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Sunday, October 07, 2007

 

Seriously speaking...

As part of my self-imposed UK survival training regime, I embarked on a small-scale investigation of the various aspects of British comedy. Many hours spread out over the course of the past few weeks were spent on various video sharing websites, all in the name of finding out what makes British people laugh. I present my findings so far:

All 4 seasons of Blackadder:

Rowan Atkinson is funny enough as the mostly silent character in the Mr Bean series, but that’s not the half of it. Whenever dialogue roles are thrust (*feeble attempt at British humour and innuendo*) upon him, he brings them to life with great panache and the entire Blackadder series showcases his thespian talents.

Laughing Matters:

More of Atkinson, this time presenting a pseudo-documentary on comedic elements with an air of academia.

Fry and Laurie:

2 actors who co-starred with Atkinson in Blackadder had their own show too.

Some techniques demonstrated here are double entendre (with comic timing), physical gags,absurdity and linguistic exaggeration.

Of course, the tried and tested method of making fun of Americans always gets a few laughs. This one too.

Glossary:

Comprehensive guide to Brit slang.



As to the direction of my further research, let us just say...

I have a cunning plan.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd - On The Hunt

As is always the case, music features highly in my free (and not-so-free) time entertainment. It’s a bit of a hunt to find the stuff that I like here in Manchester, with the night-life scene tending towards clubbing and the music scene thriving on indie-rock and DJs, all of which I do not care much for. Most of the pubs are nice places to be, especially those with cask ales, but as always there's the itch to hear live music that gets me going.

For the most part, Mancunians seem a friendly lot once I initiate conversation. The impression I get is that the majority of Asian students stick to their own flock and hardly socialise with the locals, with the result being that Mancunians reciprocate in kind. It’s hardly ideal but understandable, perhaps because similiar behaviour was also prevalent during my undergraduate days in NUS.

However, me being the only Singaporean so far does force me to come out and get over the Singaporean attitude towards strangers, in which even neighbours can pass each other without acknowledging each others' existence. Starting conversations out of nowhere is not unheard of, but remains the exception to the norm. Thankfully, I require little coercion in that respect, even less so after some English bitter. Once I demonstrate my reasonable command of the English language and dispel their notions of any communication barriers, new acquaintances are easy to make.

And so in my hunt for good music, I’ve had to go under the radar, away from the maddening crowd with promising results and meeting some great fellas along the way. Here are the bands I’ve caught in chronological order:

Junkhouse Dog Blues Band:

Chicago-style blues with a dash of rock influence. Frontman Junkhouse Dog blows some mean harp in the style of Little Walter.

Old Crow Medicine Show:

Bunch of young guys from Nashville, Tennessee who were passing through Manchester as part of their UK tour. They play the old-timey country and bluegrass styles with a good helping of pop sensibilities, memorable melodies and choruses which had the audience singing along and dancing to the hillbilly beats. In keeping with the bluegrass tradition they had huge vocal harmonies and of course, a blazing fiddle player.

Ernie’s Rhythm Section:

Yet another bunch of young guys, but this time from Manchester and they play the real old –school kind of blues, serving up foot-stomping boogies which pretty much brought the house down that night I went. Among their songs I counted some from Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Lightning Hopkins and Big Bill Broonzy.



Stay tuned, I’m sure there’s more to come.

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