Well, I saw Rhythm Dance today, ofc. And I saw it without commentary, which was clearly the correct choice. Later on I caught the tail end of the NBC commentary coverage of the competition and wow, what a different experience. The music was muted, substantially, the “skating” sounds were muted, the crowd sounds were louder somehow, and loudest of all were the voices of the commentators.
No shade here for anyone hired to comment on the games; I’m just saying. As far as Rhythm Dance goes, the music needs to do the talking.
Personally, I loved it, which I’m sure you could see coming ofc, but seriously, the experience was SO MUCH better with all of the extraneous sounds removed from the equation. Skating has really come into it’s own as a sport. Visually and sonically it’s so exciting I’m not even sure it needs commentary anymore.
The music was fantastic. I thought three Ricky Martin medleys was one too many but otherwise, it was spot on. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d hear The Offspring featured in an Olympic Games but here we are lol. I mean it was good, really good. The theme seemed to be “Best Possible Club Hits of the 90’s, Order Now!”, lol. Honestly, it was like… amazingly good. I pumped up the volume on my TV and just… watched, it was very fucking cool.
I was talking with the parentals tonight and it they said it seems like an entirely different sport than it did a few decades ago and I agree. It’s like… all sports are different than they were 30 years ago, but skating, and skate-dancing especially, is radically different. Somehow, a revolutionary mindset took over that overhauled things there for the better, somehow.
That can be said for many many sports in the Winter Games I believe. Especially, I guess, for the ones that didn’t use to be there, lol.
*Shrug*
It does seem to me, still, as an outsider looking in, that many of the ‘Murican sports are too mired in the past, and, for all of their bluster, are too afraid to seriously innovate.
But then, I don’t give them much of a chance, anymore. Frankly, I find the games too long, and the culture too… all encompassing. It’s too much to learn, and you only live so long on this spinning rock we call “Earth”.
Plus- and this is a big negative- which, ah, makes it a big plus, lol- I don’t believe you can see that stuff sans commercials, and, crucially, without… commentary.
Or beautiful scenic backdrops, as you can when it comes to Olympic competitions.
Plus- that John Williams theme? Unbeatable.
Yup.
Rhythm really is a dancer, as it turns out.