Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Music: I see, you see

Okay, it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted.  But a month ago I was just wrapping up work on my spec. script entitled The Beautiful Kingdom.  Then Carson Reeves over at Scriptshadow made a post to write fast on a new script and I bit on it!  The problem was I wasn't really ready to start a new script yet.  

Why? 

Because when I write I put all I have into it, and when I'm done with that I need time (2 weeks to a month) to decompress, re-center myself, and gear up to climb the mountain again.  I didn't do that this time.  Instead I plowed ahead and actually TRIED to write a script in record time.  Why not?  The flow was THE BEST it's ever been for me when I wrote So Go Back & Get Her under Carson Reeves prompts, what's not to believe that lightening can't strike twice when writing its sequel which would make the 2nd FRANCHISE I've penned: The Commune being the first.  Give It Up For Chimpy COULD end up being my third, as I've always wanted to pen a third one in that series, I just never thought up a good enough plot.   

I'm FINALLY working again.  YAY!  Was looking for work basically from the beginning of October through the beginning of February after my mom recovered from Covid-19, and it was agreed by all of us in Tennessee that it was time to get on with our lives.  After the new year I thought more jobs would open up, they didn't.  So finally I caved and took a job.  It's from a company, just not a very good one.  I knew that going in.  Eventually I'm going to have to get a better job than what I have now, but for now at least I'm working and can contribute so my mom isn't bearing our financial burdens alone.  I actually can't wait for this Friday/Saturday when I show her my check and we divide up how much I can give her.  I love my mom.  I wish I could do more for her.  There is no one I love on this planet more than her.  Yeah, my brother is working too, but he's got two kids and wife to provide for.  I just learned today that his wife got an "on-line" job and is poised to contribute in the near future as well.  

For today's post I was thinking about getting into MUSIC some more, because as a spec. script writer I have a totally different opinion on music than most everybody else.  I look at music with the eyes of how they COULD fit into whatever spec. script I'm writing now.  Right now I have 35 songs on the spec. script soundtrack for the romantic comedy I'm working on right now entitled So Go Back & Get Him.  This --

is the song I'm auditioning to see if it fits.  I've LOVED this song for about 5 years now.  And think I've FINALLY found a place where it fits in the mix of what I've already got.  Going in with the angle that this is the stress that my female main protagonist feels at time: she feels the world moves to fast and feels the need to keep up with it, yet is in desperate need of her own sanctuary. 

Music is a wonderful thing!  If done right it captures feelings. 

One song was the genesis for a complete script I wrote.  This --

was the genesis for a script I wrote entitled, A Heart Built on the Sand.  Now I grew up in the 80s, but this song never registered with me, until my cousin Jeff mentioned something I believe.  Then YEARS later I fused that with thoughts that grew within me about a female manager who was playing the corporate game at a warehouse I was working, but I saw her DOOMED in that pursuit. 

You see: a dedicated, loyal woman.  I see: someone who's prone to snap when she finds out the corporate world doesn't value her the way she thinks.  E.C. Henry works...   E.C. Henry works...  Then a half year later I make sense of the world through through my dark urban drama spec. script entitled A Heart Built on the Sand.   Now that spec script has 18 songs on its soundtrack, and contrary to what you would think since this story is essentially a woman's decent into being a serial killer it actually does have a couple "happy songs" in its soundtrack such as ABBA's "Take a Chance on me", "Keywest Intermesso (I Say You First)" by John Cougar Mellancamp, and "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher.  Why is that?  Because there are ebbs and flows in the story.  Times it appears things are going to get better for Laura Dennison... until they don't!

I roll differently than anyone else you're ever going to met.  I've heard that Quentin Tarantino is a MASTER with fusing music to the movies.  I'm like that--only in an 80s kid product kind of way. 

I'll pick music from ANYWHERE if I think it's any good.  When I think of Give It Up for Chimpy.  THIS --

is where my mind goes: Brandon Little's unspoken desire for Stacy Dutchmen.  

Now to most people the song Brass in Pocket by the Pretenders is forgettable; it has no real meaning.  But not for me.  

You see, I see

I have an abstract way of thinking.  Give It Up for Chimpy is a screwball comedy, YET at points I hope the audience sees an outsider who wants a shot with a hottie.  That's NOT portrayed in this video, but it's how I interpret this song for use in my spec. script.

You see, I see.

I could go on and an on, I've used music in horror --

Which IS the song that plays as two drunk teens race through the woods before hitting and fatally killing a special case bum who was living in the woods.  

But I don't see myself as "dark" man as the use of Dragula by Rob Zombie insinuates.  I'm more more of a Taylor Swift guy.  In fact I'm probably going to use --

Why use that song?  A) Because it's one of my favorite songs of all-time.  B) Because it mirrors the main character's feelings when she sees a guy she's instantly smitten with in So Go Back & Get Him.  Of course for the past 7 months now I've been distancing myself from Taylor Swift, but that doesn't mean I can't use her exceptional art to highlight my own artistic works.   (Now if T.S. ever came down on me, I would relent to her and let her have her way, as her songs are her songs)  She's a proven pro, I'm an unknown.  BUT even if I were a known you still hafta secure permissions IF you profit off her copyrighted material, which is what would happen should one of my scripts go into production.

 

So why even bother using other people's music in my spec. scripts?  Because music captures moments.  I just think differently on the subject than most folks.

You see, I see 

Taylor Swift Top Songs of All-Time

 

At the time of the writing of this post I am 35 pages into the writing of the 1st draft of Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School.  This will be my 25th spec. script--when I write FADE OUT: THE END.

O-kay, so what does this have to do with Taylor Swift?  

Well, she is BACK to be my mews again...

I mean, you can't tell me there isn't a MOVIE with this picture.

I mean is there ANYONE better to be a MALE WRITER'S MUSE when that aforementioned writer is writing a teen comedy centered around the story of a 14-year-old, feisty freshman.  So far 35 pages in I'm not in automatic mode writing like I got after about page 68 of SO GO BACK & GET HER, but there is still hope for its prequel: KATHY SMITH CONQUERS DUBOOSE HIGH SCHOOL, because I've got some solid set pieces for this story.  A couple that I've written in the first 35, hopefully for many more in the remaining pages.

