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May 29

Broadway plays...on DVD!

I hear about these amazing broadway shows, but by the time I get a chance to see it--the cast has changed from the original awesome people.

Why isn't recording and releasing a DVD a standard practice for Broadway shows? Is the argument that people wouldn't shell out the ridiculous amounts of money if it were available for home viewing? Because that doesn't seem to have affected music-concerts at all.74.104.107.137 (talk) 02:12, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Lincoln Center Library has an archive of Broadway tapes spanning four decades. [1] There are DVDs of Cats and others. I seem to recall that the planned Cats movie (with a Tom Stoppard screenplay) was canceled after it was determined that such a film would eat into the revenue flowing in from worldwide stage productions of the musical over many years. Pepso2 (talk) 16:54, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Let's first look at the advantages of live theater:

1) Has the "energy" of a live performance.

2) The theater often has excellent acoustics.

Now the advantages of a movie on DVD:

A) Can incorporate a wide range of locations.

B) Can use CGI.

C) Any mistakes can be corrected in subsequent takes to get a more "polished" result.

D) Can be filmed from all directions, whereas a theater performance must generally be filmed from the audience POV only.

E) No coughing audience members to put up with.

F) Can watch it any time you want.

G) Typically less expensive.

So, when we put a theater performance on DVD, we lose all the advantages of each, except F and perhaps G. This might explain why it is rarely done. StuRat (talk) 02:48, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Jonas Mekas' The Brig (1964), a film of Kenneth Brown's off-Broadway play, won a best documentary award at the Venice Film Festival. [2] It was shot in a single evening with Mekas using a handheld camera while standing on the stage and moving around between the actors. Pepso2 (talk) 11:16, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Simpsons or Family Guy?

There's a brief moment in a scene featuring either Peter Griffin or Homer Simpson in which one of them glances at his foot and sees an expiration date. Can anyone hook me up with the show and the episode? Much thanks. Wolfgangus (talk) 03:50, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

OK if not an expiration date maybe something closer to a bar code? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wolfgangus (talk • contribs) 16:16, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Jazz question

Has there ever been a piece of jazz in 4/4 time, in the key of C, with no accidentals, and no chords with numbers above 7? (Or is that impossible in jazz?) Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 05:38, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There are likely hundreds, or thousands, of compositions which meet the above requirements. Could you explain more about the nature of what sort of music you are looking for in a bit more detail? Jazz is a huge genre of music that encompasses many different styles of composition, if we knew a bit more about what sort of music you are interested in, we could recommend some stuff. --Jayron32 05:45, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure there are that many, Jayron. Not using any extended chords ("numbers above 7") is one thing, and relatively easy to find, particularly in pre 1940s jazz. Not using any accidentals whatsoever is far more unlikely. It excludes the blues scale (if the root is C, as required), excludes using the C7 chord in order to move to the subdominant chord of F, and other chord progressions more. I'm sure there are modal jazz recordings using only white keys, but they couldn't be Dorian, e.g., because Bubba73 specified the key as C. So it would have to be written in the Ionian mode. Maybe something by Jan Garbarek. Nothing is impossible when it comes to jazz, Bubba73, and we could compose such a piece right here, but finding an already existing one poses quite a challenge! ---Sluzzelin talk 06:16, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Just to give you some example modules which can be made to sound entirely jazzy, with the right phrasing, beat, etc: C maj 7 / F maj 7 gives you a floating Gymnopédian feel, which works very well in (modal) jazz. Ice-cream changes could work too (the article even has the progression fitting your exact restrictions). A piece could end with F6 / C for a touch of gospel. It wouldn't be difficult to compose a nice little tune using your rules, but I still found nothing fitting in the world of jazz. ---Sluzzelin talk 07:46, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

