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The Fascinating Turnip · 10-31-2011, 09:16 AM

Performances

Well I might as well post something while I'm in the mood for it. This "segment" will essentially feature (as the cryptic title suggests) a few performances that I find fucking brilliant. On this post I'm going to be excessively pretentious with my picks, so if you happen to find pretentiousness nauseating, grab a plastic bag. And choke yourself with it. Right! First pick:

Charles Aznavour - La Bohéme:

La Bohéme is already a great song, but Aznavour's gestures add quite a lot to it. He may be singing, but he is also telling a story, and he acts accordingly. I find it quite interesting how he alternately seems completely uninterested in the fact that he's singing a song (in the beginning, for example) and to be overwhelmed by it (in the end).
He has quite a natty handkerchief as well.

Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas

Again, a terrific song. The title essentially means "don't leave me". The imagery he uses (in the lyrics, I mean) is brilliant, but again, the performance is fantastic. Look at him: ugly, sweaty, dishevelled, pathetic, in absolute and utter pain and despair. All these things that standing apart are terrible but which together (despite not being particularly nice for one to feel) are beautiful. This song is exactly that. A man having to resort to begging, having to put all of his self respect aside so that he isn't left alone. And that, my friends, is beautiful.

Jacques Brel - Ce Gens-là

Now this one is quite interesting. The minimalistic, repetitive music behind yet another startling tale makes the whole song terribly hyptonic, dreamlike. The lyrics are absolutely brilliant. A tale about a forbidden love, it could just be another cliché, but it isn't. The family that keeps the two lovers apart is poor, but not at all humble. The "singer" is telling us exactly that, describing how vile and pathetic they are, telling us that one must not pretend one is rich if one is not.
The performance, of course, is mind shattering. I should have mentioned before, perhaps, that Jacques Brel was also an actor, because you can certainly notice that in the video. What can I say? From the subtle movement of the hands to the exagerate pronunciation of certain words, to slurping of the soup...Brilliant.

10-31-2011, 09:16 AM	#36 (permalink)
The Fascinating Turnip Moper Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 510	Performances Well I might as well post something while I'm in the mood for it. This "segment" will essentially feature (as the cryptic title suggests) a few performances that I find fucking brilliant. On this post I'm going to be excessively pretentious with my picks, so if you happen to find pretentiousness nauseating, grab a plastic bag. And choke yourself with it. Right! First pick: Charles Aznavour - La Bohéme: La Bohéme is already a great song, but Aznavour's gestures add quite a lot to it. He may be singing, but he is also telling a story, and he acts accordingly. I find it quite interesting how he alternately seems completely uninterested in the fact that he's singing a song (in the beginning, for example) and to be overwhelmed by it (in the end). He has quite a natty handkerchief as well. *Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas* Again, a terrific song. The title essentially means "don't leave me". The imagery he uses (in the lyrics, I mean) is brilliant, but again, the performance is fantastic. Look at him: ugly, sweaty, dishevelled, pathetic, in absolute and utter pain and despair. All these things that standing apart are terrible but which together (despite not being particularly nice for one to feel) are beautiful. This song is exactly that. A man having to resort to begging, having to put all of his self respect aside so that he isn't left alone. And that, my friends, is beautiful. *Jacques Brel - Ce Gens-là* Now this one is quite interesting. The minimalistic, repetitive music behind yet another startling tale makes the whole song terribly hyptonic, dreamlike. The lyrics are absolutely brilliant. A tale about a forbidden love, it could just be another cliché, but it isn't. The family that keeps the two lovers apart is poor, but not at all humble. The "singer" is telling us exactly that, describing how vile and pathetic they are, telling us that one must not pretend one is rich if one is not. The performance, of course, is mind shattering. I should have mentioned before, perhaps, that Jacques Brel was also an actor, because you can certainly notice that in the video. What can I say? From the subtle movement of the hands to the exagerate pronunciation of certain words, to slurping of the soup...Brilliant. Last edited by The Fascinating Turnip; 11-03-2011 at 11:22 AM.