Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?

[StickToPriest]

Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#0

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:35pm

I have a feeling I might get harangued for this.


But does anyone else find that each time they listen to the OBCR of Avenue Q, there seems to be just a little less to it than the last time.

It seems like most of the songs, the more I listen to them, the more I seem to not enjoy them as much.

Perhaps it is beacuse many of the songs could be considered novelties and the jokes begin to wear thin after the umpteenth listen.

The songs that I do not find myself growing tired of ('Purpose,' 'There's A Fine, Fine Line' and 'The More You Ruv Someone') seem to be the ones without the over-the-top humor.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Avenue Q when I first heard it, and still do. But it seems I love it a little less and less as time goes by, which is the opposite of what usually happens.

I usually grow more fond of Cast Recordings as I listen to them more and more.

Does anyone else feel this way? (Either with Avenue Q or any other CR?)

"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."

The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.

[TheGaIsSilent]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#1

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:37pm

I *guess* so, but every time I've seen it live (4 times?) I've laughed just as hard.

JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!

[StickToPriest]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#2

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:38pm

Well, I guess I should clarify this is going solely on the Cast Recording, as I have (regretfully) yet to see it live.

"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."

The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.

[Loge]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#3

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:39pm

The first couple times I listened to Ave Q, I thought it was funny. Now, I think it's pretty stupid.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like a Make-A-Wish Kid. You know, I just knew you were gonna bring shame on this new family of ours, and it just figures you had to go make yourself over into some heroin-shootin skate board chic on the only day E! could interview you!" - Cherry Cherry, on her daughter Mary Cherry

[luvtheEmcee]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#4

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:43pm

I actually find myself in that position pretty often, unless it's one of the shows that I really, truly love - one of those that I could go back and watch again and again. After I see a show, if I like it, that cast recording will literally be all I listen to for days, sometimes even weeks. Then, eventually, I'll get slightly tired of it, and put it back in the regular rotation, occasionally pulling it out and re-discovering it. I think Avenue Q is a good example to that point in general, though. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Avenue Q, but I think it's a great example of a CR where the novelty wears off, probably because at first, the humour is so blantantly obvious and over-the-top. Once you know those jokes, most of them just aren't laugh-out-loud funny anymore... I don't think it says anything bad for the show, but it's just a fact of habituation. Avenue Q may also be such a good example because, honestly, I don't think its score is that brilliant. The lyrics, IMO, are wonderfully witty, but musically, it's just not really that sophisticated, and I guess that might make it kind of easy to get tired of.

That said, please don't hang me. You all know I love Q.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[insomniak]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#5

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:43pm

Priest, I was hoping I wasn't the only one. A lot of it is cute, but not re-listenable. Fine, Fine Line and Purpose are the exceptions. The whole show sounds about the same all the way through, it didn't really deserve Best Score... good, not great.

[QtKt]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#6

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:45pm

Loved it when I first got it, still love it today.
I see what you're saying though, I do find myself skipping thru to hear "Purpose", "Fantasies Come True", "My Girlfriend who Lives in Canada", "Fine Fine Line" and "The More you Ruv Someone"... The others don't get as much play as they used to...
It's not because I don't find the jokes funny anymore, i've seen the show too many times to count, and still find it amusing... It's more about personal preference..

[Plum]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#7

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:47pm

Avenue Q isn't the kind of cast recording you find new dimensions in every time you listen. I found something similar to what you describe happening with me and my copy of The Producers OBC. I stopped listening to it for a few months, then put it on again and liked it. Not all CDs are well-suited to continuous listening.

[broadwaystar2b]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#8

Posted: 12/21/04 at 3:47pm

I still love the OBCR, but of course, once the surprise out of ANY comedic work is gone, it's never as funny as the first time you hear it

[Corine2]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#9

Posted: 12/21/04 at 4:19pm

Well,
I never get tired of it. I listen to it almost everyday.
Q is perfect.

[Mamamia Sammy2]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#10

Posted: 12/21/04 at 4:22pm

So are you. Happy Holidays, Corine.

