Pink

February 8, 2010 4:48 PM

The singer Pink's recent performance at the Grammy's evoked this reaction from comedian Joe Rogan: Her performance was like Jimi Hendrix doing the star spangled banner while Michael Jackson moon walked and Susan Boyle sang back up. The song, "Glitter in the Air," is from Pink's 2008 album "Funhouse." Much of that album was Pink's reflections on the breakup of her marriage to motocross star Carey Hart. But the story between Pink and Hart doesn't end there...

Pink and Carey Hart were married in 2006 (she asked him to marry her by holding up a sign during one of his races). They separated in early 2008 prompting Pink to write her number one hit "So What." The song opens with the lines "I guess I just lost my husband, I don't know where he went." The video includes a giant pillow fight.

Later that year Hart's brother died in a motorcycle accident. Pink attended the funeral, sang at a benefit, and the two eventually reconciled. Hart then surprised Pink in Hannover, Germany at the final show of her "Funhouse Tour." During Pink's performance of "So What," the song about the end of their relationship, the dancers sneaked Hart, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, on-stage (in place of the dancer who is supposed to represent Hart). Pink pulls his hood off and, upon recognizing Hart, staggers backwards in surprise. Then she pulls him in for a kiss. Cue the pillow fight...

posted by bguest (157 comments total)

her marriage to motocross star Carey Hart.

So help me, I thought you said Corey Hart.
posted by jonmc at 4:59 PM on February 8, 2010 [7 favorites]

My first encounter with pink was back stage at one of my first jobs at the frank erwin center as a local crew member. She was opening for N*Sync and was walking down the ramp as i was walking up it. She was walking a chihuahua and i am pretty sure she was looking at me (normally i say checking me out, but i'll be honesty because those that have met me know there is no chance of that).

I had no idea who she was.
posted by djduckie at 5:01 PM on February 8, 2010

Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
posted by geoff. at 5:02 PM on February 8, 2010 [66 favorites]

Man, Pink marrying Corey Hart... I guess you'd have to calculate their total mass and figure it would work out like a matter/anti-matter explosion.
posted by GuyZero at 5:04 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

How about a 55 year old man doing it, like Peter Gabriel. (ok not exactly the same)
posted by travis08 at 5:04 PM on February 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

I love that speech from ghost busters 1!
posted by Dick Laurent is Dead at 5:08 PM on February 8, 2010

You know, I've always thought Pink had some talent at her core, after hearing her first few albums ten or so years ago. I missed out on all the reality show junk she did but seeing that Grammy video it's clear she's still got it.
posted by mathowie at 5:08 PM on February 8, 2010 [6 favorites]

Umm ... everyone realizes the entire song is lip-synched, right? No way any human can hold a note when they're spinning like that, right? We're just talking about stage presence, looks, acrobatics and studio recording, right? Right???
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:12 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

What a load of crap.
posted by fire&wings at 5:13 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

That's especially funny, djduckie, in that I read in some gossip magazine that she has one of those riders where people aren't allowed to look at her backstage.
I really try to like Pink because she seems kind of independent and nice. And she reads as gay to me, so by all rights I should be more interested. But her music is just too lame.
posted by pomegranate at 5:17 PM on February 8, 2010

cool papa bell - I hear there's a debate over whether or not I sang live on grammies. I have never lip synched in my entire life. I'm 100% against it.
posted by nadawi at 5:21 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

My performer friends kept sorta bumping into Pink in the late 90s and she always came off as a real stand-up gal, so this gives me a seven-degrees removed bit of happy.
posted by The Whelk at 5:21 PM on February 8, 2010

Funny, I just saw a picture of them together at one of the recent awards shows and wondered when they'd gotten back together. The Funhouse album has some great songs on it, especially the title track. Good one to rock out in the car to.
posted by CwgrlUp at 5:23 PM on February 8, 2010

I have no idea who Joe Rogan is but I hope he's a better comedian than he is culture/music critic.

She spun on a rope. Sure, I bet it's hard but what does it have to do with... well, anything?
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 5:23 PM on February 8, 2010

Nice post. :)

She's very down-to-earth in person and has a fun sense of humor.

Umm ... everyone realizes the entire song is lip-synched, right? No way any human can hold a note when they're spinning like that, right? We're just talking about stage presence, looks, acrobatics and studio recording, right? Right???

The WashPost reported that she didn't sing the song live, which is a little strange since she's said repeatedly during interviews that she doesn't lip synch her concerts. That's been rather obvious during her Funhouse tour: at times she's stopped singing to breathe while doing acrobatics.

The acrobatic performance of "Sober" she performed at last year's VMA's is one she's been doing at all of her Funhouse tour concerts. I own a couple of her concert albums in mp3. They remind me of the good old days when musicians weren't relying so heavily on auto-tune or backup singers.

Here's Pink performing "So What" in Ellen's bathroom series.
posted by zarq at 5:23 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

>Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!

Funny, I always thought Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson were the Gatekeeper and Keymaster, respectively. Also, dogs.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:24 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

What a gorgeous voice she has.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:25 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

I've always liked P!nk (please note the EXCLAMATION POINT, not an I, because she's DIFFERENT!), but she completely won me over with this line from "Stupid Girls":

What happened to the dream of a girl President?
She's dancing in a video next to Fifty Cent

I don't know if she wrote it, but she sang it and I think it's clever, so she's cool by this 40 year old lady.

Also, "Please Don't Leave Me" is a lovely, honest song.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:26 PM on February 8, 2010 [12 favorites]

So he liked it, I guess? I did. I really like Pink.
posted by exlotuseater at 5:27 PM on February 8, 2010

Funny, I always thought Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson were the Gatekeeper and Keymaster, respectively.

Wait. They're not the same person?
posted by The World Famous at 5:28 PM on February 8, 2010

yeah, one can sing and write songs.
posted by The Whelk at 5:29 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

The acrobatic performance of "Sober" she performed at last year's VMA's is one she's been doing at all of her Funhouse tour concerts. I own a couple of her concert albums in mp3. They remind me of the good old days when musicians weren't relying so heavily on auto-tune or backup singers.

It's incredible that being able to sing (bad songs) live seems to be something authentic, rare and amazing to some people. There is nothing there that 5000 different jobbing studio or live backup singers couldn't do better.
posted by fire&wings at 5:29 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Still waiting on that apology, Cool Papa Bell.
posted by kbanas at 5:30 PM on February 8, 2010

Her duet with her dad, "I've Seen the Rain," sealed me liking her, and the Grammy performance was really incredible. There aren't a lot of super awesome "bad girls" out there anymore; P!nk's probably one of the only ones, and I love her for it. Girls need someone besides Taylor Effing Swift to look up to.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:30 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

I have never lip synched in my entire life. I'm 100% against it.

