Re: Kurt Hummel Snark & Bark Thread--Part 3

[Shinra17]

he can't help but convey emotion in subtle way with his singing.

Chris is the one who immerses himself the most in the lyrics and the meaning of a song and he uses the same talent he uses as an actor to deliver them. In French, we use the word "interpretation" (which is a false friend) to define this aspect of a song, the part about catching the emotion of the song, I can't really find a good translation for it, it's something completely unrelated to the technical aspect of a song. For me, he's the only one in the cast who can give emotions with a song without technical performance, like the beginning of "Perfect".

Anyway, welcome on the board! ^^

I love it that because Chris himself is having a good and big day with SBL premiere, even Snark and Bark thread is positive today. I take it that Chris' fans are generally a lot like the image and the person he is: understanding, funny, patient and intelligent. Our fandoms define us a lot as a person. I like to be Chris' fan and people in this forum are all great. Positive overload.

I think it has more to do with the fact we're discussing in the wrong thread though...

[Delight]

I love it that because Chris himself is having a good and big day with SBL premiere, even Snark and Bark thread is positive today. I take it that Chris' fans are generally a lot like the image and the person he is: understanding, funny, patient and intelligent. Our fandoms define us a lot as a person. I like to be Chris' fan and people in this forum are all great. Positive overload.

I think it has more to do with the fact we're discussing in the wrong thread though...

You're right

We're all too full of excitement and positive feelings over the SBL's premiere and reception to pay much attention to the aggravations that Glee had subjected us to over and over again this season.

All said and done, the importance of SBL>>>>>> Glee. However, I'm grateful that Glee had helped to jump-start Chris's career, and that it has a cast and crew who are genuinely nice and supportive of Chris.

[ColferInspired]

I hope after this day Fox realises this is one star that should be thrust forward in the show, along with Kurt.

Chris has the focus of the fandom and the media now. His film is a hit.

They can get a lot of mileage out of this. So can Chris, but knowing him he will stay his humble and lovely self.

I love this fandom. This a wonderful place, and I am glad I am here.

This place keeps me sane.

[fantastica]

guy if you want to gush about chris please do it in the appreciation thread, so that everybody can enjoy your gushing. this is a thread reserved for something I am about to post here, and lots of gentle souls won't bother to come over here to read your love for Chris.

ok now the "nasties", hehe...

Australian singer Gotye says he is getting used to fame after his song, "Somebody That I Used to Know," rocketed to the top of the US charts.

But Gotye -- real name Wally de Backer, from Melbourne -- has revealed some of the fame fallout has frustrated him.

While the version from TV hit "Glee" gave the song a huge boost, Gotye has mixed feelings about the rendition.

"They did such a faithful arrangement of the instrumentals, but the vocals were that pop 'Glee' style. It made it sound dinky and wrong."
source

In another article, Gotye voiced a similar sentiment, just different words about Glee's version:

"They did such a faithful arrangement of the instrumentals but the vocals were that pop Glee style, ultra dry, sounded pretty tuned and the rock has no real sense, like it's playing to you from a cardboard box,'' he said.
source

can't argue w/ the man who wrote the song and had a certain vision for this song. whatever the case, the glee version did not live up to his expectations or standards.

[red texta]

I can't say Gotye is wrong because I think many of us have issues with the way Glee produces songs but I do think it lacks grace and humility to let the press know about your misgivings. Sure it's his song, but he can make a bland inoffensive remark or make a joke by grinning and saying "naturally I prefer my own version". I respect the singers/songwriters who have gone "No, f*ck you Glee" much more than the ones who agree to have their songs covered and then complain the cover isn't good enough.

[Delight]

If Gotye was this upset over the Glee cover of his song, just imagine how Christina Aguilera would've felt...

I've only just listened to the original version of STIUTK a couple of days ago. The Glee version does lack a certain something that the original version had. Can't quite put my finger on what it is, exactly, but I think I have a vague idea what Gotye was trying to get at.

[Buenos]

by red texta on 4/23/2012, 2:32 am
I can't say Gotye is wrong because I think many of us have issues with the way Glee produces songs but I do think it lacks grace and humility to let the press know about your misgivings. Sure it's his song, but he can make a bland inoffensive remark or make a joke by grinning and saying "naturally I prefer my own version". I respect the singers/songwriters who have gone "No, f*ck you Glee" much more than the ones who agree to have their songs covered and then complain the cover isn't good enough.

