There are so many things that gave us joy as children and as teenagers that we leave behind as we "mature". It's really quite sad. When I go to the park with my little brother, I see little kids running around with there arms stretched out making airplane noises and pretending to fly, and I think back and remember how long ago it was since I last did that, when I was a child and didn't care much about anything but having fun. And there's this tug in my heart that tells me to just start running with my arms out too, but the voice of "adulthood" in my head says no because you'd look silly and that's just not what you should "do". When this shift from carefree fun to retraint and posture happens I don't know, but part of me weeps with the desire to go back. To go back to recess and icecream and pokemon and all the things I left behind when I started growing up. When being irrational was okay and things like money and expenses were so remote and abstract that I didn't even understand. Ugh, There's a lump in my throat so heavy I'm almost chocking on it. When your a kid, and don't know about what life really is, the world is a pretty happy place. But when you grow up and start to understand, a lot of it grays life is hard and the world is a mean place. I guess ignorance really is bliss.
I'm struggling to like this video, even looking at it from different points of view:
1. She's a good singer. Pity the audience doesn't shut the fuck up so we can really hear her.
2. She's a good singer. And yet nothing special compared to many, many other singers I've heard before.
3. She's a good singer. But I never listen to that kind of music by choice, so probably won't listen to her again.
4. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. I want to look at young/pretty people on stage.
5. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. "I bet you weren't expecting that!" Actually, I know talent exists independently of looks. Don't try to manipulate me by your presumptions of my prejudices.
6. She's a good singer... and she's old/ugly! Great, so now we have inverse body fascism where we reward this one woman with attention and money over other, more talented singers, exactly because she defied the stereotype.
7. She's a good singer. But she decided to go on Britain's Got Talent. Fuck me, I hate that show! I'll now associate her with Simon Cowell and hate her music if I ever hear it again.
8. She's a good singer. But the entire theater is full of people who disagree with me on one, some, most or all of the above points. Fuck them too.
Just too amazing. EDIT: Ack, it won't let me embed. Here is thelink.
I'm struggling to like this video, even looking at it from different points of view:
1. She's a good singer. Pity the audience doesn't shut the fuck up so we can really hear her.
2. She's a good singer. And yet nothing special compared to many, many other singers I've heard before.
3. She's a good singer. But I never listen to that kind of music by choice, so probably won't listen to her again.
4. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. I want to look at young/pretty people on stage.
5. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. "I bet you weren't expecting that!" Actually, I know talent exists independently of looks. Don't try to manipulate me by your presumptions of my prejudices.
6. She's a good singer... and she's old/ugly! Great, so now we have inverse body fascism where we reward this one woman with attention and money over other, more talented singers, exactly because she defied the stereotype.
7. She's a good singer. But she decided to go on Britain's Got Talent. Fuck me, I hate that show! I'll now associate her with Simon Cowell and hate her music if I ever hear it again.
8. She's a good singer. But the entire theater is full of people who disagree with me on one, some, most or all of the above points. Fuck them too.
Conclusion: it was all right.
Here is the problem with your post. She is not a "good singer"; she is an absolutely incredible singer. Her voice has a full, rich mature sound. It isn't breathy, airy, or warble-y. The tone is just pure. She sings with the emotional reverence that those who enjoy the religious faiths usually reserve for various Sunday services. This was a belting song, which requires an amazing amount of breathing control to accomodate the phrasing. She probably also has perfect pitch, although I am not completely sure of that; she just sounded very much in tune.
There may be "better" singers out there, but this was definitely a flawless performance.
As to looks, you have this general "video killed the radio star" phenomenon. It is because of her looks that she would probably never be discovered for anything but local shows. You may personally be against the whole Britan's Got Talent/American Idol thing, but realistically it would have been her only real chance at being discovered on a broad scale.
The more you look into this woman's story, the more impressive it is. She was self-sacrificing in going back to her home and taking care of her mother for the majority of her life. The real shame would have been if no one ever had the chance to hear her voice.
Wow, you guys took a long time to pick up on those comments!
