Happy Halloween!

Picked the creepiest song I had on the old HD; it's pretty hard to get through it without feeling a chill down your spine. Enjoy! I'm heading down to the Village Parade, so it should be fun. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

• Tom Waits: "What's He Building?" [mp3] from Mule Variations

Bing Crosby & a cartoon that still disturbs me, as much as I love it :] Enjoy! I hope parents are still showing this version of "Sleepy Hollow" to their kids and scaring them.

My Rifle My Pony and Fuck that Amazon Marketplace guy

So I ordered the special edition Rio Bravo DVD weeks ago from Amazon Marketplace for what I think was a good deal, and when the cutoff delivery date finally came and me very much without the movie, I e-mailed the guy with a polite Where The Fuck Is My Rio Bravo DVD, and he promptly responded that he had sent it and thought it had arrived, but here's a full refund, which means he never sent it because who lets their shit get lost in the mail and offers up a full refund sans hysterics. While I'm glad it was all painless, I'm quite heartbroken that I don't have the DVD in my possession at this moment. I adore this movie, and when I went on today to check, the lowest marketplace price was $8 more than what I had originally paid. I'll wait it out, but oh man. Don't ever get between a girl and her John Wayne/Walter Brennan/Dean Martin movie. Anyway, here's a clip to make us all feel better.




How great is this picture?

Young Indy Countdown: The Last Crusade OST

It doesn't get much better than that.

Okay, we're wrapping up the countdown on the day Lucas finally releases Young Indy on DVD, though I'll be waiting a few days for amazon to get them out. . .

Last Crusade. What to say? This soundtrack is one of the most stirring Williams scores. The themes in this, the grail theme, the Jones themes, are all built around the same touching quality of warmth an that the film has as it explores the Sr/Jr relationship. There's a complexity in "Keeping up with the Joneses" as different themes are layered and explored that counts among Williams' best. The Nazi Theme used throughout, sometimes ominous, other times downright intimidating, and the Grail Theme is noble, with a gorgeous string component. The "Scherzo for Motorcycle & Orchestra" matches the excitement and humor of the corresponding scene, and "Belly of the Steel Beast" is rousing and exciting, tension driven by syncopation and fantastic brass/wind outbursts with sharp percussions. I only wish the CD had the parade music from the book burning ceremony.

Now, if only Sean Connery would stop being a bum and just make an appearance in the 4th film. " I like retirement too much to be a nice guy. I want everyone to remember me going out with a bang- with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." (As much as a I am guilty of liking that film, I mean, come on. . .) Maybe it's a ploy, and he'll show up for a few minutes. . . and then it'll be the biggest surprise since we learned Vader was Luke's pop. And then all the newspaper reviews will spoil it for everyone. . . Wishful thinking. Enjoy the music.

"I nearly had a heart attack when I learned of Sean Connery's retirement. I'm dreaming up ways to kill off Connery's character in the franchise's fourth installment." (AFI Tribute to Sean Connery - George Lucas)

Oh man, I just figured out how Lucas is gonna squeeze more money out of me. Besides releasing all 4 Indy movies in a box set one day. I bet they're going to re-release the soundtracks in the months leading up to the movies. Ok. Here's what I say: ain't buying the Last Crusade soundtrack without the parade music. Ha! OH man. Good news is that John Williams IS confirmed for Indy 4.

• Last Crusade Soundtrack
• Tracklist
• Buy

Check out some good quality stills.

Young Indy Countdown: Temple of Doom OST

John Foster Dulles is my bitch.

Alrighty, the second installation in the Indiana Jones series. This was my favorite when I was a kid (now I don't really favor one, I love em all). I think I've watched it 15 to 20 times. . . I remember watching it at my parents' office when they had to work late. Over and over again.

I'm running off to a Morrissey show, so this is gonna be real quick. This soundtrack's a fun one: the crazy build-up in "Bug Tunnel & Death Trap," the spooky chimes and minor variations throughout, Short Round's theme, "Anything Goes" in unidentifiable Chinese, the love theme that takes what could be saccharine and matches it to the comic Willie-Indy chemistry even while maintaining an old fashioned love theme beauty. . . Enjoy!