So, ambient doo-wop that ends with an "amen"? 213.122.26.247 (talk) 08:11, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

lol, the modules were merely meant to illustrate some of the possibilities, not to be mixed into the same pot. But hey, why not? As long as you provide a good title, I'm game. ---Sluzzelin talk 08:46, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I was observing that jazz musicians seem to delight in playing in time signatures such as 11/8 and use a lot of accidentals, etc. (It really doesn't have to be in the key of C, but does use Ionian mode.) Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 16:14, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That is an interesting observation. I know a number of accomplished mainstream jazz musicians who struggle with unusual time signatures such as 11/8. While there are some who indeed specialize in irregular and mixed meters, most of the genres featured on our list of jazz genres usually are performed in more common meters (syncopated, of course, and using changes of meters, polyrhythm, etc., but the underlying beat will be more conventional, and you will be able to snap your fingers to the music). If you take a compilation of jazz standards, such as the Real Book, you will find the vast majority of tunes being in 4/4, a decent number will be jazz waltzes in 3/4, there will be some using 6/8 or 12/8, but only very few in odd meters such as 5/4 or 7/4, let alone 11/8. Which jazz musicians where you observing? ---Sluzzelin talk 08:09, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The example that springs instantly to mind is Dave Brubeck, with Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk both in strange time sigs, but really I'm agreeing with Sluzzelin here. Often the beat is straight 3 or 4 time, but because the emphasis is on different beats in the lead instrument or accompanists, the impression is created of awkward time signatures. From a different genre, take Kashmir by Led Zeppelin, which is in straight 4/4, but because of the emphasis on different beats in the orchestral accompaniment, people think it's in some exotic time. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:41, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I was just picking 11/8 as a wild example. But in particular (as far as odd time signatures) I was thinking of some of the recent Jeff Beck stuff and some old John McLaughin. Bubba73 ^{(You talkin' to me?)}, 16:21, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ah ok, that makes sense. These are two highly virtuosic guitarists (who do take delight in musical challenges, and also like to show off their considerable technique, though in a good way, of course). McLaughlin has been studying classical Indian talas for decades, and it shows in his music, even when he plays in Western fusion ensembles. I maintain that he is not a typical jazz musician, however (if such a creature even exists). ---Sluzzelin talk 18:53, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure neither Beck nor McLaughlin are jazz musicians, both would fit better into rock music. If you're talking about such people, then I give you Yes or Soft Machine, who are very fond of exorbitant time signatures! --TammyMoet (talk) 09:47, 31 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, as Jayron pointed out above, jazz has many guises and is quite susceptible to blending or fusing with other musical styles, including non-Western music. John McLaughlin is certainly rooted in jazz (see article), and can swing his ass off when he wants to (I guess he just rarely wants to). When you hear him playing in Round Midnight, he is playing straightforward jazz, and sweetly too. ---Sluzzelin talk 10:27, 31 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What happened to Johnny Test?

I've never been a fan of Johnny Test, but it appears that between the first and second seasons the animation changed dramatically. The first season has smooth animation, but the other seasons have 'jerky' and 'jumpy' animation. Any explanation for why the animation style changed so randomly and drastically?--Editor510 ^{drop us a line, mate} 09:12, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Have you read the article? The software used to animate the show as well as (what sounds like) the entire production staff was changed between season one and season two. Dismas|^(talk) 20:29, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Tracing name of singer

i am trying to find out the name of the singer who sang Lascia ch'io pianga when Valery Mikhailovsky was dancing to Dedecation by Handel in the performances of th St Petersburg Male Ballet on tour this year —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.132.193.72 (talk) 16:27, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

foreign players who have played for glasgow rangers

IS there a list of all foreign players who have played for glasgow rangers, not only international players —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.217.113.157 (talk) 19:48, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

old cartoon...

I'm looking for old cartoon about a cave man.. small and kinda fat , he was kinda related to some gods of some sort.. Ok, the cartoon about him I'm looking for is when he has to save this princess from a tower , He uses all sorts of methods .. In one of these he drives a old VW Beetle. (btw .. that was the only car in the cartoon) and this was Animated. I also saw him in Comics. These gods were from like europe not asia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.220.44.42 (talk) 21:15, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Captain Caveman? Only seems to partially fit the description, but hey. TomorrowTime (talk) 21:54, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It may have been B.C. (comic strip). http://cidutest.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/bc-globalwarming.gif Or, unlikely, Alley Oop or The Flintstones. See Category:Fictional prehistoric characters, Category:Prehistoric people in popular culture. 92.15.0.255 (talk) 21:40, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've linked the above mentioned categories so that you can simply click on them instead of having to copy/paste into the search box. Dismas|^(talk) 04:23, 31 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]