Okay, so the writing life is going well now.  35, 1st draft pages in less than 3 days IS a good start.  And don't worry: Kaya Jones (muse for the past year); I still LOVE you, and hope to connect with you some day on other scripts...  But Taylor Swift is special.  Very special.  And it's not that I'm that enamored with what music she's been cranking out lately, but her work taken collectively as a whole, is PHENOMENAL.   Won't lie I'm a MUCH BIGGER fan of T.S. when she's displaying her lighter side, as evident by --   

E.C. Henry's favorite songs by music superstar Taylor Swift:

[Last Update June 18, 2023 after listening to Untouchable on repeat while driving to work]

1.  State of Grace (Taylor's Version)
2.  Love Story (Taylor's Version) [Elvira Remix]
3. The Other Side of the Door (Taylor's Version)
4.  How You Get the Girl 
5.  Untouchable (Taylor's Version)
6.  Fearless (Taylor's Version)
7.  22 
8.  Getaway Car
9.  Style
10.  Shake It Off 
11.  You Belong with Me 
12.  Jump then Fall (Taylor's Version)
13.  Cruel Summer
14.  Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version)
15.  ... Question? 
16.  Red (Taylor's Version)
17.  ... Ready For It
18.  Delicate 
19.  We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
20. That's When (Taylor's Version)
21. New Romantics
22.  Look What You Made Me Do  
23.  Anti-Hero
24.  Mastermind
25.  Karma (featuring Ice Spice)
26.  Message in a Bottle (Taylor's Version)
27.  Me!
28.  Bigger than the Whole Sky
29.  Wildest Dreams

Notice any trends in E.C.'s top 13? It's domiated by Taylor's more happier songs, not her darker or newest stuff.   I remember watching Taylor Swift on a Late Show with Jimmy Fallon interview years ago, where Jimmy Fallon was lightly poking fun a Taylor Swift for her song: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together; and based on her reaction, Taylor looked a bothered by it all--so Jimmy didn't persist.  That got me to wonder, was that song really that bad?  Heard it for the first time about a week ago and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was:

I had to search i-tunes for that song.  Even when I saw T.S. in concert in 2018?  Well, it was the concert where she had pillars with scary snakes on them, which I thought was in very bad taste given the fact that her target audience is girls aged 9-20.  

Can't really say Taylor Swift doesn't get the credit she deserves because EVERY YEAR she's a favorite with Grammy people, but what I can say is that her earlier stuff was MUCH BETTER that I thought it would be.  I'm not a country music listener.  Some country songs are o-kay, but as a whole the genre isn't for me.  Taylor Swift started off in country music.  So IF you like her today, go back and check-out these two of her earlier albums before she broke into superstardom with 1989: Fearless and Red; have some hits on them too!   Don't miss this gem:

My spec. script soundtrack for Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School currently has 17 songs in it--and 4 of them are by Taylor Swift!

Muse indeed.  Rock on, T.S.--and PLEASE go back to your fun-loving days, because that's when you are your best; and that's when your true fans are most pleased with you.   

Okay, enough of the Taylor Swift lovefest time to eat a little late dinner, then go back for another round of writing on Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School.  Next post coming at ya AFTER I finish the 1st draft of my latest spec. which I hope to have done BEFORE the end of the month.  See ya then!

An Ode to the "Bad Girls" of Pop Music

Going to ad lib a little here.  Why not?  It's my 49th birthday after all.  Your's truly was born on June 10, 1969.  So in today's post I'm going to toast the "bad girls" of pop music.  

Truth be told I love it when girls let it rip and show some spunk.  Over the years I've come across a bunch of gems by women in rock and pop music that really make me feel something--their angst!  Isn't it nice when you get to experience someone else's pain.  Helps lessen the blow of your own shortcomings.  And hey, when you're 49 years old, still toiling in obscurity let's face it, you have a lot of pain and disappointment in your heart.  

But why wallow in pain?  Why not see someone else's pain, then you don't feel so bad, right?  I've learned that lesson a long time ago, and it's served me well.  So without further ado let's delve "inside the brain of E.C. Henry" and see what women have "moved" him over the years:

 

• Alanis Morissette's "You Aught to Know".  Justification: This song is actually on one of my spec. script soundtracks for "Cupid Got Stupid".  Captures the moment of anger a female love interest feels when she learns that her husband is cheating on her with teenie popper: 

• "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson.  Justification: This is a break-up song.  Easy to tap into the energy of a heartbroken, young woman:

 

• "I Love It" by Icona Pop (featuring Charlie XCX)  Justification: A recent guilty pleasure that I fell in love with after hearing Charlie XCX sing it as the opening act for Taylor Swift on her Reputation tour when it came to Seattle, Washington in May 2018 

• "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne.  Justification: Was looking for a song to accent the main love interest in "Bubblehead Saves the Day".  This girl in question is a high school senior, who has been loved by a boy for YEARS, yet he fears he will never be able to connect with her.  She toys with him from time to time... 

• "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift.  Justification: You KNOW I couldn't do this post without at least ONE song from my favorite pop princess.  No, this isn't my favorite song by Taylor Swift.  The fact of the matter is I like her better when she's playing the role of the princess, BUT the diamond of this pop princess has many sides.  And nasty is definitely one of them as evident by: 

• "Nasty Girl" by Inaya Day" Justification: The bar scene from "Dan in Real Life" (2007: Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, Dane Cook, Juliette Binoche) where Ruthie Drapper lets lose in effort to win Dan's affections--only to have Marie get "nasty" herself on the dance floor.  Good stuff!  This was a CLOSE relative of the HOT song in that movie. 

