There�s the Red Curtain trilogy that includes �Moulin Rouge�. I guess �Strictly Ballroom� qualifies as musical too, although I haven�t even seen it yet. I love �Moulin Rouge�. When Luvofmylife first brought it home from the rental place, I thought I�d hate it. You�d think, bye now, I�d have learned to trust her instinct.

I guess my enthusiasm has a lot to do with Baz Lurhman�s style except I think it�s more to do with all those remade pop tunes and the sappy story. I�m weak for sappy love stories.

I bought a copy of Stevie Ray Vaughan live at the El Mocambo. It was brilliantly recorded in 1983 in that legendary Toronto club. The Stones would play that place whenever they were in town just to warm up. Well, the old place closed about a year ago but someone�s been trying to keep it open at a number of venues ever since. Anyway, the SRV DVD is brilliant � way better than that Austin City video. It�s a lot earthier.

I bought �The Last Waltz� a couple of weeks ago and I�ve already watched it three times. When I first heard The Band, it was completely unexpected for me. I was into all that psychadelic stuff back then. Still am, to some extent. But the music I was listening to back then was pretty urban. And along comes this folky rocky rural music that just blew me away. And those voices�Maaaan!�Rick Danko�Levon Helm, fer Chrissake�the sweeet sound of Richard Manuel singing Whispering Pines. Baby, I loved that Band. They changed my whole outlook on music. That was in 1968. Needless to say, watching "The Last Waltz" makes me a tad nostalgic.

The only thing that bothered me about them was that my old man liked them too. That just wasn�t right.

So tonight, I finished watching the added content on the new release of �A Hard Day�s Night�. I saw that movie when it came out in 1964. I was a huge Beatles fan. I had the wig, made violin shaped guitars out of my father�s best plywood (My ass was pretty red after that), and I knew all the tunes. I actually remember going to the theater with a couple of buddies and watching that film on the big screen. It was thrilling. What amazed me, even at the time, was what a great movie it was. It had class. I think most of us were expecting a Viva Las Vegas, Elvis type of movie�or one of those shallow Beach Party movies. Not that I minded those, but "A Hard Day�s Night" was quite different. When you consider when that film was done, all you have to do is to watch a modern music video to realize that they owe a lot to this movie.

Anyway.....

If you need a daily smile, (and I need them a lot lately) go see Ms-M. She�s brilliantly funny. I need her every bit as much as my morning coffee these days. Actually, she�s about the only reason to turn on the computer lately. My "best friends" have simply vanished. Well, it�s not like I didn�t see this coming. Web friends are easy to forget, I guess. .....

UPDATE...I just talked to one of my best friends. I guess I'm just feeling mopy and lonesome for my sweetie. And I miss my friends.

Arc