natalie is a brilliant woman and a very gifted musican.I never know what she will do next and sometimes it takes me awhile to catch up with her.Tigerlily,Motherland,Ophelia,leave your sleep.they are nothing like eachother and all of them are amazing.i've never seen a artist ( male or female ) this intelligent and deep.i'm thankfull that i have a understanding of her lyrics.All of this and i did'nt even mention her world class vocals.
i think i like her version of "the sleepy giant" better on her than i do the actual recording. this version just sound more earthy and in tone with the lyrics and her voice, i find the recorded version`s tempo to be a little fast-paced and for me it kind takes away from the song.
Pretentious? Is that what numerous comments said? Does the audience, which continues smiling, laughing, and looking delighted to be there as she curbs their noise level, look offended? No, she's being playful and witty and they 'get' this. It wasn't meant to turn into a rock concert at the end and Natalie takes the show in the direction she intended, while being playful with them. And when she says/sings 'thank you', to me it sounds both genuine and humble. I didn't see pretention, sorry.
I am simply in awe of her brilliance. God Bless Her, In today's music scene, we so desperately need true artists like Natalie who aren't afraid to shine in the brilliance of their vulnerability, not lip-syncing, gyrating replaceable faces of the last few years...
It would have been interesting to have seen how the authors of these poems would have responded to Natalie's musical interpretations of them. Very beautiful and thoughtful of her to do this.
For those who said she was pretentious, let me respond with this: As an artist, you have to respect and honor your work before anyone else does. Natalie is successful and she is one of the best writers and singers of our time. For her to honor her own work is not pretentious, but instead confident in her ability to reach to those of us who are willing to accept, which by past precedent, has been in the millions. Love this performance and this record.
I saw this show at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Ma. She had on a black dress buttoned up to her neckand down to below her calves, but she still managed to appear sexy (in a hot librarian way). I find her so brilliant musically, that I was suprised and taken with her vunerablity and seeming lack of confidence during this show. I have to say that this was one of her first few shows for this album. God bless her!
True...Maratel l946....you can never get her out...I like all her songs.... find myself listening a lot to "If No One Marries Me," Sweet and a Lullaby," and never get tired of the "The janitor's Boy." Be well.....
Went to go see her in berekley two weeks ago. Let me tell you that it was one of the very best shows I have ever seen of hers. at first she seemed slightly nervous not much talking in between songs. But after a couple of songs oh my god she was beyond words. She came out for two or three times on time she was out there for 30 plus mins. Signing old stuff with a new twist to it, telling funny stories. The show was over 3 hours and it was amazing I can' t even tell you how good it was.
Just talked to my sister a few nights ago. A friend and colleague of hers
got tickets to see Natalie in Philly for my sister's birthday!! They are both teachers of poetry for elementary school children. I am soooo excited that they are going to see Natalie...yet I am incredibly jealous. Thank God for TED!!!
I must admit that the album was better than the show, but then I really really enjoyed the show in Dublin so you can only immagine what I thoght of the Album.
Natalie Merchant is just well... an original musician... this idea ... (of her putting poems to music) could have backfired. There are people just biting at the bit to put a musician down. I DARE ANYONE to even attempt to do it to now... Natalie Merchant has achieved her goal. She wanted to do something for her daughter... in doing so... she gave herself the same gift... and gave it to us all. May we all receive it with arms out-wide.
I had the good luck of seeing Natalie at the recent Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. She was simply magical, sweet of voice and sweet of nature, a pure delight. I have the good fortune of having tickets to see her in Gateshead and the Cambridge Folk Festival. Thanks for posting this, it shows just why Natalie should be top of every music loving persons collection.
This video has made me fall in love with Ms. Merchant! I absolutely ADORE all of her pieces here, and how much life she brings to these old works. Absolutely amazing! I just can't stop listening :D
some of these comment reactions are totally bizarre. does every type of music, art & literature have to be loud, brash, and pointless? if you're watching TED talks I'd presume you're open minded to something quietly thoughtful. guess in our soundbite, instant gratification world there is little space for something more eloquent. and the comment about her dead eyes clearly didn't watch her sing Spring & Fall.
Her pretention at the end is excruciating. Just sing the damn song! She had it going and then started giving the audience instructions, slowing it down and killing the enthusiasm. And she did this more than once. lol
Great performance. Her new album is full of variety and sonic-ally much better than even her great solo albums. If you like folk rock or traditional music you must buy this album.
@diverrboy Brilliant is a relative term. For some, brilliant requires a pole dance. For others it might be 110db of very lame amateur guitar play. Unfortunately, Ms. Merchant doesn't satisfy them. Of course, she has generated her share of vicious hatred from the radical right based on her support of such efforts as Doctors Without Borders, for example; so some of it is just built-in political hate.
The hate is irrelevant in the end. It defeats itself.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
not a particularly good voice. Or a very interesting performance. I'd have brought my laptop to the lecture just so the boredom wouldn't have killed me.
@ratholin You seem to squawk pretty well! I don't know if you're like a menopausal duck or not, but that is probably because you are still undiscovered. A few more comments on YouTube and you should be on your way. Good Luck!
