Monday, October 22, 2007
TWO VERSIONS OF "TELL HIM"
Here's (above)one of my all-time favorite music videos, the Exciters singing "Tell Him." Assuming that I'm right, and this is as good as I think it is, then what makes it so good?
Well, of course Brenda Reid had a great voice and the song and arrangement was perfect. Reid had soul, no doubt about it, and she sings with utter sincerity. Maybe she had a background in gospel.
When you have a song this bouncy it must be tempting to play it 100% as a dance song as this singer (above) did on American Idol. She does a nice job but she comes off as shallow. Reid makes us feel the point of the song at the same time she plays it for entertainment. In her version the rhythm reinforces the point.
The song is about how colossal and majestic love is. When you have it, drop everything and embrace it because nothing else is more important. That's a powerful statement. You can't convincingly make that point with a second-rate song.
And such a song has to be something that makes people tap their feet, something that's social and reminds people how much they need other people, how much they delight in being with other people. The song warns us that our kind of creature can't be happy unless we give ourselves up to overpowering emotions like love and lust.
Actually, I've always thought of animation this way. You need a central assumption to tell a good cartoon story. Maybe the assumption is something as simple as "It's great to be alive!" If that's what you want to convey then you can't do it with a second-rate story or second-rate cartooning. It has to be the best you can do, otherwise the medium is fighting the message.
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14 comments:
Rhino Records put out a phenomenal collection of girl group songs in a 4 CD box set. This one isn't on there, but it reminds me of it.
Also, what a great scopitone video! I love that they got all dressed up to go to the zoo. Like that's the way things USED to be!
The song warns us that our kind of creature can't be happy unless we give ourselves up to overpowering emotions like love and lust.
I prefer to give myself up to lust rather than love. Love usually ends in bitter tragedy. Lust usually ends in a pizza delivery.
I think your use of the word "warns" is an insight in itself. Brenda's version sounds like a warning from a woman who has lost her man by acting too contrary. The first line is, "I know something about love," and we believe her.
The Idol girl brings no authority to her singing, and so it just lays there. Kind of like all the current cartoons where the characters walk and talk you through the gags without ever delivering a real performance.
Hey Eddie,
I agree with what you're saying - but you're comparing apples and oranges.
Brenda Reid is lip synching to a pre-recorded track while the girl on American Idol is singing it live, while concentrating on her performance as well.
Brenda Reid had the luxury of many "takes" (both audio and performance) to get it right - The American Idol girl had just one shot.
This is something that I really needed to hear this morning, thx uncle eddie, all warm inside, again....
There's no way any "American Idol" contestant can match the mood or power of the original. That show, while compelling as it can be, is geared towards making the shallowest of pop.
Still, what a song! I've always thought the opening line was one of the greatest in pop music.
The production on The Exciters' version is stellar!
That nearly subliminal tingling triangle part has always been a favorite!
I like to compare good cartooning to Jazz or blues. Good cartooning is about chops. It's not always about using everything you can do all at once like a metal guitar solo, but more like a simple Miles Davis piece or BB King guitar. Clean clear notes/lines.
Thanks, Eddie! That made my morning.
I remember hearing an interview with the opera star Maria Callas. She said that the best advice she got on her way up was to think about the meaning of the lyrics. When she did she found that the music made emotional sense & she knew just how to sing it to convey the composer's original feeling.
The second girl is playing live, of course, but she's thinking "OMG I'm on TV!" "Hi, Mom & Dad" "Here's where I go downstairs. (damn these heels.)" etc. I even doubt she knows anything much about love.
Wow Brenda Reid is a cutie. Female pop singers used to be so much more enticing when they kept their sexiness subdued. She seems like she's *gasp* a real person and not a superstar.
The American Idol girl is jiggling and strutting all confident like... there's no vulnerability in her performance that's implied by the tone in the song. I think that's why it feels so fake. There's no real understanding of what the song is expressing, it's just being run through the hit all the notes on pitch, use lots of vibrato, smile, and jiggle formula. It's boring.
Eddie, you want to see how far our tastes America's taste in female pop singers has degraded check out this performance from Lorrie Collins. America what have you become?
Or like Louis Armstrong, playing a stop time blues. That's what Ken Burns might say, if he were to do a twelve hour documentary on animation, in which he would 'discover' the genius of Walter Lantz.
You should put up some art lessons and more concrete guides on this site
Like I do find your views on art and philosophy etc. to be awesome but I think a few "uncle eddies art school!" posts a la john Ks blog would be amazing
Anon: I don't have time to do art lessons but I'm really glad that John's doing it. Did you see the quality of his line in his latest Scribner post? It was breathtaking!
Asam: Interesting!
Eddie, is this soul to you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es25lvO99AA
Gospel is still producing genuine voices.
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