Cool & Strange Music Vol. 2, Number 10
by
Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers
by Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers
 Hey
ho! Let’s go! It’s time once again for the mostest in groovy music
in the entire Omega-Galaxy! Today’s Cool & Strange Music will
be a bit more to the strange side as this year – with gasoline prices
and everything going up – we’ll all need all the help we can get
for giving a Christmas present that is unforgettable as well as
way cool and out of this world! And that’s what I’ve got lined up
for you good folks today! There’s something for everybody.
Plan
9 From Outer Space (1958 Film) [Soundtrack] – Edward Wood, Trevor
Duncan, Van Phillips, Franz Mahl, Wolf Droyson
List
Price: $15.98
Many
critics will say that this is the worst movie ever made. I take
offense to that remark. Why? Well there was that Ronald Reagan movie
with the chimpanzee. But, if you are a bit twisted and have a good
sense of humor, you might think – as I do – that Plan 9 From
Outer Space is one of the campiest and best movies ever made.
Nothing better than having a few friends over for several drinks
then watching this cinema classic.
 Here’s
what Amazon.com
says:
You've
heard about it from friends. You've heard about it in the print
media. You've heard about it on television. You've wondered whether
the hype is true or not. Now, the time has come for you to discover
the truth about (insert drum roll here) Ed Wood's Plan 9 From
Outer Space. You know you need to watch this film if for no
other reason than to finally learn whether Wood's magnum opus
is indeed the worst film ever made. Now, gather in closely and
I'll whisper to you a little secret about this science fiction
extravaganza: Plan 9 From Outer Space most definitely is
NOT the worst film ever put on celluloid, and I can with utmost
confidence assist you in discovering dozens of other films far
inferior to this one if you so wish. For instance, "Invasion of
the Blood Farmers" is a movie much worse than Plan 9. Superman
IV is a worse film than Plan 9. But Gigli, despite
what you might think, is better than Plan 9 even though
many of us wish it were worse. I could name many, many more films
that make Wood's movie look like Citizen Kane by comparison.
I think this film gets its reputation because critics need one
shining example upon which to pin their fears and hatreds, one
example which provides a common touchstone that transcends cultures
and languages.
You
need to get this soundtrack and hear the glory. Ed Wood is the most
misunderstood movie director in the history of Hollywood. This soundtrack
is a gas. And if you’re like me (a bit twisted and cynical as all
get out), you will agree that this is definitely one of the best
movies to ever come out of Hollywood and blows Photon Torpedoes
through any Star Wars film.
 The
Ed Wood Box (Glen or Glenda / Jail Bait / Bride
of the Monster / Plan 9 from Outer Space / Night of
the Ghouls / The Haunted World of Ed Wood)
List
Price: $39.99 Sale Price: $35.99 (with free shipping)
Ed
Wood has the unfortunate reputation for being the worst Hollywood
director of all time. Poppycock, I say! There are much more than
a few of us who disagree. Ed Woods has become a cult hero among
the artistic and the outsiders of pop cinema fame. His ideas were
40 years ahead of their time, if not more. (Proof of this can be
found in the fact that the movies of Ed Wood’s have enjoyed a huge
revival over these last 20 years). Sure, his films can seem pretty
crappy, with sometimes very illogical scripts and some of the worst
actors ever seen – not to mention incredibly campy special effects
that are not so special – but therein lies the beauty! His stories
are quite fascinating. You just have to look at Glen or Glenda,
a film that explains the torments of a transvestite, to see what
I mean. It’s a mirror of alternative lifestyles in America that
were made over 40 years ago – subjects that have just become acceptable
over these past 5 years or so.
Ok,
so maybe Ed didn't have much talent or big budgets, but he certainly
made up for it, by his love for films and his belief in what he
did, which is more than you can say about some directors today.
The true lover of Cinema Verite as it applies to modern America
can do no wrong with watching Ed Wood’s movies and see just how
much he influenced everything from Hitchcock to Star Wars. This
is the perfect gift for the true fan of cinema. You will not be
disappointed.
