# SDMB Musical Lovers' Salon and Debating Society **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785 "2004-06-23T12:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/101 "2004-09-12T15:19:30Z")
yes, tell me when. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/102 "2004-09-13T01:21:34Z")
Go for it. If **cervaise** reappears, s/he can pick next. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/103 "2004-09-13T02:59:15Z")
Well, I think we should learn something during a musical - and in this film we pick up tips for trans-Atlantic cruises, hear why “and valet” after a name is so important, find new places to wear diamonds, learn that “Stiff back or stiff knees, you stand straight at Tiffany’s!” and discover how to inspire a really bad music video thirty years later. Yes, on Sunday the 26th, we’ll discuss “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/104 "2004-09-13T03:11:33Z")
Whoa – interesting choice! I look forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/105 "2004-09-13T04:10:51Z")
Hooray! And I have a copy of it here too! Worth it just for the gym scene alone…lol ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2004, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/106 "2004-09-13T12:22:45Z")
BTW – if anyone is just now reading this thread and would like to put their name on this list for “members,” just post your interest – it’s not a closed group! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/107 "2004-09-27T12:02:18Z")
I’m still looking for a copy of **Gentlemen Prefer Blondes** – a combo of car trouble and extreme busy-ness at work have prevented me from completing the tour of the indie video stores. :o [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277859) the thread for those who are more on top of things. Be that as it may == **Krisfer** , you’re up for the next pick. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/108 "2004-09-27T13:28:57Z")
**Twickster** , try your local library. This title is fairly common in the library systems. That’s where I found mine, with a few other copies on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/109 "2004-09-27T13:46:04Z")
Nah, that’s where I started – neither of the convenient-to-me branches had a copy. Neither did my Hollywood Video, which has some pretty damn obscure stuff (\*Dames, _Love Me or Leave Me. Ziegfeld Follies_ **and** _Ziegfeld Girl_, to say nothing of the much-lauded _Neptune’s Daughter_😉 ) – but not this. I want to head over to my main indie store, which is where I had to go, believe it or not, for _Kiss Me Kate_, but with my car making the sounds it’s making, I’m pretty much back and forth to work only right now. I’ll get a copy and post to the thread when I can. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/110 "2004-09-27T18:25:42Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Be that as it may == **Krisfer** , you’re up for the next pick. I AM!!??? umm OH MY! Hmmmm I guess I better make a decision then! ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/111 "2004-10-01T00:23:51Z")
**Twicks** or whoever is in charge: Can I be rotated to the bottom of the pile? My October is shaping up to be hell on Earth and what with taking off for a week at the end of it I think it’d be better if I don’t try to participate at this time! Ugh… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/112 "2004-10-01T00:27:58Z")
But of course, **krisfer**! (Catch me on IM and let me know what’s going on!) **lissener** – this means you’re up. Care to pick the next movie? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/113 "2004-10-01T20:38:06Z")
I would love to, but let me say a couple things first. I have not participated in this thread the way I’d intended to because I’ve been out of work and unable to rent the films suggested. So since I didn’t grow the wheat or harvest the wheat or grind the meal to make the bread, choosing the next film feels like an unearned honor. Second, the film I’d most like to suggest is not a conventional musical. It has just as much music as a conventional music, and the music is used in much the same way, I think, but most of you would probably think it’s a stretch to call it a musical. Does anyone have a problem with a little stretch of the conceptual boundaries? I’ll wait to get a sense of the consensus before I make my suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/114 "2004-10-01T20:49:14Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Does anyone have a problem with a little stretch of the conceptual boundaries? I’ll wait to get a sense of the consensus before I make my suggestion. Depends what direction you’re planning to stretch them in, I guess. **supervenusfreak** was thinking of doing _A Mighty Wind_, which I don’t think I’d want to call a musical – something like _Strictly Ballroom_, while also not a conventional musical, I’d be willing to include. (I’m a sucker for dance movies, though, as we’ve discussed.) BTW – keep in mind that your local library probably has a lot of movies available for free rentals – I think a lot of us have found them a useful resource. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/115 "2004-10-01T21:26:19Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Depends what direction you’re planning to stretch them in, I guess. **supervenusfreak** was thinking of doing _A Mighty Wind_, which I don’t think I’d want to call a musical – something like _Strictly Ballroom_, while also not a conventional musical, I’d be willing to include. (I’m a sucker for dance movies, though, as we’ve discussed.) > > BTW – keep in mind that your local library probably has a lot of movies available for free rentals – I think a lot of us have found them a useful resource. Yes. I’m on the outs with the local liberry, until I get a job and pay off the backload. The movie I’m thinking of is called [_Distant Voices, Still Lives_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0095037/combined) . Directed by Terence (_The House of Mirth_) Davies. It’s kind of his memories of his childhood. It’s a very beautiful film; spent a lot of time in my top ten. Most of his memories are tied into music: most of the scenes in the movie involve the memory of a song, or of his mother singing a song, or his sister, or sitting down at the pub with everybody singing. Anyway, the third or fourth time I watched it, it occurred to me that Davies was really making a musical: he was injecting songs into the plot of the film to reveal the characters emotions, inner thoughts, etc. In any case, it’s a fascinating take on the movie musical. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/116 "2004-10-01T22:12:27Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yes. I’m on the outs with the local liberry, until I get a job and pay off the backload. > > The movie I’m thinking of is called [_Distant Voices, Still Lives_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0095037/combined) . Directed by Terence (_The House of Mirth_) Davies. > > It’s kind of his memories of his childhood. It’s a very beautiful film; spent a lot of time in my top ten. Most of his memories are tied into music: most of the scenes in the movie involve the memory of a song, or of his mother singing a song, or his sister, or sitting down at the pub with everybody singing. > > Anyway, the third or fourth time I watched it, it occurred to me that Davies was really making a musical: he was injecting songs into the plot of the film to reveal the characters emotions, inner thoughts, etc. In any case, it’s a fascinating take on the movie musical. > > Thoughts? Oooh, interesting & provocative choice (not to mention a fantastic film). Not sure I’d consider it a musical, but that is certainly a point worth debating, so I vote we do it. I’d also recommend the short **Listen to Britain** by Humphrey Jennings, which clearly inspired Davies, but I don’t even know if that’s readily available in the States. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/117 "2004-10-02T00:08:23Z")
Never seen it – never heard of it. It looks interest – my concern is about availability. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/118 "2004-10-02T00:17:13Z")
I’ve seen it around; not sure about its general availability. Of course, being broke and all, I recommend it because I own it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/119 "2004-10-02T00:22:20Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Never seen it – never heard of it. It looks interest – my concern is about availability. Well, it is from 1990 so the chances of it being available are a bit better than if it was from 20 years earlier. It’s not available on DVD, and I doubt it’s a Blockbuster mainstay, but I think any video store with a solid arthouse/foreign section is likely to have it (though I know that still may limit things a bit for people). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785/120 "2004-10-02T00:26:09Z")
FWIW, there are 25 used copies at Amazon. Not suggesting that people buy it, but perhaps calling around to a couple video rental stores might be productive; it’s apparently not rare or anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-musical-lovers-salon-and-debating-society/251785.md?page=7)