Sunday, August 9, 2020

A Random History of Moi Part II – The Ecstasy of Gold


Composer: Ennio Morricone
In my headphones, a piano runs, whisked along by violins, and it lifts my spirit and weeping eyes to the ghost of Ennio Morricone. He was a film composer who left this earth a little better, his gift is a body of work that leaves most modern-day composers envious. His music was diverse, from Western to Gangland, to the use of electric guitar and harmonicas. His work has been covered by the metal band Metallica and reintroduced by directors like Quentin Tarantino. Morricone changed the feel of the modern-day western by the music he scored. It was urgent and uplifting; it came in long sweeps or in short hard telegraphs that ushered in villains and heroes alike. It was some of the most beautiful music ever composed, at least for this long-time listener. 

As a writer, I mourn the passing of Ennio Morricone, because this man and his music have been with me since I was a kid. It might seem a thousand years ago, but it was 1975 when I decided to be a writer, and it was also when I started listening to Ennio Morricone. We had an RCA cabinet stereo back in 1975, with a turntable, headphone jack, cassette player recorder and speakers that were about 30 watts each. The AM/FM radio even ran on tubes. Today this thing would be an antique. I spent a lot of time beside that RCA, on my belly, feet crossing and uncrossing, listening to an inspirational ballad called The Ecstasy of Gold. 

My connection with music and writing is something I have talked about before, but what I am telling you here is a little more personal, because this was where it started. The soundtrack at the beginning of my writing journey started with Ennio Morricone's The Good the Bad and the Ugly. When I listened to his music, mental movies would unfold in my mind. Purposely, in front of me, a binder filled with loose leaf paper whose lines were etched with the stories that came, only to be interrupted by a rough sketch.
In that old binder I wrote a horror story, in which a young man named David fights to get back to civilization after his best friend, John, is killed by a demonic creature they have awakened. Thew story’s title was: David vs. The Zombie, and it was a stupid story filled with the usual tropes, but the music of Ennio Morricone inspired it. And for the record, while David vs. The Zombie wouldn’t wholly pass the plagiarism sniff test; it was still a beautiful thing. First, because of the music that still calls to me 45 years later. Secondly, because back then, the well overflowed with ideas, and these were the purest muses in this writer’s life.

I wore a groove into that soundtrack, and it led me to more Morricone, to soundtracks like, Once Upon a Time in America and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Man, I got some mileage out of that last one, what a foreboding lonely soundtrack. Understandably, I loved the movie too. 

As I write this, revisiting that first soundtrack, I am reminded of other artists that would join the score and change the rhythm and the beat of my writing—pushing me to get it out. Sometimes even demanding.

So, I bid thee a goodnight and raise my glass to Ennio Morricone, who played a significant part in the soundtrack in my writing life.

Your musical spirit lives on as long as the earth exists.
--Ennio Morricone  
November 10, 1928 - July 6, 2020
 

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