I'm sure there was air coming out of your mouth, Pink. It's just that nobody heard it. You may call it "singing to a backing track" instead of lip-synching in order to preserve the fantasy...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:30 PM on February 8, 2010

Still waiting on that apology, Cool Papa Bell.

For what, exactly?

Perhaps I can lip-synch you one?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:31 PM on February 8, 2010

For crissakes, the woman says she didn't lip synch, she didn't, unless you somehow absolutely know that she was faking it, based on actual information and not conjecture, can it and stop crapping in the thread.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:36 PM on February 8, 2010 [12 favorites]

For, um, not having any idea what you're talking about in this instance?

For coming into this thread and declaring as fact that she lip-synched when she absolutely positively didn't?

I mean, if you're going to make that kind of derogatory declaration, why not spend 4 minutes and Google it rather than just make shit up?

She went on Oprah on Thursday of last week and talked extensively about the fact that she's never lip-synched and that her performance was genuine. She talked about it on Twitter. It's truth. You were wrong.

But yeah, ok, you don't have to own it if you don't want to.
posted by kbanas at 5:37 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

It's incredible that being able to sing (bad songs) live seems to be something authentic, rare and amazing to some people.

You misread me. I did not say it was rare or amazing. Nor do I think that.

There is nothing there that 5000 different jobbing studio or live backup singers couldn't do better.

I've met her, seen her perform live and enjoy a lot of her work, in no small way because she generally tries not to use technological crutches to make herself sound like something she's not. She does use backup singers, by the way. Her music appeals to me. I fail to see why it should be improved through additional artifice.
posted by zarq at 5:39 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Her performance was like Jimi Hendrix doing the star spangled banner while Michael Jackson moon walked and Susan Boyle sang back up.

Hyperbole! Away!

gallops into sunset
posted by deliquescent at 5:40 PM on February 8, 2010 [7 favorites]

Zarq: dosn't the second video you linked to (she's) actually have a different girl doing the actual acrobatics? the third link (doing) is obviously her.

Anyway, if it was lip synching, it would have to have been a new recording, since it was slightly different then the one on the CD.
posted by delmoi at 5:40 PM on February 8, 2010

when she absolutely positively didn't?

Well, she says she didn't, and we have no reason to doubt her honesty on the matter other than the well-known standard practice of every single performer in her genre for at least the last 25 years.
posted by The World Famous at 5:41 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

For coming into this thread and declaring as fact that she lip-synched when she absolutely positively didn't?

Her protestations to the contrary aside, the WashPost reported that she did. There is no "absolutely positively" here.
posted by zarq at 5:42 PM on February 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

Buncha cynical motherfuckers.

Whatever.
posted by kbanas at 5:43 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

That Grammy performance is mesmerizing. I haven't really followed Pink since her early days, but she always seemed like the real deal. If she says she didn't lip synch, I believe her.
posted by amyms at 5:45 PM on February 8, 2010

Zarq: dosn't the second video you linked to (she's) actually have a different girl doing the actual acrobatics? the third link (doing) is obviously her.

Yes. I grabbed links off of youtube and didn't look at them closely enough. You're right! The acrobat is brunette and she's not.
posted by zarq at 5:45 PM on February 8, 2010

Wait a minute, Pink dissed 50 Cent and he didn't respond? I knew he'd gone soft.
posted by box at 5:45 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not a fan, but I guess Pink just isn't cool enough for Metafilter? Joe Rogan's hyperbole aside, I feel like if this was a post about Hip Indie Artist doing the same thing there would be a lot more fawning. Cause like, those people have integrity so we know they don't lip synch, man.
posted by Roman Graves at 5:47 PM on February 8, 2010 [6 favorites]

Think Pink!
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:48 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

She went on Oprah on Thursday of last week and talked extensively about the fact that she's never lip-synched and that her performance was genuine. She talked about it on Twitter. It's truth. You were wrong.

That is hands-down the single funniest thing I've read in a good, long while.

All right, I apologize. I honestly do not understand why people think that performances at the Grammys or any other huge, live, only-one-shot-at-this-with-millions-watching events are ever left to chance when the performers are dancing or otherwise doing things that make it likely that they would be shown in a bad light on such a huge stage. Every televised performance of this magnitude is massaged within an inch of its life. Trust me, Carrie Underwood was lip-synching the national anthem yesterday at the Super Bowl, too, and she wasn't twirling above the crowd.

If you don't believe me, if you think what you saw was real, if you think performers won't gleefully lie, if you think producers/managers/publicists don't carefully stage manage appearances and Twitter feeds ... well, I have a wardrobe malfunction to show you.

* It's common for performers to hear their real performance over a monitor, and have what's sent out over the speakers be something quite different. Not only common, but required, in large venues because of acoustic quirks.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:50 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

So, ok, my thing I guess is, why lie? As several of you have pointed out, it's not at all unique for an artist to lip-synch during a live performance. People do it all the time.

Why would an artist go out of their way to make such a big to-do about the fact they actually, you know, honest to God, sing if it was some kind of elaborate lie?!

I mean, this thread reads like the burden of proof is on her. How does that in any way make sense?
posted by kbanas at 5:53 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

If she was lipsynching? To a pre-recorded alternate track with breath-hitches and hiccups built in? Well, to hit it that well is an impressive skill in and of itself, and anyway, Cirque du Soleil gets standing ovations for the spinning gauzy trapeze trick without the singing or even any lipsynching. Are we really so jaded we must dismiss it as just another performance and move on to the next bit?

Doesn't mean Joe Rogan's any good at hyperbole, though.

Anyway, thanks for this. Always liked Pink myself from the middle distance, as it were; "So What" is a big favorite of the Spouse and the Daughter. Touchingly sweet to hear the next act.
posted by kipmanley at 5:53 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

My only contribution to this conversation is that "So What" is THE BEST song to sing at karaoke after going through a break-up. THE BEST!
posted by sarahsynonymous at 5:54 PM on February 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

Oh, also, "God Is A DJ" is my jubliant sing in the shower song, replacing "Walking on Sunshine"

Of course before that song, my jubilant sing in the shower song was Gaudeamus igitur so take this with a grain of whatever
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:56 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

I feel like if this was a post about Hip Indie Artist doing the same thing there would be a lot more fawning.

If a hip indie artist performed acrobatics at the Grammys while singing the massive pop hit that made her rich, I suspect the fawning would be a lot like it is in this thread.

(And for whatever its worth, it's entirely possible that she wasn't lip-synching, given how incredible pitch correction gear is these days. And the whold lip-synching derail is idiotic, given how prevalent that sort of thing has been, again, for at least 25 years.)
posted by The World Famous at 5:57 PM on February 8, 2010

Cool Papa Bell - I'm glad I could make you laugh. Your position, however, has the unique advantage of being particularly unassailable. You could make any claim you want. You don't have to provide a shred of anything. You can just will it into being, and that must be a great position to find yourself in.

