Musings in Search of a Muse

Rather than buy a $5.00 game for my mobile I thought I'd treat myself to some more music. Here are some recent acquisitions from iTunes:

"So What" by Miles Davis from Kind of Blue
The melody in the 30-second clip was familiar so I went for it. It's hard to beat the horn prowess of Miles Davis. This is definitely some smooth, cool Jazz.

"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio from Cast Your Fate to the Wind
Another smooth Jazz track, but a bit zippier than "So What" and more than a bit reminiscent of "Linus & Lucy," also by Guaraldi. I really do like fine piano work.

"Here I Am to Worship" by Tim Hughes from Here I Am to Worship
This is a really catchy tune, especially the chorus. Yeah, it's kind of a whinny, clingy worship song, but I still like it. If I find another artist covering it I'd be tempted to replace it. I don't understand why some believe that Christian music needs to be constantly fawning. Joyous, happy music with a beat is good, too.

"Come to Jesus" by Mindy Smith from One Moment More
This is a better example of what I look for in Christian music (or any music, for that matter). Perky, great melody, and wonderful lyrics that I actually want to listen to. Miss Smith has a smoky voice that would be great for Jazz or the Blues, and it fits very nicely in this Rock song. The orchestration is very Country-like. It would probably be a cross-over hit if the publisher promoted it that way.

"O Baterista (Live) by Rush from Rush to Rio
At first, the 30-second clip made me think that this was a different version of "The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo) (Live)" from Show of Hands by Rush. But it is very, very different. This 8:17-long track throws together a mix of styles, including Big Band Swing. It's a great compliment to "Rhythm Method" and handily shows what an experienced Rock band can really do (and get away with) in concert.

"Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot from Mack Daddy
Here's a guilty pleasure. It's misogynistic, crude, and treads the thin line between ethnocentricity and racism. And it's a classic that helps define an era. Hip-Hop and Rap stars seem to focus on the female gluteous maximus rather often, but they aren't the only ones -- remember Queen's "Fat Bottom Girls" by any chance?

"Chick a Boom Boom Boom" by Mocean Worker from Enter the Mowo!
This is what happens when browsing the videos on iTunes: I find one I like and I buy the song. That's probably why they have the videos, I guess. There are quite a few tunes in my library that I bought because I saw the video in iTunes or on TV. Of course, it has to be good music and this certainly fits that description.

Ocean's Twelve is not a bad movie. Neither is it a good movie. But it did make a decent repast. Something told me to wait for it on video, but the original was rather good. Or should I say the George Clooney remake was rather good. The true original, featuring Frank Sinatra and the "Rat Pack," was merely good enough to also make a decent repast.

The sequel of the remake shares one tendency with the first Ocean's Eleven: It seemes improvised, primarily the dialogue and character interactions. The minor characters could have phoned-in their performances for all the good they did. The believable, easy-going familiarity the main characters had with each other in both of the originals disappeared in this movie. The plot is not terribly believable and I was not surprised to read at the IMDB that the script was not originally meant for this film.

My intent today was to see one of a couple other movies but this was the one with the best show time for my schedule. When I see the Lemony Snicket movie and Bill Murray's latest I'll post something about them. Until then I'm going to finish watching the 3rd movie in the Thin Man series on TV now. Even having had seen it several times before I know it will count as seeing one really good movie today.

I'm back!

My Internet connection died shortly after my last post and pre-holiday festivities and visiting Mom in Maine kept me too wrapped up to attempt a repair. But being sent home early from work today gave me the opportunity. Really, I should be doing something else -- the house is a nightmare, for starters -- but I had to take care of my Internet fix. It's been tough relying on my mobile phone's browser and mail. Look for some posts soon, if not later today.