So Claire and I skipped out of work early today so we could catch a matinee showing of “The Notorious Bettie Page”. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about her except for the fact that she was a pin-up queen during the 50’s. It was a really good film. The music was excellent, by the way — Artie Shaw, Miles Davis, Paul Desmond…. The one thing that struck me about the movie, though, was how lascivious men can be. Claire used to model when she was younger, so I figured she would know how low men would try to go to try to get…well, you know. After the film I felt compelled to ask her if men are really that bad. She said, “Yeah, men can get pretty sleazy sometimes.” Made me a bit ashamed of my gender. In the film, Ms. Page comes off as both strong and independent and naive as well. Sometimes you feel sympathy for her and at other times you tend to wonder what she was thinking. Still, thumbs up from me. Anything that veers away from the conventional will always appeal to me and NBP definitely does that.

By the way, there was also some Patsy Cline played during the movie. As a jazz fan, I often wonder what Patsy Cline would have sounded like singing “Embraceable You” or “My Funny Valentine”. One of the greatest voices ever. In a way, she and Jo Stafford kind of favor in that there is a certain pristine clarity to their voices. Unmuddled, undiluted — just pure and strong. Sarah Vaughan had that too. Have you ever heard “Three Cigarettes in An Ashtray” by Patsy Cline? Man, I could listen to that song over and over. That’s a “slow dance by the light of the jukebox” kind of song. Love it. She was an original for sure.

I hope everyone had a nice, long weekend. I hope everyone took a little time to remember the soldiers that have fought and died for this country. I look forward to the day when our men and women can finally come home.

It’s official. ABC is going to move Grey’s Anatomy to Thursdays this fall. What is it with these networks? Have they never heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke…” The whole thing about Sunday night is that it is probably the most depressing night of the week. The next day is nothing more than a reintroduction to one’s mediocrity (for most). So, the great thing about Sunday nights for the last two seasons was that before I settled down and prepared myself for the humdrum of the week, I had this show, this security blanket that put a smile on my face and helped me make it through another droll Monday. Now, it will be on Thursdays. Shucks. What makes it worse is that Thursday is my bowling league night. Yes, I know, very blue collar of me. So, what can a man do so that he may still enjoy his show AND preserve the warmth of his Sunday nights? Hello Mr. Tivo, come on in. Tivo on Thursday, avoid the watercooler chatter on Friday, and continue to watch the show on Sunday night. Aha, ABC! Foiled again!

Saw “Breakfast on Pluto” this weekend. Odd but entertaining movie. Of note, both “Madame George” and “Cypress Avenue” from Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks  album (my absolute favorite album of all-time, er….um….besides Mingus’ Black Saint and The Sinner Lady) played during the movie. How can I not enjoy a movie that plays those songs? Huh?

Watched the A&E documentary on Truman Capote. As much as I liked the movie, I still wanted to know more about the man. The one phrase I remember from the show? Liz Smith saying, “He was an exhibitionist presiding at his own dissolution.” How I wish I could participate in casual banter and utter such an…ornate phrase. Never paid much attention to Liz Smith, but, wow! What a great turn of words.

Saw “Over the Hedge”. Cute film. No Shrek, but better than Chicken Little.

I am reading the book “Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington” by Nadine Cohodas, and I must say that I am thoroughly disappointed. I LOVE Dinah Washington. When I was in high school I ordered a copy of the 45 of ”What A Difference A Day Makes” at the local record store. The store clerk asked me if it was for my parents. Heck, no. That voice is often emulated but can not be duplicated. I was very much looking forward to cracking open this book and being introduced to a woman I admittedly knew very little about. I am about 250 pages in and I still don’t feel like I really know her. The pages are rife with dates – recording dates, performance dates. Every now and then we are introduced to musicians or one of Ms. Washington’s husbands. But the pages are very bland and tedious. I should look forward to picking up this book every night, but I don’t. I feel I must complete it out of respect for Ms. Washington, but wow. Something is definitely missing here.

Went to the park for a picnic and as my girlfriend and I were walking to the creek nearby we came across a huge, black snake. Sorry, didn’t have my camera with me. Even if I did, at the time my only desire was to get as far away from the reptile as possible. I HATE snakes. My girlfriend hates spiders more than snakes, which I don’t understand at all. You can step on most spiders and be done with them. Snakes? I don’t think so.

The station has lost some listeners as of late. I have been repeatedly criticized for not playing more Billie Holiday. Do you guys agree? I try to mix it up, but who knows.

 

Does anyone know where I can find “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You” by Hadda Brooks? I want the old version, the version she sang in the movie “In a Lonely Place”.

 

 

This weekend I took my girlfriend to the beautiful Falls Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee. It was her birthday and she had never been there and always wanted to go. It was the perfect weekend to go. Temperatures in the 70’s, plenty of sunshine with cozy thunderstorms arriving during the late afternoons and night. We had a great time. There’s nothing quite a nice as walking a quiet, lush nature trail during a late afternoon rainstorm. All you can hear are the pitter patter of raindrops on the leaves and the sound of the rushing waterfalls nearby. 

The picture below is probably my favorite. Standing here made me feel quite peaceful, and for a few moments all thoughts of jobs and stress and unhappiness dissipated.

If you like to hike and you want a nice weekend getaway here in Tennessee, Falls Creek Falls is not a bad place to start.

Hopefully, many of you check in on the blog every now and then. Live 365 changed the way they list songs and artists by creating some kind of standardized database. I don’t know much about it, don’t know how it is supposed to work, but obviously it does not work correctly all of the time. For instance, I am listening to “Easy Living” by Billie Holiday right now but it is displaying “Easy Living” by Dinah Washington. Trust me, the files are uploaded with the correct titles, but when Live365 gets them, they mangle and change them for some reason. It’s very bothersome and hopefully they will have this issue (as well as others) resolved soon.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me. emadmin@eveningmelancholy.com