I heard that artists don't actually go on stage anymore. What we see is just an elaborate hologram.

Totally true.
posted by kbanas at 6:00 PM on February 8, 2010 [12 favorites]

Man, the lip-synching accusations against P!nk in this thread...it's just like another Vietnam.

Not to go all Walter Sobchak or anything, but I have a feeling having that having an unpleasant childhood might differ in shade a bit from being in "the shit" but I digress...

Will there ever be a rainbow?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 6:04 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

The Grammy performance was clearly live as there are breath intakes and hitches, as kipmanly points out. The WashPo link is from a recap of the VMAs not the Grammy's (and they throw a bunch of artists together in one sentence so Pink may have been included without cause).
posted by bguest at 6:06 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

if carrie underwood was lip syncing - she should probably have fixed those notes she missed/nasal'd through.

also - when queen latifah forgot the words, was she also lip syncing?

and lady gaga- at the beginning of the grammy awards - where you hear her voice jump and move as she moves the mic off her mouth during the dance portion - is that faked as well?


with pink specifically, she's made many high profile statements about how much she hates lip syncing - if there was actual proof that she didn't sing live, she has a lot of enemies that would love to show that off. as kipmanley says, you can hear the breaths and the movement of the mic away from her mouth - to get a performance down that solid to a pre-recorded track that doesn't match any other track of that song available - that's some incredible talent. occums razor says she probably sang it live.
posted by nadawi at 6:09 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

Medieval Maven: Girls need someone besides Taylor Effing Swift to look up to.

I felt guilty for having such antagonistic feelings about Taylor Swift the Image when Taylor Swift the Person is, obviously, a good human being.

However, before I brought it up again (especially this late, as the backlash-to-the-backlash part is over and we’re now in the Valley of WhoCares, which is clearly where I “thrive”), I knew I had to do my Taylor Swift due diligence. After reading that MTV article I did it: I listened to her music, read her blog, and watched her videos.

And I finally figured it out.

Taylor Swift is a feminist’s nightmare.

Why Taylor Swift Offends Little Monsters, Feminists, and Weirdos by Autostraddle's Riese.

Cool Papa Bell: I honestly do not understand why people think that performances at the Grammys or any other huge, live, only-one-shot-at-this-with-millions-watching events are ever left to chance when the performers are dancing or otherwise doing things that make it likely that they would be shown in a bad light on such a huge stage. Every televised performance of this magnitude is massaged within an inch of its life.

Taylor Swift's 2010 Grammy performance.
posted by Kattullus at 6:10 PM on February 8, 2010 [25 favorites]

Every televised performance of this magnitude is massaged within an inch of its life.

If you watched the Grammys, you would've seen Taylor Swift really fuck up her performance, to the point there was an AskMe asking "why would they let a performer on stage to mess up like that"
posted by mpbx at 6:11 PM on February 8, 2010 [5 favorites]

Also, let's be clear: the WashPo didn't report anything. It is a blog entry by a music critic reviewing the VMAs, not a news article with verified sources. It's just opinion and, in this case, opinion based on watching a TV show.
posted by bguest at 6:11 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

hey CPB : how many venues have you set up the audio equipment for? what are your sources? cites, please.

'cause basically everything you've said in here since your original "meh, i am from the internet and nothing which seems cool could actually be cool and i NEED TO BE SURE I TELL OTHER PEOPLE THIS LEST THEY ENJOY SOMETHING" routine is full of holes from the top down yet you're still there standing on the deck while it's sinking.

have you even SEEN the performance in question? did she time the awkward costume removal's interruption of her vocal just so amazingly perfectly with her SINGLE VOICE BACKING TRACK that she actually made it look like she was struggling for a second and had to move the mic to remove the garment? as you honestly insinuating that?

no, of course you're not. you're just being an ignorant poopooist, like every other tired internet message board meh'er.
posted by radiosilents at 6:14 PM on February 8, 2010 [11 favorites]

ignorant poopooist

If it didn't cost $5, I would have a new MetaFilter account with that username right now. The system works!
posted by The World Famous at 6:18 PM on February 8, 2010 [7 favorites]

THEY ARE SOULMATES! SOULMATES!
posted by anniecat at 6:24 PM on February 8, 2010

I'm lipsyncing this comment.
posted by davejay at 6:29 PM on February 8, 2010

Also, my only encounter with Pink was seeing her come into the Dresden to see Marty and Elaine, and thinking "aw, fuck, now it's gonna get crowded in here."
posted by davejay at 6:30 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Am I the only one who doesn't care if she lip synced or not? I'd love a video of the act that focuses on the three aerialists on cloud swings above her. From what I can tell, it looks like a stellar triple act, and the triangular frame with cloud swings is new to me, and very nifty.
posted by mollymayhem at 6:33 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

This kind of poppy, top-40 stuff is just about my least favorite kind of music. I have never purchased a Pink album and I never will. I was pretty skeptical when I clicked on the link.

But she performed at the Grammys doing freaking acrobatics that very few, if any, people reading this can do, and besides the amazing athleticism it took, I'm certain it took a lot of grueling practice. I'm sure her insurers and a few of her "handlers" didn't approve of this stunt either.

But she did it, and she did it amazingly, and it's not even what she was famous for. Additionally, she is by all accounts a take-no-crap, heart-on-her-sleeve artist who is, as Medieval Maven said, a refreshing counterpoint to the Taylor Swifts of the world.

In summation, eff the haters and if she says she did not lip-sync then I am prepared to believe her.
posted by mreleganza at 6:33 PM on February 8, 2010 [14 favorites]

I swear Pink sat down next to me at the bar in Dirty Frank's one snowy Philly afternoon in 97 or 98. Maybe 99. It was before she got big of course. Crazy Mary, sitting at a booth and smashing crab claws on the floor with her boot, later confided to me that she thought the young woman was "high yella." That, my friends, is why people go to Dirty Frank's.
posted by Mister_A at 6:34 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

This thread is just as entertaining as Pink's performance!

I wonder if any of these comments are being lip-synched.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 6:35 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hi everybody, George Clooney here again.

As much as I love MetaFilter, I'm often driven to despair by the comments and the cynicism I read here. I'm beginning to think some of you would have nothing but scorn, suspicion, and cynicism at even the most innocent and genuine gestures of kindness, like a man in a van giving free candy to children.

So I feel compelled to set the record straight about performances, lip-synching, and some of Cool Papa Bell's allegations. Yes, some performers lip-synch. I've done it. Everyone does it! Remember Conan O'Brien's last show? Will Ferrell lip-synched the whole song, the cowbell was added digitally in post-production, and Conan's guitar wasn't even plugged in. Remember Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs? The whole thing was scripted. And here's a real shocker--David Prowse, as Darth Vader? That's not his voice--it's James Earl Jones, overdubbed! Sheesh.

