Something for Races Cancelled Days

[traynor]

If you don't know who Sia is, you owe it to yourself to see what this young woman can do. It is--to say the very least--spectacular. Do NOT try to do what this young woman does. Like the bumper sticker on Katherine Jung's Grand Cherokee, "Don't follow me. You won't make it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILTZ8qZbNK0

[TJDave]

Chooses not to face the camera? Really?

I choose not to listen, then.

What now passes for entertainment is absurdity.

[traynor]

Another view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTTn0KjHsY

[traynor]

Chooses not to face the camera? Really?

I choose not to listen, then.

What now passes for entertainment is absurdity.

Thank you.

[Tom]

Did I see her/them on SNL recently?
That is different, facing the corner.
Maybe she spent a lot of time there in her youth and feels comfortable. :D

Pretty decent.

[riskman]

Bizarre, to say the least.

Wonder if she is shy about taking money.

"It is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous"

[ldiatone]

i'm sorry another mezzo, sounds like lady gaga. has to scream please another "shtick" cant show her face

[FantasticDan]

LGYBFu4RHcE

[traynor]

Sia is a choreographer/arranger. The "face away from the crowd" is a dual purpose strategy. First, it removes her (and her expresions/actions) from being the center of attention, and, second, shifts the audience's attention to where it should be placed--on watching the performance,

Consider it a demonstration of the effectiveness of a technique often used in advertising and marketing--actively manipulating the perception of the viewer/listener/reader--with what might be considered more benevolent intent.

For comparison purposes, consider what Maria Conchita Alonso is doing with her hands (the "subliminal" presented in combination with the "overt" performance).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvxIYv6mt_0

What does all that have to do with horse racing? Great way to develop the skill to see what is actually there, as opposed to viewing the world through a self-serving perceptual filter. A mandatory skill for trip handicapping and body language interpretation.

[traynor]

Better quality video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypwWw_nNwmA

[TJDave]

For comparison purposes, consider what Maria Conchita Alonso is doing with her hands (the "subliminal" presented in combination with the "overt" performance).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvxIYv6mt_0


At least she can sing a bit.

Also, Doesn't anyone find it just a little disturbing watching an 11-year-old prance around in eyeshadow and lipstick?

[thaskalos]

First, it removes her (and her expresions/actions) from being the center of attention, and, second, shifts the audience's attention to where it should be placed--on watching the performance,


That might well be her intention...but it's debatable whether or not she accomplished what she set out to do. My attention was captivated by the mysterious figure standing in the corner with her back turned.

[Clocker]

My attention was captivated by the mysterious figure standing in the corner with her back turned.

Exactly. It calls a lot more attention to her than if she just stood back there normally. It seems contrived.

How do we know that is actually her back there? It could be a model standing there while a recording plays. :p

[traynor]

Those curious might spend some time wisely investigating the "confusion" technique developed by Milton H. Erickson. In essence, people's circuits tend to jam when they have to think about what is really going on. That is, by introducing what Festinger referred to as "cognitive dissonance" the perceptual biases of the audience(/listener/reader/couch potato) are both tweaked and jammed.

[traynor]

Exactly. It calls a lot more attention to her than if she just stood back there normally. It seems contrived.

How do we know that is actually her back there? It could be a model standing there while a recording plays. :p

Would it make a difference? Or--more interesting--do you think it would make (have made) a difference?

[thaskalos]

Would it make a difference? Or--more interesting--do you think it would make (have made) a difference?
Traynor...may I ask you a simple question, since I consider you a serious student of the human condition?

What percentage of the viewing audience would you say doubts that there is any "live" singing going on in that piece?

[TJDave]

What percentage of the viewing audience would you say doubts that there is any "live" singing going on in that piece?

Singing?

[traynor]

Traynor...may I ask you a simple question, since I consider you a serious student of the human condition?

What percentage of the viewing audience would you say doubts that there is any "live" singing going on in that piece?

Probably most. I don't know that it makes a difference, if the piece was recorded from a performance of the same artist. I had the good fortune to witness Maria Conchita flubbing her lines in a canned presentation (that was supposedly "live") of Hazme Sentir on Raul Velasco's Siempre en Domingo many years ago. I didn't think it was particularly distressing, or that I was being short-changed in any way.

[traynor]

Another good example of circuit jamming. Why does Jeanine Mason have a flower in her mouth?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfDiMb_YbT8&feature=related

[thaskalos]

Probably most. I don't know that it makes a difference, if the piece was recorded from a performance of the same artist. I had the good fortune to witness Maria Conchita flubbing her lines in a canned presentation (that was supposedly "live") of Hazme Sentir on Raul Velasco's Siempre en Domingo many years ago. I didn't think it was particularly distressing, or that I was being short-changed in any way.

What I mean is...should that be the kind of reaction that a singer should try to elicit from a viewing audience? The idea that there might be no "real" singing taking place...even though the singer is waving her arms as if she is really singing live?

[TJDave]

Probably most. I don't know that it makes a difference, if the piece was recorded from a performance of the same artist.

It makes all the difference in the world.

Imagine watching Pavarotti lip sync.

[Clocker]

Would it make a difference? Or--more interesting--do you think it would make (have made) a difference?

I don't know. I quit watching after about a minute. I am not a fan of dance, that music was not to my taste, and the lady in the corner was distracting.

The thing about the recording just popped into my mind later as I was reading the posts here. I really don't care whether it makes a difference. I was amused by the concept of lip-syncing when no one can see your lips.

But to use a line from The Big Chill, "Sometimes you just have to let art... flow... over you."

[traynor]

Related topic:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150217-how-smart-is-your-subconscious

What one "sees" (consciously) may be dictated by non-conscious processes of which most are unaware.

[traynor]

It makes all the difference in the world.

Imagine watching Pavarotti lip sync.

I tried watching Pavarotti once.

[Boris]

At least she can sing a bit.

Also, Doesn't anyone find it just a little disturbing watching an 11-year-old prance around in eyeshadow and lipstick?
I felt a little dirty watching. Kinda gross.

[traynor]

What I mean is...should that be the kind of reaction that a singer should try to elicit from a viewing audience? The idea that there might be no "real" singing taking place...even though the singer is waving her arms as if she is really singing live?

I don't know if that is the kind of reaction that a singer should try to elicit from a viewing audience, because the reaction of each viewer could be different, dictated by his or her own perceptual biases. It is like Bruce Lee's half-beat--a strategy. Whether it "should" be used or not is another matter entirely.

I don't understand what difference it would make if the singer were "really" singing or not.

[rastajenk]

That dancing kid will probably grow up to be an insufferable head case eventually.

[Tom]

Imagine watching Pavarotti lip sync.
Imagine watching him EAT! :eek:

'scuza, scuza!

[snickster]

If you don't know who Sia is, you owe it to yourself to see what this young woman can do. It is--to say the very least--spectacular. Do NOT try to do what this young woman does. Like the bumper sticker on Katherine Jung's Grand Cherokee, "Don't follow me. You won't make it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILTZ8qZbNK0

What does she do? Act like a 10yo with ADT? Trust me I will not follow in her footsteps.

[TJDave]

I see where Bob Dylan has released an album of standards.

http://www.bobdylan.com/us/news/new-album-shadows-night-out-feb-3

Sinatra just rolled over.