Christmas cliches

Tannin

You all know this one. You are watching a TV series and the particular episode is set in the weeks before Christmas. (Let's say it's Midsummer Murders, but it could be almost anything from almost any decade, they all do the same.) Our hero walks past a shopping centre or a park, and sure enough, there is a brass band playing Christmas carols. And they are absolutely, abysmally bloody awful. 

It's just such a cliche. Every damn country does it (at least all the English-speaking ones, and the Americans too.)  No real band, ever, anywhere, was half as woeful as the band we hear playing on a hundred different TV shows. It's just so exaggerated. Drives me nuts. And you see the same stupid cliche repeated over and over and over.

But earlier this week I was shopping in Devonport (the one in Tasmania, not the other one) and outside the supermarket a 7 or 8 piece brass band was playing. And they were worse than any stupid pretending-to-be-really-bad band I ever heard on TV. Seriously. I actually thought of looking to see if they had a hat for donations, but only so I could take $20 out of it, which would have been about right.

Anyway, that is my Christmas musical cliche. Any more?

CHRISB50

When I was at school / college I worked in a shopping centre in the food court.

I had to listen to these f'kers for most of November and December. 

Jimbro66

Tannin said:

You all know this one. You are watching a TV series and the particular episode is set in the weeks before Christmas. (Let's say it's Midsummer Murders, but it could be almost anything from almost any decade, they all do the same.) Our hero walks past a shopping centre or a park, and sure enough, there is a brass band playing Christmas carols. And they are absolutely, abysmally bloody awful. 

It's just such a cliche. Every damn country does it (at least all the English-speaking ones, and the Americans too.)  No real band, ever, anywhere, was half as woeful as the band we hear playing on a hundred different TV shows. It's just so exaggerated. Drives me nuts. And you see the same stupid cliche repeated over and over and over.

But earlier this week I was shopping in Devonport (the one in Tasmania, not the other one) and outside the supermarket a 7 or 8 piece brass band was playing. And they were worse than any stupid pretending-to-be-really-bad band I ever heard on TV. Seriously. I actually thought of looking to see if they had a hat for donations, but only so I could take $20 out of it, which would have been about right.

Anyway, that is my Christmas musical cliche. Any more?

That really made me chuckle. So true. It reminds me of a film scene, I think it was in The Ipcress File, when Michael Caine meets some other agent in a park where there is an awful military brass band playing on a bandstand. As Michael leaves he gestures towards the band and says “Let me know who wins””.

munckee

I went to my daughters Christmas concert a few weeks ago. There was a brass ensemble and one of them couldn’t play it there instrument was out of tune. Even the band were looking at each other with pained expressions. 

When they came back later on there was one less kid and it all sounded fine. 

rogd

I was in Tescos last week and 'I wish it could be Christmas every day' was stuck on that very line. I was very close to ending it all!!

viz

My dad always writes a new carol and gives it to us on Christmas day and we sing it before dinner. Here’s yesterday’s. It’s for SATB, nyckelharpa and piano. 

https://youtu.be/EaZpoeesA28

Funkfingers

viz said:

It’s for SAHB*

FTFY.

* Almost forty years gone!

viz

Funkfingers said:

viz said:

It’s for SAHB*

FTFY.

* Almost forty years gone!

Not sure Dad is familiar with Alex Harvey!

Danny1969

Brass bands on the street will always sound pitchy because you need to be static to breath evenly.  Plus the temperature and damp / atmosphere affects the instruments tuning and tone. 
You could take a top BB like Black Dyke and march them through the street in Winter and it wouldn't sound great. 

A proper good BB sat down in a room where the instruments have climatized and playing to a conductor though is an amazing sound 

Tannin

This lot were standing comfortably in a corner out of the breeze, Danny. Lovely mild summer afternoon. Quite a good spot. My guess is that they were a high school band and had had to bring in two or three last-minute replacements. Or they felt obliged to include some youngsters who hadn't learned to play yet. Whatever, they were truly terrible.