I have belonged to two fan clubs in my lifetime. In the late 1970s, I joined the Muppet Show fan club. In the early 1990s, I became an official MSTie.
An appreciation for Mystery Science Theater 3000 requires an appreciation of bad movies. Really, really bad movies. Especially watching bad movies with friends and making wisecracks. Because that's what Mystery Science Theater 3000 is: watching bad movies with three friends, listening to their wisecracks.
Now that my schedule has freed up a bit, I have time to get to all those classic movies clogging up my DVR. I have time to get to all those films in my Netflix queue. Instead, I have been rewatching MST3K episodes. So if I am going to start writing again, I figure: why not review what I am watching? So I have added a new label to my blog: MST3K.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Thank you, Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Thank you, John Williams.
My hometown is Springfield, Ohio. One of the best things about living here is the Summer Arts Festival. This is six weeks of free stage performances in the park.
Last Sunday was the summer performance of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. This was a performance of John Williams music. I attended the first attempt to do this concert five years ago. Due to threatening weather, five years ago was, as the conductor put it, the Readers Digest version of the concert. This week was the unabridged version.
One piece performed this week was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Seeing and hearing it performed live is to truly appreciate the genius of Williams. The first few minutes of the piece is a series of quiet atonal sounds with unique instrumentation which slowly builds and builds. It isn't until halfway through that the more familiar sounds that everyone remembers from the movies.
The sound is unsettling. It captures the unease and confusion of the characters in the movie. It is brilliant. While I enjoyed the whole concert, that piece was what I will treasure for years. Any chance anyone has to see Close Encounters live? Take it.
Last Sunday was the summer performance of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. This was a performance of John Williams music. I attended the first attempt to do this concert five years ago. Due to threatening weather, five years ago was, as the conductor put it, the Readers Digest version of the concert. This week was the unabridged version.
One piece performed this week was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Seeing and hearing it performed live is to truly appreciate the genius of Williams. The first few minutes of the piece is a series of quiet atonal sounds with unique instrumentation which slowly builds and builds. It isn't until halfway through that the more familiar sounds that everyone remembers from the movies.
The sound is unsettling. It captures the unease and confusion of the characters in the movie. It is brilliant. While I enjoyed the whole concert, that piece was what I will treasure for years. Any chance anyone has to see Close Encounters live? Take it.
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