Here is the problem with your post. She is not a "good singer"; she is an absolutely incredible singer. Her voice has a full, rich mature sound. It isn't breathy, airy, or warble-y. The tone is just pure. She sings with the emotional reverence that those who enjoy the religious faiths usually reserve for various Sunday services. This was a belting song, which requires an amazing amount of breathing control to accomodate the phrasing. She probably also has perfect pitch, although I am not completely sure of that; she just sounded very much in tune.
There may be "better" singers out there, but this was definitely a flawless performance.
Here's the problem with your post: that performance was far from perfect. I agree that she has a rich, mature sound. I'd expect that from an older singer.
I don't want to go through point by point and pick out all the small mistakes, slight miss-tunings, breathiness on the low notes, the peculiar phrasing on some lines, how she doesn't end her long notes cleanly... but they are all there. On the video listen from 1:46 to 2:02. In that short space I picked out three or four things that shows she isn't professionally trained, and even a non-expert listener like myself could advise her to do differently. And listen at 2:20... nothing flawless about that! She could probably do a better job without the thousand people screaming at her and without the pressure of the TV cameras and judges, but this performance doesn't hold up against many, many, many professional singers I've heard live. Seriously, here's the first youtube video I could find of a professional singing the same song:
The difference is like night and day! Susan's story might be interesting, but her Britain's Got Talent performance, for me, doesn't go higher than "good" on my impressive-o-meter.
Also, I'd doubt VERY much that the producers of the show didn't know exactly what they had on their hands, and played the entire thing for all it's worth. They blatantly dressed her up to look as frumpy as possible, the makeup drab, the hair like a nest. The introduction and facts about her have nothing to do with her talent, and only serve to widen the gap between the audience's expectations and final opinion. The audience has been manipulated perfectly.
Wow, you guys took a long time to pick up on those comments! Here's the problem with your post: that performance was far from perfect.
That is true, but she is also not a professional. I've read up on her a bit more and she has never formally trained. The raw talent and relative control from an untrained voice shows promise beyond what many with record deals could ever dream of. She could with some training work in musical theatre quite well and her looks would not be a detriment in most of the roles she would be suited for. In regard to one of your points, the producers of Britain's Got Talent ask contestants to provide their own costumes. Her clothes and her coif were all her own. As to your remarks about wanting to look at someone pretty, sure being pretty is nice, but when attending a vocal performance or a musical theatre production I care more about the person's abilities and if their looks fit their roles. I would take a somewhat talented elephant man over Brittany Spears any day. What got me the most about this video is that it gave incredible joy to someone and allowed their dream (as unrealistic as it may have once seemed) to come true. How often in life does that happen?
Here's the problem with your post: that performance was far from perfect.
That is true, but she is also not a professional.
Hey, don't go off on me about that. I said she was good! "Your Mom" said it was a flawless performance. It really wasn't! It was good for an untrained amateur. I never said differently.
As to your remarks about wanting to look at someone pretty, sure being pretty is nice, but when attending a vocal performance or a musical theatre production I care more about the person's abilities and if their looks fit their roles. I would take a somewhat talented elephant man over Brittany Spears any day.
That was just one point among many, and only added as a counterpoint to the "She only got a good reaction because she was old/ugly" point.
Sure, she brought her own clothes, but my point still stands. I watched the longer video, and the entire setup is so transparently manipulative it's unbelievable. Top marks for the editors and producers! The hair and makeup... the music played over the intro... the choice of sound bites... the fumbling with words on stage... the cutaways to people snearing in the audience... everything was specifically tailored to lower her status. The one thing that was weird was the laugh they added to her unfunny joke.
And then the performance itself was edited to all fuck. Sure, she got a standing ovation, but look at the cutaways to the female judge. People go from swinging their arms in unison to clapping in something like one second. This and many other things give away all the editing tricks. Superbly done, and obviously it works... except for someone like me who studied music production at university and then worked for two years doing sound recording and video editing for a television company that specialized in live music events...
What got me the most about this video is that it gave incredible joy to someone and allowed their dream (as unrealistic as it may have once seemed) to come true. How often in life does that happen?
For everyone I've met in show business? Once per life. Sometimes twice if they change artistic direction after a few years.