I have mixed feelings about what Gotye said: On the one hand it is his song and I actually agree with his assessment of the song's cover. OTOH, Gotye has been enough around the block and he knew damn well what Glee was going to probably do to his song, and he made his pact because he knew the cover could reach potentially new fans. Like Red texta said, Gotye could have stuck to his guns and refused to license out his song if he felt they wouldn't do it justice, or at least make a pointedly neutral statement(which would still have gotten the message he didn't like it) AS it was , he pretty much dissed Darren Criss's singing, no way to get around it.

[tanita_mors]

by red texta on 4/23/2012, 2:32 am
I can't say Gotye is wrong because I think many of us have issues with the way Glee produces songs but I do think it lacks grace and humility to let the press know about your misgivings. Sure it's his song, but he can make a bland inoffensive remark or make a joke by grinning and saying "naturally I prefer my own version". I respect the singers/songwriters who have gone "No, f*ck you Glee" much more than the ones who agree to have their songs covered and then complain the cover isn't good enough.

I have mixed feelings about what Gotye said: On the one hand it is his song and I actually agree with his assessment of the song's cover. OTOH, Gotye has been enough around the block and he knew damn well what Glee was going to probably do to his song, and he made his pact because he knew the cover could reach potentially new fans. Like Red texta said, Gotye could have stuck to his guns and refused to license out his song if he felt they wouldn't do it justice, or at least make a pointedly neutral statement(which would still have gotten the message he didn't like it) AS it was , he pretty much dissed Darren Criss's singing, no way to get around it.

I completely agree with you, but that still doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the diss at "Mister Perfect Singer, God's gift to music" Darren Criss.

[Buenos]

I completely agree with you, but that still doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the diss at "Mister Perfect Singer, God's gift to music" Darren Criss.

Double standard of mine: I admit I can't stand Katey Perry (apology in advance to the Katy Perry fans) so Glee's covers of her songs (Teenage Dream, IKAG, Fireworks, Last Friday Night, etc) while most have been straight covers are OK with me....they are far from classics to put it mildly. But with artists and singers I do care about (Gotye, Prince, Michael Jackson, Young the Giant, Adele, Neon Trees, etc.) I sometimes cringe with what Glee does with their music. Realistically they can't make fresh new arrangements every time, but they could stop the auto tuning and the overproduction at time. What I realize is that some of the times they do that to disguise the weakness of a voice that isn't really suited for the song they are singing.

Which gets me back to Darren. I enjoy Darren's voice, it's a nice pop voice. IMO Darren's voice is not a particularly strong voice, it has practically no vibrato, and there is little subtlety or nuance to his singing: it has a limited range but it's OK. No one, not even Lea Michelle can sing everything. What is annoying to me is that it is used so often for every type of song which really doesn't suit him on the show. The overproduction highlights that somtimes in unflattering ways, the deliberate electronic voice in "Hungry like the wolf" WTF?? The whole comparison with Kurt in "I am Unicorn" was such a joke because Darren's rendition of "Something's Coming" was vocally a very weak audition piece, Broadway is definitely not his strong point. Yet the song was auto tuned enough and the setup was such that the Directors were creaming in their pants (one of them LITERALLY-Beistie). The WSS duets with Lea Michelle were embarrassing because she blew him vocally out of the water. Kurt's vocal number "I'm the greatest star" was more a genuinely Broadway type of production that showed he could handle vocally the part , for as much as people were saying it didn't showcase his "masculinity", though IMO his work on the scaffolding made that point moot. So I do find so many solos/leads for Darren/Blaine do come at Chris (and Cory/Mark/Kevin's) expense because somehow we are supposed to buy into the myth that Darren/Blaine is such an exceptional singer/performer.

Observations like Gotye (as borderline tactless as it was) does bring out that outside of the Glee world (and the entertainment websites that pander/gush about celebrities) there really hasn't been critical acclaim for most of the Glee songs/singing, including Darren Criss and don't drink all the Darren koolaide.

I love Chris's voice, I think it's unique and has special qualities, but I get frustrated because he doesn't get the type of care for arrangements and singing despite being one of the lead characters of the show. He evoked best the spirit of Michael Jackson in "Black and White" and yet he gets a couple of verses onscreen on the show as sort of a throwaway feature.

