Musings from the basement...

Spielberg Knows What He’s Doing. You Don’t.

December 10, 2014 0 Comments

Okay, first off, that headline is needless antagonistic. I acknowledge it. Forgive me. I’m listening to punk as I write this. It just seems to fit my mood. Anyway, prompted by Steven Soderbergh’s interesting recasting of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the other day I was daydreaming and my mind wandered to action scenes in films, specifically why some sprawling action set pieces work and some don’t. The Star Wars prequels were at the forefront of my mind at the time, but it led to a train of thought that is relevant to action movies in general. Now keep in mind, I’m a big Star Wars fan, but not one of THOSE Star Wars fans. Saw the original in a shitty little theater as a…
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Films, Geek Stuff

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The power of music is astonishing

December 7, 2014 0 Comments

I love the power of music. Sometimes I’m astonished by it. For a few years now, my son’s favorite song has been Against Me!’s cover of “Here Comes A Regular” by The Replacements. It is, admittedly, a fantastic rendition. Check it out: Thing is, it’s a sad dirge about aging alone in a small, shitty town and finding your only solace in a small, shitty bar. My son is a teenager. He does not live in a small shitty town. He does not drink (and yes, smart guy, I’m sure of it). He is not a weary middle-aged man wondering where his life went. He should not relate to this. But it stirs something in him all the same. He takes his own thing from…
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Music, Random Musings

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Saving Private Ryan on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

June 7, 2014 1 Comment

Watched Saving Private Ryan in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day yesterday. I still remember when I first saw this in the theater. I live in a retirement area with a huge senior population.When we went to see this the theater was full, and it was a sea of white heads in every aisle. My wife and I were some of the only young people there. It was harrowing. That opening sequence, no one had ever done anything like it before. For 20 minutes you’re assaulted with graphic violence and noise and fury that relentlessly pounded your senses. By the end of the sequence, you were out of breath and tired of being battered and just wishing for a break from the sensory overload. The result was that for the rest of the movie,…
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Films, Random Musings

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m2 – we finally made it (2014)

June 2, 2014 0 Comments

I have a big backlog of music right now. Just haven’t had the time or inspiration or whatever to “release” it. Not because I don’t feel like it’s worthy. Hell, I’ve been dying to get some of this out there! I’ve just had stuff going on. Managed to muster up the energy for one here, though. This one is unofficially dedicated to my buddy Cary, a great writer you haven’t heard of yet but will soon enough. Recorded this by accident, listened, liked, refined, and the end result is the longest single piece I’ve ever done. For me, at least, it’s a little bit of audio bliss. Enjoy.   m2 we finally made it 1) We Finally Made It (109:29) all songs (c) Eric San…
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Music, Works by Eric

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Why Nirvana Was Important (To Me)

April 14, 2014 1 Comment

There is a segment of music fandom that say Nirvana is overrated. They’re probably not wrong. The band got catapulted into sainthood on the strength of a small catalog, albeit a pretty great one, and a metric ton of media hype. Their status as deities is perhaps overblown, even if they were briefly great. Still, some among the naysayers also say they don’t get why people connected with Cobain. They say his lyrics were mostly strung together nonsense (true) and his songs were simple rips on Pixies and Beatles melodies (also true). So why the hell did anyone connect with this junkie? For me, I can point to two small music moments that exemplify what it was that bored under my skin. The first was…
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Music, Random Musings

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