Saturday, May 24, 2014

Celtic "Women"

I went to see Celtic "Women" on May 21 at Radio City Music Hall.

Women? The vast majority of the people on stage were men: all of the instrumentalists, both of the dancers, even some of the singers.  There were a few women performers who were spotlighted.  What?

I learned about this group by watching YouTube videos.  Virtually all of the women on the stage were changed from the ones that were pictured on the videos, i.e. the five singers.  The new ones were all perfectly shaped with matching youthful, almost childlike, voices and form fitting gowns that showed off their excellent figures.  

The only woman who was the same as in the videos was the dancing violinist.  I guess they couldn't replace her -- but she also has remained very beautiful.  Presumably all that dancing keeps her in shape.  Her gown was high cut to show off her muscular legs.

The almost childlike singing style was disturbing to me as it made me feel that the women were there essentially as puppets of the men -- to create a male fantasy, not really as featured performers.  The way the women had been replaced tended to confirm that impression.

By contrast some of the men were chubby and middle aged.  They did not appear to have been replaced.

This type of inequity is so typical of the entertainment industry.  I've remarked on it with respect to Josh Groban's band as well.

We have an aging population.  How long are we going to tolerate an entertainment industry that won't show people as they are?  And, in particular, how long are we going to tolerate the idea that women can only be young and thin?

I find this situation unacceptable.  It's time to start voting with our feet.

This being said, tho, the music was very pleasant.  The performers were professional with good timing and stage presence.   Everything went smoothly.

The choreography for the main female singers was a bit repetitive.  They swished their skirts in the same way quite often.

The male step dancers were quite energetic and interesting to watch, tho I thought there could have been a bit more vigorous percussion with them.  Query, tho, given that this is Celtic "Women," why the dancers were male.

The acoustics were excellent.  The sound was never too loud, which is very important to me, as I have sensitive hearing; yet I could hear everything quite clearly.


Still, I left unsettled, feeling that, instead of showcasing women, this act exploited them, while giving lots of steadier jobs to men.

Bipolar boy band tweets

Here is a screen shot of a series of tweets


This sequence of tweets fomented some dissension in the online kingdom of Grobania. Some people felt Josh's joke about bipolar people was hurtful. To others of us, Josh seemed to be bravely implying that he himself is bipolar.

Josh has been tweeting more about mental health issues. He has mentioned taking meds and going to therapy.  He hasn't shared his specific diagnosis.

Bipolar is one that makes sense. Anyone listening to "Illuminations," Josh's 2010 album, can hardly fail to notice how very depressed the songs sound. In particular, the song "Love Only Knows," ends rather abruptly with the line "I can't live without you and I won't," which to me sounds suicidal. 

Josh has never performed this song, despite fan requests. There's a thread on FOJG asking him to perform it. I often wonder why he doesn't. I wonder if it's because the song brings back painful memories, but I really don't know.

These depressed songs contrast remarkably with his high energy, goofy comedy. A lot of people don't realize that he's a comedian. He has spoken of studying improv comedy prior to becoming a singer. He became a singer in his early teens, so one has to conclude that he was an improviser as a kid. I heard a rumor that he went to Second City for  summer camp. That would make sense. Second City is probably the best comedy school in the country. 

Josh went to Interlochen in high school. That's supposedly the top performing arts camp in the country. Josh's high school voice teacher, Seth Riggs, was also Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder's voice coach, probably also one of the best in the country. Josh might barely have gone to college for a semester, but his education was top notch, nevertheless.

I love Josh's comedy. I was inspired to study improv comedy myself because I so much liked what I saw Josh do on stage. I've been enjoying studying improv, but I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't learned to be like Josh. There's a childlike quality to what he does that probably comes from having studied improv as a child.

But there's also a manic quality to what he does. Here's a link to a YouTube video example.

Josh Groban & John Jacobson (Double Dream Hands G…: http://t.co/jygQbOpvKP

I love this video. I love watching him do this type of thing, but I know at least one fan who has been distressed at the childlike, manic quality of his comedy. She worries that this style indicates serious underlying issues.