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Tracklist
• Buy (I bought this from amazon.com years ago, and it was not that expensive. . . I remember it was pricey, but whoa now.)

Young Indy Countdown: Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

Ah, yet again, such heights of "comic" maturity.
Tied to a pole on the hill above, Indy thought: OH SNAP. That's what happens when you mess wid th'MAN WID da HAT. BITCH.

This was one of the first CDs I remember buying, and I'm pretty sure the entry point to my hard core obsession with John Williams. It's an amazing score, from the playful "Basket Game" (*note that in the reference gag in Temple of Doom when Indy tries to pull out a gun that is not there, we get a few notes from the theme that recalls the epically epic (indeed) marketplace sword-vs-gun fight) to the rousing "Desert Chase." The Ark theme is truly awe-inspiring, and each little leitmotif and its variations function to tell the story, build tension, and bring the experience to a higher level. The Fucken Amazing "Airplane Fight", with the brassy accents and stress-inducing strings; you can practically follow the fight without actually seeing it! Listening to the score without images reinforces the power of Williams' music. Not only does it stand alone on its own as excellent composition, but the ability of the music to recall scenes and reactions to the film whilst listening to it reveals just how much the film itself, the excitement and romance and adventure, depend on the score.

• Raiders of the Lost Ark Score
• Tracklist
• Buy
  

Best Little Raiders moment?
a. Indy getting hit on the head with the mirror + longshot of boat to accompany his howl.
b. Belloq's trick fly
c. the coat hanger of doom
d. "It's a date. You eat 'em!"
e. other?

& DORK-o-RIFIC!

Young Indy Countdown

Okay, so as you might know I've been waiting for Lucas to release Young Indy on DVD for yeeaarrrs. I'm even sufficiently excited about this box set (vol 1 of 3) to shell out (at the amazon's very nice discount price + I had a gift certificate) a (few more than a) few bucks. Got it all pre-ordered last month. I'm holding out on Vol 2 til closer to the release date in the hopes that the price will drop. Vol 2 is when it starts getting really good. Cos we all had (have) crushes on Mr Sean Patrick Flannery (and who doesn't after seeing Boondock Saints, unless you're more the Norman Reedus type).

It's hard to 100% accept the Young Indy series in a canon/continuity that later includes the Harrison Ford Indy (River Phoenix is closer, who comes off as pretty ass-hole-ish but oh-so-Indy, versus the all around nice guy/indignant guy/<3 that Sean has goin), but as its own thing, each episode is amazing, like its own film, with some major stars, fabulous locations, and very fun & history-related plots. It's a lot of fun to see all the historical figures and to see Flannery's perpetually confused Indy Forrest-Gump'ing his way through the first fifth of the 20th century. Bottom line? I adore the Young Indy films/episodes. And I'm totally psyched about the documentaries that were made to complement the shows. I really do feel these eps have an educational value ( I learned who Bronislaw Malinowski was from the series. . . it's helped me a lot.) and I think the docs represent not only a great move but a good vision.

Though if George releases them next week with more features, bigger n better, and lost episodes and Young Indy party hats, I will make him curse the day he was born.

So I unfortunately don't have the tv show soundtrack (I guess one exists?) but I figured as a countdown to Tuesday's release date, I'd post the original 3 Indy soundtracks by the great John Williams. So those will be coming soon.

PRETTY!

Poor Susie.

[&]
Susie: Do you have your line memorized for the nutrition play, Calvin?
Calvin: I'm still learning it. Being an onion is a difficult role, you know. What are you?
Susie: I'm "fat."
Calvin: No, I mean in the play.
Susie: Anyone ELSE want to say it?!?
Calvin: Aackk! Understudy! Understudy!

Infuriating things this Saturday:
1) No lights on in the library, 2) weird yogurt I had for breakfast that I think mighta gone bad, 3) waiter at Chinese restaurant throwing my plate at me, 4) BOYS. Argh!
*My god Bridget, what fantastic heights of maturity you have reached. (I guess I could have made "boys are poop" as the title post. That would have reeally clinched it.)
**Of course that excludes all the pretty ones stopping by here.

