Unusual Lip Sync
July 5, 2010 7:32 AM   Subscribe

 
I kept expecting someone to drop from the rafters into a full split. I wonder how that placed in the competition. She got my vote, so far, for the Conflation of Life and Death award.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:43 AM on July 5, 2010


SEXY
posted by Optamystic at 7:45 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


what the weird
posted by rebent at 7:46 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm not sure about this.
posted by marcocampos at 7:47 AM on July 5, 2010


WTF Philippines?
posted by bardic at 7:52 AM on July 5, 2010


So, I thought whiteface was in poor taste? Why do they always give the camera to the guy with the meth twitches?

Also, what the fuck?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:56 AM on July 5, 2010


It was like those viral videos that seem nice until they end abruptly with a loud screaming zombie thing that scares you out of your seat at 4x volume from the rest of the audio.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:02 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: Scooped by my dumb fucking friends on Facebook a month and a half ago.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:06 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


(that said: Greatest performance I've ever seen on the Internet. In a just world, that performer makes millions and sells out stadiums. And has temples built in her(?) honor.)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:10 AM on July 5, 2010


Never knew it until now, but this is totally my thing. This is completely brilliant.

Also, I think it's funny how often lately we see people on mefi complaining about the person filming it -- the way they handle the camera, or won't shut up. It shows how our expectations of "home videos" have changed, as well as what we see as the obligations of a person filming them. We'd apparently prefer that people who are filming completely distance themselves emotionally from what they're witnessing, keeping in mind the potential audience who will be watching later -- because now that audience is far larger and far more discriminating.

I enjoy better-quality amateur video as well as the next guy, but I kind of love it when you can tell something is just a bit of ephemera snatched out of real life and (barely, somewhat) preserved on the internet. I want to know the person who filmed it was laughing his ass off, struggling to keep a steady shot.
posted by hermitosis at 8:10 AM on July 5, 2010 [6 favorites]


Uhhh, that was amazing. Thank you for posting it! Joseph Gurl's dumb fucking facebook friends knowing about it already notwithstanding.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:10 AM on July 5, 2010


I would pay money to see an entire evening of this kind of thing.
posted by cazoo at 8:19 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yeah, my comment was lame. Sorry guys for the threadshit.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:20 AM on July 5, 2010 [4 favorites]


What exactly is the appeal of this video? Because I'm failing to see it.
posted by zarq at 8:21 AM on July 5, 2010 [2 favorites]


This made my day. Marilyn Manson should learn a lesson from this--if you know it's going to be a ghoul shtick going in, it's not half as much fun.

I like how it plays with the 'pop star as idol/pop star as ghoul' thing that is clearest in Michael Jackson.
posted by umbú at 8:24 AM on July 5, 2010


I would love to see if the performances before this one and afterwards were straightforward lip-syncs of bubblegum top-40 hits. Seeing that would make this even better.
posted by umbú at 8:25 AM on July 5, 2010


What exactly is the appeal of this video? Because I'm failing to see it.

Are you kidding me? This performer took one of the most overdone and overambitiously-attempted karaoke standards and triumphantly turned it into one of those scary/hokey funhouse rides where people scream in your face in the dark.
posted by hermitosis at 8:27 AM on July 5, 2010 [8 favorites]


Are you kidding me?

Nope.

This performer took one of the most overdone and overambitiously-attempted karaoke standards and triumphantly turned it into one of those scary/hokey funhouse rides where people scream in your face in the dark.

Ah. Perhaps it's just not my taste, then.
posted by zarq at 8:35 AM on July 5, 2010


I've been meaning to post this for months, but couldn't decide whether it was cool enough to post as is, or whether I should post to Ask Me with a huge WTF because i mean WTF? There's no info about this video extant as far as I know. it just like, sort of happened.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:36 AM on July 5, 2010


I found this from some friends on Facebook, it's true. I was blown away and wanted to share it. I was also 90 percent sure it would turn out to have been posted before, but strangely it had not.