What got me the most about this video is that it gave incredible joy to someone and allowed their dream (as unrealistic as it may have once seemed) to come true. How often in life does that happen?
For everyone I've met in show business? Once per life. Sometimes twice if they change artistic direction after a few years.
That is for people that are able to make a career out of it. She either couldn't or didn't make a career out of it. This was her "impossible" and it became real. That is amazing. Being raised in the Arts, I have met few that could actually say they had their "Carnegie Hall Moment". They made a living off of their art and possibly attained some of their goals, but very, very few are able to reach that kind of audience. As to the produced elements - of course they played it up. It is television. Despite that, this woman had a chance to perform and is being received by the public -something that would have not happened if it weren't for the show. I say kudos to them for giving her the forum to be more than a punchline and kudos to her for making good on that opportunity.
When your a kid, and don't know about what life really is, the world is a pretty happy place. But when you grow up and start to understand, a lot of it grays life is hard and the world is a mean place. I guess ignorance really is bliss.
But when you are a kid, sometimes things seem unfair and you don't really understand why. Sometimes kids are mean to each other for no reason. Sometimes you feel very angry because things do not go the way they should. Being a kid is not better or worse than being an adult, it's just different. As a kid you are cared for, you are innocent, and you don't have to worry most things. You trade that for the freedom, knowledge, and responsibility. You have power. You become wise. Some things about being a kid are great, but there is an element of powerlessness that being an adult takes away. You don't have to stop having fun when you are an adult, you just have to manage to feed and clothe yourself in addition. When I was a kid, I knew that the world was both sad and wonderful at the same time. That hasn't changed. The world is still beautiful and ugly at the same time.
Have you ever been told by someone not to swallow the seeds because a plant might start growing inside you? Apparently, that isn't that far from the truth.
I'm struggling to like this video, even looking at it from different points of view:
1. She's a good singer. Pity the audience doesn't shut the fuck up so we can really hear her.
2. She's a good singer. And yet nothing special compared to many, many other singers I've heard before.
3. She's a good singer. But I never listen to that kind of music by choice, so probably won't listen to her again.
4. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. I want to look at young/pretty people on stage.
5. She's a good singer. But she's old/ugly. "I bet you weren't expecting that!" Actually, I know talent exists independently of looks. Don't try to manipulate me by your presumptions of my prejudices.
6. She's a good singer... and she's old/ugly! Great, so now we have inverse body fascism where we reward this one woman with attention and money over other, more talented singers, exactly because she defied the stereotype.
7. She's a good singer. But she decided to go on Britain's Got Talent. Fuck me, I hate that show! I'll now associate her with Simon Cowell and hate her music if I ever hear it again.
8. She's a good singer. But the entire theater is full of people who disagree with me on one, some, most or all of the above points. Fuck them too.
My favourite clips are when he jumps off something high and everyone rushes to look over the side like "Shit! He just rode his bike off the side of a bridge!"
Comments
...I cried.
There are so many things that gave us joy as children and as teenagers that we leave behind as we "mature". It's really quite sad. When I go to the park with my little brother, I see little kids running around with there arms stretched out making airplane noises and pretending to fly, and I think back and remember how long ago it was since I last did that, when I was a child and didn't care much about anything but having fun. And there's this tug in my heart that tells me to just start running with my arms out too, but the voice of "adulthood" in my head says no because you'd look silly and that's just not what you should "do". When this shift from carefree fun to retraint and posture happens I don't know, but part of me weeps with the desire to go back. To go back to recess and icecream and pokemon and all the things I left behind when I started growing up. When being irrational was okay and things like money and expenses were so remote and abstract that I didn't even understand. Ugh, There's a lump in my throat so heavy I'm almost chocking on it. When your a kid, and don't know about what life really is, the world is a pretty happy place. But when you grow up and start to understand, a lot of it grays life is hard and the world is a mean place. I guess ignorance really is bliss.
lol, your a dick :-p
There may be "better" singers out there, but this was definitely a flawless performance.
As to looks, you have this general "video killed the radio star" phenomenon. It is because of her looks that she would probably never be discovered for anything but local shows. You may personally be against the whole Britan's Got Talent/American Idol thing, but realistically it would have been her only real chance at being discovered on a broad scale.