Nuggets:
Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968
[Box Set] – Various Artists
List
Price: $59.98 Sale Price: $53.99 (with free shipping), You
Save: $5.99
 I
own every one of the CD’s in this box set. And I will tell you that
this is the greatest collection of real Rock’n’Roll hits from the
Fab 60’s. This music comes for the good old days when 60’s Punk
music was Top 40.
Amazon
says:
That
the most famous garage-rock record of all time, the Kingsmen's
"Louie Louie," is buried on the last CD of this four-disc box
is very much in keeping with the spirit of the (often) one-hit
wonders that people Nuggets. Here, "Louie Louie" is just another
great song. An elaboration on the 1972 double LP, which is included
in its original sequence, this set piles on dozens more great
moments of inspiration, guts, chutzpah, and sometimes sheer commercial
calculation. How else to explain the advice "Look at yourself"
from the likes of the Strawberry Alarm Clock, whose idea of mind
expansion seems limited to putting together two very vaguely related
nouns – "Incense and Peppermints" – so their swinging Farfisa-led
track will have something, anything, for verbal content? There's
loads of such wisdom on display here, prefab and otherwise, usually
delivered as rabidly as possible. (Try the Remains' "Don't Look
Back," Mouse and the Traps' "Maid of Sugar – Maid of Spice," or
the Music Machine's "Talk Talk," which was actually a hit.) And
remember: "The sky is falling / The ocean is calling / The world
... is spinning 'round ... and 'round." For sure.
"No
other brand of electric teenage kicks from pop’s last three decades
has survived with such raw, radiant aplomb and has defied the
tyranny of cheese-ball nostalgia" – The Rolling Stone
Magazine
This
CD has songs that ripped through to the core of American angst in
the mid-late sixties. Today’s rock bands would love to have songs
even 1/2 this good. Check it and see why.
 The
Out Sound from Way In! The Complete Vanguard Recordings – Perrey
Kingsley
List
Price: $24.98
I
keep recommending this CD but it seems like lots of people don’t
want to take a chance on it. The ones who have bought it rave about
it. That’s just how good and wonderful this CD is for kids of all
ages. So, what are you folks waiting for? This is one of the hottest
recordings ever made and it was made over 40 years ago. This blasts
today’s electronic musicians out of the water. Even Fat Boy Slim
has a cover track on this CD. You’ve never heard electronic music
like this before – or maybe you have, you just didn’t know who it
was. There’s not a person in the family who won’t find this enjoyable:
The rapper in the group will want to sample the tracks; the metal
fan will find inspiration, classical fans will see the origins,
and grandma and grandpa will be able to enjoy the ride. You’ll all
tap your toes while the baby sleeps in the car and is soothed by
this electronica meets classical meets kid’s music masterpiece.
This is one of, if not the, best CDs ever made. And it is probably
my personal favorite of all time.
 The
Complete Hank Williams [Box Set] – Hank Williams Sr.
List
Price: $169.98 Sale Price: $152.99 (With free shipping). You save
$16.99 (10%)
Is
that a Hank Williams song? Well shore enuff is! It’s every Hank
Williams song you could ever dream of having and all in one fantastic
box set. And let me tell you that this is by far the best sound
quality you’ll ever get from the master.
Look
at these hoop-hollerin’ a-some reviews:
Amazon.com's
Best of 1998
Hank
Williams rose to prominence at the exact middle of the 20th century,
and this fact helps to explain why he remains such a unique figure
in country music. Put simply, he is the thread that connects (however
loosely) Jimmie Rodgers and Garth Brooks. This 10-CD mother lode
brilliantly captures the essence of the man and his spellbinding
music. The official studio takes provide the foundation, while
the demos, outtakes, and live recordings are the putty in the
gaps. – Marc Greilsamer
Amazon.com
essential recording
After
so many years of so many haphazard, oft-overdubbed, slapdash Hank
Williams reissues, this lavish package seems truly an embarrassment
of riches. Imagine being able to dip in and listen to the unadorned
music from the whole of this pioneer's musical career, along with
preserved historical spoken words. His career truly represents
the major turning point in country music's history, and this box
set – music and densely packed attendant memorabilia – is as much
a social history of America at mid-20th century as it is a music
document. Williams's recording career lasted only six years and
he died tragically at age 29, but he left a musical and emotional
legacy that grows year by year. To sketch the basics of The Complete
Hank Williams: There are 10 CDs encompassing 225 cuts from all
parts of his career – the demos, the radio shows, the Opry debut
triumph. Musical revelations abound.... – Chet Flippo
Spin
Magazine
The
exhumation that Hank's acolytes desire began long before this
beautiful box set. In the '80s, his label brushed off the "spew"
of posthumous overdubs. Now, The Complete Hank Williams, packaged
like a holy book with a concordance by Colin Escott, makes the
purification total. Hank's as fresh as Lenin on May Day, ready
for viewing, the key to country's red-dirt past and sign of a
rock world to come.
