Humor is a very interesting thing. Sometimes something can be sublime comedy just by the way something is said or done. Great example, this song from Marx Brothers' Big Store. Funny, intense, weird, creative.
(The last line is "shoot the talcum to me, Malcolm.")
And here's another good music/humor combo. (From A Night at The Opera.)
TTL exclaimed:
"Love the kids' reactions! :-)
Also, check out how he does harmonics on the harp towards the end of his (harp) performance at 4:47."
I am not sure what harmonics is, in music. Different from a chord?
Quoth Michael Burton ...
There's something oddly very exciting about that singer's deadpan performance -- it's funny, but it's more than just funny. There's a kind of emotional tension that really turns the whole thing up a couple notches.
In his later years, Groucho complained that he couldn't insult anybody anymore. It wasn't that he didn't try, but he was so famous for his funny insults that he could say ANYTHING, and people would laugh and feel flattered that they'd been insulted by the great Groucho Marx.
I've read a lot about the Marx Brothers, and I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo. Many people describe him as almost a saint. He and his wife adopted four children.
Eolake said...
I agree, she is very special.
---
I recommend Groucho's autobiography, it is interesting, funny, and it puts the "good old days" into perspective. An actor/performer in the early 20th had about as much social status as a gypsy, and often about as much morals.
29 comments:
There's something oddly very exciting about that singer's deadpan performance -- it's funny, but it's more than just funny. There's a kind of emotional tension that really turns the whole thing up a couple notches.
In his later years, Groucho complained that he couldn't insult anybody anymore. It wasn't that he didn't try, but he was so famous for his funny insults that he could say ANYTHING, and people would laugh and feel flattered that they'd been insulted by the great Groucho Marx.
I've read a lot about the Marx Brothers, and I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo. Many people describe him as almost a saint. He and his wife adopted four children.
I agree, she is very special.
---
I recommend Groucho's autobiography, it is interesting, funny, and it puts the "good old days" into perspective. An actor/performer in the early 20th had about as much social status as a gypsy, and often about as much morals.
Eolake: "I am not sure what harmonics is, in music. Different from a chord?"
OK, you asked for it!
"Harmonics" (in this context) refers to a playing style where the base frequency of a note (a single note) is muted and only the upper harmonics of it are allowed to sound.
All musical tones consist of a base frequency and its upper harmonics. We normally only perceive the base frequency (which we identify as the pitch of the note). The upper harmonics make up the colour of the sound -- or the character of the instrument.
What Harpo does in the segment starting at 4:47 is (1) pluck the string, and (2) immediately damp it with another finger to stop it from sounding. The trick is that the damping is not total, but maybe only 80%. What this does is it kills the 'body' of the sound, i.e. the base frequency, but leaves the upper harmonics ringing. The result is a bell like sound.
This technique is difficult in part because the dampening has to happen within a few milliseconds after starting the note. On the other hand, the string has to be allowed to build energy unobstructed for those crucial few milliseconds or else the harmonics, once elicited, will not sound for very long. The most difficult part, however, is to damp the string just the right amount. It's way too easy to kill it from sounding altogether.
Harpo appears to pluck with his index finger, and simultaneously damp the string with the thumb of the same hand. He does this in rapid succession with both hands, resulting in a melody that sounds like it was played on some kind of a weird rubber glockenspiel.
This technique is common on guitar, where, I think, the term 'harmonics' (in reference to the playing style) originates from. Classical musicians call them 'flageolet notes'. There may be other names too.
I never seen anyone else do this with a harp. Usually the harp is considered such a beautiful sounding instrument by its nature that this kind of trickery is uncalled for. Therefore, it's only fitting that the Jimi Hendrix of harp, Harpo, raises to the task. :-)
Michael Burton says: "I've read a lot about the Marx Brothers, and I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo. Many people describe him as almost a saint. He and his wife adopted four children."
His character seemed to consist of child like innocence and wonderment combined with a remarkable ability to create beauty and execute pranks. :-) You can't ask much more from any human being.
Watch Harpo's Son Interviewed. Among other things it tells how Harpo used to play golf nude, and how he moved his harp in the toilet and practised while sitting on the john.
she's an alien
signalroom said...
she's an alien
WTF?
and I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo.
untill now. never liked them. not funny nor amusing either. they were like watching those old boring school films about history and the ultra-lie of evolution.
oh, shoot the film projector watch it smoke like a burning trash can.
You can hear Harpo's voice in a couple of very short audio recordings here.
"In his later years, Groucho complained that he couldn't insult anybody anymore. It wasn't that he didn't try, but he was so famous for his funny insults that he could say ANYTHING, and people would laugh and feel flattered that they'd been insulted by the great Groucho Marx."
Well, hey, when you raise insults to an art form, don't come complaining that people appreciate them! ;-)
I have a somehow similar problem: too many people around here seem to be refugees not from Palestine but from Betelgeuse, so when I give them sarcasm they often don't realize I am in fact insulting them. And they think it's a compliment! Ah well, I guess it saves lots of subsequent physical violence.
"I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo."
Not even Groucho? Wow! ;-)
But seriously, how could anybody not love dear Harpo?
Eolake said...