This is all taking me back to the time that I suggested that Josh might have Asperger's Syndrome. People attacked me for suggesting such a thing, with the implication that this assertion was hurtful or shameful. One fan asserted that implying that someone might have a mental illness was libel.

I should have taken umbrage. I don't think that having Asperger's Syndrome is shameful. I have it. I'm comfortable with it. I don't even think it's really a disorder. It's only a problem because neurotypical people are so intolerant of others who are different. It's only a problem if we can't talk about it and figure out how to accommodate the person who is different. People saying that I was insulting Josh by suggesting that he might have Asperger's were in fact insulting me, saying that my condition is shameful, when it's not.

Almost everyone suffers from mental "illness" at least at some time in their lives just as almost everyone suffers from physical illness. In fact it's normal to have some mental illness.

The idea that it's wrong to joke about an issue like being bipolar, which is a fairly common condition, is like saying it's wrong to tell a joke about pneumonia. I haven't heard many pneumonia jokes, but would we jump all over someone for telling one?  I don't think so. We wouldn't get as bent out of shape, I think, because no one is ashamed of having pneumonia.

Do we have to remain in a state of perpetual dramatic gloom over disease?

But the thing that concerns me even more is the idea that we have to fix people who are different. Josh's singing is high drama, emotional. If he gets medicated and therapied into being perfectly calm and well adjusted will his singing be as good?

I'm reminded, also, of one of Oliver Sacks' books. There was a case study of retarded, savant twins whose savant ability was to recite extremely large prime numbers. They would sit together and recite these numbers to each other, and had little interest in anything else. After therapy, they were more socially related, but still retarded and could no longer recite prime numbers. Their limited brain cells had been diverted to being social.

Oliver Sacks lamented their lost genius and wondered what of use had been accomplished by this exercise.

I am concerned that someone is doing the same to Josh, trying to make him "normal," a condition in which he will likely be considerably less gifted and less entertaining.  Josh has savant type abilities now, playing piano by ear, composing complex pieces spontaneously, singing with a peculiar ability to convey emotion that others lack, that others can't emulate.  David Foster has been seeking another Josh for years, with no success. Will these people who are trying to fix Josh divert his limited brain cells from being a genius to being normal?  Won't the world be a poorer place as a result?

What if someone had cured Vincent van Gogh? Would his paintings have still been worth looking at? Would that have been a good thing? 

What about Mozart, a huge genius who was notoriously poorly socially adjusted?  Should he have been "cured" like the prime number twins were cured? He might have lived longer and been happier, but would we want to give up the music as the twins gave up their prime numbers?


I say we accept geniuses as they are and learn how to accommodate them rather than fix them.

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Addendum 5/31/14

Sheesh!



Now there are those who will say that Josh is joking here, but is he???  Scary.  That's the frustrating part of this relationship I have with him, which I call 1 3/4 way rather than 2 way.  We communicate back and forth, but somehow not really completely.  If he were really my friend I could call him up and check out what 's going on, but I can't.

---------------------------------------------
Addendum 11/6/14

Now recently some have been saying that we shouldn't say that Josh is bipolar, that his tweets above were a joke; that he's never explicitly admitted that he's bipolar, that there should be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he's bipolar before anyone should say so, because it's so awful to be bipolar.

Let's suppose hypothetically that he *is* bipolar, that he did think he was publicly admitting it on May 21, and that he's somewhat surprised that no one seems to think he admitted it.  Then he sees that people think that bipolar is so awful that they won't believe it unless they have proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  How would that make him feel?  Wouldn't he feel frightened and hurt at fan reactions?

Wouldn't that be worse than fans saying he was bipolar and having him later say that he was joking and didn't really mean it?

Monday, May 12, 2014

Concert report: Judy Collins and Don McLean 5/10/14 -- with comments about Josh & Pete Seeger

I went to see Judy Collins and Don McLean at the Tarrytown Music Hall on May 10, 2014.