New
York Times
His
rise and complete dominance, his excellence, and his hard fall
and death are chronicled in this boxed set, which is as near to
being the alpha and omega of Williams's work as we are likely
to get. The set includes an excellent booklet with rare photographs
and a fine essay on the recordings by the writer Colin Escott,
and imaginative, if slightly gimmicky, packaging.
Entertainment
Weekly
...[D]espite
all the vinegary vigor and unique inspiration Williams' best music
contains in abundance ... anyone plowing through this box of music
... will ultimately be left a little bored and not a little put
off by its revered subject.
People
Apart from
a few cuts, this sizable set is musically satisfying and historically
fascinating.
 The
Natural Sounds Of The Wilderness, Part 1 (5 CDs) [Box Set] – Echoes
Of Nature (Laserlight Series)
List
Price: $18.98 Sale Price: $14.99
Did
you see that? 5 CD’s of Nature’s most beautiful, relaxing sounds
all for only $14.99. That is not a typo. This wonderful 5 CD set
is nature sounds and nature sounds only. Working in the sound recording
business, I can tell you that to make these kinds of recordings
is very hard work. The people who put these CD’s together took time
and loving care in making this 5 CD set probably the best of its
type on the market today.
Relaxation
music is now a big business – and the CD’s are really expensive,
selling for sometimes $30 each – But not here. These CD’s give
you the raw, relaxing sounds of this beautiful world God gave us
in all its glory. There’s no background noise to disturb you. No
music; just the experience of being there. The sound quality is
also crisp and clear; these CD’s are superb.
Here’s
what an Amazon reviewer wrote:
The
five discs are entitled, "Tropical Rainforest," "Bayou," "Jungle
Talk," "Wilderness River," and the sampler. Each features sounds
from the particular place described; the sampler includes a short
piece from each of the discs plus some others in the "Echoes of
Nature" series. It's hard to pick a favorite, but "Bayou," with
its bird songs, rumbling alligators, and memorable finale (a frog
chorus set against a distant evening thunderstorm) is especially
evocative. "Jungle Talk" is great too, but be aware that it is
not for relaxing, especially when the howler monkeys start roaring!
… Suffice it for me to say that of the bargain nature discs out
there, I have not found any that represent a greater value than
these. Listen and enjoy!
I’d
also like to add that this CD set is a set that I often give to
friends and loved ones who are convalescing in a hospital bed. I
find that these sounds of nature are incredibly helpful in keep
their attitude a positive one. And we all know a positive attitude
is critical for a speedy recovery. I also keep one set on hand when
I’m at home and just want to listen to natural sounds. It soothes
the soul.
 The
Outer Limits: Original Television Soundtrack (1963–65 Television
Series) – [Soundtrack] – Dominic Frontiere
Price:
$13.98
There
is nothing wrong with this article. Please do not attempt to click
and close this page. Do not attempt to change your monitor’s contrast
or control buttons. We are now in control. This is the Outer Limits.
Cool! This CD is an absolute must-have for any Sci-Fi movie and
TV fan. This is the original Television Soundtrack from the Outer
Limits TV show that scared all of our little pants off in
1963.
The
Outer Limits differed from the Twilight Zone in that
it went into more and more far-out Sci-Fi concepts. I liked that.