So there you go. I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm on my way to yet another Up In The Air (2009) cast get-together. We're practicing lip-synching our Oscar acceptance speeches.

--George Clooney

P.S. Remember that scene where I'm typing on the computer, with Vera Farmiga in the hotel room? That's right, I was on MetaFilter. Vera was reading BoingBoing, but who cares? You get a highball in that woman, and she's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Aw yeah, baby!
posted by George Clooney at 6:46 PM on February 8, 2010 [30 favorites]

I dictate my comments and have someone with a better vocabulary type the general gist of what I said. Then, they're shipped off to a proofreader before submission.
posted by mccarty.tim at 6:50 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Even if it was lip synched, who cares? Even though I don't particularly care for her music, I like Pink, a lot. She's confident, intelligent, humble and a good role model for the young kids who listen to her music. Also, watching that performance makes me want to go to the gym!
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:50 PM on February 8, 2010

I honestly do not understand why people think that performances at the Grammys or any other huge, live, only-one-shot-at-this-with-millions-watching events are ever left to chance when the performers are dancing or otherwise doing things that make it likely that they would be shown in a bad light on such a huge stage. Every televised performance of this magnitude is massaged within an inch of its life.

Times like this, I just have to point and laugh at the ignorance. Mega stars mess up on nationally/global TV all the time, and armchair critics (more tragically, some "real musicians") who are apparently tone-deaf accuse them of lip-synching.

For reference, google "Taylor Swift grammy controversy." Same night, same award show, same audience of millions. The girl sang off-key and was widely slammed. Now, please type something along the lines of "She was obviously the only one who sang live, and look where it got her!" so that I can point and laugh some more.
posted by fatehunter at 6:57 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Fucking George Clooney.
posted by kbanas at 6:58 PM on February 8, 2010 [6 favorites]

Yeah, that's a live track.

Listen to the Effs, Esses, and anything plosive. There's way too much noise on those to be a studio track. Whereas if you watch any of Britney's live footage (I think I've seen the Las Vegas concert footage), it's pitch-perfect, along with zero sibilance, and no mouth noise at all. Which makes sense, because she was behind a high-end studio condenser, instead of a high-end live dynamic.

And CPB, those situations where the performer hears the live track and the audience hears the recorded track are typically in venues that aren't designed for a single stage-type setup - stadiums, mostly, with speakers all over the place, instead of delay towers. They'll get a tape in one ear, and their live feed in the other. The tape goes to the small crowd in the stadium, and the live feed goes out to the (MUCH larger) TV audience, if there is one. Exhibit A would be yesterday's Super Bowl, where whoever-it-was did very well on the Star-Spangled Banner, but went over the handlebars on the last note. Definitely not recorded.
posted by god hates math at 7:00 PM on February 8, 2010 [7 favorites]

Did they dip her in milk? When did I miss where she became soaking wet?
If she lip synced it wouldn't be surprising even if she states otherwise. If she didn't it's quite astounding to perform like that. So many twirls, I was getting dizzy just watching her.
I like this only that it gives me hope that the future holds real Fifth Element/futuristic anime like pop performances.
posted by JackarypQQ at 7:07 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

The WashPo link is from a recap of the VMAs not the Grammy's

Bah. That's two links I posted in this thread without reading them closely enough. *hangs head*

I swear, I'm not trying to shit on her or her acrobatic performances, which I think are incredible. And I don't think she does lip sync, which is one of the things that appeals to me about her.

kbanas, Your absolute declarations coupled with your outraged complaint that CPB has *also* made absolute declarations seem a little silly to me. It's been an open, "shameful" secret in the industry for years that many if not most musicians do lip sync, especially during live one-shot shows. If you looked closely, Roger Daltrey was obviously doing so last night during the Super Bowl. (Either that or there was a seriously awful time delay that appeared and reappeared from one lyric to the next.) Was Pink lip syncing? I don't know. I honestly doubt it. I don't think she'd say she wasn't if she did. But with so much industry precedent behind lip syncing, it seems ridiculous to blame people for being cynical about the issue.

Meanwhile, CPB hasn't provided any proof that she lip sync'ed other than "other people do it, so she must be doing it." The blog post I linked to was obviously flawed. How about it CPB? Do you have any actual proof one way or another?
posted by zarq at 7:07 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, but zarq, my declarations had a 'lil something something backing them up. I didn't just wave my hands and try to use the Force.
posted by kbanas at 7:09 PM on February 8, 2010

And you kind of prove my point, zarq. If you asked me if I had any actual proof (instead of CPB), I would say (and have said), "Well, there's her Twitter declaration, and there's her visit to Oprah where she talked about the experience at length, particular the issue of lip-synching."

That's obviously not iron clad proof of anything, but given a complete lack of any evidence at all to the contrary, why would you not believe it?
posted by kbanas at 7:11 PM on February 8, 2010

I search for that shit. It’s a precious inspirational fuel for me. I love it when I see it, and in all my years on this planet searching for it, very few people have ever grabbed it, held it down, fucked it, lit it on fire, and blew up the fucking solar system

I like Rogan's writing better than that performance, which I think was beautiful, inspired, poetic and astonishing in very conventional ways and all those adjectives should have scare quotes on them., but that doesn't mean I didn't like it or I'm looking down on it. I think she has a gorgeous aching in all the right places voice that in one moment just before she hoped in the sling, made my heart leap up a bit in a nice way.

I think sometimes in the quest to find those sorts of performances or works infused with that "precious inspirational fuel," I know that for me there's been more than once when a lot of what I thought I saw in something so moving was what I wanted to see on some level. So maybe great works act as a mirror, not sure there.

For me the whole sling thing while breathtaking, is acrobatics and mechanics. Someone else choreographed that whole sequence, which isn't to take away props from P!ink for having the vision and balls to do it and carry it off well.

But it gets in the way for me. When I've had those moments of precious inspirational transcendence it's usually been about less and not more. A band with instruments, a singer unadorned, a writer and his language, a dance, a visual something that opens you eyes or evokes a whole register of feeling tones you didn't know you had.....in the zone or whatever the fuck it isas Rogen, doesn't need much of anything make you feel like maybe there's not much else to do afterwards but check out of the this mortal coil hotel.

Anyhow, this is all to say, this is not Hendrix, doing the Star Spangled Banner weaving feedback and explosions into a synesthetic aural flag, and then fucking it and setting it on fire.
posted by Skygazer at 7:13 PM on February 8, 2010

Man, >Katullus, your first link's article was fantastic - that shit's why I keep coming back to MeFi.
posted by Michael Roberts at 7:13 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

my declarations had a 'lil something something backing them up.

Uh-huh. "She talked about it on Twitter. It's truth." This makes you sound ridiculously naive, even if you happen to be right in this particular instance.

