dB's Blog

BRÜNO

2009-07-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

BRÜNO is a very funny but very raunchy movie. In many ways, it's funnier than BORAT, which I enjoyed tremendously, and there are some similarities, but there are a lot of differences as well. This film is about a gay main character, and the sexual content of the film is very strong. I'm not at all a prude, but I was shocked that the film did not get an NC-17 rating. The film is smart in that it puts a lot of offensive material right up front, so that anyone offended will leave right away. (In fact, BRÜNO gets its first laugh in the Universal logo, before the film begins.) There is a pretty explicit music montage near the opening with Brüno and his boyfriend engaging in various forms of anal sex for several minutes. Then there is an entire scene dedicated to a close-up of a semi-erect penis being swung around while dancing. Granted, it is very, very funny, but that has to limit the potential audience of the film.

Also limiting the audience is the amount of gay material, which I imagine may offend some gay men as it plays off of stereotypes. In reality, the film is very supportive of gays. Like Borat, even though the film is a comedy, there is a somewhat depressing undertone to the film. Both films use the technique of placing the character in the real world with real people. In this film, the gay character visits two different religious men to get cured of his homosexuality, as well as going on a hunting trip with three clearly homophobic men. Much of the humor comes from the real-world men realizing that Brüno is gay. We often laugh at uncomfortable scenes, and this movie taps into that.

Interestingly, the most squirm-inducing scene is a visit to (what appears to be) a real "swingers" party, where Brüno stands inches away from group sex and watches. It's strangely uncomfortable, even after watching all of the previously mentioned sex scenes. The film does do a good job - perhaps even better than Borat - of mixing the real-world scenes with scenes that have been scripted and use actors. It's much harder in this film to see the difference and tell where reality ends and the movie begins.

I recommend the film, but only if you have a strong stomach for sexual content. This is definitely not for kids!

Spinal Tap Back From the Dead Album | Recording Spinal Tap Back From the Dead 2009 Album

2009-07-08T10:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a funny interview with the engineers of the new Spinal Tap album (also with the talent) and it's clear the engineers are almost as funny as the band!

Spinal Tap Back From the Dead Album | Recording Spinal Tap Back From the Dead 2009 Album

Rockies win Again

2009-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

It may only be against the Nationals, but it was nice to see the Rockies win again tonight. Hammel gave up 4 runs, but the bullpen did well, with Embree getting the win by getting only one out on a pickoff (without throwing a pitch!), and Street getting the save. The loss goes to Julian Tavarez. It helped that the Nat's committed 3 errors in the game.

Sound Tunnel - John Morton’s Central Park Portrait - NYTimes.com

2009-07-06T13:00:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting article about aural public art. It reminds me a little of the Southmoor station in Denver, except this looks better implemented.

Sound Tunnel - John Morton’s Central Park Portrait - NYTimes.com

BBC NEWS | Americas | US musicians demand radio royalties

2009-07-05T22:26:00.001-07:00

Interesting article about American Royalties compared to other countries.

BBC NEWS | Americas | US musicians demand radio royalties

D'backs Beat Rockies

2009-07-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Aaron Cook had a great game going, going 5 strong innings, and with the team winning 4-3 into the 8th. But a 6-run 8th by the Arizona Diamondbacks could not be overcome even with a sellout crowd of 49,000 on Independence Day. The Rockies ultimately lost 11-7.

However, since the departure of Clint Hurdle, the team is doing extremely well and still has a good shot at the wild card. To do that though, they will have to pass the Giants by continuing to win games. They have a good home schedule until the All-Star break, so it's possible.

Gateway Scores: Alien

2009-07-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

This is a nice web site for film music professionals. Scott is a very talented music editor who has written several nice columns for them.

Gateway Scores: Alien

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NOVA: Musical Minds

2009-07-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

NOVA: Musical Minds is a great doc about how the mind perceives music. It's based on Oliver Sachs new study Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Sachs is the author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook is Wife for a Hat. This show is an analysis of four separate cases, one autistic man who can play the piano by ear, another man with Tourette's who plays drums as therapy, a third woman who cannot hear music as music, and finally a man who was struck by lightning who began to play the piano. If you are at all interested in how the brain perceives music, I highly recommend this.

You can watch the episode online here:

NOVA: Musical Minds

When an Ear Witness Decides the Case

2009-06-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

When an Ear Witness Decides the Case

Excellent article on how the brain uses both vision and hearing.

Columbia balks with 'Moneyball'

2009-06-21T21:35:00.001-07:00

Columbia balks with 'Moneyball'

Unpaid Internships Illegal

2009-06-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Interesting blog post about the status of unpaid internships, which are now the de facto way to get a foot in the door in the entertainment industry.