Mix for you kiddo! Meant to be played on Shuffle, if you see sumthin you like.

> Download <

Saw 30 Days of Night. Not sure what I thought of it. I enjoyed it; it wasn't as scary/engaging as I hoped, but then again, bad at all. Though it ain't Hard Candy (a movie I will never recommend to anyone not because it was bad but because it was omfjeezuuss!!!) Each time I see Josh Hartnett in a movie, I realize that he's a very good actor but has been stuck in not-so-great films. It looks like he's moving out of that, though. I learned once again to not drink beer during a movie because you miss the scariest part (your friends helpfully tell you afterwards) cos you had to pee. And the bathroom is on the second floor. Or the ground floor. Um, I've never figured out how to determine what floor you're on in this city.

I just realized how to make this post even girlier:
My shoes and earrings came! I love my shoes! I love shoes! On sale! . . . Take that feminism :) & Marx. When he was all like, oh, you'll buy two pairs of shoes and then capitalism will break dooown, he wasn't thinking about the ladies.

Tommy Lee Jones!

"going into meltdown builds character"
-Declarative Dog

Jim has been kind enough to lend moral support as I panic my way through these two weeks of midterms (with but two bright spots on the horizon- 30 Days of Night on Saturday morning, and the Morrissey show on Monday evening which is doing more to ruin scheduling than anything. . .) But in the way of shiny things, I think this is suitably fucken awesome to distract anyone.

• No Country For Old Men Trailer

Shiny!

Absolution Instrumentals: Stop that singing!

(kinda morbid picture to look at whilst reading about whether the Soviet invasion or the bombs were more instrumental in ending the war. . . kinda morbid picture in general)

Sooo, almost in the same vein as yesterday's post, music-wise (almost almost not quite), here are the backing tracks to Muse's luvverly Absolution (sans vocals!), which I am listening to, as I mentioned the first time I posted these ever-so-long-ago, cos I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT CONCENTRATE OMF.

That's what happens when you're almost down to the wire. Shiny things start catching your eye ever-so-easily and you wikipedia people like Josephine Marcus. Then you hit the day of and you go "oh!" and "shit!" and "wot's the Konoe memorial?" and finally, as the exam is being handed out, "what class is this exam for?" (I promise, pretty ones, one more week of midterms, and the bitching will shift to a different topic.)

So. If you like Absolution, you'll have no problem with these. If you hate Matt Bellamy's voice but you like the uber-drama of Muse's instruments, you may have fun with this. Cutting the vocals reminds you how dense the music is, how over-the-top it is, and how fun it is.

• Absolution Instrumentals

So my neighbor is insisting that all I do is listen to techno. . . I'm not sure why? I listened to a lot of Rancid last night and a lot of fucking Romantic classical music. . . I guess that's kinda like techno. . . you know those Russians.

edit: Oh man, it's getting late. I just wikipedia'd "Pi-yu" instead of "Puyi." I'm not culturally insensitive. Wo hen lei. (Okay, it is kinda funny though, in a Shanghai Noon kind of way.)

SHWAY

Ah, what to give to the readership that has everything. This. Yes, the soundtrack to the great Batman Beyond- the surprisingly good soundtrack.

I loved this show when I was a kid. Said the girl can't yet legally drink. I watched an episode awhile ago, and while I wasn't as into it as I used to be, I can still say that it was/is a very good show with a very good, very fun soundtrack.

Check out the opening titles here, on Youtube. See the crazy kids of the future dance weird, and see some slow-mo action with that stupid whiny Dana chick.

That Terry. What a hottie. Left a trail of broken sixth grade hearts the way bunnies leave trails of poop. The title track is officially called "Smells Like Creamed Spinach." Har. . . har. And I finally saw the "wrap up" of the series that was broadcast as a JL episode. Totally didn't dig it. Wtf. Clones? Terry looks awful.

• download Batman Beyond OST
• buy
• liner notes/tracklist

OH man, who remembers Static Shock? Saturday morning with the WB. Speaking of which, any Histeria fans out there? Best. Cartoon. E. Ver.

