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Global Telly Talk
Classic UK TV
"Beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly": All things Victoria Wood
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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 253637" data-attributes="member: 23"><p><span style="color: #000000"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 26px">Victoria Wood Live</span></strong></p><p></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px">(continued)</span></p></span></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #000000"></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">The second song is perhaps Vic’s most controversial: <em>Alternative Tango.</em> It’s also, arguably her finest moment in audience manipulation. The entire structure of the song is designed to first shock in order for the following comedy to have its full impact to the relieved audience. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">She begins by saying that she’d seen a list of insults people weren’t allowed to say in the workplace anymore, which included one she liked to use, so she’d written a song trying to say it another way. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">The song begins with words she never wanted to say or was never keen on. Now this is the trickiest part of the song, because the opening lines include two racial epithets. I found it a little awkward to get past, and I can imagine some wouldn’t get beyond it at all. The very enthusiastic audience doesn’t respond at all, and there follows a few moments of what would be stunned silence if Vic wasn’t singing. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">It’s a very bold move on her part. I’m sure she would have not only known how the audience would react, but actually counted on it. She then gets to the crux of the song:</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">This gets a huge bellow of laughter from the audience, not only anticipating the upcoming rhyming word, but also hugely relieved that it’s more socially acceptable than the words used at the beginning. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">She could have built up to using the word in question so that it was the one that caused shock. But it becomes far funnier if the audience is a little nervous and then let off the hook. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">But there’s also a message in there about censorship. Vic feels language is important, but she also feels she doesn’t need a list to tell her what is and is not acceptable. In her view, she can say what she likes and take the consequences. And the point of her song is: when there are words that are genuinely offensive and which she doesn’t like (but chooses not to censor) where’s the harm in saying “w*nker” every once in a while. Where will it end? </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Naturally, she comes up with creative and hilarious ways to say the same word without saying it, with lines like: </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Or…</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">It’s one of her funniest songs yet, as evidenced by how often Vic has to vamp on the piano, waiting for laughter from one line to die down before singing the next. But underneath it is a very real anger at how arbitrary censorship could impact the way she communicates:</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">It comes across that the message is one in which Victoria believes, and which she feels could be genuinely troublesome. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">It seems, she was right to feel that way. The concert is currently available on iPlayer, having been shown on TV over Christmas but the BBC have taken it upon themselves to remove the song. Yes - a song condemning censorship has been censored. Small wonder Vic has said that she felt the BBC didn’t trust her. It’s an insult to a great talent. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Nevertheless, the audience at the Royal Albert Hall got it. They went along for the ride and she looked like she had enormous fun taking them on that journey, playing it for all she’s worth. </span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 253637, member: 23"] [COLOR=#000000][CENTER][B][SIZE=7]Victoria Wood Live[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][CENTER][SIZE=4](continued)[/SIZE] [/CENTER] [SIZE=4] [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]The second song is perhaps Vic’s most controversial: [I]Alternative Tango.[/I] It’s also, arguably her finest moment in audience manipulation. The entire structure of the song is designed to first shock in order for the following comedy to have its full impact to the relieved audience. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]She begins by saying that she’d seen a list of insults people weren’t allowed to say in the workplace anymore, which included one she liked to use, so she’d written a song trying to say it another way. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]The song begins with words she never wanted to say or was never keen on. Now this is the trickiest part of the song, because the opening lines include two racial epithets. I found it a little awkward to get past, and I can imagine some wouldn’t get beyond it at all. The very enthusiastic audience doesn’t respond at all, and there follows a few moments of what would be stunned silence if Vic wasn’t singing. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]It’s a very bold move on her part. I’m sure she would have not only known how the audience would react, but actually counted on it. She then gets to the crux of the song: [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]This gets a huge bellow of laughter from the audience, not only anticipating the upcoming rhyming word, but also hugely relieved that it’s more socially acceptable than the words used at the beginning. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]She could have built up to using the word in question so that it was the one that caused shock. But it becomes far funnier if the audience is a little nervous and then let off the hook. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]But there’s also a message in there about censorship. Vic feels language is important, but she also feels she doesn’t need a list to tell her what is and is not acceptable. In her view, she can say what she likes and take the consequences. And the point of her song is: when there are words that are genuinely offensive and which she doesn’t like (but chooses not to censor) where’s the harm in saying “w*nker” every once in a while. Where will it end? [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]Naturally, she comes up with creative and hilarious ways to say the same word without saying it, with lines like: [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]Or… [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]It’s one of her funniest songs yet, as evidenced by how often Vic has to vamp on the piano, waiting for laughter from one line to die down before singing the next. But underneath it is a very real anger at how arbitrary censorship could impact the way she communicates: [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]It comes across that the message is one in which Victoria believes, and which she feels could be genuinely troublesome. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]It seems, she was right to feel that way. The concert is currently available on iPlayer, having been shown on TV over Christmas but the BBC have taken it upon themselves to remove the song. Yes - a song condemning censorship has been censored. Small wonder Vic has said that she felt the BBC didn’t trust her. It’s an insult to a great talent. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][/SIZE] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]Nevertheless, the audience at the Royal Albert Hall got it. They went along for the ride and she looked like she had enormous fun taking them on that journey, playing it for all she’s worth. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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Global Telly Talk
Classic UK TV
"Beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly": All things Victoria Wood
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