The truth is: I have a very strong love/hate relationship with Glee. There are bits of it I truly adore. Like Brittney. She is by far the funniest person in the show – how can you NOT laugh at lines like “Is God an evil dwarf?”; “I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a Dentist”; and (referring to a motorised prosthetic device to help Arnie walk that she found under her Christmas tree) “I didn't buy it. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a Transformer.” I love the talent that is on display, and I love that it brings music back into my life every week. I like that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and is willing to admit that every song they share, like the episodes themselves, is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Sadly, the list stuff I don’t love so much is beginning to grow. I really am beginning to hate Mr. Schuester. Actually, I don’t hate him so much on screen as I do off-screen. I man, his character has pretty much been sidelined recently, so there’s not much to love or hate about him on air. But pictures of him like this make me want to hurl. As does the fact that he’s bringing out a solo album, and that one of his personal quotes on IMDB reads: “I'm not comfortable with the idea of my sex appeal, but I know in my job I have to use it. I wish I could say I got to this point in my career based on my talent, but I don't think that's true.” Why, Schue, why??? I think Matthew Morrison is the reason that Sue Sylvester’s jibes at Mr Schuester have grown funnier to me in the past few months: the guy seems like an ass.
Now, there are more things that both enthral and bother me about Glee, but I’ll stick to my TuNesday remit for now and concentrate on the music. I love that the show introduces me to or (more often than not) reminds me of music that used to play a big part in my younger life. The whole Journey revival and the constant presence of Glee covers in the charts may have been annoying, but Don’t Stop Believing is an awesome track, and I have to admit that the Glee version of it was refreshing – it still gets my toes tapping. I loved Neil Patrick Harris’ episode -if you've not yet checked out Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, you need to do so immediately! You can watch the first in the window below, but I highly recommend buying the whole thing on iTunes. Thank me later.
The talent of the actors in the show is undeniable – even if you don’t particularly like their music. However, for every song they’ve dusted off and given new life, they’ve also murdered one in return. They have played a few songs badly, and – perhaps more damaging – they have done good covers of songs I loved and thought would be my tasteful little secret for years to come.
An example of the former that springs to mind immediately is Mr. Schuester and Puck’s rendition of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’. Now, for anyone hearing this ukulele arrangement for the first time, you might think ‘Wow. That’s pretty clever.’ But you’re wrong. Actually, you’re not wrong, you’re just being duped into thinking that Glee made it as good as that. I hate that they’ve ripped this off from Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole, and his version that is quite literally one of the prettiest pieces of music I’ve ever heard. The man was massive, and his delicate version of the song belies his sizable frame. The song always makes me teary, in a good way… which is probably why the Glee version makes me so incredibly annoyed. Maybe that’s the power of Glee – and the spectrum of music that they cover ensures that they will move people to equal extremes, depending on any viewer’s attachment with the song they’re reviving/destroying (take your pick).
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