But thanks to a pair of Messageboard folks I have found the formula. A few years ago Jim Cleveland went all ga-ga over Goldsmith's score for Hoosiers, a film I saw first night of its theatrical run and one that didn't really send me. Think it had something to with the way a coaching colleague in the old hometown was being ridden out on a rail and the last thing I wanted to see was a flick filled with all-too-many recognizable unappointed assistant coaches, which for the sake of anonymity we'll just call parents. Anyway, old Jim just kept pumping up the volume until I finally went out some 10 years later and rented the video. And promptly fell in love with the music and much of the movie.

Must've had real bad blinders and earmuffs on that night in the theatre. But thanks to Mr. Cleveland's persistence I was next spurred to hunt down the soundtrack, and I purchased an audiocassette somewhere nearby. Hoosiers has become my official soundtrack to accompany the drudgery of monthly reports here at the old workplace and damn be but it has a way of turning the crunch into a pretty good day. And Hoosiers is one of my favorite soundtracks to underscore driving; I often play it through back to back, sometimes over several short trips.

Thanks, Jim. And thank you Shaun Rutherford for sending me the Paradise soundtrack. You know I discovered the flick on a quiet Saturday afternoon on the UPN channel and was rather charmed. The scene when the little girl goes to meet her daddy remains a painful and powerful indentation upon the mind's eye. Devastating thing to watch her so full of hope only to be rejected. Anyway, not a great film but a charmer. I just felt that David Newman's score just didn't go as far as it could have even though what was there was pleasant, for sure. But you sent me the soundtrack and that damn CD has become my offical soundtrack to accompany the softer but still intense crunch of doing what I do every so often--at home. It's a BEAUTIFUL soundtrack. I relish the listening experience.

Thank you again, gentlemen. You make a truly fine pair of film music missionaries.

PS
Shaun, you will have to be doggedly persistent to sell me on the Thomas Newman thing. Thanks for the taste of his career but the CD, like his work on films, still doesn't send me. Hope he breaks out one of these days, there sure is a lot of potential in there I'll give you that.

Dean.

"Now if I could just find a female to share in that passion!"

Never give up, Jim.
She's out there!

Also, without getting all mushy here, let me sign the confirmation that the board is indeed filled with friendly "donators": Brutus, cine-sin, soundtrackman, vinylscrubber, Greg Philips etcetera etcetera.
[This message has been edited by Thor (edited 31 August 2001).]

As a composition, it is, in my estimation, nothing less than absolutely glorious.

As a musical interpretation of Angelo Pizzo and David Anspaugh's production, it ranks up there as one of the most thoughtful and intelligent narratologically-infused scores ever written...if not THE most.

Cheers to one of my favorite scores, one of my very favorite pictures.

DH
[This message has been edited by Dan Hobgood (edited 15 August 2001).]

- JE

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“There it stuck fast, and would move no more...”

And I love HOOSIERS, too. Have you heard the "sequel" - "Rudy?"

Mark T.

The first time (per response 31 August) it was a combination of data entry/simple calculations and the music blasting away was somewhat disconcerting but now I have gotten used to it. Today is another all-day of same and I started with The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. Really got into it with the track entitled Nocturne and actually found myself envisioning the vice-principal from Boston Public conducting the Symphony (?!). Next came Edward Scissorhands and damn me the music was moving me way too much!! I rounded out the morning with Oklahoma! and after lunch plan to shift to Around the World in 80 Days, finishing the day with Adventures of Superman.

PS

Yesterday I was in an SUV reminiscing about my baseball coaching days when someone asked if I liked The Natural, which I love. Much of the talk was about high school kids. Someone else then asked if I liked Hoosiers! It was funny to segue to the latter in a conversation mostly about kids & baseball, but per entry somewhere above the sport itself was pretty much immaterial.

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[This message has been edited by Howard L (edited 06 September 2001).]

Oh, and Shaun, there may be a small glimmer of hope in your quest to convert this poor fellow to the illusive Mr. Newman. We painstakingly listened to your entire homemade meet Thomas Newman creation and between the squirms and winces a small part of me actually got into the tracks entitled The Graduate, Pt. 2, The Player and Unfavorable Light. The first two are obviously related to one another; will have to peruse your liner notes. Anyway, if I had to describe the style of the music it would probably match the tone of several actual corresponding flicks: quirky. Listening to his music makes feel like I'm in some sort of funky void or cave. And I am a sucker for off-kilter spanks of marimba which have become one of his composing trademarks. Nevertheless, I'm not really big on quirkiness in my films nor music nor film music and my obstinacy, as such, remains obstinate. My thanks nonetheless.

--And never, never put on Sing Sing Sing. I hammered Gene Krupa's solo all the way and now I want to do it again...and again...and again...YEAH, BABY, YEAH!

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[This message has been edited by Howard L (edited 11 October 2001).]

- JE