The So-Called Prime of Miss Rufus Wainwright — Page 4

Lovingly repasted from my own prior comments:

Personally, I'm hoping he sings these songs the way I'd EXPECT Rufus to sing them. IF I wanted to see the Judy concert completely and (more or less) accurately created, we could get an impersonator.
I highly doubt he's going to interpret them the exact way she did, musically and emotionally.

Actually, I owe everyone an apology for calling the shared perception of Garland's Carnegie Hall concert "weird."

It's not WEIRD at all. It was heightened and romaticized.

The perception held by many to this day is that this evening with Judy was matchless with its intensity, its brilliance and its emotional power.

This is exactly as it should be.

The audience brought something with them to the party that night besides a judge's gavel. They didn't count her out 15 minutes into the evening because she "forgot the darn lyrics." They showed up, not even knowing for sure if SHE would show up. They brought their own feelings, personal history, romantic expectations of Miss Garland, and their own theatrical "stardust" to the evening. They fed her with their vision of what this evening should be, as much as she fed them with her talent on the stage. It's evident in the very vocal an passionate response she gets before, after and during the numbers.

So again, my apologies. In truth, I wish I saw a little more of this kind of perception in our world today.

---

Thank you, best12. Your last two posts have articulated what I meant.

---

My 2 favorite comments on the Linda Eder CD:

"Why doesn't she pick on someone her own size?"

"What did Judy Garland ever do to HER?"

---

"Thank you, best12. Your last two posts have articulated what I meant."


How on god's green earth does anything b12 wrote come even close to "How arrogant do you have to be to want to do that? Am I the only one who finds this sickening?"

Jesus Jehosophatz Christ.

---

Rather than actually explain.

---

"Jesus Jehosophatz Christ."

You know, Namo---not many people know that was his middle name!

I don't see any benefit in chewing a poster's head off for offering an opinion. We're not dealing with right or wrong comments here. We're dealing with art. It's not always easy to articulate WHY we like something or don't. It's much easier just to drop an "opinion bomb" and walk away. I don't always know why I do or don't like something, so I've dropped a few "bombs" myself... I try to figure it out though. That has a LOT to do with the way my parents raised me. They always asked me "why," whenever I gave them a snap judgment on anything, whether it was positive or negative.

Maybe Rath can't put into words why the idea of Rufus's Judy concert bugs her... but in reading my posts she found a bit of an answer that made sense to her (i.e., the perception of the "legend" etc.)

In any case, I respect her opinion, even if it's not the same as mine... even if she struggles to articulate the reason why she feels the way she does about something.

I don't feel the need to drop an axe on her head, or anyone else's, for going through that process.

---

I respect people's rights to have an opinion, I don't respect all opinions. And I really don't respect people who say something somebody else wrote is what they meant when their original statement is the polar opposite.

But that's just kooky me.

---

Well, even in the school of hard knocks it's pretty common knowledge that "you never get a second chance to make a good first impression," Rath. And certainly, in my opinion, it's mostly been downhill from there.

And god knows, you're complete dismissal of Wainwright's upcoming artistic endeavor pushes the exact same buttons for this reader as you first-ever post did. You just reinforce and reinforce and reinforce.

---

Judy Garland was magnificent. No one can replace her. But I think this has the potential to be pretty interesting. I personally admire Rufus, think that his voice is beautiful and appreciate the way he puts his own stamp on material he has covered. In fact, I'd rather *ducks!* listen to his interpretation of "Across the Universe" than The Beatles (and I LOVE The Beatles). My adoration for Ann Wilson knows no bounds, but when Rufus recently performed with Heart, his rendition of "Dog and Butterfly" was stunning.

I recall watching a telecast of The Songwriter's Hall of Fame a few years back. At the time, I'd never even heard of him. Carol King was being inducted, and Rufus sang "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" It was SO simply delivered (no histrionics, no dramatics or camera-whoring), but heartbreakingly gorgeous. I couldn't look away from the television, and was surprised at how moved I was! It actually brought Carol to tears, and she said it was the most beautiful interpretation she'd ever heard.

Break a leg, Rufus!

It's playing on my iTunes now, Rath.

In a way, this reminds me of Gus Van Sant's (practically) word for word, frame for frame remake of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO a few years back. Most people found it to be unnecessary and self-indulgent. I enjoyed it and thought it was an interesting experiment.

---

Updated On: 6/5/06 at 07:26 PM