As for Rogan, I blame the DMT.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:13 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Uh-huh. "She talked about it on Twitter. It's truth." This makes you sound ridiculously naive, even if you happen to be right in this particular instance.

Well, ok, you're right. The idea, you know, "It was on Twitter, it must be true," is kind of completely ridiculous. Not even kind of. It's just ridiculous, and it does make me look naive, and that's my bad. I obviously don't buy into everything and anything someone tells me, or something I see or happen to read on the internet.

But in this case, we had someone come into this thread, offer absolutely no evidence, and make a pretty bold claim.

In this case, because the artist directly addressed it on multiple occasions, I felt pretty confident that it the claim was completely bogus. I perhaps overstated and oversimplified things a bit, and on that mark all I can say is that I was on my iPhone and brevity rules.
posted by kbanas at 7:17 PM on February 8, 2010

kbansas, it does appear that Pink's Grammys performance was not a lip-sync. However, claiming that such a performance is lip-synched is not a bold claim. It may be erroneous, but it is not really bold.
posted by The World Famous at 7:21 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

And you kind of prove my point, zarq. If you asked me if I had any actual proof (instead of CPB), I would say (and have said), "Well, there's her Twitter declaration, and there's her visit to Oprah where she talked about the experience at length, particular the issue of lip-synching."

Well, since you put it this way that's not proof, in and of itself. Proof would be unassailable evidence from a neutral third party. Pink has a vested interest in saying she doesn't lip sync.

The practice seems relatively common, so you can see why some people might assume she's doing so.
posted by zarq at 7:22 PM on February 8, 2010

kbansas, it does appear that Pink's Grammys performance was not a lip-sync. However, claiming that such a performance is lip-synched is not a bold claim. It may be erroneous, but it is not really bold.


The practice seems relatively common, so you can see why some people might assume she's doing so.


Yeah, and I don't disagree with you in general - performers lip-synch all the time.

But how often do performers lip-synch and then brag about how they didn't lip-synch, and then go on one of the most popular television shows in America and further brag about how they didn't lip-synch?

I would guess probably not that often, which does kind of make it a bold claim.
posted by kbanas at 7:25 PM on February 8, 2010

...and on that mark all I can say is that I was on my iPhone and brevity rules.

So you... phoned in your comments? :D
posted by zarq at 7:25 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Also when the fuck did I ever think I would spend half a thread defending Pink?

It truly is a strange new world.
posted by kbanas at 7:31 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I would guess probably not that often,

I agree.

For the most part singers (like Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna,) don't usually confirm or deny. But fans tend to get pissed off about it because they feel it's dishonest.
posted by zarq at 7:33 PM on February 8, 2010

And... oh! ... my god... Swift doing Rhiannon badly, ok, but... doing Rhiannon terribly while on stage with Stevie Nicks?? This deserves some kind of new cringe-worthiness award.

At least my embarrassing moments of young adulthood weren't on a nationally televised stage, alongside personal heroes no less, ye gads.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:38 PM on February 8, 2010

It's good, but it's no Lydia Lunch suddenly throwing a lit cigarette at someone in the audience.

(Oh shit, I've become part of the problem, haven't I?)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 7:39 PM on February 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

Having seen aerialist Jane Osborn play a saxophone while hanging upside down from the silks, I'd believe Pink could hold a note from there.
posted by sculpin at 7:43 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

That was a lovely performance. Lip-synching would have made it .000000000000001% less lovely.

I mean. Hypothetically.
posted by device55 at 7:54 PM on February 8, 2010

That was stupendous! Maybe it emasculates me so much I should go buy a Dodge Charger, but that was fantastic. Just beautiful, ethereal... she's a gorgeous woman, a brassy chick, a fantastic singer, and that was an incredible performance- something with a touch of a magical quality to it.
posted by hincandenza at 7:56 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I swear Pink sat down next to me at the bar in Dirty Frank's one snowy Philly afternoon in 97 or 98. Maybe 99. It was before she got big of course. Crazy Mary, sitting at a booth and smashing crab claws on the floor with her boot, later confided to me that she thought the young woman was "high yella." That, my friends, is why people go to Dirty Frank's.

The chances that we got drunk together at some point just keep increasing.

FWIW, word on the street in Philly is that Pink's an alright chick, even if we hate that pop shit.
posted by desuetude at 8:06 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, uh, I defer to no one in my Metafilter style bitter misanthropy but, after seeing the Grammy performances in HD, even I think some of you are over the top. Pink's performance was light-years beyond most Grammy performances even vocally, and she was belting it out while hanging practically upside down, spinning through the air, and with water running all over her.

Compare to Taylor Swift who apparently can't sing unless she's in a recording studio wearing noise-cancelling headphones and watching a prompter.

I mean, I'm sure it's not as good as that time you were hanging with your Pitchfork buddies listening to Arcade Fire, drinking local craft microbrewery IPA, and talking about how every band that more than seventeen people have heard of is total manufactured sell-out bullshit, but it was still a rocking performance.
posted by Justinian at 8:06 PM on February 8, 2010 [15 favorites]

I've never listened to anything by Pink.

I liked that performance. I liked it a lot. It actually brought a tear to my eye.

I like it when people do cool shit and do it well.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 8:17 PM on February 8, 2010 [12 favorites]

Justinian: how every band that more than seventeen people have heard of is total manufactured sell-out bullshit

I just got word over the transom, the Sell Out Number is now at 15,17.

Oh, and the comma is the hip new decimal separator.
posted by Kattullus at 8:21 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

And my pitchfork buddies prefer to be called 'urban homesteaders.'
posted by box at 8:23 PM on February 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

you can buy the microphone she used here - they're not making them anymore, it seems, and the price isn't ridiculous yet

no idea if a pop filter is available for it, though - she really was singing that, folks, it was too rough with microphone technique to be a pre-recorded track - according to mixguides, it's a mike that boosts the signal more than most and i wonder if they shouldn't have used something else
posted by pyramid termite at 8:52 PM on February 8, 2010

but given a complete lack of any evidence at all to the contrary, why would you not believe it?

Because it's possible to neither believe a statement nor believe its negation. The fact that I do not accept CPB's claim that Pink lip-synched does not automatically mean I believe she did not lip-synch.

Despite the way debate is often conducted on the internet, it is possible to withhold judgment on a statement of uncertain veracity, and believe neither the statement nor its opposite.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:05 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

THAT WAS AWESOME
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:25 PM on February 8, 2010

That was not an AKG mic that she was singing into. The AKG ion Ebay is just a mic she signed backstage. The mic she is using is a Shure UR1 wireless with a beta 87A Head. It's a super cardioid and preferred by many singers for live performance.
posted by HappyHippo at 9:27 PM on February 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Yay! Thanks for posting this. I this I love the idea of P!nk a little more than I love her music, but she has a great voice and is a strong performer. I didn't really care for the song that she did at the Grammy's, but I always enjoy seeing her in the spotlight, and her acrobatic routine was pretty awesome. Plus, the video of her husband surprising her in Germany is just adorable.
posted by LiliaNic at 9:27 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I am glad to be alive.

