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Broadcast TV becomes a no man’s land right around the holidays, some old fashioned show celebrating the arts manages to sneak in and show us very elegant people in tuxedos, which for those of us who don’t take off after a few days Our pajamas.Following last week’s fantastic pre-Christmas Paul Simon tribute special, CBS returns Wednesday night for its 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors’, providing the beautiful illusion that DC is a functional city where scrappy rockers, gospel singers and mezzo-sopranos can cross the aisles like their political counterparts, and that we really are a civilized nation, among other things. Our shared appreciation for art, besides many things. Just don’t break the spell by leaving news after the fact.
For the second December in a row, we do live in a country where the sitting president can actually show up at arts-based ceremonies — and in a country where the vice president knows what to say, and can say with him, “Midnight Train to Georgia” – not fanciful, anyway. Bidens and Harrises are preparing an award U2, amy grant, Gladys Knight, composer-conductor Tania Leon and George Clooney, and the fact that the first four of those five this year are musicians gives the show some natural advantages, in terms of the chances of an all-star cover song Word. (Still, even Clooney was given a musical number as part of his tribute, as Diane Reeves popped up to serenade the actor-director with “How High Is the Moon,” which she His “Good Night and Good Luck” sang the standard in the movie 17 years ago.)
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As the musical tribute rolls out, U2 feels like the least served of the awardees, though that’s not entirely the producer’s fault. As previously mentioned, Mary J. Blige was supposed to sing “One,” which she sang with the band at a charity show in 2005 and on the subsequent single, but she fell ill, so Eddie Vedder’s Tasked with covering the song in addition to his scheduled “Elevation” you could do worse than having the Pearl Jam frontman forced to do emergency double duty while representing the U2 catalog, despite picking the way Blige used to Going too far to represent something transformative. Things got even more interesting as Brandi Carlile, Hozier and Ukrainian singer Jamala teamed up for a three-way split on “Walk On”. It’s a lovely symbolism, as you’d expect Carlisle is responsible for delivering powerful notes, as it is for an embattled nation, Jamara, and the track is best showcased. But having the credits roll towards the end of the song does kind of step on the climactic vibe.
In addition to Sean Penn’s heartfelt speech, U2 also deserves a no-nonsense speech by Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, who reads A bogus letter from the President of Kazakhstan, “meaning, ‘Please delete your damn album from my new iPhone 6,'” and stating “a difficult choice facing our planet: with or without Jews.” A bit disrespectful (and a bit of well-deserved leaf-shaming) goes a long way in a show like this, even if the jokes are probably funnier to read on the page than they are when they come off the set atmosphere. Anyway, thanks to CBS for keeping all the anti-semitic stuff (even after Cohen’s routine was so widely covered, they’ll probably go to hell for cutting it).
Amy Grant gets a pretty full musical tribute, starting with Sheryl Crow proving her worldly side with “Baby Baby” and ending with Michael W. Smith, BeBe and CeCe Winans and the chorus bring it back to her end Now!this is what i call worship music It opens with a medley of church hits “El Shaddai” and “Sing Your Praise to the Lord.” In between are two hours of musical highlights: The Highwomen (the supergroup of Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby) alternate lead vocals and provide a full four-part harmony on “Somewhere Down the Road” , Grant’s 1997 song about the mystery of death. It’s a comforting song about the unsettling idea that beyond the veil, we don’t know Jack – perhaps at least some secularists and Christians would agree – and if downloadable Highwomen’s version is sure to be good.
George Clooney, frankly, seems to be the kind of guy that was invented for the Kennedy Center honors—looks like he was born in a tuxedo; is an elegant target for Matt Damon’s jokes; Show that he might tell his limo driver the best shortcuts through Washington — and the show didn’t disappoint. Julia Roberts kicked off the introductory session in an already well-documented Clooney print dress, as Richard Kind elevated him to a Hollywood figure representing “the innate nature of humanity” Liberal Kindness”, Damon hailed him as “the man who used to shit on Richard” Kind’s litter box was a joke. “
Clooney himself appeared on footage of a State Department investiture ceremony seen beating Damon, saying: “I’ve been lucky enough to meet millions of people and they all agreed without exception: ‘Batman You suck.'”
Those clips of the actual winners do point to an inherent flaw in the “Kennedy Center” system: Audiences also want to see them sing or talk, at least in Clooney’s case. After years of being away, seeing U2 get back together to perform, even a single number, would be expansive, especially with another artist in tandem (imagine the Bono/Brandi possibilities!). The keepers of the KCH flame must believe this is part of what makes the night special – those being celebrated basking in the sun on their balcony seats, looking happy rather than feeling compelled to perform their duties themselves nervous. But at this late stage, it seems reasonable to at least consider retooling the format to allow the winners to speak (if not sing), especially when eloquent characters like Bono and Clooney are reduced to a series of reaction shots.
However, this year’s show was as warm as a cozy bath, with such an impeccable list of winners and guest line-up – and the versatile Rickey Minor as music director, who can cater to the scene with representatives of all musical styles, from classical to some proper thrashy-sounding rock.
Of Knight, host LL Cool J said, “I once heard Gladys Knight sing ABC and I thought I was in church. True story.” In terms of what Wesley Morris says in the introductory film, “Let’s be her idea,” there’s plenty of right talent to back her up, and Garth Brooks points to the country origins of “Midnight Train to Georgia” as her sixth Patti LaBelle, friend of ten years, leads the inevitable “This Is What Friends Are For” group singing. Mickey Guyton proved the perfect man to carry the torch with “You’re the Best Thing That Happened to Me,” while Ariana DeBose with “I Was a Child Heard in the news” further establishes — on top of “SNL gig no” someone forgot — that if her calendar is open, there really aren’t any awards or variety shows she shouldn’t be booked into.
Tania León is one of five names that probably won’t be considered household names by most American households, but the show here is where the arts and social justice are, as a major network for classical pianists Artists such as Chloe Flower provide premium airtime to perform “Tumbao” with Harlem Dancers Dance Theater. It’s the type of performance we’ll never see again at the Grammys, that’s for sure. So the Kennedy Center Honors are the last place Anna Devere Smith can pop up in our living rooms and make us feel like we should be wearing something a little more formal than our Santa pajamas.
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