Saturday, December 30, 2006

Lucas.

One of the best movies I saw in '86 was Lucas - a delightful story about the titular insect-loving geek (Corey Haim), the friendly girl he fancies (Kerri Green, whose subsequent career hasn't been as healthy as Courtney Thorne-Smith or Winona Ryder, both also in this flick) and the jock who's his supporter (Charlie Sheen). More sensitive than most teen movies, and also less song-driven than most of 'em; instead the movie went with a synth score from Dave Grusin... which probably explains why there wasn't a soundtrack album out at the time, but I taped off the main and end titles, and the rest of it got put out by Varese Sarabande's CD Club this year. It's very '80s, and unlike Jerry Goldsmith's Runaway it can't resist the bid to try and electronically duplicate acoustic instruments (of the brass variety), but the laid-back guitars and quiet keyboards reduce the fromage content considerably, and when you add Grusin's veteran compositional skills (he's been scoring movies since the late '60s, though not so much recently) it's vastly superior to yet another collection of songs, and a lot better than most synthesized scores. The peppy end credits appear twice (the other time as "In The Shower"), but I'm not complaining. Bold tracks have soundclips.

1. Main Title (2:43)
2. Lucas (1:04)

3. Maggie Drives Off (:44)
4. Montage (1:03)
5. Someone To Make Fun Of (:39)
6. Like A Hugh M & N (:36)
7. Because You're Nice To Him (2:11)
8. Montage #2 (:52)
9. King For A Day (:39)
10. Second Dance Tune (4:24)
11. Pizza Parlor (1:59)
12. In The Shower (2:09)
13. Running (1:51)
14. The Underpass (2:34)
15. To The Rescue (1:08)
16. In The Locker Room (:34)
17. Going For The Ball (1:49)
18. Hurt (1:12)
19. In The Hospital (1:13)
20. Lucas And Maggie Talk (2:16)
21. The Letter (2:01)
22. End Credits (2:08)

Saturday Night Fever and The Brave Little Toaster

It's a shitty shitty shit '20s movie, and the version I saw had a shitty shitty shit '80s soundtrack. It was awful - Jennifer Orangio, film music critic, discussing the '80s handling of Metropolis.

As anyone who knows me will know, I like soundtrack albums. Especially instrumental ones that you can pretend to conduct to although I never really got the knack of it (I'm more of a keeping time type of guy), although I want to get the Happy Feet song and score albums - score because I've gotten to like John Powell a lot more than I did in his Face/Off days, and song because I can't pass up Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman, Robin Williams and Hugh Jackman on the same album. (Too bad nobody sang a cover of Laura Branigan (RIP)'s English version of "Gloria" to try and woo the penguin of that name [voiced and sung by La Murphy] in the flick, but never mind - still a good movie. Better than Casino Royale, as well.)

Anyway, last week while rushing to get the post out for the man taking them to the sorting depot, he noticed the stacks of my albums that I've had to store there ever since the Eviction (oh, that landlord will be getting a year-end Feltz next week, count on it friends and neighbours), and he tried to strike up conversation with me by telling me that the previous night he'd been listening to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack... don't get me wrong, he's a very nice man and he understands the pressures we're all under, but I mean to say, Saturday Night Fever? Unless you're '76, or another fan, or Mike, or coming to this from a film music-related blog, you won't understand what kind of a misstep that is; see also my ex-boss Ann Solomon, who waaay back when gave me a Kodak promotional soundtrack CD of songs from the movies, and my aunt Joy - who gave me a Billie Holiday CD. Quite simply not my type. Never has been, never will.

On the other hand, 1987's
The Brave Little Toaster is most definitely my type, both as an animated movie (the old chestnut about a group of household appliances going on a trek to find their beloved Master) and as an album. Jen asked me about it as part of her (successful) bid to find the song "City of Lights," but the non-Van Dyke Parks cuts are worth a listen too... this was the first venture into cartoons from David Newman, the most underrated member of the Newman musical family (his cousin's Randy, his brother's Thomas, and his dad's most famous work is the Twentieth Century Fox fanfare); since this movie his animated work's included Ice Age, Anastasia and, of course, DuckTales: The Movie - Treasure of the Lost Lamp, but this remains his best work for the medium (tied with Ice Age). It's also one of the few genuinely good movies he's blessed with his talent - Thomas is a must if you're seeking Oscars, and Randy has the Pixar movies on his side, but David's CV has precious few like Ice Age, Galaxy Quest, the Bill & Ted movies, The War of the Roses or Throw Momma From The Train (or even guilty pleasures like Critters and Man of the House) and far too many like Scooby-Doo (both movies), The Flintstones (ditto), The Phantom, Daddy Day Care, Fire Birds, Hoffa, Duplex...