@tsaeth Your feeble straw man fails. like your wannabe girlfriend. It's fun to see a lack of wit trying to defend a lack of talent. All you need is a lack of luck and you'd be the perfect trio of failure.
@IsaDesOsiers it was a reply to a response to a normal sounding reply I gave. I'll delete it since it seemed to end their ad hominen to straw man attack while my good logic hadn't and I feel debased at resorting to their level in order to converse and therefore to win an argument when I realized logic and debate were off the table. I do apologize for offending your sensibilities.
Don't delete anything. I like Merchant, but those who can't tolerate negative opinions are simply weak-minded fools who probably shouldn't leave their beds for fear of disagreement.
@ratholin It's not "ripping off" their work. It is giving it new life--reviving poems that were significant at one time but have been forgotten. It is what the poets would have wanted--more than perpetual obscurity. It's a beautiful project. It's wonderful when artists can build on each other's work. Modern art has this mistaken idea that all creativity and thought occurs in a vacuum. Its not so. Look at TS Eliot. In your summation, he would be a shameless plagiarizer.
@Zeldovich All I know is that people write to express themselves; to communicate some deep meaning to others. It takes courage and perseverance and brilliance and they don't do it to float into obscurity after a hundred years. I think that anything that keeps the conversation about their work going would be better than having it forgotten forever. Whether you liked this performance or not, you have to admit that you heard the voices of those long dead, and it had to have stirred something.
Here she goes again! The angel of sound, rewiring more minds. Once she gets in there, you'll never get her out again. Just shut it out! Don't listen! If you do, she'll make you more human! Run! ;-)
@Martel1946 I've been trying to put my finger on it, but you nailed it: "The angel of sound, rewiring more minds. Once she gets in there, you'll never get her out again." Bingo!
@Martel1946 She got in, I just could not shut her out,She drew me in! I truly feel more human! I could not run
Thanks to her I got sucked in. I am in Love. I saw her live in Syracuse, N.Y. when she came out with Tigerlily at the Landmark Theater. I first fell I in Love at that concert
She dances like Elaine from Seinfeld and sings like she's sitting on a broken drying machine. This is music for an elementary school not for a TED audience.
Why are the science and technology talks so interesting and the music segment is always complete bullshit? TED needs a music programmer who knows what they're doing.
I agree. The musicianship is definitely not something to be impressed by, and the songs were pretty generic within each style they played. TED has done a good job getting really good musicians in the past (Nellie McKay, Vusi Mahlasela), but this is a bit disappointing for them.
wth... sometimes after the video is over, the video links that are displayed have 5 star ratings still on them. I get all excited with some sort of pavlovian glee when I see that. Oh please youtube, give us back our stars.
it is amazing and beautiful, and in no way shape or form deserves constructive criticism for to criticize this is truly perfectionism it is as good as we could ever expect a performance to be and to want more without producing it yourself is entirely selfish
Never heard of her; enjoyed the first song. Thumbs up. And I have to say, I've never been that interested in "poetry" per se , but putting it into nifty tunes is pretty effective and nicely done. She is defiantly a true musical artist by doing this.
It is a long-awaited video with powerful pleasure. Excellent music!!! If we live with these kinds of music often-and-often, we will not have wars, I guess:-))). Good job, TED.
I absolutely love this video especially the ending. Many times the struggles and hardships of unnamed researchers and contributors go without thanks. Just like her project to revive dusty poems. This is a nice little tribute to everyone's effort in trying to improve the world.
I love it. I think it's gentle and appropriate in every sense and feeling. Pleasing to say the least. I am grateful to be reminded of these poems in such an original way and I commend the artists! To say it's beautiful is not doing it justice!
The thing, that made me cry, was, that she didn't do it. Where was the one to hug while she suffered all the fail of the audience... I'm still feeling a little bit bad on the inside, after I walked off this site.
I do agree that this is a brilliant way to bring poems to life, but personally, I can only tease out meaning or depth in a poem through reading it aloud. I find that it betters my comprehension of the text, rather than hearing lyrics. But for entertainment purposes, this is perfect. The band and lady singer did a terrific job.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
The is the equivalent of having a scientist come and speak at TED about Jello pudding. Come on. The only concert I've ever seen on TED and it's this?? Really? TED can't do any better? Put some real music!
Why have popular music at TED? Why does TED need to contribute to what's already all over the place? Even as popular music, this wasn't ever good at all. All these brilliant people in the audience and you program simpleton music like this?? Also...worst dancer ever. Elaine from Seinfeld.
actually for ted this is the best musician that's ever been on, so hey! if you don't like this then do yourself a favor and avoid the other musical talks
@mazdaplz I think eatingperson was just trolling, i.e. posting not in order to express an opinion but in order to annoy people by pretending to hold a patently absurd opinion. Someone might love the performance or hate it, but describing it as "popular music" is like claiming that eatingperson's comment is written in an obscure dialect of Ancient Egyptian.
Personally, because there was so much variety, I thought some songs were wonderful (e.g. the 1st) while others left me cold (e.g. the 2nd).