Rockies Make it 10 Straight!

2009-06-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Rockies have quietly leaped from last in the NL West to 3rd by winning 10 consecutive games. Along the way, they did some remarkable things, including a sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis. In addition, they are now 12 -4 under new manager Jim Tracy.

Jason Marquis pitched very well tonight and would have had the win had Manny Corpas not blown the save in the 8th. In the strange world of baseball stats, Corpas ends up with the win as the Rockies broke the tie in the bottom of that inning. Huston Street pulled off another save in the 9th.

This was not the Rockies at their best, but a win is a win, and well-needed. By the way, the team in second place in their division is San Fransisco. The Rockies are only a few games behind them. The Dodgers are the runaway leaders in the division, so the Rockies most likely hope for post-season would be as the wild card. What team is the wild card right now?

San Fransisco. However, it's a long season ahead to hope that the Rockies continue their incredible run. But I will be watching. The game was delayed 42 minutes due to a sudden thunderstorm that passed through. Announced attendance of 31,000 seemed quite high compared to those at the park.

MemorySuppliers.com

2009-06-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

I ordered a RAM upgrade today and after placing the order received the following offer. I have not used this vendor before, nor have I received the product, so I cannot vouch for them yet, but this seems like a good idea. I chose them as a vendor because their website was fast at finding the right RAM, and the price was low (with free shipping). I will update this post after the order is received and again after the RAM is installed.

"We have a special money saving offer for you today: If you would like to receive a $15.00 credit back on your credit card for this order, simply post a link to MemorySuppliers.com on your website, blog, personal profile page (i.e. myspace) with a short one or two line description of our website and products. When finished, email us the web address where the link is posted and we will give you a $15.00 credit back on to your credit card. We do require the link to be posted for 90 days or more."

6/15 Update: RAM has arrived via standard mail on time. I will not get a chance to install it for a few days.

6/18 Update: RAM installed in iMac. Took about a minute. Works fine. I have not installed the RAM in my MacBook yet, but will update again when I do so (which may not be for a while).

6/20 Update: RAM installed in MacBook. Works fine. iMac is still fine. Overall, excellent experience.

Mahler's 2nd

2009-06-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was quite a night at the symphony tonight, with Jeffrey Kahane choosing to finish the season with the Mahler 2nd Symphony, the "Resurrection." Disclaimer, Mahler is far from my favorite composer. The 4th Symphony is tolerable as it is brief and light-hearted, and I like the trumpet call in the 5th (I was a trumpet player), but most of the time that I am forced to listen to Mahler, I feel like I am serving penance. He takes himself far too seriously, and the orchestration is always far, far over the top. There was a good turnout for the finale tonight, but I still suspect the number of people onstage rivaled the number of people in the audience.

However, I did learn a lot listening to this in person. The climactic moments were very moving. And looking at it from a historical point of view, he did push the envelope in almost every in terms of harmony, tonality, form, scope, instrumentation, and orchestration. And the vocal solos are amazing. The evening really belonged to mezzo Sasha Cooke, who has an absolutely stunning voice. I was in the fifth row tonight, about 30 feet from her when she was singing, and I felt like I was getting a private performance in my living room. Janice Chandler Eteme, soprano, was good also. And as usual Kahane's conducting was exceptional.

It would not have been the piece I would have picked to end a season, but it worked. The audience loved it, and it does make me look forward to September.

Garrick Ohlsson plays Brahms

2009-05-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

The penultimate concert of the season was one of the best for the Colorado Symphony, with Jeffrey Kahane returning to conduct. The concert opened with a contemporary piece by Pierre Jalbert, In Aeternam. Without a doubt, the best of the "new" works they played this year. The piece is dedicated to the niece of the composer, who was stillborn. Although in three movements, the piece does a nice job of moving through the seven stages of grief. If I have any criticism, it would be that Jalbert is clearly influenced by film composers, which from me is no criticism at all. The first movement seemed to hinge on the interval of a major 7th, and frequently reminded me of Bernard Herrmann. The second movement was very exciting and clearly played the anger of dealing with death. I had to remind myself of this fact, as it sounded a lot like some of Williams' more dissonant action music from the Indiana Jones movies.

Kahane then introduced the Sibelius Symphony #3, explaining that it had never been performed by the orchestra before. Now we know why. It's a very slight piece, and those expecting a rousing chorus of Finlandia will be sadly let down. The piece did have some nice moments though.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the evening was the Second Piano Concerto of Johannes Brahms as performed by Garrick Ohlsson. Ohlsson seemed a very jolly sort walking out to the stage, and took control quickly with a powerful performance of the first movement. I'd never seen this piece live before and it's clearly a very challenging piece for the pianist, full of rapidly moving block chords. Ohlsson seemed a little uneven in the first movement. Also the sound of the piano was off; I did not feel the low end like I had in previous concerts.