Another irritation about Newman's career to date is that far too many of his scores either haven't been released commercially or only got the token score cut treatment - thank goodness for promos and specialty labels. Which brings us to Percepto, whose lovingly put-together CD came out in 2005, nearly 20 years after the film did; recorded in Japan (the movie was partly financed with Japanese money) with the composer conducting the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, it's a happy affair that doesn't clash with Van Dyke Parks's songs (unlike, say, Eragon - Avril Lavigne's end title song does not fit in at all, not to mention sucking); this does contain one of the bugbears of collectors, dialogue over music tracks (they're in Arial italics) - but while some soundtrack albums go overboard with this (The Truth And The Light: Music From The X Files, Babe, anything involving Monty Python or Quentin Tarantino) it's kept to a minimum here - and since the movie featured the voices of Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman (RIP) and Tony the Tiger himself, Thurl Ravenscroft (RIP), we'll let them off the hook. This is a charming effort; he manages to weave the songs into the score without having them take it over ("The Pond" and "End Title" in particular) and the entertaining big band/Indian snake dance music for "They Look For Transportation" is a highlight. It's big and sweeping when it has to be ("They All Wake Up" and the seven-minute climax), but it's never cutesy - all cartoons should have music this strong. When they deserve it, that is.


And best of all, it's still available from Percepto... give it a go, Jen. Not all film music is as bad as Giorgio Moroder.

1. Main Title (2:23)
2. They All Wake Up (2:42)
3. Blanket's Dream (2:28)
4. The Air Conditioner Blows (1:20)
5. They Decide to Go (:52)
6. They Look For Transportation (:50)
7. Out Into the World (1:40)
8. City of Lights (2:59)
9. Blanket Looks for a Place to Sleep (1:04)
10. The Pond/Busby Berkley/The Meadow (5:35)
11. Toaster's Dream (1:16)
12. The Storm (1:36)
13. Blanket is Blown Away (1:37)
14. The Waterfall (:58)
15. Vacuum Rescues the Group (1:29)
16. They Sink in the Mud (1:26)
17. In the Shop (:56)
18. Blender's Motor is Sold (1:30)
19. It's A 'B' Movie (3:03)
20. Radio is Stalked (1:04)
21. Happy Travel (1:12)
22. Into the City (1:29)
23. Cutting Edge (2:29)
24. Junkyard Montage (1:25)
25. Worthless (4:26)
26. Finale (7:01)
27. End Title (3:36)

The man who didn't put up a year-end ten best and worst list.

Because really, who cares? Tell me, does anybody really want to know what my highpoints and lowpoints of the year were? Do my opinions really carry any weight at all? When you've got umpteen billion people drawing from the same limited pool of things to talk about, you have to wonder if it makes any damn difference.

Or maybe it's just the mood I'm in right now. Maybe I'll come back later on all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to pretend that I'm a "professional" critic. Then again, the views of the "pros" aren't usually more reliable than those of Joe Blogger or Jane Usenet - they just get paid for spouting prejudiced drivel, that's all. Besides, 2006 has been on balance a pretty bad year. Too bad to bother listing any possible Feltzes. So I want to end it on a high note, and just list some of the things that cheered me up the most this year with no pretence at critical opinion whatsoever. Plus it's my 37th-going-on-17th birthday and I want to be happy. So fuck the Feltzes and bring on the Cindys...

My family. Like the theme song from Baywatch says, they're always there.
Friday afternoons. No explanation needed.
High School Musical. As addictive as heroin and far healthier.
Heroes. No movie to come on the big screen this year has had me so anticipated. And it was worth the wait.
The labels Intrada, Varese Sarabande and FSM. Where would I be without them?
Jennifer, Mike, Ken, Butch, John, Brandon and Tom. Champagne for the real friends here.
The US midterms. Proof that the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" even applies to His Imperial Smugness.
"Wind It Up." Because it's the first time someone's ever made The Sound of Music bearable.
SuperiorPics.com. The Superficial without the bitterness.
Summer. Purely because it's something to look forward to.
Christmas. See above.
All the ladies listed opposite. See Friday afternoons.
Especially Hayden Panettiere. Mega-ditto.