• "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul.  Justification: WOW did this vixen ever start out strong!  I remember when she was at her best in the early 90s: 

• "Who Will You Run To" by Heart.  Justification: this song is featured on "Love, Music, and Monkeys: Give It Up for Chimpy II" when Stacy Dutchmen lets her rival "have it" and she displays her love and devotion to the guy who has been pursuing her for the two movies in this series: 

• "The One that I Want" as sung by Olivia Newton John in "Grease".  Justification: I love a girl who embraces her dark side, then turns romantic.  A classic.  Gotta have it:

• "Vogue" by Madonna.  Justification: This a fun song to dance and get into.  One of Madonna's best of all-time.  Time to "strike a pose":

• "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.  Justification: A song featured on the soundtrack for "A Heart Built on the Sand", where the protagonist: Laura Dennison; unravels.   

• "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson.  Justification: Best album by a female, music act in the history of ever: Rhythm Nation.  Back in her heyday NOBODY did it better.  I'm a huge Janet Jackson fan.  And THIS was her biggest hit of all-time.  The gold standard for dancing in music videos:

So there you have it, SOME of the music that E.C. Henry unwinds with when he wants to "tap" into the feminine persuasion and feel their hopes and dreams, energy--and angst!

 

P.S. Getting back "in the flow" of editing the 2nd novel in the Legend of Thars series.  Want to have it ALL done by the time I'm 52.  All the books in the series, AND all the corresponding screenplays.   

 

 

 

 

Celebrating the Season When That Which was Dead Comes Back to Life

In all honesty THIS is my favorite season of them all.  The season when God cause that which was dead to come back to life. 

 

"O boy, a post where E.C,.Henry goes the time when grass starts to grow.  Sounds decidedly boring."

Far from it.  Springtime, atheists!  Suck it!!  A time when the a-mazing happens; that which was dead in the winter comes back to life.  The one true season where EVERYONE should believe in God, because He's just done the amazing: brought life from death

 Don't believe in God?  I feel so sorry for you. But this time of season look to the trees.

 

For that which was dead is coming back to life!  And it comes back TOTALLY glorious!

 

That's God.  And that one of the BIGGEST reason why I praise him.

 

It's one thing to go from a place here there was no life, and add a life.  And it's quite another to go from a time of life, then go to death.  Then come back to life again!  The resurrection of the dead.  The most amazing of all feat that God does.  And someday he's going to do that to me.  Someday he's going to do that for you.  So don't fear death.  Jesus has conquered the grave.  And if you claim Him as your Lord you will pass over from death into life.

 

Did I mention that Spring is my favorite season of all?  

 

The funny thing is this spring I'm eyeing a resurrection of a different kind; my writing career.  Not that it's been dead by any stretch of the imagination.  But let's face it: who knows the name of E.C. Henry?  Nobody.  I STILL haven't broken through.  Now, in my defense a lot of that is 100% justifiable.  This is a REALLY bad time to be a writer.  NOBODY is buying ANYTHING from undiscovered writers who aren't already famous  NOBODY!!  So in a way, I don't feel real bad.  It's not like I feel like I missed some opportunities, because there weren't any to miss.  

I LOVE Taylor Swift.  I think I've loved her since the moment I saw her.  And it's NOT because I wanna be her next guy, though if she chose me, as a 100% heterosexual man I'd have a hard time saying, no; despite that the FACT that I'm old enough to be her dad.  Do the math, I was born in 196,9, she was born in 1989.  I LOVE Taylor Swift because I think she is a great hope for the entertainment industry today.  I STILL think she is the best shot for the rom-com genre to make a comeback.  She is very pretty.  And And guess what, with EVERY video she does her acting chops improve.  Case.  And.  Point:

 

I'm gunna go see her in a couple months in concert where I'll be front row--and in full affect MINUS the magic wand:

 I'm going into the May 22nd concert with a mindset.  I want expanded persona to work for ONCE!  I've tried expanded persona in public a few times, and in all honesty it has yet to work.  BUT with each time I do it, rejection to it becomes easier to stomach.  Less deliberating.  But donning in front of ten of thousands in an arena that has come to celebrate a pop queen...  Hmm.  Different dynamic.  

Though I'm 48 years old now--and will be 49 on June 10th, I can't let that sway me.  This generation needs something.  But not only do they need a valid form of entertainment, they need the Lord.  

Taylor Swift comes from country music.  THAT has always reassured me that at least some capacity she was exposed to true godliness and that which is right.  If I ever connect with her, I am going to appeal to that and the greater influence in society as whole that she COULD have.  And there is hope, because I have not forgotten the FACT that in her popularity she took time to visit people in need and give to some of her fans.  

And it's not that I would EVER twist her arm to endorse a political leaning, rather I want to appeal to her greater sense of humanity and sowing in today's youth good things that fill them up.  

Calvin Harris.  Joe Alwyn.  Or other guys from her past.  That's HER choice.  And personally I think she's got GREAT taste in guys.   ALL great guys, I would NEVER fault Taylor Swift for any decision she's ever made in her love life.  The truth is: we're all learning to love.  And love is oftentimes clumsy.  Me, E.C. Henry is focusing on loving his cat, Sophie.  My biggest gripe right now is that she exposes her privates to the cross, which I feel is disrespectful, and I shut her down each time I see it.  (I have a cross in my bed room that is about 4 1/2 feet tall that USED to be used at a street ministry in Tacoma).  But Sophie is a cat, not a person.  True, I love Sophie dearly, but she isn't a person and can't be treated as such.    

So what's next?  Well-p, it's springtime. Time to dust off my dancing shoes.     

 

Three Cool Songs

I will be the first to admit, I'm not as "hip" and into the music scene as I used to be when I was a teenager and in my early 20s.  BUTTTT I still do listen to music.  Maybe not with the same fervor that I did when I was younger, but I'm still hip, I'm still groovin'.  (At least I like to TRY to comfort myself with that.  

These days I find myself listening to my iPod quite a bit.  Sometimes to keep my movie scripts alive in my heart I'll listen to the movie soundtrack arrangement I made for them.  