"I knew this was probably going to happen." - Rathnait62

[CurtainUp]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#11

Posted: 12/21/04 at 4:24pm

My family and I listen to this CD a lot and we still laugh with and love it. Each time I'll find something new in it. I still think it's hilarious and heartwarming.

Rosencrantz: "Be happy - if you're not even HAPPY what's so good about surviving? We'll be all right. I suppose we just go on." - from Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

[munkustrap178]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#12

Posted: 12/21/04 at 4:25pm

I definitely agree with Priest. Although, I never really liked this CD to begin with. I could never listen to this CD the whole way through and actually enjoy it - I thought the jokes were tired and songs were annoying to begin with. Don't get me wrong - the FIRST time I heard them I thought they were cute and clever, but I don't see HOW people can sit there and listen to this CD over and over - the CD literally drives me up the wall.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

[Corine2]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#13

Posted: 12/21/04 at 4:27pm

Munk,
You are dead to me now.

[Unknown User]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#14

Posted: 12/21/04 at 5:06pm

I have a love/hate relationship with Q. I'm over all of the "comedic" songs for the time being, and I can only listen to Purpose without getting bored and changing the song.

[BlueWizard]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#15

Posted: 12/21/04 at 5:46pm

I think you find new things to like about it: my attention has turned away from the comedic songs about more to the poignant moments on the CD: "There's A Fine, Fine Line," "Fantasies Come True," and "I Wish I Could Go...," for example. I don't listen to the Avenue Q OBCR as much anymore, but that happens with all my cast recordings. I don't pick up any of my Les Miz recordings, either, or the CD for "Sunday in the Park..." It's not unique to the Avenue Q OBCR.

BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."

[broadway_star_tomorrow]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#16

Posted: 12/21/04 at 5:54pm

I completely agree. The novelty of many of the songs has worn off, and I find myself being increasingly drawn to several of the more meaningful songs. The one "funny" song that I still love beyond belief though- "I'm not Wearing Underwear Today". Probably because it's just so random.

AKA Idina Pashmina

Type_A_Tiff: There's nothing hard about her. Broadway_star_tomorrow: Yeah. Her arteries.

[SallyBrown]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#17

Posted: 12/21/04 at 5:59pm

I def. agree. I mean, I love Q I really do, and I usually don't find myselves becoming tired of a Bway CD. So I wait a few weeks without listening to it, then listen to it and find that I enjoy it again. Just a cycle..

"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."

[MyNameInLights]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#18

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:04pm

Priest, the only thing I can possibly say is that I completely agree with every single word you said. You have voiced what I've been feeling about Q for oh, the past three months. Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels it's lost its magic.

"The stage is where I live and come alive and act out all the things that go on in my life. It's not just what I do for a living, it's my shrink and my love affair. No one in my life has ever or ever will kiss me on the mouth like this lover called my relationship with my performance."

[BSoBW2]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#19

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:09pm

yes,

the jokes wear thin

[My Fair Lady]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#20

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:12pm

It's true. It does sorta lose its novelty. I don't like it as much as I used to.

[BSoBW2]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#21

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:13pm

for some reason, though, Urinetown remains funny to me - and i have probably listened to that more than AQ

[NightLaughs]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#22

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:15pm

I completely agree. I bought months ago, listened to it like crazy, and then it has faded away. All my other showtunes have ittle re-emergences back into my life but I don't like Avenue Q like I once did.

If you limit your choices to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."- Robert Fritz

[BroadwayBaby21]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#23

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:16pm

Not really... Every time I listen to it, I still laugh a little (or at least smile/giggle) at the jokes...

The OBCR I got tired of quickly (mostly because I overplayed it.. being a crazy-obsessed fangirl at the time) is Wicked.
I only listen to it now is if it comes on my iTunes when I play my broadway playlist on random...

-If you don't like your fate, change it. You are your own master.- Aida

[Unknown User]

re: Avenue Q OBCR: Does the novelty wear off?#24

Posted: 12/21/04 at 6:20pm

It's the same way with WICKED. It's one of my favorite shows, but I feel like throwing up everytime I listen to the OBCR!