and I’m sorry, to the little pixels that are my friends, that I haven’t posted in a while. I have not lost interest, I have no tlost anything, in fact. I have just not had much to say. Perhaps because musically I have been melting brain cells listening to metal lately. There’s this band called H.I.M. (it stands for “His Infernal Majesty” and yes, they’re completely ridiculous), with an immaculately beautiful frontman who sings like Jim Morrison (only in a metal way) and writes the most awful, goth-cliched lyrics you’ve ever heard.
but it sounds good! And that withstands all of their other shortcomings. The melodies are sparkling and lovely, if hidden under a quagmire of dirty guitar swipes…..the singing sounds intensely romantic, with little words that pop up every now and then to hint at that as well (”love’s the funeral of hearts” “serpentine love’s thighs” “the adored and beloved” “just look into my eyes”, etc, etc, etc.).
as to my title….I got the chance yesterday to see an excellent movie called The History Boys. At the beginning, it seems like a lot of sharp-tongued, priviledged British college boys doing charmingly rotten things, but by the end it questions success, education, homosexuality (undercurrent theme to whole movie) and death. The characters are endearing, the plot is rich, the dialouge is witty, but not obnoxiously so.
And I bought the soundtrack!
1: “Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye)” – a nice little showtune from the ’40s (by the sound of it…). Wonderfully exotic to the kind of music one hears nowadays
2: “Blue Monday” – an extended dip into self-pitying longing, all lost in a marching order of synthesizers
3: “This Charming Man (New York Vocal)”- SMITHS REMIX! Sort-of….the song kept a nice beat to begin with, so they didn’t change it that much. Just a little echoing quiver on Morrissey’s moans, and a bass solo they uncovered in the middle.
4: “L’Accordeoniste” – a dizzying, ecstatic piano ditty, with lyrics all in French (I know, isn’t it wonderful?). The end is one final note, and a one-beat slamming of many keys (”ARRETE LA MUUUSIIICAAAAAA” *bang*)
5: “Mustapha Dance” – they call it that, but it’s really “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash, with a few layers of beats stacked on its head.
6: “Bewitched” – the old standard (which I happen to have quite a soft spot for), taken from a scene in the movie when one of the boys is singing it (along with “L’Accordeoniste”, for that matter).
8: “A Forest” – by the Cure…nice, subtly dark throb……but it gets a bit dull
10: “Bye Bye Blackbird” – a painfully gourgeous almost-entirely-a-cappella rendition of another old standard, done by the boys at their teacher’s funeral.
11: “Bewitched” – same song, only this time by Rufus Wainwright, so therefore the best song on the soundtrack.
the snow sparkles and there are so many sounds to be had.
go out and enjoy yourselves.
