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First of all, a couple few things.
This was a great, great article, Jody m'boy. It was like I was there with you, because I was; I was the guy in the balcony that couldn't stop laughing when The Blue Man Group stumbled out onstage and did a percussion version of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" using nothing but PVC pipe, a pool cue and 7 cordless drills. [Disclaimer: It wasn't me.]
However, having said that, I'm having trouble letting this slide:
…he's also one of the best pop singers of all time; his phrasing is right up there with Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday.
Yikes! I don't know that I'd compare his "phrasing" to Old Blue Eyes, though his confused time feel is on occasion eerily reminiscent of Billie Holliday's hiding her inability to sing by constantly dragging and melismating over the bar line, not to mention the marble-mouthed word swallowing. Although in light of your review it seems "sword swallowing" might be more apt.
Again, having said that, it sounds like The Times They Are A-Changin' nearly epitomizes the complete lack of creativity on the part of Broadway these days, particularly when something like 2004's Avenue Q exemplifies everything that can be good about Broadway, which isn't much.
Let's face it, folks: Musicals are really really stupid. And just when we thought they couldn't get any stupider, Twyla steps up to the plate and, mixed metaphors aside, presides at the marriage of Peter, Paul and Mary to Cirque du Soleil, resulting in a hideous, post-yuppie love-child that looks and sounds more like the dog-faced boy at the carnival freak show hammering out "Blowin' in the Wind" like a circus barker than it does anything resembling even the most remote attempt at something having the tiniest iota of artistic merit.
It sounds like a PBS pledge drive show on mushrooms.
I mean, what the fuck is wrong with her? Oh, sure, Movin' Out merely hinted at stupidity and the utterly vapid. Does Times punch you in the face with them?
There's a great scene in Robert Altman's The Player in which, during a production meeting, Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher of The O.C. fame) asserts the notion that they can get movie ideas straight from the newspaper headlines, "ripped directly", if you will. Twyla goes one better: Now they can get ideas for musicals without having to write either music or lyrics. And there doesn't even have to be, really, a story or anything coherent. What a completely brilliant plan!
Alas, I believe my worst fears, and a personal thesis, are coming true: Baby Boomers are ruining everything, whether it's architecture, the economy, or Broadway. Get a life, geezers! Or better, cede the reins; this wagon train ain't stoppin' in Blaine.
And by the way: Perfect ending to the piece.
The song is delivered in fist-thrusting stentorian fashion by Arden, standing at the lip of the stage. "Searchin' high, searchin' low / Searchin' everywhere I know … / Have you seen dignity? / Have you seen dignity?" he cries. And then a clown in a polka-dotted jumpsuit flies past.
That made me burst out laughing. Well done. But what do we have to look forward to, I wonder: Fear and Loathing (and Singing!!!) in Las Vegas? Might make a nice "thinking man's Sunday in the Park with George". We'll get Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice on retainer. I'm thinking Hugh Jackman as Raoul and Gabriel Garcia Bernal as Dr. Gonzo. They can sing, right? Sounds like a nice Bob Fosse vehicle. Is he still dead?
P.S. The best musical of the last 10 years, other than Avenue Q is Team America: World Police. Again.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
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6 comments:
Blame American Idol--doing it's damndest to resurrect crap as it grows up new clones and force-feeds them like last week's leftovers. More and more, I see this movement as the last desperate seizures of the old-school radio-centric recording industry.
But Billy Joel was always one step from tumbling into pure schmaltz. Bob Dylan--not quite as much.
K
One other vote for good musical: Nightmare Before Christmas. I saw it for the first time last week, in Disney 3D, which I confess was excellent. Even more surprising was the music. Danny Elfman, believe it or not, writing and singing most of the tunes. Damn, it was like some kind of gothic operetta and ya know, it worked.
By the way, in my view, Dylan is the most overrated musician of our time. Don't be mistaken, I like a lot of his music, and I think he's way charismatic. But I'm still looking for the evidence that he changed the course of American music, and I'm not finding it, not even in the endless documentaries.
Finally, any number of covers of his work suggests to me that his scratchy, nasal poor quality voice is actually what makes his songs work. Somehow.
Smooches to ya both.
Hi rundeep!
I don't don't know how iconic Bob is or was. He seems to this youngster as influential on the fringes. I will say he has the sort of integrity that seems to resist marketing (which may account for his canonization). But I could be wrong about that.
ANd I find myself loving almost every Dylan remake I stumble across (including and maybe especially the memory of my Dad and his buddies playing Don't THink Twice) but Bob himself, I've been unmotivated to delve the depths.
K
Rundeep!
Uhm, I know Switters doesn't care for him, but I've been a huge Elfman fan since the "Only a lad" days. The music for Nightmare is fantastic, showcases Danny's strong voice. I'm waiting for a Broadway version.
Since his first movie (PeeWee's Big Adventure), he's been banging out strong, if not always (though sometimes) inspired, quality movie soundtracks.
Remember - Elfman did the theme for the Simpsons, Tales from the Crypt, did soundtracks for Spiderman, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Corpse Bride - the man's prolific, as well as talented.
Here's a reference.
Switters, I don't really get why you don't like him. The man is brilliant (confession - this from an old-school Oingo Boingo fan).
Run, thanks for mentioning this movie. It's one of my all-time favs.
thanks TK! I've used mfiles to download sheet music I think. Never noticed the reference bits.
Anyway, I think some of Elfman's work, particularly the Batman stuff, is almost "too distinctive" and sometimes cloying. That said, you always remember it.
I'd never seen the movie before last weekend when my 10 year old dragged me to it. It was truly wonderful -- just the right icky sensibility and, as I said above, a kind of gothic operetta. By the way, if you get a chance to see the 3D version, do it. It's not an "in your face" experience, it's more like a slightly more realistic one. Very high quality effect, and it illuminated the visuals.
Peace out!
Thanks Rundeep!
I think the alternative term for "too distinctive" in Hollywood is "Branding." That said, I don't think he's really that much more distinctive than many composers - he does write in a characteristic frenetic style that probably isn't universally appealing (except maybe to people with ADHD).
He also has a range of depth he doesn't often display. I really do hope Nightmare makes the jump to broadway - it might be a Springboard for Elfman to try something more sophisticated. Remember, the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo were really a stage troupe first.
I plan on seeing the movie, and thanks for reminding me that its out. It's one my son watched about 6000 times when he was little - his favorite, after "The Brave Little Toaster." So there's a certain degree of nostalgia in it for me as well.
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