Comments on: middle earth has no monopoly on miming

middle earth has no monopoly on miming

randomstriker — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:47:57 -0800

Seems like China isn't the only country faking performances during Olympic ceremonies.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:00:32 -0800

This is an extremely important, extremely serious matter.

By: ericost

ericost — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:04:13 -0800

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:05:33 -0800

Coincidentally, Milli Vanilli will be doing a reunion tour in London around 2012 or so.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:14:55 -0800

1936 Olympics not actually triumph of will; Riefenstahl implicated.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:27:51 -0800

Well, duh. It was skullhammeringly obvious, even in this world o' unremarked-upon fakery we've built for ourselves, that Cute Little Aussie Girl Singer at the Sydney Olympics was lipsynching. That was the first goddamn thing I thought of (maybe because I was living in Sydney at the time) when the Cute Little Chinese Girl Singer came onscreen a couple of weeks ago.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:31:31 -0800

I care at least as much about the fakery in Sydney as that in Beijing. Well, exactly as much.

By: Elmore

Elmore — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:34:34 -0800

Now this is what is bringing the Olympics into disrepute.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:17:24 -0800

Next we'll be hearing that women in the athletes' village were also faking their performances.

By: davar

davar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:19:58 -0800

I can understand the voice miming, especially of very young children, even though I think it is sad, but I am very surprised that an entire professional orchestra was willing to mime a performance, even saying: "The miming side of it is perfectly normal".

By: adamt

adamt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:33:20 -0800

To me this is more akin to the pre-recorded fireworks in Beijing than to the miming of the little girl. Now, if they actually a group of actors pretending to be musicians because the real orchestra look too homely... well... then maybe.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:35:52 -0800

Oh man, I was really, really hoping the article was going to say Niki Webster was faking it...

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:51:30 -0800

Oh man, I was really, really hoping the article was going to say Niki Webster was faking it... Wait, what, shit, you mean she wasn't? That's what I get for not reading the damn link. Disregard my earlier screed.

By: Mokusatsu

Mokusatsu — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:37:03 -0800

I've been in a similar situation actually, when I was in high school our choir sang the national anthem at a football grand final, but the whole performance had been recorded a few days earlier in our school auditorium. We actually did sing on the day, but the microphones weren't turned on. The justification was that the acoustics of a windswept field aren't so great, so if you want a good sound you do your recording under better circumstances. Singing is hard enough as it is, let alone (I presume) if you're being dangled 10m above the ground on the end of a wire. So they recorded a little girl sweetly singing, and probably chose the best take out of numerous attempts, so the world would hear a beautifully sung song. Then they hung out the girl on a wire and swung her all over the place while she attempted to maintain some semblance of composure. Actually I'd read somewhere that the chinese actually had a different girl sing the song to the one who they hung out on the wire. The wire girl was chosen for her good looks, the actual singer was chosen for her voice...

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:31:07 -0800

Man, how you gonna choose a nine-year-old girl by her good looks.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:40:15 -0800

casting couch.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:43:08 -0800

I'm not sure they chose her on looks, per se. I'm betting it was more of a "stage presence" kinda thing. The actual singer seemed a bit reserved (from what little I read and saw), while the "singer" was energetic and perky. Perky sells. Even in Asia.

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:48:57 -0800

I'm fucking out of here.

By: zog

zog — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:54:30 -0800

I heard there may not have been the correct number of angels dancing on top of the pin either.

By: HaloMan

HaloMan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:57:01 -0800

By: sour cream

sour cream — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:17:09 -0800

The wire girl was chosen for her good looks, the actual singer was chosen for her voice... And you would think that with more than a billion people, they'd have at least one girl that is cute and can sing. Although I think a Chinese friend of mine nailed it when he said that they probably chose the cute girl because she's the granddaughter or niece of someone high up.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:44:02 -0800

When the news is faked, it's news. When entertainment is faked, it's entertainment. The Olympics are entertainment. We now return you to your regularly scheduled brouhaha, already in progress.

By: rokusan

rokusan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:20:09 -0800

Coincidentally, Milli Vanilli will be doing a reunion tour in London around 2012 or so. Won't that threaten Rob Zombie's trademark? Wow I'm obscure in the morning.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:21:11 -0800

I heard that the whole event is CGI.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:57:59 -0800

China Gets Inventive?

By: netbros

netbros — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:47:30 -0800

So we should take the Sydney Olympics back and demand a redo.

By: a3matrix

a3matrix — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:48:00 -0800

Coincidentally, Milli Vanilli will be doing a reunion tour in London around 2012 or so. FTW! That made me laugh out loud. Good one blaze.