The more you look into this woman's story, the more impressive it is. She was self-sacrificing in going back to her home and taking care of her mother for the majority of her life. The real shame would have been if no one ever had the chance to hear her voice.
Here's the problem with your post: that performance was far from perfect. I agree that she has a rich, mature sound. I'd expect that from an older singer.
I don't want to go through point by point and pick out all the small mistakes, slight miss-tunings, breathiness on the low notes, the peculiar phrasing on some lines, how she doesn't end her long notes cleanly... but they are all there. On the video listen from 1:46 to 2:02. In that short space I picked out three or four things that shows she isn't professionally trained, and even a non-expert listener like myself could advise her to do differently. And listen at 2:20... nothing flawless about that! She could probably do a better job without the thousand people screaming at her and without the pressure of the TV cameras and judges, but this performance doesn't hold up against many, many, many professional singers I've heard live. Seriously, here's the first youtube video I could find of a professional singing the same song:
The difference is like night and day! Susan's story might be interesting, but her Britain's Got Talent performance, for me, doesn't go higher than "good" on my impressive-o-meter.
Also, I'd doubt VERY much that the producers of the show didn't know exactly what they had on their hands, and played the entire thing for all it's worth. They blatantly dressed her up to look as frumpy as possible, the makeup drab, the hair like a nest. The introduction and facts about her have nothing to do with her talent, and only serve to widen the gap between the audience's expectations and final opinion. The audience has been manipulated perfectly.
In regard to one of your points, the producers of Britain's Got Talent ask contestants to provide their own costumes. Her clothes and her coif were all her own.
As to your remarks about wanting to look at someone pretty, sure being pretty is nice, but when attending a vocal performance or a musical theatre production I care more about the person's abilities and if their looks fit their roles. I would take a somewhat talented elephant man over Brittany Spears any day.
What got me the most about this video is that it gave incredible joy to someone and allowed their dream (as unrealistic as it may have once seemed) to come true. How often in life does that happen?
Sure, she brought her own clothes, but my point still stands. I watched the longer video, and the entire setup is so transparently manipulative it's unbelievable. Top marks for the editors and producers! The hair and makeup... the music played over the intro... the choice of sound bites... the fumbling with words on stage... the cutaways to people snearing in the audience... everything was specifically tailored to lower her status. The one thing that was weird was the laugh they added to her unfunny joke.
And then the performance itself was edited to all fuck. Sure, she got a standing ovation, but look at the cutaways to the female judge. People go from swinging their arms in unison to clapping in something like one second. This and many other things give away all the editing tricks. Superbly done, and obviously it works... except for someone like me who studied music production at university and then worked for two years doing sound recording and video editing for a television company that specialized in live music events... For everyone I've met in show business? Once per life. Sometimes twice if they change artistic direction after a few years.
Being raised in the Arts, I have met few that could actually say they had their "Carnegie Hall Moment". They made a living off of their art and possibly attained some of their goals, but very, very few are able to reach that kind of audience.
As to the produced elements - of course they played it up. It is television. Despite that, this woman had a chance to perform and is being received by the public -something that would have not happened if it weren't for the show. I say kudos to them for giving her the forum to be more than a punchline and kudos to her for making good on that opportunity.
Edit: Also, some assembly required:
This isn't my TotD, though. This is:
My favourite clips are when he jumps off something high and everyone rushes to look over the side like "Shit! He just rode his bike off the side of a bridge!"
Chatting to a chimp in chimpanzee
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah
What a neat achievement that would be.
If we could talk to the animals, learn their languages
Maybe take an animal degree.
We'd study elephant and eagle, buffalo and beagle,
Alligator, guinea pig, and flea.
We would converse in polar bear and python,
And we could curse in fluent kangaroo.
If people asked us, can you speak in rhinoceros,
We'd say, "Of courserous, can't you?"
If we could talk to the animals, learn their languages
Think of all the things we could discuss
If we could walk with the animals, talk with the animals,
Grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals,
And they could squeak and squawk and speak and talk to us.