190. "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters
For the last five years or so, I've been toying with the idea for a movie screenplay in which the protagonist is a man in his 50s that works as a DJ at a "Classic Rock" radio station. One day he is called into the boss's office and is told that the station management has decided that in 6 weeks they will switch to a format that features "adult" contemporary music that is really targeted to the 13-to-21 audience. The protagonist responds in anger and goes into a tirade about how all of these Taylor Swift wannabes have no talent or intelligence at all and shouldn't be allowed to drive, much less make music. At that point, he suddenly passes out. He is rushed to the hospital by his boss, and when he awakes, the doctor tells him that he has a very advanced case of brain cancer. The doctor says that the only way he will live is if he goes through a series of experimental treatments involving radiation and very precise robot-assisted brain surgery. As with many brain surgeries, this surgery is done while he is conscious and able to communicate with the surgical staff. During the surgeries, he has some very vivid experiences in which he hears songs that transport him back to a time that he associates with the music. He imagines that he's interacting with people from that time, which he does to try to make sense of his life choices and find meaning in the things he has done with his life. The song the protagonist hears during his first surgery is "We've Only Just Begun," which takes him back to the early 70s when he was just a boy.
I chose that song to be the first in the story for three reasons. First, Karen Carpenter's voice is so incredible that it is a little beyond belief that she was able to sound so good without any electronic sweetening in the sound booth. But the live version of the song in the video above shows that it's all genuinely her.
Second, the lyrics of the song express a wonderful mix of love and hope and belonging. I usually don't cotton to songs with such a sweet message. But Karen's voice is so beautiful, and the way she sings it is so sincere, I can't help but think, "Maybe there is reason to hope!"
Third, the song came out in 1970, and triggers a lot of those early 70s memories of being with my family, and when we'd hear this song or other Carpenter songs on the radio my older sisters would turn it up and say, "Be quiet! This is a good song!" While "Close to You" was a much bigger hit for The Carpenters, and I like it very much too, I like the piano and trumpet parts on this song more. And that's another thing that will get songs on the top 200 list--good piano or trumpet parts.
Well, that's the beginning of my movie script--a big lead-in to this song, during which the protagonist has his first flashback/time-travel experience. For this scene, the protagonist watches his mother dance with the boy's stepfather at their wedding reception. In the middle of the song, the "little girl next door"--who is about a year older--comes over and makes the boy dance with her, too. The girl tells the boy that its a good thing for his mom to get married after the death of the boy's dad last year. The girl assures him to not worry about the new stepfather, because she lives next door and she'll keep an eye on him and make sure that the man treats the boy and his mother well. Then the boy's mother cuts in and dances with the boy during the last part of the song.
Okay, enough of the storyline for the movie. I just have one other thing to say in praise of Karen Carpenter. Her talent with music went well beyond her mesmerizing voice. She could also play them drums damn good! Here's a video featuring Karen playing drums…a lot of drums…more drums than you have probably ever seen on a single television program. Also, she somehow manages to magically clone herself in the middle of the drum solo--a feat that the audience applauds--and then turn it into a drum duet. But don't worry, she merges with her sister-clone at the end, thus helping us avoid a number of extremely difficult philosophical quandaries about the nature of the Self. Oh, and keep your eyes pealed for a guest appearance by a very sexist John Denver!
No comments:
Post a Comment