Randomramblings

I borrowed Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring) soundtrack and have been listening to it ever since. Not only listening - by now I know it by heart. I looked up Howard Shore, the composer on IMDb and was impressed by his work, by the amount of work he's done so far.

Actually, I am rather a fan of soundtracks, that is: film music that actually has a score, written by a composer instead of the soundtrack being a patchwork of several popular music pieces, written and performed by pop singers. My favourite soundtrack would have to be The Hours (especially suitable for rainy autumn days, but has a tendency to make me depressed, since I listen to it repeatedly for hours on an end) by Phillip Glass. I also liked the music he composed for Scorsese's Kundun (1997).

Among my other favourites are Shine soundtrack, and Amelié, The Beautiful Mind, The Gladiator, Shakespeare in Love and The Godfather soundtracks. I also have Angels and Insects soundtrack, but have never been able to see the film. (I might read the book.)

However, the latter soundtrack is very inspirational and the very first time I listened to it, I had an amazing idea for a story (in short) about a young woman, living on an island. I knew it is the most wonderful idea, one that could be worked into a story, and a very good one. Over the years (it's been 4 years) I've added details to the plot and characters and thought about their respective lives. It's like meeting old friends again. I think I will finish the story this year, since I will have more time, especially from March onwards. I feel I need to confine it to paper, because for the last four years I have not managed to go beyond a few drafts and pieces here and there. But the idea is more clearly shaped than ever, there are just a few details I need to sort out and then I can really begin. And if, once written, the idea reads as smoothly as it seems (it should) in my head, then this will definitely be an improvement.

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But since I know LOTR soundtrack by heart already I thought today should be a Chopin day. I've been listening to classical music since I was 11 and at first I didn't have the patience to listen to Chopin or Mozart. I found them overrated and dull. But as I grew older and have gone through many CDs of classical music, they improved on me. Now listening to Chopin feels like he knows me, like we share the same thoughts.

Oh, yes. Most definitely a Chopin day.


P.S. While looking up Shore on IMDb, I could not resist to check the progress of Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a new project by Shekhar Kapur, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. It's gone from "announced" to "pre-production", which is great news. I only hope Cate does this one as well as I LOVED her in Elizabeth.