When in Doubt, Punt

Happy Festivities all!!!!


toothpastefordinner.com

~Laura

Let's fly away, let's float down to Peru

Amidst the day's blizzard I stumbled upon this for you all.

I do my fellow Canadians proud.

I'm telling you I'm different than you think I am

I'll post again soon, after my final exam. Grades are beginning to trickle in, and prognosis is EXCELLENT!



~Laura

Why I Love Trent Reznor

“While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off. ENOUGH!”

atta boy trent!!!!


All this whining nowadays because Fall Out Boy did not receive even one nomination. WHO THE F CARES? The Grammys are absolutely pointless. If the "My Humps" song can win, there is no justice in this world. Where is Quincy Jones when you need him?

And I want to be the one, who is left here staring, staring at the sun

Life in music retail goes along much as it has these past four and a half years. That's right I've been hocking fine musical wares for nearly half a decade. Like a moth to a flame, it always draws me back, as dirty as it sometimes makes me feel. I'm sure if I worked in the Adult entertainment industry I'd feel dirtier, but the STDs are not worth it. I'll stick to dealing with smelly denigrates to the Clap any day! This is not to say all customers are dirty folk, for I have many customers I absolutely adore dealing with, and will happily talk to at length, but as to be expected there are those whom I could deal without. Part in parcel of my line of work, or any for that matter.

I did bring you here for a purpose though....

So I wanted to discuss something near and dear to my heart: TV music. You all know what I mean? Those sometimes awkward musical numbers shows do, to kill a minute and a half because the writers are inept morons, and cannot conceive of anything better to do. Yeah Family Guy, you know I am talking to you. Normally, I am a big fan of musical numbers on cartoons, not so much live action, albeit that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was precious ( A thorough smiting to anyone who disagrees). Perhaps the music adds to the absurdity of the cartoon medium, or maybe deep down we all like musical theatre. Whatever the reason is, I love this shit like there is no tomorrow. I will admit to owning the Simpsons Albums. Listen to them religiously in fact. No shame coming from this gal. However what I do not like is the insistence of using music at every single opportunity.

Music is sacred in all its forms. Whilst I may not enjoy some forms, I do have to admit their sacredness. Why is music sacred in my pretty little almost emo bespectacled eyes? Because it enriches our life, kind of like how your daily dose of vitamin C enriches your life enough to pervent the scurvy. What so many people fail to realize, that sometimes too much enrichment is a bad thing. Saturation of a medium is not an admirable trait. Like the person who laughs at the most inopportune times, musical montages are a very delicate thing to play with. You cannot just stick them whenever the moment strike you; they need to be executed flawlessly and with class. Singing the Beans Beans the Magical fruit does not count. Sorry all you dejected 7 year-olds out there.

The Simpsons, in its aging yet wonderful glory, uses/used musical interludes wonderfully. They planned the scenes and songs well, arranged beautifully, and added just that right amount of absurdity. In addition to that, their songs have become a cornerstone of the 90's generation. Even their musical parodies were brilliant. Anyone who says "See My Vest" wasn't amusing has no sense of humour, or is an adamant Disney freak. In a wise move, I have found that they have moved away form the musical scenes. Why wise? Because it is becoming trite. They have allowed us to keep their pure hilarity alive in our memories humming "Canyonero"

Now Family Guy on the other hand. A few months back I got to experience the horror that has become Family Guy and music. I'm not going to ramble on with a acerbic commentary of the general quality of the show, but rather it's insistence of using poorly written and conceived songs. I'll be the first to admit I loved "Road to Rhode Island", but the Stewie and Brian musical scenes quickly grew worn out and tired. I once heard Seth McFarlane defend their extended usage of music, saying that he wanted to use the full orchestra that was at his disposal. Granted I'm sure that keeps him placated at night, but it fails to amuse me. The episode's Gene Kelly clip was insidious and annoying, and the song was obvious 10 minutes away. It's not funny, and the music is rotting... rotting I say.

My final point of contention is how Family Guy RIPS off musical scenes that The Simpsons did nearly a decade BEFORE. Case in point? You the episode: Mr Griffin Goes to Washington, where there is the " That Girl" montage, and you see Peter as a woman from the TV show of the 1970's? Well this homage was done in the Simpson's Eighth season episode: Lisa and the Old Man. The scene where Mr.Burns is chasing Lisa around trying to convince her to help him recycle, tis what Family Guy ripped off and made more garrishly weird.

So in conclusion: Music in cartoons is a time-honoured tradition, but in modern times it has turned into a farce, that I for one want no part in.

Good day to you sir.