@mazdaplz Hmmm...can't say I agree with you here. Herbie Hancock gave a good one as did Kaki King. They Might Be Giants is less than par as were a few others, but surly not ALL of them. Eh, different strokes for different folks.
Bill Gates admitted on his most recent TED talk that he wants to use vaccines to reduce the world population... so no Natalie, he is not generous in my mind.
If you really wanted to reduce populations you would be against vaccines-- polio's done a decent job, for example, at whipping out whole villages and communities.
@mwtillotson I disagree with your notion of 'must' and 'has to be done'. As demand in nature exceeds supply there will be friction and, as you say, it tends to be corrected either by humans or nature itself, but I do not think there is an objective reason to say whether it is desirable or not.
I personally would restate your comment this way: "Population, at some point, tends to be curbed (unless some mechanism is introduced to make some part of the process more efficient). Whether nature takes the reigns or we humans, who knows - but it seems inevitable.
I never spoke in terms of desirability--this is why I said "must" rather than "should".
And it is not enough to say that when demand in nature exceeds supply, there is a tendency for the friction to be resolved. This is not a tendency, but an absolute certainty. Even if supply is somehow increased to the growing demand, the demand itself will become exponentially greater due to population increases.
Then the problem arises again. Something has to give.
I guess my confusion was entirely in the fact that I saw your use of the word 'must' to mean 'should'. Essentially we mean the same thing.
And I avoided using 'certainty' in favour of 'tends to' because if you look at the process over a shorter period of time it is possible that the curbing hasn't happened yet.
For example, take famine in Africa during the 50s. Starvation was one factor stopping population growing, better agriculture made farming more productive and the population grew larger. If you just look at that string of events then curbing was avoided. This is by the by though because as you say, now the demand is higher, where it ends, who knows, but over a long enough period...
@tranceman14 Natalie has been known to mean the exact opposite of what she seems to be saying. For example, the 10000 Maniacs video "Candy Everybody Wants". Is she in this case? Don't know.
Almost half-way through. The thing about this, so far, is that she is doing very little speaking, and she's a very amusing speaker. Extremely well-read and brilliant. She gets complaints for getting political during her concerts, but here, where I have not observed that it should be a problem, she isn't saying much.
Wow, TED hosts Natalie Merchant! She's certainly the sort of person TED should be hosting, but it will be interesting to see how different her presentation is.
whenever people claim to "bring something to life" that just communicates to me that the "thing" is indeed dead and what these people are doing is a desperate attempt to assure everyone otherwise... makes sense?
not that I think poetry is dead... but it has a huge artsy cancer where its brain used to be
Nice idea, well executed. Good choice of poems for singing, it sounds very natural. Her voice is nice and dynamic and the instrumental parts are well composed. Presentation might be a bit on the longside, but still very well done!
@neil73 It's interesting that you say that, because those are almost the EXACT words I used to describe Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs, back in the mid-90's. "Art-fags" or "artsy-fartsy", I believe I said. But then I bought "In My Tribe" and gave it a listen.
Sure, you may not agree with her politics (I should think most TEDsters would, from what I've observed over the past few months), but she won't fail to convey a few lessons, if you let this "school marm" have a minute.
natalie is a brilliant woman and a very gifted musican.I never know what she will do next and sometimes it takes me awhile to catch up with her.Tigerlily,Motherland,Ophelia,leave your sleep.they are nothing like eachother and all of them are amazing.i've never seen a artist ( male or female ) this intelligent and deep.i'm thankfull that i have a understanding of her lyrics.All of this and i did'nt even mention her world class vocals.
zildjiansandtraps 1 day ago
I wish I was there
milanc11 2 months ago
i was entertained.Good voice.
happinesson 2 months ago
i think i like her version of "the sleepy giant" better on her than i do the actual recording. this version just sound more earthy and in tone with the lyrics and her voice, i find the recorded version`s tempo to be a little fast-paced and for me it kind takes away from the song.
TouchingAcrossTime 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
For hilarious poems about Middle Age .....
Go to Middle Age Sucks by neighborhaber
neighborhaber 4 months ago
<3 <3 <3...need I say anymore?
SenorMatthew 8 months ago in playlist Natalie Merchant
Amazing.
xamaranto 11 months ago
Awesome....love her....Never get tired of listening to her.
SerachbatAsher 11 months ago
i love you baby
LostFREEDOM 1 year ago
Guess some people will never understand each other. Bold concept, so not commercial.
and Natalie's vocal range is certainly not monotonE.
2short2q 1 year ago
I think the idea is genius but her sound is a bit monoton
hit004541 1 year ago
Pretentious? Is that what numerous comments said? Does the audience, which continues smiling, laughing, and looking delighted to be there as she curbs their noise level, look offended? No, she's being playful and witty and they 'get' this. It wasn't meant to turn into a rock concert at the end and Natalie takes the show in the direction she intended, while being playful with them. And when she says/sings 'thank you', to me it sounds both genuine and humble. I didn't see pretention, sorry.
yumdedum 1 year ago 2
I am simply in awe of her brilliance. God Bless Her, In today's music scene, we so desperately need true artists like Natalie who aren't afraid to shine in the brilliance of their vulnerability, not lip-syncing, gyrating replaceable faces of the last few years...
