My favorite song called “Novemeber”…

… “November” by Tom Waits. I’ve probably posted it before, but here it is again. It captures the crazy darkness of autumn that I love so damn much.

Tom Waits — November

Intentional Music Post

I heard this song earlier tonight and fell in love right away. I got in my car and the song was already playing, and at first I thought it was song relic from the 50s or 60s that The Current likes to play, or else yet another contemporary band that’s soullessly mimicking the sound of music from that era. But it didn’t take long to realize this song was something else. It has elements and shades of a song from an earlier era, but it also does things that no song from 40-50 years ago would do, and is in its own class, and I totally love it. (It’s also a sweet song.)

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Home

What I just listened to.

Damon Albarn/Michael Nyman — Boyd’s Journey

From the Ravenous soundtrack.

Dark Days

The past few days have been dark ones. No, I’m not referring to the fact that the sun is coming up later and going down sooner. Nor am I referring to the fact that it’s been cloudier than usual the past few days. I view those trends as good ones. I know some of you won’t agree that these are good things, but I’m happy to see summer come to a close, and for the daylight to become scarcer. Perhaps I’m part vampire (that would explain why I’m so godlike and bossy). But more likely, I’m just tired of summer and need a change, a change that makes it comfortable to wear long pants and something over my t-shirt. Throw in some dark skies against red leaves, and I’m much happier.

But these have still been some dark days, even if I don’t mean it in the literal sense. My spirits have been low due to some challenges on the homework front. I devoted most of my weekend to writing a program that never came close to being successful. I’ve been floundering in my programming class this semester, which really confuses me. I got an A in the prerequisite and always had a handle on everything in that class; how could I be having so much trouble now? For whatever reason, I’ve been struggling. It’s early in the semester, and I’m doing well as far as points go, but I feel like I’m a few weeks behind the teacher. I don’t want to blame him, although he isn’t the best at teaching this stuff. And the book leaves something to be desired. But I really shouldn’t be having this much trouble.

So on Sunday I decided I would just turn in the assignment late after getting some help from the Java tutor on Monday. The Java tutor turned out to be worthless. I’m sure she knew her stuff, but she still wasn’t able to tell me what was going wrong with my program. It didn’t help that she was the only tutor there while several other students were waiting for her help. I left pretty unsatisfied and feeling pretty hopeless. I’m not used to being this confused for this long in a class.

Fortunately, my bad attitude didn’t last too long. I realized that I could do just fine in this class even with a bad score on one assignment. I don’t like moving past this particular subject without having a better handle on it, but I’ll just have to focus on the remaining parts of the class to keep my grade up while filling in the gaps as best I can. There were a lot of details we learned in the last semester that I could get away with overlooking. Now those details are becoming important, so I’m refreshing my memory by re-reading some of those earlier chapters. I’m also checking out different books on Java that explain things better. I’m encouraged by the fact that as confused as I’ve been the last few days as I tried to learn this stuff, I was never bored. I want to know all about Java, and I want to advance deeper into the world of programming or whatever I decide to pursue on the computer science front. I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading the same chapters on inheritence and polymorphism, trying to see how they work. And I like the way Java works in an elegantly designed program. It’s quite nifty, and I want to be a master at it. So even with the recent troubles and stress, I’m still pretty sure I’m following the right course.

 

“But leave me alone forever.”

So last night I watched The End of the Affair again for no particular reason.  I was at Starbucks on Friday night listening to yet more Michael Nyman film music, and was moved by some of his music for this film.  I’ve always loved that score, and it grabs your attention right away.  I had a 25% off coupon from Borders, and the movie was already pretty cheap at $9.99, so I bought it on Saturday while I was out at Rosedale.  I liked it a little less this time around because I noticed a few things I didn’t notice the first time.

SPOILERS

My biggest problem was the stunning lack of respect for Sarah’s privacy displayed by the men in her life.  Maurice hires a detective to follow her around, and that detective steals her journal when he attends a cocktail party.  Maurice reads her journal, which is how we discover her point of view during their relationship and breakup.  It’s important for telling the story, but dude, he stole her private journal and read it.  I think that’s low.  In a larger sense, Ralph Feinnes character has many unsavory attributes, chief of which is his jealousy.  We all understand jealousy, and the connection between jealousy and love/passion is made clear in the film, but he acts on his jealousy in ways that cross a line.  Another moment of shoddy ethics is when Sarah’s doctor passes along the news that she’s dying to her husband before he tells her.  Maybe it’s legal to tell a husband about his wife’s medical condition before he reveals the news to the actual patient, but to this 2009 audient, it strikes me as awfully old-fashioned and distasteful.

So those are my gripes with the film.  But I still really like it, chiefly for the music, and secondly for the passion displayed between the two lovers in the film.  Ralph Feinnes is so good at playing that intense, smoldering, frustrated lover, and I just love Julianne Moore to pieces just about every time I see her.

