Can't be arsed to read the whole thread, as I guess the comments will be much the same as on Facebook. You can't please all of the people all of the time, I think the glaring omission from the music was Heavy Metal, even though I am a 50s rock n roll type person. In a variety show you will get stuff you like, and stuff you don't like. I thought it was good.
The problem is that most people have their own musical tastes and can be quite snobbish about them. I have mine too but if the ceremony had all my favs I'm not sure it would be fully appreciated by others. You need catchy, loud, insubstantial poppy numbers for an ocassion such as this and the Spice Girls were a perfect choice even though I am definitely not a fan. Madness, who are one of my alltime favourite Groups, were not for this occasion, or at least the cloice of song was wrong. House of fun or Baggy Trousers may have been better.
The bits with Fatboy slim, Jessie J, Tiny whatshis name and the other one worked well, as did One direction - I hate to say it but you can't be a musical snob when this sort of event is all about style over substance. Of course you need the legends, but you need them singing the right songs- 'Georgie boy - happy to give you a slot but only if you sing wake me up before you go go'. Kaiser Chiefs were there so Ruby should have been a must etc... Annie Lennox could have sung 'here comes the rain again'. Of course 'We are the Champions' should have been included.
Having said all that, overall they pulled it off I thought. It wasn't an embaressment.
Well I loved every single moment of it. The start was a representation of the chaos of a day in London, taking in a Jubilee street party & climaxing with Ray Davis singing Waterloo Sunset - great song. The arrival of the athletes was really well done & the smiles from all of them was just great to watch. I just don't get what there was to dislike about any of it. As far as I'm concerned it was the perfect end to 17 days of brilliant sport.
Well I loved every single moment of it. The start was a representation of the chaos of a day in London, taking in a Jubilee street party & climaxing with Ray Davis singing Waterloo Sunset - great song. The arrival of the athletes was really well done & the smiles from all of them was just great to watch. I just don't get what there was to dislike about any of it. As far as I'm concerned it was the perfect end to 17 days of brilliant sport.
well said ... not all the music to my taste ... in fact far from it ... but an enjoyable closing ceremony nonetheless
Once again NBC in the US acted god over what it thought America wanted to see/not see in the closing ceremony.
So omitted from the broadcast (amongst others) were Muse, The Who & Ray Davies but they managed to include the 'only fools' bit only for the commentator not to have a clue what was going on!
Loved Fatboy Slim DJ'ing on a wobbly ironing board!!!
For research purposes, did anyone notice the change of lyrics in BABA O'REILLY from "Don't raise your eyes, it's only teenage wasteland" to "Raise your eyes, there's more than teenage wasteland"?
Yes! Thank you Nigel. Having imbibed quite a lot by then I had seriously persuaded myself that I'd been singing it wrong for the last 37 years!
For research purposes, did anyone notice the change of lyrics in BABA O'REILLY from "Don't raise your eyes, it's only teenage wasteland" to "Raise your eyes, there's more than teenage wasteland"?
Yes! Thank you Nigel. Having imbibed quite a lot by then I had seriously persuaded myself that I'd been singing it wrong for the last 37 years!
Roger Daltrey changed the lyrics to fit the Olympic spirit (those lines are followed by "Sally take my hand, We'll travel south 'cross land, I've put out the fire, don't look past my shoulder. The exodus is near, the happy ones are here, let's get together before we're too much older" which he hoped would be taken as the Olympic fire moving to Rio). I thought that no one would notice and I'm still convinced that hardly anyone would have taken the lyrics the way he interpreted them.
Who else had a little chuckle when Trevor McDonald came out to give the Men's Marathon medals out?
It was more the way he 'presented' them - grabbing them off the tray from the wrong end so that they were squashed in his hand and then virtually throwing them at the three medallists.
I haven't read the entire thread so apologies if any of this has already been said. Sadly I think that the closing ceremony was a let down after all that had gone before. Perhaps the concept of a symphony to 50 years of British music was just too ambitious because if you are going to put on that kind of show, you should do it properly or not at all. Do something else. How can you have a homage to fifty years of popular music which includes Fatboy Slim and Emilie Sande (twice) but leaves out Cliff, Dusty, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Van Morrison, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Smiths, Stone Roses etc etc? What you end up with is a mish mash of stuff (George Michael plugging his new single, the Kaiser Chiefs singing The Who, when they were there themselves, Annie Lennox singing a minor hit instead of the mighty Sweet Dreams) and a bill which is more representative of who is available and willing to appear than what best illustrates the innovative and influential music these islands have produced in the last half century. I just hope that in all the razzmatazz and the brilliance of the opening ceremony and the games themselves, we might have got away with it.