NomenNescioNY 1 year ago
It would have been interesting to have seen how the authors of these poems would have responded to Natalie's musical interpretations of them. Very beautiful and thoughtful of her to do this.
Damienf77 1 year ago
What;'s the last song she sang? It's beautiful
zachary048 1 year ago
@zachary048 "Kind and Generous" :)
NomenNescioNY 1 year ago
For those who said she was pretentious, let me respond with this: As an artist, you have to respect and honor your work before anyone else does. Natalie is successful and she is one of the best writers and singers of our time. For her to honor her own work is not pretentious, but instead confident in her ability to reach to those of us who are willing to accept, which by past precedent, has been in the millions. Love this performance and this record.
dlsheahan4 1 year ago
No matter how I feel, Nathalie Merchants music always fits. She's brilliant.
Heidi19689 1 year ago
ERES UN ANGEL...! TIENES QUE HABER BAJADO DEL CIELO...!
MARIELAPEREZ112010 1 year ago
Best place to find women # lushfmlk.info #
devindevon59 1 year ago
Serious artist. Brilliant concept. Excellent. For those who don't get it. Quit it.
2short2q 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Any one could convert this vid to mp3 and download at mp3tuber..net
Darrick11485 1 year ago
I saw this show at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Ma. She had on a black dress buttoned up to her neckand down to below her calves, but she still managed to appear sexy (in a hot librarian way). I find her so brilliant musically, that I was suprised and taken with her vunerablity and seeming lack of confidence during this show. I have to say that this was one of her first few shows for this album. God bless her!
ernielabell 1 year ago 8
True...Maratel l946....you can never get her out...I like all her songs.... find myself listening a lot to "If No One Marries Me," Sweet and a Lullaby," and never get tired of the "The janitor's Boy." Be well.....
SerachbatAsher 1 year ago
quieroo su discoooo
geritaalanis 1 year ago
Went to go see her in berekley two weeks ago. Let me tell you that it was one of the very best shows I have ever seen of hers. at first she seemed slightly nervous not much talking in between songs. But after a couple of songs oh my god she was beyond words. She came out for two or three times on time she was out there for 30 plus mins. Signing old stuff with a new twist to it, telling funny stories. The show was over 3 hours and it was amazing I can' t even tell you how good it was.
mymonkeydusty 1 year ago
A bit creepy for Natalie, but fabulous none the less!
Hervat7675 1 year ago
I saw her at the Strathmore in Maryland. Unbelievable show.... Words cannot even come close to explain the energy at the show.
dbsizzle 1 year ago 3
I am so damn jealous...
Just talked to my sister a few nights ago. A friend and colleague of hers
got tickets to see Natalie in Philly for my sister's birthday!! They are both teachers of poetry for elementary school children. I am soooo excited that they are going to see Natalie...yet I am incredibly jealous. Thank God for TED!!!
Natalie's concert.
tobama08 1 year ago
saw her at Town Hall last nite...was blown away, what an amazing singer and performer!
nikagoci 1 year ago
This is just pure music and genius..
Natalie originally wanted to give her daughter a gift.
Ironically, Natalie received her own gift : The gift of discovering poetry.
She admitted herself that she never "got" the meaning of poems;
that is until, she put poems to music. I think Natalie was scared...
at the beginning of this new journey. Suddenly, a gift she wanted
to give to her daughter, turned out to be the gift she gave to both
of them. Ahhhh, how poetry and music collide!!!
tobama08 1 year ago
I heard this woman for the first time, 23 years ago ... and my life has been better ever since. THANK YOU NATALIE!
tgradyc 1 year ago
I saw Natalie perform these songs live in Los Angeles, and she was impressive!
siasia2 1 year ago
Who can blame the audience for showing their admiration for Natalie's performance?
drfoxcourt 1 year ago
I must admit that the album was better than the show, but then I really really enjoyed the show in Dublin so you can only immagine what I thoght of the Album.
Thanks for the post well worth either
padraigpurseal 1 year ago
@padraigpurseal I saw her a few hours ago here in New York and loved every minute of the concert .
An Irish NM fan living in The Big Apple
mulroasted 1 year ago
@mulroasted
Excellant, by the way what sort of backing had she got?
But she was great here too believe me really good
Slan Tamaill
Paddy P.
padraigpurseal 1 year ago
@padraigpurseal She had fiddles 2 guitars ,2 double bass piano and piano accordion and and a clarinet.?......great sound
Thanks for reply ................Slan
mulroasted 1 year ago
This is absolutely beautiful
TesTesTeseooo 1 year ago
Amazing . . . .
westernokgal 1 year ago
30 minutes worth of Natalie Merchant's latest work recorded earlier this year. Enjoy!
aveledo 1 year ago
tobama08 1 year ago 2
I had the good luck of seeing Natalie at the recent Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. She was simply magical, sweet of voice and sweet of nature, a pure delight. I have the good fortune of having tickets to see her in Gateshead and the Cambridge Folk Festival. Thanks for posting this, it shows just why Natalie should be top of every music loving persons collection.
afmorriarty 1 year ago
This video has made me fall in love with Ms. Merchant! I absolutely ADORE all of her pieces here, and how much life she brings to these old works. Absolutely amazing! I just can't stop listening :D
KaeAlexandria 1 year ago
All I can say is...
