Three Favorite Prayers

Jucifer: Hennin Hardine

Weekend Music

This one is a bit different from the other husband-and-wife bands I've been posting. You might want to make sure your audio is at a low-to-moderate volume before you click on it; you can always turn it up if you need to. If you watch the video and follow the story that goes on between the performance scenes, make sure you're paying attention around 3:50.

More info on Jucifer here. Not being a tennis fan, I was puzzled by the name of the song, so I googled it and learned that it was for a while the married name (slightly misspelled) of a pro tennis player, Justine Henin. I'm guessing that the song is connected to the breakup of her marriage.

Comments

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That's just noise, sonny.

Heh. I trust you took note of my caution about volume.

LOL. I don't think I'm going to run out and buy this one.

AMDG

I still have several bands on my husband-wife list, but none as abrasive as this.

I hope that we will be hearing from the Millers before too long.

And the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers?

I had forgotten about the Millers--thanks!

This isn't exactly my cuppa either, but that's ok.

Don't forget Ira & Georgia from 'Yo La Tengo'!

Well I would mention a couple, but I'm waiting to see if they turn up.

AMDG

Yeah, YLT is on my list. Also Windy and Carl. That may be it, actually--the list is at home so I'm not sure. So go ahead and tell me yours, Janet. I suspect they don't include either of the above. I haven't actually focused on this and tried to think of people, just put them on the list when something brought them to my attention.

I can't remember how I came across Jucifer at all, much less the fact that they're married. I do actually like this track, btw, though I don't know how much of their stuff I'd want to hear.
I thought about the White Stripes this morning but decided they no longer qualify since they were divorced before they got to be big stuff (I think). I guess Richard & Linda Thompson would qualify, though they split up later.

Well, that was who I was thinking.

AMDG

Good catch. I suppose I would have thought of them eventually but y'all's questions made me stop and, like, think.

I love it. A sports allusion.

AMDG

Which I didn't get...

?????

Oh, you meant "good catch"? I don't think of that as referring to sports. I thought you meant the song name. I was wondering why you waited two days to mention it.

Do Abba count?

If a singer marries the stage, does that make them a husband and wife act?

I guess we have to take your word for it.

AMDG

ABBA, most definitely.

Goodness, Paul, where did you get that?

I hope I can be forgiven for finding the sing-along lyric display sorta funny. But you know, in our hearts, nobody raised in the west really and truly believes anyone can read that stuff.

Paul actually can read it. He has been to China and if you look on his FB photos, you can see a picture of him in China with a giant Smurf. "Giant Smurf" seems a contradiction in terms, doesn't it?

AMDG

I can't see the youtube video, but I gather from the commentary here that there are Chinese subtitles? I agree with Mac that the idea that people read those characters must be an elaborate ruse.

But, on a related note, I recently discovered that the Korean language is written with a phonetic alphabet, and it is quite easy, with just a little practice, to learn to pronounce it. I can now make some progress on the menu at a Korean restaurant: 'boool-goh-gi', 'kym-chee', 'bee-beem-bab', etc. A few days ago I drove by a Korean church and I was able to sound out the first part of the sign: 'Gaa-li-lee'.

Amazing.

That's pretty cool, Craig. I didn't know that about Korean.

I guess a giant Smurf is just one of those inscrutable things.

I read somewhere a day or two ago that the younger generation of Chinese are losing the ability to read pictographs. That assumes, of course, that we accept the claim that anyone can--it's possible that Paul was merely brainwashed or coerced into telling us that he can read them. Maybe what actually happened was that he learned the secret of detecting the English letters disguised in them.

Being in China was simply the opportunity to be amazed at being able to read and understand the occasional word, and have meaningful conversations along the lines of "Tea please", "Not for me, thanks", and "Well, which is the right bus then?". That was just the culminating moment of five years of evening classes in Belgium (and ten years of Chinese films).

The video is from Anita Mui's farewell concert, when she had terminal cervical cancer and "married the stage" just before leaving it (which, with no disrespect, I've always thought a trifle odd).

Oh my goodness, I didn't realize Janet meant an actual Smurf...I thought she was just referring to some big blue thing. Well, personally I've always been a little fond of the Smurfs.

I got a chuckle out of the "profound impression."

When I say Giant Smurf, Giant Smurf is what I mean. If you will look closely, you will see that Paul's shirt and sweater are smurf-colored.

AMDG

I admire a woman who isn't afraid to call a giant smurf a giant smurf.

The fact that the singer was dying when that video was made lends it some poignancy, though it is still a bit strange. I wasn't necessarily looking at the screen all the way through--was there some specific thing she did, other than wearing the wedding gown?

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