And Cindy, as ever. Couldn't have done it withour her.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

And this time there's a picture!

You knew something big was going to happen when the Sheriff's Department and the Fire Department, with their trucks, made a special visit to the new Rooms To Go showroom in Naples, Saturday, Dec. 16.

By 10 a.m., parking in the lot of the superstore was at a premium, as police directed traffic. News teams from Naples to Ft. Myers jockeyed for space, as film crews from Rooms To Go prepared for the grand entrance of what seemed must be a rock star. Velvet ropes wound around the store as fans vied for a place in line.

Security was tight when supermodel Cindy Crawford jumped out of a big, black SUV and made her way through the crowd to sign autographs for shoppers and fans at 11 a.m. The nasty weather didn't keep her fans from showing up by the dozens, some of whom lined up outside the store as early as 8 a.m., hoping to catch a peek of the supermodel-turned-furniture-designer.

"I love the way this store has displayed my furniture," stated Crawford. "I was here two days ago filming a television commercial, and I got to see the store before anyone else. I'm really sorry I brought this rain, although it was nice of everyone to come out."

Although I have been in the modeling business for over 35 years, and even did a show or two with Cindy before she became the Ubermodel of the 80's, and we had the same agent, I have seldom ever seen a supermodel age as well as she. The modeling business is a hard one, and a supermodel lives and works extra-hard, i.e., Janice Dickenson and Naomi Campbell, but this super girl looked super great.

Crawford entered the store wearing extremely tight stove pipe-legged jeans with an ivory embellished blouse and super high heels ... she knows her fashion. Her hair and makeup were camera-ready.

I have to admit, Crawford looked even better than in her supermodel days on the runways of the world. Two children and a happy marriage later, she was the most stunning I have ever seen her, along with having the skinny hips of a 12-year-old. She was every bit the professional, no diva attitude here. She talked to everyone and smiled as she signed autographs.

Chris and Mindy Fitzgerald brought their small children John and Megan to see the furniture designer. "I want to see the pretty lady," stated little John, although it looked like this was more for dad, Chris.

The crowd, in fact, was made up mainly of teenage boys and older men and women, without many aspiring models-to-be. When onlookers Jen Kruza and Kathryn Khan were asked if they had any aspirations of modeling, both girls giggled and said, "We are just fans and wanted to see if she was as pretty in person as photographs."

Others did not want to give their names. "The guys in the office would never let me live it down if they knew I was here," added one Naples worker. Another gentleman stated, "I told my wife I was going to Home Depot."

Crawford started designing her furniture line for Rooms To Go several years ago. It has grown from a few pieces to an entire collection spanning the store. "I wanted to create furniture anyone would love to come home to... well-designed and well-priced," said Crawford.

Her knowledge of colors, fabrics and design has served her well; as a model, she has an eye for what looks and works well together. Her creations range from contemporary to traditional, to high-tech to smooth. She seems to want to design for everyone. If one thing is for sure this holiday season, I'm not eating much... I want hips like Crawford's!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Special Christmas Day Weekend Update!

Posted on Boxing Day, mind.

Cindy: No real arguments with Sharon. Or Zeta. You can't beat a generally easygoing Christmas Day.

Aguileraisacunt(acuntwithbeautifullegsbutstillacunt): Switching on Radio 1 to hear about the Godfather of Soul passing on. Way to get the day off on a bad note.

Rosanna ([Jessica] Alba being the sole preserve of Butch): Making out like a bandit with the booty - underwear, jumper and £30 HMV gift card (and with the post-Christmas sales coming up!) from Sharon, Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? Volume 2 from Joy (a vast improvement on what said aunt gave me last year), and socks, the new Onion collection and the complete series of The Wild Wild West on DVD from Zeta. In football terms, back of the net!

Madonna: Chris Moyles' Christmas panto this year. Laughless waste of 30 minutes, although I'm sure KS would love the bit where Gwen Stefani as Little Red Riding Hood gets eaten.

Hayden: Managing not to overeat on the day for a change.

Hatcher: Worrying that our wages won't be available on Dec. 29. The thought of being broke on my birthday...