Potomac Avenue, I'm with you. WTF indeed. This may indeed call for an AskMe.
posted by josher71 at 8:40 AM on July 5, 2010


i'm not sure if it's better than a full on double rainbow tho :P

but close!
posted by kliuless at 8:42 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


mainly i just want to know if it won
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:43 AM on July 5, 2010


Either it won or there was a travesty of justice. Or, more mouthwateringly, there were some performers who were EVEN BETTER.
posted by josher71 at 8:46 AM on July 5, 2010


I'm with you, zarq. It's lost on me. Plus I wanted to slap the twitchy cameraperson.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:47 AM on July 5, 2010


De gustibus non est disputandum.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:48 AM on July 5, 2010


Is this drag? Either way, it is quite awesome.
posted by barrett caulk at 8:56 AM on July 5, 2010


when i was researching it i looked up all the words on the back drop and "Gaya-gaya" actually means: 'mimic, imitating or copycat' according to internets, not "gay". However when it lifts its skirts im pretty sure its torso seems male so there's that
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:02 AM on July 5, 2010


im just going to keep refreshing this page until someone explains this to me otherwise adios el sleepo forever
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:05 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Utterly brilliant. At first, I thought it was going to be some kind of Lady Gaga thing, what with the outrageous outfit and all. And then it turned into Whitney Houston, which was annoying because, damn, that song was overplayed when it was first out. And then OMGZOMBIE! Not just zombie, but pregnant creepy zombie! And the slow build without ever really turning into a cliche lypsynch number...

I think I totally get it. Great stuff.

(On a side note, iMovie has a feature which removes the shaking from hand-held videos. It takes a while to process, but when it's done, you have a pretty steady image (albeit a bit smaller frame and blown up from the original because of how it subtracts from the margins to produce a shake-free video). Isn't there anything similar in the Windows world?)
posted by hippybear at 9:12 AM on July 5, 2010


I'd prefer to think it was an actual undead creature that entered a talent show.
posted by codacorolla at 9:12 AM on July 5, 2010 [6 favorites]


This guy (girl?) could give Big Mouth some serious competition in the Guttural Animal Noise division of Philippines' Got Talent.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:28 AM on July 5, 2010


It's depressing to think this might mean musical tastes will not improve much after the Zombiepocalypse. On the other hand, I'd pay to see someone do an Abba number in this style.
posted by Iosephus at 9:34 AM on July 5, 2010


Ah. Perhaps it's just not my taste, then.

If other people in the thread seem to be enjoying something, that's a fair guess to start out with.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:41 AM on July 5, 2010 [5 favorites]


That was pretty freaking sweet, but ditto on the camera work. I won't even shoot video with a digital still camera without a tri-pod or an attempt at a home made steady cam rig. I'm no videographer at all, but really why would you ever hand shoot.
posted by MrBobaFett at 9:49 AM on July 5, 2010


Pazuzu Houston, amazing. Now we just need Dolly Parton to come out and drive a wooden stake through her heart.
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:02 AM on July 5, 2010 [2 favorites]


If other people in the thread seem to be enjoying something, that's a fair guess to start out with.

When I posted my first comment asking for clarification about the video's appeal, half the people in the thread were saying, "What the fuck?" and the other half were declaring it the best of the internet.

Exactly what proportion of pro vs. con would you suggest I look for in the future, then?
posted by zarq at 10:04 AM on July 5, 2010


And then it turned into Whitney Houston, which was annoying because, damn, that song was overplayed when it was first out.

When that song first came out, Whitney Houston didn't sing it.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 10:10 AM on July 5, 2010 [3 favorites]


Exactly what proportion of pro vs. con would you suggest I look for in the future, then?

