The Meme-Mandated, Semi-Regularly-Updated, Occasionally Coherent Thoughts of G.M. Skarka
Stage & Screen Online has posted the first two parts of an interview with David Arnold, film score composer (the last four James Bond movies, among others).
The first part (43 minutes) is about his early work — Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla — and the second part (29 minutes) concentrates on his James Bond output, including his “Shaken & Stirred” side project (songs from which have featured on Friday Music).
The interviews are available as MP3s.
You want a snapshot of what life is like in America now? Check the recent papers:
In the Wall Street Journal, Alan Dershowitz says that opposition to Torture is being “soft on Terror”, and that we should use torture, because it worked for the Nazis. No, I’m not kidding.
On the other hand, in yesterday’s New York Times, Frank Rich has the courage to call what’s happened to this country a Coup, and draws similarities to what’s occuring in Pakistan right now.
One side of America is seriously arguing that we should emulate the Nazis, and the other is admitting that there’s been a coup in this country, but isn’t doing anything to stop it.
Get me out of here.
Here we go again….
Last weekend, I watched Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who on VH1 — Very cool documentary covering the 40 year history of the band. During it, there was a shot of a very new-wave-looking Pete Townsend, singing the band’s 1982 single, “Eminence Front,” which I had completely forgotten about. It, along with Yes’ “90125” and Genesis’ “Genesis” are all great examples of classic bands changing slightly with the times — changes that often weren’t embraced by their longtime fans, but that little geeks like me ate up, as we sat around and rolled up characters for our RPG sessions. The Who – “Eminence Front.”
Speaking of fans — there’s been a hullaballoo between Prince and his fans. Apparently, he’s threatened to sue fan sites for posting images of him, etc. As a result a group of the larger sites have gotten together under the banner “Prince Fans United”, and are fighting the legal battle. Oddly, Prince has released a song for the fans, referencing PFU. So, on the one hand, his legal teams are trying to shut down fan sites, while on the other, he’s recording songs for the fans, and giving them to the fans. Strange duck, that Purple one. The song is great — blisteringly funky — although he uses the altered higher-register voice on it, which I’ve always found strange. Prince – “PFUnk.”
Speaking of funk (or rather it’s precursor, soul), here’s one of my favorite tracks from the genre. Donny Hathaway – “The Ghetto.”
I picked up a new album this week, from the electronic act Scandy. The album, “13 Ways to Masturbate” is really excellent, bass-heavy dancefloor stuff. I had a hard time picking which track to post, since they were all brilliant. I decided, finally, on this one: Scandy – “Just Human.”
Here’s an interesting bit of fan work — one of the moderators over at the CommanderBond.net site does a podcast about all things Bond, and came up with his own version of the Bond theme, which I like quite a bit. He posted the link to the forums on the site, so I’m posting it here: Dunphy – “James Bond Theme (Harmsway’s Octogenarian Mix).”
And lastly, because on a day like today, there’s nothing better than some bouncy classic 90s Britpop: The Charlatans – “The Only One I Know.”
Enjoy.