The radio goes on from time to time as well and I TRY to listen to the new stuff coming out.  The thing with that is, I like most of the new music coming out these days is AWEFUL.  Shawn Mendez SUCKS!  And there's a lot of other very forgettable groups out there.  The only relatively new artist that I LOVE is Bruno Mars.  I really like his Michael Jackson-esque, easy going style.  It just works.

Okay but it keeping with the crux of this post here's a couple song that play over-and-over again, because I love these songs::

 

I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas:

Justification: O-kay, so the VIDEO for this is kinda slutty especially at the beginning with Fergie's antics...   First time I saw this video was JUST before I put in this post.  BUT I LOVE the song.  Especially the last chorus.  I remember back a few years ago CBS was using the tag of this song to promote their shows in 2011/2012?  Something like that.  It wasn't until about a year ago that I listened to this song and fell in love with it.  It's just a pent-up emotional release song.  The song is WAYYY better than this POOR music video.  This is E.C. Henry's cut loose song of choice.

Love Runs Out by OneRepublic:

 

Justification: I really like this song, not the video so much.  If I ever write "The Commune III" this song will probably be the capstone, signature song near the end when things  come to a head for "The Commune's" lead protagonist and his deeply troubled love interest.

Nothin' At All by Heart:

Justification: This is the song at the end of my soundtrack for the rom/com with a sport's bend, "Hometown Professional Football" that I wrote several years ago.  Whenever I listen to this song it brings me to a place of my lead heroine in the story reaching the end of her character arc, and being happy with where she's at now with respect to where she was at the beginning of the story.  Heart's video does NOT capture the essence of this song very well at all.  This like the video for "I Gotta Feeling" is pretty bad, BUT the song is GREAT!  Interestingly enough, when Heart was in their heyday in the mid 1980s I wasn't a fan of theirs.  I like harder rock back then.  But LATER when I started writing movie scripts I took a second listen to them, and now find that I like MOST of Heart's music.  Moral of the story: you tastes change over time, some music is more palatable, retroactively with the passage of time.

 

Alrighty then, so there they are: three songs that get you INSIDE THE BRAIN OF E.C. HENRY!

 

Mastering the Music Montage; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 65

Not a big fan of the music montage, but lately there in ONE that's really been standing out in my mind.  It's the useage of Keith Urban's song, "Someone Like You" in the GREAT romanic comedy, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003, staring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson).   What I'm talking about is the part in the movie where Benjamin Barry (Mattew McConaughey) is teaching Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) how to ride his motorcyle when the two of them take off after spending some time with Ben's family on Statin Island.

 

NOT your clasic, textbook, music montage.  I say this because of all the dialog being spoken in three scene.  A more, classic montage would hold back the character voices and focus on the acion and then let the song re-inforce the centeral theme of the sequence, which is Andie and Ben have a good and memoroable time when Andie tries to ride Ben's motorcycle.  In the arc of their romance this a time when Ben is trying to teach Andie something, and Andie has fun with Ben in being taught under him.  It's a cute, charcter bonding scene.  

I like the way Christopher Riley describes a montage in his book, "The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Definative Guide to Scipt Format and Sytle".  From page 34:

A montage is a series of brief images, often under music, used to show the passage of time, the unfolding of chacter's plan, or the evolution of charcter or relationship over time

Then I like to fuse the example that "The Hollywood Standard" and "The Screenwriter's Bible" to come up with the way to format this sequence.  MINUS the dialog.  Here is how I would revese engineer that musical montage from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days":

 

The GUITAR PICKUP of Keith Urban's song, "SOMEONE LIKE YOU" BEGINS to play and carries us into...

MOTORCYCLE RIDING LESSON - MONTAGE

On a seaside pier.  Ben sits in back on Andie on his motorcyle and whispers some instructions in her ear.  Andie then nods okay, Ben jumps off the bike.  And Andie drives ahead recklessly on her own--untill Ben saves her by jumping back aboard and pulling in clutch and hitting the brakes.

On the side of the road.  Ben brings Andie a cup of shaved ice.  The couple just starts to eat into this treat when a a passing truck hits pothole and SPLASHES both Ben and Andie with a lot of puddle water.  Ben then gets his revenge on this passing jerk by beaing the truck with his cup of shaved ice.

At Ben's parents driveway.  Andie makes the turn off the road and onto the driveway.  She is happy with he accomplishment, and in stopping gets a sexy bump in rump by Ben's pelvis, which she laughs off like a floosie.  Happy and with smiles on their faces both Ben and Andie head towards the door which mark a FADING OUT of the KEITH URBAN SONG and the END OF THE MONTAGE.

INT. BEN'S PARENTS GUEST BATHROOM - MOMENT'S LATER

Andie laughs at the puddle blotching on both her's and Ben's shirt.

 

Okay, so how'd I do?  Never thought I'd reverse engineer a music montage, but there you have it.  Started out each indivual sequence in the monatage with a simple sentence that served as the slug line for that sequence.  THEN in the lines which followed in that paragraph described the action that the actors were to do in the sequence.  Later I cued a dampeing of the music with makes the audience ready for a new scene to start, which it does this time in a guest bathroom.  

Personally, I love music montages.  Music is a great way to convey a prevailing feeling.  And I don't think pre-pros should be told not to use them in their scripts.  Everyone who's ever me not to call out specific music I looked down on and thought they were a dipshit.  Why be vague when you can be specifc?  In production alternate music can always be replaced.  Calling out music is like calling for a certain feeling.  Like the frantic beat in, "Head Over Heels" as played by the Go-Gos in the movie "13 Going on 30" that fuses the fast-pace of life in New York with a young girl's pop perspective of it.  Also loved Hall Oates song, "You Make My Dreams Come True" in "(500) Days of Summer", though is techincally a fantasy dance routine, how cool was it to get to experience the joy that a girl can make you feel.  Ever had a girl make you want to spontaneoulsy break out into dance in the middle of the park?  That's what a good movie can do.  It can help you get a taste for the higher things in life.  That's a reason right there, folks, why you should love this genre.  It has the ability to do some things that no other genre can do.

Couldn't we all use a little more of this in our lives?

