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Archive for the ‘Music from the movies’ Category

Quote of the Day on Blogfinger

Posted in Blogfinger editorial, Music from the movies, Quote of the Day, tagged on April 19, 2026| 5 Comments »

Salman Rushdie, 2014 photo

Salman Rushdie, 2014 photo

By Paul Goldfinger. ,MD. Blogfinger.net.  1/7/15

 

Salman Rushdie:

“I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty, and stupidity.

“Respect for religion has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion.’

“Religions like all other ideas deserve criticism, satire and, yes, our fearless disrespect.”

(Editor’s note:  Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian author who wrote Satanic Verses, a novel, in 1989. As a result of that, the Iran Ayatollah issued a fatwa on him. He had to go into hiding for years.  He has lived in the U.S. since 2000 and currently teaches at a major American University.  He is a courageous man.)

As a blogger, I feel strongly about freedom of the press/speech and the need for democracies to defend that idea.  Blogfinger has had a few individuals in Ocean Grove  go out of their way to actively try to diminish what I am doing, but their small and  intolerant voices have only encouraged me to stay the course and to hopefully encourage you Blogarians  to keep participating in our experiment in hyperlocal reporting.  You may, at times,  not like what I do, but it benefits everyone if you support the process.

CRAIG OGDEN     “Cavatina” from the soundtrack of Deer Hunter, a film about men going to war to fight for freedom in Vietnam.

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Horses in the Grove: Police Memorial 2013

Posted in Music from the Broadway stage., Music from the movies, tagged on April 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Ocean Pathway. May, 2013. Police Memorial. By Paul Goldfinger ©

Ocean Pathway. May, 2013. Police Memorial. By Paul Goldfinger. Click once to enlarge.

From Oklahoma:      Horses make me think of this show by Rodgers and Hammerstein II  especially when Curly rides a horse on stage at the opening. He sings “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”

 

But this time we have the “Farmer and the Cowman.”

 

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The Battle of Monmouth. 1778.

Posted in Jersey Shore gallery, Music from the movies, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photographic Gallery, Black and White, Photographic Gallery: New Jersey, Photography: Jersey Shore Gallery, tagged , on April 16, 2026| 1 Comment »

Monmouth Battlefield State Park. By Paul Goldfinger 2014. ©

Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Photograph  atop Combs Hill.  By Paul Goldfinger 2014. . Click once to enlarge.

 

Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net

 

The Battle of Monmouth took place in the vicinity of Monmouth Courthouse in Freehold.

On a blistering hot day on June 28, 1778 the land that is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park was the site of one of the longest battles of the American Revolutionary War.

From the “State Parks Information”:   “Here at Monmouth, Washington restored a reputation battered by defeats in 1777.   In the day-long battle in the hills, wood lots, farm fields and meadows, the main Continental Army, retrained at Valley Forge, repulsed attacks by the main British Army.

 By the end, over 600 men were dead, dying or wounded and the Continental Army held the field.”

The vista above is from Combs Hill where the Continental Army had placed their artillery.

The park is a beautiful place where you can visit, picnic, ride horses or sleighs.  The visitor center is near where I was standing to make this photograph. The address is 16 Rt 33  Business in Manalapan.

I enjoy photographing battlefields, although this is only my second.  The first is Gettysburg which we have visited quite a few times.  Battlefields are evocative of so many qualities of man including bravery, fighting for right and freedom, loyalty and sacrifice.

It seems as if you can time- travel back in such a place as this, and that is an emotional experience.

I tried to capture that mood in this photograph which is much better felt in black and white than with color.  —

 

Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

 

BAND OF HM ROYAL MARINES:  “Main Theme from Saving Private Ryan”  (2006)  Written by John Williams.

 

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Dover at Christmas, 1960, by Henry Boschen. Re-post.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Music from the movies, tagged , on April 13, 2026| 25 Comments »

Dover, 1960; By Henry Boschen ©

Dover NJ.  1960; Blackwell Street.  By Henry Boschen.    Click once to enlarge.   Re-posted 2024 by popular demand from Dovericans who love this image. And click on “Comments” below.

 

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor.  Blogfinger.net

Henry Boschen (1922-2011) made this wonderful black and white image in 1960 on Blackwell Street in Dover, New Jersey, a blue collar town in Morris County which was founded in 1869.  In 1960, before the Rockaway Townsquare Mall was built in 1977, Dover was the place to go for shopping.  It was a diverse town, and many of the merchants were Jewish. A growing Hispanic population was beginning to change the personality of Dover.  Spanish restaurants and credit unions were opening. Most of the immigrants were from a particular town in Puerto Rico.

