Crooner's bug

Lately, I've found myself developing a stronger taste for jazz/old crooner's music. Anyone who knows me would be somewhat surprised by this recent revelation. After all, I've often been known to express my distaste for this particular musical genre. I use to find it quite dreary, slow, boring and too complex. But mostly, I find the people who listen to jazz very pretentious, you know...as if listening to jazz music brings them some measure of sophistication, that they're automatically cooler for appreciating the art of jazz. Well, I guess I'm running with my tail between my legs now, I humbly admit defeat and apologize to all you jazz fans out there...it is a fantastic genre that has to many layers to it. Unlike the blues (my fav genre), it's very diciplined free flowing music. But really, at the end...like Jun always tells me...I don't really have to explain why I like something other than "just 'cause" and it sounds good. So yeah, I suppose I knew I was slowly geting sucked into the world of jazz when I found myself discussing Nina Simone with my brother one afternoon over lunch.

So why this long ramble about jazz music? Well, me and jun where watching "Julie and Julia" the other evening. Its a fantastic movie which is a semi-autobiographic movie about two woman's ( Julie Powell and Julia Childs) struggle to find purpose in their life. It had loads of themes in it, like...perseverance and self-discovery...which was presented in the lightest of ways. Anyway, one of the best moments in the movie...was in my opinion...the ending (don't we all just love good endings)...so in the final scenes of the movie, Julie and her husband takes a trip to the Smithsonian to visits the Julia Child's exhibit. After taking several pictures around the exhibit, she (Julie) takes a block of butter and places it under Julia's (confusing isn't it) potraits and whispers "i love you Julia" just before the movie fades into a scene where Julia prepares dinner for her husband to the tune of "time after time".

I found that scene particularly profound. Besides expressing the bond Julie has for Julia because of their shared struggles...it also reminded me of another prevailing theme of the movie...which is how love is tracendental, infinitely stretch through time, and that there are no rules that shackle it. I realized how love has always really been the same from the past and probably will in the future. How we constantly tell ourselves that love changes all the time (in some context i suppose it does...but that's another subject for another time...), that each generations',definition of love changes...that we require a different kind of love...you know...more freedom, more independence, more flexibility...etc etc...maybe it's all of those things, maybe it's none...but here, two different couples seperated by 5 decades of time, really just want the same thing...a little support and understanding amoung other things...love really is the same...a kid will always love ice-cream cones, dads will always love playing catch with their sons, moms will always love sewing dresses for their daughter's dolls...nothing changes...and that's reassuring...

Anyway, this is not a post about love...it's about jazz...so here's the video for the song "time after time" by Frank Sinatra...my favorite version is actually by Ella Fritgerald...but i chose this one since it has lyrics in it.



also while on the subject of jazz...some comments left by people of those youtube videos said that everyone should absolutely check out the version done by Chet Baker...i confess...i never heard of him prior to reading those comments but boys is his version good...it really takes me back to a time i've never been before (was not born yet)...the Don Draper/Dick Tracy days when everyone wore hats, suits and trech coats...you can just imagine it now...walking into a bar, the air...thick with the stench of cigerrate smokes...you hear the buzzing and muffled sounds of conversations circling the booths...the sounds of of clanking glasses as the waitress brings your whisky on the rocks...when suddenly...the music plays...the room goes silent...everyone is entraced by the music...and somehow...you wonder amist the crowd...how surrounded by so many people...you can still feel so alone...how tonight...you won't be found as you take another sip of your whiskey, and another puff from your cigerette...and that's...oooooookay...