Monday, January 18, 2010

The weekend was both very busy and very quiet. Saturday was the crazy bit- I took the twins up for some skiing , had a couple of English lessons to teach and just generally kept going all day.
Then on Sunday, I was up early (5:30am!) and took JP to the Geneva airport. (He's now in Ouagadougou- he'll attend a conference and then get some fieldwork in. He'll be back in a month).

After that, the day quieted right down. My Big Plan was to go see 'Avatar'. We'd tried to go last week, but had arrived only to find it was completely sold out, even though it was playing on two big screens at the multiplex! I ended up watching "Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard" with the twins and their friend we'd brought along. The movie was not All That, as you can guess just from the title. And I'm thinking of sending the following letter to the director:
Dear Luc Besson,
Contrary to what you may believe, that was not a 'cliffhanger'. It was just half a mediocre film.
As a result, I'd like a refund of 50% of my ticket.
On second thought, I'd like a full refund. Hearing "Poker Face" interpreted by the Minimoys Band gave me a bad, bad headache.
Sincerely,
Beth

I thought we'd have better luck this week, as I cleverly went online Sunday morning to buy our tickets for "Avatar" (in 3-D and in English! ) online. But all of the English language showings were sold out. Every one of them all day long. We ended up cleaning the house a bit, which was NOT a satisfactory substitute. I'm afraid it ended up being a rather dull day...

So, that was the weekend. Now it's Monday and I've been doing laundry and ...cleaning the house some more. It's the day I usually change all the sheets and clean the bathrooms. And today I did so while singing "Walk This Way" the whole time.
I don't even like that song.
In fact, I think I've cordially hated it since it was played 24/7 on the radio when it came out in 1976 . That's how it seemed to my 10 year old ears, anyway. I think they may have also occasionally played "Afternoon Delight", a song which actually makes me vomit a little. (Watch out when you click the link, btw- the song exerpt starts up right away and it's NOT for the fainthearted.)

Anyway, WTW is a song that, like it or hate it, everyone has heard. You, dear reader, can most likely hum the opening bars, as they make up the second most recognised guitar riff in history. (First place must go to "Smoke on the Water", of course)
But do you know the words?
I do.
All of them, I'm sorry to report.
This is due to the fact that, as a result of intense lobbying by the guitarists, my kids' rock band (which still doesn't have a name, btw) is covering the song. They are all really much more into alt rock /pop punk, but that famous riff, plus the long guitar solo at the end thoroughly won over Antoine (lead guitar) and Max (subordinate follower guitar). They carried the day and now Valentine is busy learning the rapid-fire lyrics. She's had to change them around a bit to make them girl-appropriate and less obscene and has done quite a bit of work. Which means I've heard the song over and over and over and over again as she plays it and struggles with the words.

Me? I'm really much more of a "Sound of Music" kind of person..... lyrics like "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" just seem to suit me much better than ones that proclaim that "you ain't seen nothin till you're down on a muffin". ..

5 comments:

Joy said...

MDR!! Oh, Beth, that is awful, indeed! I was going to ask if they couldn't at least pick a really good Aerosmith song, but really, are there any really good ones out there?!?

My most sincere condolences for your ear worm.

P.S. My husband has asked me to inform you that he used to play "Walk This Way" over and over again on the jukebox while he played video games at the arcade. To each their own, I guess! :D

Ksam said...

What is with this film being sold out all the time? A group of us have tried to go see it in VO here in Paris twice now, and it's been sold out both times. I just don't get it - the film has been out for over six weeks now!

Beth said...

Joy- Thanks for the sympathy. And tell your dh that I don't scorn him for his past mad love for Aerosmith. Back in 1976, I was a hard-core ABBA fan, so I am definitely living in a glass house, musically speaking

Ksam- First off, I have to totally acknowledge the fact that is your very funny "open letters" in your own blog that gave me the idea to try a couple of my own. So, thanks for that.
As for the mega-hyper-extra-super popularity of "Avatar" in English in France....I have no freaking clue. I, too, have definitely been caught by surprise. I keep promising the twins that I'll take them, but I'm not sure if I'll EVER manage to get tickets!

Teacher Mommy said...

Oh dear. Oh dear me. That would be hard to bear indeed.

Avatar is definitely worth seeing in the theatre and in 3D, so keep trying! The plot is a bit cheesy at times, but then it is James Cameron. I enjoyed it, though, and even J thought it was pretty good, despite being all sci-fi and three hours long!

oreneta said...

I went through a period where the folks I hung out with were BIG into Aerosmith...I even went to a concert! I've only been to about three in my whole life, so just imagine!

Had forgotten about that altogether. Now I have to go and override the classical the Man is playing and listen to Walk this Way...

Goodness gracious