Thank YOU!!! For this absolutely AMAZING video!!!
tobama08 1 year ago
My only response...
Whoever doesn't "get" what Natalie has extraordinarily
accomplished musically... well, it is sincerely to their detriment.
Gee.. let's see how long it takes for them to even fifure out what
I just said. For those fans of Natalie's intent, music and voice..
we agree wholeheartedly... she is a TRUE musician: Artistically,
musically and authentically.
tobama08 1 year ago
What an amazing talent. I've given away three copies of this CD in the week since I heard it.
hrothgleas 1 year ago
Lovely, this is wonderful.
IsaDesOsiers 1 year ago
Comment removed
lemonfreshman 1 year ago
Natalie Merchant, you are an angel. What a wonderful idea. Beautifully executed. Absolutely brilliant.
crawleah 1 year ago
some of these comment reactions are totally bizarre. does every type of music, art & literature have to be loud, brash, and pointless? if you're watching TED talks I'd presume you're open minded to something quietly thoughtful. guess in our soundbite, instant gratification world there is little space for something more eloquent. and the comment about her dead eyes clearly didn't watch her sing Spring & Fall.
TKinBaltimore 1 year ago
@TKinBaltimore
Her pretention at the end is excruciating. Just sing the damn song! She had it going and then started giving the audience instructions, slowing it down and killing the enthusiasm. And she did this more than once. lol
Zeldovich 1 year ago
She is true to her art!!! Great voice and spirit. A must see live indeed. Thank you Natalie.
tonesinIE 1 year ago
Despite being very soft spoken, she seems to speak volumes over those that seek the same attention through coercion.
Masterphan 1 year ago
اعظم فنانه من الغرب في العصر
جميله جدا
hadage30 1 year ago
I loved it!
feralpandy 1 year ago
This live version is loads better than the final album. Why can't producers just let good things be?
kpfell 1 year ago
Great performance. Her new album is full of variety and sonic-ally much better than even her great solo albums. If you like folk rock or traditional music you must buy this album.
waruwarugpx 1 year ago
@martel1946 you are absolutely correct, 100%.
diverrboy 1 year ago
Love it.
For the NM haters - why did you even bother watching it? She's brilliant. Admit it.
diverrboy 1 year ago 2
@diverrboy Brilliant is a relative term. For some, brilliant requires a pole dance. For others it might be 110db of very lame amateur guitar play. Unfortunately, Ms. Merchant doesn't satisfy them. Of course, she has generated her share of vicious hatred from the radical right based on her support of such efforts as Doctors Without Borders, for example; so some of it is just built-in political hate.
The hate is irrelevant in the end. It defeats itself.
Martel1946 1 year ago 3
@diverrboy
i do love natalie, but the mask? the mask had to have been her idea. not even amusing it was almost disturbing/
theMETALDOVE 1 year ago
Natalie - you are the best!
maxineamon 1 year ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
not a particularly good voice. Or a very interesting performance. I'd have brought my laptop to the lecture just so the boredom wouldn't have killed me.
ratholin 1 year ago
@ratholin what a great comment! You probably have a great voice and are very interesting, it's a shame you are undiscovered.
tsaeth 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
@tsaeth I'm not on stage ripping off dead people's art and squawking like a menopausal duck for half an hour.
ratholin 1 year ago
@ratholin You seem to squawk pretty well! I don't know if you're like a menopausal duck or not, but that is probably because you are still undiscovered. A few more comments on YouTube and you should be on your way. Good Luck!
tsaeth 1 year ago
@tsaeth Your feeble straw man fails. like your wannabe girlfriend. It's fun to see a lack of wit trying to defend a lack of talent. All you need is a lack of luck and you'd be the perfect trio of failure.
ratholin 1 year ago
@ratholin squawk squawk squawk! The perfect trio of failure.
tsaeth 1 year ago
@ratholin can this be removed please? This is not blogging, it is ranting to the side of the discussion.
IsaDesOsiers 1 year ago
@IsaDesOsiers it was a reply to a response to a normal sounding reply I gave. I'll delete it since it seemed to end their ad hominen to straw man attack while my good logic hadn't and I feel debased at resorting to their level in order to converse and therefore to win an argument when I realized logic and debate were off the table. I do apologize for offending your sensibilities.
ratholin 1 year ago
@ratholin
Don't delete anything. I like Merchant, but those who can't tolerate negative opinions are simply weak-minded fools who probably shouldn't leave their beds for fear of disagreement.
