RIP Bud Cort

Bud Cort is dead. He made it to 77. His much older co-star in Harold and Maude, Ruth Gordon, made it to 88.

I've mentioned Harold and Maude on this blog a few times over the years. I first saw it in my teens and it had an impact on me. I was glad the NYTimes chose the image of Cort, as Harold Chasen, the morning after spending the night with Maude, as he is blowing bubbles. The implication is that Harold lost his virginity and the shot makes that obvious.

I realize the film's director Hal Ashby deserves a lot of the credit for the shots and the vividness and pacing of the film, and Ruth Gordon was the prefect casting choice, but the New York Times notes that Cort added his own personal touch to the film:

Mr. Cort was 21 when he played the part of Harold with wry confidence; many of his most memorable moments, like a fourth-wall-breaking smile into the camera, were his idea.

This is what they're talking about. 

I can't be the only one who thinks that young Bud Cort looks like Cole Escola.

Cort didn't have the most spectacular career, but thanks to Harold and Maude, he is immortal.

Take on me hot take

Back in the day I was among those who turned up our noses at electronic-heavy pop music which we often called, idiotically, "art-fag music."

But now I can't stop listening to Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha's big 1984 hit "Take on Me." 

I came across it in one of those Apple Music collections, probably "music of the 80s" and for the first time really noticed the singer's vocal range. 

As it says in the Wiki page for "Take on Me"

Harket demonstrates a vocal range of over two and a half octaves.[14] He sings the lowest pitch in the song, A2 (the tonic), at the beginning of the chorus, on the first syllable of the phrase "Take On Me".[14] As the chorus progresses, Harket's voice hits ever higher notes, reaching a falsetto[12][16][17] and hitting the song's highest note, E5, (the dominant) at the end.[14] Rolling Stone has thus noted the song as "having one of the hardest-to-sing choruses in pop history".

It really is something. 

And then I discovered that the band Walk Off the Earth did a cover. 

I've blogged about that band, way back in 2012 because I was very impressed by their video of "Somebody That I Used to Know" which is also a cover. It's the first video on this blog post.

Anyway the vocals on Walk Off the Earth's cover of "Take On Me" are not quite as swooping and exciting, but they are impressive, and the almost nil electronica would have made even dumb 23-year-old me happy.

The orchid is fine

I had to hire a separate mover to move my plants, since I was afraid if I used a regular mover for my plants, they could end up sitting in an ice cold truck for hours.

So I had to get a Task Rabbit guy with a heated van to move the plants. And my orchid and all the other plants survived very well.

But orchid is definitely outgrowing its pot - time to repot this spring.