Actually, I'd just prefer not to see "Why is this funny?" "Why is this worthwhile?" "Why was this posted?" questions. I try to presume somebody found something they see as worthwhile. If I have a specific comment on something, in favor or in opposition, I'll state it, but "Why does this even exist" questions just don't seem to contribute much. And I'm guilty of them myself. If something really seems useless to me, I try to stay out of the threads.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:12 AM on July 5, 2010 [6 favorites]


If other people in the thread seem to be enjoying something, that's a fair guess to start out with.

I don't really think this was called for. zarq was not offensively going OMG THIS SUX! It stimulated the conversation, I thought.
posted by cavalier at 10:16 AM on July 5, 2010 [3 favorites]


Wow. I"m gonna have nightmares. Seriously. That is NOT my thing (nor is the normal whitney houston performance) but that is FUCKED UP.
posted by aacheson at 10:19 AM on July 5, 2010


Dang! Could have previewd:

"Why does this even exist" questions just don't seem to contribute much

Right, but he didn't ask that, he asked what the appeal of it was, which I was asking in my head to -- and he's not the only one saying 'Whu?". That's good art in my opinion, that it got people thinking that, but regardless of that -- I think there is a line between threadshitting "AwrrARw why did you post this this sucks" and "I don't understand the appeal of this, can someone help me understand" and I think the latter is perfectly good convo fuel.
posted by cavalier at 10:19 AM on July 5, 2010


When that song first came out, Whitney Houston didn't sing it.

Yes, but Dolly's version didn't sell 20 million copies and spend 14 weeks as the #1 song on the Billboard charts in the US, as well as topping the charts in any number of other countries, plus win 12 awards and end up in heavy rotation on nearly any radio station that wasn't news, jazz, or classical.

I mean, all props to Dolly for any number of reasons, but none of her 3 recordings of the song are why its become a cultural cliché, and thus ripe for a remake by a pregnant zombie lipsynch performance.
posted by hippybear at 10:24 AM on July 5, 2010 [2 favorites]


Forever more for me, the lyrics for that song will be, "I will always CLAW YOU".
posted by Elmore at 10:25 AM on July 5, 2010


When are they hosting the WTF Awards this year. Do I still have time to get to the bookies?
posted by Elmore at 10:26 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


This is an only-slightly metaphorical reenactment of my last breakup.
posted by bicyclefish at 10:29 AM on July 5, 2010 [9 favorites]


Best Of The What The Fuck.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:37 AM on July 5, 2010


What I love about this (beyond EVERYTHING) is that it's a fully-realized piece. It builds upon itself, uses the whole damned song, and even manages to follow the structure of the song (building into maximum creepiness just as Houston gets full-octave overblown in her song stylization). Then at the end are two perfectly-normal mechanical dolls which manage to be the creepiest thing of all.

It makes me a little sad that all that talent and effort went into a performance that seems to have been created in order to win a standard trophy-store trophy.
posted by xingcat at 10:47 AM on July 5, 2010


I have finally watched this.

MOAR PREGNANT ZOMBIE DRAG QUEENS PL0X
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:02 AM on July 5, 2010 [2 favorites]


If drag queens in the Philippines are anything like here, believe you me they fucking care about winning. Some of them bitches will cut you.

Seriously, at top level drag competitions I've heard stories about queens who will put razor blades in their fake nails and slit dresses of the other girls.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:15 AM on July 5, 2010


I just knew Whitney Houston is a zombie. Thank gods she isn't also a Canadian. Inflicting Celine on the world is already a burden on our national conscience.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:31 AM on July 5, 2010


Actually, I'd just prefer not to see "Why is this funny?" "Why is this worthwhile?" "Why was this posted?" questions. I try to presume somebody found something they see as worthwhile.

Cavalier picked up on my intent. Thank you, cavalier.

AZ, I was genuinely asking why people find the video appealing, while trying not to sound clueless and out of touch. I wasn't trying to convey subtle disapproval, or pronounce the post unworthy of interest or of MeFi. Seriously, I posted a series of links to a single Weird Al song last night. Stones, glass houses and all of that.