End of vent!!

[tanita_mors]

Again, I agree with you. I think certain singers are very provilaged on this show and DC is definitely one of them. I'm someone who listens to rock music and metal and some Broadway, so I don't really know most of the songs that end up on Glee, because they are to pop or current for me to know. I mostly judge the song as it is without listening to the original. But those that I do know, I give more rigorous critic.

I have noticed that DC gets a lot of support for his voice - both in arrangements that will suit him better, lowering of the key or loud background music to distract from bad vocals not to mention he constantly get layered vocals which make his voice seam fuller then it is. While his voice is pleasant and OK, as you said it lacks real power unless he is shouting and he still has problems with holding notes and his vibrato. His versions of WSS songs are very laughable and the only reason Chris didn't sing Maria or any other song form it was because it would show so much more. They need to keep this illusion that Blaine is the most talented person in ND after Rachel. But the sad thing is, as much as his voice is popular and commercial it's also very limited and most of his songs sound the same and are sung in the same way. He has one style he is good with (sort of neo-soul) and everything else sounds mediocre at best.

And he sings too damn much. Why is he singing in episodes he doesn't have a plotline and why isn't Kurt singing in those he does. Half of his numbers have been throwaway IMO (Bills Bills Bills, Silly Love Songs - should have been sung by Kurt, Don't You Want Me, Animal (pointless song when you look at context), Misery, that hideous thing at the prom, Last Friday Night, Perfect (again the context), Extraordinary Merry Christmas, Wanna Be Starting Something (I like that song, but why was he doing it at the very start of the episode), 3 seconds in Heart and he sings more then Kurt in LS, Cough Syrup (another song of his I like, but should have been sung by someones else because it had no plot relevance to Blaine, His solo in Saturday Night Glee-ver.

Don't get me started on his show faces during songs and dramatic scenes.

[Glorfindel]

Ashley Fink: I'm Not Coming Back To 'Glee'
Fans were shocked when Lauren Zizes quit New Directions in the season three premiere given the fact she'd become such an integral character throughout Glee's sophomore season. At the time, creator Ryan Murphy promised that while actress Ashley Fink's episode order had been reduced, she "has a major story with Chris Colfer" coming up.

Well, that never materialized and Lauren has been completely M.I.A. from Glee since October's Asian F. And according to Ashley, fans won't get "Zized" again this season -- or probably ever.


"It is what it is," Fink told me at Saturday's Struck Bu Lightning premiere. "Lauren's somewhere in that school, she's just not on camera or being talked about [laughs]. She's involved in activities that aren't televised."

And no one is sadder about this turn of events that Lauren. "Of course I miss me on Glee. I miss everybody. I miss the fun experience that show is. But Glee is very much a fly by the seat of your pants [operation] in the way that best laid plans never quite come together. They have so many [characters] to take care of and I think once they made the decision that all these characters were going to graduate, it shifted the way this season was going to go. I haven't heard anything from Ryan, but I visited [while they were filming] prom, so I got to see everybody, which was great."

Sadly those hoping to see Lauren lurking in the background will be sorely disappointed. When I asked if she snuck into a crowd shot while hanging around set, Ashley laughed. "No! Are you kidding me? I didn't have to be wearing a dress so I didn't wear one."

But even that couldn't suppress Lauren's ear-to-ear smile on Saturday night, as Chris Colfer ("he's the cheese to my macaroni") premiered Struck By Lightning, which he stars in and wrote, at The Tribeca Film Festival. "It's amazing, he's a 20 year old savant," she cooed about her bestie. "I worked the hours of Glee dude, I didn't have time to do anything but sleep, but he was casting a movie and writing a book in between performances. It's crazy. I'm so proud of him."
The Insider

Not sure where to post this, but I guess since I want to snark about RM not fulfilling his promise of the fun storyline of Kurt and Lauren, this is the place.

[Glorfindel]

Oops, so the story isn't true?

[fantastica]

ashley is not officially "leaving". she just hasn't been called back and they gave her no hint of wanting her to return. same as Max Adler I guess. chances are neither of them will be back this or next year.

btw Marie if this is not for venting you can post it in the "gossip world" thread of hte community board. that's where we can post non-kurt/chris/spoiler related glee stuff or other celebrity gossips.

this board is growing so big it's hard to know where to post/look anymore. and our ultra-enthusiastic Shinra is ready to split more threads because he loves threads, threads, and more threads! yes Shinra I am here venting about your multiple-thread syndrom!

