The Random Thread

[Ellen]

I was watching 24, but that finished last week, as did Bones. So now, I am without a TV show to watch until 9pm. lol. (That's when House starts here) I'm looking forward to it.



I was wondering, what music is everyone into here? I'm just curious.
x

[jade.stormcloud]

I usually prefer Alternative, but I listen to a variety of artists.

[Sinkwriter72]

Hi, Ellen! You know... I don't really know how to answer your question because I like many different kinds of music. My family has said that my tastes are eclectic. I love jazz, big band, R&B, rock, alternative, gospel, opera (on occasion, depending on the soloist), Irish (I'm thinking of Loreena McKennit specifically when I list this one as a style, for her album 'Book of Secrets' is awesome), musical theatre (in fact, today I was just listening to Rent!), even some easy listening (depending on the artist, the song, and my mood, heh). I even have a favorite Native American band (though I believe they prefer to be called 'First Nation,' not 'Native American'). I could probably find songs I like in most genres. I'm musically flexible.

How about you?

[Ellen]

I like a lot of different stuff, my favourite band is Oasis, I like Kings of Leon, kasabian, Foo Fighters. I also like the occasional country band, jazz band etc. So it's pretty varied. I love music, I don't know what I'd do without it! If I had to choose my idol (A term I'm not very fond of), it'd be the Gallaghers from Oasis.
Anyone else oasis fans?
x

[ThyneAlone]

I've had so many influences that my tastes are incredibly catholic! Let me see now, I like:
choral/jazz/classical (chiefly vocal) music, but also music hall, 70s naff disco, anything with close harmonies ranging from barbershop to 60s classics like the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas and the Hollies, soul, chanson, musicals, which I absorbed from my parents at a very impressionable age (can still sing 'The Sound of Music' straight through) Queen, Ooberman (and quite a lot of other indie pop).

A bit of a dabbler, me. But of course the best thing is singing for myself. On Saturday I will be doing solos at a small local concert featuring my singing teacher's pupils. Should be fun.

[TJ4ever]

Maybe you guys gonna get tired me talking about David but I need to post it again: David is gonna do a "Hamlet" movie!!! Nobody else thrilled about that???
Simone.

[TJ4ever]

Hi Ellen!
I like to hear Bon Jovi, Nickelback, Green Day, Die Toten Hosen, Herbert Grönemeyer, Bryan Adams, Chris De Burgh, Elvis,... and a lot of songs from others. I like to rock but I also like slow songs. One of my favourite slow song is "Shoud I Stay" from Gabrielle. I also like "Jessie" and "Picture Postcards From LA" from Joshua Kadison. I also like to listen to actors who sing, e.g. James Marsters, Robert Downey Jr. and I love the soundtrack from the movie "Moulin Rouge"! Ewan McGregor is so great!
Simone.

[Ellen]

Simone, I recently saw Moulin Rouge for the first time, and I loved it! Yeah, Ewan McGregor is awesom. James Marsters is pretty good too. I liked his band, Ghost of the robot. I thought it was a very cool name for a band. Apparently a friend of mine tried to buy one of their CD's from the net, but it cost over £200!!! :O:O
I bought a copied CD with 25 songs on it for about £3. Talk about a bargain!

x

[jade.stormcloud]

I loved most of "Moulin Rouge." The ending kinda ruins it for me. I loved Ewan's singing, though. I had a reaction like Angela's reaction to Sweets, seeing him in a whole new light. I like James Marsters, too, and Anthony Stewart Head.

[ThyneAlone]

Maybe you guys gonna get tired me talking about David but I need to post it again: David is gonna do a "Hamlet" movie!!! Nobody else thrilled about that???
Simone.

Tired? Us? Never!
Since I didn't see the stage show, life yet again not allowing me a window for doing what I actually like, I shall be interested in and quite pleased to see this. Looking forward to it. Talking of film, I have now taken in the Star Trek movie, and really enjoyed it. It was fun, with lots of nods and references to reward the old guard of Trekkers, but standing as a well-made piece in its own right. And the actors made a great job of studying the mannerisms and tics of their 'older selves' and so were very convincing. This of course meant that Kirk was appallingly irritating, because the Bill Shatner version was too. I've always preferred Spock, now as in original Star Trek.

And on a different tack again (lucky this thread can't easily go offtopic!), I'm just reading my way through Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series - my fascination with vampire mythology again - and I was wondering whether anyone knew if it was worth seeing or getting the movie? I've heard remarkably mixed reviews and am looking for balanced commentary - did anyone see the film when it came out?

I like it when actors can sing, too, Jade. What did you think of the Buffy musical ep? I suspect it may have been just as well that DB was out of the mix at that point! Amber Benson was a gem of a revelation, though.

