this song will forever bring a smile to my face. If it's raining outside, when I just found out I've got $6.43 to my name, if I have had the worst, most stressful day at work; if this song comes on the radio as I'm flippin through the stations, tish will be smiling in her car and listening contently.
I feel I ave had heard this song in on of the most unique ways in the world, and this was shared with about 3 or 4 other people currently in the US. It was in Tornareccio, Abruzzo, Italy, a tiny lil town in the mountains on the Adriatic side of Italia. One night in town, one of the local boys were having their sweet sixteen or whatever the Italian equivalent is, so he had a huge birthday party. The family hired a band to play, and we - collective Brits and Americans - being the usual excitement of the summer cos of our field school, were invited. During the course of the evening the band saw us grooving to the music, mostly some old standards, and they invited up anyone who could sing...My Irish buddy Chris, who has his own band (strongly influenced by John Fruciante and the like) went up and he sung this song. It was chosen out of the songbook the band had, and shouldn't every band everywhere know how to play it anyway? So yeah, I heard "Sweet Home Alabama" sung by an Irishman, being backed up by an amatuer small town Italian band, while in Italy. I find that interesting anyway. Hearing the song immediatly transports me back to my 2 magical wonderful summers in Italy.
But, about the song...it is sung by what I, in my earlier years, thought were southern redneck hilbillies. But since I started listening to them, adn the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, I gained a lot of respect for them, Lynyrd Skynyrd's awesome!! The greatest hits album is definately on my "to get" list.
29 August 2006
19 August 2006
The Children's Hour (1961)
so I think this won't be so random anymore, it's actually harder to be random than focused on something. I'm thinking the big m's: movies and music (and books). Now then, I saw The Children's Hour this morning on TMC - the star for today is Audrey Hepburn, I could've well spent the whole day in bed without turning the channel if I was so inclined (well, except for My Fair Lady, I just cant do it).
The Children's Hour is from 1961, starring Hepburn, and Shirley MacLaine (Warren Beatty's sis right?), a pretty cute young James Garner, and the other person of note Fay Bainter. I caught the very end of this one morning and was reminded 'thats that movie they had on vh1 talking about portrayals of lesbians.' It's the story of how this evil lil girl starts a rumor that her two teachers at boarding school are "unnatural" in their feelings for each other and ends up ruining, or ending, their lives.
It was a great movie, especially watching it in our time now, it becomes one of those films that is ironically not outdated. It's from a play in the 1930s? so you'd think people would've come along a bit further in the way we treat one another and such, but no, I think that could still happen in a lot of parts in the world today. And the lady that played the granny! Fay Bainter - I said to myself while I was watching it, jeez did she win for best supporting actress? Turns out she was nominated, but she was nominated during the year of West Side Story, HA! Needless to say, Rita Moreno won, and rightly so, you can't take away Anita's oscar. Man, that must've been a toss up tho. Anyhoo - granny's performance was great. She was so good at getting across the feelings of confusion of her grandchild describing the rampant lesbianism that was supposedly going on, and anger that two lesbians were loving with and having daily contact with hers and other little impressionable girls. She's actually the initiating factor in the movie that made me think about the audience, and other characters perception of the two women. Her face just illustrated all those conflicting emotions and denial and acceptance all in the space of time of about 2 minutes on screen when the evil girl was making up her story.
The other neat thing I noticed - how the director used the screen door of the school house. As the movie went on it became more and more of a barrier between the lives of Hepburn and McClaine and the outside world. First, James Garner only hesitates for a second before he swings it open like he would normally do and starts to munch on food around. Then the screen gains its weight right at the point when on of the parents is standing outside, talking to Hepburn, but we are inside looking out with MacLaine through the door, and just so you know how much sh*t has gone down and how bad things are gonna get - we and MacLaine can't even hear anything, even tho the other two are about 10 feet away, and its a simple see-through screen door! wowsers! Then, the door has its greatest weight when granny finally knows that her child lied and she comes to apologize. The camera just sits on her face through the door again before she asks can she come into the house. But, finally the weight is lifted from the door when the 'problem' is gone - the lesbian kills herself, and Hepburn can free swing the door open again, go fig.
The Children's Hour is from 1961, starring Hepburn, and Shirley MacLaine (Warren Beatty's sis right?), a pretty cute young James Garner, and the other person of note Fay Bainter. I caught the very end of this one morning and was reminded 'thats that movie they had on vh1 talking about portrayals of lesbians.' It's the story of how this evil lil girl starts a rumor that her two teachers at boarding school are "unnatural" in their feelings for each other and ends up ruining, or ending, their lives.
It was a great movie, especially watching it in our time now, it becomes one of those films that is ironically not outdated. It's from a play in the 1930s? so you'd think people would've come along a bit further in the way we treat one another and such, but no, I think that could still happen in a lot of parts in the world today. And the lady that played the granny! Fay Bainter - I said to myself while I was watching it, jeez did she win for best supporting actress? Turns out she was nominated, but she was nominated during the year of West Side Story, HA! Needless to say, Rita Moreno won, and rightly so, you can't take away Anita's oscar. Man, that must've been a toss up tho. Anyhoo - granny's performance was great. She was so good at getting across the feelings of confusion of her grandchild describing the rampant lesbianism that was supposedly going on, and anger that two lesbians were loving with and having daily contact with hers and other little impressionable girls. She's actually the initiating factor in the movie that made me think about the audience, and other characters perception of the two women. Her face just illustrated all those conflicting emotions and denial and acceptance all in the space of time of about 2 minutes on screen when the evil girl was making up her story.
The other neat thing I noticed - how the director used the screen door of the school house. As the movie went on it became more and more of a barrier between the lives of Hepburn and McClaine and the outside world. First, James Garner only hesitates for a second before he swings it open like he would normally do and starts to munch on food around. Then the screen gains its weight right at the point when on of the parents is standing outside, talking to Hepburn, but we are inside looking out with MacLaine through the door, and just so you know how much sh*t has gone down and how bad things are gonna get - we and MacLaine can't even hear anything, even tho the other two are about 10 feet away, and its a simple see-through screen door! wowsers! Then, the door has its greatest weight when granny finally knows that her child lied and she comes to apologize. The camera just sits on her face through the door again before she asks can she come into the house. But, finally the weight is lifted from the door when the 'problem' is gone - the lesbian kills herself, and Hepburn can free swing the door open again, go fig.
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