[Shinra17]

^ catty lady begins to realize what a forum is about...

[Buenos]

One of the things that just getting here I like is the honesty, this is a Chris Colfer fan forum and doesn't pretend to be anything but that.

I was in a private invitation only discussion board ostensibly set up as a Glee discussion board, with all the bells and whistles, includes such "rules" as not bashing or ragging on any subset of fans, fandoms, others sites, etc, etc. Sounds great, no??

It was set up by a couple of Darren/Blaine stanners, fair enough.

The problem was these stanners were also the moderators so that apparently bashing of everyone including Kurt fans was allowed but no criticism or negative comments of anything remotely related to Darren/blaine was allowed.

Someone , for example, could say "Get the fuck Finn off my screen" or talk about Finn's "sh***tty dancing".. and that was OK (moderators themselves would actually say it) but if someone said "Blaine's fashions of bowties and high water pants look ridiculous" would elicit a "stern" Moderator warning.
It was crazy...looney Blaine/darren Stanners could get off on anyone but just calling Matt Bomer sarcastically a "megastar" would elicit reprisals. It was their board , their rules, I get it. But just call yourself a Blaine/Darren fan forum and stop the pretense that you are a general discussion board, that's all.

[sahhar]

One of the things that just getting here I like is the honesty, this is a Chric Colfer fan forum and doesn't pretend to be anything but that.

I was in a private invitation only discussion board ostensibly set up as a Glee discussion board, with all the bells and whistles, includes such "rules" as not bashing or ragging on any subset of fans, fandoms, others sites, etc, etc. Sounds great, no??

It was set up by a couple of Darren/Blaine stanners, fair enough.

The problem was these stanners were also the moderators so that apparently bashing of everyone including Kurt fans was allowed but no criticism or negative comments of anything remotely related to Darren/blaine was allowed.

Someone , for example, could say "Get the fuck Finn off my screen" or talk about Finn's "sh***tty dancing".. and that was OK (moderators themselves would actually say it) but if someone said "Blaine's fashions of bowties and high water pants look ridiculous" would elicit a "stern" Moderator warning.
It was crazy...looney Blaine/darren Stanners could get off on anyone but just calling Matt Bomer sarcastically a "megastar" would elicit reprisals. It was their board , their rules, I get it. But just call yourself a Blaine/Darren fan forum and stop the pretense that you are a general discussion board, that's all.

That's exactly what I used to go through on every Glee forum. I'm so glad I found this place .

[Jellyrolls]

@buenos, this definitely is a Chris forum, and you're right, we don't pretend to be anything else.

This board works in part because we have this snark and bark thread to go off when something really bothers us. It's nice to have a place where we can vent and go off, and get things off our chests.

And a big part of why this board works is because the posters here are respectful of each other. While we do offer critical opinions on the show or performances on other threads during the regular course of a converstation, if we need to go into more depth, or get a bit catty, we bring it here. This allows us to vent away in a specific thread with very few limits, but also keeps the rest of the board available for those posters who want to post and read about Chris, but don't want to see the negativity about others.

I have to say that I find it a bit bewildering to see that so many communities out there are so protective of Blarren lately. I don't really understand why critical and/or semi-bashing comments are fine about others are fine, but when it's about Blarren, the mods step in. I don't quite understand why so many people have Blarren up on an untouchable pedestal.

[Buenos]

@buenos, this definitely is a Chris forum, and you're right, we don't pretend to be anything else.
I have to say that I find it a bit bewildering to see that so many communities out there are so protective of Blarren lately. I don't really understand why critical and/or semi-bashing comments are fine about others are fine, but when it's about Blarren, the mods step in. I don't quite understand why so many people have Blarren up on an untouchable pedestal.

My own theory on it is that they truly don't see Blaine/Darren as part of the Glee universe/world but simply as a mega star who stands apart from all the other characters. They can't enjoy anything on the show that is not Blaine related, so they are fans first and foremost of Blaine/Darren, and really don't give a flying fig of the show itself. (Other fans sense this and read their sh*t and lash out, sometimes pretty brutally and crudely I admit) As a big time Kurt fan, I *get* that not everyone else likes Kurt or gets his appeal. I have friends who don't like his acting or singing nor his screen presence. OK, fair enough.

