"A little bit of this. A little bit of that. A pot, a pan, a broom, a hat. . ."—Anatevka, "Fiddler on the Roof." This is a blog about everything and nothing. A little parenting, a little humor, some poetry, news, essays, a lot of music. I don't want to waste your time, just send positive vibes into the blogosphere. Oh, yeah, my name is Sarah Torribio. Enough about me, how are you?
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Song of the Day: "The Fall" by ELO
<<last song
I'm so old, THIS is my breakup song. I kid, but I honestly think "The Fall" by ELO is deeply underrated.
Unless you are Xanadu-or-dies like Tommie Vaughn and I, you may consider Xanadu cheesy. If you're young enough, you may have never seen the movie "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John and Michael Beck.
Incidentally, I've got a true Hollywood story for you regarding Michael Beck, a wildly handsome young man. It's almost eerie how much he looks like Heath Ledger, if you think about it, but I digress.
Returning to my show biz anecdote.
(places a candy cigarette in a long cigarette holder and lights it)
I read a wry quote in an article about Michael Beck, who was fresh off a starring role in '70s cult classic "The Warriors" when he laced up his skates to star alongside Olivia. The actor said, "'The Warriors opened a lot of doors for me, which 'Xanadu' promptly closed."
That's a shame, but I'm sure a talented guy like him made a recovery. For all I know, he spent 9 seasons on "LA" Law or some other TV show I never watched.
Back to the song below, "The Fall" by ELO. Many people who think "Xanadu" is cheesy also remember the soundtrack as being cheesy. In fact, though, I submit this is easily ELO's best song.
The dynamics are amazing, using a sonic technique that, in the right hands, makes for anthemic rock: loud, quiet, loud. (There's actually a music documentary about the band The Pixies with that very name, "Loud, Quiet, Loud.")
The song is from 1980, but the synths are anachronous. They'd read well in the late '80s and they read well now. If I ever return to making music, even just jamming, I'd like to cover this song. Only I'd change the driving synth beat quietly moving the song along to a rhythmic bass riff.
Finally, though both "Xanadu" and "ELO" are associated--wrongly so--with disco, "The Fall" is instead a rock anthem on a par with any by more contemporary acts like The Killers. We're talking epic wistfullness.
I also appreciate the song's intricate and polished production and the complexity of the songwriting. There are four distinct passages, each disparate and unexpected but all working in concert. Let me put that in plainer English.
There is a slowly building intro and a verse, delivered so tentatively our protagonist seems like a broken man. Life without his lost love feels both hollow and surreal.
Then, pow, a bridge that in its certainty and emotive delivery: "It's a lie/I don't believe its so." This man's languid delivery has fooled us. He's not resigned to the breakup.
Then there's the chorus. It's a blatant admission of love and need. It's vulnerable. And why not? It's the singer's last stand.
I may be bringing my own baggage to the situation, but I feel like the tune's protagonist is all or nothing. He is raging against the dying of the light. And if his last stand is unsuccessful, he's out of there. To go from passion to the "friend zone" is impossible. The fourth element is an instrumental passage.
Who else loves this song? Or who now does, now that I've shared this emotional testimonial.
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Sarah Torribio: A Brief History of Mine
Sarah Torribio is a writer with an educational and career background in journalism. Her writing has been published in the Reno Gazette Journal's Best Bets entertainment magazine, the Claremont Courier newspaper and Music Connection, among others.
The Reno Gazette job was great because it allowed allowed her to interview many interesting people, a number of them famous (Mike Tyson is a name I drop), albeit over the phone. It's also let her speak to two musical heroes in particular, Parry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Adam Ant of. .Adam Ant.
Along with being a fangirl, Ms. Torribio writes news and feature stories, screenplays, poems, epigrams and flash fiction. She also writes songs, plays guitar and bass and is an aspiring artist and designer. In other words, she's a creative type and a chaotic mess. She tries to keep things as grounded as possible for the sake of her family and her sanity.
GETTING REAL
Okay, I'm going to drop this ruse. Sarah Torribio is me. I am writing about me. I lost a journalism job and started a blog. I lost another journalism job and rededicated myself to my blog. That blog is the one you are reading now, Battlestar Eclectica. I gave it that name because it sounds cool.
The content of my longrunning blog is, as the name would indicate, eclectic, from words of wisdom to foolish frippery and from music gushing to random musing. I hope it will find its way someday and be good. I always think of the improvement over time in the animation and characterization of beloved characters like The Simpsons, The Peanuts, Mickey and the Disney gang and Bugs Bunny.
Most recently I am a ghostwriter for StoryTerrace. I'm just wrapping up my first project for the company, an autobiography of fascinating 80-year-woman. I'm also sprinting towards finishing my second screenplay.
But enough about me. What are you up to?
Random facts:
*I grew up in West Covina, California, attending attended Grovecenter Elementary School, Traweek Junior High and Covina High School. I graduated in 1992.
*I'm a mum of two children, ages 12 and 7. I love the word mum but it sounds pretentious when I use it because I am not English.
* My first independent record purchase was a 12" single of Madonna's "Holiday" at the Music Plus record store.
* I have worn many journalistic hats. One of the most interesting was spending five years as an obituary writer. That'll give you some perspective, I can assure you.
*In my aforementioned phone interview with Mike Tyson, he used this tradmark phrase at least 3 times. At one point, he said of his participation in Cartoon Network's "Mike Tyson Mysteries, "It's marvelous, I can assure you."
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Song of the Day: "As Is, " by Ani Difranco
Ani DiFranco is an intelligent, passionate and skillful writer. She knows how to tell a story. She knows when a song needs to be lightened by a colloquialism, pun or dark joke. She knows how to make lines pretty and she knows how to make them gritty.
The she has to go and play guitar with this percussive, self-taught virtuosity. And then there's her voice, soft and cute but scored with the Brillo pad of vocal fry.
My song of the day is "As Is" off her 1998 album Little Plastic Castles.
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Song of the Day: "Ohio" by Wild Pink ft. Samia
My song of the day is "Ohio" by Wild Pink ft. Samia. It's pretty indie rock, part orchestral and part ambient. It's a modern sound, but occasionally a synth riff walks down a lane tread by New Wave bands--say OMD.
According to Wikipedia, Wild Pink is an indie rock band from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. As someone who's lived on the West Coast and now in the Southwest, I have no idea what a borough is. It sounds kind of dope, though.
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