Zeldovich 1 year ago
@IsaDesOsiers aww de'il take it. the delete option doesn't show up anymore. why does youtube keep changing their rules?
ratholin 1 year ago
@ratholin It's not "ripping off" their work. It is giving it new life--reviving poems that were significant at one time but have been forgotten. It is what the poets would have wanted--more than perpetual obscurity. It's a beautiful project. It's wonderful when artists can build on each other's work. Modern art has this mistaken idea that all creativity and thought occurs in a vacuum. Its not so. Look at TS Eliot. In your summation, he would be a shameless plagiarizer.
nurisim 1 year ago 8
@nurisim
I could not have said it better myself
You articulated my sentiments EXACTLY!!!
Thank you so very much... you have instilled new hope
in this inane medium called the internet... which ironically just fulfilled everyone's fears of disconnect.
Nonetheless.. thank you for your comment.
tobama08 1 year ago
@nurisim
How do you know what the poets would have wanted? That's stupid.
Zeldovich 1 year ago
@Zeldovich All I know is that people write to express themselves; to communicate some deep meaning to others. It takes courage and perseverance and brilliance and they don't do it to float into obscurity after a hundred years. I think that anything that keeps the conversation about their work going would be better than having it forgotten forever. Whether you liked this performance or not, you have to admit that you heard the voices of those long dead, and it had to have stirred something.
nurisim 1 year ago
@ratholin
I thought the performance was fine until the end. Talk about pretentious.
Zeldovich 1 year ago
wow this is good stuff!
TheMonsterzero 1 year ago 2
I really enjoyed this. ^^ Thank you for posting!
UndeniablyLiz 1 year ago 3
She's great. Love Gerard Manley Hopkins.
TheFallibleFiend 1 year ago
Here she goes again! The angel of sound, rewiring more minds. Once she gets in there, you'll never get her out again. Just shut it out! Don't listen! If you do, she'll make you more human! Run! ;-)
Martel1946 1 year ago 40
@Martel1946 I've been trying to put my finger on it, but you nailed it: "The angel of sound, rewiring more minds. Once she gets in there, you'll never get her out again." Bingo!
virtualDavis 1 year ago
@virtualDavis
Hahahaha... that was a great comment, wasn't it??
tobama08 1 year ago
@Martel1946
LOL I absolutely luv ur sarcasm...
I AM running... where's the humanity???
I can't find it!!! Now I am completely lost.
......STILL running..... oh yeah, found Natalie's video.
I'm good. Just found my human-ness again WHEW!!
tobama08 1 year ago
@Martel1946 She got in, I just could not shut her out,She drew me in! I truly feel more human! I could not run
Thanks to her I got sucked in. I am in Love. I saw her live in Syracuse, N.Y. when she came out with Tigerlily at the Landmark Theater. I first fell I in Love at that concert
psmith41561 1 year ago
@eatingperson ok, next time I'll ask them to invite 50 cent
SophosVII 1 year ago
@SophosVII is it ok if i'm not all white and elitist and thusly like nm and 5c......
DominicanoOR 1 year ago
She dances like Elaine from Seinfeld and sings like she's sitting on a broken drying machine. This is music for an elementary school not for a TED audience.
Why are the science and technology talks so interesting and the music segment is always complete bullshit? TED needs a music programmer who knows what they're doing.
eatingperson 1 year ago
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@eatingperson Very True, The E in TED usually dissapoints.
This took almost no talent.
1. Find 18th century poems
2. Put them to generic melodies.
Is this seriously considered impressive? Because if so, I should be at TED.
Ipoonthecasbah 1 year ago
@Ipoonthecasbah
I agree. The musicianship is definitely not something to be impressed by, and the songs were pretty generic within each style they played. TED has done a good job getting really good musicians in the past (Nellie McKay, Vusi Mahlasela), but this is a bit disappointing for them.
Disruptdguitrist 1 year ago
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mmadude3121 1 year ago
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mmadude3121 1 year ago
@Ipoonthecasbah
LOL I don't entirely agree, the the pretention was plentfiul.
Zeldovich 1 year ago
@Ipoonthecasbah 3. Make music which suits the poem. And she did a damn good job.
Maijlow 1 year ago 3
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mmadude3121 1 year ago
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mmadude3121 1 year ago
@eatingperson
Nat's great, but the pretention at the end was almost unbearable.
Zeldovich 1 year ago
wth... sometimes after the video is over, the video links that are displayed have 5 star ratings still on them. I get all excited with some sort of pavlovian glee when I see that. Oh please youtube, give us back our stars.
Ipoonthecasbah 1 year ago
it is amazing and beautiful, and in no way shape or form deserves constructive criticism for to criticize this is truly perfectionism it is as good as we could ever expect a performance to be and to want more without producing it yourself is entirely selfish
bunkmasterflex 1 year ago
@bunkmasterflex
Finished whacking off yet?
Zeldovich 1 year ago
This is so awesome.
sparklebijou 1 year ago
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wow she got fat, Insecurity in the status quo is much more appealing.
greenwall100 1 year ago
This wonderful lady sang me to sleep. Quite delightful! -:)
Mrmoc7 1 year ago 3
Really great performer, instant love from me!
heethen1 1 year ago 8
Since Bioshock I'm scared of these masks. :D
heethen1 1 year ago 2
Fantastic music and video - well done to all concerned - This is my introduction to Natalie
DreamTeamAudio 1 year ago
It was an interesting video but there was something about her I just found unnerving.
