To tell you the truth, I don’t know what you’re talking about because I couldn’t tear my eyes off that vision in the skin tight leather pants playing the violin.
Could you perhaps rephrase this so that it actually resembles a coherent thought?
He can’t, WaterJ2, because there’s not a single coherent thought bouncing around in that vast void that inhabits his head.
Yes, and Oh. My. God.
But at least she was dressed and didn’t hit that gawd-awful screeching high note during her solo. She couldn’t contain herself through America, the Beautiful, though. You could hear her screeching along in the background.
This is where I start backpedaling and apologizing for being so rough and so on, except, since you’re joking, I won’t bother. 
I am sooooooo glad that I missed the Floyd rape! I probably would have pulled an Elvis and shot the TV. These people who rewrite a great tune because they think that it will make it “more meaningful for people in the light of current events” really steam my clams. Either the song’s appropriate for the occassion, or its not! If it ain’t, don’t fuckin’ use it!!!
Shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing, one of the local stations here in Nashvegas decided to take Live’s Lightning Crashes and splice in sound clips from news accounts of the bombing. Totally ruined a great fucking song! Why? Because they thought that it’d be more heartwarming and sentimental. Fuck that!!! If you can’t find an appropriate song to express your feelings, write your own!!! Don’t hack up someone else’s work to try and make yourself feel better.
Did I miss something?
I didn’t watch the love fest. Why were celebrities manning the phones? Is that their way of ‘doing something’? Are they scared because we haven’t been paying attention to them? Do they think they are special because they took an evening out of the lives for this?
Anyone who donated money because Adam Sandler or Goldie Hawn might answer the phone is a fucking moron.
Sorry but the cynical side of me can’t accept it when hollywood tries to pat themselves on the back for doing what anyone else would do. Show me a phone bank and I’ll take calls. Give me access to Ground Zero and I’lll pull rubble out.
Actually, the way it goes is that Bernie (who is Elton’s business partner only) writes lyrics, much like writing poetry. He batches those and faxes or e-mails (he used to mail or deliver) them to Elton. Elton then takes the raw lyrics and decides what kind of music might be appropriate for them.
He then composes the song, never taking more than a few minutes. If he doesn’t have something he likes by then, he tosses it aside and goes on to the next one. In a similar vein, he has never needed more than one take in the recording studio. He’s simply gifted.
You can watch him re-enact composing one of their most beautiful songs, Tiny Dancer, in a special anthology called Two Rooms. It’s called that because Bernie and Elton have never been together in the same room when a song was composed.
It’s a fascinating process. Elton begins by looking at Bernie’s lyrics sheet and goes, “Well, I’m seeing the keywords here… Ballerina, Seamstress, Pretty Eyes… This is obviously not going to be a hard rocker…” Then he roughs in some chords, tries a few different melodies, adjusts the phrasing, and finally adds arpeggios and riffs. Within minutes, he is singing and playing a primatively constructed but very recognizable future hit song. Later, he gets with the band, processes their input and suggestions, and then goes to studio.
Lyrics first, then music.
Bernie never has any idea what his songs will sound like until Elton has them finished. He says that he has never been disappointed, and has always loved the tunes. His personal favorite was Candle in the Wind. (Elton’s personal favorite was Your Song.) It’s a great anthology. You’ll get to hear things like Elton explaining how he had to teach Bernie the concept of meter, and Bernie explaining the origin of Someone Saved My Life Tonight, and a lot more neat stuff.
As to the cover of Wishing You Were Here, I liked it very much. I thought it was beautiful. As Bernie points out in the above mentioned anthology, a cover should not be a reproduction. It should be the artist’s own unique interpretation of the song.
Well, that would make the songwriting process easier. I probably misheard becasue I was trying to drive at the time. Either way explains the sometimes awkward integration between the two that might be lessened if they worked more closely.
LOL! Yeah, another thing Bernie mentioned was how happy his life was, living on a farm (not an international jet-setter) with his wife (a woman).
Right. Bernie is very straight, but he and Elton love each other like brothers. Bernie even lived with Elton and his mum for a spell. And no, they never composed in the same room together then either!
