Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
Once again writing from home. I hope you are having a great weekend on this Unofficial Start Of Summer as they call it. From what I can see by your friend's post, you are (or were) in Minneapolis for her birthday. Girl, you are The Queen Of The Road! You have been criss-crossing the state, it seems : a week or two ago you were on the Mississippi to the west, then Lake Superior to the east, and now you are back the other way again, in Minnesota. I'll bet you are having a blast, and if you are, then that makes me happy. :)
I saw your post about the guy who ditched his dental career to focus on art and photography, and that is of course everything we have talked about over the years, the importance of doing what you love. And it's nothing against dentistry or any other profession, so long as a person is happy. But all too often, as we know, people with artistic talents and personalities give up on those things because they don't think they can "make a life" (i.e. enough money) out of it. It's a shame when that happens, but we know better, and we covered the whole "money and career" aspect of being an artist waaay back in 2012 or so, and we know that as long as you've got the bills paid and a little bit extra, that everything else is gravy. Because for the creative person, the creative impulse itself - and what results from it - is the reward.
That's why I always say, just keep doing what you do. Because it is Who You Are, and such is your life : doing what you do and being who you are. As long as you always believe in yourself and put 100% into your efforts, you cannot go wrong.
No hike today for me, but I still did about 6 1/2 miles with my regular CSUN walk plus another shorter one with my friend Mr. Freedy this evening.
Tonight's movie was "The Browning Version" from Criterion, a British film made in 1951 by director Anthony Asquith, starring the great Michael Redgrave as a cold, unfeeling headmaster at a boy's school. Or at least that's the way he seems to his students, most of whom revile him. The film reveals a different side of him, however, created by his unhappy marriage and other circumstances in his life, but he finds solace in teaching and in the Greek literature that inspires him.
I was talking the other day about what can be accomplished or not accomplished with 90 minutes allotted in a film, and "The Browning Version" is a classic example of the former. This is why the development of a story and a script is so important, and you can create a world within a world when you have a real script, as was common in films of yore. It doesn't hurt to have legendary actors either, and Michael Redgrave's portrayal here is, I think, one of the great leading roles in all of cinema. Excellent as well are all of the supporting players. "The Browning Version" is from the era of peak British filmmaking and acting, and along with "Billy Liar" which I saw a few days ago, I would say I have seen two absolute classics from a classic era, featuring two of the standout performances of that era, by Tom Cortenay ("Billy") and Michael Redgrave. Both films are 10+.
Songs learned today : "Sounds Of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel, and "Eight Days A Week" by The Beatles. What you discover, upon finding the chord charts to these songs, is that the chords themselves couldn't be much simpler, the changes fairly recognisable. "Sounds Of Silence" is only four chords, the whole song.
So why is it one of the greatest songs ever written?
Well, the arrangement of those four chords is one thing. The final, finished product production of the song is another. It sounds incredible as recorded.
But the real reason those songs are so great, and this includes so many songs of the classic rock and pop era, is because of the vocal line.
You see this when you actually strum the chords to "Eight Days A Week". You strum D to E to G to D in the verse, and by itself this is a pleasant chord change. But it could be part of a hundred rock songs.
But then, sing or hum the vocal line while you are playing those chords.
Wow!
And that's the real genius of musical giants like The Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel, is that they can take very simple chord structures and lay a moving, descending/ascending highly melodic and harmonic vocal line over the top of that, to create a classic song. And so, I think that classic pop songs, at least, are made out of great vocal lines. Make 'em move, up and down, just like the story in a movie.
That's all I know for tonight, Sweet Baby. Tomorrow, church and choir practice afterward. See you in the early morn, then the afternoon.
I Love You! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox :):)
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