That was back in the day when dad still drove a ’57 Chevy and we
we’re all sure that space men were going to arrive any day now.
This is the show that started it all! It’s pure "Nerdvana"!
More
from Amazon:
Frontiere's
music for The Outer Limits recalls Ravel and Bartok, especially
in its half-step modality and the parallel dominant-11th chords
that move in whole steps at the close of the opening title and
throughout the end title. Frontiere's bag of tricks also includes
perfect fourths and fifths in parallel chromatic motion, interlocking
perfect fifths, and other minimalist devices that sound anything
but minimalist in the hands of such a gifted composer… the sound
reproduction is fantastic, even if hearing this music in clear,
unmushy fidelity tends to demystify it a little. That is to say,
the orchestra sounds smaller, even cramped in spots. But one can
hear every last glorious note, score shuffle, and studio acoustic.
And the sound effects are a revelation in digital.
If
you know someone who is a Sci-Fi collector, or if you just want
to relive those good old days, or if you want to have a CD that
you can show off to your friends, then this is it. Caution! Showing
this CD off to your friends could greatly increase the chances of
someone wanting to borrow it and you’ll never see it again!
 The
Carl Stalling Project: Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons, 1936–1958
– Carl Stalling
List
Price $14.99
This
CD was recommended by a regular reader of Cool & Strange Music
and alas, I’ve misplaced his name. Oh! Forgive me! How could I be
so daffy?
Here’s
what two good folks over at Amazon have to say:
For
fans of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, et al., this is the essential
cartoon soundtrack as well as a monument to surrealism. During
his 22 years as a composer for Warner Bros. animated shorts, Stalling
invented the musical vocabulary of cartoons. Producer Hal Willner
has lovingly assembled a sonic collage that showcases Stalling's
compositional genius and uncanny ability to borrow a tune. It's
a whirling collection of random moments, chock full of music you
never knew you knew, from Bugs Bunny's theme from "Rabbit Fire"
to Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" to Stalling's own "Woo! Woo!"
Also included in the mix: outtakes from recording sessions, and
several complete scores. – Heidi MacDonald
Although
I was familiar with most or all of the music on this CD, I'd never
heard of Carl Stalling. Well, to my delight, he turns out to be
one of the most important composers ever to write movie scores,
right up there with Maurice Jaubert and Nino Rota and John Williams,
as far as I am concerned. He was a true original. He wrote the
scores for the Warner Brothers cartoons from 1936 to 1958.
This
CD is not only a tribute to Stalling, it is also the most entertaining,
endearing, smile-engendering, memory-invoking, guffaw-getting
album you'll hear in quite a while. I positively guarantee that
you will love this album if you were EVER a child – if you EVER
joined your friends to sneak into a Saturday matinee and cheer
when our hero Bugs Bunny foiled the villain – if you EVER laughed
uncontrollably when you heard, "I taught I taw a Puddy-tat" –
if you EVER felt forlorn when you heard our pal Porky stutter
"Th-th-that's all, F-f-folks!" Stalling wrote the perfect music
that we heard in "our subconscious" while we watched those "Looney
Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies."
Just
the titles of the various selections will put you in the right
mood: "Gorilla My Dreams" and "I Got Plenty Of Mutton" and "Puss
'N' Booty" and "To Itch His Own" (Stalling's last score-1958)
to name just four.
As
Hal Wilner writes in his introduction to Stalling and the CD,
"It (the CD) contains some soundtracks by one of the greatest
film composers/arrangers from some of the finest films ever made."
Buy
this album and I dare you to play it just once. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
– Movie Maven
 Casablanca:
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Max Steiner
List
Price: $11.98 Sale Price: $10.99
A
lot of my regular readers won’t believe this, but Casablanca
is my favorite movie of all time. It stands above even my other
all-time favorite Hollyweird flicks like, Repo-Man,
The
Rocky Horror Picture Show, A
Clockwork Orange, Dr.
Strangelove; or anything by Stanley
Kubrick and why shouldn’t it? What guy wouldn’t want to be like
Rick? He’s handsome, smart, all the girls want him – and he can
have any girl that he wants, but enough about me. This is to remind
you folks of the great music that lies in this timeless classics’
soundtrack. You must remember this great movie that will stand forever
as one of, if not the, greatest movie ever made. And the score to
this timeless classic is unforgettable.
Seriously, this beats the junk Hollywood has been putting out these
last 20 years by a mile. I can’t stand how movies nowadays always
have to have a love angle and the hero always gets the girl. Bleech!
Casablanca was made in 1942 and at the time of the shooting,
they didn’t know who was going to win the war and they didn’t have
an exact idea as to how to end the film. So what to do? They planned
on shooting several endings, but after they shot the first one –
the one that remains today – they decided that the ending couldn’t
be beat. It is awe-inspiring. This movie was the pinnacle of Hollywood’s
success. Buy the soundtrack
and buy the DVD
and be reminded of what the Golden Age of Hollywood was really like.
 The
Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese
Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)
List
Price: $52.92 Sale Price: $42.34 You Save: $10.58 and this item
ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
If
you are looking for a good Christmas present and were tickled by
the Casablanca soundtrack and DVD then let me draw your attention
to this DVD box set that anyone would be proud to own. Here in one
package are 5 of Humphrey Bogart’s greatest films. You get:
Casablanca
– 1942 – starring Bogey, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude
Rains, and Conrad Veidt. Casablanca Won 3 Oscars – Best Picture,
Director, and Screenplay.
Plot
Outline: Classic film set in occupied Africa during the early
days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover,
with unforeseen complications.
The
Maltese Falcon, made in 1941, stars Bogey, Mary Astor, Gladys
George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane
Plot
Outline: Sam Spade, a private detective, gets involved in a murderous
hunt for a valuable statuette.
The
Big Sleep – 1946 – stars Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John
Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Dorothy Malone.
Plot
Outline: Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich family.
Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail,
and what might be love.
Key
Largo – 1948 – stars Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren
Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor
Plot
Outline: A man visits his old friend's hotel and finds a gangster
running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting
each other.
Five
Hollywood classics for only $42.34 and you get free shipping? Now
who wouldn’t want this enjoyable present under the Christmas tree?
 Repo
Man (1984 Film) [Soundtrack] – Various Artists
List
Price: $9.98
If
you really want to know what is my favorite movie of all-time for
gathering inspiration to write humor, then this movie is it. I’m
serious here. This movie is so fantastic that I’ve seen it well
over 50 times and every time I watch it, I see something new to
laugh about. There are all sorts of hidden jokes in this film that
you have to at least watch it 5 times to catch even half of them.
I love this movie. This has got to be the perfect movie for people
who view the government – as well at society at large – with incredible
cynicism and despair. It is the ultimate movie for the modern day
anarchist – and it will have you rolling on the floor laughing.
The
soundtrack is basically full of punk rock so that may not be the
cat’s meow for most of you folks (even though that cracks me up
also), but you have just got to see this movie. Made in 1984 by
Carl Cox, this film takes a slam at the government, alien TV shows,
credit card debt, bank repossessions, drugs, crime, and just basically
makes a mockery of today’s society. A must have for everyone. And
that includes Lew Rockwell. If I only could watch two movies over
and over for the rest of my life, they’d be Casablanca and
Repo Man.
 Repo
Man (1984) – Director Alex Cox – Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio
Estevez
List
Price: $14.98 Sale Price: $13.48
Here’s
what Amazon says:
Frustrated
punk rocker Otto quits his supermarket job after slugging a co-worker,
and is later dumped by his girlfriend at a party. Wandering the
streets in frustration, he is recruited in the repossession of
a car by a repo agent. After discovering his parents have donated
his college fund to a televangelist, he joins the repossession
agency (Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation) as an apprentice
"repo man." During his training, he is introduced into the
mercenary and paranoid world of the drivers, befriended by a UFO
conspiracy theorist, confronted by rival repo agents, discovers
some of his one-time friends have turned to a life of crime, is
lectured to about cosmic unconsciousness by the repo agency grounds
worker, and finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue concerning
a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malabu driven by a
lunatic government scientist, with Top Secret cargo in the trunk...
Now
does that sound like some classic cinema, or what? The profound
ending of the movie will blow your mind!
Brain
in a Box: The Science Fiction Collection [Box Set] [Soundtrack]
– Various Artists
List
Price: $99.98
 I
went over to my geeky friend’s house the other day and he just had
to brag to me about this fantabulously cool box set he just got.
And, man, is it ever cool! Imagine me, green with envy! The first
thing you will notice is the beautiful metallic designed box. There
are holograms on the sides and the discs are packaged in their own
50’s retro-styled box. I was literally drooling over this very cool
and strange set. It has everything the sci-fi fan could ever want!
I think the true fan of sci-fi will want the music and memorabilia
from the movies that weren’t the box-office smash hits like Star
Wars and this set has it all. But if you do want the most
awesome Star
Wars box set, go
here. Otherwise take a gander at the best sci-fi box set ever
made. This is the ultimate sci-fi Christmas present!
Check out Amazon’s review:
It
doesn't take much rhetorical muscle to argue that science fiction
was one of the dominant genre artforms of the 20th century, from
the Lumiere brothers to Spielberg, from Wells and Conan Doyle
to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke. This nearly exhaustive, lavishly
packaged collection documents the genre's musical legacy across
virtually every major genre on its five discs and 113 tracks.
Each volume is divided by sub-genre – Movie Themes, TV Themes,
Pop, Incidental/Lounge, Novelty – with each containing both the
obvious contenders and some delightful surprises. The film disc
alone contains a wealth of rarities, including music from Them!,
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Andromeda Strain, Fantastic
Voyage, and other notables. The packaging is brilliant kitsch:
a 6.5-inch square, metal-lidded cube emblazoned on three sides
with suitably tacky 3-D images of – you guessed it! – a floating
brain. But the profusely illustrated, hard-bound, 200-page book
(designed to emulate the Big Little Books of the 1940s and '50s)
that's included gives the subject its serious due, with an introduction
by Ray Bradbury and contributions from an array of other notables,
including Forrest J. Ackerman, Billy Mumy, Joe Dante, Dr. Demento,
and Matt Groening. Perhaps the best half-cubic-foot of sci-fi
brain food every assembled. – Jerry McCulley
 The
Twilight Zone: 40th Anniversary Collection (Television Series Scores)
[Box Set] – Various Artists
List
Price: $42.98
The
Twilight
Zone (CBS, 1959–64) stands as the role model for Television
works of art. Its articulate and effective sci-fi/fantasy parables
explore humanity's hopes, despairs, prides and prejudices in metaphoric
ways conventional drama cannot.
Creator Rod
Serling wrote the majority of the scripts, and produced those
of such now-legendary writers as Richard
Matheson and Charles Beaumont. The series featured such soon-to-be-famous
actors as Robert Redford, William Shatner, Burt Reynolds, Robert
Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Carol Burnett, James Coburn, Charles Bronson,
Lee Marvin, Peter Falk and Bill Mumy, as well as such established
stars as silent-film giant Buster Keaton, Art Carney, Mickey Rooney,
Ida Lupino and John Carradine.
An
often worthy revival series ran on CBS from 1985–87, and in
first-run syndication in 1988. Another recently ran on UPN, which
reunited Bill Mumy and Cloris Leachman in a sequel to the classic
TZ chiller It's a Good Life. But it's the daring original
series that shows every sign of lasting the ages as the literature
that it is.
Rod
Serling and CBS had many of the Twilight
Zone episodes scored by composers who used the orchestra
to the fullest extent that they could. The music in this volume
ranges from the opening and closing themes of the Twilight
Zone to themes that range from haunting melodies to light
hearted music. Much of the music was scored by great composers such
as, Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith, Leonard Rossenman, Fred Steiner,
and Franz Waxman. Compared to this much of the music in many of
today's TV shows, Science Fiction included just doesn’t have that
sense of wonder anymore.
 An
Ennio Morricone Western Quintet: Over 150 Minutes Of Pure Morricone
[Soundtrack] [Box Set] – Classic Italian Soundtracks (DRG Series),
Ennio Morricone
List
Price: $19.98
It’s
a big shame that A Fistful of Dynamite never won an Oscar
for musical arrangement, and after you listen to these fab musical
scores and arrangements, you’ll be wondering why it didn’t. This
music is great.
A
Fistful of Dynamite was originally entitled, Duck You Sucker!
And it ranks as one of the most awesome film scores ever made. But
not only is it film score music, but it is wonderfully exotic in
it’s own way. Ennio Morricone made some of the most creative, melodic
and beautiful pieces of music anywhere, and features all the classic
Morricone trademarks, the building bed of strings, the whistled
phrases, and the beautiful "wordless" vocals by the great Edda Dell'Orso.
If I were forced to describe the essence of Morricone to an unfamiliar
music enthusiast, I would simply have him or her listen to this
theme. But, it doesn't stop there. The "Maestro" was at the peak
of his first (or second) phase of genius here, as amply demonstrated
in this score. There are 2–3 additional fantastic themes developed,
as well, including "March of The Beggars," during which Morricone
incorporates a snatch of Mozart's "A Little Night Music." There
is also a suite of action cue music, which is quite breathtaking
and rhythmic. This score alone makes purchase of this collection
well worth it. But the other 4 scores included are fine examples
of Morricone's seemingly limitless talent and creativity. I cannot
tell you how often I find myself whistling or humming the main theme
of Duck You Sucker; this is the essential Morricone collection.
WOW!!
 Star
Maidens – 1975 British-German Sci-Fi TV Series [Soundtrack] – Barry
Lipman & Orchestra
List
Price: $18.98
Star
Maidens!? What kind of a name is that for a cheeky little British
and German Sci-Fi TV show? Star Maidens was about a planet
being run by beautiful women in platform boots. Really!
Well,
here’s something from the Star Maidens homepage:
It’s
the mid-1970s...you are waiting for your favorite British Sci-Fi
TV show to return for it’s second season when a beguiling sci-fi
series shuffled onto your screens, regional ITV scheduling permitting,
for a brief thirteen weeks and then sloped off apologetically
to disappear forever. It was a series about a planet ruled by
women dressed in platform boots. The show came on and then as
soon as it appeared, it was gone. And it soon became a cult classic
in the UK.
There
are organized fan cults around Star Maidens, and if you'd
ever seen it you’d know why. All the fans have this nagging thought
at the back of their minds… 'That was brilliant wasn't it? It
must have been? Wasn't it a bit... well, pervy?' Sadly, if mentioned
at all in sci-fi circles it's either as 'the one Gareth Thomas
did before Blake's 7' or more generally as a byword for
'total crap' (cf 'Did you see that episode of Voyager?
God, it was sooo Star Maidens!'). I can't really defend
Star Maidens and don't intend to sell it to you as a much-loved
cult classic without peer. It's certainly not the worst sci-fi
series ever made but by no stretch of the imagination is it the
best. What was it then...? Ludicrous, ambitious, confused, infuriating,
cack-handed, staggering, limited, inventive, cheap, hilarious,
camp, sexy, lurid fun.
What
Star Maidens is then, in short, is perhaps the most fascinating
sci-fi series of all time. A bungled British-German co-production
of a sci-fi comedy – two mutually exclusive concepts for
the price of one and surely doomed to failure. It has proved an
enigmatic series too – very little has been written about
it and it has not been shown on TV in the UK since its original
1976/7 broadcasts. Indeed there are maybe one or two parts of
the UK where the show has still never been screened. And quite
possibly never will be.
So,
for enthusiasts, the curious and of course the just plain pervy
this is Star Maidens. Try out this soundtrack for something
that is just so different and wonderful and you’ll be outta this
world.
 Amadeus:
The Complete Original Soundtrack Recording [Box Set]
List
Price: $39.98 Sale Price: $35.99
From
Amazon:
This
three-disc set is an excellent starting point, not only for the
beginning listener of Mozart, but to the beginning listener of
classical music in general.
