U.S. Ladies [#26]: Bell, Boots, and Camel

[Vagabond]

Banal Britney Spears music is as "safe" as you can get.

 

[VGThuy]

Figure skating music is stuck in a rut. I thought allowing music with lyrics was supposed to open up skating to more contemporary music rather than the same old boring warhorses over and over and over and over again...but every time someone thinks outside the box and picks something modern, they get shot down and told to pick something "safer."

When certain choices are shot down it's usually because people think the specific song choice is awful and experience shows that usually the programs are one step above being a generic exhibitions with nothing memorable choreographically. When people pick contemporary choices, it can be celebrated if people like them as with countless ice dance choices or with James/Cipres' programs or even Sui/Han's LP this past season.

 

[Sylvia]

Felicia Zhang was an accomplished singles skater, as well as 2014 Olympian in pairs, so I will link to her tweet here: https://twitter.com/felicia_zhang/status/1131365253768536064
She graduated yesterday from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey - Magna Cum Laude Biology major with Psychology minor. Congrats to her!

 

[all_empty]

As someone who requested AND danced to "Work B-tch" at his own brother's wedding, I'm all for it. I just worry that the beat is pretty driving and non-stop (there is a nice slow bridge though) but I for one am looking forward to it!

 

[RoseRed]

As someone who requested AND danced to "Work B-tch" at his own brother's wedding, I'm all for it. I just worry that the beat is pretty driving and non-stop (there is a nice slow bridge though) but I for one am looking forward to it!

That's basically my concern with it. I don't love the song, but it's more about whether or not it's really going to work well for skating. I have plenty of ideas of pop songs I would love to see skaters use, this just isn't one I would have chosen because of what you said. But we'll see how it turns out.

 

[Maximillian]

As someone who requested AND danced to "Work B-tch" at his own brother's wedding, I'm all for it. I just worry that the beat is pretty driving and non-stop (there is a nice slow bridge though) but I for one am looking forward to it!

My concern about the 'driving beat' is that a frequent remedy to it is to 'pose' a lot while 'looking fierce', something I have no interest in seeing a skater as elegant as Mariah do.

 

[NAOTMAA]

"Work B****" for Mariah? I expect A LOT of over the top facial expressions, tacky head and shoulder rolls and silly hand movements. I thought we escaped that crap when Adam and Ashley retired but I guess Raphael is determined it lives on

If he had to make Mariah skate to Britney why not "Everytime" ?

 

[Wyliefan]

Presumably Mariah and/or Adam chose the music, not Raf.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Well then as coach he ought to bring out that "tells it like it is" attitude he brings to the kiss and cry and tell her don't be crazy not a chance

 

[VGThuy]

He probably cares more about the skaters hitting their planned content and maximizing points.

 

[all_empty]

"Work B****" for Mariah? I expect A LOT of over the top facial expressions, tacky head and shoulder rolls and silly hand movements. I thought we escaped that crap when Adam and Ashley retired but I guess Raphael is determined it lives on

If he had to make Mariah skate to Britney why not "Everytime" ?

You know I was in the supermarket last week and "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" came on and I found myself singing in the produce section complete with hand gestures.

Re: "Work B-tch," I'll reserve judgment until I see it. Wakaba Higuchi had a program with a similar driving beat and I ended up liking it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAWBGJHr0M

I'm going to put it out here: I'd love to see Mariah skate to "Taking Chances" (the Kara DioGuardi version -- she wrote it). But the middle of the quadrennial is a great time to try new content.

 

[Marco]

If Mariah sticks with this song though, she will at least be stretching her artistic range. Her style has always been so classical or sweet, and she was just starting to show some diva this past year.

 

[Dobre]

Figure skating music is stuck in a rut. I thought allowing music with lyrics was supposed to open up skating to more contemporary music rather than the same old boring warhorses over and over and over and over again...but every time someone thinks outside the box and picks something modern, they get shot down and told to pick something "safer."

Every time anyone picks any music, someone shoots it down. There are scads of people in the world, and they have different musical tastes. The key is to know yourself & your own program and whether, say, your program really isn't working because the music doesn't work for you or whether, say, your program has loads of potential but really isn't working at the beginning of the season because you aren't delivering the content. It can take insight and backbone to keep something, and it can take intelligence sometimes to chuck it. Anyway, modern music is not the only kind of music that is outside of the box. And it is not always shot down. Nathan's Nemesis, Aymoz's Horns, James & Cipres's Wicked Game were all very well received. (I'm kind of blown away to see that Aymoz has skated to all three of these pieces over the past three years). And Brezina's AC/DC and Demougeot & Le Mercier's Metallica did quite well for those specific athletes as well. Etcetera.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

AL these songs with B*tch in the title these days...

Love is a B*tch,
Work B*tch

2020..... Smack My B*tch Up
2021..... B*tch, I'm Madonna
2022... B*tch (by Meredith brooks)

I prefer the refined stylings of Saint-Seans or Rachmaninoff

 

[Carolla5501]

Every time anyone picks any music, someone shoots it down. There are scads of people in the world, and they have different musical tastes. The key is to know yourself & your own program and whether, say, your program really isn't working because the music doesn't work for you or whether, say, your program has loads of potential but really isn't working at the beginning of the season because you aren't delivering the content. It can take insight and backbone to keep something, and it can take intelligence sometimes to chuck it. Anyway, modern music is not the only kind of music that is outside of the box. And it is not always shot down. Nathan's Nemesis, Aymoz's Horns, James & Cipres's Wicked Game were all very well received. (I'm kind of blown away to see that Aymoz has skated to all three of these pieces over the past three years). And Brezina's AC/DC and Demougeot & Le Mercier's Metallica did quite well for those specific athletes as well. Etcetera.

