Britain's Got Talent is apparently the prototype for American Idol, but I'll bet something like this has never happened on the latter program. This guy is absolutely unbelievable! He peddles cell phones for a living. Who'd have guessed he could do something as magnificent as this Puccini aria? Watch this clip, and if you're easily moved by great music you might want to have a kleenex handy:
Britain's Got Talent is apparently the prototype for American Idol
Pop Idol was the prototype for American Idol - it was just about popular music. This one is to find a talent act to perform at the Royal Variety Performance. Last night he made it to the final with Con Te Partiro.
He won the Britian's Got Telent competition with a repeat performance of Nessun Dorma.
This guy is a true internet sensation. With very little over-the-air exposure or printed stories about him outside Britain, his videos on YouTube have racked up well over 5 million views. He's now got a recording contract and will be performing for the queen.
Tonight, Keith Olbermann confidently predicted that, if you haven't yet heard of Paul Potts, you will. From Olbermann and from snippets of various articles on the internet, I've gathered that Potts has had some professional training in Italy, and he worked with an amateur opera company but was never paid for it. He was paying for his training, but at some point medical expenses began to overwhelm him and he had to give it up. Potts said that his audition for BGT was a last-ditch effort to achieve success singing. It looks like his effort has paid off quite well.
So even though he's had some training, I think his is still a great Cinderella story. Here's his performance from the BGT finals:
"Insane Asylum" is one of Willie Dixon's more obscure compositions. I believe he wrote it for Koko Taylor. Koko recorded it (with Willie also doing some vocals) on one of her Chess label recordings.
Diamanda has a studio version on her album "The Singer". Just her singing and playing piano (as is the video version).
See also the other DG YouTube video, if you care.
I view DG as being for those who find Yoko Ono too tame. A unique artist.
Moose
ps: Came very close to accidentally starting a new topic.
There is a bio and print interview at the above link, which includes:
quote:Galas was raised in San Diego by Greek Orthodox parents and received some hefty classical and jazz training early on; she later fell in with experimentalists like Henry Kaiser, and experiences working with Iannis Xenakis and Vinko Globokar (for whom she sang an opera that ruined her predecessor's voice) gave her some greater exposure to the ultimate possibilities of sound, and using her singular presence in the realm of extreme, visceral sonic potential. Through her career she's always concentrated on specific topical elements to interpret and refer to via her performances, notably the 1980's advent of AIDS (which took the life of her brother). Works like the Divine Punishment and other segments of her Masque of the Red Death trilogy addressed the subject on multiple levels in detail. She especially took the Roman Catholic Church to task for what she believed to be its abandonment of those suffering, and became very outspoken activist for the cause both on and off stage. ...
quote:A fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range, Diamanda Galas was born and raised in San Diego, California. The daughter of Greek Orthodox parents, her singing was roundly discouraged, although her prowess as a classical pianist was nurtured; ultimately, her strict upbringing resulted in a reckless, drug-fueled youth prior to her entrance into the University of California's music and visual arts program. ...
I do have 7 cd's of DG, including (2) 2cd sets. Not something for casual listening.
Think crazy Romany rockers with punk and hip-hop influences and a gimlet eye on American pop culture.
Anybody who can sing...
quote:Have you ever been to an American wedding? Where's the vodka? Where's marinated herring? Where's the musicians that's got the taste? Where's the supply that's gonna last three days?
...has something to say.
Along with the "American Wedding" track, I esp. recommend the video of "Start Wearing Purple."
"Not A Crime" is nice, too.
Real things always push back. -William James
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The last classic rock "tune" you'd ever expect to be covered
Metal Machine Music (excerpt), "composed" by Lou Reed. Link is to dj introducion, followed by the cover version excerpt, followed by an original version excerpt.
Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for ” but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him." - Hunter S. Thompson
"I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose
Pretty damn amazing. Note how well everything syncs, including the singing.
Moose
ABE - Found out he did a bunch of these things. To me, it seems the imagery/effects get pretty redundant pretty fast. https://www.youtube.com/@GarrenLazar
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