No comments allowed. Keep your freckin opinions to yourself, Elliot Ness
Friday Random Ten, South Pacific edition:
Note of explanation. We went to see the Skylight Theater's performance of SP last week. Now, maybe it was just that I was in no mood for a lighthearted musical, but let me sum this up and see if any of you can spot the fuckin Irony:
Major plot point of the opera: How ridiculous bigotry and racism is, exemplified by 1: the female leads disgust at the idea that her love interest's tallywahcker might have penetrated a native woman; and 2: the male lead's inability to actually contemplate marrying a Polynesian. Rogering her all day long, fine; marriage? He runs directly into the most dangerous mission he could find!
And all through the play, the characters are INCESSANTLY obsessing about wiping out those dastardly Japs. Jap this Jap that, gonna go kill us some Japs.
Well, I guess at least they didn't break down and start using the phrase Nips. I could go on, I guess.
Well, I guess you don't necessarily look to Rodgers and Hammerstein for meaningful social statements, but jeez. Count me soundly unimpressed. Although I will admit to being pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the song “Happy Talk”, because I was familiar with a punk version done by Captain Sensible.
How about an all-christmas set:
elf 1: Precious Child from the album “Must Be Santa! The Rounder Christmas Album” by Trischka, Tony
elf 2: Peace On Earth-Little Drummer Boy from the album “The Edge Of Christmas” by Bing Crosby & David Bowie
elf 3: All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth from the album “Just In Time For Christmas” by Dread Zeppelin
elf 4: Taking Down The Tree from the album “Christmas” by Low
elf 5: First Noel from the album “A Lump Of Coal” by Crash Test Dummies
elf 6: Carol of the Bells from the album “Barenaked for the Holidays” by Barenaked Ladies
elf 7: Blue Holiday from the album “Must Be Santa! The Rounder Christmas Album” by Charles Brown
elf 8: The Boar's Head from the album “The Bells Of Dublin” by The Chieftains
elf 9: O Come All Ye Faithful from the album “The Bells Of Dublin” by The Chieftains
elf 10 (the BAD elf): (Let's Have) A Patrick Swayze Christmas from the album “Clowns In The Sky” by Mystery Science Theater 3000
Here's the lyrics to that last:
Open up your heart and let the Patrick Swayze Christmas in.
We'll gather at the Roadhouse with our next of kin.
And Santa can be our regular Saturday night thing.
We'll decorate our barstools and gather round and sing.
Oh, let's have a Patrick Swayze Christmas this year!
Or we'll tear your throat out and kick you in the ear!
It's my way or the highway, this Christmas at my ba-ha-haar.
I'll have to smash your kneecaps if you bastards touch my car!
I got the word that Santa has been stealing from the till.
I think that that right jolly old elf better make out his will, ohh,
Oh, let's have a Patrick Swayze Christmas, one and all.
And this can be the haziest...
This can be the laziest...
This can be the Swayziest
Christmas of them aaallllllllll!
And, because it's another season of excess, how about some seasonal bonus tracks:
reindeer 1: Silent Night from the album “Just In Time For Christmas” by Molly Johnson & Norman Orenstein
reindeer 2: It's Christmas Time from the album “Horny Holidays!” by Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors If you didn't know better, it would sound like the Blues Brothers.
reindeer 3: Snowman from the album “Barenaked for the Holidays” by Barenaked Ladies
reindeer 4: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen from the album “Christmas” by Bruce Cockburn
reindeer 5: Yo Ho Ho from the album “Just In Time For Christmas” by Klark Kent
And a super bonus, extra special Christmas Gift Song from some friends: Click here to hear Blue Girl and Neddie Jingo!
Non-traditional, certainly. But hey, that's what the War on Christmas is all about. Bill O'Reilly wants a war, we'll give him one. Chunderbag won't be able to figure out what his him (hint: It'll be a fruitcake. An all- organic one).
No comments allowed? Why, that's... censorship! I demand a recount!
