I don't know. This entertainment. It's really bad. It's just not at the level to belong on this grandiose stage.
ME (to Meade): "What were those piano guys called? The Piano Guys?"
MEADE: "Yeah."
ME: "Yeesh." (I can't believe I watched them at the concert last night, and now I have to sit through this again.)
MEADE (reading the internet): "They're a YouTube sensation. From Utah."
YouTah.
Did that one lady who sang "Mack the Knife" end with "Now that Trump is back in town!"? The character in the song "Mack the Knife" is a serial murderer!
I couldn't believe the children singing. It went on so long! Wasn't it their bedtime? All those 60s pop songs that never go away, so you never miss them. I never want to hear "Can't Help Myself" again, but I'm utterly appalled when a little girl who looks about 9 sings the line "I'd do anything you ask me to." Have words lost all meaning?
I know there was a lot of bullying of performers, so that it was very difficult to put this show together at all creditably. I appreciate the predicament. And I know I don't have to watch. I do think averting one's eyes would be best.
Now a bunch of men are clogging. They're attractive men. Oh! He's doing his horse routine and they projected a photo of a statue of a soldier on a horse. Oh, no, they projected the Iwo Jima, flag-raising sculpture. What does Iwo Jima have to do with buff men clogging?
ME (doing voiceover for a dancer): "Let me waggle my ass at you in a military fashion."
I don't really want Sam Moore's backbone to slip. He's 81.
FINALLY: Trump and Melania appear. Her white dress reminds me of cake decorating. Her bare shoulders glimmer. Trump's tux has extremely baggy pants. He eschews tailoring. That's his style. They dance that dance that's not really a dance — just rocking back and forth. I'm worried that the bulky Trump will squish the delicate swirl of fabric that extends from Melania's extensive bust. The dress is floor-length and then some, and I'm sure he's treading on it. Don't tread on me!
The song is "My Way" — "I ate it up and spit it out."
January 20, 2017
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84 comments:
Oh you snobs. All the good acts can't go out of fear.
Well we did like that first act. The reggae gospel group.
By the way at least half of my Mormon relatives hate trump. So even MoTab and Piano Guys took some risk.
Cooking big band. The singer not so much.
LOTD is pure cringe.
"Wasn't it their bedtime? "
It is getting to be this snob's bedtime.
Would it kill them to move their upper body once in a while.
Hey at least they aren't in shorts.
The Althouse blog comments sections are much more entertaining and stimulating.
As a straight man this isn't doing anything for me.
Did Ike or JFK have this problem? They probably just had classical music and some tasteful Jazz/Pop bands at their inaugural balls.
It's reality TV entertainment. You could switch channels and watch Tucker.
Or you could watch Rachel recap today's protests. And preview tomorrow's.
Thay forgot there sharts.
It's kind of like the talent section of a beauty pageant, so that's kind of Trumpropriate.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's coverage of the Women's March, it'll be yuuuuuge.
It seems really fitting, these obscure acts performing to the best of their ability and looking like they're having lots of fun, it's like watching America's Got Talent. Just what Trump voters can relate to.
America's got a new President who is bigger than any of those entertainer / celebrity types who refused to perform for the American people on this glorious day.
Those soul man kids are cute.
This is like an inauguration in Slovenia.
I'm not going to bed until I see what Melania's wearing.
The word "snob" has an interesting history. It's done a real turnabout in meaning. And who knew there were "inverted snobs"?
The military bands are excellent.
But we already heard so many of them today.
Sounds like Lawrence Welk
Come on, it's 8:30pm CT! You aren't that old.
It's sort-of charming, in a cringeworthy way... like going back in time to a place where pop-star culture didn't even exist.
I turned to CNN for snide remarks and I'm quite disappointed. Stop biting your tongues Anderson and King.
Today's all tuckered out. But the word for tomorrow is...pussyhat. Who's wearing one? Who's not? The only coherent and defining element tomorrow will be the pussyhat.
Sometimes political eternity has to wait for just the right gesture to stumble by.
Tomorrow...the pussyhat.
John King is a closet Trump guy. I mean, look at that jawline.
By the way at least half of my Mormon relatives hate trump.
yeah....that never happened.
"Come on, it's 8:30pm CT! You aren't that old."
Ha ha.
We were up at 3.
Here she comes! That is fabulous!
Why do you think Evan Mcmullan did well there? I should show you emails from my Mormon family. My own parents were divided and my dad was counselor in the stake and mission presidency.
That is a beautiful gown. She looks incredible.
As a straight man this is doing something for me.
Evan McMullin is a patriot.
They're dancing to "My Way." Appropriate.
chickelit: The word "snob" has an interesting history. It's done a real turnabout in meaning.
