December 11, 2009

• New meaning to the term "Bitchin' music"

  Complaint Choirs Make Whining an Art Form

  Recently a group of about 100 Tokyo residents put their complaints into a pile and a composer, Okuchi Shunsuke, turned them into a song. About 80 of the complainers (accompanied by an accordion, a bass cello and a tambourine) then performed the composition at various sites around the city, becoming the latest example of what has become known as a complaints choir.

  .......The process by which the initial complaints were winnowed into a manageable song was democratic, Ms. Kataoka said, with the final version an interesting balance of issues covering public transportation, personal appearance, work, love, society and the future.

  ......Evan Solot helped to create a complaint choir in Philadelphia last year by following the nine-step process on the Web site. He is chairman of the Composition Department at the University of the Arts and has also “mastered the fine art of whining,” he said.

  ......The end result was enthusiastic if not particularly polished, and it received plenty of startled and amused attention in places like Rittenhouse Square, as the singers belted out lines like:  Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed, your call is very important to us, New Jersey drivers can’t drive or park, I hate my job, and nobody listens to me.

  Talk about missing the boat.  Who knew I was so far ahead of my time at the age of six?  I could have been "complaint music's" Mozart!  There's still a chance for my son to capitalize on this as he's the Brett Hull to my Bobby in the whining department.  Doug and Wendy Whiner also missed out on a possible career path - something else to whine about.  Weeeeeee waaaaanted to siiiiiiing!!

  • 2:18 am
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