With respect to integraion, either you’re assuming something that isn’t there or I don’t understand what you mean by “awkward integration”. I think their integration is seemless. They are each too shy to work together. That’s why they’ve worked this way since day one.
Criticisms of how they work remind me of a remark made once by Jack Nicklaus when doing guest commentary. Someone hit a shot out of the bunker that trickled onto the green and wandered into the hole. Naturally, Jack had to ruin the moment for the fellow by saying, “Well, his shot went in but technically he didn’t execute it correctly.”
[…stunned stare…]
Excuse me, Jack? He executed it perfectly, you moron. It went in the hole!
Bernie and Elton have enjoyed much success.
[Pollyanna hat ON]
I think it’s nice to see celebrities use their visibility for any good cause. I realize the danger (and frequency) of vice versa, but it’s one of those things in which the ends really justifies the means, you know?
[tangent within a tangent] That’s one of the reasons I’ve always admired Madonna, although I think she’s a talentless hack. She’s ruthlessly used her own celebrity to raise money for AIDS organizations, and she did it before it was “fashionable” and she continues to do it even when the spotlight isn’t shining all over her.
[/tangent within a tangent]
[Pollyanna hat OFF]
Wow.
Pettiness and cynicism reach an entirely new level.
Uummm, back to the OP. I’ve never heard Limp Bizkit who I think Fred Durst plays with, and I’ve never heard the Goo Goo dolls, I actually feel foolish just saying that name, and I’m not a big fan of Pink Floyd, but I liked the song last night.
I loved the camera work and lighting while they were singing too. I thought it was excellent all around. I don’t mind if they add lyrics, who says you can’t? It had feeling and I think it was one of the top performances last night, along with Stevie Wonder & Take 6.
Clint Eastwood scared me.
Is it just me, or does the thread title sound like something an insane carnival barker would say?
“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up! Show your patriotism by urinating on Pink Floyd! Only twenty-five cents!”
I said it in MPSIMS and I’ll say it here: I don’t mind what they did with the Floyd song lyric-wise necessarily (comes with the territory in situations like this, I suppose), but why did they have to choose two guys to sing it who can’t carry anything remotely resembling a tune between them? I’ve seen Mr. Eastwood in Paint Your Wagon and he’s a better singer than these two turkeys. I’ve never heard anything by either of those two bands before, and now I know I haven’t missed anything.
I used to be like you people who got all pissed or whatever whenever a loved song was performed by someone poorly, or covered badly. I guess because I was supposed to.
But you know what? I can still put in my Pink Floyd disc and enjoy “Wish You Were Here” exactly as much as before the Tribute. I can even listen to Don McClean’s “American Pie” and like it just as if Madonna never covered it! Imagine that.
I have to wonder why anybody cares. There’s lots of music I don’t like, I just turn the channel.
I agree. I didn’t enjoy listening to Fred Durst and Johnny Reznic(sp) doing their own rendition of Wish You Were Here. I never liked Limp Bizcut to begin with, but that’s a whole different thread all together.
I did like seeing Niel Youn sing Imagine. Apparently there are people pissed that he sang that song. Imagine that. People angry over hearing a song about peace, solace, and security during a time like this. Would they have preferred he sing Four Dead in Ohio? “Tin soldiers, Bush is coming?”
It sounded like Springsteen and Wonder came up with new material, and I enjoyed their contributions to the show as well.
Mariah Carey…well. Nevermind.
It’s odd how song written years ago can take on a whole new meaning like, Tom Petty’s, Won’t Back Down. I also wondered if he either gained weight or if it was the beard. shrugs
And the only newer artist that performed that I felt had any talent was Alicia Keyes.
Did Dion do that damn Titanic song? If so, I say send her off to Afghanistan. Bin Laden will surrender shortly after. If not…can we still send her?
It’s nice what they did, but I’d have to agree with some sentiment expressed ealier. If a person only made a donation so they could talk to a celebrity, were they really doing it out of a sense of chairity.
somewhat~damaged
It’s very interesting how differently such things can be subjectively seen. My wife and I were remarking about how beautiful their voices were, and how well they blended, which we thought was fairly unusual for two males.
[…srugh…]