[jade.stormcloud]

OMG, I absolutely LOVED "Once More With Feeling"! I'm not really a huge musical fan, and I was extremely wary going into that episode. I was afraid it was going to be cringe-worthy & that I'd end up hating every minute of it. I was amazed to find that I actually loved it! It's now one of my favorite Buffy eps of all time. I even have the soundtrack. I used to listen to it on long drives. Such a guilty pleasure.

"Every single night, the same arrangement, I go out & fight the fight..."

*wanders off to listen to the soundtrack*

[jade.stormcloud]

"I touch the fire and it freezes me. I look into it and it's black. Why can't I feel? My skin should crack and peel... I want the fire back!"

Just listened to it again. Hadn't listened in a while. So awesome. That whole episode was just brilliant. The ones that Joss Whedon did himself were often the most inventive & intense - "Once More With Feeling," "Hush," "Restless," "The Body."

Thought I'd mention a couple of my favorite bits from "Once More With Feeling."

Spike: (dropping to his knees before Buffy) You know you got a willing slave, and you just love to play the thought that you might misbehave. (Spike manages to go from sweet to seductive in a split second. *swoon*)

When Giles & Tara reprised their songs together, their singing gave me chills. They both have such powerful voices.

A couple of least favorite parts.

I do sometimes fast-forward through Tara's original song. It manages to be a little too cheesy & a little too perverted all at the same time. LOL.

I have a slight issue with the soundtrack. If you get used to the timing of the songs in the show itself, the CD can sometimes seem a little off. For instance, parts where Dawn talks to the demon while he sings are just cut out, and the seconds of silence & crickets after Anya goes off about bunnies is cut out. When I listen, I sort of see the show in my head, so even after listening to it scores of times, I still miss those beats.

[TJ4ever]

Yeah, "Once More With Feeling" rocks! Favourite part in this episode is, of course, the Spike/Buffy scene ("Rest In Peace")! I LOVE THAT! Can watch it over and over again!

Ellen, I bought the GotR CD's when they came out. Was on a concert in Berlin, too. The CD's are not available anymore, as far as I know. Maybe that's why they are so expensive. GotR split up, though. I also have his CD's he did alone. He's just great. I think he was in London a couple of weeks ago?! Next time I try to see him again!

Simone.

[Sinkwriter72]

Jade, I love the Buffy musical episode, as well. From that Spike song, my favorite line is always, "If my heart could beat, it would break my chest." I just love the cleverness of the line, as well as the passion of it, and the first time I heard James sing that line, I felt myself nodding and saying, "Excellent."

I love listening to the brief duet that Giles and Tara share (the reprise of 'Under Your Spell'). I adore the harmony and think they both have lovely voices.

I like Tara's song a lot. I think Amber has a pretty voice, and the first time I heard her sing "... spread beneath my willow tree," I laughed out loud. Mainly because I was so tickled that Joss got away with the innuendo in that line because it wasn't overt. You had to know that her girlfriend's name is Willow. Heh. It's probably the raunchiest line in the entire episode, and I just laughed because I couldn't believe they got away with it (because it was so obvious to me what the character was saying). But when you look at it from a different perspective, it seems relatively harmless, so... *shrugs* It's all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. Heeee.

I think one of my ultimate favorites from that show is the demon's song, "What You Feel." I love the swing style of it, I think Hinton Battle sings it marvelously, so fun, and I am tickled by so many of the lyrics in it, like "Something's cooking, I'm at the griddle, I bought Nero his very first fiddle." Heh. Nice 'burning up' reference that suits the character's actions.

I could go on and on... I really love that episode. You are right in that it could have been so bad, or so terribly cheesy, but ultimately instead it was fantastic. I think the same about "Hush" (and about "Smile Time" from Angel)... a tricky premise that could have bombed but instead made for an intense, exciting, interesting, unique episode.

Simone... I'm so excited to hear that David Tennant's going to do a film version of his Hamlet. For those of us who didn't get an opportunity to see his stage show, th'at's really terrific news! Thanks for letting us know.

[Lonia]

Ellen, I like a lot of music, currently I listen a lot to Kings of Leon, Milow, Razorlight, I love Nickelback, Bruce Springsteen always was one of my favourites, James Blunt, right at the moment I listen to "Look away" from Chicago, always loved Meat Loaf, Bon Jovi is pretty good too. Some German bands like Die Ärzte, Toten Hosen, Pur, Rosenstolz, ich & ich, I really love the soundtrack of "August Rush" - speaking of actors singing, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers sings in it. I love Musicals, my favourites are (the german versions) "Dance of the vampires" and "Three Musketeers" so far.