If I sound a little crazy. . . Heater is not yet on in our building. I was told this morning it will take a few more days to kick in. I've been wrapped in a blanket for the last few days. And don't buy the reduced fat banana chocolate chip coffee cake from Starbucks. It's awful. I wanted it for the banana and chocolate chip. It tasted like. . . not any of that. I don't even know.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote some of the most beautiful and haunting music that you can listen to today, and if you've heard "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" you'll know what I mean. Incredibly stirring, powerful, just as much so to play as it is to hear it. I've been listening to a lot of classical music whilst studying for midterms (and while weeping- oh god! I know nothing about Pacific Asian wars! Nothing, I tell you. Nooo., though maybe it's from the sheer beauty of the music. . .) so we might be seeing more classical stuff. This record also includes Fantasia on Greensleeves and the Variants of Dives and Lazarus among others, so if you've heard one of those and want to hear more, this is a perfect place to start.

• Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Favorites III
• Buy

. . . You remember that priest in Father Ted who is so boring nobody can focus long enough to hear what he's saying? That's what my Asia Pacific Wars prof is like. It's not that what he's saying is boring-- far from it-- but he has an almost monotone that then falls at the end. He's a word swallower. "And -then -the- US- dropped- a- bmmmrrr. . . This-combined-with-the-Soviet invvsssnrrrmm is considered the captirrrrandgmublebumble." My classnotes read, "Asia Pacific ??thingthing?? as a concept." I have no idea what he said at that point. Region? Entity? War? WO-MEN'S KNICKERS?

Still tweaking the layout. The weather turned to shit today, so I figured the green was a little too spring-y. So here's to winter. And, also, the place I had the dino image uploaded at went all crazy and the picture disappeared. . .

. . . They are going "ah" because the noise. . . it is annoying them. It's Mike Mignola. . . so I mean, what can go wrong, right? Oh-so-much if it's in my hands :p You can see what's on my mind. I think it's safe to assume that Jim and I- and anybody who stops by and wants to be- are Noise Annoys-sanctioned honorary BPRD members.

. . . I think the new general rule in understanding what could possibly going on in my mind while I'm doing anything on this blog is. . . three hours of sleep. One Diet Coke. No common sense. That could be our motto.

Noise Annoys: Three hours of sleep. One Diet Coke. No common sense. Nu-ku-ler capacity.
Noise Annoys: Making you an offer you can't refuse since fairly recently.
or, Noise Annoys: In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt.
or, Noise Annoys: Ceux-qui rient le vendredi, pleureront le dimanche.

A Few Things

1. Ok! I'm back, of sorts. October is the month of midterms which means it's also the boy-are-you-fucked month, so I've been holed up in my room like I'm avoiding taxes ('cept without picnics), doing a lot of reading and a lot of studying and no fun. Posting will either slow down in the next few weeks because I'm being studious, or it'll skyrocket to, like, eight posts a day because I'm procrastinating. We'll see.

2. Ooh, who is excited about 30 Days of Night!

3. Head over to Gimmie Back by Head- it's 1 year old (as of . . . October 3)! To celebrate, I've uploaded (a post or so down) what has become one of my favorite things that Jim's posted, and something I've been listening to quite a bit for the last week while writing a paper on. . . medieval views of demons. A paper that I am working on as I type this! And all the articles regarding this thing are in German! I do not sprechen sie deutsch. That's probably the wrong tense! Panic! If I wanna go to grad school/avoid the real world for a few more years, I hafta speak German! And Latin! And Italian! And !Kung! Though I don't know why on that last one. So put your !Kung for Dummies book down and go check out the super special extended Hellboy OST. Go!

4. Who wants to be a BPRD agent when they grow up! Or MIB :p

5. Ken is putting together what is shaping up to be a totally fucken awesome series of Texas singer-songwriters/groups, and so far what he's posted is excellent. It's all new to me, and it might be for you too, so head on over to Giant Robots Make Me Nervous, Sometimes. . .. This is a great opportunity to get introduced to a genre and music scene that isn't always easy to find an entry-point into. His mention of Billy Joe Shaver prompted me to go see what I had of his. Turn out I only have one album, so that's posted down there. Unfortunately, it doesn't have some of my favorite songs of his, so I'm still on the lookout for a best of compilation of sorts. Also, for more Townes all the time, go down to the last post and grab the link Ken provided to a live set featuring not just Townes, but also Steve Earle and Guy Clark on Together at the Bluebird Cafe.

6. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles? Whoever. Both of 'em broke out hearts. . . :[

Hellboy Extended OST

Got this from Jim awhile back and love it-love it-love it to death. I think the links are actually still working over at Gimmie Back My Head, but I figure spread the love. Enjoy :) And a big huge thanks to Jim!

• Disc 1
• Disc 2

Billy Joe Shaver - Tramp On Your Street

My personal favorite on here is "Georgia on a Fast Train." Have fun!

His second album in 11 years, 1996's Tramp on Your Street. Waylon Jennings helps out his old pal on the autobiographical "Heart of Texas" and on "Oklahoma Wind," which manages to evoke the tragedy of the American Indian without getting all sentimental. Brother Phelps adds hillbilly harmonies to two songs. Best of all is the title song, a true story about a 10-year-old Billy Joe Shaver walking 10 miles to hear Hank Williams sing at the Wonder Bread bakery in Corsicana, Texas. The song blossoms, however, into a universal anthem about the importance of culture to the poorest and most desperate among us [x].

• Download
• Buy

Will be back soon. Dealing with academic clusterfuck.

Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie

I'm not a big Blondie fan. I'm in a phase right now where I've been listening to the usual suspects from the catalog, but in general. . . My sister's a big fan, but most of all I cannot-cannot-cannot listen to "Rapture" nor can I watch the music video for it. I know it's got Fab Five Freddy and Jean-Michel Basquiat in it, and the song references hip hop pioneers, but her rapping makes me want to scream MY GAWD WHAT ARE YOU DOING? It's too sing-songy in the cadence/flow and her voice makes the whole song feel flat and lacking. I just can't do it. Plus the video reminds me of the point in MIB when Will Smith shoots the cardboard little girl. :p (Sorry, couldn't find the actual clip. Or the right movie.) But enough of that, the other songs are excellent except that they get stuck in your head for days on end, and then you're that guy whistling "Heart of Glass" in the elevator.

Enjoy, for those of you who don't yet have it.

Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie

[picture source]

Townes

As an added bonus, it flaunts his sense of humor, whereas studio albums always flaunt his sense of impending doom (not that the two can't go together; it's just that they never did until now) [x].

Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. [Steve Earle]

I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table. [Townes Van Zandt]

In an effort to make your Monday night as forlorn as possible, here's some Townes Van Zandt. As I've mentioned, I have found that listening to Townes in the morning is possibly the worst way to get your day started, unless you want it to be depressing and subdued. Excellent, excellent stuff. It's big (2-disc) so I'm putting it on megaupload. If anybody would rather it split in two on rapidshare, give me a shout.

• Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, TX
  
• Buy

How much fun is it

to have Ahmadinejad visit your school?
THIS MUCH FUN!

green = route forced by NYPD. red = normal route. light blue = nypd saying can't go this way. dark blue = protests

Security security security. I left twenty minutes early for my class at the girl's school in anticipation of what would become the green route. Was still 10 minutes late. It took 30 minutes to travel that green route, which is maybe a little over a quarter of a mile. . . i however did not see the promised Secret Service snipers they had when Putin was here a few years ago.

Why I probably most likely failed my French test.

You have those fucking days where climbing Mount Everest in chainmail with five babies, a Venetian, a vengeful Spaniard, and a princess strapped to your back with dental floss would be easier than sitting down and focusing. . . ? You notice how those are always the days before a French test / big presentation / mensa test? Drawn last night at 1 am while trying to study while listening to a friend babble about Gram Parsons, the art is clearly terrible but BOY does it explain why my grade is gonna be like a Z-. Sorry. Zed. I think the plot is Babe the blue ox got turned into a giant blue vampire ox and is trying to eat a Coca Cola big rig that is parked at a rest stop/diner called "Stop." The dead bodies in Babe's mouth and hand are a clear homage to Goya's creepy ass picture of Saturn eating his progeny.