Well-p, I think I've written enough for now.  Sorry, I didn't have this post ready to go on Sunday.  Drank too much beer... but that's going to start changing.  You ALMOAST got a post on goals of mine instead of this.  That post is forthcoming.  But for now, just let the power of the rom-com take you away.  Take you away to a place where your with that romantic someone that you love and things between you are going well.  For me, that's the heart of the genre and the biggest attracting factor that it has going for it: showing in brief flashes that romance can work and bring great joy into a person's life.

  Keith Urban and his wife in real life, Niccole Kidman

Taylor Swift and Just Who are the New Romantics; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 64

Okay, so I did something a little wacky before I went on my most recent writer's I made a new rom-com oriented playlist to get my psched and in the mood.  In doing so, I remeber getting an e-mail from the Taylor Swift fansite, which was promoting a new music video release for the song, "The New Romantics".  So there I go on iTune, listen to its preview, then buy it for $1.29.   Totally worth it.  I really enjoyed listening to that song on my trek down to, while in, and then traveling back from Long Beach, Washington.  Would have included a link to the video for the song, but it pretty much sucks, it's one of the "concert" videos which are almoast always underwhelming.  

Taylor Swift is such a diva--but a likeable diva.  Didn't mean diva in a derogatory fashion.  HUGE fan of Taylor and at age 46 going to be 47 on June 10, not even close to being the range of her target demographic: hipsters in their 20s and the teen market that doesn't know any better.  

Now in the song, Tayor Swift, claims she's part of a group called "the new romantics" and even invites people to join her.  In this song I thinks she explains her clique quite well, and with fun pzazz.   But I did have a few problems with the lyrics.  NEVER like people saying, "We're on the road to ruin."  That's not cool.  You can be a romantic and NOT be on the road to ruin.  Makes me wonder too if that has a spiritual connetation.  Don't know if Taylor Swilft believes in Jesus or not, given her country music start I gotta belive she knows something about Jesus...  My point is, I don't like that lyric and everytime I heard it in the song I kinda cringe.  

The other problem I have with the song is that it's more geared for explaining Taylor Swift's diva crew then being more broad and ready to be excepted by a wider range of people.  Romance is bigger that Taylor Swift.  It's bigger than E.C. Henry too.  

I believe EVERYONE wants to be love by a member of the opposite sex, it's the expression of that varries.  What I LOVE about Taylor Swift is that she brings attention to romance, brings it to the forefront and gives us something to talk about.  For that I am very greatful for Taylor Swift and her platform.  She is an AWESOME celebrity.  But, if I have one qualm with her it's that her view of romance is too narrow.

Being a "new romantic" doesn't require you to be a famous pop star in her prime.  New romance can be found by people of all sizes, all ethnetisities, and ages.  Case and point:

On of my aunt Denny's friends who flew all the way over from Baltimore to spend a week with us arround the time of Denny's memorial service.  One night I sat down and chatted with my aunt's friend since grade school, and she told me she had a new romance brewing while she was now 67 years old.  67 years old and still gettin' after it with new guys--is that cool or what.  My aunts friend had a couple kids with a husband that she is now divorsed from.  Anyway, my aunts friend asked me what I thought and I told her to go for it!  She was an inspirations to me.  My point is:

You are never too old for romance.

It's a need we have as men and women.  Romance isn't just for mega hotties like Taylor Swift, it's for all of us.  That's one of the things I like about studying the rom-com genre, it re-inforces the hope that romance happens to a bevvy of different people at varried states in the life.  Take Steve Carrell's Dan from "Dan in Real Life" (2007), where Dan is middle aged widdower with three young daughter and yet his interests in romance get kiddled by a new woman who joings his family over the course a weekend, fall gathering.  Take Nia Vardalos' Toula from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002), where Toula is attempting self-transformation out of the drone drudgery of her family waitress job when she finnally starts to connect with a guy she likes.  Of cource you can always go Golden Grey, where I site several examples of those of the older generation taking their own foray into romance.  

Baby we're the new romantics / Come, come along with me

Well, where we going, Taylor?  How open is your invitation?  Is it totally faux?  Is it just to expand your impressive cadre of frinends?  Ah, even when I want to I can't rip on Talyor Swift.  Not when CONSTANTLY puts herself out there opeing dialog on converstaion topics so fun and juicy.  

Everyone is welcome to be a "new romantic" in my book.  That's one of the cool things of life, is that in studying the life and stories of other people you see that most people have a romantic bend to them.  Even my recently diseased who at one point actually applied to be nun in a cloister, at couple points in her life expressed interest in men.  NEVER rule someone out romantically.  Maybe they're not the one for you, but that doesn't mean that they're not out there looking too.  They probably are.  

Baby, we're the new romantics / The best people in life are free

Now THERE is a lyrical phrase I can wholeheartedly get behind and support.  I love seeing people shed their shackles and move into a highter state of living.  Dancing, taking a chance, and putting yourself out there is part of.  Amy Blunt's "Ruthie Drapper" from "Dan in Real Life" is a shinning expample of being free and taking chances.  For a minor character, with limited screen time Ruthie's story really shines.  Her she is a sucessfull surgeon, and yet in past people who knew he joked that she was Ruthie "pig-face" Drapper.  Extreamly cruel.  And yet Emily Blunt's character wanted romance so took a chance and got sexy in chooiing Inya Day's "Nasty Girl" to dance to and try to get a phyiscal romance brewing with Steve Carrell's "Dan" character.  Okay, forget the whole Marie (Julliette Binoche) chacter play here.  Because what I want to you to focus on is Ruthie's story, because there's something there that I don't want you to miss.  

Ruthie Draper took a chance.  She put herself out there and TRIED to change a guy's perspespective of her.  How cool is that?  That the spirit of being a "new romantic" in my book.  Love it.  Absolutely love.  It's stuff like that where you see women's need for love and their attempts at trying to get it that is one biggest sources of attraction that kept me interested in the romantic comedy genre for so long.

