h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For starters, here's the performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo&ytsession=j65u0RexfiP9UuL2Xnwdxxqd3FQhvhxxZylLU_l7r99PwUpBnsSsi-WolnjrJZk2snLQip52fdHG5-mOmYDF-n0zHVGzrX2itaUsnw2fEZSJJ-537kk3t-inlaCDV7ResrPwZE1ES3z_kkGg1T6N834KafPa5-dGwsFJ_X1GWmmQdfumsyquCH21M2C7D45eNQaZF0xeaSA852G76xm1wCHXndbP7a2zq-PbZx7AwMbI5uX8f2PoxbknA-q_ItnpPXvCkc1rMzOK1eg5qGyCHQwUIbtZCN1Nx5D4xS_wsw42x1Gy1gauxQ

Very carefully coreographed, with no doubt a multitude of rehearsals before the actual live performance.

And yet, I'm very affected by the whole package - the art, the coreography, the choice of music and sounds.

The video ends with the figures 1945, which is when WWII ended.

Maybe I'm affected because my maternal grandfather was injured in one of the many small wars that were part of the big fight, or because my father made it all the way to the front of the Finnish Winter War before they discovered he was under-aged.

Any which way, I find this video deeply moving.

I'm hoping that Hati or Sol, of whom I hope understand at least a little bit of the lyrics accompy - accompa- going with the performance, will post a comment.

wow

The artist was totally amazing. I was stunned. I still am.

The texts... First there was the recording of the actual official announcement about the war beginning for Russia. That is, when Germany attacked Soviet Union.

Then there were two songs, both about the war. One is thoughts of the soldier, lying in the night with bullets whistling around and thinking of his wife who is sitting next the the babies bed. He says that death is not scary - they've met many times. Yet he believes that he won't die, as his wife and baby are waiting for him.
It's a song from a movie from 1943. It's probably the original soundtrack, sung by Mark Bernes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bernes

The other song is about cranes. Or rather, the singer believes that the soldiers who died in the war are not laid in the ground somewhere, instead of that they became cranes and are still flying in the skies. That's why we always feel so sad when they fly by, when we hear their voices.
That song was also made famous by Mark Bernes.
"In 1968, Mark Bernes was dying from lung cancer. At the end of that year, he recorded his last song Ballad About the Cranes, which became his testament before death. Bernes sang that the soldiers that perished in war turned into cranes. He sang that the cranes are still in their flight and he sang that soon, he will join their ranks. In less than a year, Mark Bernes died. Ballad About the Cranes was played at his funeral." - Wikipedia.

And then later you probably recognised Apocalyptica playing Metallica's song Nothing Else Matters.

The soundtrack altogether is impressive too. And very well tied to at the artwork, yet she is not drawing by the lyrics of the songs, music is just a hint.

Ah yes, and for those who'd love to try to read the lyrics of the songs in Russian:
The Dark Night
http://www.sovmusic.ru/english/text.php?fname=tnoch
Ballad of the Cranes
http://www.sovmusic.ru/english/text.php?fname=zhuravl2

thanks

Thank you so much Hati - that was really interesting info!

And thanks for Nothing else matters - I *did* recognize the music but couldn't for the life of me remember any details.

I snuck peaks at work at the client , but I don't have sound on the computer there, so all I saw was the art, and her 'dance' as she worked with the pictures. Even so, it was a beautiful performance.
It was touching to see the faces of the audience, they were so moved by it all.

I sent the link to a girl who has studied in St Petersburg, but haven't talked to her about it yet.

I am going to watch this, I promise! Round toits not even needed, just some free time...

thanks ti & hati & sand artist & everyone else involved

I appreciate learning exactly what was being said and sung, but by the end I had figured out that it was about WW II. Seeing tears on the faces of younger people in the audience reminded me of something said a couple of weeks ago by a politician here in the USA.

He was being interviewed about the protests in Iran and was maintaining that the US should be taking a stronger line on behalf of the protesters, or even getting involved. The interviewer reminded the politician that the US had "intervened" in Iranian politics in 1953, thus setting in motion a chain of events that had led to the revolution in 1979.

The politician replied, after a moment's hesitation, "Oh, I'm sure they've got over that." This from a politician from a southern state where the confederate flag is still revered.

I wish there were some way that politician could be persuaded to look at this video and be reminded that people don't "get over" such things.

just remind him of the american casualties in WWII

but then he probably got over those decades ago...

After visiting the grave yards at El-Alamein (both sides) I wish all politicians would be required visiting it. So many graves... Most of them young men aged 18-22. Many leaving behind a young wife and, in some cases, a baby. It became so blatantly obvious how much a war costs - in human lives. Almost 50,000 dead or seriously wounded. For a piece of land in the middle of the desert, miles away from anywhere. And yes, I know it had a great impact on putting an end to the war, but still...

Here's a you-tube video of Bernes performing one of the songs in a movie - quite good looking, must have been a huge star:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDGLFLKa5o4

The first shoot of someone in the audience (in the sand video) - isn't that Putin?

Nope, not him.

50.000 dead?

try 25 million

I was referring to the battle(s) at El Alamein only, Pierce

please don't get me wrong, every casualty counts!

- and hurts

and it wasn't a response to your postings in the first place anyway, ti

so don't think any more about it, okay?

- - -

it made me think a bit (more) though

a few of us have mixed emotions about the russian revolution, see?

where would russia (and for that matter a lot/most of the world) have been today had it not been for communist/socialist revolts?

sure, most of them went haywire

but in the end - it helped strengthen democracy, yes?