Lost in the Translation

Today I learned that Richard Matheson didn’t like an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE that he wrote, “The Invaders.”

“I never liked it,” Matheson said. “I don’t like it today. For one thing, I think it’s incredibly slow-moving. My script had twice as much incident as they used in the final version; it moved like a shot. The teaser alone, of the woman cutting vegetables and then hearing the noise, it seems like it takes her forever to get up to the roof.”

Sounds like his nits were more to do with how his script was translated to screen, which is not an uncommon sentiment among screenwriters, playwrights, etc. The criticisms aren’t invalid, though. Still, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. My treasure, anyway. One that I once memorialized in my dayjob office.

How “The Invaders” taught me at a young age how point of view could be leveraged (even before I had the language to really describe it) is priceless.

If It Worked for Journey…

…why couldn’t we retroactively apply it to Led Zeppelin?

Filipino children performing Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love with uncanny precision? Step right this way

Missioned Souls are a family band whose videos have gathered more than eight million views on YouTube, and their latest, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic Whole Lotta Love, finds Stacey (12 years old, rhythm guitar/vocals), Neisha (14, lead guitar), Naces (15, bass) and diminutive drummer Ice (10) capturing the sound and spirit of the original with youthful zest and no small amount of precision.

Look out, Bob, Arnel‘s cousins are coming for your job!

Invisible Sounds

The album Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler by Ingrid Jensen & Steve Treseler has been in my rotation lately.

I got turned on to Jensen’s trumpet playing in the early 2000s, around the same time I got turned on to Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (or as he was known at the time, Christian Scott). Up until that point, I think it’s fair to say that just about any trumpet player in any genre I listened to on a consistent basis had been playing before Jensen or Adjuah were born. At least these days, I can say I listen to as much Maurice Brown or jaimie branch (Rest in Power) as I do Miles and Chet.

Invisible Sounds is a tribute album but I’m woefully ignorant of Kenny Wheeler’s music (or Steve Treseler’s for that matter). Jensen and her Freddie Hubbard-like playing is the draw for me here, though. So I’ll educate myself later, after I’ve worn the album out.

Personal Baggage, Reclaimed

Filson has blown my mind with how much they exceeded my expectations! It took the better part of a month, but last Wednesday I got my Filson briefcase back from the their HQ where it was patched up for free, just like their guarantee says.

This was all I was expecting: a patch-up along the bottom back edge where it started to show some wear. It was all I asked for in my repair form.

But they didn’t stop there. They went and patched up and reinforced bits I didn’t even realize needed fixing!

This was NOT the lining that came with my bag originally. I love how you can still see a chalk mark they left behind. I’m never taking that off!

And they clearly replaced some leather bits. Notice how the leather cross-pieces securing the handle in the first picture, despite having some small scratches, is so obviously not the same age as the leather cross-pieces in the second pic.

“Might as well have the best,” and this is why!

Personal Baggage

In 2018, I bought the last EDC bag I’m sure I’ll ever need, the currently archived Filson 258 computer briefcase. It’s survived plane, bus, and car travel to say nothing of my daily grind. The only time I carry an alternative is when I’m making a conscious effort not to be like the guy in the Etgar Keret story “What Do We Have in Our Pockets”.

I’ve been told that I’m hard on bags, which I never really believed. And yet, here’s the evidence of what I’m able to do to a Filson bag in a mere 6 years.

Thanks to Filson’s famous guarantee, I’ve shipped it over on their dime for an evaluation and, hopefully, a free repair. Of course I’m obsessively tracking it, and I wasn’t happy to find that it ended up sitting in a UPS facility in Hodgeson, IL for a full 24 hours before moving on to its next destination on its way to Filson HQ. But it finally moved on this morning toward Filson HQ. Needless to say, being without it has not been any kind of load off.

I’ve Got NxWorries

I’ve waited years for this follow-up, and now I’ve gotten to marinate in it for the past month. Totally worth the wait!

Anderson .Paak is a monster and his Malibu is easily in my top 5 favorite albums of the last 10 years. Also on that list is his work with NxWorries, his collaboration with Knxwledge which I keep coming back to. Yes Lawd! is also on heavy rotation for me.

Favorite track so far (and not just because of the retro sound and video)…

Take a listen to the rest of it. Hey, if it’s good enough for Variety, it’s good enough for you!

Scratched

Every family has its crucial sentences: things it loves saying about itself.

Elizabeth Tallent wrote one of my favorite short stories ever, “No One’s a Mystery” (paywalled pdf from HARPERS). I figured since I know Tallent’s work and am very familiar with the subject matter, this memoir would be right up my alley.

It’s kind of scary how right I was, which is why I can recommend this before I’m even halfway through it.

Scratched: A Memoir of Perfectionism by Elizabeth Tallent

Ghost Notes

Maybe I wouldn’t have detested smooth jazz in the 80s and 90s if the recordings had this depth of sound, or even the depth of sound it had circa 2000.

Don’t be mislead by the post, though. Check out the whole joint and the one previous. More often than not, Ghost-Note goes pretty hard.