By: Herodios

Herodios — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:48:45 -0800

Both countries defended the sacrifice of authenticity. . . Trevor Green (AUS): "There are millions of people watching, and if something goes wrong, you'd be snookered" Chen Qigang (PRC): "This is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture, especially during the entrance of our national flag. This is an extremely important, extremely serious matter" ". . . and if something goes wrong, you'd be snookered", he added.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:54:24 -0800

It's official. Television is running our lives. The tail is wagging the dog.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:00:57 -0800

I am very surprised that an entire professional orchestra was willing to mime a performance, even saying: "The miming side of it is perfectly normal". You don't think the orchestra is actually playing when you go to the symphony, do you? It's all miming. Tickets cost too much to risk public outrage; if people hear mistakes they'll want their money back. They've been miming to prerecorded pieces for years. And you know those reviews that talk about how amazing it is that some ultramodern piece has been played so perfectly? The authors are laughing their asses off when they turn in those reviews, especially since they don't even bother going to the concert—they just listen to the recording, which gets sent to them well in advance. Wake up!

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:05:13 -0800

Why do you hate Australia?

By: rtboo

rtboo — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:26:07 -0800

Why is everyone so outraged? This is not breaking news. It's common practice at professional sporting events everywhere (including the US) to pre-record the national anthem and have the performers lip-sync and/or mime playing their instrument at the actual event. Why would you expect something different at the Olympics? The argument that the acoustics in such a large space makes it extremely difficult is an accurate one. Stadiums aren't build for their acoustics- they're built for showcasing sporting events.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:26:13 -0800

They chose the insipid "Advance Australia Fair" over "Waltzing Matilda." That's reason enough.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:39:51 -0800

Did you mean Middle Earth or Middle Kingdom, randomstriker? I don't remember Tolkien writing about a race of mimes.

By: mr_book

mr_book — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:40:51 -0800

I think I would only watch the Olympics again if the United States, China, and Russia were not allowed to compete. Seriously, its like 3 versions of the Yankees vs. Everyone Else and guess who wins 75% of the medals every fucking time. Big fucking deal. I'd also make them ditch all the sports that aren't, ya know, sports.

By: kcds

kcds — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:45:42 -0800

I totally faked watching the Olympics. I paid a stand-in to watch it for me.

By: mr_book

mr_book — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:45:56 -0800

Did you mean Middle Earth or Middle Kingdom, randomstriker? I don't remember Tolkien writing about a race of mimes. No, no, no. After Strider and the Hobbits escape Bree, they are set upon in the woods by Roving Mongol Hordes. Frodo is poisoned, and only with the help of Glorfindel, servant of the Yellow Emperor, do they manage to escape. Those elves in Rivendell sure know how to align Chi flow for maximum healing effect, to be sure. But Frodo deserves it, what with trying to fight Mongol Nazgul and getting injured in the Avatar State. I mean, what a fucktard. sorry its early and i ran out of coffee bye now

By: iconjack

iconjack — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:50:33 -0800

It's easy to forget, but everything you see on television is fake in one way or another.

By: aldus_manutius

aldus_manutius — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:57:28 -0800

As a performing musician who improves extensively and works with synthesizers doing live improvisation, this is just so wrong in so man ways ... weapons-grade pandemonium, you got it so right. It's so wrong I shouldn't even have to be saying this

By: Ber

Ber — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:10:22 -0800

Well, the Jimmy Page/Leona Lewis performance was obviously pre-recorded. It was pretty obvious the Page was just strumming along. But in all fairness, sports events have been doing this for a long time. There is far too many things that can go wrong in terms of wiring and weather conditions to leave it to chance. Better to record before the event and play that recording, more than half your audience won't know the difference and the rest will bathe in smug superiority that they noticed. Everyone will be happy.

By: XMLicious

XMLicious — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:17:40 -0800

Luciano, how could you?

By: sleslie

sleslie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:52:40 -0800

The argument that can't be beaten about this topic. Do some method acting and say this line: "I am a 9 year old girl. My government thinks I am ugly."

By: ericb

ericb — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:53:45 -0800

...the Sydney Symphony just going through the motions of a live performance....some of the recordings were recorded by another group altogether, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra... So, I guess the Sydney Symphony is prettier than the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra? Was the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra not available?

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:24:03 -0800

It's common practice at professional sporting events everywhere (including the US) to pre-record the national anthem and have the performers lip-sync and/or mime playing their instrument at the actual event. I'm fully aware that anecdotes do not equal data, but I've sung at professional sporting events in Baltimore Arena, and my father has sung at professional sporting events in Camden Yards. Neither of us has ever lip-synced.

