Everybody live for the music-go-round

December 14, 2012 9:12 AM

Kim Wilde serenades passengers on a train (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry (63 comments total)

I wonder how the folks in East California liked it.
posted by jonp72 at 9:14 AM on December 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

lol, i just slyt'ed it myself. to be sure, this makes my day.

I was gonna go for "Down below the cars in the city go rushing by" for the title ...
posted by mrgrimm at 9:15 AM on December 14, 2012

"Copyright belongs to Katherine Eames who owns content".

Hear that, Kim Wilde?
posted by KokuRyu at 9:16 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

GO HOME KIM WILDE

YOU ARE DRUNK
posted by Kitteh at 9:17 AM on December 14, 2012 [16 favorites]

we're the kids?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:18 AM on December 14, 2012

She should have sung "You Keep Me Hanging On" directly to the pole.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:19 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Didn't Cindi Lauper pull this off in a way classier manner a couple of years back?
posted by item at 9:20 AM on December 14, 2012

nothing worse than noisy people on public transit
posted by idiopath at 9:23 AM on December 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

Cyndi Lauper, class act
posted by The Whelk at 9:27 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Meh, FartBarf did it first. You probably never even heard of them.
posted by dr_dank at 9:38 AM on December 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

I wonder how the folks in East California liked it.
posted by jonp72 at 9:14 AM on December 14 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


They probably enjoyed it in South Detroit as well.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:42 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

But less so in Potter's Bar.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:47 AM on December 14, 2012

Your definition of serenade is very different than my definition of serenade.
posted by HuronBob at 9:50 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Last night I had a drunken disagreement with a friend I care about very much. We made up and I saw her home and at some point when I wasn't looking she slipped a copy of Persepolis into my bag. A Christmas present. I read Part One on the tube this morning. If you've read it you'll recall that the protagonist is briefly obsessed with Kim Wilde. And this morning my sister called. Not so remarkable, except that my sister never, ever calls me. Never. Oh, and MY SISTER WENT TO SCHOOL WITH KIM WILDE. Obviously I didn't think anything of it until I came home, opened my laptop, and this was the first thing I saw.
posted by tigrefacile at 9:52 AM on December 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, that was uncomfortable.
posted by lunasol at 9:55 AM on December 14, 2012

Somebody is a bit flat.
posted by doctor_negative at 9:57 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weird -- when the train shakes a lot, the two guys in front of her look like one Marc Maron.
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:57 AM on December 14, 2012

Man, people are so hard on celebrities. Let he who has never been drunk and done something of questionable "classiness" in public cast the first stone.
posted by drlith at 9:59 AM on December 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

I didn't watch the whole thing, because I found the first minute or so very uncomfortable. Does it get "better"? If not, serious question: Was this posted to Metafilter so that we could make fun of her?
posted by Flunkie at 10:00 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, this led me to Kim Carnes, so I'm happy.
posted by Hobgoblin at 10:00 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is what the internet is for and this is why I don't like the internet.
posted by gwint at 10:02 AM on December 14, 2012

Isn't it an unspoken but otherwise well understood rule that you should never perform anything on a public transport unless you are quite certain it's going to be totally transcendent and wonderful...and even then you still probably shouldn't do it?
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2012

Thirteen: Our level of happiness is set. It's in our DNA. No cash payout's gonna change that.
House: It's like there's two of me.
Thirteen: We're the kids in America.
Cuddy: You know this thread isn't about Olivia Wilde, right?
House: Everybody lies.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:07 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, it seems that there are a lot of grumpy fucks in the world. Best train ever.
posted by run"monty at 10:10 AM on December 14, 2012 [8 favorites]

Was this posted to Metafilter so that we could make fun of her?

No, I posted it because I thought it was fucking awesome.

Cyndi Lauper!? Has she won a Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show? I think not.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:16 AM on December 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

MetaFilter thinks we should all be quiet in public, you see, even our patron saint, dearly departed DFW thinks so too.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:18 AM on December 14, 2012

"Truly, I am overwhelmed and confused at such a huge reaction to my night out on the tiles. Making me giggle a LOT: )".
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:18 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Flunkie , it does get better, the filmers get involved in the "WOH OH!" and people giggle and suddenly I found myself wearing a wide grin.