Judy sang first for an hour.  Then we had a twenty minute intermission.  Then Don McLean performed for an hour and a half

The Tarrytown Music Hall is a historic theater.  It's been used for music and movies. Keeping it alive has become a community project.  Almost all, if not all, of the people who work there are volunteers, compensated by the opportunity to see free concerts. The restrooms are old.  As a result, I spent most of the intermission standing in the women's restroom line.  We were supposed to get a new, larger restroom at the Music Hall in 2013, but it hasn't happened yet.

Judy looked very beautiful.  She was wearing a cherry colored skirt and top, with handkerchief hem and loose, flowing jacket.  The outfit looked like it was made of silk.  She was very thin, much thinner than she used to be when younger.  Her hair was bouffant and long.  I didn't bring my binoculars, so I could not scrutinize her face too closely, seeing as I was in the balcony -- and I was glad, because she really looked great from where I was looking.  She's 75, but still does a great show.  Her voice has a slightly harsh edge due to age, but she's still worth listening to

I was amazed at recognizing so many of the songs that she sang.  I hadn't realized how many of the songs that I might have heard as a kid were connected with her.  Here's a YouTube video of her singing a John Denver medley that she also sang at the concert I heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNFdh1xZawk

She played both guitar and piano, though she had a pianist accompanying her on most of the songs.

I believe that the style that she was singing in would be generally classified as folk music.

The volume was perfect -- not too loud, not too quiet.

As usual, I went to that concert sleep deprived and snoozed through a couple of her songs, but that's likely good as the songs were relaxing.

Don McClean is about 6 years younger.  Generally his singing was strong and youthful sounding.  Occasionally his pitch wavered a bit, but mostly he sang very well.  The volume of his portion was much higher and I frequently had my ear plugs in.  He's chubby, but I think that helps him.  I learned recently that heavy set people have an advantage to singing, because the air in their lungs is under higher pressure. 

His band was larger, with 4 guys (or was it 5?) behind him -- and generally they kept a pretty powerful beat going, so I was bopping around in my seat most of the time.  

He sang longer and a more varied program than Judy, with songs that were rock, country, and crooning.  The crooning type songs were with only a piano, whereas the louder, country & rock include the whole band.  

I recognized very few of his songs other than "Crossroads," "Vincent," "American Pie," which he closed with.  "American Pie" had everyone on their feet dancing.  The balcony, which is old and kind of nerve wracking anyway,  A lot of people left after that song.  It was quite late, but I think also they might have been worried that the old balcony wouldn't stand up to that kind of dancing activity.

The people who left early missed out, because he sang two encores, including "Vincent" which, of course, is the one of his songs that Josh has covered.  I love that song, but I do prefer Josh's version.

Don was so kind as to sit outside at a table an autograph CDs and let us take pictures with him.  He was there until at least midnight.

We were a bit disappointed that Judy & Don did not include a duet.  I thought that would have been a nice touch, even though their music is very different.

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Note about Josh & Pete Seeger

Now, given that this blog is usually about Josh, I'm going to get down to connections with Josh.

Judy and Don are very different performers.  The one similarity in their concerts was that both knew and were inspired by Pete Seeger, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_seeger.  They both mentioned him. 

This is an important point for those of us who live near the Hudson River, because Pete was very interested in our river, and in protecting it from pollution. There is a movement to name the new Tappan Zee Bridge, currently under construction, after Pete Seeger.  That could still happen.

I once met Pete Seeger, marching in a protest against the then-impending second invasion of Iraq by the US government.  I also once saw him performing at Friends General Conference Gathering.  

He was a tireless source of energy and social activism.  He was sort of omnipresent in this area.  

There was something about him that really caught one's attention.  Even at 90 he had an infectious pixie like smile and performed with energy.  I believe he was over 80 when I saw him in the protest march and he was walking faster than I was.   In advanced age, he could only croak out a few notes, but that didn't stop him from getting on stage with his banjo, typically with a younger performer for support.

David Foster said that you could tell a star, because when they got on stage you wouldn't look at anyone else, just at the person with star quality.  Pete Seeger had that.

