Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Classic Arts Showcase

Do any of you get this channel? If so, try leaving it on for an hour or so, and see what shows up.

As the website suggests, it's a 24 hour satellite feed of performing arts clips of various genres and from widely differing eras. It has been around for years, and every once in a while, I get a kick out of turning it on. You are never quite certain what you are in for.

It can be enjoyable at times, as it plays classical music performances, and clips from old, "classic films". But it can also play highly obscure, off the wall stuff as well. Snippets from documentaries on composers most of us have never heard of, wacked out animations from as long ago as 1913, silent film clips, and oddly filmed music videos set to classical pieces. Some of these videos, despite being set to the music of Beethoven and Mozart, can be just as bizarre, if not more so, than the modern pop music videos you might find on MTV. (When they actually play videos anymore.)

A game I like to play is to leave it on for a specified period of time, and then decide which clip in that period was the straight up weirdest. Once in a while, none of them are weird at all. But there is a good bet, that even the most highly cultured among you will find something that makes you say, "What am I watching??" at least once, if you leave it on for an hour or so.

Also good for insomnia sometimes, when left on TV in the middle of the night.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just saw your post on Classic Arts Showcase (I'm a bit behind the times, but Classic Arts Showcase is timeless), and hope you still enjoy the Arts channel. I'm an old bag who has worked in the film industry most of my life, and think Classic Arts Showcase is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Jamie Rigler does an amazing job of putting those videos together. Having programmed a classical music radio station and edited films, I know how much effort and talent it takes to make it work.

Why not email the good folks at CAS, and let them know you enjoy the program.

Good luck with your acting career!