TherianthropeAndrewH 1 year ago
@TherianthropeAndrewH Her eyes never change; an (apparently) complete lack of affect. I agree; I like the music, but not sure how to feel about her.
Kojak7snap 1 year ago
@TherianthropeAndrewH
Pretention?
Zeldovich 1 year ago
Never heard of her; enjoyed the first song. Thumbs up. And I have to say, I've never been that interested in "poetry" per se , but putting it into nifty tunes is pretty effective and nicely done. She is defiantly a true musical artist by doing this.
isellsoap1 1 year ago
Wow, this was really great. Can't believe I haven't listened to her before.
angelwhite 1 year ago 2
cool this is a great way to bring back poetry
MusicBySav 1 year ago
It is a long-awaited video with powerful pleasure. Excellent music!!! If we live with these kinds of music often-and-often, we will not have wars, I guess:-))). Good job, TED.
Dreamrio 1 year ago
Glad someone pointed this link, its amazing such a beautifull songs.
willemjasp 1 year ago
She looks and sounds better than ever. So glad this is posted! :)
thatcrazyredhead 1 year ago
Beautiful.
IntrepidStranger 1 year ago 2
Thanks. :)
denbowan 1 year ago
I absolutely love this video especially the ending. Many times the struggles and hardships of unnamed researchers and contributors go without thanks. Just like her project to revive dusty poems. This is a nice little tribute to everyone's effort in trying to improve the world.
ruckenfigur 1 year ago 3
Da fuck?
UncleKennybobs 1 year ago
A pretty different kind of TEDTalks, but great nonetheless.
ErichoTTA 1 year ago
Simply amazing -Thank you!! :))
11thDawn 1 year ago
I love it. I think it's gentle and appropriate in every sense and feeling. Pleasing to say the least. I am grateful to be reminded of these poems in such an original way and I commend the artists! To say it's beautiful is not doing it justice!
QuodRarumCarum 1 year ago 2
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The thing, that made me cry, was, that she didn't do it. Where was the one to hug while she suffered all the fail of the audience... I'm still feeling a little bit bad on the inside, after I walked off this site.
TigerYoshiki 1 year ago
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TigerYoshiki 1 year ago
I do agree that this is a brilliant way to bring poems to life, but personally, I can only tease out meaning or depth in a poem through reading it aloud. I find that it betters my comprehension of the text, rather than hearing lyrics. But for entertainment purposes, this is perfect. The band and lady singer did a terrific job.
fellowtuber123 1 year ago 2
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The is the equivalent of having a scientist come and speak at TED about Jello pudding. Come on. The only concert I've ever seen on TED and it's this?? Really? TED can't do any better? Put some real music!
Why have popular music at TED? Why does TED need to contribute to what's already all over the place? Even as popular music, this wasn't ever good at all. All these brilliant people in the audience and you program simpleton music like this?? Also...worst dancer ever. Elaine from Seinfeld.
eatingperson 1 year ago
@eatingperson
actually for ted this is the best musician that's ever been on, so hey! if you don't like this then do yourself a favor and avoid the other musical talks
mazdaplz 1 year ago 28
@mazdaplz I think eatingperson was just trolling, i.e. posting not in order to express an opinion but in order to annoy people by pretending to hold a patently absurd opinion. Someone might love the performance or hate it, but describing it as "popular music" is like claiming that eatingperson's comment is written in an obscure dialect of Ancient Egyptian.
Personally, because there was so much variety, I thought some songs were wonderful (e.g. the 1st) while others left me cold (e.g. the 2nd).
Zerrakhi 1 year ago
@mazdaplz Hmmm...can't say I agree with you here. Herbie Hancock gave a good one as did Kaki King. They Might Be Giants is less than par as were a few others, but surly not ALL of them. Eh, different strokes for different folks.
kristor 1 year ago
@kristor
I love Herbie Hancock but his TED performance was bullshit.
eatingperson 1 year ago
@eatingperson what type of music would you suggest?
bigbossmatt 1 year ago
Wonderful musicians. Quality !
ShakespeareAvenue 1 year ago
I loved this...so awesome!
deaneden79 1 year ago
Beauty....... Thanks for sharing this.
MaggieHG 1 year ago 2
She's crazy, loved it
LemonLimeLaughter 1 year ago 19
This music is quite beautiful, indeed. But I have to add a side note... those masked never blink... it's creepy lol
rocker341dan 1 year ago
Those songs are so beautiful it's ridiculous.
Gesmehod 1 year ago 2
Bill Gates admitted on his most recent TED talk that he wants to use vaccines to reduce the world population... so no Natalie, he is not generous in my mind.
tranceman14 1 year ago
@tranceman14
If you really wanted to reduce populations you would be against vaccines-- polio's done a decent job, for example, at whipping out whole villages and communities.
Hamandchees3 1 year ago
@Hamandchees3 You would also make suicide, assister or otherwise, legal, firing up the "suicide booths" of Futurama.