I haven't read the entire thread so apologies if any of this has already been said. Sadly I think that the closing ceremony was a let down after all that had gone before. Perhaps the concept of a symphony to 50 years of British music was just too ambitious because if you are going to put on that kind of show, you should do it properly or not at all. Do something else. How can you have a homage to fifty years of popular music which includes Fatboy Slim and Emilie Sande (twice) but leaves out Cliff, Dusty, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Van Morrison, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Smiths, Stone Roses etc etc? What you end up with is a mish mash of stuff (George Michael plugging his new single, the Kaiser Chiefs singing The Who, when they were there themselves, Annie Lennox singing a minor hit instead of the mighty Sweet Dreams) and a bill which is more representative of who is available and willing to appear than what best illustrates the innovative and influential music these islands have produced in the last half century. I just hope that in all the razzmatazz and the brilliance of the opening ceremony and the games themselves, we might have got away with it.
Do you know I really really enjoyed it. When I read some of the comments on here I realise that I shouldn't have.
I thought that Madness were fine, that Jessie J was great singing along with Queen, that The Spice Girls gave it some lift, that Darcy Bussell and the Ballet dancers were fantastic, that the way it was choreographed was superb, the Kaiser Chiefs gave a decent cover version of Pinball Wizard, the John Lennon piece was brilliant, Ray Davies rolled back the years with Waterloo Sunset, Muse gave it a large one, Idle was....well... Idle and The Who topped it off.
To have pulled that off, without the rehearsal capability of the Opening; to get all the Athletes into the Hirst Flag and for it all to go off without a hitch was brilliant.
Those who carp have no idea how challenging it is to pull that off!
No it didn't top the Opening which was absolutely fantastic but it was a fitting party ending to what has been something special in our lifetimes and one we will never forget.
Muttley and CAFCTom, my thoughts entirely. Despite being the aforesaid rock n roller, Ace of Spades is actually my favourite song of all time ( if I was forced to choose just one, at gunpoint ). And the two bands still pretty much intact ( bar Jon Bonham ) who could have done a turn, and who most of the world would have recognised. But I still enjoyed it.
Do you know I really really enjoyed it. When I read some of the comments on here I realise that I shouldn't have.
I thought that Madness were fine, that Jessie J was great singing along with Queen, that The Spice Girls gave it some lift, that Darcy Bussell and the Ballet dancers were fantastic, that the way it was choreographed was superb, the Kaiser Chiefs gave a decent cover version of Pinball Wizard, the John Lennon piece was brilliant, Ray Davies rolled back the years with Waterloo Sunset, Muse gave it a large one, Idle was....well... Idle and The Who topped it off.
To have pulled that off, without the rehearsal capability of the Opening; to get all the Athletes into the Hirst Flag and for it all to go off without a hitch was brilliant.
Those who carp have no idea how challenging it is to pull that off!
No it didn't top the Opening which was absolutely fantastic but it was a fitting party ending to what has been something special in our lifetimes and one we will never forget.
Comments
It was a cheesy party that people won't remember anyway
Though one could argue that The Kinks (not necessarily Waterloo Sunset) are a close tie to very early roots of heavy metal.
I got a message last night to say Ian had just walked on to the Closing Ceremony, i was confused and worked out my mate meant Fatboy Slim.
thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/45-year-old-salesman-apologises-for-closing-ceremony-2012081337959
But there are some miserable bastards on here. (Just my opinion).
The bits with Fatboy slim, Jessie J, Tiny whatshis name and the other one worked well, as did One direction - I hate to say it but you can't be a musical snob when this sort of event is all about style over substance. Of course you need the legends, but you need them singing the right songs- 'Georgie boy - happy to give you a slot but only if you sing wake me up before you go go'. Kaiser Chiefs were there so Ruby should have been a must etc... Annie Lennox could have sung 'here comes the rain again'. Of course 'We are the Champions' should have been included.
Having said all that, overall they pulled it off I thought. It wasn't an embaressment.
So omitted from the broadcast (amongst others) were Muse, The Who & Ray Davies but they managed to include the 'only fools' bit only for the commentator not to have a clue what was going on!
Loved Fatboy Slim DJ'ing on a wobbly ironing board!!!
Liam's voice is a bit painful tho.
Two weeks ago the world thought we were shit at sport but great at music............
I thought that Madness were fine, that Jessie J was great singing along with Queen, that The Spice Girls gave it some lift, that Darcy Bussell and the Ballet dancers were fantastic, that the way it was choreographed was superb, the Kaiser Chiefs gave a decent cover version of Pinball Wizard, the John Lennon piece was brilliant, Ray Davies rolled back the years with Waterloo Sunset, Muse gave it a large one, Idle was....well... Idle and The Who topped it off.
To have pulled that off, without the rehearsal capability of the Opening; to get all the Athletes into the Hirst Flag and for it all to go off without a hitch was brilliant.
Those who carp have no idea how challenging it is to pull that off!
No it didn't top the Opening which was absolutely fantastic but it was a fitting party ending to what has been something special in our lifetimes and one we will never forget.