A New Movie Review: "Across the Universe"

I grew up in the time of the LP. LP means long playing record, and I feel that I must describe it as such for all of my classmates born in the 1980s (yikes!). My parents had their collection of LPs (Andy Williams, Wayne Newton, Glen Campbell, and various movie musical scores), and as my brother and I were growing up, we started to look for LPs of our own. At the home of one of our parents’ friends, we noted some really COOL LPs (Village People, Doobie Brothers, the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack (hey, it was the 1970s!), but the coolest of the LPs was a double LP with a red border that had, as the photo on the cover, a group shot of some young men. The album was “The Beatles: 1962-1966”-the eponymous “red album.” It served as my introduction to the Beatles. From “Love Me Do” to “Yellow Submarine,” the Beatles red album was instrumental in introducing me to the world of classic rock music by the #1 band of all time. I was able to make my own cassette recording of the red album, and my brother and I listened to it until we wore the tape out. When the tape wore out, my brother requested a copy of the red album for his very own. Now, to this day, I do not know if my parents knew what they were doing when they “messed up” and bought the “wrong album,” but that mistake was going to introduce me to the Beatles during their most imaginative and inventive years. They decided to buy “The Beatles: 1967-1970”-the “blue album”.

All these many years later, I can still remember my brother putting the album into the huge console stereo, and the sounds of “Strawberry Fields” emanating from the mono speakers. As a youngster I preferred the more upbeat or hi energy tunes, but I recognize now that I did not understand many of the songs’ lyrics. I loved “Penny Lane,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Revolution,” “Something” (a little slow, but I LOVED the bridge), “Let it Be,” “Across the Universe,” and “Hey, Jude.” I still remember being confused by some of the lyrics of “I Am the Walrus” (Sitting on a cornflake? What is an eggman anyway?). I remember that each LP was packed in a sleeve that had the lyrics for each song printed in order. While I was confused by the lyrics, the MUSIC really moved me. The Beatles were constant during my adolescent years even though my formative years were marked by Madonna and Michael Jackson in the beginning, U2 in the middle, and Pearl Jam and Nirvana near the end). As I grew older, I read more about the Beatles and I came to understand some of the lyrical choices that they made. I was also amazed with the quantum leaps the Beatles seemed to make from their earliest albums through their later ones. I can only imagine the excitement with which the release of “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” was greeted. I remember thinking it poignant when I found out that McCartney had written “Hey Jude” for Julian Lennon (originally called “Hey, Jules”).

Life went on, and my musical tastes varied, but the songs that I had listened to so many times had become ingrained in my mind. In retrospect, I suppose I did listen to the blue album many many (many) times during my formative years. The reason for this was that my brother’s and my LP collection at the time consisted entirely of 3 albums: the blue album, Kiss: Alive II, and Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies. I am not kidding. So my childhood was marked by constant listens to THOSE…THREE….ALBUMS. Thank God for the Beatles.

Since my childhood, there has not been a day where I just kicked back and listened to the Beatles. After my experience last Friday night, I am happy to report a change in my listening habits-a change that will now include daily doses of the Fab Four. In honor of her birthday, my dear friend and fellow blogger Jess and I went to see the new Julie Taymor musical film, “Across the Universe.” Jess is a HUGE music fan. As a matter of fact, she is to music as I am to movies (for all of you SAT fans who are missing the now defunct analogy section). I suppose the best way to describe the film is an amalgamation of “Moulin Rouge” (love story) with “Forrest Gump” (following characters during one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history-the 60s). How could such a creation possibly be held together? The common glue turned out to be the music of the Beatles. However, this was not just a matter of the Beatles lending their songs to the production-this was a film where the characters sang the classic tunes, and the songs were woven into the tapestry of the story itself. I was into the film from the opening shot of the main character, a Liverpudlian named Jude, sitting on a beach singing. From the names of the characters (Jude, Lucy, Jojo, Prudence), I could kind of tell which songs were going to be used, but I did not know exactly when. Equally as fun was trying to guess WHICH of the songs from the Beatles rich musical catalog would be used. I heard many of my favorites as well as some songs that I had never heard before. One of the highlights of the film (for me) was a psychedelic rendition of “I Am the Walrus” by a character played by a famous pop star of today. No, I will not tell-for that would be spoiling, but wow..what a performance.

I am struggling with the review, because the Beatles songs were what made the movie, but part of the fun of a first viewing is not knowing WHICH songs will play and WHEN the songs will play. I can highlight the major plot as a love story between a wandering Liverpudlian shipworker and the daughter of a privileged American family during the 60s. The film, however, is much, much more. To be sure, there are weaknesses. Julie Taymor intersperses strange moments of “alternate reality” throughout the film, much like Baz Luhrmann did in Moulin Rouge with his “Green Fairy” sequence. Thankfully, these strange sequences are few and far between as they proved to detract from the central story. Taymor also succeeds by having the principle actors actually sing the songs in the actual scenes without any looping. I also appreciated the fact that the cast was not populated with well known actors who might have otherwise distracted from the story in an “Oh, look, Nicole Kidman is singing a Beatles song” kind of way.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I cannot wait to see it again. Of course, this is coming from a casual Beatles fan. If you are not a Beatles fan, I would still encourage you to check this movie out. You might change your mind by the end.