Monica: Not getting any soundtrack albums for Christmas. This counts because I still have Lifeforce, Runaway and Lucas to listen to. :)

Girls Aloud: Christmas Day TV. Even less alluring than usual. I didn't watch ANYTHING. (Apart from the endings of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Chicken Little.)

JLH: Winning the awesomeness award from Jen for
this link. I think.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Cindy's latest shilling. Which is fine with me.

I realise that this plug constitutes a commercial, but anything that helps support my Cindy is worth time on this blog.

Some may have come to look at the new Rooms To Go furniture store on Saturday, but they couldn't help but take a peek at supermodel and furniture designer Cindy Crawford.

Lines wrapped around the megastore — located on U.S. 41 North just south of Anchor Rode Drive — looking much like the wait to see Santa in a big-city department store.

But this wasn't holiday-related, although there were hundreds waiting with stars in their eyes: Crawford was in town this week, shooting a TV commercial for the furniture store, and consented to a personal appearance.

Faces of curious locals bobbed up and down, trying to get a glimpse of the supermodel, who sat at a desk autographing photos of herself, standing only when those waiting asked to have their pictures taken with her.

Meanwhile, electronic and cell phone cameras flashed away, locals gauging the distance to see if they got the shot.

Naples resident Pia Aviles positioned herself so she could photograph Crawford from behind the deputy-guarded lines.

"My daughter is 16 and wants to be a model," Aviles said, explaining that she was holding a place in line for Camila, 16, a Lely High School junior.

Peter Granger was in line because his wife and daughter wanted to see Crawford.

Asked why they wanted to see her, Granger shook his head: "I don't know," he said.

Wearing a Temperley of London cream-colored puff-sleeved blouse that had sparkly trimmings; black skinny pants; and Jimmy Choo slingbacks, Crawford wasn't wearing any jewelry, but was made up for a photo shoot and commercial.

"How old is she?" seasonal Naples resident Marguerite Scharf asked a bystander.

"I didn't even know who she was until my son asked if I was going to see her. I was curious to see what this is all about," Scharf said.

Ann Anderson and her daughter, Amee, were — technically — looking for new furniture for Amee's bedroom.

"She's pretty. Very pretty. How old is she?" asked Ann Anderson.

Seasonal resident Irene Hamel said she came to see Crawford.

"I don't need any furniture," Hamel said, but noted that she hadn't known Rooms to Go had opened a new store.

Crawford's longtime hair stylist Stephen Knoll, who owns a salon on Madison Avenue and East 58th Street in New York, said he thought Crawford attracted a good turnout.

A friend for 20 years who travels with her to do her hair, Knoll said Crawford has always had mass appeal.

"Her approach is so friendly and open, which she is. She's a woman's woman (in that) women can relate to her," Knoll said. "Outer beauty is one thing but her inner beauty really comes across."

TV commercial producer Howie Rogers said the Crawford spot probably will be on television by early January.

"It's going into editing next week," he said.

The mother of a son and a daughter, Crawford, 40, has been designing children-friendly furniture for Rooms to Go for about 2 and 1/2 years.

According to Rooms To Go President Jeff Seaman, her line generates more than $100 million a year in sales.

Reared in the Midwest, Crawford's family wasn't affluent and her Rooms To Go collection is geared to families of the same ilk, she said earlier this week.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Another year almost over, and there's no way I'm doing a John Lennon impersonation.

Just some random things that piss me off...

That Diana memorial concert. WHY? Is there going to be one for Mother Teresa, who kicked it not long afterwards? Is there fuck. And that hearing which found it was an accident - most of us came to that conclusion in 1997! Now can we take the advice of The Sun and let her rest in peace?

Abbey National. Yes, again. Payday today - and something went wrong with the transfer, so my cash is unavailable today and probably until Monday! Just what I need in the buildup to Christmas, and no presents bought yet...

Free newspapers. Littering up the place, and not exactly readable anyway. Thanks a lot.

Take That's return. Gag, gag, gag.

Captainspalding. Another in the long, long, long line of gas-spouters with nothing better to do than post utter crap to newsgroups. Do not insult Cindy Crawford and expect to be on my good side. But you knew that.

FHM US shutting down... no, wait, that doesn't piss me off. Sorry.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Here we go again...