By: Bora Horza Gobuchul

Bora Horza Gobuchul — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:33:35 -0800

Here's the thing. You're at a sporting event not only to see human beings in their athletic prime compete, but also for the possibility of risk - the crash, the untied shoelace causing a trip, the ligament giving out causing a painful fall. The crowd would be outraged if they were told "Well, it was obvious that the American was going to win, so we agreed that the athletes should just mime their performances so that they crossed the finish line in the right order." There's also the idea of purity of performance - while technological assistance certainly plays a part in modern sport (swimsuits, carbon fibre frames), there is a line drawn between that and what is broadly considered cheating - steroids, human growth hormone, blood doping. So why are the performers allowed, encouraged, even ordered to cheat, and the athletes punished for doing so? I've told my students in the past: "If you want true, live music, there's an implicit agreement between the musician and the audience. If you want the inspired improvisation, the true note, you have to put up with a degree of risk: the broken string, the concert canceled due to strep throat. The audience also has to dial back its expectations: no, your favorite pop singer can't do the equivalent of aerobics for two hours and sing in tune at the same time. If you want the possibility of the truly transcendent performance, you also have to be prepared to witness failure and disappointment."

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:34:30 -0800

Sidetracking onto the Advance Australia Fair vs. Waltzing Matilda... I also have a preference for the latter - but you do have to concede it is about a thief who commits suicide rather than let himself be arrested.

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:51:51 -0800

Bora Horza Gobuchul: I agree completely. However, I think we're a minority here. The last time it came up, several people here authoritatively told me that the only thing that's important is what music is generated, and whether someone is playing it live or from a recording is unimportant. [somewhat off-topic ramble about live music follows.] To me there's something about having someone make sound, for you, right there that's amazing. The counter-argument was that that mainly applies if you, the listener, are an instrumentalist or singer and most people really don't care. It's probably true, today, but I think it's mainly because you don't see so many electrifying live performances these days. How can you get hooked if you never get to taste the drug? I'm lucky inasmuch as I get to see a lot of live underground music. 90% of it is sort of regular, 5% is great, and 5% is stellar - the payoff. I have to confess that I have a lot more tolerance for music being played by actual musicians who aren't really making a living out of it then hearing the same stuff on tape by professionals - partly because you never know when someone will surprise you, partly because you rarely hear the same thing twice, and partly just because I applaud people for "getting out and doing it". The last couple of months have been particularly good for no particular reason. I've seen performances ranging from top-notch to extraordinary from Matmos, Melted Men, Lycaon Pictus and their friends, Talibam!, the Boredoms, the Butthole Surfers (the last two not being underground really...) I'm also lucky inasmuch as there are two genuinely underground spaces within a few minutes' walk of here which I can just drop in to. I'd believe however that most Americans rarely or never get to see decent live music. I have been told that no matter how "challengingly" weird your music is, you'll always get a good reception if you tour small US towns, simply because people are extremely grateful that you came to play for them. I love drum machines, but somebody reciting simple rhymes after pressing play on a drum machine isn't anything like the experience you get from a rock band playing in full anger. (NYC mefi-ers who like live music are always welcome, drop me a line...)

By: randomstriker

randomstriker — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:00:27 -0800

Did you mean Middle Earth or Middle Kingdom, randomstriker? oops.

By: randomstriker

randomstriker — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:03:59 -0800

The difference is that at the time the press wasn't desperately searching for stories to dredge up to take away Australia's glory of a successful Olympics. I personally file it under "western propaganda", together with many of the anti-Russian reports about South Ossetia, which is a sad 'news' category that I thought was dying. That's exactly the subtext that I see. As China becomes an economic, political and military competitor, it seems that we can't get enough of the China-bashing stories...even if the world's greatest sporting event becomes a casualty.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:11:57 -0800

I once saw a version of John Cage's 4'33" that I later found out had been mimed. I was really upset about it.

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:43:18 -0800

What's the problem? We only did it for the lulz.

By: anazgnos

anazgnos — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:33:50 -0800

Luciano, how could you? Old news indeed.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:46:33 -0800

As China becomes an economic, political and military competitor, it seems that we can't get enough of the China-bashing stories...even if the world's greatest sporting event becomes a casualty. My g/f was observing the other day that whenever our press mentions China, now, it's always "Communist China", even if this has nothing to do with the story. As to the subject of this post, I find it sad that just because there's a realization that accidents happen, and venues can be less than ideal, this means no one will be willing to take the chance, and audiences should just accept it as inevitable. I mean, our high school band played on that rink a la ice capades, damnit, and no inevitable run of foul-ups was gonna stop us!

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:48:01 -0800

Also, this headline now has me picturing Merry and Pippin playing charades with Treebeard. No wonder they had trouble enlisting the Ents' aid.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:03:42 -0800

Also: I'd also make them ditch all the sports that aren't, ya know, sports. Really? I'd make them ditch all the sports that are sports. I mean, this is supposed to be the Olympics.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:07:59 -0800

What Durn said. They should be trying to out-silly synchronised swimming each time. I thought softball was a pretty good start.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:53:57 -0800

I once saw a version of John Cage's 4'33" that I later found out had been mimed. I was really upset about it. I saw that too. The mime was totally unconvincing. I got no sense of the invisible piano at all.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:14:06 -0800

But it's right there!