The second movement (scherzo) was much better, wonderfully performed by all involved. Each movement seemed to get better, with the beautiful third movement showing the other end of Ohlsson's spectrum. A delicate performance by both him and the cello soloist.

The fourth movement (one of the few concerti in four movements) was exciting and played flawlessly. Perhaps the only thing better was the encore, a great performance of the C# Waltz by Chopin. I don't know how he did it, but he made every statement of the theme unique with a different tempo, getting faster each time, yet ending with a beautifully introspective ending.

I look forward to next week's performance of the Mahler 2nd Symphony. A dark piece to end the season with, but it should be interesting!

Nuggets Lose Badly (and Rockies Update)

2009-05-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Both teams looked tired in the first quarter, but by the middle of the 2nd, the Nuggets were running on fumes, as though they had not rested in days. The second half belonged completely to Los Angeles. To be honest, that's what I had expected from the whole series. Although the Nuggets are good, they are not an amazing team filled with incredible talent. But after winning in Los Angeles, and with their losses all close ones, they lulled their fans into the belief that if they win their home game, they would then go to Los Angeles for a game seven.

It wasn't meant to be. If you look at only the numbers, Denver did not play that much worse than LA, but if you watched the game, virtually every shot for LA was a quick and easy one (even their foul shots, where they went 100%), and the number of missed shots for Denver was embarrassing. It was fun while it lasted, and I think everyone has high hopes for next year.

The Rockies, on the other hand, are doing so badly (only two years after going to the World Series) that they fired their longtime manager Clint Hurdle and promoted bench coach Jim Tracy. Tracy managed the Dodgers and knows the division well. He is a good choice to succeed Hurdle in that he is, like Hurdle, an excellent clubhouse manager who is well-liked by the players. Tracy is very much a by-the-book manager, almost to a fault. He rarely takes chances. Some might say this is a little too much like Hurdle.

After leaving the Dodgers, Tracy went to Pittsburgh, where he floundered along with the team. Only time will tell if this will be a repeat of that.

CAS "Meet the Winners" Event

2009-05-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:

The Cinema Audio Society Quarterly magazine has posted their most recent issue here, which includes a nice article on the event, as well as some photos.

Although the turnout was small, the Cinema Audio Society's "Meet the Winners" event was of exceptionally high caliber. Indian winner Resul Pookutty, CAS attended via Skype and answered questions about his work on SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. He told a great story about after winning the Oscar, arriving at Mumbai airport at 3AM and being carried around the airport by the people there, much like the end of the movie!

Ian Tapp, CAS then attended via iChat and discussed the re-recording mix for the same film. He showed a great clip from the beginning of the movie that combined subjective and realistic sound design.

Board member Bob Brownow, CAS talked about his excellent work on the documentary series DEADLIEST CATCH, and how difficult it is to be a one-man sound crew with no production sound mixers!

Kerry Brown, CAS and Kevin Dippold discussed their work on SMASHING PUMPKINS IF ALL GOES WRONG, a combination documentary and concert DVD. I was quite surprised to find out that it was mixed on a Neve Portico with no automation. It must have been quite a challenge!

There were a lot of important people present in the audience, including Stacy Sher (producer of PULP FICTION), Billy Corgan (of the band SMASHING PUMPKINS), several former presidents of the CAS (including Gary Bourgeois, who asked many questions, and Richard Lightstone), and many board members of the organization. We also attracted a few students even though it was spring break, and a number of members of other organizations including the Audio Engineering.

The final guests were Mike Minkler, CAS (also a former president of the organiztion) and Bob Beemer, CAS, (a newly-elected board memeber) who discussed their excellent work on JOHN ADAMS. It was a surpise to find out the show had nearly 900 tracks for the first episode.

It was very gratifying to see that after the event was over, almost everyone in the audience stayed to talk to the the winners and USC engineer Chris Cain led a tour of some of USC's new facilities. I think this shows that all the hard work was worthwhile.

Nuggets Win!

2009-05-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Being raised in Boston, it's quite natural for me to hate the Lakers. Tonight was my first trip to the Pepsi Center and I was very lucky to have gotten a ticket on center court for a playoff game. It's a nice stadium. It was a good game, with Denver in control almost throughout. Amazingly, they played great defense against Kobe and the rest of the Lakers, much better than two nights ago. They were also excellent on rebounds, which to me seems to be a lost art in the NBA.