I also think James Marsters made some great songs, unfortunately I also don't have a CD from him. Simone, you saw him when he was in Germany? Wow, I'm jealous again I can remember that I wanted to buy tickets for a show in a small location, but something came up and I couldn't go. Can't remember if he played in different towns or if I wanted to drive all the way to Berlin? I think I also heard some things from Antony Head and thought it was quite good too.

I loved "Once more with feelings". I also have the soundtrack and sometimes still listen to it. Best thing was, when I was at the "Amber Benson" convention and it was shown there on the big sceen with a lot of other fans of the show around.

[Ellen]

I loved it as well! I must admit to also owning the soundtrack...and the DVD of that episode only....

[ThyneAlone]

I confess likewise. The musical episode was a fantastic piece of work. In fact, as has been said by others, I adored all the experimental eps. An episode of silence! An episode in near-real time based on the study of grief.. A dream episode that reflects not just thoughts and characters, but predicts future storylines in a real compliment to the regular viewers. Stunning.

The thing I love and admire is that all these daring and creative oeuvres actually refer to and advance the plot arcs, and so do not feel out of place. This is a remarkable achievement, given that they can also be repeatedly viewed as standalone masterpieces exceptional for their invention and connected to so much in real-life experience. All of us identify with the horror of losing those close to us, and our reactions are not the clichéd hysterical ones we see in lazier writing. All of us know that silence between people can be scary and reveal more than banal speech. All of us know the connection and immediate honest response an individual has to music and how it can express our inmost thoughts and feelings, and all of us dream bizarre events that yet have resonances in our lives. Common experience translated.

I think I would have related totally to 'The End In The Beginning' if I had felt that it had relevance to the events around it, because it too challenges the viewer, attempts to touch the depths of subconscious spiritual union and shows the characters in unfamiliar guise. I just don't think it succeeds, and so stands isolated and puzzling. I have wondered, I admit, what it might have been like if Joss Whedon had written it.

[Sinkwriter72]

Bravo, Steph. So well said. And as if you hadn't figured it already, I agree whole-heartedly.

I've heard people say that Bones shouldn't have attempted such an alternate-reality episode, because it's not a fantasy show in the way that Buffy or Angel or Farscape are fantasy shows. A crime show --- whether it's a pure science CSI-type or has more character development emphasis -- needs a grounding in reality, even when it explores something more 'out there.' That's what allows the oddities to be accepted in the viewer's mind, because there's something real to ground the viewer, to pull them into the story and make them feel it's all possible or at least understandable. But your question about having Joss write it... that's an interesting question to me. I wish we could have seen that kind of episode, with the proper emphasis, relevance and subconscious revelations you discuss, Steph.

I wonder if my issues with the finale were more about the lack of connective threads and less about it being overly unrealistic. I have many issues with Season 4, but the main concern is that it didn't seem to connect the stories and emotions for the characters. It didn't really follow through with much of anything, which gave the entire season a muddled, scattered, emptiness that left me wanting a lot more than what Hart and the other writers offered. But that is a much longer discussion, probably meant for the Bones threads here, so I'll stop myself before I get too wordy.

[jade.stormcloud]

I agree with pretty much everything you said as well, Steph. Except for the bit about "The End in the Beginning." I don't think there would have been an improvement if it had been written by anyone else. The reason the Buffy eps furthered the overall stories is because they took place in the real Buffy-verse. (Except for the dream sequence, but that was experienced by the characters together & still had a connection to their reality.) The problem with real-life shows, is that they can't get away with stories as exceptional as the ones that play out in SF. Our characters can't all suddenly break out in song or mystical silence. I think "The End in the Beginning" is HH's version of "Restless." He was trying to create a mystical connection experienced through a dream-sequence that might be believable in the real world, and might possibly have real-world consequences, while also trying to stay true to the usual atmosphere of the show. I think it must be a very difficult thing to really do something bold & unusual within the constraints of a reality-based show, where you don't have the ability to explain it all away as "magic" or "alien technology."

[ThyneAlone]

That's a very fair comment.

I didn't mean that the episode should be done in the style of sci-fi or fantasy, though I know that is what Joss has worked with for the main part. And I don't mean that Hart is a poor writer. You're right, he was trying to do something very hard and I can see what that was.

But I do not believe the Buffy episodes are exceptional because of their conceits - the singing, the silence, whatever. What I am trying to say is that they are exceptional because they successfully relate to fundamental human feelings and truths. Joss's writing has a wit and understanding that uncovers our shared experience. Bones at its best shares that knowledge, that translucent quality, which is why I watch it. But I don't think this particular finale achieves its astonishing aims (even Hart admits that his ideas are not clearly expressed at times), which is why I am curious to see what another writer would have made of the concept.

Is the point where we actually differ the fact that you reckon it works while I think, not quite that it is not successful, but that it doesn't do everything it wants to?