reads and listens

Finished off 2-and-a-half James Hadley Chase pulpies: hit and run, we'll share a double funeral (this is the "half" part of my reading, because a chunky midsection had duplicate pages replacing actual narrative material), not my thing (the last two also feature the gigolo Julian "Lucky" Lucan -- was the choice of Julian as a name motivated by Schrader's American Gigolo ?). Am now halfway through Anita Desai's In Custody, the source of Ismail Merchant's interesting film of the same name.

Listening to Ocean's Eleven (notable, apart from the song inclusions, for David Holmes' cool retro-funk work). The album yesterday was The Legendary Italian Westerns showcasing the accessible and rare work of Ennio Morricone whose John Cage-inspired soundscapes completely changed the parameters of the western film soundtrack. This is volume II in RCA/BMG's Film Composers Series. The really cool aspect of this compilation is track 27, From Man to Man from Death Rides a Horse, which was showcased to effect in QT's Kill Bill Vol I, but does not appear on the soundtrack release (another aspect in the favour of the contention that it is best to wait till Vol II hits the screens and then wait another month or so for a deluxe/enhanced/special release of the combo soundtrack).