emerson. “She used to pound down. She wasn’t no hard woman – a girl, at her age. But she played the piano and it was amazing the songs she gave us.

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I Hope They Consulted Fat Elvis

I haven’t watched many of these, and almost always prefer footage of the original artists to their biopics. From Vince Mancini’s The Academy Can’t Quit Biopics, Even When They’re Bad:

Biopics now seem to exist somewhere outside of movies, belonging more to public relations; flashy advertisements for their stars and validations of their subjects’ legacies. Missing is the expectation that we’re actually going to gain any insight about their subjects… So it is we’ve gotten decidedly un-illuminating, subject-friendly portrayals such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.

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Yes, Please

https://youtu.be/3qVX-B_ZfpA

March 1 on HBO Max!

For over three decades, award-winning producer/writer/comedian Larry David has been one of TV’s defining talents. Now, this insightful two-part documentary finds the 74-year-old sitting down with friend/director Larry Charles for a peek behind the proverbial curtain, as David gets candid about his personal and professional highs and lows, from his humble beginnings as an unfunny Brooklyn kid to becoming America’s favorite misanthrope. In between reflecting on his bumpy road to success – and hit series Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm – David shares his thoughts on everything from metaphysics to parenthood. Genuine, hilarious, and eye-opening, The Larry David Story shines a new light on the infamous cynic who remains a singular voice in comedy today.