the music video cliche trifecta . . . .
OK, here it is - the pop music post.
In Istanbul Amy would humor me and let me put CNN International on occasion. Once on the road, Jaq and I would check out what Turkish tv was like when we came across it. Our first night was in Pamukkale - in an attempt to deal with the choking eye watering perfume that was dumped in the room as a dstraction to the fact that it probably hadn't been cleaned in at least a week. While surfing past the various Turkish sitcoms that we were too lazy to figure out thru the visuals, we found KRAL, the pop music video channel. This channel became the source of great amusement both that night and again in Bursa (where we once again had tv access).
Pop music everywhere is about 80% crap. That's a given. But when it is not familiar to you, when the visuals don't have a scope of reference to which you can relate it gets pretty damn amusing.
Before I continue I must say that while having an insomniac moment in Cannakale and turned the tv on I did finally catch the gal who I'd only seen in 20 second snippets on the top 20 countdown and was able to get her name (Aylin Aslim) and later, her CD. It was pretty lame overall in comparison the piece of the song I heard BUT one of her songs in in a 9/8 rhythm! I was pretty wowed when Elliott Smith did a rock song in a waltz rhythm, but this is in a Karshilama!!!! The bra from my Misar Boutique costume, my Mavi jeans, the chain like noisy hip belt I bought from the vendor at Ephesus . . . . . .
Anyway, over the week and a half we were periodically tuning in the majority, if not all, of the videos were ballads, with band appearances not always fitting the music performed (not unlike the joint number by Urbal Tribal and Ultra Gypsy I saw a few nights ago when they danced generic dull tribal moves to a lively salsa song. it just did not fit), fitting even less than Poison's appearance in relation to "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." And there were the I'm so sexy guys (who aren't, but maybe some women there do find them sexy?). A big cliche in the videos is death. There were a number of videos that had a scene revolving around a funeral, or reminiscing about a beloved youthful crush who must have had some sort of early tragic death. Jaq's favorite example of funerary excess was a band whose name I can't remember but they had 2 singers (tho one has a really bad voice) one of whom looks like he could be in any overstyled US boy band and the other who really needs to return the wig to the surviving Milli Vanilli guy. Other cliches include the requisite beach scenes, which they have plenty of which to choose from (next trip I am heading for the Meditaranean coast), and my favorite - the pop singer who both on his CD cover and in his video has imagery of him running towards the camera away from a burning wreckage - because a pop singer is really analagous to an action movie guy.
But no single video had the trifecta of cliches (keeping in mind a desert setting or being caught in the rain can be interchanged with the beach scenes). Until I was in Cannakale, and found what is a French video channel, hence the Nada Surf video, and the winner of the pop video cliche trifecta. Burning wreckage, check. Agonizing, mournful overdramatic emoting (tho minus a coffin or gravesite), check. Pouring rain, check. Plus, guy on a piano sorta playing/pretending to play while singing with great emotion, check.
It was the Backstreet Boys.
America, still the land of extreme excess.
Tally of CDs bought - 27 if I'm counting correctly, plus 2 VCDs (including one of Asena!).
In Istanbul Amy would humor me and let me put CNN International on occasion. Once on the road, Jaq and I would check out what Turkish tv was like when we came across it. Our first night was in Pamukkale - in an attempt to deal with the choking eye watering perfume that was dumped in the room as a dstraction to the fact that it probably hadn't been cleaned in at least a week. While surfing past the various Turkish sitcoms that we were too lazy to figure out thru the visuals, we found KRAL, the pop music video channel. This channel became the source of great amusement both that night and again in Bursa (where we once again had tv access).
Pop music everywhere is about 80% crap. That's a given. But when it is not familiar to you, when the visuals don't have a scope of reference to which you can relate it gets pretty damn amusing.
Before I continue I must say that while having an insomniac moment in Cannakale and turned the tv on I did finally catch the gal who I'd only seen in 20 second snippets on the top 20 countdown and was able to get her name (Aylin Aslim) and later, her CD. It was pretty lame overall in comparison the piece of the song I heard BUT one of her songs in in a 9/8 rhythm! I was pretty wowed when Elliott Smith did a rock song in a waltz rhythm, but this is in a Karshilama!!!! The bra from my Misar Boutique costume, my Mavi jeans, the chain like noisy hip belt I bought from the vendor at Ephesus . . . . . .
Anyway, over the week and a half we were periodically tuning in the majority, if not all, of the videos were ballads, with band appearances not always fitting the music performed (not unlike the joint number by Urbal Tribal and Ultra Gypsy I saw a few nights ago when they danced generic dull tribal moves to a lively salsa song. it just did not fit), fitting even less than Poison's appearance in relation to "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." And there were the I'm so sexy guys (who aren't, but maybe some women there do find them sexy?). A big cliche in the videos is death. There were a number of videos that had a scene revolving around a funeral, or reminiscing about a beloved youthful crush who must have had some sort of early tragic death. Jaq's favorite example of funerary excess was a band whose name I can't remember but they had 2 singers (tho one has a really bad voice) one of whom looks like he could be in any overstyled US boy band and the other who really needs to return the wig to the surviving Milli Vanilli guy. Other cliches include the requisite beach scenes, which they have plenty of which to choose from (next trip I am heading for the Meditaranean coast), and my favorite - the pop singer who both on his CD cover and in his video has imagery of him running towards the camera away from a burning wreckage - because a pop singer is really analagous to an action movie guy.
But no single video had the trifecta of cliches (keeping in mind a desert setting or being caught in the rain can be interchanged with the beach scenes). Until I was in Cannakale, and found what is a French video channel, hence the Nada Surf video, and the winner of the pop video cliche trifecta. Burning wreckage, check. Agonizing, mournful overdramatic emoting (tho minus a coffin or gravesite), check. Pouring rain, check. Plus, guy on a piano sorta playing/pretending to play while singing with great emotion, check.
It was the Backstreet Boys.
America, still the land of extreme excess.
Tally of CDs bought - 27 if I'm counting correctly, plus 2 VCDs (including one of Asena!).
posted by tovah @ 6:30 PM
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