We show off our different scarlet letters / Trust me mine is better

You may or may not believe me, but I actually don't like talking about my romantic failures.  I know I've done that here on my blog, from time to time.  But I'm not proud of my mistakes.  I just hope I het the chance to meet the "right girl" so I can have experience, than just being left with the hollow feeing of a guy who a shot with some pretty cool girls, but I blew it somethere along the way.  Yes, almoast invarriably I blame myself for my romantic failure.  And it hurts me that along the way I mistreated some real princesses that I should have treated as such.  

So in closing, thank you Taylor Swift I really enjoyed your song, "The New Romantics".  You never cease to amaze me, and I hope that wherever you are in life that your are happy.  The new romantics can just be Taylor Swift and her clique of friends, OR as I hope it to be it all of out there whose beats red with romance and interest in the opposite sex.

P.S. The writing retreat to Long Beach went pretty well.  Definatly better than past trips down there.  Will probably post more about this later in the week.  Till then, stay well and keep tuning and coming back here.

Voice of an Angel: Christine Dente from Out of the Grey

Back in the early 90s, after I had given my heart to the Lord and started listening to Christian Contemporary Music, I ran across a budding new group called,Out of the Grey. They were just one of many groups I discovered that replaced the likes of: Deff Leopard, Motley Crue, and Janet Jackson; that I LA-OVED in my pre-saved days.

To be 100% honest with you, I was never a big fan of Out of the Grey.  Their contemporary Christian sound was o-kay, but it was never like, great can't miss songs that resonatted with me.  Not like say Rich Mullins, whose music really provokes strong feelings from me.  Sometimes when I'm in my car and I'm listening to some of Rich Mullins' classic songs I feel myself going deeper into the things of God. YES, Rich Mullins music has that power in it.  If you've never listened to him, give him a try, and get ready to worship the Lord!  

Out of the Grey's music is not overly evangelical.  If I had to put a label on it as whole I would say their music is for Christians who want a fuller life.  BUT over the years I've totally fallen in love with the voice of Out of the Grey's lead singer, Christine Dente.  

O, how to describe Christine's voice to someone who's never heard her before.  Angelic and femine.  Yeah, that's a good strating point.  But I really wanna gush at how good Christine Dente's voice is.  I just love.  She could sing to me the telephone book and when she was done, I'd say, "Chirstine, sing it again."  Her voice is just sooo good.  It's like being up in Heaven for a moment and being greated by a female angel.    

There in no woman on the face of planet Earth who can sing as well as Christine Dente.  She's the best there has ever been.  No, she's not oprahretic.  But she's GREAT.  There's no equal to her voice amongt mortal woman.  Christine Dente is the best.  The best there ever was.  

As you already know Steve Perry of Journey is my favorite male singer of all-time, with Kevin Max of DC Talk a close 2nd.  But on the women's side of the ledger, there is Christine Dente from Out of the Grey, and their is no other woman even close to her. Sorry Amy Grant.  To a lot of Christians out there you will always be the belle of the ball.  But for  my money, honey, you can't hold a candle to what Christine Dente's voice is capable of doing.  Now recently I've fallen in love with Taylor Swift.  But even she can't hold a candle to what Christine Dente is capable of delivering when she sings.  Don't feel bad about that Taylor, you're a lot closer than a lot of other performers are.  

Out of the Grey broke onto the Christian music scene back in the early 1990s , but by the end of the decade they were pretty much done and not putting out any new music--at least not any that I was hearing on the radio.  I'm assuming that's because Christine and her husband Scott (who's a guitar player and background vocalistst) were busy raising a family of their own.  Not sure why the faded away, but they did.  Too bad.  I did like Out of the Grey's music, but I was never a huge, huge fan.  Why?  Well, first let's go over some of their most memorable singles that they put out in the 1990s, which I'll rank on a 1-10 score, 10 being highest.  As a contrast I'll site a couple songs I think are 10s: "Love Runs Out" by One Republic is a 10.  "Escapade" by Janet Jackson is a 10.  "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Van Hallen (released in 1997 when Sammy Hagar was still with the band is a 10, "God Part II" by U2 is a 10.  Yes, I have very eccletic tastes in music.  But for now let's get back to JUST looking at some of Out of the Grey's more memorable music.

• "Steady Me": I fast paced song, that TOTALLY would be in the Diamond Mine, Christian dance outreach ministry IF I could ever get that to fly.  Great job by Scott Dente in the music of this song, Christine's fine voice doensn't really stand out in the this song.  7.5 out of 10
• "The One I've Been Waiting For".  Romance bridges to how our focus should be on God to be the great love in our life.  This song actually made my spec. script soundtrack for "Revenge of the Fat Chicks" which I wrote like 10 years ago.  Chritine Dente's angelic, feminine voice shines in this one.  7.0 out of 10.
• "All We Need".  Upbeat elevator style music.  GREAT soothing vocals by Christine.  Good guitar work by her husband Scott.  6. 5 out of 10.
• "Remember This".  A call for Christians to remember the great love of God amidst things that distract us in life.  6.5 out of 10.
• "Feels Like Real Life".  Upbeat song, another one that would make the dance ministry.  6.5 out of 10.
• "Write My Life".  Different style beat.  Almoast like a haunted house or horror beat.  6.0 out of 10.  
• "Hope in Sight".  Very upbeat song, inspires faith.  Christine's vocals here are contagous and you find yourself wanting to sing along with her.  Good job by Scott in the musical accompanyment.  6.0 out of 10.

Now let's breakdown the group as a whole.  Here's how I rank Out of the Grey on individual levels:

• Vocals: 10 out of 10.  Christine Dente IS the best.  Whenever she sings, I coo.  
• Music Quality: 8.5 out of 10.  Out of the Grey's music is clear, usually has a good guitar in it.  There is some range to the music in their song.  "Write my Life" is very different.  
• Lyrics: 5 out of 10.  Outside of "The One I've Been Waiting For" none of their song lyrics really stand out.  And some of their songs have boring lyrics.  

