Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Kumquat's on Abortion

---------------

As a rule, I generally don't follow many blogs besides those of my close friends -- and as many of my close friends don't even blog I have less of a time-conflict. If I read everyone's blog in the world, I wouldn't even have time to take a poo.

One blog that I do follow however is that of Amanda Palmer. Amanda is an independent artist and musician who generally does whatever the hell she wants with a blatant disregard for the rules. Even better -- she does it all with valid and supported reasons. One of her recent songs, Oasis, has come under incredible scrutiny from the FCC and BBC, and many stations refuse to air the song. The song makes light of some very serious subjects including rape and abortion. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics are matched with an upbeat, carnival-type tune -- the piece is fun and humorous. Well, not humorous to some it would seem.

Amanda's argument is that if you don't make light of all the darkness in the world -- then the darkness will win; it will take over. A valid point. Amanda argues that if the song was set to melancholy tune with a sad, lilting piano, the critics might not have had an issue. I love her thorough and very honest argument on the subject. Click here to read the blog.

Anyhoo, at a recent show in London, Amanda decided to attempt this sad, heartfelt version of Oasis. If you have 15 minutes, I recommend the two videos below. The first video is the music video, the original Oasis. The second video is Amanda's performance in London.

Oasis Music Video



Oasis performed in London





Amanda Palmer: "If you cannot sense the irony in this song, you're about two intelligence points above a kumquat"

--------------

No comments: