|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 18, 2021 11:56:10 GMT -5
R. I. P. Dave Frishberg. Unquestionably best known for composing "I'm Just a Bill" for Schoolhouse Rock, Frishberg was an accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist who released at least 19 albums along with extensive side-work and writing credits. He taught us how the legislative process is supposed to work. And almost never actually does.
|
|
|
Post by Rob Allen on Nov 18, 2021 12:09:48 GMT -5
Frishberg wrote brilliant lyrics. RIP Dave.
|
|
|
Post by Mister Spaceman on Nov 19, 2021 10:43:52 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 23, 2021 16:30:02 GMT -5
RIP to poet Robert Bly, whose Iron John and similar books about men and lost masculinity led groups of men to go out in the woods, strip down, and beat on drums. However, he was a tireless crusader for poetry, even if it wasn't the punchline of jokes.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Nov 23, 2021 18:23:27 GMT -5
Wow, I was aware of him but didn't realise he was responsible for all these famous album covers. Some great ones there. I especially like Queen II, the Syd Barrett Madcap Laughs, the Bowie + Twiggy Pin-Ups, and the Lou Reed Transformer. Great albums musically and covers to match.
|
|
|
Post by Calidore on Nov 26, 2021 21:18:07 GMT -5
Legendary lyricist/composer Stephen Sondheim has died at 91. Another who would have passed too young at any age.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Nov 26, 2021 21:38:57 GMT -5
I could post a score of Sondheim songs that well up in my memory when I think of him, but I always return to this one, and in particular, to his "version" of it.
It's from an early, rarely produced show, "Anyone Can Whistle," that closed after about a week. Within the score was this true gem. I love it for its simplicity, its yearning, its poignancy, for its narrator, who can do so much except the one thing he'd love to be able to do, something so simple that apparently everyone else can do it.
Sondheim really couldn't sing, but occasionally, he would, and this performance, probably done just to give others the gist of the song, is essentially an embodiment of the emotional crux of the song, in which form and content merge beautifully as the artist, an imperfect instrument, tries his best to reach the heights of the feeling he attempts to create in his words and music.
Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin also do worthy versions, but to me there is so much of the wounded, damaged Sondheim in the song (his childhood was straight out of Dickens) that it is his version that comes to mind first.
End of puffery and musing. Sorry.
An irreplaceable loss.
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,388
Member is Online
|
Post by shaxper on Nov 27, 2021 10:14:36 GMT -5
It's from an early, rarely produced show, "Anyone Can Whistle," that closed after about a week. Amazing how many poignant gems by Sondheim were commercial flops. For me, I'll always be obsessed with Merrily We Roll Along, which survived for sixteen performances. Anyway, thanks for the feels. A true legend has passed.
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Nov 27, 2021 11:40:57 GMT -5
It's from an early, rarely produced show, "Anyone Can Whistle," that closed after about a week. Amazing how many poignant gems by Sondheim were commercial flops. For me, I'll always be obsessed with Merrily We Roll Along, which survived for sixteen performances. Anyway, thanks for the feels. A true legend has passed. I think that was more due to Hal Prince's problematic direction and casting than the play itself. Which has found success in revivals. Follies is another play that was later successful.
|
|
|
Post by foxley on Nov 30, 2021 5:36:17 GMT -5
Indigenous Australian actor David Gulpilil (a.k.a. David Dalaithngu) has died of lung cancer at the age of 67. Probably best known to overseas audiences as Mick Dundee's Aboriginal mate Neville in Crocodile Dundee: the one who delivers the 'lens cap' joke. However, his filmography could double as a list of great Australian movies: Walkabout (his screen debut in 1971), Storm Boy (both the 1976 original and the 2018 remake), The Last Wave, The Tracker, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Proposition, Ten Canoes, Australia (okay, so they're not all cinematic masterpieces), Charlie's Country, Goldstone.... Perhaps most remarkably, Gulpilil was raised in the bush and never went to school. He learned the English language solely by listening. Australian cinema has lost a genuine talent. R.I.P.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2021 19:20:51 GMT -5
aww man. the Big Ragu has gone to the great pizza bowl in the sky
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 2, 2021 23:42:47 GMT -5
aww man. the Big Ragu has gone to the great pizza bowl in the sky
You know I go from ashes to ashes........ Always liked his work. Sad to think; but, that only leaves Cindy Williams and Michael McKean from the principal cast.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 8, 2021 17:38:01 GMT -5
R. I. P. Barry Harris. Harris was a great jazz pianist who produced a couple dozen albums as a leader. And as a sideman played with some of the greats of jazz, including Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, and Illinois Jaquet. Harris played piano on Lee Morgan's album "The Sidewinder" which is one of the essential jazz albums of all time.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2021 12:47:27 GMT -5
RIP to the amazing fantasy artist Chris Achilléos. He was 74. Chis was a staple in the fantasy art field for decades. Comic fans probably know him best for his covers to Heavy Metal, but his oeuvre is vast. -M
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Dec 10, 2021 12:54:32 GMT -5
Another great artist gone. I have quite a few of Achilleos art books. Became a fan back in the early 80's with a calendar I bought. From there I was on the look out for his artistry. The years are slowly taking away all my favorite creators. Glad to know and admire their creativity through my collections where they will live forever in my heart.
|
|