OMWF rewatch

[snick_backup]

I'm back! I return bearing random OMWF rewatch thoughts.

1. Angst. Angst and woe! Despite the awesomeness, this ep gets harder to watch every time.

2. I don't actually like the "Rest in Peace" sequence all that much. There's something about it that makes me uncomfortable. Partly it bothers me that Marsters' singing voice isn't very much like Spike's speaking voice, in accent or tone. Partly it's that I don't like the musical style - by far my favorite part is the bridge as they walk through the graveyard, which is much softer. I dunno.

3. OTOH, Anthony Stewart Head just about had me shivering with "Standing in the Way." My gosh, that man can sing. I didn't even care that I think the logic as presented in that song is silly and a nonsensical characterization of Giles.

4. I think I love the random background singing/dancing more every time I watch. The mustard! Marty Noxon! Street sweepers!

5. Since my last rewatch of the ep, I read nwhepcat's Bitter / Sweet, which for me neatly fanwanks the apparent utter stupidity of Xander first intentionally summoning a demon and then being surprised by its effects. Much as I love Dawn, it makes more sense to me that she summoned the demon, either unintentionally or as yet another S6 cry for attention. Certainly it's easier to read her denial in the ep that way than it is to reconcile Xander's surprise earlier in the ep.

6. Spike saving Buffy at the end is of one my, hmm, probably top-5 favorite Spike/Buffy scenes. And my favorite part of it is when he sings, "You have to keep on living / So that one of us is living." I love the humor of the line. I love how his expression softens and opens. And I love that quirk of a smile.

7. I like very little of the fic associated with this episode. For one thing, the concept doesn't translate well to fic, IMO. For another, it's just so stellar in every way that fic seems almost pointless. (That said, hello_spikey's ficlet Once More, With Lorne is not to be missed.)

Comments

[next_to_normal]

I don't actually like the "Rest in Peace" sequence all that much.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of it, either, actually. I don't think it's a very good song for Spike (or for James), either vocally or stylistically, but even beyond that, the staging just seems so... staged. And it's cheesy. That approach works for the "classic" musical numbers (like Xander and Anya's dance), but Spike rocking out? Should not be cheesy. It definitely ought to have been choreographed to look more natural. Plus, there's that really, really bad game face morph and I just... *sigh*. So much potential, so much squandering.

I like very little of the fic associated with this episode. For one thing, the concept doesn't translate well to fic, IMO.

Heh. Heheheheh.

But seriously, I've found most fic to be lacking, as well. I just read Bitter/Sweet, though, and you're right, it does make more sense that way.

[snickfic]

I don't think it's a very good song for Spike (or for James), either vocally or stylistically, but even beyond that, the staging just seems so... staged. And it's cheesy.

Yes. Yes! I am not alone, hooray. Musically, yeah, it just doesn't work for me. I know you're a fan of Marsters' music, but if you're saying this then presumably his own recordings are better? Because I've always judged him by this one song, and I couldn't figure out why anyone would like him as a musician unless they were just blinded by the pretty.

And yes to staged-ness. I dunno if he was directed that way, or whether acting against pre-recorded vocals is one thing Marsters just can't do, but it doesn't work. Plus the actiony scene, which even Joss in the commentary admits didn't work.

It was Spike! And Buffy! And angst and unrequited love and, and... And I wanted to love it, and I don't. :(

Heh. Heheheheh.

?

[next_to_normal]

I know you're a fan of Marsters' music, but if you're saying this then presumably his own recordings are better?

Oh, they're completely different styles. His own music is much more folk than rock, and when he performs live, it's just him and a guitar. Back when they were doing Buffy, I think he fancied himself a rock star (hence the painful Ghost of the Robot days), but he's grown out of that, thank goodness.

I don't think James' music would really suit Spike, though - his song should definitely be edgy, I think, given his Britpunk image. It's like Joss' song wants to be edgy, but it tiptoes right up to rock, taps it on the shoulder, and then runs away. (I vaguely recall somewhere in the special features, James playing the song on his guitar, and I liked his version better.) I think it was also very hard for James to sing in Spike's accent, which I can't totally fault him for - the song wasn't written with an accent in mind.

(And my maniacal laughter is because when I wrote my full-scale musical sequel to OMWF, I said many times that I must be crazy to do something like that. And even though I like the way the fic came out, I still stand by the crazy thing, which is why your comment about the concept not being suited to fic cracked me up.)

[snickfic]

I think it was also very hard for James to sing in Spike's accent, which I can't totally fault him for - the song wasn't written with an accent in mind.

Yes, definitely. Besides, it seems to me that speaking with an accent and singing one would be two almost entirely different skills.