And I'm not even drunk.
posted by dabitch at 10:21 AM on December 14, 2012

There's nothing worse than someone "performing" on the train when all I want to do is go to work in peace.
posted by haqspan at 10:23 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Truly, I am overwhelmed and confused at such a huge reaction to my night out on the tiles. Making me giggle a LOT: )".
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:18 AM on December 14 [+][!]

I just read that link from the Guardian also and I thought - good for her having a bit of fun. Kids in America is a fantastic bit of 80's bubble gum pop - so it as great seeing Kim Wilde enjoying herself so thoroughly. Yeah - she's kinda drunk - but there no barfing or wardrobe malfunctions. That's pretty dignified for a celebrity these days.
posted by helmutdog at 10:24 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

haqspan: There's nothing worse than someone "performing" on the train when all I want to do is go to work in peace.

Unless it's grumps hating on buskers and public art.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:27 AM on December 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Now I'm suddenly interested in the relative fun-factor of drunk subway cars in various cities (various lines, even) at two in the morning. Someone should do a poll.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:30 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's nothing worse than someone "performing" on the train when all I want to do is go to work in peace.

Really? What if Hitler was on the train and he was drunk and he threw up on a pregnant Snooki and then she threw up on Honey Boo Boo and then she threw up on the Singing Cats and then they threw up on Alvin and The Chipmunks and then they threw up on you? And then you threw up on an IRS agent. Would that be worse?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:35 AM on December 14, 2012 [10 favorites]

Of all the dead dictators I can think of, I imagine Hitler would have had the most powerful singing voices of them all.
posted by run"monty at 10:39 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

What if Hitler was on the train and he was drunk and he threw up on a pregnant Snooki and then she threw up on Honey Boo Boo and then she threw up on the Singing Cats and then they threw up on Alvin and The Chipmunks and then they threw up on you? And then you threw up on an IRS agent.

The Aristocrats!
posted by KokuRyu at 10:42 AM on December 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Anyone who wants to talk trash about Kim Wilde, we can take it outside right now.
posted by jammy at 10:44 AM on December 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Unless it's grumps hating on buskers and public art.

What an awful thing to say.

It's one thing to perform on the subway platform. At least people can move away if they don't like it. But on a moving train? You have a captive audience and it actually may not be the Coolest Thing Ever to force them to participate in your art, no matter how wonderful some people think it is.

I was in a barbershop quartet for awhile. We were very good, had nice tight harmonies and a good blend. We had won awards. We were young and good-looking and everybody loved us. One time, we thought it would be fun to take the train downtown during Christmas time and entertain people with holiday tunes.

During the 40 minute train ride we thought it would be a treat to perform for our fellow riders, but after the first song it became obvious (to me, anyway) that while some people did enjoy it, others really didn't, and I realized it was pretty fucking presumptuous of us to assume that everybody would just be happy to hear an impromptu concert without any way to remove themselves from the situation. When we got downtown we went to our designated, city-approved busking space and everything was peachy. People who liked it stopped and listened, smiling and clapping. People who wanted nothing to do with it just kept walking. A fair setup.

Personally I would not have minded at all if I was on that train with Kim Wilde. I probably would have joined in, it looked fun!. I'm always up for a drunken chanson. I'm pretty easygoing like that, and a music dork to boot. But good grief let's have a little compassion for the feelings of others! I recognize the quite reasonable concept that not every body likes all the things I like, and they shouldn't be forced to endure the things I like in a public setting.

Getting snippy at these so-called grumps --when they were given no chance to remove themselves from the audience beforehand-- strikes me as entitled and uncaring.
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:48 AM on December 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

There are great places to share your music. A subway care is not one of them. Don't make me listen to your bubblegum while we are trapped in a shared public vehicle, and I won't make you listen to my preferred soundtrack (believe me, you'll hate mine much more than I hate yours).
posted by idiopath at 10:50 AM on December 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Let's have a little compassion, eh?

No. Let's not.
posted by run"monty at 10:51 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why not?
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:54 AM on December 14, 2012

It's one thing to perform on the subway platform. At least people can move away if they don't like it. But on a moving train?

Where I'm from it's not much harder to move away from someone on the platform than it is on the train, fwiw.

I realized it was pretty fucking presumptuous of us to assume that everybody would just be happy to hear an impromptu concert without any way to remove themselves from the situation.

Well that's b/c you're not Kim Wilde and you didn't sing Kids in America, to be honest.