I am also glad to have seen such a performance.

Lastly, I am glad for other human beings who put on performances like that. It made me glad to be alive.
posted by humannaire at 9:28 PM on February 8, 2010

My favorite part was how CPB completely disappeared from the thread.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:30 PM on February 8, 2010 [5 favorites]

As for Rogan, I blame the DMT.

I thank the DMT. Its the only thing that ever made that guy interesting.

Also, I thought we were all in agreement that if Tommy Lee can play his drumset upside down, anything's possible.
posted by mannequito at 9:35 PM on February 8, 2010

It's kinda sad that so many people assume there's a bodyguard of lies to protect even the littlest white ones.

Chalk me down for, "Yeah, live track." I don't know when it happened. But a year or two ago, I realized that I liked most Pink songs I've heard. It's not my kind of music so it kind of snuck up on me. But, respect where it is deserved, and this performance deserves it.
posted by Cyrano at 9:41 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

There is nothing there that 5000 different jobbing studio or live backup singers couldn't do better.

Perhaps. But they're not doing it on a Grammy stage, and I think you have to give Pink credit for working her way to where she is, no? There's a lot more to a career in showbiz than raw talent.
posted by Camofrog at 9:45 PM on February 8, 2010

But if we go back more than 25 years, we get pre-lip syncing. Like this Al on Soul Train.

Wanted to focus on a female singer for the example, but am attached to Al at the moment.
posted by Vaike at 9:47 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I haven't listened to Pink so much, but I thought what she did was cool. There's a neat cycle now where entertainers are trying to be entertaining, and I appreciate the effort--especially with something this risky that, if done poorly, could have made her a joke. Plus, it just blows my mind that one day Pink woke up and was all like I want to do some trapeze shit, and then she actually did it. Gives me hope that one day maybe Lady Gaga will wake up and decide to watch some Busby Berkeley stuff.
posted by troybob at 9:48 PM on February 8, 2010

Not implying one way or the other on Pink and lip syncing, just the general trend...
posted by Vaike at 9:49 PM on February 8, 2010

Jesus Christ, people, she was spinning around in the air like some Cirque du Soleil shit, and you're debating whether she lip synced or not? If I were up there spinning like that, one of two things would have happened. 1.) I would have fallen the fifty fucking feet to my hilarious death, or 2.) I would have projectile vomited into the crowd like some Bellagio fountain of half-digested pizza rolls.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:59 PM on February 8, 2010 [25 favorites]

Oh, and y'know what? Fucking great performance. I must admit.
posted by desuetude at 9:59 PM on February 8, 2010

Did she have a backing track?

Fuck that, did she even have a net??

Awesome.
posted by washburn at 10:00 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Jesus Christ, people, she was spinning around in the air like some Cirque du Soleil shit, and you're debating whether she lip synced or not? If I were up there spinning like that, one of two things would have happened. 1.) I would have fallen the fifty fucking feet to my hilarious death, or 2.) I would have projectile vomited into the crowd like some Bellagio fountain of half-digested pizza rolls.

Awesome! What can you do with fire?
posted by Skygazer at 10:12 PM on February 8, 2010

I'd heard of this woman before but never seen her or heard her sing until now.

I'm sorry, I do hate to be all old and crotchety, but the minute she dropped her togs and wandered off in the Suit Of Duct Tape and Wax Paper, that was tab-closing time for me. My loss.

Pleasant little song, sung in a capable and affecting way (if cut whole cloth from that annoying diva-standard diaphragm-flexing yodel mode), but for chrissakes lady, put your damn clothes back on.

I know, I know. Lawn, kids, get off it. I hate being predictable. I also know that, to pick something at random from my own youth, that Keith Moon kicking over his drumkit all the time was just as theatrical and calculated, but still.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:17 PM on February 8, 2010

Pleasant little song, sung in a capable and affecting way (if cut whole cloth from that annoying diva-standard diaphragm-flexing yodel mode), but for chrissakes lady, put your damn clothes back on.

She wasn't the only one. (Pic is barely SFW.)
posted by zarq at 10:33 PM on February 8, 2010

like some Bellagio fountain of half-digested pizza rolls.

That's a heck of an act! What do you call it?
posted by zippy at 10:48 PM on February 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

Christ zarq. You could pretty much see her lips moving in sync
posted by moorooka at 11:01 PM on February 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Kattullus: "Why Taylor Swift Offends Little Monsters, Feminists, and Weirdos by Autostraddle's Riese."

That was a helluva read, and I'm completely unfamiliar with Swift other than what little I read about the Kanye West thing. Thanks for posting it.
posted by brundlefly at 11:46 PM on February 8, 2010

(Pic is barely SFW.)

Oh nothing boss. Just looking at Lady Gaga's labia majora.
posted by benzenedream at 11:49 PM on February 8, 2010 [6 favorites]

Wow. I need to re-up my subscr!pt!on to P!nk. I've always liked her brand of pop. This is very entertaining, and her romance sounds just lovely.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:12 AM on February 9, 2010

What an affecting performance. Vocally, physically, personally.

The choice to include dance of the non-bump & grind sort, embracing the acrobatics that make hearts soar and show the human form at its most sculpted and adept was a deft and brave one.

The criticism of her costume is odd...she's 80% covered with not-quite-nude mesh, sparkle panels, and white lycra, the same as most ice dancers and acrobats, and likely for the same reason: the human body is an incredible piece of artmachine and physical performances benefit hugely from highlighting this fact.

Yes, there are back-up singers. Her vocals are her vocals, though. I was willing to be convinced otherwise, but it's clear in listening & watching that she's singing her own words, imbuing them with emotion and a human touch while also performing this aerial act.

You can see the faces of often jaded artistes & old hands full of wonder and admiration for her. That in and of itself is a beautiful thing. For a performer to move other performers is rarer than one might think.

Utterly gorgeous. She's not always to my taste, musically, but this is on par with so many great adult pop songs that remain long after their era has passed and creep in between genre lines. It's not bubblegum, it's not party tunes, it's a sweet song about being open.

Thank you for putting together a terrific post, bguest.
posted by batmonkey at 12:14 AM on February 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Pink is twirling by a wet sheet, showing off her tip-top trained and balanced body, doing things that make me dizzy to watch and people are arguing about her lipsynching or not? You didn't notice the death defying stunts she's doing?
posted by dabitch at 2:16 AM on February 9, 2010

Cirque du Ehh-Meh.
posted by mattholomew at 2:58 AM on February 9, 2010

Next time, make sure to wipe the Cheeto crumbs off your fingers before you express your studied indifference to an act of beauty.
posted by Optamystic at 3:07 AM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Pink Blue?
posted by hal9k at 3:34 AM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. Some folks would not be happy if they were hung with a new rope.
I enjoyed the performance for what it was - a unique and visually striking performance of a chilling, somber, thoughtful song.

