ForumGarden

What do you get when you take 1950s Eurovision entries into a 21st century Japanese setting?

Warning: some viewers may feel aesthetic dissonance watching this clip.

spot;770546 wrote: What do you get when you take 1950s Eurovision entries into a 21st century Japanese setting?

Warning: some viewers may feel aesthetic dissonance watching this clip.






I am not dissonant, watching and listening to this rendition of the Italian entry 'Volare' á la Japan. On the contrary, I find such performances quite interesting, as they demonstrate a certain amount of international interest in a good melody whatever the origin of the music.

This particular song, when it was in the Eurovision Song Contest, was never liked by my father and I could not understand why, at the time. Maybe it was because I used to listen to Radio Luxemburg with it's fluctuating signal, and that song was regularly played.

My mother, being a classical pianist, was always very scathing about pieces of classical music being 'cribbed' and the melody line used for 'pop' songs e.g. --



But I do remember quite liking that song at the time.

My mother did agree, however, that certain classical pieces of music put to a modern tempo (provided they were well done) could encourage youngsters to listen to more classical music. Many of such pieces did in fact make the 'pop charts' like Waldo de los Rios with his rendition of Mozart 40 in 1971 :-



However, around this time the 'Portsmouth Sinfonia' produced a record entitled 'Classical Muddley' and when I first heard this on the radio, I flinched and immediately turned it off. I have just found it on Youtube and curiosity overtook me, and I gave it a listen. I am afraid I have to admit that I just haven't laughed like that in so long! My husband and son also listened with me and there were three of us with tears of laughter pouring down our faces! I still can't decide whether the musicians are genuinely naff, or whether it is a proper classical orchestra having some fun. If it is the latter then I have, strangely, a great deal of admiration for them. Any musicians amongst the readers of this will appreciate how difficult it is to deliberately play 'bum' notes convincingly.

A miracle of modern robotics.

Hah, just what I was thinking..

I have nothing against the use of Bach, or even that "Minuet in G major" is written in 3/4 time and "A Lover's Concerto" uses 4/4 time - what gets me is that Bach had noticeably less inclination for a key change every twelfth bar! And your mother may have been right about Waldo de los Rios as far as starting people's interest goes but he won't figure among the Choir Celestial if I get asked to vote on it.

G#Gill;770683 wrote: I still can't decide whether the musicians are genuinely naff, or whether it is a proper classical orchestra having some fun. If it is the latter then I have, strangely, a great deal of admiration for them. Any musicians amongst the readers of this will appreciate how difficult it is to deliberately play 'bum' notes convincingly.The rule was that you had to play an instrument you had no familiarity with. Maybe you could play a violin properly but if so you had to play, say, the clarinet for them. You had to make your best effort too, nobody was allowed to go wrong for effect, that would have been cheating. I'm amazed at the sound they achieved.

I'm not prepared to dismiss Vanilla Mood though. I think they actually enjoy playing.

spot;771347 wrote:

The rule was that you had to play an instrument you had no familiarity with. Maybe you could play a violin properly but if so you had to play, say, the clarinet for them. You had to make your best effort too, nobody was allowed to go wrong for effect, that would have been cheating. I'm amazed at the sound they achieved.




I've just tried to listen to it - I now have no fillings left and I'm cowering in the corner like a gibbering wreck!



Terrifying

That was surreal

Seem like talented musicians with sophisticated taste in music putting an individual spin on it to me.

I like it.