Borders raid

Like a vulture, my first act after returning to Providence was to enter Borders and pick their bones clean. I already own too many books, so this was purely a music/DVD sort of raid.

I own a lot of Hitchock DVD’s, but for some reason not “Psycho” or “Vertigo,” and was hoping to find them. Not there, but I did find “Rebecca.” It’s strange how little “Rebecca” is discussed when Hitchock’s name comes up– it did win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1940, after all.

I last saw it in about 1997 or 1998, and can’t say for sure if it’s good, but do remember it as being so. I’ve forgotten it to a sufficient extent that it should be like watching it for the first time again. Laurence Olivier is in it, which is generally a good sign for a film. (Though you know… my favorite actor may be Basil Rathbone.)

Also still on a retro Rush kick after their outstanding June concert in Portland (that’s the ultimate sign of an excellent concert– you find yourself singing and whistling and playing the band’s songs for days and weeks afterward; my brother’s been doing the same in Portland after that concert, surely the best rock concert I’ve ever seen even though the guys are all pushing age 60 now). But all the Providence Borders had was “Icon,” which is a “best of” collection but not quite the best of. It should be labelled: “Contains the Third Best Song on Each of Rush’s Albums!” Strange collection, but I’m fond of a couple of these. “Circumstances” is an underrated song, and there’s also “Red Sector A”– hard for a rock band to pull off a concentration camp memorial song, but I think they did it. And “Working Man” is always good, hard-rocking pleasure.