Episode 28. Alternate Universe Bel Canto (April Fool’s 2020)

Episode 28. Alternate Universe Bel Canto (April Fool’s 2020)

• 

• 

We need a laugh right now. At least I did, and that was the inspiration for today’s episode. I have long cherished the art of truly terrible singing, and this episode acknowledges that fixation, as well as celebrating some of its prime practitioners. I cover a wide range of genres, from opera to self-styled pop music. Along the way we hear such paragons of bad singing as Wing, Olive Middleton, Congress Woman Malinda Jackson Parker, Mari Lyn, Mrs. Miller, Sirach Van Bodegraven, The Shaggs, and (my personal favorite) Natalia de Andrade. These artists were never ones to be hemmed in by the confinements of good taste, solid vocal technique, or a composer’s intentions: they let their souls run rampant over their material, providing us with a unique experience in the process. Please accept this tribute in the spirit in which it is intended: respectfully, yet with equal parts shock, awe, disgust, and envy.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

I Want to Hold Your Hand (Wing)

The Phantom of the Opera (Wing)

Pace, pace, mio Dio (Olive Middleton)

Il Trovatore Final Scene (La Puma Opera Company featuring Olive Middleton)

• 

• 

There Goes My Everything (Mrs. Miller)

My Pal Foot Foot (The Shaggs)

Beveel gerust uw wegen (Sirach Van Bodegraven)

Nessun dorma (Sirach Van Bodegraven)

Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Anonymous Tenor)

Teneste la promessa… Addio del passato (Mari Lyn)

Summertime (Mari Lyn)

How Great Thou Art (Mari Lyn)

Cousin Mosquito Numbers 2 & 1 (Congress Woman Malinda Jackson Parker)

Je marche sur tous les chemins (Natalia de Andrade)

Caro nome (Natalia de Andrade)

• 

Sing (Wing)