If I have a specific comment on something, in favor or in opposition, I'll state it, but "Why does this even exist" questions just don't seem to contribute much.

Yeah, that's not what I was asking. I honestly don't see why "Can someone explain to me why they find this interesting," can't be a contribution to a thread. Even if I didn't phrase the question well, I received a useful answer. Isn't that worthwhile?
posted by zarq at 11:44 AM on July 5, 2010


That's nothing. The lip-synchers in burkas in Saudi Arabia are awesome!
posted by binturong at 11:45 AM on July 5, 2010


You should pretty much just wait for me to weigh in.

YOU'RE LATE! :D
posted by zarq at 11:45 AM on July 5, 2010


Unless I'm seeing things, this is NSFW @ 4:18
posted by milnak at 12:03 PM on July 5, 2010


Yeah, I was just "meh" until 4:18.
posted by Elmore at 12:50 PM on July 5, 2010


AH, now I can giggle to myself rather than cringe whenever that song is played. Good stuff.

Will keep small and uncrushable hope that next karaoke singers to do this song will also be secret zombies.
posted by litleozy at 1:06 PM on July 5, 2010


That was great. She made that song... what's the word I'm looking for.. bearable? By the way, didn't Stephen Fry, just yesterday, told people off for doing the whole "not impressed" business?
posted by rainy at 1:28 PM on July 5, 2010


Damn Whitney, your career just gets weirder and weirder, girl.
posted by hellbient at 3:10 PM on July 5, 2010 [4 favorites]


AZ, I was genuinely asking why people find the video appealing, while trying not to sound clueless and out of touch.

Apologies, then. There's just a lot of "Ugh, who would like this?" that pops up in threads now and again, and it's rarely meant as a "seriously, explain why you like this," but instead "nobody in their right mind would like this."

As to why I liked this particular one -- well, so much karaoke is just utter crap: People with passable voice warbling mediocre impersonations of unremarkable pop stars. This one was more like Wednesday Addams had been forced to sing one of the most cloying, overplayed pop numbers of all time (with all due respect to its writer, Dolly Parton, who I adore), and thought, well, hell, I'll do the song, but I'll do it my way.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:09 PM on July 5, 2010


This is amazing. Thank you.
posted by hot soup girl at 4:36 PM on July 5, 2010


So, I thought whiteface was in poor taste?

The whiteface, and the overall aesthetic, reminded me of Buhtoh. Which many respected culture mavens deem to be worthy.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:42 PM on July 5, 2010


AZ, no worries. Thanks. :)

This one was more like Wednesday Addams had been forced to sing one of the most cloying, overplayed pop numbers of all time...

HA!! Ok. When you put it that way, it's kind of hilarious. :D
posted by zarq at 4:55 PM on July 5, 2010


The whiteface, and the overall aesthetic, reminded me of Buhtoh. Which many respected culture mavens deem to be worthy.

Yeah, like outsider butoh. For sure.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:17 PM on July 5, 2010


That was amazing. Absolutely brilliant and scary as fuck, even though you knew the shtick halfway through. This contestant should win based on Best Scuttling alone.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:38 PM on July 5, 2010


Best Wardrobe Change Ever
posted by will wait 4 tanjents at 7:59 PM on July 5, 2010


I was interested enough to sit through the whole song. Can't say that about Whitney Houston...
posted by Ereshkigal313 at 10:51 PM on July 5, 2010


Not that it matters, but some of the YouTube commenters seem to think that Ghoul Lady's lip-synching to teenaged Filipina singer Charice Pempengco's version of I Will Always Love You, rather than Whitney Houston's.
posted by hot soup girl at 12:52 PM on July 6, 2010


I kind of love it when you can tell something is just a bit of ephemera snatched out of real life and (barely, somewhat) preserved on the internet

Yeah! Like this dude.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:45 PM on July 6, 2010


Bravo to both the performer and the poster. This is brilliant!
posted by lphoenix at 9:09 AM on July 7, 2010


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