Post Mortem: Karaoke at the VFW

So I went out to karaoke tonight with a friend who threw together this little outing.  It was shaping up to be a small group, but it turned out to be a thing of respectable size that spanned two booths at the VFW in Uptown.  I had the disadvantage of not knowing anyone who was there besides the friend who organized the thing, so I felt a little out of place.  On the plus side, everyone at the table was a gorgeous woman (except for the one person who was a dude, and admittedly a good-looking one at that).  So it felt nice to spend an evening at a table with so many attractive women.  I sung three times.  The first time was “Burning Down the House” by the Talking Heads, which should put the great David Byrne experiment firmly to rest.  I have a friend who told me I should sing his songs, since our voices are similar.  That friend may turn out to be mildly retarded, since I did not do remotely good at this one.  However, I knocked “In a Big Country” out of the park.  And when I went up to do a duet of “Don’t You Want Me Baby?”, it was more good than bad.  So the singing was largely a success.

But still, even though I was at a table with many a charming lady in a bar with a bunch more, I felt more like Grendel than ever.  It’s absurd that I feel that way, that I’m some sort of beast unfit for human company, but I often do.  The chemistry between me and the others at the table wasn’t the natural fit that it should have been, and the thought of mingling with anyone else in the room felt completely wrong and futile.  It isn’t always that way.  Sometimes I click so well with people that I’m indistinguishable from one of those ultra-charming characters in the movies who’s usually played by Brad Pitt or George Clooney.  It’s even effortless sometimes.  But for whatever reason, nothing ever quite advances to a next step when that chemistry happens.  Maybe the girl and I just have a few points of departure that are non-negotiable.  Or maybe she’s unavailable.  Whatever the reason, sometimes I’m out and I feel like a kind of Lothario who’s charming and dashing, and other times like a Grendel who’s awkward and pathetic.

But I put too much effort into feeling bad sometimes.  Look at the clock right now; it’s approaching 2:00 A.M. Is that really the time when I have the clearest perception of what my life is like?  I’m only up this late maybe five times out of the year.  Sometimes the moments when I’m most inspired to write things down are also the moments when I’m least capable of viewing things rationally.  Whatever, at least I’m writing.  I probably just wore the wrong shirt.

Today Is the Most Solemn Day on the Calendar

Yes, it is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  After we engage in its most important ritual, we may go ahead and speak as if we were pirates and be thankful that the holiday falls on a Saturday this year.  How will Talk Like a Pirate Day make communication more difficult for you today?  In my case, I have to write a program for school, so I’m sure my syntax will go to hell.  I’m also attending a karaoke function tonight, so I won’t be able to sing anything that isn’t pirate themed.  But on the plus side, today is a great excuse to drink vast amounts of rum.

Anyway, I mentioned the important ritual we must follow before we can celebrate the day.  That ritual is simple, yet for some reason, unpleasant for most people.  We must first listen to “Pirates” by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.  Because I’m a nice guy, I’m giving you this song right here so you don’t have to go out and buy it.

Now go forth and talk funny.

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer — Pirates

(Also, let me know if I’m not the only person in the world who likes this song)

Random Music Post: Damn Near Perfect Edition

A few days ago, I posted a video on Facebook made by some guys who traveled from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. and snapped an exposure every ten seconds from a stationary camera between the front seats of their car.  It was a neat, high speed concept that was fun to watch, but what made me want to keep watching was the music they put to the video.  It was a Michael Nyman piece, I knew that much.  But I didn’t know what it was called or where it was from.  It was probably from a movie, and I figured I would eventually discover which one it was.

Well, eventually happened to be tonight, while I was in Starbucks listening to an album of Michael Nyman film scores on my iPod.  This song came up, and I was hypnotized.  It wasn’t the exact music from the video I posted, but it was similar enough that it’s obviously from the same film, The Draughtman’s Contract.  This music captivated me.  I had to stop what I was doing and stare into space as I listened to it.  It’s damn near perfect, having everything I love about music all in one little song.  It’s beautiful, urgent, whimsical, and somber all at once, and who doesn’t love a repetitive, mathematically-precise fugue?  I had planned on spending the evening at Starbucks doing homework and then reading one of my books I brought along for fun.  Instead, I packed up my things and headed home so I could find a copy of the whole soundtrack to buy and to post this song for the one or two people who follow this blog to enjoy.

Michael Nyman — An Eye for Optical Theory

This is why I don’t keep sweets in the house

The following cycle has repeated itself several times this evening: I remove the cover to the thing of peanut butter covered pretzels I bought today from Kowalski’s. I take three of them out. Two of them are eaten before the cover is back on the container. The third is eaten by the time I walk across the kitchen to wipe the residue of sugary goodness off my fingers with the washcloth at my sink. I simply cannot be trusted with sweet snacks.

Random Music Post: Down by the Sea Edition

So this is a big song for me and my nostalgia.  I heard it thanks to Yahoo! Music back in 2006.  I heard a lot of great songs I never would have heard thanks to that internet radio service.  I have memories — I won’t call them fond memories — listening to this song during that lonely period in the fall of ‘06 when I had lost the friends I’d made in Atlanta, and was all on my lonesome once again in that ugly city.  This was on of my favorite songs back then, and I love the lyrics in the third section enough that I’ll reprint them here without permission from the author:
Last night I lay in bed
And held myself
Trying to remember
How it once was with you
How your hands were softer.

Yesterday I found myself
Staring into space
Rather like the sailor
In my own home surroundings
I’m not sure I know me.

If you were me what would you do
Don’t tell me I don’t need you to
It won’t help me now.

The Strawbs — Down by the Sea