The Doctor

Yeah, Siren, I hear you! Motorcycles are right out! We should go for a really hot convertible, yeah?

Openly defying my ass-hat of a manager.

Would Freud have a heyday with this?!

Augh! Damn that poison ivy!

Something tells me that the Boy Scouts would be falling over one another to have you as a Den Mother... :)

Imagine what the Pinewood Derby would turn into with all the bat-gadgets to be employed?

hen's teeth

Nicely put, Joshua. I and my bride enjoyed it immensely, and the time passed all too swiftly. :)

You hit the nail on the head, Maria. These patterns are top notch and incredibly accurate. It's a testament to Kass' painstaking research. :)

I tried to talk my wife into having calamari for an appetizer the day after we saw PotC2. She just shuddered and remarked that she just couldn't bring herself to eat Davy Jones' beard.

Drat. I'm drunk enough that I could use a bit of advice....

Hmmm... OK, given that the Kraken predates the Flying Spaghetti Monster by 2000 years, and that the FSM has no suckers on it's "tentacles", it's an unaquivocable no.

You mean he stole that too? Is anything good in there not borrowed? Look, composers steal from composers. As long as a composer steals from a good composer who's long dead, what's the harm? People get the "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor" auditory reference without knowing it. They see a really big pipe organ, and a villanous character playing it, so you get this "Phantom of the Opera" vibe, yeah? It's not a rip-off, per se. It's a Dennis Miller-esqe musical oblique reference to deep public consciousness tweak that says "Ooooh, this guy's off his nut with anger!" Yeah, it's a circuitous route, but it works!

Is that a new puzzle, or a bit of advice?

Throughout musical history, the toccata has been a powerul expression of musical agony and angst. For Zimmer to have drawn upon J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor shows his understanding of the public's musical savvy. It's visceral. Almost animal in it's nature. They hear these sounds emitted from a mighty organ, and their blood runs cold. They see Davy Jones' anguish as he plays; his hurt, and his desperation to feel anything but agony, and his hatred for anyone who can feel what he can't. Zimmer nailed it. :)

The question has been posed; "How do you write a theme for a monster like the Kraken?" Exactly as Zimmer did it. Write music to decribe the ominous feelings about the monster, and the chaotic nature of it's attacks. Write about what it can do, not so much about what it is. That's more palpable to the audience, and will elicit a more visceral responce. "If you want to make me feel the panic and horror of this monster's attack, don't describe the monster. Give me only a passing description of the thing, and play it up as a monster. Describe the attack, and it's effect on the crew!" Zimmer did this in spades.

Yeah, I'd have to admit to being a member of the "GILF" club...

Well, that tosses Helen what's-her-name out the window. I've got me a new favourite Supergirl!

Yeah, I know about Ian's new work... I've hired him on! I'll be looking for the charismatic Scotsman. There be more than a few kegs what need draining!

So 'tis the legacy of music; borrowed, built upon, copied, incorporated, covered, stolen, reimagined, blended, stripped, ripped, and paid homáge to. Creativity is filtched and repackaged every day, usually without benefit to the creator.

I took Two Hornpipes as a nod to the old Western flick, when the piano player would strike a cheery tune when the barfight breaks out, as if a lightheated ditty will somehow calm the combatants. One of the things I found really enjoyably funny about the Tortuga barfight was Jack roaming about the place looking for a replacement hat, all the while being narrowly missed by flung drinks, bodies, furniture, etc. Much like Cyrano Jones in "The Trouble With Tribbles".

I'll take Kendra up on her challenge... "Stripes"

Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo

Excellent point! I can spot a John Williams, or Jerry Goldsmith, or Danny Elfman score a phrase or two into a song. Composers have fingerprints, and always will. So did Copeland, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Ralph Vaughn Williams, etc. And does anyone find the requiem tone of "Hello Beastie" a bit hard to listen too?

As for the trial and tribulations of loving a pyrate, you'll have to ask my wife. The fact that we'll be renewing our vows after 15 years at the MN Renaissance Festival this Sept. 17th (only time we could get our friend [aka Ian MacFarlane] to perform the ceremony) means I can't have been that much of a bastard...