So much of the food that is grown is completely wasted in order to keep prices high enough to warrant farming in the first place.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago
@tranceman14
Population, at some point, must be curbed. Whether nature takes the reigns or we humans, who knows--but it has to be done.
mwtillotson 1 year ago
@mwtillotson You be the first. Please kill yourself and your whole family. Lead by an example.
supermaucat 1 year ago
@supermaucat
Thanks for adding something meaningful to the conversation. Perhaps next time, you could state why you agree or disagree with my statement?
Moron.
mwtillotson 1 year ago
@mwtillotson I disagree with your notion of 'must' and 'has to be done'. As demand in nature exceeds supply there will be friction and, as you say, it tends to be corrected either by humans or nature itself, but I do not think there is an objective reason to say whether it is desirable or not.
bigbossmatt 1 year ago
@bigbossmatt
I personally would restate your comment this way: "Population, at some point, tends to be curbed (unless some mechanism is introduced to make some part of the process more efficient). Whether nature takes the reigns or we humans, who knows - but it seems inevitable.
bigbossmatt 1 year ago
@bigbossmatt
I never spoke in terms of desirability--this is why I said "must" rather than "should".
And it is not enough to say that when demand in nature exceeds supply, there is a tendency for the friction to be resolved. This is not a tendency, but an absolute certainty. Even if supply is somehow increased to the growing demand, the demand itself will become exponentially greater due to population increases.
Then the problem arises again. Something has to give.
mwtillotson 1 year ago
@mwtillotson
I guess my confusion was entirely in the fact that I saw your use of the word 'must' to mean 'should'. Essentially we mean the same thing.
And I avoided using 'certainty' in favour of 'tends to' because if you look at the process over a shorter period of time it is possible that the curbing hasn't happened yet.
bigbossmatt 1 year ago
@bigbossmatt
For example, take famine in Africa during the 50s. Starvation was one factor stopping population growing, better agriculture made farming more productive and the population grew larger. If you just look at that string of events then curbing was avoided. This is by the by though because as you say, now the demand is higher, where it ends, who knows, but over a long enough period...
Something has to give.
bigbossmatt 1 year ago
@mwtillotson
reins, not reigns
Reign is something Natalie does as a goddess of sonic art.
Martel1946 1 year ago
@tranceman14 Natalie has been known to mean the exact opposite of what she seems to be saying. For example, the 10000 Maniacs video "Candy Everybody Wants". Is she in this case? Don't know.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago
Awesome singing
Those masks are really trippy.
kangsin 1 year ago
9:20 - I like how the guy puts his arm around his partner and gives her a kiss. :)
Tanru2000 1 year ago
Real great work natalie, good to see you again
shootshoot 1 year ago
Maggie and Milly and Molly and Me = BLISS :)
TimTrimT 1 year ago
Such a very cool project.
chodaboy51500 1 year ago
Almost half-way through. The thing about this, so far, is that she is doing very little speaking, and she's a very amusing speaker. Extremely well-read and brilliant. She gets complaints for getting political during her concerts, but here, where I have not observed that it should be a problem, she isn't saying much.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago
Wow, TED hosts Natalie Merchant! She's certainly the sort of person TED should be hosting, but it will be interesting to see how different her presentation is.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago
she reminds me of an american shakira
Prestonboy13 1 year ago
@Prestonboy13 If you mean her voice, yeah, she has always had that throaty, velvety (some describe it as "marbles in her throat") quality.
Check out some early 10000 Maniacs. A couple videos (Mother the War, Scorpio Rising and maybe Don't Talk) are very raw and high energy.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago
whenever people claim to "bring something to life" that just communicates to me that the "thing" is indeed dead and what these people are doing is a desperate attempt to assure everyone otherwise... makes sense?
not that I think poetry is dead... but it has a huge artsy cancer where its brain used to be
strappinggermanlad 1 year ago
*whispers* SHHH stop crying, everyone's asleep.
GundamFreaq 1 year ago
i'm glad i get to watch ted on youtube, if i was at the conference and this came on i'd walk out
groMMit1981 1 year ago
ugh. Not spending time watching that.
666RID 1 year ago
what a weirdo. so picky. just let the people enjoy your music how they want to.
pauliepd 1 year ago
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pauliepd 1 year ago
Nice idea, well executed. Good choice of poems for singing, it sounds very natural. Her voice is nice and dynamic and the instrumental parts are well composed. Presentation might be a bit on the longside, but still very well done!
ThaTyger 1 year ago
I'm not wasting half an hour of my life on this arty-farty middle-class wankery!
neil73 1 year ago
@neil73 It's interesting that you say that, because those are almost the EXACT words I used to describe Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs, back in the mid-90's. "Art-fags" or "artsy-fartsy", I believe I said. But then I bought "In My Tribe" and gave it a listen.
Sure, you may not agree with her politics (I should think most TEDsters would, from what I've observed over the past few months), but she won't fail to convey a few lessons, if you let this "school marm" have a minute.
IWannabeJew 1 year ago