Perhaps the best part of this is that it means there will be a game 6 on Friday, here in Denver, after Wedndesday's game in LA. The Nuggets will have to win a game in LA if they want to go to the finals, so let's hope the win Wendesday!

A.I. Final Results SPOILER

2009-05-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, big-ass SPOILER here:

Texting tweens voted 100 million times, meaning the man who deserved to win did not. The show itself was pretty good, with the return of Norman Gentle, Bikini Girl (who ruined herself with bad implants), and Tatiana, not to mention appearances by Queen Latifa, Santana, Kiss and Queen (and a few others not worth watching, like Rod Stewart, who can no longer sing). But it was disappointing and surprising that the long-shot pulled it off. He's a nice guy, but not that talented. Nonethless, I'm sure Adam will have a big career ahead of him.

A.I Finals

2009-05-19T20:43:00.001-07:00

Adam Lambert, slam dunk. All 3 songs far better. Kris Allen is a nice guy, but way out of his league.

The only possible way Adam could lose is if America is too homophobic to vote for him.

Thibaudet and Ravel

2009-05-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

It was interesting hearing Jean-Yves Thibaudet play the Concerto in G by Maurice Ravel this evening, only a week after hearing Gershwin's Concerto in F played in the same hall by Jeffrey Kahane (for that review, click here). When I first started listening to orchestral music in my late teens, I was a jazz fan becoming a classical fan, and these were obvious pieces to smooth the transition. Somehow I had assumed that the Ravel piece had been written first and that it had influenced Gershwin, who was younger and starting his own orchestral career after writing showtunes. However, in the years since I had learned that my assumption was wrong and that it was the other way around. Ravel had been visiting the US and heard Gershwin's piece, and decided to write his own concerto with many similarities, not the least of which is the bluesy treatment of melody.

Hearing them both live and in such close proximity in the same hall, I am becoming increasingly convinced the Gershwin's work is much better than I had previously thought. It is, for the most part, the more interesting of the two, with the exception of the second movement, which is a bit too simple. On the contrary, the second movement of the Ravel is the best movement, and in many ways the least jazzy.

It was also interesting tonight seeing one of the few large crowds at the hall, clearly having turned out for the soloist, who was quite good, but seeing a small turnout for Kahane, who was exceptional.

Originally Ravel had written the piece as a divertissement, retitling it as a concerto later. The program tonight opened with another light piece, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which, for a light piece, is one of the all-time greats. As Steve Ledbetter's concert notes point out, there is hardly any development in the piece, yet it still stands a almost perfectly constructed. The orchestra performed it almost perfectly, with a correctly small Mozart-sized orchestra.

The program finished with one of Beethoven's weakest symphonies, #2, although quite nicely performed under guest conductor James Gaffigan.

A.I Finals

2009-05-13T22:40:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm glad I didn't guess last night, I would never have predicted Kris in the finals. I'm kinda glad, his guitar ballad last night was one of the best performances in the season, and he's been getting better each week. I also like the kid.

I think he's no match for Adam, though.

A.I. Final 3

2009-05-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

American Idol is down to the final 3. Adam Lambert is great as always. After that, it's a toss-up. I don't like either Kris Allen or Danny Gokey. I think Kris sang better than Danny the last two weeks, but Kris's performace style is pretty forgettable.

I'm not going to make a guess between the two of them.

Rockies Beat Astros

2009-05-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Winning two games in a row, the Rockies have leaped up to 3rd place in the division, even though they are still 5 games under .500 early in the season.

Ubaldo Jiminez finally got the win he deserves, pitching 7 innings and giving up only 1 run and winning 12-1. The team needed a big win, and Brad Hawpe was on fire with 4 hits and 5 RBIs. Ian Stewart had 2 homers, one a grand slam, giving him 5 RBI.

It was a gorgeous night to be at a game at Coors.

Rockies Lose Pitchers' Battle to Marlins

2009-05-10T09:08:00.001-07:00

You can't blame Jorge de la Rosa for the Rockies recent problems. He went 8 full innings yesterday, allowing only 2 earned runs and 4 hits, and striking out 12. His ERA is now under 4 and he's had quality starts three times, yet is record is 0-3.

The Rockies scored one paltry run. And allowed another Marlins run on an error. Offensive problems are plaguing them. Tulowitski is batting only .223, Atkins .218, Stewart .197, and Iannetta .209. It's depressing to see the kids doing so poorly, as they are the future of the team.

One has to wonder why they are doing so poorly at home. They have lost 3 out of their last 4 home games, and 5 out of 8 overall. If there were ever a home field advantage, one would think Coors would be it.