By Paul Goldfinger. Untitled. 2015. ©
PEGGY LEE.
This song, written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1939, was performed in the 1952 film Las Vegas Story by Carmichael and Jane Russell (va-va-voom!)
Archive for the ‘Music from the movies’ Category
I get along without you very well. Of course I do.
Posted in Music from the movies, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, tagged Hoagy Carmichael on Blogfinger on September 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
By Paul Goldfinger. Untitled. 2015. ©Catch of the Day: Swordfish
Posted in Music from the movies, Photographic Gallery, Color, tagged Fishing for swordfish at Wegmans on September 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Swordfish. Wegmans’ fish department, Ocean Store. May 18, 2013. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click photo for full view
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
When I go fishing, I go to Wegmans because you can definitely catch a fish there. As the hunter in the family, the modern-day version of the cave man, you have to confront danger in the Wegmans parking lot and then finesse your way around all the other game hunters in the store, the most crafty being the young multi-tasking moms racing around pushing little kids driving basket trucks.
Then I bring home the game: fish or chicken or whatever. As a kid, sometimes I would complain to my mother that she should cook something different, and she would say, “Sure, as soon as they invent a new animal.”
Swordfish skeleton from the National Museum of Natural History. Internet photo
Anyhow, I turn over my fish to the gatherer in our house—Eileen, who fires up the stove and cooks it like the gatherers of old.
Do you think the cavemen ate sushi? They probably did before they invented fire. I should listen again to Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner’s record of the Two Thousand Year Old Man to find out. Today those guys are probably eating bagels and lox at the Carnegie Deli or Russ and Daughters in New York City.
Hemingway with a marlin that he caught off Cuba. Marlin can weigh 500 pounds and are related to the swordfish.
The catch of the day today at Wegmans is swordfish. Xiphias glades is a powerful and fast fish which has no teeth. But it has a sword to slash its prey. They gave me a sword in the Navy, but I didn’t dare take it out of its sheath. It’s currently in my Ocean Grove bedroom in case a Barbary pirate invades my house.
I took a photo of the swordfish before the Wegmans’ chefs dismantle it for barbecue steaks this weekend.
Did I buy swordfish? No, I chose cod loins so that Eileen can make some sort of French/Italian heart-healthy dish that she does so well over our campfire in the Blogcave in Ocean Grove. Then, if I can persuade her, we can jump into the Blogmobile and go for Days’ ice cream, something the cave men sadly never experienced.
—-Paul Goldfinger, Editor
Fred Mollin and the Blue Sea Band from the Disney film Ratatouille
Visions from the Past
Posted in Blogfinger Art Department, Music from the movies, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography topics, tagged Andre Kertesz photographer, Art begets art on September 12, 2021| 2 Comments »
Central Park, 1969. By Paul Goldfinger © Silver gelatin print.
By Paul Goldfinger, Photography Editor @Blogfinger
My photo was taken of Central Park after the 1969 blizzard. I climbed to the top of Mt. Sinai Hospital and took the picture with my Pentax Spotmatic 35 mm single-lens reflex camera which a friend had brought back from Korea. I only had one lens, a 50mm. I made the print in my darkroom using traditional wet/chemical methods .
Years later, as I learned more about photographic history, I admired the work of André Kertèsz, a Hungarian born photographer who lived in France and then came to America where the third phase of his career elevated him into the ranks of the most famous fine art photographers.
He and his wife moved into a 12th story apartment overlooking Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in the early 1950’s. He loved to shoot images with a telephoto lens out the window at the park. He especially enjoyed snow scenes.
From Photograph Magazine via Swann Galleries, New York.
When I saw his image (above) from 1954, I was struck by the similarity to mine. But my photo was not derived from his, since I was unaware of him in 1969. At least I don’t believe I ever saw his work before.
But art always owes a debt to the work of those who came before, and that is why artists must study the history of their genre in order to build on the past. The influence of one generation of artists onto later ones is sometimes unconscious on the part of those who may be borrowing without even realizing.
Because of our two similar images, and I am not comparing myself directly to Kertèsz, I feel that there is a kindred spirit—a connection— that somehow exists, and that is something that is both weird and exhilarating.
Have any of you artists/writers out there (and there are some in Ocean Grove) ever felt such a relationship?
JENNIFER THAYER (This song was featured in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair and sung by Noel Harrison)
Going to the movies—Do you remember?
Posted in Music from the movies, Photographic Gallery, Black and White, Photography by Paul Goldfinger, Photography in America, tagged Billie Holiday on Blogfinger, Strand Theatre Oak Bluffs on September 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The Strand Theatre. Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard. c. 1997. By Paul Goldfinger © (reposted from 2014 on Blogfinger–and updated.) Tri-X Collection.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
We recently ran a post regarding Ocean Grove’s historic North End Strand movie house which no longer exists.
Some years ago we visited Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard where the Strand theater there, a historic site, was still functioning. Oak Bluffs is where a camp meeting ground still exists on that island. Judging from the Bruce Willis film, the photo is from 1997.