The Adventure of Sam the Siamese Cat

So after a long respite, the tales of Artful and his older brother continue. The setting? 1980 or thereabouts (geez..I am really getting up there). The place? Our childhood home in Suffolk, Virginia. The Event? The Adventure of Sam the Siamese Cat.

Our childhood home was built somewhere in the 1950s. I remember it being rather dark (no skylights or anything) and being spread out in a ranch style way. Our house was situated at the end of a cul de sac. A large man-made pond was near the front of the house beyond our patio and front lawn. The back of the house was severely sloped, and the slope ended in the waters of Lake Meade, a large and meandering lake in Suffolk that was dammed off from the Nansemond River. Because of our location, our yard was a breeding ground for wild creatures. There were numerous birds nests, rabbit warrens, gopher holes, and beaver nests situated all around our yard. When we ventured out into the yard or in the neighboring areas, we had to be careful lest we step on a snake. Yes, we had lots of snakes on the property, and I am not just talking about the harmless ones. We were just as likely to run into a water moccasin or a copperhead (BAD snakes) as we were to run into a black snake or a garter snake (good snakes). In addition to the wildlife outside, the warmth of our attic made it an attractive gathering place for squirrels and mice (and the occasional snake, judging from some of the skins that we would find up there).

To combat the growing number of mice in the attic and the basement, my parents tried mouse traps galore, but none seemed to work. They then decided that the only way to defeat the pests was by getting a cat. Now, we had only had one other pet up until this point, Sandy the German Shepherd, who had long since departed the premises. My brother and I were excited over the prospect of getting another animal. We had been quite close to Sandy, and we were glad that our parents were lifting their edict against more pets. The day arrived for picking up the cat. We went to the local A.S.P.C.A. and looked over the offerings. Both my brother and I found cats that we really liked, ones who were friendly and liked us as well. Unfortunately, my parents had decided to get a Siamese cat that was also there.

Have you ever seen “Lady and the Tramp”? Unless you are a rich dowager, you should not get a Siamese cat. At least, that is my opinion.

For my brother and me, however, it did not matter. We were excited over the prospect of getting the cat (any cat). Sam the Siamese (my parents were not terribly creative with their naming of the cat) arrived at our home, and we did everything we could to make sure that the cat was welcome. We put out the cat toys, put him in the litter box to make sure that he knew where it was (in the utility/laundry/furnace room), and made sure that Sam would not irritate our parents in any way. There was one thing we found out, however, rather quickly. Sam was sick. Now, he was not sick in a “dying, poor thing” kind of way. He was sick in a “chronic diarrhea/vomiting” kind of way. It was intestinal, and he had a sensitive stomach. Back then, however, there was no Iams or Science Diet. There was just Purina Cat Chow. We could not adjust his diet to make him feel better, and my parents did not know he was sick. My brother and I thought that, if they knew, he would go away. We, therefore, did everything we could to cover it up. But we were kids..how could we cover it up? I mean, Sam was pooping and vomiting everywhere in the utility room. It was only a matter of time.

The answer came in the form of an old school canister vacuum cleaner. Back in the days before the Oreck XL and the Dyson, vacuums had POWER. They could do anything. You still had to periodically clean out the canister, but otherwise, they could clean anything. We had 2 vacuums in the house: a newer Electrolux that was my Mom’s pride and joy and an older one that was kept-you guessed it-in the utility room.

Yup, my brother and I vacuumed up all evidence of Sam’s intestinal problems. Every…single….TIME….for a week.

Eventually, however, my parents realized that Sam was sick. I think that my brother and I, worried for the health of the poor cat, finally told my parents. My parents were upset that the ASPCA would send a sick cat home to 2 children, so they immediately (over the protestations of my brother and me) took Sam back. Sam was never to return.

Is this the end of the story? No, there is a little postscript. A few months later, our family was doing some spring cleaning. Mom had her Electrolux vrooming in the bedroom areas, so Dad decided to help out with the vacuuming in the common areas by using the older canister vacuum in the utility room..the one that had not been used since my brother and I had vacuumed away the evidence of Sam’s sickness. My brother and I watched silently as Dad wheeled it out, and we both breathed sighs of relief when it started working with no problems. Dad vacuumed for a while before the suction started to give out in the vacuum. Dad muttered something under his breath, and my brother (as smooth as can be) asked “Dad, what is wrong with the vacuum?” Dad responded that this old one would get clogged with dust regularly, and this was the reason why they had purchased the Electrolux and then….

My brother and I watched in silent horror as Dad proceeded to unscrew the housing cover for the canister, dip his hand into the capture area, and clean out the area. Did my brother an I say anything?

What do you think?

Did Dad figure it out? Let’s just say that my brother and I learned a lot about the masking qualities of vast amounts of dust and particulate matter.

You may commence with the dry heaving….now.