RABBIT RABBIT!
Category: Daily Dispatch
-
Pee-Wee Herman’s Alamo Legacy Tequila Last Request
Nice to see The Alamo actually posted a tribute to Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman), stating that not a day has gone by since the release of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” in 1985 that some tourist hasn’t asked to see the basement.
I don’t know about you, but if I ever face a firing squad, “Tequila” is definitely going to be my last request.
-
Myna Bird Personality Gregarious vs World-Weary
How does one reconcile this gregarious, Ravel-loving myna bird with the world-weary myna of the Warner Bros. cartoons, bowed by Mendelssohn’s ponderous “Hebrides?”
-
Pink Panther Strikes Again Apocalyptic Slapstick
Uproarious set-pieces? Check.
Apocalyptic slapstick? Check.
Outrageous disguises? Check.
Puerile schtick? Check.
Hoary punchlines? Check.
Inappropriate humor? Check.
Over-the-top accents? Mais oui!
Roy and I discuss the most flamboyant of the Inspector Clouseau films, “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” (1976). Former Chief Inspector Dreyfus goes to insane lengths to eliminate his bumbling nemesis, ramping up the violence and destruction and throwing the door open to the broadest of gags.
Some may regard the humor as dated, but it’s still funny as hell. If we’re not laughing, we’re crying or fighting. Personally, I’d rather laugh.
Here’s last night’s conversation on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.
This Friday, Roy’s special guest will be filmmaker Jeffrey Morris, who’s now deep into his “Space: 1999” documentary focusing on the Eagle.
There may be one or two other interviews during the month of August, but in all likelihood Roy and I won’t reunite (on the show, anyway) until September for our jaw-dropping 200th episode.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your summer!
-
Doctor Atomic Symphony Barbenheimer Connection
In response to the atomic pop-cultural detonation of Barbenheimer, I posted a couple of times over the past week about John Adams’ Oppenheimer opera “Doctor Atomic.”
I remember listening to The Metropolitan Opera broadcast on the radio back in 2005, but I only just watched the stream this week, when it was offered free in the wake of the film’s release.
Now I note that WRTI will be broadcasting one of this past season’s Philadelphia Orchestra performances of Adams’ “Doctor Atomic Symphony.”
The symphony received its debut at the BBC Proms in 2007, originally in four movements, at 45 minutes in length. Adams tightened it up for its American premiere into three movements, running some 25 minutes, presented without break.
I attended one of The Philadelphia Orchestra concerts, which also featured the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe,” with my occasional concert companion, filmmaker H. Paul Moon. Augustin Hadelich was the violin soloist, and Roderick Cox conducted.
You can hear the concert broadcast on WRTI, where I hosted both classical and jazz shifts from 2014 to 2016 (technically I think I’m still on the call list) this afternoon at 1:00 EDT. For more information and interviews with the artists, follow the link.
The opera’s standout aria is “Batter My Heart,” a setting of John Donne’s 14th Holy Sonnet. It’s intriguingly staged here, with Gerald Finley as Oppenheimer.
Adams recalls the music for the final movement of his symphony. The opera explores the stresses and anxieties surrounding preparations for the Trinity test in 1945, with Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” a central figure.
Oppenheimer made his home in Princeton for nearly 20 years, as director of the Institute for Advanced Study.
For more selections inspired by Oppenheimer AND, believe it not, Barbie, scroll through my Facebook posts of the past week!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027272182187
Then check out H. Paul Moon’s music and other documentaries at zenviolence.com.
Tag Cloud
Aaron Copland (93) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (124) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (188) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (101) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (139) Opera (202) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (106) Radio (87) Ralph Vaughan Williams (85) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)