It’s about unreasonable expectations. I want war to stop. I want to see less suffering. End to global warming. Stop raping the earth to assuage short-term goals. Feed the hungry. And a lot more money in my pocket.
Theme songs:
For over two (2) years now, I’ve been recording and streaming a weekly live audio clip off this site, and each week, I’ve toyed with various audio samples, in the virtual studio, searching for a (legal) sound to call my own. A theme song. So far, several musicians have volunteered to cut just such a track, but so far, nothing’s shown up.
What elements should be present? Space music? Spaced-out music? Owing to its roots, perhaps some of that Texas honky-tonk type of sound? A fiddle reel and a techno backbeat? Perhaps orchestration with a full kit would be best. The woody thump of a stand-up bass? The twang of lazy jazz guitar? Synthetic noises from a keyboard? Perhaps the gentle zephyrs of a harp, the stringed kind, or the blues, blown on a harp? Perhaps a sixties surfer sound?
I’m usually inspired by the opening bars to the legendary Spaghetti Westerns, but that’s a bit overdone these days. I was going to steal some of that, but all I wound up doing was buying the CD.
I was making my way, downtown, from one coffee shop, towards the post office, and Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” came up on the play list. Not unusual, I mean, it’s number 100-something on the shuffle setting. What was odd, about half a block away, there was a female form walking and swaying her hips. In my mind, and in my eyes, her hips swayed exactly to the music. I was aiming to include that vignette in a February horoscope, but alas, I couldn’t work it out. As I crossed one street, she went one way and I went on towards my destination, and I’ll never know. Age? Unsure. Gender? Good guess at half a city block. But this is Austin, one can never make assumptions.
I unplugged the ear buds as I wandered into the bookstore, an unintentional destination. I was looking for something new to read, preferably in paperback form, just something for the road this weekend.
“Kramer, hey, Kramer, remember me? I used to serve you coffee downtown…” Young man introduced himself, all over again. I searched my memory. Hair’s darker, and he was now wearing glasses. Pisces, right, that was it. He’s a Pisces. I admitted I was just looking for something to read. He recited one of my horoscopes back to me. I pointed out that it was true, and then I verified my story with an example (someone sent me fish car fresheners – for real – read Pisces). I asked what he was looking for.
“Shakespeare. The Tempest. Henry IV, part ii. Hey, who wrote Slaughterhouse Five?”
Vonnegut (Scorpio). Classic. But not really part of Brit Lit, unless, never mind.
But ask about Shakespeare? From my memory, The Tempest was written/performed, 1608-1610, probably as a “masque,” and it was the author’s “good-bye” piece, like Prospero breaking his staff, Shake – spear, breaking his? Source for the play was a letter/document from the colonies, about a shipwreck and the guy eventually made it to Virginia Colonies, if I recall. I might have it all wrong. But I did recommend the movie version, Propero’s Books with Sir John reading the most of the text as narration. I can still hear his voice booming that introduction. Peter Greenway movie, I think.
Henry IV, part ii? Starts with Henry IV, part i, oddly enough. Introduced one of Shakespeare’s greatest (I’m with Bloom on this one) characters: Falstaff. Plus the tale is all about what a good leader should be. Culminates in Henry V – the introduction to the movie is done by Derek Jacobi and has to be one of my favorite film introduction.
I quoted one of Falstaff’s lines, off the top of my head. As I was thinking about it, though, I wished I’d also recommended checking out Bloom for some background for that Pisces guy’s class.
I also had a mental list of authors I wanted to check, plus a book about muscle cars I’d read about, but I couldn’t find the text. Nor, for that matter, did I really find what I was looking for, but I feel at home in a place with stacks and stack of books. And I did add to my reading list so I’ll be mentally occupied. I meant to swing through Waterloo Records, too, but failed, as the sun was beginning to get a little low, and as soon as it sets, shorts would not be appropriate attire.
It’s a really old Talking Heads song. Naive Melody. Came up on the play list I was listening to while I wandered along the streets of Austin. “Home, it’s where I want to be but I might already be there…”
Rumor I heard? The video for that song was shot in Austin.