I give her much props for having the guts to do it, in front of an audience of her peers.
She strikes me as a down to earth, stand up kind of girl, no matter what is going on with her marriage.

Girl is *tight*.
Good for her.
And this is coming from someone who couldn't pick one of her songs out of a line up.
posted by willmize at 4:51 AM on February 9, 2010

Amazing post, thank you very much.

This is whay I love about Metafilter.
I would never have seen this performance otherwise, nor read such a great thread!

FWIW, if I hadnt been informed by the posters, I'd have assumed lip syncing too. Respect is due! (Music's still not to my taste.)
Interesting too how LadyGG seems have permeated every corner of pop.
posted by BadMiker at 5:32 AM on February 9, 2010

I was lucky enough to attend one of the record breaking shows she did in Australia for the Funhouse tour last year. She smashed all records. She sold more tickets in Melbourne than anyone - ever. I think it was about 17 or 18 sold out shows in a 40-50 thousand seat stadium. Amazing.

It was one of the best performances I've ever been to. Dare I say, THE best? She sings beautifully (and no, she wasn't miming), she does these amazing acrobatics, she's funny, personable, makes it up as she goes along. She's just an amazingly pleasurable performer to watch.

I think one of the reasons she is so incredibly well liked in this country is that she is real, down to Earth, funny, admits to her mistakes, and likes to laugh.

If you liked this Grammy performance, it was exactly the same as what she did on the tour for that song, and there's lots more of amazing, flying-while-singing antics.

Check out the DVD.
posted by Diag at 5:33 AM on February 9, 2010

A few disparate thoughts:

I wasn't an enormous fan of the Grammy performance, but that was more personal taste than anything. The fact that she pulled it off is pretty impressive. After reading the comments in this thread I'd gone in expecting some Blue Man Group-level extravaganza, but what I got instead was a perfectly acceptable, impressively-staged performance, with a singer who managed to keep herself together. So I'll give her props.

Taylor Swift bugs me to no end. I hate the idolization of young people simply because they're young. She's not a terrible musician, but she's not exactly a good one, either — her music and lyrics are generic and, worse, immature. I'm not a fan of music that perpetuates bullshitty romantic drama, especially when it's sung by people my age, because then I have to deal with other people my age being bullshitty and dramatic.

What also bugs me to no end are the people who come to threads like this to remind us how it's nothing big that people like Pink write and perform their own songs, and ha ha!, how we're such idiots to applaud her for that. Partly because the music I listen to comes from a lot of eras in which musicians did not write their own music, and because I know a lot of respectable forms of music wherein the the performer is just as valued as the composer (opera, anybody?). So, simply arguing that not writing your own music makes you somehow phony, that's not just snotty but a little clueless. Some people are entertainers more than they're musicians, and that's not a bad thing, and they allowed to be a little of both.

But more than that, the argument of "this isn't good because other people have done this before", that's bullshit. If somebody's doing a good thing, I'm going to be happy/proud/excited for them regardless of if it's been done better, because hey! Good job! Keep it up! Even as I gravitate towards music that sounds more interesting/unique to my ears, the effort these people put into their work means I see something wrong with instantly putting them down.

Pink's been in the business for a decade. She works on her own music, tours a hell of a lot, and balances all that with a personal life. She's got a strong voice. Her music doesn't have anything in it that makes me want to listen to it, but hey, she's got a ton of fans who see something in it, and I don't think it's productive or rational to want to jump on every one of them and argue the merits of her compositions.

If you don't like her, don't listen to her. If you think she's, I dunno what you guys are trying to argue, derivative of somebody else or some shit, then cite the people you think she's worse then so all of us get new music to listen to. But if your only point is that somewhere in history other people have also written songs before, go fuck yourselves before I point out all the MetaFilter comments that existed before you joined.
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:04 AM on February 9, 2010 [7 favorites]

She went on Oprah on Thursday of last week and talked extensively about the fact that she's never lip-synched and that her performance was genuine. She talked about it on Twitter. It's truth. You were wrong.

Holy hilarious. You must own a lot of bridges.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:14 AM on February 9, 2010

Look, the point is that maintaining a compelling stage presence while looking good and doing acrobatic lip-synching is all incredibly easy. Hell, I could do all that. If she had real talent, she'd also be singing at the same time. BURGER
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:23 AM on February 9, 2010

Great performance, I don't care if it was lip-synced or not.
That being said, if it was me on stage, I would be singing live and have a backup track feed as well. Then I'd sing the easy parts live (like when my feet are on the ground) and keep the backup track low/muted. As I got raised up and began spinning, I'd have my audio team lower my mic and increase the backup track. Maybe for the less challenging acrobatics, I'd switch back to the live mic, who knows? I hear such things are technically possible these days. But that's just how I'd do it. I have no idea about Pink.
posted by Crash at 6:42 AM on February 9, 2010

How was she able to spin that long and not keel over at the end? Amazing!

I tried spinning in my living room and smashed my coffee table halfway through the song!
posted by orme at 6:48 AM on February 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Next time, make sure to wipe the Cheeto crumbs off your fingers before you express your studied indifference to an act of beauty.

You know, I liked this clip, immediately forwarded it to my spouse, and will probably watch it again (in appreciation) at some point, but goddamn if this place isn't turning into Youtube (comment-wise). WTF.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:04 AM on February 9, 2010

Celebrity death match: Pink and Taylor Swift.

It's on!
posted by stormpooper at 7:13 AM on February 9, 2010

How was she able to spin that long and not keel over at the end? Amazing!

I was watching for this out of curiosity, actually. I noticed she kept her arms in the silks when she bowed, which looked pretty and theatrical and also gave her some insurance against tipping over.
posted by desuetude at 7:23 AM on February 9, 2010

Psshhh. If you honestly think anyone, ever, actually spins around at one of these awards shows, I don't know what to say to you.

The camera was spinning. Idiots.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:46 AM on February 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

Huh. So no one has dropped into the thread to say, "So what?" Really?

Well, here goes: So what? This FPP is fluffy even by Entertainment Tonight's standards.

(That said, the phrase "dizzying performance" comes to mind.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:07 AM on February 9, 2010

like some Bellagio fountain of half-digested pizza rolls.

That's a heck of an act! What do you call it?

The Aristocrats!
posted by brand-gnu at 8:11 AM on February 9, 2010

As far as mainstream pop/rock music goes, you can do a lot worse than Pink, musically and personanany.

