Media Analyses… The Overlooked Brilliance of Femina Ridens (1969) 9 Feb 202010 Feb 2020 I'll just come right out with it; Femina Ridens is an absolute masterpiece. Not merely a magnum opus among soft-core erotica, or of Euro-exploitation movies, or of Italian "sleaze," nor…
Media Analyses… Disney Star Wars' Problems Began with The Force Awakens (& I Called it in '15) 5 Jan 20205 Jan 2020 I have been skeptical of Disney's acquisition of Star Wars ever since they jettisoned the EU and hired JJ Abrams as director for the first installment. I discussed this, and…
Media Analyses How Casablanca Builds Up Rick Blaine to the Audience 4 Jan 20204 Jan 2020 You know a movie is great when it's not just the "big scenes" but the little ones which gives the audience something to think about. This is the first time…
Media Analyses The Godfather Part II is the Most Profound Story Ever Told (2/2) 29 Dec 2019 [You'll have to forgive all the shuffling around and editing in real time that's happened to this post. It grew so large to where I needed to divide it in…
Media Analyses The Godfather Part II is the Most Profound Story Ever Told (1/2) 29 Dec 201929 Dec 2019 [You'll have to forgive all the shuffling around and editing in real time that's happened to this post. It grew so large to where I needed to divide it in…
Media Analyses… Beautiful Christmas Fantasy 15 Dec 201915 Dec 2019 Off-off Broadway is far from the best Louis Theroux film, but still a great watch. If you click the video, it begins at Louis' strained audition for a role in…
Media Analyses Thoughts on Brian Wilson Solo Material 8 Dec 20198 Dec 2019 I always had this idyllic picture of Brian's solo career before I started delving in. I imagined that surely, these must be great works of art that he'd always wanted…
Media Analyses SMiLE (Appendix) Sources for Further Reading 24 Nov 20198 Dec 2019 I hope you enjoyed my "thesis" on SMiLE, 4 years in the making if we start from '15 when the first essays which would go on to become part of…
Media Analyses SMiLE (14/14) Symphony of the Stars 24 Nov 20198 Dec 2019 Recently, I decided to take the concept of astrology and look further into SMiLE for connections. I'll confess outright that it probably wasn't Brian's intention that every track embody an…
Media Analyses SMiLE (13/14) Mute Muses 23 Nov 20198 Dec 2019 In this section, I'm going to outline Brian's New Age philosophies which he was into during the SMiLE sessions. This is ordered by how much I think each ideology was…
Media Analyses SMiLE (12/14) The Gospels of Siegal & Hutton 23 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 Jules Siegal's Account ("Goodbye Surfing, Hello God") 1) So...did Brian actually destroy the master of Fire? Vosse, Anderle, and now Siegal all agree on that. So if that's the case, how…
Media Analyses SMiLE (11/14) The Gospel of Anderle 23 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 These are my musings on Part I of the interview that David Anderle had given to Crawdaddy magazine. The "up arrows" indicate a related piece of evidence which appeared later…
Media Analyses SMiLE (10/14) The Gospel of Vosse 23 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 In these next four essays, I'm going to analyze what the members of the so-called Vosse Posse have said about the album in editorials or interviews. Initially, these commentaries were…
Media Analyses SMiLE (9/14) Psychedelic Sounds Disc 2 Commentary 10 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 Continuing from our last installment, this is my "commentary track" for the Psychedelic Sounds, now reacting to the tracks on Disc 2. 1. Taxi CabberWe know this was an impromptu…
Media Analyses SMiLE (8/14) Psychedelic Sounds Disc 1 Commentary 10 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 The Psychedelic Sounds bootleg is an invaluable peek into the themes running through Brian's mind during the height of the SMiLE Era, and in my opinion contains some rough working…
Media Analyses SMiLE (7/14) The Elements & Other Leftovers 10 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 The Elements Fire makes me feel scared and stressed out. Apart from sounding like fire engines speeding towards a raging inferno, it also sounds like a perfect representation of dread. It's an…
Media Analyses SMiLE (6/14) The Innocence Tracks 10 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 Continuing off from last time, these are my observations on the SMiLE songs I believe would have fit on Side 2, all centering on a theme of childhood innocence and…
Media Analyses SMiLE (5/14) The Americana Tracks 10 Nov 201923 Nov 2019 In these next three sections of my SMiLE "thesis" I will examine the individual tracks which comprise the album according to their common themes (or in the final essay, the…
Media Analyses… SMiLE (4/14) My Fan Mixes 28 Oct 201923 Nov 2019 I'm going to continue my in-depth dissection of all things SMiLE with a look at my changing understanding of it as the years have gone by, mix by mix. (I'm…
Media Analyses SMiLE (3/14) The Structure of the Lost ’67 Album 20 Oct 201923 Nov 2019 Let this "chapter" of my SMiLE analysis serve as the outline for what I think the project would have been if finished on time. The future installments of this series…
Media Analyses My Complete “Thesis” on SMiLE 20 Oct 201916 Feb 2020 This series represents my thoughts on Brian Wilson's unfinished SMiLE album, using as much information as possible to get a complete picture of his intentions from 1966-1967. This body of…
Media Analyses Vertigo (10/10) Themes, Motifs and Repetition 15 Oct 201926 Oct 2019 Final part of my Vertigo analysis Themes Hitchcock Examination/”Confession” Much has been made of Hitchcock's penchant for remaking his leading ladies very specifically. Vertigo references this in the way Scottie…
Media Analyses… Scattered Thoughts on Princess Diana’s Legacy 25 Sep 20198 Dec 2019 Roundabout Introduction I love The Carpenters. You can't not like The Singles: 1969 - 1973 in particular; in fact, it's my fave "greatest hits" release by any artist. I see it as…
Media Analyses SMiLE (2/14) The Men Behind the Music 11 Jun 201923 Nov 2019 This multi-part essay is my attempt to thoroughly examine various aspects of Brian Wilson’s unfinished masterpiece, SMiLE. This essay is written with the assumption that readers already have a basic understanding of the album’s goals…
Media Analyses SMiLE (1/14) Related Material & Packaging 10 Jun 201923 Nov 2019 This multi-part essay is my attempt to thoroughly examine various aspects of Brian Wilson's unfinished masterpiece, SMiLE. This essay is written with the assumption that readers already have a basic…
Media Analyses Vertigo (9/10) The Soundtrack 1 Jun 201926 Oct 2019 Vertigo is nigh inseparable from its soundtrack, and as entertaining or technically proficient as the rest of the movie may be, without the work of Bernard Herrman I do not…
Media Analyses Vertigo (8/10) The Story (& Differences from Script) 1 Jun 201926 Oct 2019 The plot of Vertigo is in many ways an implausible mess. The script has elements of paranormal, film noir, psychological thriller and romantic melodrama, but somehow it all comes together…
