From the monthly archives:
When friends tell me they are starting a blog they invariably ask me for advice (sometimes not). One piece of advice I have always given is to try to blog every day. That being said, don’t blog if it feels forced or you are emotionally in a thorny place.
Because of that habit, I am confident [...]
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Tim Miller met Alistair McCartney around the same time I met Daniel. The four of us met in Palm Springs in fall 1994. I have always been a big fan of Tim Miller, and it has been thrilling to get to know Alistair. We’re going to a book launch at Highways on April 27 for [...]
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People ask me who my favorite film composer is. These days I say Dario Marianelli and Alexandre Desplat, but if I had to take this question seriously, I’d have to say that John Williams is right there at the top. Too many people try to accuse him of just spitting out Star Wars music over [...]
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Thanks to Richard Garrin for bringing this bizarre find to the blog. You might want to line up a few shots of vodka and sing along.
The Leningrad Cowboys is a Finnish rock and roll band famous for its humorous songs and concerts featuring the Soviet Red Army Choir. Currently, the band has eleven Cowboys [...]
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Taking my cue from my Deans in an effort to avoid burn-out, I planned a 4-day weekend months ago to Lake Tahoe with Daniel. I figured this would be a good weekend to take off. Well, that didn’t really turn out perfectly — you always leave stuff undone, but sometimes I have to just get [...]
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I love how dogs and humans communicate. It’s usually a limited list of things they want: food, play, and affection. In the morning, usually when I write my blog, the dogs will come downstairs to be with me. More precisely, to sit and stare at me to let me know that breakfast time is now. [...]
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In grade school, I took a class from Miss Ding Dong (can’t remember her name) in typing. She didn’t like me very much. My hand-eye coordination was not the greatest in typing (although I was always good at sports) and as a result, I got a “D” for a grade that term. I’m a blazing [...]
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Start blogging Alan, you’ll be a natural. In fact, I’ll volunteer to teach you how.
[Reblogged from LA Observed]
Alan Rich out as Weekly critic
Kevin Roderick
Another local music critic down, not many left to go. Alan Rich, who is at least 83, was let go as classical music critic over lunch with LA Weekly editor Laurie Ochoa, [...]
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Josie introduced me to this composer. There are quite a few different performances you can find on YouTube, this one was especially spirited, but doesn’t allow embedding. The performance below features a nice performance by José Carreras.
Here are the program notes from the YouTube post:
Ariel Ramirez is one of South America’s most prominent composers. His [...]
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Yesterday, composer for The Simpsons, Alf Clausen visited our school and focused on the broadway music that he has featured on that show. I only popped my head in from time to time as my chairmanly duties pulled me away, but the Mancini studio was packed — smelled like a basketball gym in there. Most [...]
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