Monday 17 March 2014

Affirmation (Savage Garden)

This song does what it says on the title. It's an affirmation of beliefs, most of which I share (some I don't). Some of the beliefs are reminiscent of the "Wear Sunscreen" essay which was made into a UK number 1 single by fellow Australian Baz Luhrman, in particular the line about beauty magazines promoting low self-esteem. In any case, it's a beautiful, strong lyric, and it lends itself very well to a monologue. I first imagined performing it as a union address, then it hit me that it could make a good lecture. Don't ask me how, but I managed to sneak into a lecture hall and use their equipment to record it. I don't own the copyright for the images I have used. If any of the owners object to my use, please get in touch.


Saturday 1 March 2014

My First Night Without You (Cyndi Lauper)

The second single from Cyndi Lauper's third album "A Night to Remember" (25 years old this year). The album is a true gem, even though it had disappointing sales. Disappointing was also the performance of this single, which could only reach number 52 in the UK charts and missed the top 50 in the US as well, after the top 10 success of its predecessor "I Drove All Night".  It took 5 years for her to have another UK top 10 hit (her final so far) with the re-worked version "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in 1994.

I was moved by this song from the first time I ever heard it. It is so charged with emotion and delivered with such desperation that it gives me goosebumps. I should therefore have stayed well away from it for a PopMonologue, since my delivery could never match the rawness of Cyndi Lauper's. But it's such a great lyric, and it lends itself so well to a monologue, that I couldn't help myself. 

Recording yourself whilst driving, balancing an iPad on the dashboard and doing your best to make sure the sun hits your eyes while you say the line "the sun is in my eyes so I can't see" is not conducive to a great performance, as I was multitasking to the extreme. This was my second-best take (I managed to delete the best one by accident). Hope you like it.