The S Word
The Culture Show tonight (BBC2) had a feature on the new film of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd.
There were clips from the film and an interview with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp conducted by Mark Kermode.
At no point did anyone mention the words Stephen Sondheim.
Not programme presenter Lauren Laverne.
Not Mark Kermode.
Not Tim Burton,
Not Johnny Depp.
Nobody.
There have been many Sweeney Todds. This particular one is Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
It's one of the greatest stage musicals of the past fifty years. It is possibly Sondheim's finest work.
Those last two statements can be argued about.
This one can't: it is Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
That''s STEPHEN SONDHEIM.
It's Tim Burton's film.
It's Johnny Depp's portrayal of Sweeney Todd.
It was Mark Kermode's interview.
But not one of them made even the most fleeting reference to STEPHEN SONDHEIM.
The ignorant twats.
The disrespectful fucking bastards.
The despicable, up-their-own-arses, ego-consumed c**ts.
(I'll return to Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd at some point. At the moment I'm too fucking angry and I've just broken my keyboard).
posted by Willie Lupin @ 6:55 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I know, it's a scandal. Serious music is being written out of history at every turn. In yesterday's Observer special (it might have been Saturday's Guardian) on the 'revolution' of 1968 and its effect on culture, a wide range of arts and media were mentioned, but not a word about serious music. Two of the most seminal modern musical works - Stockhausen's Stimmung and Berio's Sinfonia - were written in 1968.
They did at least cover TV.
I couldn't bring myself to read that Observer special. So much rubbish is written about the sixties. For most of us, 1968 wasn't much different from 1958.
I'd never watched The Culture Show before but I could equally have ranted about that.
Newsnight Review managed to mention Sondheim at least once, but I think only once. I wonder if the US writers' strike is as much about recognition as money? If Sondheim struggles to get a name check, what hope is there for others?
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