Henry’s image captures the warmth of Christmas in 1960 when shoppers would flock to visit downtown Dover where an old-fashioned  homespun style was found in the shops. You could buy a fine men’s suit at the Quality Shop and pick up fresh fish at Fred’s.  The Walk-Well shoe store was a family business, as were many of the stores downtown.

Dover Photo was one of the few Leica dealerships in New Jersey, so aficionados like me would go there to buy lenses, superb cameras and darkroom gear.  Murray and his sons would offer technical advice to visitors.  They displayed original photos and they offered trade-ins on equipment.  I was one of their best customers.

Dover General Hospital, known for its excellent nursing and physician care, was sixty years old that year and was within walking distance to downtown.  It was founded by a group of Dover women who wanted to improve healthcare  at the turn of the century.

My first medical office was on Blackwell Street. I chose Dover because they had no cardiologist and I wanted to work in the trenches instead of at some ivory tower. The National Community Bank downtown gave me a mortgage before I even saw my first patient.  The town doctors told the banker that I was a good risk.  My practice was busy from day one.

Henry Boschen, my patient and friend, gave me this print, and it is a great treasure.

And we send our best Christmas  and New Year’s wishes to Henry’s loving wife Jane, who is now living in nearby Randolph and to daughter Edie who is one of those wonderful former nurses at Dover General.     Paul Goldfinger, MD

 

RICHARD BURTON

 

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Winter at the beach

Posted in Music from the movies, Postcards From Ocean Grove, tagged on March 21, 2026|

Ocean Grove, New Jersey. 2010. By Paul Goldfinger

Ocean Grove, New Jersey. 2010. By Paul Goldfinger Cl ick once to enlarge.

 

SOUNDTRACK:   The Fleet Foxes  performing “White Winter Hymnal” from the film “Jack Goes Boating.”

 

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Eileen: A Portrait

Posted in Music from the movies, Portraits of Eileen, tagged on February 27, 2026|

Taken on a slow boat to China. By Paul Goldfinger ©

Taken on a slow boat to China. By Paul Goldfinger © From the Eileen series.

NORA JONES:  This song, “The Nearness of You” was written by Hoagie Carmichael in 1938 for the movie “Romance in the Dark.”   It was sung in the film by an actress, but the hit version on the charts was by the Glenn Miller Orchestra with the vocal by Ray Eberle.

 

Norah Jones recorded it in 2002 for her album “Come Away With Me.”

 

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Party time in the Grove…

Posted in Music from the movies, Ocean Grove Gallery, tagged on February 26, 2026|

Mt. Hermon Way. Ocean Grove, New Jersey. 2012. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

Mt. Hermon Way. Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click once.

 

 

STEPHANE WREMBEL. “Bistro Fada” from Midnight in Paris:

 

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Boardwalk—Asbury Park Casino: August, 2012.

Posted in Jersey Shore gallery, Music from the movies, tagged , on January 30, 2026|

Asbury Park at border with Ocean Grove. August 2012. © Paul Goldfinger photo

In Asbury Park near  border with Ocean Grove, looking south.  August 2012.  Paul Goldfinger photo. Click once

 

JOHN CAFFERTY AND THE BEAVER BROWN BAND.  “Boardwalk Angel”   (From Eddie and the Cruisers)

 

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The Bible journeys to Hollywood in “Jack Goes Boating”. It’s “The Rivers of Babylon.”

Posted in Blogfinger News, Music from the movies, tagged , , on January 9, 2026|

images

 

Paul Goldfinger, Editor.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman*  was a great actor, although he sometimes made weird movies. In 2010 he directed his first film called “Jack Goes Boating.” It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy, but the four characters are depressing. I forced myself to watch it for the sake of the soundtrack, but I couldn’t get  past the first half.

The music, on the other hand, is varied and interesting. We recently posted one of the songs on BF — a re-do of “Blue Moon,” which is quite wonderful.  Here is the link:

The song which opens the film, however, is “The Rivers of Babylon” by a reggae style (“rock steady”)  Jamaican group from the 1960’s and 1970’s called the Melodians  who had embarked on some Rastafarian themes in their work, resulting in an international hit called “The Rivers of Babylon” recorded in 1969.

The song was chosen to open the movie, and I really liked it. Then I listened carefully to the lyrics (I’m always first attracted to the music — then the lyrics.)

