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09-15-2019, 07:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-05-2020, 02:28 PM by Drunk Monk.)
Solid doc on an amazing talent. Her music was such a part of my youth, such a pioneer. And what a voice. I got to hear her live once. I can't quite remember the context but I think it was at Davies with the symphony. She only did like 3 songs, and I remember Lucas was in the audience a few rows in front of me.
This doc does what music docs are supposed to do - talks to the right people, much of it is narrated by Linda herself, charts her career, those 'shocking' hairpin tunes as she explored the tremendous range of her talent, touches on those many moments when she made history and most of all, gives stellar live samples of her major hits. She's been suffering from Parkinson's, which is why she stopped singing over a decade ago, but she's still able to speak about her experience.
I've been humming Linda's tunes in my head.
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My old college friend Llo just forwarded me an email about us seeing Linda. It jogged my ever-fading memory.
Quote:The doc covers a lot of territory, but doesn't mention Ronstadt's flirtation with modern classical music. She sings on two tracks on a mid '80s album by avant garde minimalist composer Philip Glass, called "Songs From Liquid Days." I saw the concert of the album, so I can at least say I heard Ronstadt sing two songs live. In one song she is backed by the female group The Roches.
The buddy who joined me for the concert, in San Francisco, thought he saw George Lucas in the audience behind us. At the time, the rumor was that Ronstadt had been dating (or had dated) Lucas, and my friend Gene and I guessed that Lucas had come to the performance to watch his girlfriend (or ex) sing. Looked like Lucas to me.
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Caught bits of this on CNN while watching football playoffs. Need to see the whole thing. I thought it was a fact she dated Lucas.
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It was so but just a rumor when we saw her.
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Finally finished this up. It seems I knew everyone of her hits. Waited for the picture of her in the hot blue silk shorts and on roller skates.
Good solid doc. It was very sad to see and hear that song at the end. They could have left that out.
(I know. What was the rush to see this)
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02-07-2021, 01:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-07-2021, 01:50 PM by Drunk Monk.)
(02-07-2021, 07:23 AM)Greg Wrote: It was very sad to see and hear that song at the end. They could have left that out.
Really? I thought that was the most powerful part. It really knocked it home for me.
I think we all knew every one of her hits. How could anyone from our generation not? She dominated the radio for so long.
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Flowers for Algernon, baby, Flowers for Algergnon.
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Odd reference but sure, I suppose I could see that.
I suppose it's something that we all must accept eventually.
Or just go out like Elijah... inna ball o fiyah.
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As a film maker, I understand about pulling on people's heart strings. I get very excited when someone cries during an interview because I know I can use it in the film for emotional appeal. Yes, I am a monster.
But there was something about that end clip in the movie. Ronstadt looked petrified in it. But that could just be the result of the Parkinson. Plus, the movie just spent 2 hours showing what a great and powerful singer she was. And now they are showing the shell of that greatness and making it perform. Blech. I think they could have acknowledged that she can no longer sing and talked about it. But I didn't feel the need for them to prove it.
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So I shoulda cried more for more screen time in STRO?
I understand what you're saying but that worked well for me. The ravages of diseases like Parkinson's need to be shown more so people understand it more. I suppose that's an artifact of working with my dad's stroke for over a decade. It bugs me that our media tends to keep old age and its toll so hidden from public view.
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I saw her do an interview on a Bay Area local TV station around the time this came out. It was sad just in that short context because she was so powerful and versatile and had lost so much, even the joy of just singing to herself. This made me think of the Warren Zevon doc "Keep Me In Your Heart" he made after he discovered he had cancer (partly because he wrote Ronstadt's hit "Poor poor pitiful me"). Also sad...
--tg
