happy tunesday! changing rainbows (the marc whinston project)

  

Continuing with the tracks from my album, track number seven is "Changing Rainbows."

For reference, previous entries in this series were:

• about the album as a whole;
• about track 1;
• about track 2;
• about track 3;
• about track 4;
• about track 5;
• about track 6;

This song was actually my third attempt to use the title for a song. I don't remember the context, but I heard the phrase "changing rainbows" when I was in high school, and thought it would make a good song title.

My first try was a self-conscious attempt at a rewrite of Paul Simon's "59th Street Bridge Song" (often incorrectly referred to as "Feelin' Groovy." It was pretty awful. I won't cite the lyrics, though I do recall the entire first verse.

The second try was a bit better (low bar). Or, I should say it showed more promise since I never finished it. It was written from the perspective of a man asking a woman for a relationship. It kind of created the metaphor of relationships as rainbows. "You're always changing rainbows. / That's how it seems to be. / So try out the rainbow / That's me." It could have worked, though I am glad I never finished it. The album have plenty of songs that are based on a variation of "please love me (or care about me) as much as I love (or care about) you." It's good to have a different subject.

This, the third try, was just about relaxing with the rain. I have fond memories of rainy days at summer camp, where there wasn't much to do but hang out on the bunk's covered porch and watch the rain. As an adult, one of the things I wish my house had is a covered porch. When it's raining, I think about how nice it would be to just hang out on that porch and read.

This was the first recording that Toby Wilson made for me. I emailed him a lyric sheet with a message that we should talk. He naturally assumed that I needed a melody, and emailed back with some thoughts. So I had to clear up that I had a melody and just needed his services to record. If I had it to do again, I might have gone for a little more twangy guitar instead of the mandolin. But I still love the way it came out.

Enjoy.

"Changing Rainbows"
Song by: Marc Whinston
Lead vocal by Toby Wilson
All instruments and backing vocals by Toby Wilson
Arranged and Produced by Toby Wilson for Tobias Wilson Music, Ltd.

cinema history class: the menu (2022)

The session: "Bring Your Own Movie Month"

Our annual session in which each of us in the class takes a turn sharing a movie of his choice.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: The Menu (2022)
Directed by Mark Mylod

My Impressions Going In:
Since I chose this movie for our annual BYOM, you might infer that I love this movie. You'd be right. More below.

Plot:

Diners assemble at a ritzy restaurant on a private island for a high-priced, high status meal. Little do they know that the chef /restauranteur has...special...plans for the night.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

I was a bit apprehensive about bringing The Menu. It's unusual for us to screen any movie made after 1980, and this is a 2022 film. As such, it was shot with a more contemporary style, which I wasn't sure would go over well with the guys -- other than Ethan I'm the youngest in the room. In addition, there was some CGI, which the guys aren't inclined to like. Fortunately, there's not a lot of CGI there.

At any rate, I chose to bring The Menu because it stuck with me. I saw it last fall with Ethan and a friend. And the next day I a\was still thinking about it. Mulling it over in my head. For comparison purposes, we saw M3gan about the same time. I enjoyed it. And then when it was over I stopped thinking about it. The Menu is relatively original; I had no sense of having seen the story before. Until the end, I constantly wondering where it was going.

The film is a study of celebrity culture and cults in the age of social media. Ralph Fiennes' character, Chef, reached has reached the pinnacle of his chosen career. His staff venerates him. His restaurant is an experience that celebrities and rich people can check off their lists. But he no longer experiences any joy in cooking.

And the guys all enjoyed it, which was a bit of a relief. I still recall the great Scott Pilgrim debacle of two years ago.

Ratings

Bob-O: 10
Christina: 9.7
Dave: 9.6
Ethan: 9.5
Keith: 9.8 

cinema history class: the flesh and the fiends (1960)

The session: "Ten-Year Anniversary Celebration"

The four of us who have been in the class since the beginning (or nearly so) each pick a favorite to revisit

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)
                    (Ethan's pick)
Directed by John Gilling

My Impressions Going In:

I remembered seeing it, and I am otherwise more or less familiar with the story of Burke and Hare. But I didn;t really remember much detail about this movie.

Plot:

William Burke and William Hare get paid to provide corpses to Dr. Robert Knox. Knox, in turn, is using the corpses to teach medical school.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

This was a pleasant surprise. Since we originally saw this years ago, I had forgotten how clever the dialogue is. It was also fun to contemplate who got off worse -- Burke who was executed by hanging,  or Hare who faced the wrath of an angry mob. This was, all around, a fun movie to watch -- and I hadn't remembered that fact.

