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is Mo' Better Blues really a musical in any conventional sense...? (I honestly don't remember, haven't seen it since it came out).

I don't think anyone saw the Outkast movie, including me.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:18 (seventeen years ago) link

is Velvet Goldmine? we don't make musicals in the conventional sense anymore except as sort of postmodern period pieces. it's suffused with jazz, has some singing/scatting/quasi-rapping, and borrows a lot of the formal tropes of musicals.

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:23 (seventeen years ago) link

well Velvet Goldmine is a musical in the sense that there are extended musical sequences wherein the main characters sing - I don't remember anything like that really happening in MBB.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:27 (seventeen years ago) link

well, at this point, i'm willing to call any movie that makes heavy use of music in the fore or middle-ground a musical of sorts. it's not meet me in st louis, but no one makes meet me in st louis anymore. does MBB involve dialogue spontaneously turning into song? no. but it does have at least three musical numbers involving the leads, one of which is sung, and one of which is quasi-rapped.

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:34 (seventeen years ago) link

"not a great film, but ... an interesting one, which is almost as rare."

The same can be said for many Ebert reviews. I'll miss him almost as much as I miss the late Spielberg.

Eric H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:41 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't think anyone saw the Outkast movie, including me.

I did. I liked it although it felt more like one long video than a movie.

Ms Misery (MsMisery), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 20:42 (seventeen years ago) link

I second the notion to eye-gouge anyone related to the movie musical Grease.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:30 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, I don't think either Velvet Goldmine or Mo' Better Blues should be classed as musicals--I mean, you are now treading the line in which anything that depicts a character singing is a musical, which would make Fire Walk With Me a musical if you really want to be technical. It seems to be an abuse of the term. Is Labrynth a musical? David Bowie sings that UTTERLY RIDICULOUS SONG WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT in it!

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:32 (seventeen years ago) link

You remind me of the babe...

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:33 (seventeen years ago) link

does Fire Walk With Me have several musical numbers and nearly continuous music in the fore or middle ground? if so, I'm willing to deem it a musical.

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:34 (seventeen years ago) link

(somehow I doubt it has the structure of a musical, but maybe I shouldn't be surprised if it does?)

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:35 (seventeen years ago) link

The entirety of Twin Peaks has repeated musical numbers by Julie Cruise and nearly continuous music, have you not seen then?

I think your definition is terrible, to be very honest with you.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link

I've never seen Fire Walk With Me

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Is Labrynth a musical? David Bowie sings that UTTERLY RIDICULOUS SONG WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT in it!

More movies should have songs about kicking babies in them.

The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:38 (seventeen years ago) link

well, at this point, i'm willing to call any movie that makes heavy use of music in the fore or middle-ground a musical of sorts.

I'm not. By that logic, the movie "High Fidelity" and "Magnolia" are also musicals.

Jesus Dan (dan perry), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:38 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm stickin to my definition.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:40 (seventeen years ago) link

If characters sing/dance instead of crying or killing somebody it's a musical.

Dr M (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:42 (seventeen years ago) link

as opposed to a KILLSICAL

a mediocre black-and-white cookie in a cellophane wrapper (hanks1ockli), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Little Shop of Horrors?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Silence of the Lambs musical to thread.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:45 (seventeen years ago) link

In West Side Story people get to sing, dance, AND kill, lucky PRs :D

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:45 (seventeen years ago) link

instead of/in addition to

Dr M (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago) link

West Side Story=apotheosis of the musical form

horseshoe (horseshoe), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Don't forget "Sweeny Todd" and "Assassins"!

(xpost: oh poo, you're no fun sometimes)

Jesus Dan (dan perry), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Assassins=love...apparently I like my musicals bloody.

horseshoe (horseshoe), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:47 (seventeen years ago) link

"sometimes"!!

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:47 (seventeen years ago) link

(also total agreement with "West Side Story" as the bomb-diggety musical; see also "Candide")

Jesus Dan (dan perry), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:47 (seventeen years ago) link

come to think of it, I never really fully made my point yesterday about melisma in opera. regardless of whether the origin of e.g. bel canto and baroque cadenzas is with the composer, and regardless of how common embellishment and elaboration are today, and regardless of questions of authenticity/rockism, my fundamental point was that melisma - the repetition of a single syllable over several notes - is commonplace in all operatic composition in a way that is rather alien to contemporary pop songwriting. thus, the existence of melisma in opera is irrelevant here, unless you want to use "melisma" to refer only to operatic melisma that you deem analogous to the melismatic vocal style in contemporary pop. at which point, you get into all the other issues above.

By that logic, the movie "High Fidelity" and "Magnolia" are also musicals.

i've never seen high fidelity, but i just saw magnolia for the first time, and don't remember any music except for the sudden/random breaks into song that are (?) shakey's signifiers for musical-ness. i'm not sure what i'd call that, myself.

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:48 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, pretty much WSS is the apotheosis. Does anything else have as pivotal a place?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link

That's not meant to be a reply to Ned.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link

I was very disappointed to learn of (and see) the non-musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Assassins=love...apparently I like my musicals bloody.

Me too.

The Many Faces of Gordon Jump (Leon), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:50 (seventeen years ago) link

So how many of us had dentists who knew the song Ally posted the still from and loved singing it at times? (I had two.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:50 (seventeen years ago) link

All stage plays should be bloody. Shakespeare started off with things like Titus Andronicus and just got more restrained about it.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Jesus Ned, wtf kind of dentists did you have?

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Slightly disturbing ones. This was the eighties and I had no immediate say over what dentists I chose. (Thankfully they didn't do this ALL the time.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:54 (seventeen years ago) link

These were military doctors, weren't they.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:55 (seventeen years ago) link

Gabbneb, have you ever seen the sheet music for pop music? Unless it's aimed at pre-teens, they write all that shit out; the wierd off-rhythms, the blue notes, the melismatic sections... it's all pretty much there (which is another reason why so many covers follow the recorded originals as closely as they do).

(xpost: The rest of the time they sang "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy" to him.)

Jesus Dan (dan perry), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:56 (seventeen years ago) link

These were military doctors, weren't they.

Strangely enough, no. But in military towns, so...

The rest of the time they sang "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy" to him.

The reasons for not thinking much about my youth grow ever clearer to me.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Ugh what a horrible image I am getting in my head.

Allyzay heard you got beat up in a club. (Allyzay Eisenschefter), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:58 (seventeen years ago) link

not in a very long time, but i'm not sure i understand the point. most pop music (pop being a very broad term here) has little to none of the sort of melisma employed regularly in opera, no? stuff sung in the melismatic vocal style, even if the music is written out, is just a fraction of the pop music out there.

nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 21:59 (seventeen years ago) link

one month passes...
This thread was missed.

Eric H. (Eric H.), Saturday, 17 February 2007 08:34 (seventeen years ago) link

four years pass...

fyi the original soundtrack is unbelievably badass, in case you didn't know

OH NOES, Wednesday, 15 February 2012 15:32 (twelve years ago) link


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