Hedwig
For the start of the new year, I wanted to take my reviews in a
different direction. Going on a cue from a fellow associate (many
thanks Russell), I decided it was just as important to write a review
from the point of view of one having seen physical imagery, alongside
of good ass kicking music, and so it is that Doktor Avalanche and I
found ourselves watching for the umpteenth time "Hedwig and the Angry
Inch". It started out at the Jane Street Theater, and made its way on
a global scale, straight to your DVD player. It's sort of a
combination of a pseudo punk rock opera/emotional journey of one very
unique individual who started out his life as Hansel, and through the
course of several life changing events, became Hedwig, the
transgendered punk rocker.
DENY ME, AND BE DOOMED.
Hedwig's music is mainly 'devil may care', quick - witted, and
brilliant. But, that same boldness, when not channeled through her
songs, also acts like an emotional defense towards others. As a
singer/songwriter, Hedwig is wonderfully expressive in ways we don't
normally get the opportunity to see and experience. And when the
music stops, she shows a wide range of emotions ranging from highs to
lows in her never-ending quest to find her missing "other half".
"It is clear that I must find my other half, but is it a he? Or a
she? What does this person look like? Identical to me, or somehow
complimentary? Does my other half have what I don't? Did he get the
looks? The luck? The love? Were we really separated forcibly, or did
he just run off with the good stuff? Or did I? Will this person
embarrass me? What about sex? Is that how we put ourselves back
together again? Or can two people actually become...One...again?"
The journey begins in communist East Berlin, where a young Hansel is
living with his mother, once married to an American soldier. Over the
course of his tender youth, Hansel is interfered with repeatedly, not
only by his own father, but by many others as well. Eventually, he
meets an American soldier "sugar daddy" of his own, who offers to
marry him and take him out of Germany, and to a better life in the
U.S. But is it really a better life?
Hedwig must undergo a sex change operation in order to marry the
soldier and relocate to the states. After a time, the soldier leaves
Hedwig for a younger male model, and she is left to pick up the
pieces and try to cope with single life. Hence, the birth of Hedwig
and her band, The Angry Inch. "The Angry Inch" is one of the key
songs within the whole story, which tells about the procedure Hedwig
had to undergo, and how it made her feel emotionally. She was now
neither male nor female, and in her words, was left with "a one inch
mound of flesh". The anger element in this song comes screaming out,
and is transferred to the small crowd where the band is gigging, and
fights ensue as a result.
Moving on, the story introduces a very emotionally poignant song
called "The Origin Of Love". If you have never heard this song
before, nor read the lyrics, I would suggest doing so immediately..
The words used are the most descriptive I have ever come across, and
the story they tell is both beautiful and sad. It starts out slow,
and then builds up like tidal waves, and eventually crashes upon you,
over and over again, until you are completely inundated with the full-blown
emotions this song delivers. Although this has been made into a
movie, I really wanted to focus on the element of the songs, but it's
quite difficult without also telling the story too.
The music is so very soul stirring, that it can't help but have a
real impact on you. Everyone is on the quest for love, Hedwig being
no different there than anyone else. So you can easily relate. I
wanted to keep this from being wordy, but I also want to
share "Origins Of Love" with you, and it's fairly lengthy, but worth
a read.
"When the earth was still flat and the clouds made of fire,
And mountains stretched up to the sky, sometimes higher.
Folks roamed the earth like big rolling kegs.
They had two sets of arms, they had two sets of legs.
They had two faces peering out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them as they talked while they read.
And they never knew nothing of love.
This was before the origin of love.
The origin of love.
And there were three sexes then,
One that looked like two men glued up back to back,
Called the children of the sun.
And similar in shape and girth were the children of the earth.
They looked like two girls rolled up in one.
And the children of the moon were like a fork shoved on a spoon.
They were part sun, part earth, part daughter, part son.
The origin of love.
Now the gods grew quite scared of our strength and defiance
And Thor said, "I'm gonna kill them all with my hammer, like I killed
the giants."
But Zeus said, "No. You better let me use my lightening like scissors.
Like I cut the legs off the whales, and dinosaurs into lizards."
And then he grabbed up some bolts, he let out a laugh,
Said, "I'll split them right down the middle. Gonna cut them right up
in half."
And then storm clouds gathered above into great balls of fire.
And then fire shot down from the sky in bolts
Like shining blades of a knife.
And it ripped right through the flesh
Of the children of the sun, and the moon, and the earth.
And some Indian god sewed the wound up into a hole,
Pulled it round to our belly to remind us the price we pay.