He was a nationally known musician at one time.  He wrote many prominent songs: notably "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I had a Hammer," and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" Pete Seeger was also in The Weavers, which a was a folk group that was at one time absolutely huge in this country.

Pete was blacklisted by McCarthy in the 50's, because he was at one time at least nominally a communist, nor did he deny that this had been the case.  He did later say that he had been misled by Stalin and Lenin, and that he came to recognize that their policies were not admirable.

McCarthyism supposedly ended in the 50's but it haunted Pete Seeger ever afterwards.  

Pete died in January of this year.  I couldn't help but notice that Josh did not acknowledge his death.  Josh is usually very plugged in to this sort of thing.  He tweeted about Andy Williams' death, for instance.

I tweeted Josh a couple of times about his not mentioning Pete's death, but no acknowledgement was forthcoming.

This really raises questions for me about Josh and how Hollywood he is.  I've been meaning to blog about this for some time, but haven't' gotten around to it, due to the chemo that I've been going through.  But hearing both of these performers mention Pete has goaded me forward.

Josh seems to be his own person and somewhere between being a mainstream musician and an Indie musician.  He doesn't do songs that are fed to him like pablum.  He makes a lot of his own musical decisions and writes his own songs, many of which are unusual and distinctive sounding.

Still, when it came to mentioning a very popular and famous musician, who happened to have been blacklisted in Hollywood and never fully recognized thereafter, Josh was curiously silent.

I suppose it could be that Josh just never really liked Pete Seeger's music or the Weavers.  That's a bit hard for me to believe.  I can't help but think that Josh has to please the powers that be. If Seeger is still blacklisted, Josh might feel compelled not to mention him.

To me, this is creepy, the power of that McCarthy might still have, dead hand, sixty years later, to make us judge a performer by his politics rather than his performance.



Saturday, May 3, 2014

Game of Thrones: brutality in TV programming and Josh Groban

So the Saturday, May 3, NY Times had an article about the TV program, "Game of Thrones."  The article discussed a controversy that has been brewing about the rape scenes in the show.

I have never watched this show, but I have heard of it, because Josh Groban has said it is his favorite show, and I'm a Grobanite.

I did, after hearing Josh praising this show, purchase the book, I assume the first book. 

I stopped reading the book five chapters in.  By that point they had murdered an innocent, devoted pet in cold blood, for defending her mistress;  and willfully maimed a child, during the course of an attempted murder, because he happened to witness some conspirators discussing their nefarious plans.  At that point, I was convinced that this book was too brutal for me and that I would not gain any pleasure from continuing to read it.

This was a hard decision for me to make, because I tend to want to experience content that Josh recommends.  

Of course, this would hardly be the first time I didn't like something he recommended.  

I went out and purchased two albums by the French, group, Deep Forest.  Josh described them with great enthusiasm, and he collaborated with them in writing a couple of songs.  I wasn't wild about the Deep Forest albums I purchased.  I listened to them once or twice and then let them fall into disuse.

Actually, I would say that most  of the time Josh recommends musicians who I don't particularly like to listen to. It's one of those little mysteries, how I can like Josh's music so much and yet not like what he likes to listen to; and, moreover, how much I can like the music that resulted from Josh's collaborations with Eric Moquet, from Deep Forest, while not being wild about the stuff that Moquet writes for himself. 

I saw still photos from the TV show, Game of Thrones, and noticed what wonderful, romantic costumes the characters were wearing. Prior to this article, I had hoped that, perhaps, the show wasn't as bad as the book.  I don't get cable, & don't even receive much TV, so I wasn't about to watch it.

So the NY Times article, unfortunately, dashed my illusions that the TV show was somehow gentler and less brutal than the book that I put down and never wanted to look at again.


So, for me, this raises the question about why Josh would have such a brutal show, with repeated violence against women, be his favorite show.  His songs tend to be gentle; and his "War at Home, "Living below the line. " and "Weeping," which are socially conscious songs, seem to indicate a horror of brutality and injustice.  What does Josh get out of this viewing experience? How does he feel about all this brutality?  I find this all especially intriguing in view of the sweet nature of Josh's music. I wonder what his brutal side is like.