MuffinMan, he of the cricket-sounding blog :) , quoth:

Seeing as a) how the age-of-consent laws in many parts of the country (including where I live) are BELOW 18, and that I'm aware how much you fancy a certain girl-woman who now stars in a certain show about, I believe, "heroic" people ;), I've decided to now drop the age minimum to 17 years (as of Dec 31, 2006)...in exchange for that concession, I'd like to expand our lists from 50 to 60 (seeing as "People" magazine has done the same this year with their Most Beautiful list from 50 to 100, though I think they went TOO far with that expansion, esp. since they neglected a certain 2-time Oscar nominee/1-time winner from South Africa in the process ;( ), now to consist of five teams of 12 (up from 10), with both of us "protecting" up to 20 of our ladies from last years' list...
which you can find here.

With apologies to Devon Aoki, Mischa Barton, Buffie the Body, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Connelly, Emilie de Ravin, Maggie Grace, Nicky Hilton, Katie Holmes, Catherine Zeta Jones, Catherine Keener, Diane Lane, Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Marcil, Amanda Righetti, Sarah Silverman, Leeann Tweeden and Sofia Vergara, this year's list from me and him (with new arrivals in italics and returnees with asterisks) looks a lot like this...

Paula Abdul
Amy Adams
Jessica Alba
Alessandra Ambrosio*
Sophie Anderton
Shiri Appleby*
Rosanna Arquette

Elizabeth Banks
Drew Barrymore
Kim Basinger
Esther Baxter
Jennifer Beals*
Emmanuelle Beart*

Kristen Bell
Maria Bello

Monica Bellucci
Halle Berry
Jessica Biel
Rachel Bilson
Alexis Bledel
Edith Bowman
Brooke Burke
Erica Campbell
Mariah Carey

Charisma Carpenter
Laetitia Casta
Melinda Clarke
Holly Marie Combs
Cindy Crawford
Marcia Cross
Penelope Cruz*

Elisha Cuthbert
Rosario Dawson
Dana Delany*
Cameron Diaz

Hilary Duff
Kirsten Dunst
Erica Durance
Eliza Dushku
Tina Fey
Jenna Fischer
Jennifer Garner

Aria Giovanni
Lauren Graham
Vida Guerra
Carla Gugino
Maggie Gyllenhaal

Mariska Hargitay
Teri Hatcher
Salma Hayek

Keeley Hazell
Katherine Heigl
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Paris Hilton
Laurel Holloman
Kelly Hu
Vanessa Hudgens

Elizabeth Hurley
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Stacy Keibler

Nicole Kidman
Heidi Klum
Keira Knightley

Beyonce Knowles
Jane Krakowski*
Joanna Krupa
Ali Larter*
Sanaa Lathan

Vanessa Lengies
Evangeline Lilly
Heather Locklear
Eva Longoria
Elle Macpherson
Josie Maran

Debbie Matenopoulos
Rachel McAdams
Rose McGowan

Katharine McPhee
Eva Mendes
Maria Menounos

Vanessa Minnillo
Kelly Monaco

Julianne Moore
Brittany Murphy
Petra Nemcova*
Gwyneth Paltrow
Hayden Panettiere
Grace Park

Danica Patrick
Lucy Pinder
Amy Poehler
Natalie Portman

Monita Rajpal
Rihanna

Rebecca Romijn
Emmy Rossum
Winona Ryder*

Nicole Scherzinger
Shakira
Maria Sharapova
Nicollette Sheridan
Britney Spears
Gwen Stefani

Amber Tamblyn
Charlize Theron
Uma Thurman
Aisha Tyler

Liv Tyler
Gabrielle Union
Holly Valance

Nadine Velazquez
Dita von Teese
Sela Ward
Estella Warren
Naomi Watts
Rachel Weisz
Kate Winslet
Reese Witherspoon
Evan Rachel Wood

Thursday, December 07, 2006

The midweek Weekend Update.

Cindy: TheRedCurtain on The Guardian's Comment Is Free blog, for his/her quote "Robin Hood sent four generations of my family to sleep simultaneously the other week and yet the Guardian calls it "consistently entertaining". More fun than anything that show turned up before I stopped watching it.

Feltz: Myself, for falling asleep while online. Again. No reflection on Mike; it's me. It's always me.

Cindy: December. My favourite month. Not long before we can say goodbye to this crappy year.

Feltz: Still no Christmas shopping done for Sharon, Zeta, or my secret Santa recipient at work.