The Strand Theater in Oak Bluffs was built in the 1920’s and closed around 2010. After that it became a bicycle rental shop.
But in 2015, the Martha’s Vineyard Theater Foundation raised money to reopen the Strand for movies. It closed for awhile due to COVID, but it has recently reopened, and its many fans are thrilled.
Movies can seem so real and important, so the Martha’s Vineyard community made sure that their cinema was brought back to life. Back when, we told our kids, “It’s only a movie.”
But the magic of movies draws you in and it is more than “only.”
Try to stay disengaged if you see “Captain Phillips” with Tom Hanks.
Seen any good movies lately ? Tell us if you have, even if streaming. Comment below.
And, do sad movies make you cry? Sue Thompson says, “Yes.” See below.
MERLE HAGGARD:
SUE THOMPSON:
A bridge so near
Posted in Asbury Park Connection Photo Gallery, Music from the movies, Photography: Black and White gallery, tagged New Jersey Avenue Bridge, Wesley Lake Bridge on September 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Bridge across Wesley Lake. Ocean Grove, NJ. By Paul Goldfinger © Click to enlarge
Theme from the movie: The Bridges of Madison Country written by Clint Eastwood.
Dawn, North Carolina.
Posted in Music from the movies, tagged Photo: Dawn on September 8, 2021| 1 Comment »
Dawn, North Carolina. December 2012. By Paul Goldfinger. ©
SOUNDTRACK: “Pachelbel’s Canon” from Pachelbel’s briefcase—also from the film Ordinary People which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1980.
Johann Pachelbel was a 17th century German Baroque composer. His Canon in D opened the film, and Robert Redford, the director, was responsible for making Johann famous once again and for having everyone who saw the film stay at the end to find out about the music.
By Paul Goldfinger MD, Editor Blogfinger.net
The recording below is by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (“RPO”) which is the most famous orchestra in England:
A summer job with a soundtrack, just like a particular movie: Dirty Dancing
Posted in Music from the movies, tagged Love is Strange from "Dirty Dancing.", Mickey and Sylvia on August 24, 2021| 5 Comments »
In 1987 the move “Dirty Dancing” became a hit. It starred Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Jerry Orbach played the girl’s father, and the film takes place at a Catskill Mountain “borscht belt” resort. Jennifer plays a nice Jewish girl with a beautiful way about her. Guess what? She falls for the dance instructor.
I loved this movie for a bunch of reasons, but especially because I spent two summers “working” at a resort like that, and the depiction was quite accurate. Those were the best summers ever. My job at the Hotel Nemerson in South Fallsburg, New York, was on the athletic staff by day and the nightclub staff by night.
Here I am (tall guy) with members of the athletic staff in front of the handball court at the Hotel Nemerson, South Fallsburg.
All those “mountain” hotels provided a total experience where no one had to leave the grounds. They all had a professional “dance team” who gave ballroom dancing lessons in their studio by the pool and then performed at night in the club, just like the couple in the movie. Did the staff “mingle” with the guests? –you bet they did! 
Every show up there had 3 acts: a singer, a comedian and a dance team. That is why dancing was such an important component in the movie as was music. There was music all around.
Each hotel had a dance/show band and a Latin band. That’s where I learned to play the claves. (sticks you bang together as part of the rhythm section of a Latin band.)
So here is one of the songs from the soundtrack. Actually it was written in the 1950’s and had been recorded by Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley before Mickey and Sylvia got hold of it for this movie. It has a unique feature: a conversation in the middle of the song.
Here are Mickey and Sylvia with “Love is Strange.” —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
Lost and Found: Who is Adelaide?
Posted in Music from the movies, Photographic Gallery, tagged Adelaide's song on August 19, 2021| 3 Comments »
“To my dear sister with all my love, Adelaide.” Photographer unknown. Photo found at a flea market. It is technically magnificent.
I don’t know, but Adelaide looks like she might be a tango dancer. I can imagine Carlos Gardel singing this tango while Adelaide and her partner glide around the dance floor in some intimate corner of Buenos Aires. (If this music sounds familiar, it may be because Al Pacino, playing a blind Army officer, danced the tango to this song with a gorgeous young lady in the movie “Scent of a Woman.”)
Adelaide is a mystery woman. Can you think of who she might be? —-Paul @Blogfinger (we also wrote about her in 2012)
CARLOS GARDEL:
Asbury Carousel Farm Market.
Posted in Asbury Connection, Asbury Park Connection Photo Gallery, Music from the Broadway stage., Music from the movies, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, tagged Asbur Park farmers market, Asbury carousel building on August 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Asbury Park, 2013. By Paul Goldfinger ©. Click to enlarge. The Carousel building.
BARRY MANILOW:
Christ Church. Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Founded 1702.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Jersey Shore gallery, Music from the movies, tagged Christ Church in Shewsbury on July 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Winter. 2006. By Paul Goldfinger. ©
ALTENBURG BOYS CHOIR. Mozart’s “Ave Verum K618” From the movie Lorenzo’s Oil.