That
said, the selections are quite in tune with the film itself, which
quite uniquely makes this soundtrack valuable both to people who
loved the film as well as those who have never seen it. Perhaps
90% of the tracks are the compositions of Mozart, including the
Commendatore scene of "Don Giovanni" and the Queen of the Night
aria from "The Magic Flute." The remaining tracks consist of music
heard during various scenes in the film, including the finale
from Salieri's opera "Axur." Enough new material is here to warrant
buying this set over one of the other less expensive editions
of the Amadeus soundtrack.
In
short, the music contained herein is a virtual greatest hits album
of Mozart, virtual only in that it's scope must be limited to
only 3 discs. On an incidental note, even the conductor and symphony
orchestra performing the selections are recognized as being among
the foremost interpreters of Mozart's music; yet another reason
to purchase the Bicentennial Edition. It also includes a wonderful
album-sized booklet detailing much of the behind the scenes work
involved, as well as portions of the story. All very nicely done,
especially for an average price of approximately $12 per disc.
I have hundreds of Mozart's CDs in my collection, but I most often
return to this, the most concise package of his music. Whether
you enjoyed the film and its music, or you simply wish to widen
out your musical horizons to include Mozart's music, this is the
set to buy.
Director
Milos Forman's rewarding 1984 film adaptation of playwright Peter
Shaffer's Tony-winning play won no fewer than 10 Academy Awards
(including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Director); only Wolfgang
himself (and his filmic counterpart, Tom Hulce) seemed to get
overlooked by the Academy. This expanded three-disc set contains
all of Sir Neville Marriner's crisp, accurate readings of the
excerpted Mozart symphonies, concertos, serenades, and operas
(including marvelous portions of The Abduction of Seraglio, Don
Giovanni, and The Magic Flute) used in the film. The success of
Amadeus spurred a long-overdue renaissance of interest in classical
music, and one would be hard-pressed to find a richer, more concise
introduction to the intoxicating music and frustrating bundle
of moral contradictions that was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. – Jerry
McCulley
 The
Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera / A Day
at The Races / Night in Casablanca / Room Service
/ At the Circus / Go West / The Big Store)
List
Price: $59.92 Sale Price: $47.94 You Save $11.98 With Free Shipping!
And
this is my final recommendation for the day. A Marx Brothers Box
set of DVD’s of their 7 greatest movies. You’ll be rolling on the
floor laughing as every one’s a winner!
Amazon
says:
When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection,
you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies
can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The
Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers,
and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between
1929 and 1933 (available in The
Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when über-producer
Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract
in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's
off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office
blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at
the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced
according to the "Tiffany" studio's golden-age formula of glamorous
set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that
smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera
is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom,
the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among
the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's
flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense.
 A
Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ("Get-a your
tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!"), but Thalberg's death in 1937 dealt
a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered from studio indifference,
resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable
even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they
made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were
out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge
racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite
this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros.
(holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job
of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate
the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts
(Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from
the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials
are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with
TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary
on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings
his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge to
bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries
are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes.
With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is
definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. – Jeff Shannon
 Well,
that’s it. Get your Christmas shopping done now. Don’t waste time
in traffic, don’t waste time fighting in that shopping mall for
a parking place; don’t waste hours trying to flag down a store employee
speeding by. You can save your self time, stress and money – and
save on gasoline buying these items through Cool & Strange Music
and you get to support Lew Rockwell.com in the process as LRC gets
a small finders commission. It’s a good deal all around! You save
money, save stress (so you can enjoy yourself) and you save much
more money on retail than you can imagine. And you can do it all
from the comfort of the computer you are looking at right now! Now
I call that some out-of-this world space shopping!
Have
a very Merry Christmas.
November
9, 2005
Mike
(in Tokyo) Rogers [send
him mail] was born and raised in the USA and moved to Japan
in 1984. He has the distinction of being fired from every FM radio
station in Tokyo – one of them three times. His first book, Schizophrenic
in Japan, is now on sale.
Copyright
© 2005 LewRockwell.com
Mike
(in Tokyo) Rogers Archives
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