Bagpipe Soul!

February 26, 2012 8:02 PM

Bagpipe Soul! Honey Blo on Chic-A-Go-Go. [SLYT]
posted by Slap*Happy (15 comments total)

Now, I like bagpipes - unlike many people I don't think they are an abomination, but are a melodically pleasing instrument.

I am prepared to make an exception in this case, simply because the pipes are not in tune with the backing track, and thus the entire thing sounds like a horrible clusterfuck.
posted by awfurby at 8:13 PM on February 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

But man, can he get that crowd moving!
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:14 PM on February 26, 2012

Greatest SNP council meeting ever.
posted by mcmile at 8:22 PM on February 26, 2012

Yea, awfurby. Bad music, no matter the medium or intent, is still bad music.
posted by ZaneJ. at 8:33 PM on February 26, 2012

Rufus Harley
posted by quazichimp at 8:45 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

... and then there's Bad Piper doing Queen. I report, you decide.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:49 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh my goodness.

OK - let's make it a rule. Before anyone decides to mix Bagpipes with other types of music, they need to read this first:

Few things are as obnoxious as an out-of-tune Great Highland Bagpipe (GHB), or for that matter any untuned bagpipe. Bagpipes heard out-of-tune are the major reason why many people dislike the instrument. Out-of-tune pipes may lead to social unrest, dog bites, high gasoline prices and shortages of Prozac. ... The 440 Hz "A" and the subsequent frequencies of the rest of the scale are now referred to as "concert pitch" and are taken for granted by almost all western musicians ... except, you guessed it, pipers.
posted by awfurby at 9:50 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

That was probably the best I've ever heard a bagpipe playing in a non-traditional setting. And it still sounded awful.
posted by Jon_Evil at 11:30 PM on February 26, 2012

1. I do genuinely enjoy the pipes, although I prefer the uilleann pipes. 2. I love weird musical cross-overs. 3. Being out of tune is not funky, but I salute this man.
posted by smirkette at 5:53 AM on February 27, 2012

Also, I see your soul and raise you jazz: Rufus Harley doing "A Love Supreme" on the pipes, which I think takes even bigger musical cajones.

There is more musical weirdness in heaven, earth, & YouTube than can be dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.
posted by smirkette at 5:57 AM on February 27, 2012

A friend who is involved with varous historical re-enactment groups says:

There is nothing so inspiring to the warrior spirit as the sound of bagpipes -- fading off into the distance.

That said, seconding Rufus Harley, a man who heard a unique calling that gave him courage of his convictions; some said he should have been.

Cop: We got a complaint about loud bagpipes being played at this address.

Rufus: Bagpipes? Do I look Scottish to you?
 
posted by Herodios at 7:43 AM on February 27, 2012

What I loved about this wasn't the jazz bagpipe, because, man, that's weird and terrible and oddly compelling all by itself, as much as the dancers. It's one of those cases where you're focused on this serious, handsome dude in a red suit wailing away, with remarkable rhythm and technique, on a completely out-of-tune bagpipe so you sort of miss the seven-foot man in a rabbit mask with a black silk robe and a golden tablet on a chain around his neck. Dancing. And the enthusiastic but utterly inept yoga instructor, and the kid on the platform who was Not Into Being There and the disco dancers and I think I saw Santa Claus in there at one point.

This is Dance Party USA meets the Satellite of Love.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:43 AM on February 27, 2012

I've been trying to overcome my fear of looking like a complete fool and having the possibility of the video forever being on the internet and actually go to a taping of this show and be one of the 'grooving weirdos' for almost 13 years now.

It's just on the other side of town, and I have a bunch of friends who are all for the concept that say 'I will if you will', but none of us have done it yet. Now that some of those same friends have young kids, we can all use them as sort of 'embarrassment shields,' and just do it.

Perhaps this should be Chicago mefi meetup/field trip. Let's all look like fools together, and it won't be so bad. C'mon, people, let's 'dance like no one is watching' (cue assorted pessimistic groans), because hey, the 'no one is watching' part is almost true; it's a local cable access show!

...

Yeah, I'm not buying it either. Someday, maybe, but I'm just not ready yet. (Why is this whole idea starting to sound like some 80s movie that has an upbeat montage scene coming up and then some significant personal development scene?)
posted by chambers at 10:26 AM on February 27, 2012

Wow. If I Had known about chic-a-go-go, I might have never moved out of the Chicago Metropolitan Area some 15 years ago. Seriously.

And yes, on searching I see that it's been posted about here before.
posted by SteveInMaine at 4:09 PM on February 27, 2012

I've been to about half a dozen tapings, but not for a few years now. Jake Austen is a magnet for oddballs/visionaries, so you never know who he's going to have on. You're dancing in a brightly lit warehouse-sized studio and you may not have had lunch, let along any drinks, and the music is way too quiet. You're bound to look silly.

the 'no one is watching' part is almost true

I had a Chic-a-go-go t-shirt, and at least one person commented on it and swore they recognized me from the show.

I would go to a Chic-a-go-go meetup. Costumes are welcome, even encouraged.
posted by hydrophonic at 4:25 PM on February 27, 2012 [1 favorite]