And Osiris and the gods of the Nile gathered up a big storm
To blow a hurricane, to scatter us away,
In a flood of wind and rain, a sea of tidal waves,
To wash us all away
And if we don't behave they'll cut us down again
And we'll be hopping around on one foot and looking through one eye.
Last time I saw you we had just split in two.
You were looking at me, I was looking at you.
You had a way so familiar, but I could not recognize,
Cause you had blood on your face; I had blood in my eyes.
But I could swear by your _expression that the pain down in your soul
Was the same as the one down in mine.
That's the pain, it cuts a straight line down through the heart;
We call it love.
So we wrapped our arms around each other,
Trying to shove ourselves back together.
We were making love, making love.
It was a cold, dark evening, such a long time ago,
When by the mighty hand of Jove,
It was a sad story how we became lonely two-legged creatures.
It's the story of the origin of love.
That's the origin of love".
Moving on, Hedwig describes her relationship with the sugar daddy in
the song of the same name, and while singing it, goes walking across
tables until she comes to an old man, and gives him a "car wash"
which is a description for her getting right over his face with her
beaded skirt and gyrating back and forth so the beads sweep over his
face, much like the long stripped things (whatever they're called) at
an actual car wash :o) The man, is of course, mesmerized and open
mouthed. This song was written about her ex husband Luther, the
American soldier who left her for a younger boy.
"Black strap molasses,
You're my orange blossom honey bear.
Bring me Versace blue jeans
And black designer underwear.
Let's dress up like the disco-dancing jet set
In Milan and Rome.
And if you've got some sugar for me,
Sugar Daddy, bring it home.
Oh the thrill of control,
Like the rush of rock and roll,
Is the sweetest taste I've known.
So come on, Sugar Daddy, bring it home".
Eventually, things move on, and Hedwig becomes a babysitter as a
means to make money before she starts the band, and this is when she
meets Tommy, who eventually becomes Tommy Gnosis. Tommy is a young
lad of about 17, and falls ass over heels for Hedwig, thinking she is
really a woman, until one day, he finds out she isn't, and that
effectively puts an end to it, as Tommy doesn't want to be mistaken
as being a homosexual.
He ends up becoming quite the little famous Goth boy, who once
collaborated with Hedwig, sang and wrote songs with her, then
stealing the material to further his own career. This causes Hedwig
to become angry, and she stalks him. Wherever Tommy is gigging,
Hedwig makes certain to gig somewhere nearby. Hedwig is seen aside in
the backstage area where Tommy is gigging one night, and as he is
singing "Wicked Little Town" he seems to be singing it directly to
her. The emotions and other feelings in this song are such that it
starts pulling the heartstrings, and leaves you somewhat confused by
Tommy's message. He seems to care, but from afar.
"Oh Lady, luck has led you here
And they're so twisted up
They'll twist you up. I fear.
The pious, hateful and devout,
You're turning tricks til you're turned out,
The wind so cold it burns,
You're burning out and blowing round.
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town.
The fates are vicious and they're cruel.
You learn too late you've used two wishes
Like a fool
And then you're someone you are not,
And Junction City ain't the spot,
Remember Mrs. Lot
And when she turned around.
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town".
Anyone out there who has had hard luck in life, knows what it is to
be on the business end of Fate - Wrong choices often end up leaving
us worse off, and suffering as a result. The term "Mrs. Lot" was used
here to say basically, "just go forward in your life and don't look
back". By the end of the movie, Hedwig is clearer in her mind than
she ever was, and comes to a realization. Has she found the missing
part of her Self? You decide. Or has she learned all the lessons up
to that point, and is now ready to move forward, and so, pass the
torch to another? Or maybe both? :o)
This is all meant to be a tantalizing little glimpse in the life of
one very extraordinary individual, who came through crisis after
crisis, and survived. And now for the good stuff! You will no doubt
want to check out some sounds, and I don't blame you a bit! After
reading all this, I'd definitely be more curious :o)
You will of course, require the obligatory RealPlayer or Windows
Mediaplayer to be able to enjoy the clips. Once you have that, please
go
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005LNJ4/qid=11035630
.
Personally, I think that if I lived somewhere near New York, I'd be a total
groupie for this production. It really is a wonderful show, whether
live or on DVD, and I hope this will prompt some of you to check it
out further. Amazon gives it a 5 star rating, and elsewhere it has
been hailed as brilliant. Doktor Avalanche and myself both agree, and
give it the same rating :o) Ok, that's it for me.. Check back next
month for something new and wonderful :o) Happy New Year to all.
Best regards,
Silver
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