So as you can see I am quite familiar with Out of the Grey's work. I think I still have like 5 of the CDs on a spinner.  There are lots of Christian groups that I like more than Out of Grey: Carmen, DC Talk, Cadmon's Call, Chis Tomlin, Rich Mullins, DC Talk, Kathy Trocolli, Margret Becker... the list goes on and on.  BUT nobody on the female side of the ledger sings even close to as good as Christine Dente does.  She's got IT.

Christine Dente is the best female singer of all-time!

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA   

Musical Groups That Totally Suck

There are a bunch of musical groups, and headline performers out there who are so bad that they make me wanna throw the radio out of the window when they com on.  I don't know what your criteria for what constitues "good" and "bad" music is, but I'm pretty eccletic when it comes to who I think sucks.  NO, I'm not a professional musician, heck back in 7th grade was so out of tune as a singer that the choir director made me be the "Almond Joy Boy", which meant putting me in an oversided box costume where I trotted out on stage and tossed candy out into the crowd.  And yes, smartass, they were almond joy candy bars.

As you might guess there are some rappers who made my music groups that totally suck list.  But since I know for the get-go I'm not into rap I don't really study the scene enough to really develope a distaste for them.  

Boston.  Probably the biggest disappointment in a music band.  On the surface their instumental music sounds pretty good.  But then the singing comes in, and though the vocals aren't bad, the lyrics and messages in their songs SUCKS!!   How can you have a nice sound and be SO BAD in the mucial lyric department?  Well, somehow the musical group Boston manages to pull off this on.  Every.  Single song.  They ever did!!   

And yet growing up working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant I remember a frizzy haired, slender manager guy who LOVED the music "Boston", but as I rember the guy I always thought he was kind of a diphshit, and his prefered choisce in music proves it. 

Nirvana.  Hey, they're from Seattle right?  They kicked off the whole grunge thing in the early 90s...  So I gotta like them, right?  FUCK NO!  I can't stand Nirvana, what they stand for, and every accomplishment they ever made or had is SHIT!  Look at Kurt Cobain's eyes in the picture, he lookes like one of the "infected" from Danny Boyles 2001 classic horror movie "28 Days Later..."   I think of all musical groups I hate, Nirvana tops that list.  The whole grunge movement is were the music scene got off track.  The heavy metal music I was used to was replaced by THIS CRAP!  All headlined by Nirvana.  I think they look like a bunch of wine-o's and degenerates.  Worse yet is the message behind their music.  "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of the most morally bankrupt songs I've ever heard in my life.  When I hear that song, it's like I hear demons mocking spritually dead people.  The whole fascination with Kurt Cobain is head scratcher for me.  What exactly did that guy do that was so noble?  NOTHING!  He killed himself slightly removed from the peak of his popularity, and left a child for his girlfriend to raise on her own.  

Eminem.  Angry, rap music.  Just because you talk fast, that doesn't make your music good.  I think Eminem's entire appeal is his ability to release the rage inside his fans.  There isn't much, if any, musical diverctiy to Eminem's music.  I don't think he has much tallent. He's just able to tap in and exploit an emotion in his sytle of (c)rap music.  

Nickelback.  Their lead singer sounds really wierd to me, and their musical makes me feel down every time I hear anyting they've ever done.  The kinda carried the heavy metal torch in down era for that genre of music.  Anyhow, Nickleback  sucks and I have nothing nice to say about them.  

Foreigner.  Mostly sappy love songs from the early 80s, none of which ever registered with me. 

James Taylor.  Glorified elevator music.  His brand of folk music is so boring it makes me wanna fall asleap every time I hear it.

Christopher Cross.  Back in the early 80s I had a junior high music teacher who gave me my first exposure to Christopher Cross music.  This guy's got a weird voice, and his songs are for the most part, boring.  I have no idea who this guy's audience is.  Maybe sentimenal middle-aged, married people. 

 

So there you have it, a bunch of varried musical groups, bands and (so called) artists, who from my perspective SUCK!  

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

P.S. There's a good chance that my day job will end this upcoming week.  The company I work for makes some very specialized products and last Wednesday I was told it was manditory to go to a company meeting where it was told that one of our big dollar customers was scaling back big time on their orders from us.  The company I work for has another main series of products that they're trying to get out of--and have nothing to replace it with, this on the heels of another program that shut down about 6 months ago.   Then on Friday a "hatchet man" visited the department I work in and was making some "observations".  Anywho, shit's going in the wrong direction at the day job, and that's going to affect me me and a lot of other people.  So please be praying for us.

P.S.S. Still working on editing the novel.  Haven't been as dilagent as in times before.  Not in a full-blown lull, mind you, just not as engaged as I need to be.  Still see Taylor Swift in my mind's eye everytime I write about the female whose featured in the 2nd love story that happens in the story.  

P.S.S.S. Very pissed off at myself for make a couple chips on the hood of my 2015 Impreza a little worse they they were before after I tried my hand a using some over-the-counter touch-up supplies to mask the chips.  I erranty used the rough eraser on the finished, non-scratched paint and scuffed it up so that it now looks blurred.  I'm going to try to buff that out, and re-paint the chipped spots tomorrow after church--weather permitting.  Then if all else fails I'll take my car to a professional paint shop to get it touched up next week weather I'm fired or not.  It's just that goes against what I feel inside, which is that I should be the one who fixes this minor blemish.  

Just another day in the life of a wanna-be discovered writer, whose being forsed to live his life without critical acclaim or recognition.  Sigh...  

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift: Best Music Video Ever Made

I actually went into my first viewing of Taylor Swift's video for "Shake It Off" with much trepidation, thinking to myself, what if this girl is a bore and proves me wrong that I recently lauded such high acclaim in in once saying that I could see Taylor Swift becoming the next rom-com queen.  I was so happy that after finally getting arround to watching her music video that Taylor totally silence any critic within me.  This is one powerhouse actress--and this video proves it!