With Blaine fans, they seem to find it *inconceivable* that Blaine/Darren's appeal is not universal nor an absolute truth, therefore all criticisms is rationalized as hate or contempt. So it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that they are isolated from the rest of the Glee community so they think that makes them even more *special* and entitled to protect his reputation. It's like how they glibly ignore that Amber and Naya and Lea have sold more copies of songs this year than Darren, but as soon as Darren has a big hit on the show it *proves* that Darren sells like hotcakes and the show has to give him solos/leads, etc. It's not stanning or liking him that I mind, but the stunning lack of self awareness that comes across as , shall we say, *interesting.*

Typical is the bruhaha over Gotye's remarks on Darren's take of his song.
Gotye's remarks were a shock to them because the only way they can "rationalize" it is to say that Gotye is a petty asshole who is jealous of Darren for having the "better" version of the song and refuses to acknowledge that Blaine/Darren pushed Gotye's version to the top. (never mind that Gotye's song has gotten plenty of radio air time, he came out on SNL, there is another cover currently that is top 10 with Gotye's version and may end up selling more than Glee's version, etc, etc)

[fantastica]

^ THIS. hay you need to post more!

coming to this fandom (i have never been to one before) truly made me realize what the word "fanatic" means. Usually I reserve this word for religious fanatics, but seeing some of the fandom reacts I would say it works the same way. sometimes being a stan made you totally blind and not understand the other points of view. I admit many kurtsies are as protective of kurt/chris as many blarren stans but as kurt fans most of us seem to accept the fact that he's quite divisive character and it's not everybody's cup of tea. In fact I like him precisely because he's quite unusal and not a typical hearthrobe you see in high school music x.0. But some Blarren stans can't accept the fact that everybody's taste varies and nobody is loved by EVERYONE. they went on a crucade to either convert everybody who disagree w/ them or harshly punish them for speaking their minds. this is so similar to the way some governments work! It made me appreciate freedom so much more, and love this forum so much more.

hte interesting thing is, when I was on GF I had more urge to vent, but couldn't. now I can do it freely, I don't feel like saying much because sometimes reading other's similar opinions is enough for me to let out the steam.

[fantastica]

ETA: hay why did my post appear TWICE!

[Shinra17]

^ THIS. hay you need to post more!

It's not a reason for you to post twice the same post

[Jellyrolls]

I agree with a lot of what you said here, Buenos. There is a definite portion of this fandom who think that Blarren walks on water, and is the best thing on Glee. And you're right about the Blarren stans saying that anyone who dares to say anything negative (even constructive criticism) about Blarren is a hater. They just can't handle any negative remark about Blarren.

It's really ashame that RIB either doesn't see or ignores the fact that the way they have pushed Blarren to the forefront has been so detrimental to most of the fandom, and also to the general well-being of the show. The constant reminders on the show of how wonderful Blaine is has gotten beyond ridiculous. We're constantly told/shown that Blaine is Mr. Wonderful--the best thing to happen to the New Directions. Everyone loves him. Every time he sings, he's spectacular. That's what Glee wants us to think.

But problem is that I don't think that about Blarren. If you take out the Glee project kids, and just consider the main guys (Kurt, Finn, Artie, Mike, Puck, Sam, and Blaine), in my opinion, Darren is probably the second weakest actor in the bunch (only Mike is weaker in my opinion), and lumped in the middle singing wise (honestly, I like Kurt and Artie's voices the best because they have a more unique sound--Finn, Puck, Sam, and Blaine are all about the same to me, and Mike is the weakest).

I've said many times, that I wouldn't mind Darren on the show if he sang half of what he sings, and wasn't paired pretty much exclusively with the strongest actor on the show. I said to Fantastica and Catt24 the other day after seeing SBL that most of my animosity towards Darren stems from the fact that I feel that his being paired pretty much exclusively with Chris on the show has been detrimental to Chris' role on the show, and his career.

[Jellyrolls]

^ THIS. hay you need to post more!

It's not a reason for you to post twice the same post

That's why Kim has so many posts on this board. She posts everything twice

[fantastica]

^ sometimes this board gets defective and replicates everything twice!

[Jellyrolls]

^ sometimes this board gets defective and replicates everything twice!

It's not the board. It's the user That's what an IT person would say, anyways.

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