WARNING: THE FIRST TWO VIDEOS ARE NOT FOR KIDS
I only found out about art critic Brian Sewell a couple of days ago at ASIFA Hollywood's Creative League meeting. JoJo played a clip of Sewell on his cel phone, and it was love at first sight...love for Sewell's voice, I mean.
His type is a dying breed in Britain. He speaks what the English used to call BBC English, only it's better than what you hear on the BBC. It's an educated, upper-class accent that the rest of the world admires, but which egalitarian Britain seems determined to eradicate. He plays the English language like a musical instrument. Give a listen to the video above and see if you feel the same way.
Here's (above) the first of a six part YouTube series on Dali, written and narrated by Sewell. Apparently Sewell is gay and had some kind of affair with Dali in the 6os. The title "Dirty Dali" is well deserved. It's a verbally raunchy film that discusses in detail Dali's appalling descent into decadence after WWII. You'll find yourself wincing while listening, but if you're like me the language will keep you glued to your seat.
I watched a couple of other Sewell videos and was surprised to see that so many people regard him as a snob. He doesn't seem that way to me, but then again I'll be awfully disappointed if he's not. He's entitled. It takes a lot of effort to learn to speak like that and the ability to artfully snub other people is his just reward.
Ditto for Terry Thomas (above). Thanks for the video, Mike!!!
26 comments:
Hesitant to watch at first but glad I did. It is a lovely way of talking. Supposedly "accent" means music in language and Sewells is indeed a musical way of talking.
It's the kind of accent that pronounces "Cross" as "Craws" and "out" as "Ayite". Kind of hard to spell how he says it phonetically.
The stories in the videos are interesting as well. Will watch the rest of the Dali video soon.
Whoa! I love that sort of "BBC" accent (which was why I spent most of the day listening to those strange Louis Theroux documentaries, where he visits all these eccentric figures, like the Nazis, Westboro Baptist Church, etc.), but I've never really heard a British accent sound as distinct and intelligible as the Brian Sewell fellow you pointed out in the post. I definitely have to watch all these clips completely sometime. Great stuff.
Oh no, Not Brian Sewell!!
John Humphrys (Radio 4 presenter) described him as "the only man I have ever met who makes the Queen sound common"!
I just don't understand why the Evening Standard (okay, so not exactly the pinnacle of journalism!!)have him as their main art critic. He has very conservative ideas about art & wilfully ignores most contemporary exhibitions. That's not to say that there isn't a place for his type of criticism, but when he has two page spreads in the most read newspaper in London, he's doing the contemporary art scene a disservice.
He has the perfect snob voice, and to me it's in a likable way.
Coming from someone who is actually British, I can't stand this guys voice. It makes me want to punch him. Also, my country is not "determined to eradicate" BBC accents, it's just that media is less exclusive now, so naturally you get a lot more native accents. Personally, I'm glad that British celebrities aren't forced to learn BBC English, because it leaves a lot more room for character - can you imagine Bill Bailey without his Somerset accent? Ross Noble without his Geordie accent? Stephen Fry without his Inner London accent?
Do you agree with people who think Dali is overrated as an artist? As a cartoonist I love the guy but I can see how so much of his reputation is based on his larger than life persona and showmanship, I can't help but look at his paintings today and think of pretentious 70's prog rock album covers. It just feels sterile and in many ways old fashioned.
http://i.imgur.com/KXXnv.jpg do you think this could work?
The accent is fine; its just strange there's not a hint of wit or irony to what he's says.
a tiresome bore....
However, it is ironic that Sewell talks so much about the Great Masturbator. That's what he is; but instead of wanking, he just talks.
HAHAHA The world's greatest snob. You alwyas find the best characters, Eddie.
The accent reminds me of George Martin discussing Beatles. Funny how a little island can have so many dialects.
Ben, Naomi: How embarassing for you that your observations about language have to be corrected by an American who's learned most of what he knows about England through books and TV. Sewell's accent IS the correct way to speak English!
The reason? Because it lends itself to more variety of expression, because it's backed up by literary tradition, and because hearing it it reminds everybody of the high culture and traditional values of the English upper class.
At this point you're probably shaking your head in disbelief that I could be so stupid, but hear me out.
That culture I talked about may be a myth, and I wouldn't be surprised if the old English aristocracy had more negative than positive qualities, but in the English speaking world it still commands respect. It conjurs up intellect, self-discipline, tradition, and a knightly code of behavior. Whether it deserves to be thought of that way is beside the point. Beneath the conscious level it is thought of that way, and the reverence people feel for it binds them together and gives them something to aspire to.
Moderns have too little respect for culture and tradition. They think that an enlightened set of laws is what makes our society work. That's only partly true. Without the culture underlying the laws, nobody would obey the law. The laws would just be words in a book.
I do like to hear the different Englsih accents in the media, and i'm glad that the BBC encourages them now, but why can't the new coincide comfortably with the old?
Contemporary art deserves a kick in the pants.
Eddie, to be honest, this guy gives me the creeps. His ultra-proper English accent contrasts too strongly with his life experiences. He did WHAT with Salvador Dali taking photos? And I almost missed what he was talking about in the first video, but man! This would be hilarious if he wasn't so creepy! Thoughts on this particular irony, Uncle Eddie?
Did you see this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNMEzxF9fHM (Skip to 4:19.)
It's a nice kick in the pants for contemporary artists.
Blake: Yeah, the photo thing was weird, especially comming from a well known critic. My endorsement of Sewell is limited to his knack with language.
Anon: I don't blame youi for having doubts about Dali, but I think he's the real article. His work is uneven, but the best stuff holds up. I wish I knew what accounted for his decline after the war. If he was always crazy, then the remarkable thing is not that he ran out of gas, but that he had as many productive years as he did.
That digital pen you linked to isn't real? I'm sorry to hear that. It was a great idea.
JoJo: Thanks for the link! Sewell's great in it, and I agree with the point he made!
"It conjurs up intellect, self-discipline, tradition, and a knightly code of behavior." It doesn't for us. When a British person hears a BBC accent, they think "over-confident, obnoxious, up-himself, self-satisfied bugger (haha, British words)". Back when every BBC host had one, it made us feel patronized to no end. It's like those teen magazines that show you skinny, airbrushed models and say: "This is the only way you're allowed to look. If you don't look like this, you're not attractive." And then you get perfectly fine-looking average girls worrying because they don't look like that. Those BBC broadcasts did exactly the same thing, except with accents and to an entire nation. "This is the only way you're allowed to talk. You have to be confident, self-disciplined and intellectual. If you're not, then I'm sorry, but you're a failure". As far as I know you're pretty outspoken against that sort of platonic worldview so it comes across as a bit hypocritical when you say stuff like this.
And besides, I just find the way that accent sounds irritating. Maybe that's because Britain has been destroyed time and time again by that kind of Eton-educated, over-confident, obnoxious Conservative twonk, and is currently in the process of being destroyed AGAIN by David Cameron, but if I'm honest it's probably because nobody actually talks like that in real life, so we can't relate.
"I do like to hear the different Englsih accents in the media, and i'm glad that the BBC encourages them now, but why can't the new coincide comfortably with the old?" Because it's annoying and destructive, that's why. I don't want my country's media talking down to me, thank you very much.
Ben: Haw! Well said, Ben. I don't agree, but you made your point well.
Damnit Uncle Eddie, you gotta take the moral high-ground and be nice to me when I've yelled in your face. Now I feel guilty for ranting at you. D:
Ben: I'm not offended at all. When I was a kid TV personalities were always much better spoken than the people I personally knew, and it never occurred to me to resent that. Class just isn't a big issue over here.
I'm still grateful for what you wrote.
This world could do with making intellectualism an ideal again. There are too many people leaning in the other direction.
To each his own. I'll take this guy over Sewell any day of the week.
Music to my ears Eddie! Nice meeting you by the way. I was the tall guy with the red beard.
Mike: HAW!!!! Many thanks for the Terry Thomas! I wish he'd made more films!
Taber: That picture of the old guy is you!? But you're young! Do you know how many girls you're missing out on because you use a picture that makes you look 70 yrs. old!?
HAHAHA! It's a character of mine which I love. Anyway I don't want those girls, I've got a cute little wife. :D
I think most people misjudge Brian Sewell because of his accent. He's certainly not a class snob or a Tory. He is bombastic and rude and opinionated, and a lot of the time he is probably wrong. He is an aesthete and is easily provoked by what he sees as ugliness. But I've always found him refreshingly direct and emotionally honest, his pronouncements are often underpinned by his own vacillations and personal revelations. You have to take everything he says with a pinch of salt, but I think the world is more fun with him in it. Thanks Eddie.
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