This board is crazy.

On one hand we have the "don't skate to warhorse" posts

On the other we have the "don't skate to THAT" posts.

Hopefully skaters and their teams are smart enough to ignore this entire fan movement. Otherwise they can only skate to silence as someone will always hate any choice!

 

[jiejie]

Skaters can ignore fan comments without consequences when selecting music. However, consideration of what judges might think should be part of the music selection process, at least for any skater with half a brain. I don't think judges are nearly the fuddy-duddies that they are often made out to be, but music with questionable lyric content and "melody" that makes ears bleed and gives headaches when pumped out over crappy speakers at competition venues, might be worth a rethink.

I don't buy the simplicity of the modern vs classical/warhorse argument. I can think of plenty of modern music that would make good program material, and I can think of classical that equates to nails scratching on a blackboard.

With respect to Mariah, IMO she has made a poor choice of this particular "music".

 

[VGThuy]

Skaters should ignore fans and go with what they want to do. However, fans should be free to openly state they don’t like a choice. Then if a skater proves them wrong; then that’s just better.

 

[layman]

With respect to Mariah, IMO she has made a poor choice of this particular "music".

She should probably just skate to Carmen.

 

[AxelAnnie]

She should probably just skate to Carmen.

I am not sure that is a good choice for her either. Just sayin.......

 

[layman]

I am not sure that is a good choice for her either. Just sayin.......

Carmen seems to be the Figure Skating Chestnut that everyone agrees is safe...a consensus pick.

Every skater choses Carmen at some point (and there are usually a dozen or more Carmen programs every season). I see that Mariah has not chosen this music yet.

It's her turn.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Carmen seems to be the Figure Skating Chestnut that everyone agrees is safe...a consensus pick.

Every skater choses Carmen at some point (and there are usually a dozen or more Carmen programs every season). I see that Mariah has not chosen this music yet.

It's her turn.

LOL! I just don't see Mairah as having the chops for that.....but you are right. Maybe it is a right of passage.

 

[Spun Silver]

AL these songs with B*tch in the title these days...

Love is a B*tch,
Work B*tch

2020..... Smack My B*tch Up
2021..... B*tch, I'm Madonna
2022... B*tch (by Meredith brooks)

I prefer the refined stylings of Saint-Seans or Rachmaninoff

Now that I see your new avatar (nice!) I think a Work B*tch type of song would actually suit Bradie quite well. Much more than Mariah. She's a power skater. She could wear the leather dress from her Black Diamonds Ex! Not sure anyone in Bradie's circle would come up with it, or allow it, though.

I'm not even sure I WANT to see Mariah pull off Work B*tch. She should give it to Bradie, and Bradie should give her Cinderella and R&J.

 

[layman]

LOL...and while we are on the subject of Carmen...how is a story of a woman of ill-repute who gets involved in a deadly love triangle any more "appropriate" than Britney Spears? Just sayin....

 

[Tinami Amori]

Every skater choses Carmen at some point (and there are usually a dozen or more Carmen programs every season). I see that Mariah has not chosen this music yet.

One can make a loose argument that "Work Bitch" is a modern day "Carmen".... I can see this done to Habanera ...
https://video-images.vice.com/articles/58a7745dbcb4d579c5cf4a3e/lede/1487716417220-spearswork.jpeg?crop=0.7764xw:1xh;0.0521xw,0xh&resize=650:*&output-quality=55

... although "Carmen" in any versions was gagged and sodomized..
https://media3.giphy.com/media/GDdUcDnyIoOly/source.gif
https://www.breatheheavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/whipney-nope.jpg

 

[coppertop1]

LOL...and while we are on the subject of Carmen...how is a story of a woman of ill-repute who gets involved in a deadly love triangle any more "appropriate" than Britney Spears? Just sayin....

Because everything sounds better when it's sung in French

 

[natsulian]

Upcoming Junior Isabelle Inthisone (Novice Bronze medalist in 2019) shows us a snippet of her practicing a 4T on the harness. They began work on the 4T about a few months ago.

https://www.instagram.com/isabelleinthisone/ - Check out her story

 

[rfisher]

I prefer to wait and see the actual skate before making an opinion regarding if the skater can skate to the music.

 

[VGThuy]

LOL...and while we are on the subject of Carmen...how is a story of a woman of ill-repute who gets involved in a deadly love triangle any more "appropriate" than Britney Spears? Just sayin....

To me, it's not really about appropriateness but more of the fact that I LOATHE that song. But I think I hate or am indifferent to almost every Britney song even though she is of my generation and we're both from the same state. I never liked the sound of her voice or the way she sang even if I could recognize the good production of some of her songs. I get that it's a "me" problem and not a Britney problem.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Alysa Liu's coach, Laura Lipetsky, wins "Coach of Year Award".

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx2mlVlH6Wj/?igshid=vs7fu9gpf2ut

 

[VGThuy]

Alysa Liu's coach, Laura Lipetsky, wins "Coach of Year Award".

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx2mlVlH6Wj/?igshid=vs7fu9gpf2ut

I'm surprised it's not Raf who coached a World Champion and another skater who made it Worlds and got her to skate well there even with some strange controversy that became serious abuse and harassment against her in the middle of the competition.