Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" sung by octagenerian Aussie ladies
The video above is taken from the exhibition "no future" by Christoph Büchel, at the Sydney Biennale 2008:
'no future' transforms the gallery into a rehearsal space for a punk band of volunteers who are over the age of 80 years. in the space they rehearse the 1977 sex pistol's hit, 'god save the queen', originally called 'no future', which was banned from BBC, but still made its way to the top of the charts despite this. the band gathers for practice and performs in public whenever they please during the gallery's opening hours, during which their sessions are video-taped and recorded and will be released on DVD and CD at the end of the biennale.christoph büchel at the biennale of sydney 2008 (designboom, thanks Susannah Breslin)
Image: "Lead singer jill mckay practices 'god save the queen' with her band mates photo courtesy of lisa wiltse"
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...You know, these old biddies aren't *that* much older than Johhny Rotton. Scary thought, eh?
big deal, these so-called 'grannies' probably all grew up on crumpets and cookies with their grandma's .. in the 60's!! .. they're not that 'old school' old people.
up next: geriatric simon le bon and his twenty-five hit wonderband, The Wheelchairs..
Well, they have a more talented bass player than Sid, that's for sure.
there's a few of us original Punks in here... not many years to go until I get my free bus pass... I played Bass in a Punk band back in the seventies... well I played the root notes as hard and fast as I could and tried to finish at the same time as everybody else... the band name changed almost every performance... the one name we had longest was "The Jam Rags"... "The Toe Rags " had already been taken...
Hey #2 most "old school" old people are dead. Mick Jagger > 65 years old, and where are the Johnson Administration's members?
Wattaya want, centenarians? More than a million of those in the USA today, by the way. Personally I have yet to meet anybody over 60 who thought the invasion of Iraq was a good idea (this before it happened).
Tolstoy claimed revolutionaries were always the oldsters, who having been through life were most aware of how screwed up/ full of deceit society is, and who had the least to lose in the attempt at revolution, having already lived most of their life. They also had the experience necessary for a chance at success, and were also less likely therefore to attempt the politically impossible. They are also the most aware of how intertwined merit and luck are in a successful life.
The young however did not make good revolutionaries for Tolstoy as he felt that they were seeking and were occupied with advancement and success in life, and that therefore they favored stability, so as to both know where the rungs on the ladder up were and so that those wouldn't move around on them. The ambitious young had the most to lose from revolution, in Tolstoy's view.
IMO a better writer than theorist, but his point is still worth thinking about when contemplating geriatric punk rockers.
hilarious.....
that is so punk rock it makes me angry. Brava!
BEST. THING. EVAR!1!!!1
Except maybe for this.
I'd rather watch her in concert than the Sex Pistols reunion, that's for sure.
There's nothing incompatible with being in one's eighties and performing punk rock, but am I the only one who notices that they're doing it wrong?
Have these performers ever actually heard "God Save the Queen?" Maybe they have, and they have no experience playing their instruments. If so, I think they should have taken a few weeks to practice.
This song is simple, but it has a different rhythm from the tune they're playing. You don't have to be a virtuoso to play it correctly, but you do have to sync the instruments and the lyrics together to create something vaguely approaching the original. Otherwise, it's a different song. They may look cool performing it, but they don't sound right.
For reference, here's the Sex Pistols performing the song. Note the rhythm of the instruments and the vocals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z2M_hpoPwk
wow, John Markos O'Neill, i bet you do some amazing critiques of kids' kindergarten paintings too... "what, you call this a house? not only are your color choices unrealistic, but you've got the proportions all wrong" :)
anyway thanks Xeni, that vid just made my day so much happier.
Minamisan, LOL. I'm a little sensitive because I was a wannabe punk in my teenage years and it hurts to hear my anthem mutilated like that.
Nevertheless, a kindergarten painting isn't the same thing as a performance of a rock song. "God Save the Queen" is an easy song to perform passably. It would take very little talent, and a little practice to do so. I think these performers can do better.
If my three year old performed the song that poorly, I would not publish the videotape.