Behold. “Steamboat Willie” was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. [First distributed in theaters, not first produced —Ed.] It premiered November 18, 1928, at the Colony Theater in New York City. It was also the first cartoon to have synchronized sound. If you watch the whole thing, which I had never done until last year, you’ll [...]
Remember that song from the ’80s by Yes? “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” When I heard that as a kid, I misheard the lyrics. I was convinced they were singing about the “owner of the lonely horse.” (I also thought Starship “milked this city.” I was wrong.) It was not until I was nearly out [...]
Val Bennett. I haven’t found much information on Val Bennett. I know he played the saxophone. First name was “Lovall.” And he died in 1991. And there are records, b-sides. We don’t really have b-sides anymore. The first time I heard “Take Five,” it wasn’t “Take Five.” Wasn’t the slick Dave Brubeck original that sends [...]
There must be some kind of testament to Maurice Jarre in the fact that my girlfriend can hum along to “Lara’s Theme” without having seen Dr. Zhivago. Jarre died a couple of days ago. I’ve been thinking a lot about the movies of David Lean, especially Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River [...]
1969+clever teenager+John Lennon+reel-to-reel audio tape = Oscar nominated short film. Go to the Youtube site for a high-res version.
Have been listening to MGMT for a little while, so figured I ought to share. I like the album, Oracular Spectacular. Funny how lots of groups I like seem to have shades of lots of other groups I like. You listen and hear various elements rise to the fore and slip away as quickly. It’s [...]
Mr. Foster, Mr. Simons, this one’s for you. Vocalise. Sergei Rachmaninoff. [Photo: Wookie-like cow on the outskirts of Colby, KS]
It seems to be a never-ending quest to find appropriate music to add to projects like radio shows, multimedia presentations, or , you know, Exit Music (for a film), that sort of thing. Here is the latest resource I’ve seen: “film music,” at mobygratis.com. So sign up and you can request free non-commercial licenses for [...]
As is customary when wasting any significant amount of time on YouTube, I stumbled across a cute enough little animation about an ambitious, yearning kiwi. And then another version of the same cartoon, this time with the Gary Jules/Michael Andrew song “Mad World” dubbed on top. It all seemed suitably angst-ridden. Kiwi and other videos, [...]
Backdate your Spoon fanhood a few years for maximum benefit, same as you do with stock options. And do it now, before Spoon gets so popular that it’s too late to proclaim your enthusiasm as still unique. Tell your friends you got in on the ground floor. If all you’ve had to go on for [...]
Chronicle music critic Aidan Vaziri was tasked with reporting on Sean “Diddy” Combs’s promotional turn in San Francisco last week for the album “Press Play.” He wrote an admirable report on his time with the musician/businessman/actor/etc., whom Burger King named the “KING of music and fashion” according to a Diddy factsheet. “Being a leader in [...]
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