Posted by Mike Rivers on 12/04/06 16:26

Bill wrote:

> Incidentally, throughout my life, I have always associated real, live
> performance with superior artists, and lip-synching with corporate
> drones and "products" of an "industry".

I associate live performance with musicians and singers who have to
work for a living. Those who lip-sync are working for someone else's
living.

But really, haven't we all faked it? How real is a CD on which one
person plays all the instruments? Can he possibly do that live? Well,
some do - they bring along backing tracks and maybe sing and play the
guitar live. But then you know what's going oni. Is it more impressive
if he has a rack of computer equipment on stage with him, or just a CD
player on which he presses a "start" button? Or someone off stage does
it?

Why do you go to a live show of a famous performer anyway? You expect
the show to sound just like the CD, and the staging to look just like
the DVD. And they darn well make sure it does. Do you go to a show
hoping that you'll hear a mistake that you can comment on? Or maybe a
new song that hasn't been released on a recording yet that you can hear
before someone else? What's the big deal?

I like live shows where the players are working hard. They're the ones
who need my support, so they get it. Why go to see Christina Aguilera?
If you want to support her artistry, just buy the DVD. That's what
they're trying to get you to do anyway.

> Ed Sullivan, bless his heart, used to feature genuine, live
> performances. Saturday Night Live does.

Wasn't there an Ashley Simpson "cue malfunction" on SNL? Or was that
another show?

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