Watch this video and see if you see what I see, which is an actress's audition tape to prove she can be a comedic heroine worthy of headling a romantic comedy feature film:

 

And just to set the stage, I grew up in an era when music videos where king, back in the ealy 80s when the medium was taking off.  I grew up LA-OVING Deff Leopard videos from their "Pyromania" release.  Now, in retrospect I now view those songs "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'" much differently than did back when I was an impressionable 13/14 year old.  "Rock of Ages" is a term used to describe God I think, as He is our rock, so whatever Deff Leopard was doing in that videos wasn't good, and may have been mocking Christian symbolism, which is something those British rockers should have had the brains to steer clear of.  Point: NEVER mock God.  But the old Deff Leopard videos told dark stories set to heavy metal music, and for a while in my youth I was quite blinded by them as I even confessed to in one of my most popular and visted posts.  

Anywho, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" is NOTHING like any of that, thankfully.  Rather this "Shake It Off" video is a classic for totally different reasons so let's shift gears and really get into to this so you can see where I'm coming from.  As for the song itself, it's kinda catchy, but it's not a classic--the video for it, however, is.

It all starts with the courage of the artist to be willing to be seen as playing a fool.  Taylor's willingness to show herself being clumsy and out of sorts amidst the other great dancers in this video servers her brilliantly.  Study the video and the facial expressions Taylor REPEATEDLY delivers I think you'll see what I see, and that's an acting dynamo in the making.

The video starts with Taylor warming up with a ballerina troupe.  Then as the first verse goes she sings about her negative public perception:

• "I stay out to late"
• "Got nothing in my brain"
• "Go out on too many dates" / "But I can't make them say"
• "That's what people say, mmm-hmmm, that's what people say"

Okay, so this the clearly the set-up for rebuttal right?  Yeah, well Taylor gives it in her own, unique style--and I loved it!  Reminded me of Avril Levine's "Girlfriend", Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" or Allanis Morrisette's "You Aught to Know".  Only Taylor's subtle rant is told via happy-go-lucky beat--for the most part.

I loved the many faces, costumes and characters Taylor played in this action-packed video.

• First, you have her a ballerina
• Then you have her as a wrapper
• Techno Talyor
• 
  Taylor as a back-up dancer vs. Beyonce
• Expressioninst dancer Taylor
• Cheerleader feme fetal Taylor
• And finally there is normal Taylor: the one who dance with normal looking people at the end of the video

And through most of these quick cut scenes you see Taylor dancing, but the other dancers generally doing a more polished, professional dancing.  

What I love about Taylor Swift is that she is genius enough to know that she doesn't hafta be the star dancer in all of this.  Rather, she's more of the comic relief.  

Comedy in music videos, surely you jest!  Well, if you're as creative as Taylor Swift and the GENIUSES who conceptualized and cut this video, YES, you can have comedy in your music video.  Comedy in the form of:

• Taylor mocking Beyonce and flaunting her butt.  This is done in two spots with Taylor making a shocked face followed by a cut to a Beyonce lookalike who shaking her butt like a sex pot temptress would do.  Then later you have Talyor crawing through the legs of lined up Beyonce like back-up dancers with a look of wonder on her face 
• 
  Taylor suddenly sporting a off look on her face like she's wondering what she's doing amidst the expressionist dance troupe.
• 
  Ballerina Taylor playing an air flute during a musical interlude.
• Ballerina Taylor tiptoeing through the middle of two rows of ballerinas holding their poses, then shaking her hands in mock celebration of her accomplishment.
• 
  At the end of the video Taylor falls while trying to settle in a capstone graceful pose infront of her fellow ballerinas ending the video with a "so there" nod of her head.

I also like a lot of the acting Taylor did in this video.  Like her facial expression at the beginning, when she's laying out what she sees as her negative, public perception.  I liked the nerdy Taylor doing the reel in, fishing pole gesture too.

And just so you know I'm NOT a Beyonce basher.  Sure I did a post on her occultic stuff that she's allowing attached herselft to, a.k.a. the whole Sasha Fiece alter ego.  Every time I see Beyonce now, my heart just aches.  I sooo wish she'd make bet er choices, get right with God, and be the "good" role model.  But what I saw Taylor poking fun at here was the sexual flaunting stuff that is very prevalent in many of Beyonce's performances.

This music video is the best I've ever seen--for what it is: a funny take, a performing willing to laugh at herself and try to express a truth she's leaned with has universal appeal, which is that no matter how you're precieved you need to able to shake of the negative perspective and enjoy life on your own terms.

My precept ion of Taylor Swift has changed.  It all stared with her interview and skit she did on "The Tonight Show" back in August.  True, I did go out on limb and say that I think Taylor Swift could be the genre's next rom-com queen--if she so pursues such a righteous endeavor.  But irregardless of where Taylor so chooses to go, she's won me over, and I wish her well.  Taylor Swift gets comedy.  Her willingness to be comfortable in her own skin, clumsy, vunderable and silly at times serves her well.  What a refreshing trait to see: someone who is willing to be the butt of the joke.

Trust me, Taylor, you're far from the butt of the joke.  Your video of "Shake It Off" is awesome, best music video I've ever seen, and reminds me of a time and place when interesting music videos were still being made.  

 

P.S. Still hard at work on editing the epic fantasy novel and subsequent script adaptations.  The current adage I would use to describe what I'm doing is: tossed salad paragraphs.  What mean by that is I'm finding I'm doing a lot of editing, and hopefully making my writing better, by rearranging the placement of words and ideas in already existing sentence.  It's like have all these ingredients already existing in the paragraphs which comprise this story, it's just for maximum impact, me as the writer must play with each paragraph and rearrange things accordingly for maximum impact and the smoothest, most satisfying read possible.  Make sense?

I feel like Larry Bird in his heyday, at the height of his time as an NBA star, where he'd be down on hands and knees looking for the soft spots on the parquet floor of the Boston Gardens, where the Celtics' played.  

Their is a pursuit of perfection that I feel I MUST strive for in my writing.  Someday I wanna be the best, just like Taylor Swift was in this video, "Shake It Off", just like Larry legend was back in the early 80s when he was leading his Boston Celtics deep into the playoffs year after year.