Ratings

Oops. I forget what Bob-O rated this. I think he gave it a 9-point-something.

cinema history class: theatre of blood (1973)

The session: "Ten-Year Anniversary Celebration"

The four of us who have been in the class since the beginning (or nearly so) each pick a favorite to revisit

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: Theatre of Blood (1973)
                    (Dave's pick)
Directed by Douglass Hickox

My Impressions Going In:

I remember this well, since we saw it just fourteen months ago.

Plot:

Stung by the bad reviews he's gotten, a Shakespearian actor takes elaborate revenge on the critics.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Despite the overall sentiment in the class, I am not a huge Vincent Price fan. He acts campy more than I'd like. But this is probably my favorite Vincent Price film (which is not to say that I've seen them all -- or even most of them).

Many of Price's movies are gothic horrors, set in castles and filmed in the late 1950's through the 1960s. And I'm just not into the feel of those movies. ToB was different. It was set and filmed in 1970s London, telling a story that was contemporary when the movie was made. So, instead of a prince or king from the 1700's, Price is playing a modern man in a modern city. It had that gritty 1970s feel that I've come to love so well, and...well, I just enjoyed it. Price's performance was as campy as ever, but somehow it fit in this movie.

As Ethan noted, ToB played like a gialo, although it's worth noting that there really wasn't any mystery. I seem to recall that giali usually leave the audience in the dark until the end. In this, the audience knows what's going on, and the thrill is in seeing the characters figure it out. And it's played with lots of humor. It wasn't subtle, but it was fun.

As a side note, Keith told us that the working title was Much Ado About Murder. I like that better than the actual title.

Ratings

Because we all saw this a year or so ago, we decided not to rerate it. That includes Bob-O who was in the class by the time Keith showed it to us. But he missed this session anyway. Feel better, Bob-O!

cinema history class: cannibal holocaust (1980)

The session: "Ten-Year Anniversary Celebration"
The four of us who have been in the class since the beginning (or nearly so) each pick a favorite to revisit

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
                    (my pick)
Directed by Rugerro Deodato

My Impressions Going In:

I have vivid memories of this movie from our 2017 screening of this film. This time I knew exactly what to expect. But, since it was my pick, that makes sense.

Plot:

After a crew of documentarians disappears in the Amazon rainforest, an anthropologist goes in search of clues. And what he finds makes his skin crawl.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

We first saw CH in 2017 when Scott (who has since left the class) chose it for Bring Your Own Movie Month. At the time, I found it deeply disturbing. Its graphic depiction of violence and cruelty was well beyond what I was used to seeing. It says something that director, Rugerro Deodato, was arrested for the murder of his cast, and only acquitted when he was able to produce them, still alive, for the courts.

But that doesn't explain why I chose the film as the one I want to revisit.

I wanted to bring a movie that I considered to be a legitimately great film. Cannibal Holocaust can be criticized for its disturbing nature -- and I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everybody. But it accomplished what it set out to do, and in that sense it's a great movie.

I also wanted something that was unique. To explain, let me cite Burnt Offerings, which we saw in 2019. Everyone in the room gave it a 10, and we agreed that it was a great movie. But when it comes down to it, it was just another haunted house movie. CH was something more. It was groundbreaking, essentially inventing the found footage genre.*

Finally, I wanted to bring in a film that spoke to me. Freaks from 1932 (the first movie Keith showed us) was a great movie and it was groundbreaking. But it didn't speak to me the say CH did. CH, made in 1980, has the style that I grew up with and grew comfortable with. So I can immediately warm up to it in a way that I can't warm up to movies -- even great movies -- from other eras.

It's important to note that I didn't immediately love CH. The first time we saw it it grossed me out. I recognized its greatness (even gave it a perfect 10) while still being disturbed by it and wanting a shower. But I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards. And I revisited it. I'd watch the trailer, and assorted clips. I read about the production. I found the complete film on the interwebs. I even watched it with Sharon on a Saturday morning during the pandemic -- when we couldn't have our usual Saturday breakfast at a diner. And, as much as I find it disturbing, I adore this film.

When I think back on the ten years in Keith's basement and the hundreds of movies we've seen, and try to focus on movies that stood out and that stuck with me, there really wasn't any choice that came close to Cannibal Holocaust.

Ratings

Because we all saw this years ago, we decided not to rerate it. Since Bob-O wasn't around when Keith first showed it to us, he gets to rate it now.

Bob-O: 6.5

________________________________

*As a side note, during this past semester, the professor in Sharon's 2-D design class asked if anyone had seen or heard of CH. Sharon was the only one who had, The professor asked her what it's famous for, stylistically. She said that it's known for its early use of found footage.