Fluffs and Image in the 21st Century

mskater93 said:

I think it's because there's a bunch of music already pre-sliced and diced and it's easier to recycle pieces between skaters for the choreographers than it is to really spend time searching for something off the beaten path.

Seriously though, why NOT allow current music with lyrics?

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I wouldn't be surprised if lyrics are eventually allowed. Nothing in the sport of figure skating really seems very sacred.

mskater93 said:

I think it's because there's a bunch of music already pre-sliced and diced and it's easier to recycle pieces between skaters for the choreographers than it is to really spend time searching for something off the beaten path.

Seriously though, why NOT allow current music with lyrics?

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There are a lot of reasons why lyrics can present problems, some of which you alluded to in your previous post.

And although some pop songs might attract the attention of casual viewers flipping through the channels on TV, once they start getting overused in skating circles they'll be even more painful for people who watch a lot of skating than the overused instrumental music is.

I thought "Firework" was an innocuous enough when I heard it on the radio every so often. After sitting through two large (and maybe one small) prejuvenile or below interpretive events that used that music this spring, 10 or more times in a row between the warmups and the first skater listening next to empty ice and the performances, I can't stand it any more. And no, watching a bunch of junior and senior programs to it with triple jumps over the course of a few competitions won't make me like the song any more, although it won't be quite so many times in a row.

On the other hand, there are songs that I think could work well for freeskating programs at the higher levels. I've seen one such successful program at a test session. So it can be done.

I just don't trust that a majority of skaters won't choose music I can't stand or will be forced to cut it up in painful ways to fit the rhythm of their program content.

Olympia said:

What instrument, Math?

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Trombone.

mskater93 said:

"Be Our Guest"

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Now you're talking!

Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test! ♫♪

If skaters used great tunes like that, the house would be rocking. :yes:

gkelly said:

I just don't trust that a majority of skaters won't choose music I can't stand or will be forced to cut it up in painful ways to fit the rhythm of their program content.

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I suspect younger, lower level skaters are likely to show less variety in music selection - they're likely familiar with fewer things and would want to use something popular within among their peer group. Most elite competitive skaters, however, are a bit older, and have had time to develop more interest in music; I don't think we'll be sitting through the same programs over and over. I would argue that a better indication of what we might expect is what is currently happening in ice dance, and the sort of selections skaters make for exhibition programs. Neither of which provides any support to the fear that music with lyrics => the ruin of skating. There will always be overused music (like when three top dance teams used RfoD in the Olympic season, or the multiple MJ programs last year) but allowing more types of musical selections should make that less likely.

Personally, I wouldn't enjoy a bunch of hip hop programs, or, heaven forbid, Justin Bieber on ice - but Adagio, Firebird, Take Five, Blues for Klook and certain tangos also make me want to give skaters -10 for a music violation (okay, I'll be fair - only Blues for Klook should get the highest music deduction ).

Yes, that's true.

Different skaters, judges, and fans all have different tastes. E.g., I'd much rather hear all the nonvocal pieces you mentioned in your last sentence -- yes, I like Blues for Klook and don't feel I have been oversaturated with hearing it -- than either Justin Bieber or Requiem for a Dream.

Giving more options would make it that much less likely to hear the same pieces quite so many times.

I don't mind vocal music in ice dance but there has been a tendency in free dances to rely on intensity at the expense of variety and contrast. Also true to some extent before vocals were allowed.

What I would hope is that the coaches and choreographers would discourage serious competitors from choosing music that doesn't have much depth or nuance to work with. And maybe the PCS guidelines could state explicitly that interpreting the rhythm and phrasing of the music is to be rewarded more highly than just hitting highlights or acting out lyrics, and that those are worth more than ignoring whatever the music is doing.

Another aspect of music with lyrics is that pop music isn't the only genre that will become available. There's all sorts of "world music," for want of a better name, including Celtic traditional and folk revival songs, African and Brazilian material both traditional and new, Andean music, Portuguese fados (which have a tremendous variety of emotions and rhythms and are splendid), and so on. Then there's what we often call the Great American Songbook tunes, twentieth-century classics by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart or Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and so on--the stuff Fred Astaire danced to and sang. Samba music, French cabaret tunes, and heaps of other styles will also be within reach. A lot of that has already been used instrumentally (one shining example: Christopher Dean's "Missing," skated to by both Torvill/Dean and the Duchesnays), but a vocal version might add more possibilities. It would take a really good skater to bring out the best in such music, of course, but I have hopes that the senior-level competitions I get to watch will continue to feature really good skaters.

Buttercup said:

Justin Bieber on ice

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On ice -off ice I so hate his so called music that i cringed as I read your post
If you google Blues for Klook the first thing that comes up is figure skating vids

Jammers said:

We here in the US need to realize that there will never be another MK. Just like there will never be another Michael Jordan. Time to move on and let these girls make a name for themselves.

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Jammers, I respectfully disagree with you. While Michelle was most definitely a one-of-a-kind skater and had an amazing, outstanding competitive career, we do not know if there is another young skater out there who will someday rise to the fore and become the next great American champion figure skater. Maybe there is, and I sincerely hope that day comes to pass.