When I was much younger, I really didn’t appreciate Ennio Morricone’s work until I started listening to movies as background noise while doing homework. Sure there were the famous spaghetti western themes that were favorite from the first time the were heard, but I didn’t bother putting a name to those tunes and others until I started collecting soundtracks back when I was around 14 or 15. As I broadened my cinematic horizons, I started to see Morricone’s name pop up even more frequently than some of my more favorite composers and when I dug up more information on the man’s output, I was floored at just how many film and TV soundtracks the man wrote, composed and conducted (it’s currently over 500 since 1959)…

Good, Bad or Otherwise, the man’s speed, versatility and reliability has made him a favorite composer of mine for decades and he’s still going strong at age 85. As you can see above (and here), he’s actually on a “greatest hits” tour around the globe with two scheduled stops in the US: March 20th 2014 in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater and March 23th 2014 in New York at the Barclays Center. While I’d love to attend the NY concert, those ticket prices (and the insane fees charged for them) put it out of my reach (*grumble*).

Ah well – at least I know where the concert is held in case a sack of money materializes out of thin air and comes crashing through the ceiling. Actually, I’d prefer to be gently handed that sack, as I don’t even want to know how much it costs to repair a busted ceiling. Probably a sack of money like the one I’d be holding if it happened to crash through the roof. Oops. Just my luck – I can’t even have a proper being slightly rich fantasy without finding a way to lose it all the same moment I get it…