(I suspect I would have been able to appreciate your OMWF sequel a lot more if I were familiar with the tunes you were using. That's my problem with most songfic, though - the cross-section between my eclectic music tastes and anyone else's is usually pretty small.)

[next_to_normal]

Yeah, singing with an accent is hard, unless the song is written with an accent in mind (like, say, the songs in Oliver or My Fair Lady), because the very nature of singing tends to flatten out all accents. Even people with natural accents often lose them when they sing.

That's my problem with most songfic, though - the cross-section between my eclectic music tastes and anyone else's is usually pretty small.

Yeah, that was the crazy part. :) When I wrote it, I thought, "No one is going to want to read this." Even if you don't hate songfic on principle (which many readers seem to do), the music I used isn't even popular, unless you're a complete musical dork like me. I included links to listen to the songs wherever I could find them, thinking that might help, but it's still not the most accessible of fics. So it seems kind of silly that I had to put more effort into it than probably any other fic I've written (except maybe Closure), when there's hardly any audience for it. It's definitely one of those fics I wrote more for me than for other people.

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

I *just* watched this episode a couple of weeks ago, but this recap makes me want to rewatch AGAIN. LOL I agree about the angst of OMWF; sometimes I feel it less than others, but when I'm in the middle of a more dedicated S6 rewatch, this episode can hit like a ton of bricks. I had SO much sympathy for Buffy at this point in the season that it makes the end of this episode incredibly painful to endure.

4. I think I love the random background singing/dancing more every time I watch. The mustard! Marty Noxon! Street sweepers!

Exactly. So damn clever, too, this stuff. It's a feast for the eyes and ears but also the brain, especially the street sweeper sequence, set against the coversation of Giles and Xander (and is it Anya???). There is something about the seriousness of that conversation against the backdrop of the sweepers that I find absolutely fascinating. See, now I have to rewatch. Again.

6. Spike saving Buffy at the end is of one my, hmm, probably top-5 favorite Spike/Buffy scenes. And my favorite part of it is when he sings, "You have to keep on living / So that one of us is living." I love the humor of the line. I love how his expression softens and opens. And I love that quirk of a smile.

A world of YUP. :) And I really like the physicality of that sequence as well. Her world is (literally, figuratively) spinning, and with a touch of his hands, the tilting stops and she's righted again (if only for a moment; and obviously, there's a simplicity about that moment that belies all sorts of drama and complexity, but still. I love that moment of him putting the world to rights for her, maybe more so than is proper, knowing the nightmare to come).

Hmmm. I don't think I've read any OMWF fic. Sounds as though I do not need to seek any out. ;)

[snickfic]

I love that moment of him putting the world to rights for her, maybe more so than is proper, knowing the nightmare to come.

Yeah. Would you believe, even though I like the Spuffy friendship all through the beginning of S6, I really didn't buy into Spuffy as a couple until this ep? Shows what I know. Although I was fascinated by Spike's arc individually, it took me until OMWF to conclude that he might actually be good for her romantically. In this ep I started to actually feel hopeful about them.

And then whoosh! there went that rug I was standing on...

*shakes fist at Joss*

Sounds as though I do not need to seek any out.

Generally, I'd say no. At least, I haven't liked anything that's tried to extend the premise. Songfic, not my thing. But I really do recommend the hello_spikey piece - it's cannon-compliant with Lorne and Sweet, which obviously was a meeting that needed to happen, and she writes Lorne like nobody's business.

[riccadonna.livejournal.com]

I cannot be so specific or picky: that episode marks the pivotal moment in which I not only just "saw" the show, but I had the chance to "hear" it--they couldn't possibly translate the songs, and for the first time I listened to the very distinctive language and the awesome voices...
No return, I was in love.

[snickfic]

Oh, wow. So this is the ep of the series for you, even more than for most people. I confess, it's taken me a number of rewatches to get to the point where I can analyze it like this. And even now, the bottom line is that it is some of the Bestest TV Ever.

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

Have you read "Once More, All Naked, All Gay" (http://web.archive.org/web/20041123154156/http://www.eterniata.com/oncemorewf.html)? It's based on a comment of Joss's about doing an all naked, all gay show, and it's lewd and hilarious. I've more than once gotten these lines stuck in my head:

Buffy: Every single night
The same frustration
Almost there but then not quite
I just want to feel
That sweet sensation

Buffy: Yes, they're really real
God this shirt is tight

Naked, gay, goats, caia.

[snickfic]

I confess, lewd isn't usually my favorite flavor of fic. But the author clearly had a great grasp of the rhythm in that song. :)