GLEE-less, or "Why I don't like Glee"
So, I'm not a big fan of Glee. Actually, I really don't like it. And I've been trying to figure out why. It's got a lot of things that, if you know me, you'd say - Hey Matt - here's this show that's right up your alley! It's all about quasi a cappella music, with great harmonies. It's snarky, it's funny, and it's light-hearted and funny. You'd love it.
And you know what, I think that's a lot of why I don't like it. So close, yet so far. It's like when your parents get you a Christmas present that's close, but just off the mark, and they stand there with expectant eyes, staring at you as you open it, waiting to see the uncontrollable joy light up your face, and all you feel is this bitter disappointment. In them, for screwing it up, and in yourself, for expecting they wouldn't after all this time. You've been wanting this awesome new toy so much - it's just exactly the toy you want, it's got all the cool lights and bleeps and sound effects you want, and it transforms! And it's the only thing you want for Christmas, and they get you the cheap knockoff version. You want Transformers, and they get you Go-Bots. You want Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and they get you Immature Radioactive Samurai Slugs. You want A New Hope, and they get you The Phantom Menace.
It's so close to what I want, that when I see the parts that don't fit my dreams, it makes me despise the parts that do, all the more.
See, the other part to this, the part that explains the first part, is what I hate even more. Because it makes me sound like a hipster, which I think I might be.
The other part is, I've been a fan of a cappella music since forever, and I have always wanted to see a really awesome portrayal of it either on TV, or in a movie, like a cool movie about the a cappella groups at Penn, where there's approximately 3 groups per undergrad, and there's this new upstart group, and they want to make it big, and they're underdogs and out of their league, and in typical 80s teen group flick style, the whole thing is about their struggle to overcome, overlaid with musical montages of them working and struggling, and laughing at their pain. And there's a few love stories, with heartbreak along the way that threatens to derail the entire group. And in the end, there's this big competition that's full of amazing awesomeness by the good guys and the bad guys both, and the good guys squeak by to win in the last seconds, with maybe a grudging nod of appreciation by the bad guys. With overtones and flavors of movies like The Cutting Edge, or Satisfaction, or Breakin', or some battle of the bands thing I can't think of right now, but fits the gestalt of every inspirational underdog 80s movie there is. Throw in Karate Kid and Mighty Ducks while you're at it, but about a cappella music.
Hell, for a while, I even thought about turning my lack-of-start novel writing towards a screenplay for this myself. But I thought better of it. This was back in like '02 or '03. I was a grad student, going through a rough time, thinking of any career in the world other than science. What are ya gonna do?
And I loved the idea of it. I loved the thought that this thing that is a passion that I share with some minority underground gang could be brought into the limelight and shared and loved by all. And someone else went and did it, and it was hugely successful and popular, and not in the way that I wanted. And do you know what I thought about that? Did I say, "Hey, it's finally out there, it's finally happened and is becoming awesome and cool, and I don't have to hide my love for group singing and harmonizing and mashup songs anymore!". No. I said - "Shit, someone beat me to it.", and "Shit, they didn't do it the way I wanted it", and "Shit, they did it better than I could have", and "Shit, now if I do what I had envisioned, I'll look like a poser imitator", and worst of all, I said:
Shit man, I liked it before it was cool.
And I hate that Glee turned me into that guy. So I hate Glee, if not for it's own faults, then for the things I see as faults in myself.
Or maybe, I hate Glee because they randomly have orchestrated instrumental accompaniment from a 3 person high school student rock band on the spur of the moment for any song you can think of. And spontaneous duets out of nowhere, also with accompaniment from a dude on a drum set, and a bass guitar, and sometimes a keyboardist too. That shit takes man hours to plan, organize, and get right.
Yeah, maybe it's just that last part. Forget about the first part.
No worries,
Matt
And you know what, I think that's a lot of why I don't like it. So close, yet so far. It's like when your parents get you a Christmas present that's close, but just off the mark, and they stand there with expectant eyes, staring at you as you open it, waiting to see the uncontrollable joy light up your face, and all you feel is this bitter disappointment. In them, for screwing it up, and in yourself, for expecting they wouldn't after all this time. You've been wanting this awesome new toy so much - it's just exactly the toy you want, it's got all the cool lights and bleeps and sound effects you want, and it transforms! And it's the only thing you want for Christmas, and they get you the cheap knockoff version. You want Transformers, and they get you Go-Bots. You want Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and they get you Immature Radioactive Samurai Slugs. You want A New Hope, and they get you The Phantom Menace.
It's so close to what I want, that when I see the parts that don't fit my dreams, it makes me despise the parts that do, all the more.
See, the other part to this, the part that explains the first part, is what I hate even more. Because it makes me sound like a hipster, which I think I might be.
The other part is, I've been a fan of a cappella music since forever, and I have always wanted to see a really awesome portrayal of it either on TV, or in a movie, like a cool movie about the a cappella groups at Penn, where there's approximately 3 groups per undergrad, and there's this new upstart group, and they want to make it big, and they're underdogs and out of their league, and in typical 80s teen group flick style, the whole thing is about their struggle to overcome, overlaid with musical montages of them working and struggling, and laughing at their pain. And there's a few love stories, with heartbreak along the way that threatens to derail the entire group. And in the end, there's this big competition that's full of amazing awesomeness by the good guys and the bad guys both, and the good guys squeak by to win in the last seconds, with maybe a grudging nod of appreciation by the bad guys. With overtones and flavors of movies like The Cutting Edge, or Satisfaction, or Breakin', or some battle of the bands thing I can't think of right now, but fits the gestalt of every inspirational underdog 80s movie there is. Throw in Karate Kid and Mighty Ducks while you're at it, but about a cappella music.
Hell, for a while, I even thought about turning my lack-of-start novel writing towards a screenplay for this myself. But I thought better of it. This was back in like '02 or '03. I was a grad student, going through a rough time, thinking of any career in the world other than science. What are ya gonna do?
And I loved the idea of it. I loved the thought that this thing that is a passion that I share with some minority underground gang could be brought into the limelight and shared and loved by all. And someone else went and did it, and it was hugely successful and popular, and not in the way that I wanted. And do you know what I thought about that? Did I say, "Hey, it's finally out there, it's finally happened and is becoming awesome and cool, and I don't have to hide my love for group singing and harmonizing and mashup songs anymore!". No. I said - "Shit, someone beat me to it.", and "Shit, they didn't do it the way I wanted it", and "Shit, they did it better than I could have", and "Shit, now if I do what I had envisioned, I'll look like a poser imitator", and worst of all, I said:
Shit man, I liked it before it was cool.
And I hate that Glee turned me into that guy. So I hate Glee, if not for it's own faults, then for the things I see as faults in myself.
Or maybe, I hate Glee because they randomly have orchestrated instrumental accompaniment from a 3 person high school student rock band on the spur of the moment for any song you can think of. And spontaneous duets out of nowhere, also with accompaniment from a dude on a drum set, and a bass guitar, and sometimes a keyboardist too. That shit takes man hours to plan, organize, and get right.
Yeah, maybe it's just that last part. Forget about the first part.
No worries,
Matt