Trooper York: Movies you don't want to see....

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Movies you don't want to see....

chickenlittle said...

"She's also praying that some movie person is going to want to use her and Meadsy's story for a movie."

Intersting casting potential there I suppose.

34 comments:

blake said...: I...uh...whoa.

Is..."The Human Centipede 2" out yet?; February 8, 2012 at 8:51 PM
chickelit said...: Actually, Titus said that, not I. But if impersonating Titus gets me a fraction of the attention he gets I'm for it!

Why is that man wearing a scuba mask?; February 8, 2012 at 8:52 PM
Trooper York said...: Shit if you were forced to put your face down that stinky hole you would wear a scuba mask!; February 8, 2012 at 9:03 PM
Titus said...: Could you imagine if they did a movie and the producers told them it was going to be Zza Zza and Mickey Rooney.; February 8, 2012 at 9:20 PM
TTBurnett said...: Well, on a little more elevated note, there IS the opera.
In this case, a concert performance of excerpts, introduced, of course, by M. Meade lui-même.; February 8, 2012 at 9:28 PM
chickelit said...: You know TT, I think I just realized something I should have figured out a long time ago: I don't really care for just listening to that sort of music, but I really enjoy hearing it and seeing it played like that. Same with choral music. The human aspect is quite compelling.

It's a start at least?; February 8, 2012 at 10:37 PM
chickelit said...: The same with something reader sent me a while back: link; February 8, 2012 at 10:40 PM
blake said...: I love choral music. I know it annoys the crap about of people, but—t'hell with them.

Listening to it, singing it, writing it. Love it.

I guess I'm just a douchebag that way.; February 8, 2012 at 10:42 PM
chickelit said...: blake said...
I love choral music.

No, actually I can picture you as a "Chorus Line" type guy--sensitive and all.; February 8, 2012 at 11:33 PM
BJM said...: @Kurczak mały

With or without jazz hands?; February 9, 2012 at 1:23 AM
Trooper York said...: I feel bad for this post but because I took a bunch of shots today that people emailed me so I had to blow off steam. Sorry.; February 9, 2012 at 1:27 AM
BJM said...: I really liked the prenuptial Meade on the page, it was fun to watch the dance and we all wished them well...but he came across as a dick at the protests. Even when they were in the right they were dickish about it.

That he wasn't cold cocked says a lot about Wisconsinites inherent politeness...he woulda been dead meat in Berkeley.; February 9, 2012 at 3:10 AM
TTBurnett said...: chickenlittle said...
I don't really care for just listening to that sort of music....

Truth be told, I don't either. Operas and musicals are musical theater, and meant to be seen and heard. My wife listens to opera broadcasts religiously, but I can generally never stand them. I want to see the action. Of course, there are opera arias and sometimes entire scenes, not to mention show tunes, that are standards and work fine out of context. But musical theater that's effective is always theatre first.

You CAN do concert performances of operas, in whole or part, such as that linked scene from Rameau's hilarious and weird Plateé. But the best concert versions of operas tend to be comic and semi-staged, as in that example. And Mireille Delunsch (Madam Folly) is a fantastic comic actress, even if she is a lousy singer. I think she did a better job in concert than she did on stage, but that's because the staged version is over the top, even for my taste. The concert performance is more subtle and witty.

But listening to that music without at least some visuals? Forget it. Rameau recycled, in economical 18th century fashion, some of his previous music here. There are a couple of stand-alone harpsichord pieces reset as choruses, for example. And they're fine on the harpsichord. But I can do without hearing them sung to hard-to-understand French words just out of the blue.

OTOH, there is a huge body of liturgical and sacred choral music whose performers are not really meant to be seen. You could say this music is part of the drama of the Liturgy, and thus shares something with opera. But, as befits religion, the best of it is much more elevated and abstract. Much of this, especially the well-known and beautiful Renaissance polyphonic works of Palestrina, Victoria, Josquin, Byrd, et al., can be great listening out of context. When well-done and used in the Liturgy, however, this music, and Gregorian chant, are fantastic additions and quite a different experience than the perfectly fine one of listening to recordings.