Cindy: Getting to leave work early for my latest blood sample, thanks to my working near Muswell Hill and the blood clinic being near where I live. Which is nowhere near Muswell Hill.

Feltz: Having to give my latest blood sample. It didn't help that the drawing was delayed because I was even more nervous than usual. Haven't fainted yet, but dammit...

Cindy: Only four more episodes of Heroes to go before I'm caught up and can start visiting show sites (and Googling for Hayden again).

Feltz: Only four more episodes of Heroes to go before I'm caught up and have no more until mid-January!

Cindy: Tim Kring and Co. deciding not to get in the way of 24's return. Probably wise.


Feltz: Not done any writing yet this week. And that's my cue to exit...

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

And now, another post enthusing over "Heroes" and Hayden Panettiere. In roughly that order.

In a time way way way back in the day (as the theme song from Phil of the Future had it), among the videos I'd rent from the Barbadian video clubs were videos done from the TV stations in Miami - TV movies, cartoons, episodes of TV shows, and so on. If I ever visit the place on holiday I'll likely find they still do it.


Anyway, thanks to online viewing those days are here again - Sci-Fi starts Heroes in February and it should be on BBC2 in the summer, but I can't wait that long, dammit! With four more episodes to go in this go-round until the series takes its break, I'm thoroughly enjoying it (even the weaker episodes always have something); thanks to the makers for not listing everyone in the cast regardless of whether or not they're in an episode, and for not having the powers shown off every week. And for not showing Linderman just yet (is he Sylar? Don't tell me). And for making Milo Ventimiglia more bearable than he ever was on Gilmore girls.


The only drawback is no end credits on them, but that's another reason for me to watch them on proper TV. That and the fact that bigger screen = bigger Hayden "Funny how I never hear from Booch unless I post pictures of her" Panettiere. (Like Mr. B., I find she isn't the reason to watch, but she's certainly one of the best reasons to - not only beautiful, but she can also act. And while casting twentysomethings to play teenagers is okay when they can do it convincingly like Kristen Bell and Renee O'Connor for instance, casting a real teenager is even better.)


And one more thing... any chance of an actual theme tune, like Tim Kring's last show Crossing Jordan had? Mild picks, though. The biggest drawback of all is... only four more episodes! Four more episodes to see if they can stop NYC from blowing up, to see if Matt can become a detective, to see if Hiro will ever get out of Nevada, and to see if Niki can control Jessica or vice versa.


And yes, to see if Claire finds out that her dad knows. "Holy sh-," indeed...

Saturday, December 02, 2006

And now, some happy news for a change.

Happy birthday, Britney Spears! And well done in losing the excess weight (you supply the punchline). Now if we can just get you away from Paris and Lindsay, and showing off more than we expect to see under controlled conditions, it'll be like 1999 all over again - the kind of deja vu we can all get behind (as opposed to the Beyonce variety).

Friday, December 01, 2006

Memoirs of an undervalued composer: Shirley Walker 1945-2006

'76: Hey Victor
Me: Hi.
'76: you might enjoy this... (picture link to J. Alba)
Me: I usually would, yeah. But I just saw on Intrada's forums that Shirley Walker (Danny Elfman's conductor on Batman and an excellent composer in her own right) passed away yesterday. :(
'76: NO! thats terrible news. i love her score for Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Me: Brain aneurysm, apparently.
'76: thats terrible. i loved her work
Me: She did some excellent stuff for the WB's shows and Carpenter. I loved Memoirs of an Invisible Man too - and Space: Above and Beyond.
'76: never heard her score for Space
Me: The TV series - she did the pilot and all the episodes. Plus her theme for The Others was the best thing about that show.
'76: i love that Invisible Man score. always play it to get in the mood for writing an action scene
Me: Say this for John Carpenter; if he let someone else write the music for him, he made a good call that time.
'76: Well Carpenter is a man of great taste in general for me...this just cinches it
Me: Plus she was the only "outsider" he worked with more than once music-wise; Ennio Morricone and Jack Nitzsche were one-timers, but he used her again with Escape From L.A.
'76: this really is sad
Me: Yeah. November was a bad month for film music with her and Basil Poledouris passing. Not really in the mood for talking much.
'76: yeah
Me: I'm going to dig out my albums of hers and play them in tribute. Too bad she had so few released.
'76: ill do the same tomorrow

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and listen to Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Escape from L.A. and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.