The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Leonard Jacobs, over at The Clyde Fitch Report, has posted a couple of things recently that shouldn't be missed if you don't read his blog (and why not?).

GOOD: First, a clip of Stephen Sondheim's "Someone in a Tree" from the original production of Pacific Overtures. Wow. Not something I thought I'd ever see.

Now, that said, I think watching this clip - of a song Sondheim has pointed to as being his favorite of all his work - has made me, a BIG Sondheim fan, realize what my problem with Pacific Overtures has always been: the music. Love the book (underrated), love the lyrics (some of SS's best), but the music doesn't sit right with me, or, in my opinion, with the lyrics - and I'm one of those people who's defended SS against people with "great words, lousy music" opinions on him in some heavy arguments.

Even the three songs I'd normally say that I "love" from this show - "Please Hello," "Chrysanthemum Tea," and the astonishing "A Bowler Hat" - do not feature SS's best work in the synthesis of music and lyric, and have to rely far too much on some of his finest words to "work." When I first played this clip, Berit looked up after only a few notes and was about to ask who this was doing a parody of Sondheim when I told her what it was. I'm not sure the orchestration helps this score much either . . .

Still, even with that said, this is, as Leonard notes, an education in how to structure a scene (structure being SS's biggest strength). For some context: This song is an account of the first meeting between Japanese and Western officials. As there is no actual Japanese record of what went on at this event, we are given the story from several incomplete points of view: a 10-year-old boy sitting in a tree, peeking into the hut, who can see the meeting, but not hear it (played by a young Gedde Watanabe), and his elderly self, remembering; and a samurai stationed under the hut for security who can hear the meeting but not see it, and who isn't interested in what they're talking about anyway. Nice. Here you go:

BAD: Then, on a darker note, a copy of the Presidential Advance Manual for our current leader's personal appearances - with some sections redacted for security reasons - that has been posted on the ACLU website. As Leonard notes, certainly such things existed under other Administrations, but some of the sections on dealing with protesters are a bit . . . chilling . . . in these times.

UGLY: Okay, and having indulged the "theatre queen" and "unnerved American" aspects of my personality, what better way to end a post than with something appealing to the "sophomoric giggler" part? (and no, I'm this is not from Leonard, who wouldn't want the credit, I'm sure!)

Here, then, is a clip of "manualist" Jerry Phillips performing his unique version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

What is a "manualist," you may be asking? Well . . . watch and learn:

He has also posted videos of himself performing such songs as Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child O'Mine" (featuring some hot wah-wah pedal action!), Hot Butter's "Popcorn," Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax," a-ha's "Take on Me," and (my personal favorite) Frank Zappa's "Peaches En Regalia," in the same manner. He also has many more songs posted, as well as a tutorial in how to be a "manualist" yourself.

Enjoy. Hee-hee.