Thanks for the link, chick, interesting. I've always like Thackeray's definition of "snob" - one who "meanly admires mean things". I didn't realize that he was working closer to what was then the common understanding of the term. I think many people still use the term to implicitly suggest "poser" and "phoney", but the notion that the snob's values are entirely meretricious (not just pretentious) has been watered down over time.
That's alot of glamour!
Awww did you have to go and dis The Piano Guys? They're a family favorite here.
Anywho we are probably better off with a little less pomp and a lot more work.
Will: Evan McMullin is a patriot.
Lol. If I didn't know for a fact it ain't so, I would suspect that you're now sock-puppeting Chuck. (No, I don't expect you to get the joke.)
Ye gads, it's the stalker again.
Yet Althouse would be breathlessly dissecting every word and regaling us here with endless paragraphs of mindless background minutiae if only someone would come out and sing a Dylan song...
Dylan wouldn't have been caught dead performing there.
This concludes the daylight portion of the protests (nassty bad trashcansss!)
My first disappointment has happened. The Donald is not a trained dancer. But he holds on to his graceful wife tight. At least Pence has the basic skills.
Sorry to nit pick him. He has had other things to do than take several months of dance lessons from a trained Russian Dance Instructor.
Lumbering to the music.
"Lumbering to the music."
I was going to use the word "lumbering" to describe the dancing, but I'd already used "lumbering" today. (Describing Sonia Sotomayor.)
Well, I'm reasonably proud of my Inauguration Day blogging.
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way...
I was happy to do it. Some folks just can't but lumber.
The dancing? That's the Trump Shuffle. It's going to catch on, it will be huge.
Trump dances like most of us white guys his age (or so).
Is that racist?
He should have gotten Zero to stick around and dance the dance for him, but the look Michelle would have given them would have killed them both.
One good thing that could come out Trump's presidency would be if he pared down the ceremonial aspects of the position. It seems that half the work of being president at present is useless ceremonial BS of one form or another. I was constantly amazed at the good humor that Obama and his wife brought to this nonsense but most people do not have that temperament to do this well nor do I think it is necessary to be an effective president. It might make sense to hire a few British royals to do the job if it proved impossible to eliminate.
One interesting thing today was watching Melania and Baron's psychological affect transfigure from self conscious people trying hard to do right, into two relaxed and happy people genuinely smiling back at the crowds.
I suspect they felt a lift of the evil eye coming off the DC people present at the White House and Capitol switch over when they left to a surrounding crowd that really loved them.
@Althouse, you did okay.
I like Ivanka's dress more, but both women look stunning. Melania's style appears to be sleek and simple, which will be a refreshing change from some of Michele's awful dresses.
And I think Michele was capable of looking elegant and lovely too - but when she made bad dress choices, they were really doozies.
I liked some of Meade's pithy comments, too.
It is always a pleasure to read Professor Althouse. Politics aside, her wit, insight, and magnificent use of the English language is second to none. She often uses words that I don't know or don't use; she uses the word 'dispirited' from time to time. It is not a word I use, so I looked it up to be sure of the meaning. Now, I'm going to incorporate the word in my vocabulary. Her wit makes me chuckle even on the most serious or morbid of topics. No point in feeling dispirited. I know it may not be realistic, but I hope she never stops blogging. Or, if she stop blogging, I hope she sticks with writing in some form or another. Althouse is actually an important writer in the time of Trump. She valiantly tries to make sense out of him when others have given up. At the same time, she'll expose anybody for their BS.
You know what? That's fine. If the Democrats and third-world autocratic leftist progressives, most from rich privileged families, want to shit and piss all over everything and ruin it all, such that we end up with nothing but cocktail lounge acts -- that's fine. It would be nice to have nice things, but we're not going to freak about them turning everything to crap.
What counts are the festivities that took place in the Oval Office, like the executive order that effectively suspended implementation of the ObamaCare regulations, thereby mortally wounding it. More to come.
And the leftists can thank themselves for it.
The lefties seem to have nothing else to do tonight.
"I was constantly amazed at the good humor that Obama and his wife brought to this nonsense but most people do not have that temperament to do this well nor do I think it is necessary to be an effective president. "
They live for the ceremonial aspects. That and golf was all he did.
ARM: " I was constantly amazed at the good humor that Obama and his wife brought to this nonsense but most people do not have that temperament to do this well nor do I think it is necessary to be an effective president. It might make sense to hire a few British royals to do the job if it proved impossible to eliminate"
ARM comes up with a winner.
Let's hire a few not too distant cousins of William & Andrew. Ones that aren't too in demand but are not too "out there" either.
Bonus: Helps reestablish the relationship obambi threw away (simply because in an earlier era the brits tortured his Marxist biological father.
Michael K said...
