Goodbye 20th Centegenarians

December 12, 2006 9:29 AM

The Young@ Heart Chorus, a group of mostly amateur entertainers (some who never stepped on stage before the age of 80), performs Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia". As seen on a recent Channel 4 documentary about the group. [Via].
posted by pfafflin (15 comments total)

Somewhere out there there's a vid of them doing a Coldplay song (Fix You or Miss You or something like that) that is stunningly good. I can't seem to find it now though.
posted by dobbs at 9:40 AM on December 12, 2006

I went to see them do Road To Nowhere at the Hammersmith Lyric last year. Going in I didn't find the concept that appealing but it really worked and was very emotionally affecting. They don't play that many shows but check them out if you have a chance.
posted by ninebelow at 9:44 AM on December 12, 2006

That would have been much more interesting if they'd played the instruments, as well.
posted by signal at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2006

This is always how the song played back in my head when I wasn't actually playing it from the record.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2006

Here it is.
posted by dobbs at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2006

Now I'm curious to see how this will play back in my head when I stop watching the video over and over.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2006

I started out cynical, thinking, you know, old people and babies... put in a situation you don't normally associate them with, and...cute! But I was hooked a third of the way in when they said "bitch" because it wasn't cute or funny, their age just gave it so much weight. Really nice.
And dobbs, the Coldplay one is beautiful. I actually enjoyed a Coldplay song. I LOVED they way you could hear his little oxygen compressor thing throughout the song, fantastic.

Great post.
posted by chococat at 10:04 AM on December 12, 2006

I listen to Sonic Youth about once a year. And every time I do I'm reminded: they still rock. Even when they're being rocked by elderly people.
posted by Nelson at 10:05 AM on December 12, 2006

The performance of “schizophrenia” is odd and fun partly because it is unexpected, like seeing art made from pencils. The performance of “fix you” is deeply affecting and simply good music in its own right.
posted by found missing at 10:15 AM on December 12, 2006

That rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You" made me cry the first time I heard it. One of the best covers I've heard in a long, long time.
posted by Bageena at 12:07 PM on December 12, 2006

This is great. The thing is, however, that Thurston Moore is about 75 and in a few years will be fronting Young at Heart.
posted by kosem at 1:57 PM on December 12, 2006

When you're this old, confusion really is next.
posted by stinkycheese at 4:55 PM on December 12, 2006

Great. Thanks for the link.
posted by Outlawyr at 11:01 AM on December 13, 2006

I'm not a big Sonic Youth fan, mainly because I don't "get" them. But stripped down and deconstructed by a bunch of seniors, I think I finally understand why people like SY so much.

I hope Y@H makes it out here to the Northwest at some point.
posted by dw at 1:19 PM on December 13, 2006

In case anyone's interested in a high quality mp3 of the coldplay, you can buy it on the site. Proceeds to the chorus.
posted by dobbs at 8:49 PM on December 24, 2006