Skip to main content

A summer place for us

Once again, I have a desire to see a movie that is so reviled by critics, but I just want to see it. No matter what, if I hate the movie, love the movie, or find the movie so-so, I just want to see it so I can say what I think of it in my own words. Though The Spirit is high on my Netflix queue, A Summer Place is higher.

Yes, A Summer Place, a film whose soundtrack is more renowned than the movie itself. The Percy Faith Orchestra's theme music frequently shows up in the film, and to be frank, it's a theme that I have no problem hearing again and again (see also the orchestral version of "The Last Time" used in the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony").

I'm also aware of the "will they or won't they do it" prevailing theme throughout the movie. The "it" is, of course, intercourse outside of marriage. Yes, the dirty deed that has ruined people's lives, whether it be unwanted children or STDs. Yes, the deed that is horrible, terrible, despicable, and animalistic, except with the person you love. And yes, the more exaggeration, the sillier everything sounds.

Call this all camp, but frankly, I just want to understand why a film's soundtrack is better remembered than the film itself. I can barely remember what exactly happens in Last Action Hero, but I can tell you how kick-ass its soundtrack is. And if I have to drive to see it, no simple article or snide comment can make me think otherwise. I'm always up for seeing movies anyway, and part of the enjoyment of Netflix is to see movies I've never seen before and never saw available on DVD when I shopped at Blockbuster.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It's a Long Way Down

There was a time when I listened to Ryan Adams' music practically all the time. Back in 2001, as I finished college and tried to navigate post-college life, the double dose of Whiskeytown’s Pneumonia and Adams’ Gold led me to everything else he had made before. It was countrified rock music that spoke to me in a deep way, mainly on the musical front. I don’t tend to really pay attention to lyrics, but I connected with Adams’ lyrics about being young and perpetually heartbroken. I thought some self-inflicted mental pain about awkward and failed attempts at relationships put me in the headspace to relate to songs by Adams, as well as Bright Eyes. There was so much time and energy spent on anger and sadness directed at myself for things not working out, so I found solace in songs like “Harder Now That It’s Over” and “The Rescue Blues.” As it turned out, there was a pattern in my life: if I had a little taste of a feeling of sadness or anger, I could relate to those who had it

I ain't got no crystal ball

I've never been a big fan of Sublime's reggae-punk-ska, but I feel bad for their hardcore fans. Billboard reports that a four-disc box set featuring previously released and unreleased material is on the way. How is this a bad thing? Well, the number of posthumous vault-raiding collections greatly outnumber the band's proper releases. That usually isn't a problem, but the quality of them is very suspect. When they were together, the band recorded three proper albums, Robbin' the Hood , 40 Oz. to Freedom and Sublime . Sublime would be the band's breakthrough record with the mainstream, but that success was very bittersweet. Shortly before its release, frontman/guitarist/songwriter Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose. In the following years, the effects of apparently a bad record deal have yielded compilation after compilation. Here's the rundown so far: Second Hand Smoke (1997) Stand By Your Van -- Sublime Live in Concert (1998) Sublime Acoustic: Br

Best of 2021

  Last year, my attention span was not wide enough to listen to a lot of LPs from start to finish. Too much went on in 2020 to focus on 10-15 albums, so I went with only a couple to spotlight. Well, 2021 was a little better, as I have a list of top four records, and a lot of individual tracks.  (I made a lengthy Spotify playlist ) So, without further ado, here’s my list of favorites of the year: Albums Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (listen) Hands down, my favorite album of the year. I was not sure where Deafheaven would go after another record that brought My Bloody Valentine and death metal fans together, but they beautifully rebooted their sound on Infinite Granite. The divisive goblin vocals are vastly pared-down here, as are the blast beats. Sounding more inspired by Slowdive, the band has discovered a new sonic palette that I hope they explore more of in the future. It’s a welcome revelation. I still love their older material, but this has renewed my love of what these guys do.  J