"No one, I think, is in my tree."

Saturday, March 12, 2011

THEY TOLD US THEY WOULD ROCK US - AND THEY DID.

As I said on fb & twitter: THEY TOLD US THEY WOULD ROCK US - AND THEY DID. I’m so thoroughly impressed by this show, I have no words. The combination of somewhat remade songs (IN ENGLISH!!!) interwoven with a great storyline (in Norwegian - which is understandable enough), excellent actors/singers and dancers, a completely amazing band (with the lead guitarist playing on an exact replica of Brian May’s Red Special!!!) and that mindblowingly eargasm-inducing Queen sound made the whole show truly immaculate. This show started on a high and kept it going until the very end.

The set was also wonderful, with its mixture of a TV screen in the back showing 3D images and “webcam” footage juxtaposed the “real-life” happenings on stage, producing a tantalizing and thought-provoking effect, especially alongside the performance of the so-called “Gaga girls” (not really intended as a reference to Lady Gaga, but is an excellent one nonetheless!). Makes you really want to make sure that Rock’n’Roll will live forever. Which it totally should. The increase and progress of synthetic music is well and good, but we should never ever forget the roots of this - the genuine music, made with genuine instruments and not a computer. Music made with real live instruments is what is true music.

The humor of the show and the references to popular culture was nothing short of adorable, especially when the Bohemians unwittingly chose names that were originally for the opposite sex; e.g. Britney Spears was portrayed by a male. Furthermore, Jan Erik Karlsen (Norwegian Pop Idol and X Factor judge) was also represented by a long-haired blond male actor, which was rather amusing, to say the least.

Another positive feature of the show is that it touches on so many emotions, not only amusement. It touches upon irritation, frustration and hope for the future of what one might call “raw” music; again touching upon the dichotomy of using synthetic instruments versus the real ones. The poignant moments when the actors/singers pay tribute to the musicians who died too young and flew “too close to the sun” was tearjerkingly beautiful, especially as the screen showed images of Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix. The song ended of course with an extra large image of Freddie Mercury gracing the screen which made the song even more touching. As me and E agreed on, it showed a lot better how it is to miss someone you never knew in real life. A strange feeling, yet also somewhat good. I can’t explain why, really. Freddie’s and Queen’s music will, however, live on in our hearts forever. There is little doubt that Freddie would have been proud of what Brian May, Roger Taylor and Ben Elton have done with Queen’s music. I am certain Freddie watches over every show, smiling.

No superlatives can adequately describe how IMMACULATE a show this was. If you haven’t watched it yet, make sure you do! Chill factor from start to finish!

Signing off (ecstatically),

Elise

Monday, February 07, 2011

And now...

... for a cup of tea.

It's all in the small things.

It's close to half ten in the evening and I suddenly feel this strange urge to write. You know those times when you suddenly get a boost of creativity where your fingers kinda itch to write something? Well, regardless of whether or not you can relate to this, this is one of those times.

This weekend wasn't that exciting, except from yesterday (Sunday) when I met up with a couple of my closest - I dare say two of my very best - friends. One of them had just celebrated the third (?) part of her 30th birthday celebration and we'd all decided to spend the next day together to really just have a girls' day, afternoon and evening in, talking about anything and everything from most serious of topics to the silliest and stitch-inducing ones. What's so great about these people is how similar they are to me. Well, of course there are differences between us in e.g. our viewpoints on certain things, interests and such, but as my other friend commented - to which I concur - is that the three of us share a common denominator. I would also take the liberty of expanding that by saying that we communicate within the same frequency. My second friend (in whose apartment we were) used also a music analogy which was also rather fitting, namely that we were each of us one specific key, but in combining each key we created a harmony.

Now ain't that just dandy? (And I do not mean this in any sarcastic sense whatsoever!)

There are extremely few people with whom I can feel completely at ease with. Most of the time there is always some kind of barrier between myself and the addressee; either created by myself, by the addressee, or by both. This is always what makes things awkward in meeting up. However, these few people, these few individuals who really get to see me as I really am (besides my parents and close relatives, obv.), are those who I truly appreciate. Those people with whom you can go crazy and act like a complete lunatic (according to other people's minds...) without having any scruples at all about what they may say come tomorrow and consequently just vent your troubles to whenever you wish. Those people with whom you can daydream for eons and not getting any bewildered looks from when you've finished your remark - but who expand and elaborate on what has just been said. Now that's what I call friendship. Besides close family and relatives, the people who see me as me can be counted on one hand.

The thing is with friends like these is that you don't need any kind of fancy gadgets to have a great time. You don't have to dress to impress, if you like. The only thing you need are eyes, ears and (equally as important) a mouth to jabber on about whatever. And of course a brain to process it all with, but now I'm just splitting hairs, really. That's all.

(Too bad I had that cold, though. I still do. Oh well, it'll pass in due time.)

'Cause it's all about harmony. One thing is that life is just one huge balancing act between what is good and what is bad. Neutrality between the two extremes is all good, but what keeps you going is all the good times. Those times when you make good music and when life is worth the effort. When the seesaw tips over to the right side making you sit high above ground and looking over other people's heads (or at least you felt you did when you were a kid). Now that is fun. That is part of the drive you have to keep going.

This post has no thematic coherence whatsoever... Again, I just really wanted to jot down a few things that has made me rather happy lately and has sort of given the monotony of life just a bit of oomph. It's all just in the small things in life; or rather, the seemingly small things in life which ultimately come to mean so much to you in the end.

Signing off,
Elise