"I recommend Groucho's autobiography"
You don't need to. Just knowing that he wrote one, I-want-it-I-want-it-I-want-it-I-want-it-I-want-it-oh-please-Mommy-could-we-ask-Santa-for-it-right-now-to-be-on-the-safe-side-please-please-pleaaaase?...
ttl said...
"OK, you asked for it!"
And boy, did he get it! I got it too, greatly interesting explanation, thanks. :-)
"Harpo used to play golf nude, and how he moved his harp in the toilet and practised while sitting on the john."
I don't know why I am even mildly surprised. If a child would do it, innocent Harpo would do it too. Wish I could have known him in person. Harpo is a powerful counter-example to my post on actors, proving all rules have their exceptions. And that even perfect lebanese me isn't always right! :-D
Black Brother said...
[and I don't think anyone has ever said an unkind word about Harpo.]
"untill now."
Ah-HA! An exception to another rule! Hey, what can I say? When I'm right, I'm right. After all, I'm Lebanese. It's like saying a swan is white and ice is cold. ;-)
Better yet, it's like saying snow is white AND cold! :-D
"they were like watching those old boring school films about history and the ultra-lie of evolution."
Trust me, buddy, there are infinitely less lies about evolution than in history. Clio is a shameless prostitute.
Pasco wrote:
"Clio is a shameless prostitute."
I am ashtonished by the above sentence. It is economy of expression taken to absolute extremes, and with such finesse that the works of many nobelists pale in comparison.
Some historians have spent their whole careers publishing what Herr Pasco accomplishes here in this single elegant five word sentence.
You may naïvely think that the above is just a fancy way of saying: "History is prone to revisiomism." Not even close! This vulgar approximation leaves out more than half of the meaning condensed into Pasco's original.
In fact, I am convinced that the English language knows no way to improve upon Herr Pasco's work. This is true perfection in art.
I am shocked! How can I write anything in these blog commentaries ever again?
That "Rock'aby Baby" clip is strangely addictive. I have watched it six times now. Gets better every time.
Sleep, Jackson!
I know. I've been remembering that clip for years, and I was looking specifically for it.
As I recall, it works even better in the movie, strange as that is, because there is not context to it at all, and the woman is not used elsewhere in the film!
What's her last line? ... something, Malcolm...?
I have a strong feeling that one or more of the Brothers had seen her act in some theatre, and said to her: "we just gotta put your song in our film."
Eolake said: "What's her last line? ... something, Malcolm...?"
That has been bugging me too. 'Malcolm' is the only word I can make out of it. Perhaps one of the native speakers here can help us?
The last line is "Shoot the talcum to me, Malcolm."
Hehe.
Thanks, dude.
That's killing me! :-)))
Thanks, Burton!
TTL,
Compliments will get you everywhere. But enough already, I'm starting to blush. :-)
"I am shocked! How can I write anything in these blog commentaries ever again?"
Hey, if you feel like this is a contest, you still don't get it! Take a hold on yourself, man. ;-)
It's not about being the best (and I sure didn't expect to be considered so!), it's just about having a good time together. We all learn from each other, and I'm no exception.
Besides, I need you to stay. If nothing else, because you titillate my own muse. And the naughty girl loves it (she's ticklish)! :-D
Few people seem to know about the existence of erotic tickling.
Eolake said...
I have a strong feeling that one or more of the Brothers had seen her act in some theatre, and said to her: "we just gotta put your song in our film."
A likely story! I would do the same.
The last line is "Shoot the talcum to me, Malcolm."
HAHAHAHA! Excuse me a moment while I go chase my breath to catch it! :-D
This blog has seen some great one liners recently:
1) "Tuetage alasti kultuuri."
2) "Clio is a shameless prostitute."
3) "Shoot the talcum to me, Malcolm."
Well done, captain!
(Pascal, I'm sure, prefer's his medium.)
See last thing I said just above.
That talcum bit was the killer touch! :-D
Remember what Eolake once said? "If I was modest, I would be perfect."
Well, I'm ALSO modest. ;o)
I thought you said recently you hated perfection???
True, I did. So what?
I'm perfectly free to contradict myself, ain't I? :o)
I'll be damned. I had not seen this when I posted her youtube clip of the song today... I watched a lot of the movie with my little kids and was surprised how engaged they were with the comedy when they tune out modern stuff as boring immediately.
Found this when looking for the "shoot the talcum to me, Malcolm" line. Nice to see we have even more in common.
Hi Ashley, stick around.
What is sedition.com about? The site confuses me a bit.
What is sedition.com about? The site confuses me a bit.
:) It's just me that's confusing I suspect. I don't know that I can describe the site succinctly. It's an awful mixture of the overly sincere with the overly ironic.
This piece summed it up—The secret of my [lack of] success—…Let’s consult the dictionary: eclectic, spastic, inconsistent, esoteric, combative, infrequent, discontiguous, blue, and irreligious. Add creeping sarcasm into a Gunning-Fog which gambols from 4 to 20 and you’ve got a recipe for disaster in search of a market. A site without a target audience, just targets.
OK, I've read that page, and the About page, and looked around a little, and nowhere does it say what it *is*. What is the purpose?
But it seems it's basically a one-man magazine? Without a subject focus?
The singer is Virginia O'Brien, who performed in MGM movies of the 1940s. YouTube has a number of video clips.
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