That and golf was all he did.
Let it go buddy, no one cares any more.
I think it's kind of sweet, kind of a throwback. Do we really need all of these balls and entertainment anyway? How does the country benefit from private soirées the Obama's put on with their newly acquired Hollywood friends?
Drago said...
Ones that aren't too in demand but are not too "out there" either.
I think they would come fairly cheap, but still bring more class that those tacky european royals.
Thank you Althouse for your diligent work.
If there were justice in this world it would be you commenting with a mass media bullhorn, not the usual lot of overpaid trained apes.
And you run a great salon, moreso than any other.
An interesting note: The two balls (Freedom and Liberty) had tickets prices of around $50 and were open to the public.
Normally, inaugural balls are from $250 - $500 and are much more exclusive.
Ann, I'm a big fan, but this was a pissy and unnecessarily harsh review, maybe accounted for by the fact that you've been up since 3 AM. Get some sleep.
Althouse harping on kid singers is ridiculous.
Mack the knife is a serial killer? The song only suggests he killed the one guy in a robbery. Mackie boy is a pimp.
The entertainment wasn't what it might have been considering how major entertainers where bullied and even received death threats (!) to keep them from playing at the inauguration balls.
The past week has seen opera singer Andrea Bocelli and Tony award winner Jennifer Holliday back out of participating after receiving significant backlash, including threats of boycott and even violence, from those who view the act of performing for the president-elect as unacceptable.
"When they go low, we go high" - Michelle Obama
"Sure you do" - Lily Bart
The best ball was the one for the Armed Services. Having troops in Afganistan being able to watch and ask questions (although none of them did - just conveyed congratulations) and having servicemen and women "cut in" to dance with the President and Vice President and their wives was great. The lucky soldier who got to dance with Melania had to be the envy of every man there.
So very evident that Ann misses Obama, and really wanted Hillary. Just a bit too cutting.
Yeah, death threats = bullying. Good to know. Also, anyone who says the Obama administration was scandal free should be investigated by the IRS since, you know, that was OK with them.
Known Unknown said...
An interesting note: The two balls (Freedom and Liberty) had tickets prices of around $50 and were open to the public.
Normally, inaugural balls are from $250 - $500 and are much more exclusive.
**************************
Who sets the prices? "The market"?
What does "normally" mean?
I loved the high school girls with the American flags in the parade after the swearing in. You could see they were proud to be participating. That is what it is all about.
Thanks for watching that part for all of us.
Without the sound, it was a good inauguration. But it’s all about actions, and with today’s on the ACA, he puts any question of being a man of the people to rest. So as of now, that is a fake impression. We’ll see if he can turn that fake impression around, I seriously doubt it.
"Althouse harping on kid singers is ridiculous."
Do you think adults put on evening gowns and tuxedos and pay $50 apiece to go to a gala soiree and want to be sung at by children prancing around on stage? If it was a private party and these were your host's kids, you'd feel put upon after one song... at the latest. When the second song began, you'd be muttering oh, brother... at best. And when they decided they could sing a James Brown song, you would be vocally protesting.
Traditional Guy that was an interesting observation of Melania and Baron at the parade. I think you are spot on.
The entertainment was great in that families, i.e, children could enjoy it, actually watch it without parents having to hide the kiddies eyes from half naked women twerking or jerking across the stage or block their ears because of a songs profane lyrics.
I gave up watching during the parade sometime. I had no idea it went on so long.
And I'm with you on The Piano Guys. I don't know what the big deal is.
Do you think adults put on evening gowns and tuxedos and pay $50 apiece to go to a gala soiree and want to be sung at by children prancing around on stage?
And, in their dissatisfaction, whom do you think they will assign the cause of not having higher-ranked entertainment? The Trump people because they don't know anything about the hospitality business? Or the thugs and bullies in the leftist entertainment world and politics who have engaged in intimidation and threatened ostracization to anyone thinking about offering their services in connection with the inauguration of a new president -- the very people that the ball goers voted against?
If the balls and parade were not up to par, we all know exactly who is to blame. And it isn't going to make us like them any better. Just the opposite.
"Do you think adults put on... To be sung at by children prancing around on stage?'
The elites of NYC do so. Some moronic drivel called Hamilton.
"with today's action on the ACA"
Guess it depends on what you mean by the "people". The 3% who couldn't afford health care, or the 97% who had their health care stripped away.
The People are drowning under the ridiculous spikes in their monthly premiums.
Notice you are no longer calling it Obamacare. New talking points come out? Do you ever check the origin? Not the front group, but the one behind them, just to know who is really pulling your strings?
Make you life sweeter, put the tv in the dumpster and banish Hollywood from your life. It's amazing. You won't miss it at all once it's gone.
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