VOTD 6/28/2023 #2

 Michael Abels: Get Out OST (Waxworks)

Purchased at Jerry's Records

Hello once again, dear reader, second time today. I find myself wondering why I'm doing this blog at all. It has nothing to do with the numbers of people who read it (most times five or fewer per post) because I really don't actively promote this page. It's tied to the fact that I enjoy collecting records (and less commonly these days, CDs) but I know that I've been accumulating a lot of stuff. These are things I've written here before. I guess part of this has been a personal but public journal, part of it analysis and history, part of it record review, part of it routine.

I mentioned in my post yesterday about being away from home this past week, in Oregon where I have family. I didn't mention that one of the things I came home with was COVID. I assume you've heard of it? Let me tell you, COVID sucks. Bad. If I felt this shitty after four shots (or five? I've lost track), I can only imagine what might have happened if I wasn't vaccinated. I seriously wouldn't rule out fatality.

I'm mostly over it and was able to venture out today for some errands. CMU has a vending machine that supplies a COVID test and two KN95 masks for free each week, so I have been well supplied and masked up with the good stuff today. I've also been cleaning my hands often. Previously, it was protection for me, now it's making myself safe for others.

I've written how Jerry's had a dump of a number of Waxworks vinyl releases, and to my surprise several of them haven't been sold off yet. The soundtrack to C.H.U.D. has been sold apparently, which I might have bought but I knew it would be 80s FM-synth stuff that I didn't need to buy. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but too late to regret it now.

I decided to splurge on one more, the two-LP Get Out soundtrack by Michael Abels. Here's a case where I actually have seen the film, and remember small bits of the score even if it was largely unobtrusive.

If I'm remembering correctly, that was a great year for films. The Shape of Water, Baby Driver, Logan, The Disaster Artist were all better-than-average commercial releases, and I saw two of my favorite documentaries ever: I Called Him Morgan and Dawson City: Frozen Time. I highly recommend them both. 

Get Out (or at least the people behind it) accomplished something amazing: it was a kind of event film that harkened back to an older age of cinema. "It is required that you see Psycho from the very beginning!" shouted that film's ad. Get Out didn't do that directly, but it was a similar word of mouth campaign. I heard repeatedly, "I can't tell you what happens, just go see it" or "Don't tell me what happens!" There was applause at the end, even in the all-white Manor Theater audience. I might have one or two quibbles with it, but by and large it really is a good film, Jordan Peele's best so far in my opinion. I've liked the other two as well, but this one came as such a surprise, it packed a stronger punch. 

Michael Abels' score is solid. At times the music recalls Bartók or Penderecki, as good horror movie music is likely to do. There's occasional chanting, words I don't understand, that to me being more African roots to mind. I'm certain that's intentional. It tends to be broken into smaller segments, as opposed to the longer, flowing statements that Bernard Herrmann would create for Hitchcock. That's not a criticism, just an observation. 

I was thinking while I was listening, what would this music suggest to me if I didn't know the film? The feeling I had more than anything else was of loneliness. Perhaps it's due to the extensive use of solo harp. It's befitting, since I suppose the Armitage family preys on loneliness in the narrative of the film. 

When reading the credits, I noticed "orchestrated by." That credit goes to Drew Krassowski. Neither Drew nor Michael have more than a few discogs.com credits. I don't know much about either of them. Drew must be given much of the credit for the success of the music though. I'm sure the composer was specific about some of the orchestrations, but I don't know how much. It's very well orchestrated, occasionally bringing Morricone colorations to mind. I'm pretty certain it's all done with orchestra and voices, but in a few spots I wasn't initially certain.

Are there any film composers who do their own orchestrations anymore? Perhaps Howard Shore. Maybe John Williams. Hans Zimmer? Probably, though he's also involved with electronic sound design and production. The days of auto-orchestrators such as Morricone, Herrmann. Waxman, Korngold, has largely passed. I know one reason Herrmann orchestrated and even conducted his scores was to earn more coin out of the deal. Thankfully he did, because nobody could have matched his inventive orchestrations.

I think I'm going to have to sit down with this one again soon.

Oh, and as of today, Jerry's still has a vinyl copy of Michael Einhorn's Shock Waves score, which I recommend. 

And by the way, COVID sucks. Really.