Let’s Turn Out the Lights and Go To Sleep

Note:  Tonight’s header is also the title of Rudy Vallee’s Theme song.  It was written by Herman Hupfeld, who also composed the signature song from the film Casablanca, “As Time Goes By.”

My children will not go to sleep at night.  They find excuses to stay awake that drive my wife and I up a wall.  The twins, in particular, are just one continues hamster wheel of insomniatic behavior.  They torture each other, they sing, they play games, they even pretend to pack to go to Grandma’s house.  Since they sleep in the same room, while it keeps them from torturing the baby (the teenager – of course – is going to eschew sleep at every chance anyway), it also keeps them in independent, trouble-making isolation.

I was relating this to my sister on the phone this morning via the neurotic parent guilt syndrome (“What am I doing wrong?  They’re going to grow up to be narcissistic, drug-trafficking, bank robbers, I just know it.”) when she pointed out the fact that we used to stay up together all the time.  We were in seperate bedrooms, divided by a hollow wall, which was a natural amplifier for all sorts of conversation and entertainment.  A good deal of this behavior revolved around music.  I have a distinct memory, in fact, of staying up until all hours with her turning the kid’s ditty “The Littlest Worm I Ever Saw” into a ballad with well over 50 verses, somewhere around the time I was in the 5th grade.

In fact, as a teenager (before the vampiric phase set in) I stayed up one night with her, she fell asleep, and then I read E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime in one sitting.  By the way, Ragtime made a fantastic movie.  The cast was stellar, and I remember going to see it in 1981, with my parents (and when I was just old enough to see an R-rated film).  Jimmy Cagney had a cameo.  My father was ecstatic.  But, for me, the key to Ragtime was the score.  It was as if Randy Newman was alive in 1911 and new exactly what people were listening to.  The score to the broadway musical is certainly a monumental one, but it tries to marry modern Broadway convention with the lilt and schmalz of the early 20th century.  Newman hit his right on the head.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain – my sister and I were creative, and creatively busy until we fell asleep.  But, from my parental throne, this is an ill omen.  Our antics as kids lasted a long time – well into adulthood, in fact.  About 14 years ago, right after my father passed away, my mother took us on a trip to Las Vegas for the Christmas holiday (my father had absolutely no desire to go there).  I was in the midst of almost divorcing my now ex-wife for the first time (you should always listen to your inner voice), so it was just the three of us.  And my sister and I came to a monumental, if not obvious, conclusion – after several cocktails overlooking the fountains at the Bellagio.  Resort casino development and marketing is all theme-based (oh, wow, is that Mensa on the phone?).  And what Vegas needed was a Swedish-themed casino.  And that meant a Swedish theme song (by now we were sitting up in my hotel room at 1 AM).  And what was that?  Here’s the tune, you can sing along if you’d like:

“You can play…

You can win…

Come let the magic begin…

See the shows…

Eat at the smorgasbord…

Visit the Svendefjord…”

No, I’m not kidding.  And it still works.  In their bedroom down the hall, our 6-year-old twins are now fast asleep!

Current events soundtracks:

Avast, ye scurvy dog, there are pirates afloat in Europe.  Stealing ships carrying lumber, a fair booty that will fetch – OK, OK, well maybe piracy is not what it used to be.

Tonight is another shot at catching the Perseid Meteor Shower.  Last night for background music I suggested either Jupiter, from The Planets, by Holst, or Heaven and Hell (theme from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos mini-series) by Vangelis.  Tonight, I recommend the Theme to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  Good stuff.

The US Federal Reserve Board (which never speaks with much clarity) is sending relatively clear signals that they think the recession is over.  That version of Happy Days are Here Again is probably the most famous recorded, by the Ben Selvin Orchestra, one of the great bands of the jazz/pre-swing era.

Soundtracks for this day in history:

In 30 BC, Cleopatra (who didn’t remotely look like Elizabeth Taylor) committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by a poisonous snake.  And here is the perfect song for an iconic, stereotypical legend from the dawn of civilization.  Important tip:  Never make the mummified angry (another great score by the late Jerry Goldsmith).

In 1833, the city of Chicago was founded, and they managed to burn the whole thing down less than 40 years later.  Of course, here’s where I could go for Chicago the group, or Chicago the musical, or the soundtrack to In Old Chicago (a 1937 film that chronicles the great fire of 1871).  But, nope.  Here is the song Chicago, Chicago, as sung by Frank Sinatra (and I got all the way to my third post before I got some Sinatra in here).

In 1981, IBM released its first personal computer.  Shall we play a game?

Birthday Soundtracks:

Heinrich Biber (1644), a Baroque German composer of some note. 

Cecil B. DeMille (1881),  one of the greatest directors in the history of film.  Here is the opening theme of The 10 Commandments, by Elmer Bernstein.  I think Bernstein did his best work in the 1950’s and 60’s, scoring  – in addition to The 10 Commandments – The Magnificent Seven, Hawaii, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, just to name a few.  He continued scoring up through 2002, and he died in 2004.

Jane Wyatt (1910) was best known for her role in the television drama “Father Knows Best.”  She also played Spock’s human mom in the original Star Trek series.

Perennial country music favorite and Hee-Haw co-star Buck Owens (1929).  Here is one of his best songs, Together Again.

Mark Knopfler (1949), guitarist and lead singer for the band, Dire Straits.  He’d like to celebrate by Twisting by the Pool.

Pat Metheny (1954) may very well be the world’s greatest studio guitarist, and was a pioneer in both jazz fusion and new age recording.  You’ll enjoy this.

Ruh roh!  Actress Grey DeLisle (the voice of Daphne on the newer batch of Scooby Doo cartoons).  Happy Birthday, Grey!

Passing Anniversary Soundtracks:

Giovanni Gabrieli (1612) the Italian pre-Boroque composer who excelled in exalted, regal liturgical music.  This is his Canzon Duodecimi Toni.

Jacopo Peri (1633), a contemporary of Gabrieli’s, specialized in vocal music.

Anna Held (1918) was Flo Ziegfeld’s first wife, and a singer of some reknown.  Her hits included I Don’t Want to Play in Your Yard, Every Little Movement Has a Meaning All It’s Own, and I Just Can’t Make Eyes Behave.  Unfortunately, recordings of Anna Held are extremely rare, so this is actress Barbara Parkins playing the role of Ms. Held on stage.

Leos Janacek (1928) was the most influential Czech composer of the 20th century.  This Sinfonietta is a strong example of the disjointed, discordant structure that was a feature of post-impressionism, combined with the folk influences of his Czech culture.

Ian Fleming (1964) was the author creator of James Bond, and wrote 14 novels about his exploits – all of which have been made into films.  Here is Moonraker, composed by John Barry and sung by Shirley Bassey.  Barry is incredibly adept at tugging at your heart strings with even a score to a spy movie.  These Bond songs made Bassey’s career.  And Ian Fleming had one other novel of note, for kids – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  180 degrees from Goldfinger, isn’t it!

Henry Fonda (1982) made watching movies so easy, because you didn’t think he was acting – he was just simply going about his life and letting you in on it.  Dave Grusin’s score for Fonda’s last film, On Golden Pond, really conveys that well.

John Cage (1992) was an icon of the post-modern and minimalist movements in 20th century music.  He was known, in particular, for compositions that required what he called a “prepared piano” – a piano that had been altered from its standard construction.  This is his Bacchanale for Prepared Piano.

And – finally – Merv Griffin (2007) for one reason and one reason only.  He wrote this.

More notes on notes tomorrow.