Celebrity death match: Pink and Taylor Swift.

The fight would probably be over in less time than it took to write that sentence.

Was it just me, or did the vocalist in the Les Paul tribute (Imelda May) suckity-suck-suck-suck? IIRC, it was like her job was to complement the backing vocal recording, rather than the other way 'round, and even that she did poorly.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:22 AM on February 9, 2010

Fucking George Clooney.
posted by kbanas at 6:58 PM on February 8 [4 favorites +] [!]

From your mouth to God's ear.


/obligatory
posted by Space Kitty at 9:28 AM on February 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

This Lady GaGa thread has gotten off to a weird start.
posted by everichon at 9:34 AM on February 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Overrefined taste is saccharine, kids. If you can't appreciate something, don't boast about it. It's myopic, reactionary and sophomoric.

Just wanted to register how unimpressive and boring the hater logorrhea is. Up the discourse please.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:53 AM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I cannot wait until I've put together my Palin / GaGa FPP. 20,000 comments, easy.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:12 AM on February 9, 2010

I cannot wait until I've put together my Palin / GaGa FPP. 20,000 comments, easy.

If you want to actually break a server, make it a Dawkins/Palin/Gosselin/Gaga/Rand/Sullivan FPP, using Twitter "@" signs and 20 single-letter links to Free Republic which conveniently spell out "Free Palestine"
posted by zarq at 10:21 AM on February 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

If you want to actually break a server, make it a Dawkins/Palin/Gosselin/Gaga/Rand/Sullivan FPP, using Twitter "@" signs and 20 single-letter links to Free Republic which conveniently spell out "Free Palestine"

I should also put the word 'cock' in it.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:27 AM on February 9, 2010

I'm going to comment since I've actually done the sort of trapeze work that Pink did in this performance.
I don't think she was lip synching, because she wasn't doing anything hugely strenuous during the aerial portions where she was singing. She was sitting in a closed loop of fabric, not working in the open-ended parallel silks like in this type of act. She wasn't climbing or holding her entire weight with her upper body strength while singing.
During each of her pose transitions, (from the flat/corpse pose to the one with the fabric is looped in front of her shoulders and crossing across her shoulder blades, during the one where she flipped upside down from the shoulder bind to the leg wrap/gazelle) she would change pose, then resume singing. Had she been singing during those transitions and sounded as flawless as she did, I would have called bullshit on the lip synching denial too.

This was a gorgeous performance. Good lord.
posted by 8dot3 at 10:28 AM on February 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

I should also put the word 'cock' in it.

Go for the full monty: circumcision
posted by zarq at 10:40 AM on February 9, 2010

Metafilter: Bellagio fountain of half-digested pizza rolls.
posted by misha at 10:49 AM on February 9, 2010

There is nothing there that 5000 different jobbing studio or live backup singers couldn't do better.

This is why American Idol -- and pop music in general -- just plain sucks.
posted by coolguymichael at 11:20 AM on February 9, 2010

Interesting too how LadyGG seems have permeated every corner of pop.

i'm a big lover of gaga and think she's good for pop music, but to give credit where credit is due - pink released funhouse the same month that gaga's fame dropped. also - pink was yelling about everyone else lip syncing way back in 2002, when lady gaga was still stephani germanotta, a 16 year old girl in prep school.
posted by nadawi at 12:23 PM on February 9, 2010

Some Pink songs, for those who are gearing up to come stomping in demanding that people "explain to me why I should like this thing" like always happens with any pop music post on Metafilter:

U+Ur Hand
So What
Stupid Girls
Please Don't Leave Me

Pink's singles are pretty much everything you could want in a pop song, if you ask me.
posted by ErikaB at 12:23 PM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

i'm a big lover of gaga and think she's good for pop music,

I enjoyed the Fame album, but is she really doing anything that's all that new and different? She's combining catchy tunes, lots of electronic sound and a sort of calculated over-the-top 80's glam style.
posted by zarq at 12:41 PM on February 9, 2010

zarq - her live performances is where it's at. it seems to me that on the records she's basically playing the loudness wars (which makes total sense as her main market is dance/club) - but she has an artistic flair that isn't seen much in pop music. she reimagines her songs constantly and is never afraid to look silly. she has the je ne sais quoi and the joie de vivre that is hard to pin down and harder to explain.

this question comes up every time her name gets spoken, so i'm just going to link to a former comment of mine where you can find a stack of live acoustic-ish performances that show off her talents more. this thread might also interest you as people are discussing why or why not gaga is influential/important/revolutionary.
posted by nadawi at 12:51 PM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ah, cool. That makes sense.

Thank you for that! I'll check them out. :)
posted by zarq at 1:05 PM on February 9, 2010

I second 8dot3. I've been doing aerial dance for the last few years, and she wasn't doing anything too aerobic or strenuous. Live singing would have been plausible, I suppose (though I don't know anyone who's ever tried it).
posted by Eumachia L F at 1:24 PM on February 9, 2010

I'm sure it's not as good as that time you were hanging with your Pitchfork buddies listening to Arcade FireBlack Sabbath, drinking local craft microbrewery IPA, and talking about how every band that more than seventeen people have heard of is total manufactured sell-out bullshit local craft microbrewery IPA, but it was still a rocking performance

FTFYMe
posted by turbodog at 1:53 PM on February 9, 2010

Snark aside, I liked this performance and I liked the song, and I'm one of those Animal Collective indie snobs. The song has a decent hook, and it's not manufactured emotion.
posted by mattholomew at 2:09 PM on February 9, 2010

Lady Gaga has my interest because she's doing very vulgar things to the image of beauty and fame. It's a shock routine, but one which also, to a thought-provoking extent, assaults the visual aestheric convetions which have come to steer pop music. Her performance of sexuality is so calculatedly bizarre and unconventional that it has led people to speculate that she must be some "other" kind — interex.

I find her bland, unappealing figure, phony hair, overdetermined costumes and lewd dancing strangely uplifting, vaguely post-gender, and a crazy-logical companion to the commercial art of dance music.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:17 PM on February 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

I completely agree with you, AV, except for the part about her "bland, unappealing figure". Which doesn't really match what I observe. I don't think, in any case, that one must have a bland, unappealing figure in order to provoke thought, assault conventional visualaesthetics, and all the rest, so it's probably not an important point.
posted by Justinian at 3:48 PM on February 9, 2010

I love this post if only because it pointed me to this awesome picture.
posted by yeti at 1:58 PM on February 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

Did Pink ever apologize and pay up for using deceased artist Martin Emond's artwork as inspiration for the characters depicted in her video "U + Ur Hand"? (previously) Wiki and Google are letting me down. Her music is not really my cup of tea but after reading that she was a stealing stealer, I stopped giving her any sort of attention, and indeed perhaps talked a little smack about her.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 2:17 AM on February 24, 2010