OK, I don't want to be the one to make the rules, but I think that anyone with a top of the charts single should be allowed to sing drunk on the subway at least once a year. It's not nearly as bad as the standard drunken shenanigans I see every week on my trains. Hell, it's better than some of the behavior I saw this morning.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:54 AM on December 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Why not?

Because when you're riding in the subway, it's hard to take noise complaints seriously. I don't know about you, but pretty much every subway I've ridden in has been ridiculously loud. You're in a tunnel!
posted by mrgrimm at 10:55 AM on December 14, 2012

This brightened my day.
posted by bongo_x at 10:57 AM on December 14, 2012

Roaming buskers in the train cars is one of my favorite parts about the Paris METRO.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:59 AM on December 14, 2012

I remember hating Terri Nunn for singing to me, riding on the Metro.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:03 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

*and by "hating" I mean "loving"
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:04 AM on December 14, 2012

Except possibly Scorpions.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:06 AM on December 14, 2012

There is a huge difference between the noise of the train (which is loud, but essentially white) and the noise of someone singing over the noise of the train, which will also be loud and far more intrusive. I would have had no idea who this person was and would have been wishing she would just sit down and shut up, already. Also, put down your goddamned guitar.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:07 AM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is totally like that time that drunken members of Cheap Trick performed an impromptu version of 'Surrender' on the Brown line.

Oh, wait- that's EVERY WEEKEND IN CHICAGO
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:14 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

'Surrender' on the Brown line.

heh
posted by Pudhoho at 11:44 AM on December 14, 2012

Cheap Trick performed an impromptu version of 'Surrender' on the Brown line.

It's clumsy to say, but that's one of the best euphemisms for "diarrhea" that I've heard.
posted by Mayor Curley at 11:50 AM on December 14, 2012

Stay away. You never know what you'll catch.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:53 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Doleful Creature: Getting snippy at these so-called grumps --when they were given no chance to remove themselves from the audience beforehand-- strikes me as entitled and uncaring.

"Given no chance to remove themselves"! "Entitled and uncaring"!

#FirstWorldProblems, indeed.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:21 PM on December 14, 2012

Please, spare a thought for the Taliban.
posted by run"monty at 12:28 PM on December 14, 2012

They seem a little weird.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:31 PM on December 14, 2012

Also: Don't give yourself away.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:42 PM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, spare a thought for the Taliban.

Sorry. They haven't standardised the sarcasm tag yet.
posted by run"monty at 12:59 PM on December 14, 2012

My evening commute consists of a subway ride - part of which runs express from 125th Street to 59th. This portion of the trip is exactly 7 minutes long. Seven minutes of being a captive audience when you just want to read a book - and the "performers" milk it for all it's worth. This video sort of irritates me but that's only because I got kicked in the head by a break-dancer earlier. *Goes back to writing series of 7-minute-long musical comedies.*
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 1:30 PM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh dear. I suspect my one-time lust object had been on the sauce a touch, there. Ah well. Why not?
posted by Decani at 3:49 PM on December 14, 2012

Seeing the video, my reaction is: good on her; she obviously has good humour, not to mention a better singing voice than most public transport drunks. Though simultaneously I am aware that, were I a passenger in that carriage who didn't know who the drunk woman singing was, or who just had a hard day at work and wanted to get home in peace, I would be less enthused.
posted by acb at 4:04 PM on December 14, 2012

Hey, that's the line I take home from work! (I never expected to see my commute on Metafilter...) And the tunnel-heavy stretch of journey between Finsbury Park and Potters Bar is the longest ten minutes of my day; I'd certainly prefer an impromptu concert to the usual soundtrack of dropped phone calls and leaky iPod headphones.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:48 AM on December 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

I realized it was pretty fucking presumptuous of us to assume that everybody would just be happy to hear an impromptu concert without any way to remove themselves from the situation.

Well that's b/c you're not Kim Wilde and you didn't sing Kids in America yt , to be honest.

It's no less presumptuous just because she had a hit song in the 80s.
posted by 23skidoo at 7:16 AM on December 15, 2012

Of all the dead dictators I can think of, I imagine Hitler would have had the most powerful singing voices of them all.

We had Hitler on our U-Bahn the other day and you are quite right. Unfortunately his song selection stinks.

"Sie kann standt unter mine Umbrella ella ella ella."
posted by biffa at 11:49 AM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]