Here's an example of some Gregorian chant done by the boys at the school where I teach recorder. The boys and the Men's Schola sing chant like this liturgically all the time at St. Paul's, plus, of course, they do a huge variety of other sacred and liturgical music, including much by those aforementioned Renaissance masters.

Learning to play the recorder is part of the choristers' musical education, but otherwise it's comic relief. That's okay, because I have a nice little part-time job, AND I'm surrounded by great kids, teachers, and this fantastic choral music at least for a little while every day.

All this is part of what makes me the elitist some complain about. But that's also okay, because if you have to pick your pretensions, I'd rather drive my rusted Subaru to teach these kids than my wife's Audi TT to give driving tips to other motorists in parking lots.; February 9, 2012 at 4:36 AM
The Dude said...: I might choose Jon Heder and Linda Hunt for the roles of Weedeater and EBC. Might. If I were willing to actually think about it, I could probably do better.; February 9, 2012 at 7:47 AM
TTBurnett said...: That last comment may need a little clarification.

MY wife doesn't have an Audi TT.

Someone else's does.; February 9, 2012 at 12:04 PM
blake said...: Hate "A Chorus Line".

Pre-IMDB I wrote a paper about the fundamental change in musicals post-1965, and how you can't have people bursting into song any more unless it's a kiddie flick or a fantasy.

There's an element of joy missing in modern society.; February 9, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Yeah , with modern day love scenes being so explicit, it would be so wierd if they broke out in song , what would they sing I wonder?; February 9, 2012 at 2:21 PM
The Dude said...: O Come All Ye Faithful.; February 9, 2012 at 2:36 PM
blake said...: o/~Orgasm's
A short spasm
of love
sweet love

Orgasm
Sure has 'em
Doin' it nicely
Doin' it nightly
Doin' it nicely nightly\~o; February 9, 2012 at 3:02 PM
blake said...: o/~Let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat hot dogs
Let 'em eat hamburgers
If they haven't got dogs
Let 'em eat anything
They feel they're due

Let 'em eat cake
But let
Me
Eat
You~\o; February 9, 2012 at 3:04 PM
blake said...: These songs doin' anything for ya?; February 9, 2012 at 3:05 PM
TTBurnett said...: I like that last one.
Ah, romance!; February 9, 2012 at 3:21 PM
TTBurnett said...: They were a LITTLE more subtle about it in 1597, but not much. Here's the opening of "Come Again" by John Dowland from his First Booke of Songes, or Ayres. Keep in mind that "to die" meant to have an orgasm, as we so charmingly put it today.

Come again! sweet love doth now invite
Thy graces that refrain
To do me due delight,
To see, to hear, to touch, to kiss, to die,
With thee again in sweetest sympathy

But Shakespearian English and a guy playing the lute dresses up raunchy lyrics wonderfully.; February 9, 2012 at 3:33 PM
blake said...: I remember that one, Tim. Love Dowland, of course. He's, like, the Neil Diamond of the Elizabethan era. Only not Jewish.

There was another one which was less subtle, but I can't recall who did it. There was a passage with a breathy escalating repeat of:

to die, to die, to die...

Or maybe "I die". Randy buggers.; February 9, 2012 at 3:36 PM
Anonymous said...: TTB, that is so romantic.; February 9, 2012 at 4:06 PM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: I did a new seperated at birth today.

You are tempting me to do another one (of me and my doppelganger) but I will not, I will let this one go.; February 9, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I'm not minding listening to it. Thanks, Mr Burnett, for posting.; February 9, 2012 at 6:57 PM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: Separated at Birth:

This.

and

And this.; February 9, 2012 at 7:24 PM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: Okay, I did not do it on my blog and I am not making it public. It is for you select few to enjoy. Enjoy.; February 9, 2012 at 7:46 PM
Anonymous said...: EBL, that IS interesting.; February 9, 2012 at 7:49 PM
The Dude said...: I didn't know Althouse smoked.; February 9, 2012 at 8:06 PM
BJM said...: @Allie

Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life?; February 9, 2012 at 11:56 PM
Anonymous said...: BJM, good one!; February 10, 2012 at 12:46 AM
The Dude said...: Madeline Kahn was such a treasure.; February 10, 2012 at 7:42 AM

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Movies you don't want to see....

34 comments:

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