ReplyDeleteR&H are a product of their time, as are we all. SP is set during WWII when a thousands of American troops were dying at the hands of the Japanese-- is the use of the perjorative "jap" a reflection of the true speech of that era, or a reflection of the un-PCness of the '50s? Probably a bit of each, I'd guess. So, I don't really find it ironic that the characters can learn to overcome their prejudice in regards to the Polynesian natives but totally fail to see any problem with using racial epithets for the Japanese.
Or rather, it's ironic precisely because that probably is how most people would deal with the situation, not because R&H blew it. It's ironic because it a true reflection of mankind's ability to rationalize and compartmentalize reality.
Anyway, I've never been that big of a R&H fan-- I like Gilbert and Sullivan better. H.M.S. Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado. I am the very model of a modern blogging commentator!
Final note-- the Bing Crosby/David Bowie rendition of Peace on Earth/Little Drummer may be one of the prettiest songs ever. Blew me away the first time I heard it. Somebody at a party told me that we should no longer sing The Little Drummer Boy because it might offend Arabs. As a sensitive liberal, can you confirm that this is so, and if so, why would it be offensive?
Merry Christmas, Dude!
A cheap, empty ploy to generate comments, because I knew - KNEW, I tells ya - that you wouldn't be able to resist it if I told you not to. Contrarian Libertarian Librarian? let the masses decide.
ReplyDeleteBut notice, if you will, that Nick spends the first couple of paragraphs warping my criticisms, of SP into a 'politically correct' reaction, then proceeds to AGREE WITH ME ON THE IRONY OF THE WHOLE THING, AS WELL AS NOT CARING FOR SOUTH PACIFIC IN GENERAL. Contrarian, indeed.
Rationalization, compartmentalization, and refutation of reason, that's kind of how I read it, whether a reflection of the times or a view of how people can hold simultaneous conflicting view, in true Orwellian Doublethink fashion.
The Little drummer Boy. Of course, you realize, if I was to divulge the information that Kos had so instructed us all, and of course we all are following orders like good little Liberal Church Mice, then we'd have to... well, not kill you, that would be WRONG, but maybe... fart in your general direction! That would be it!
Actually, Nick, it just sounds like one of those INternet email tales, where someone made something up in order to ridicule some aspect of our supposed PC overlords.
Little Drummer Boy anti-arab? Like I care. I have several versions of the Cure's "Killing An Arab" on my playlist (and yes, I do know that it is based on Camus, not racism, but the title alone gets people like Michelle Malkin and the Idiotarion Puppy all excited, so it probably has more basis for offense right there. Not to mention Zappa's "Bobby Brown Goes Down." For offensiveness, I mean, not necessarily to Arabs).
Don't forget to check out the link there for another pretty little Christmas song, from some liberal bloggo friends.
Happy Holidays to you and the whole Weber clan!
I had a traumatic experience with South Pacific when I was maybe six years old. My parents said we were going to South Pacific, and I thought they meant we were going to the South Pacific, and I got all excited, but it turned out to be just some dumb old play.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love the Bruce Cockburn version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.
I have loved Bruce Cockburn since college, when I did follow spots on his "World of Wonders" tour. I was holding ladders for the light techs, and got to stand right next to him and chit chat while they did sound check.
ReplyDeleteNice fellow.
Did I warp? I didn't mean to warp. I read your criticism thusly: It is ironic that R&H tried to show the silliness of discrimination while including such clearly discriminatory dialogue about the Japanese.
ReplyDeleteI found irony in the fact that R&H's blindness is so reflective of humanity-- that people are in fact so able to be willfully blind in one regard while legitimately reforming their ways in another.
Or maybe I'm overthinking the thing and/or completely full of crap, in a completely Orwellian doublethink kinda way. I never said I didn't care for South Pacific, though, just that I wasn't a huge R&H fan, preferring the earlier works of G&S.
The Little Drummer Boy. I thought the guy was a twerp for even mentioning it, but I was intrigued as to why TLDB could possibly offend anyone. The Cure-- haven't listened to them in quite a while. I might have to dig out that CD.
Heave ho! Off for Christmas! Woot. Might have to publish some pics on Tuesday.
Thanks for playing MST for me...
ReplyDelete