[Jim Moonan]

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I've always gotten such pleasure from threads started here that compile lists of favorite movies, books, poetry, songs, etc.

One thing I'd enjoy is a compilation of great performances by artists of any genre — music performances, clips from live theatre, movie scenes, or anything that qualifies in your mind as being a great performance.

I'll start and hope others will contribute.

This extraordinary performance by Aretha Franklin: "Natural Woman" live from the Kennedy Center.

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[Shaun J. Russell]

Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is J. K. Simmons's award-winning turn in Whiplash from 2014. Probably the most intense movie I have ever seen. Simmons plays a prestigious music college bandleader (jazz), who is downright sadistic in squeezing the best out of his pupils. Here's a representative scene, though be forewarned that it is absolutely rife with foul language and epithets...

[Max Goodman]

I've never understood how to compare performances. Maybe I can learn from those of you who don't share my blindness.

Originally Posted by Jim Moonan

This extraordinary performance by Aretha Franklin: "Natural Woman" live from the Kennedy Center.

Why prefer Ms. Franklin's performance of this song to, say, Ms. King's performance on the original recording? (I can hear, of course, that they're different.)

[Julie Steiner]

A friend's daughter being the most badass bride ever in 2015, performing with her Taiko group as the sun sets behind Scripps Pier:
https://www.facebook.com/731388774/v...3299326088775/
I love San Diego.

[Jim Moonan]

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Originally Posted by Max Goodman

I've never understood how to compare performances. Maybe I can learn from those of you who don't share my blindness.

Why prefer Ms. Franklin's performance of this song to, say, Ms. King's performance on the original recording? (I can hear, of course, that they're different.)

It's strictly subjective, Max. What makes AF's performance great for me was the context (it's a Carole King composition and she's being honored for her lifetime achievements. She —Carole King — appears overwhelmed with gratitude and doesn't hold back), the fact that this might have been one of her last public performances, her drop-dead swagger as she moves from the piano to centerstage, the shedding of the fur coat (who wears a fur coat under the hot lights?!?) and then of course her astonishing, electrifying voice. In my mind, Carole King owns the copyright to the song, but Aretha Franklin owns the best performance of the song.

Funny thing is, I'm not a big fan of her. But this transcends my preference for musical styles, etc. and I am genuinely moved by her performance/prescence in this. It is clear, too, that every single member of the audience is moved. Carole is ecstatic.

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[Jim Moonan]

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Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

A friend's daughter being the most badass bride ever in 2015, performing with her Taiko group as the sun sets behind Scripps Pier:
https://www.facebook.com/731388774/v...3299326088775/
I love San Diego.

I agree! To be there would have been an unforgettable experience.

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[Jim Moonan]

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Perhaps it’s the modernity of it, but I never truly felt the desperation and the depth of Hamlet's soliloquy until I heard it delivered by David Tennant here. Acting genius. Great camera work.

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[Carl Copeland]

I’ve posted this before, but I can’t help myself. The jazz poetry I’ve heard—even Langston himself—is jazz and poetry. This may be the only true blend I’ve ever heard. Where is that mesmerizing old PBS series?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVRzeTWP9Fk

Here she is again, framed by Odetta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47lw8pc7mdw

[W T Clark]

A genius for performing his words as well as for fashioning them, I think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nboj...bCByZWFkcyA%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cJ_... CByZWFkcyA%3D
"I like that," said Offa, "sing it again."

[Roger Slater]

Here's one you may enjoy (Iris DeMent, but I don't think she wrote this one).

PS-- She wrote this one, though, which is quite wonderful.