It turns out that the Melodians were using parables taken from Psalm 137 which tells the story of the invasion of the ancient kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE.  This Jewish nation was destroyed by the Babylonians who, after demolishing the first holy Temple, carted off most of the Israelites as slaves  to Babylon (now Iraq).

The rivers in the song title refer to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. What does this Bible story have to do with the movie? — I ‘m not sure.

The middle east around 586 BCE.

The middle east around 586 BCE.

But here is “The Rivers of Babylon” from Jack Goes Boating. —   (*Phillip Seymour Hoffman passed in 2014.)

 

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Old news department —2013: Ocean Grove makes the front page of the NY Times Style Section.

Posted in Feature article, Music from the movies, tagged , on December 11, 2025|

Brittany Primavera on the OG beach. Photo by Marc Steiner for the New York Times

Brittany Primavera on the OG beach. Photo by Marc Steiner for the New York Times

 

In an article dated July 17, 2013, New York Times reporter Alex Williams caught up with recent law school graduate Brittany Primavera, who was studying for the bar exam in a sand chair in Ocean Grove.

Evidently, it is not unusual for new grads (Brittany is from Seton Hall University School of Law) to go somewhere peaceful to cram for the test without surrounding themselves with anxiety, such as is found in the University Library which is located in the concrete jungle of Newark, near Penn Station.

So Brittany rented a house in the Grove and spends her days on the beach, getting tan and cramming for the test.

Note: 2021.  Brittany is now Senior Consul for a New York law firm. )

Note: 2025 Brittany is now a “Super Lawyer”—a partner in the NYC office of the GRSM Law Firm—a national practice.

 

RANI ARBO AND DAISY MAHEM from the 2010 album “Ranky Tanky.” (This is a 1970 Cat Stevens song from the film “Harold and Maude.”)

 

 

Thanks to Dennis Caren for alerting us to this stylish development. It is the sort of information sharing that we hope for on Blogfinger.

 

—Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

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The Double Concerto in D Minor for two violins and strings. Bach on Blogfinger

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Classical Music on Blogfinger, Music from the movies, tagged on November 4, 2025|

Lenox, Mass. By Paul Goldfinger. ©

Lenox, Mass. By Paul Goldfinger. ©  Amazing fret technique, bow control and sternocleidomastoid.  This violinist (name unknown) is from the Tanglewood Music School, playing at the Brook Farm Inn;  a breakfast will be  her reward .

 

YEHUDI MENUHIN  (sitting next to her) and some other musicians:

 

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Echoes of 1926 China: “The Sand Pebbles”

Posted in Music from the movies, Photography by Paul Goldfinger, Photography: Black and White gallery, tagged on October 18, 2025| 1 Comment »

By Paul Goldfinger. Naples, Florida 2013. ©

Paul Goldfinger. Naples, Florida   Click once to enlarge.

 

MATT MONRO   “And We Were Lovers”    Theme music from the 1966 film “The Sand Pebbles” with Steve McQueen which was nominated for best picture.  It was about the US Navy in a turbulent China, 1926.

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Cinema in Ocean Grove: Blogfinger Film Festival #2. 2013.

Posted in Music from the movies, tagged , on October 18, 2025| 3 Comments »

 

Participants: Josh Pomponio (L) Wm. Paterson U.; Katherine Picariello, NYU; Marlee Roberts, NYU; Scott Schuler, NYU; Stephanie Wong, Rutgers; George Itzhak, NYU (missing from the photo: Lindsay Rassmann, Montclair State; Charlie Redd, NYU; Nicole Rosen, Drexel U;) click image for full view. The NYU contingent was from the Tisch School of the Arts. Paul Goldfinger photo Blogfinger.net.

 

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net.  Note comments below:

On Sunday  May 5, 2013  we had  nine short films screened at the 2nd Annual Blogfinger Film Festival.

 

Paul introduces the Festival program. 5/5/2013.   The NYU hat is to honor professional film makers from that school who made movies in the Grove: Woody Allen, David Chase, and Marlee Roberts.    Also the Sopranos and others filmed in OG.  Eileen Goldfinger photo.

 

And  given the anticipation of the Festival, how could we not recall the making  of a famous movie in the Grove over thirty years ago?   It was then that Woody Allen included Ocean Grove in his film “Stardust Memories.”  He said that “Stardust” is one of his favorites among his many triumphs.

 

 

From Woody Allen—Music From His Movies, Vol 2, here is the Glenn Miller Orchestra  (from Stardust Memories) with “Moonlight Serenade.”

 

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