Skip to main content

And One Thing Led to Another

Sometimes while I am working, I turn on the TV in the next room for atmosphere. That only works for me if what's on is an old movie—there is something magical and atmospherish about the soundtracks and the dialog. Generally, new ones don't count unless they're absolutely fabulous like The Princess Bride or Joe Versus the Volcano or Silverado. We'll get to that one later.

The other day I was working away, being productive and focused on the job at hand, when I heard a familiar piece coming from the speakers on my television. It was the opening theme to How the West Was Won. Now there is a movie with a soundtrack, a patchwork of American melodies from start to finish. But the theme is the thing, the piece that makes me perk up and hum the horn parts. And does that piece ever have horn parts. It has been one of my favorite band pieces since I first started playing the horn, and it makes me happy.

It makes me so happy, in fact, that I stopped working and got on over to iTunes as quickly as I could to buy the song. 99¢ later, and I had downloaded it into a folder of songs with nice horn parts. The iTunes store displayed a list of famous western themes in case I wanted something else, and normally I would have said "no thank you." I like The Magnificent Seven and Shenandoah but not enough to buy them. It was then that I saw the theme to Silverado. For another 99¢ I could buy one of my favorite movie themes of all time. Silverado was the fun western from the mid 80s, and as star powered as that film is, its theme is horn powered. So, I bought that, too.

That got me thinking. If I could buy movie theme songs, what else could I buy? Could I buy fun horn things I have heard on the radio? Of course I could. Several times in the last few weeks I have heard March of the War Priests performed by Burning River Brass. That makes me happy, so I bought it.

I have also heard Brahms' Academic Festival lately. Besides being lovely to listen to, it's fun to play, and iTunes has several recordings in their listings. I bought one and saved it to the folder with the other stuff. I was on a roll.

My summer band often plays a melodic piece amidst its stampeding pieces, and one of my favorites is Ashokan Farewell. We have a lovely arrangement that gives the horns the melody now and then, and I looked for a recording of that arrangement. I couldn't find it, but I did find one with Jay Unger that is haunting and dreamy. I added that to my new collection, providing some soft contrast to all that brass.

I stopped there, but I won't say I'm finished. I haven't played my horn in a group for a few months because of my orchestra's program this season. The horn section got short changed, but we're on again next month for Pines of Rome. So, I'll buy that next and see where it leads. Buying one song at a time on iTunes is like a stream of consciousness. You let your thoughts float from one subject to the next, from one musical thrill to the next, from one happy song to the next. Who knows where it will lead. I can't wait to find out.

Comments

dive said…
Gosh, with me that would pretty soon lead to a big hole in my bank balance, Robyn.
Good to see you're all fired up and ready for the new horn season.
7:36 AM
Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
Geesh and I thought you were going to write about a date you went on with that title. :))

Anyway, How the west was won was used many many times over by marching bands (when they used to have them) here in the Boston area in the 60's and 70's.
11:30 AM
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said…
That was quite a buying fest then, Robyn! I don't know any of the titles you mentioned but i'm glad you're having fun. I too have the tv on in the background, usually just the news, otherwise i'd stop and watch if it was an old black and white.
1:43 PM
savannah said…
joe versus the volcano!!! omg, sugar, one of my favorites, too!

(watch out for itunes, now you'll get emails filed with temptaton!)
8:45 AM
peahen said…
You're right, Robyn, iTunes is the biz. Putting your entire collection on random play is a great thing, as is buying music so easily.

We're a bit sore over here on this side of the Atlantic, though - 99c is about 50p, but we have to pay 79p per track!!

I can relate to your eagerness to get the season underway! Bring it on!
2:49 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No More Mr. Nice Guy

It's good to be a nice person--to say nice things, to do nice things, to write nice things--but I declare an end to the use of the word nice. Nice is what you say when you can't think of any other adjective. Someone shows you a picture of their back yard--that's nice. Someone tells you about their afternoon adventure--that's nice. Or someone describes their childhood in great detail and sometimes with painstaking effort--that's nice. It's a lazy word, and it's non-descriptive. Nice is like mashed potatoes with noodles and chicken gravy all in a big pile on one plate with some canned corn for garnish. Everything is the same color and texture and base substance--starch (this is a favorite Amish dish). Nice is like a partly cloudy day in April when outside feels like inside, and you can't tell a difference between the lighting and the temperature of your living room and the lighting and temperature of your front yard. Nice is a glass of lukewarm water. ...
20 comments
Read more

An Offending Pile

So, I'm standing in my living room letting my mind wander for a minute or two as I stare out the window and watch the day go by, and I see my neighbors walking their dogs down the street. They are nice neighbors who are always friendly and responsible with their property. That is to say they aren't like the other neighbors who heap rubbish behind their house like Ma and Pa Kettle and let their dogs bark for thirty minutes at a time . Anyway, I see the nice people walking their dogs, a big golden retriever who is as sweet as can be and as dumb as a post—he once ate a sock and nearly died before it was surgically removed—and a new golden retriever puppy. Then I see Neighbor Wife suddenly run down the street with the big dog. Then I see Neighbor Husband stopped in front of my house with the puppy on its leash. And then I see the puppy taking a huge dump in my grass. Let me tell you, that is not done in this town unless the dog owner has a plastic bag handy and is ready to pick up ...
16 comments
Read more

Am I Stupid, or What?

In two weeks, I will climb up into a charter bus, take my assigned seat, and ride 22 hours straight to Orlando, Florida. I will be a chaperon with the high school marching band, which will perform at Disney's Magic Kingdom--me and 180 people on four big buses for seven days. We will travel together, eat together, play together, fall down exhausted together--and after 22 hours, I suspect stink to high heaven together. Because of the crazy schedule, we will leave Ohio at 6 pm, travel all night and most of the next day, and spend several hours at MGM Studios before ending up at the hotel sometime after 7 pm. After I check in with the eight girls I am to supervise, I intend to shower and shower and shower. I intend to wear clean clothes and socks and brush my teeth until my toothbrush wears out. Of all the things I could be concerned about on this trip, being dirty seems to weigh heaviest on my mind. One of my eight charges could run off and do bad things with her boyfriend, but I'...
21 comments
Read more