More Cowbell
I’d like to think there are some things in life that are so close to perfection that there is nothing anyone can really do to improve them.Take cheese for example. Only more cheese can make cheese better than it already is, perhaps a bit of wine. The only thing that can improve ice-cream is another scoop, maybe a squirt of cajeta.
Dairy products aside, opera, for me at least, falls into this category of near perfection. It is a perfect synthesis of all the other art forms and can transport me places that no book or movie can. I like to think nothing can improve it, except more cowbell, perhaps nudity.
Fans of Saturday Night Live will recall the great skit featuring Christopher Walken, Will Ferrell and The Blue Oyster Cult. The skit has created a cultural phenomenon and is ranked number 5 in SNL’s 101 Funniest Moments. The skit has its own Wikipedia page and references to it have appeared in movies, video games, even Jeopardy! Now the folks at More Cowbell have created an application where you can upload any song to add cowbell and Christopher Walken.
Here’s my upgraded version of Handel’s Largo from Xerxes with 35% more cowbell and 90 % more Walken. I’d tone the Walken down for my second version, but well, I have actual work to do.
| Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj | ||
The other day I posted about bringing Sexy Back to Opera and this morning The New York Times ran this article on opera and nudity. It is a very good article and Tommasini brings up a valid point at the end:
“…one thing opera buffs have always valued about their beloved art form is that so many excellent opera singers look like everyday people, like us. There is no reason that Rodolfo and Mimi have to look like supermodels. They need only convey that they are beautiful to each other. The music, if sung with tenderness and passion, does the rest.”
And he is absolutely right.
But if they can do it while showing a bit of skin, well, that’s even better.
- Edward
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