Mario, do you see that question mark box over there?

October 15, 2005 7:37 PM

Jonathan Mann has created the greatest work of fine art since the invention of the piano...The Super Mario Brothers Opera. Sadly, the show tonight in LA is probably over, but you can still experience the magic from the comfort of your own home.
posted by cmonkey (15 comments total)

It is not unlike people who soil themseves and then 1) wallow, 2) wallow some more, 3) wallow a bit more, and then 4) ride the bus.
posted by nearlife at 8:18 PM on October 15, 2005

The mySpace link doesn't work. :-(
posted by Asparagirl at 9:15 PM on October 15, 2005

I want to see this - sounds dope!
posted by flowfeel at 9:55 PM on October 15, 2005

Serious opera buffs should check out this new addition to the high-culture world of singing theater.
posted by ericbop at 9:56 PM on October 15, 2005

What do people like about Super Mario Bros. so much that they act it out, play its (crappy) music on various instruments, and generally revel in its kitschy-ness? At my college one of the a cappella groups, for their skit, acted out a whole level of Super Mario Bros, complete with sound effects.

I really don't understand what people like so much about it. It just because it's a shared cultural tradition? It's really, really lame.
posted by aerify at 9:58 PM on October 15, 2005

you can still experience the magic from the comfort of your own home.

I can experience the magic of an opera based on Super Mario Brothers... IN MY MIND!
posted by soyjoy at 10:10 PM on October 15, 2005

It just because it's a shared cultural tradition?

Bingo.

That, and we're dorks.
posted by The Pusher Robot at 10:25 PM on October 15, 2005

It's really, really lame.

What, Mario is lame? Mario is not lame.
posted by jimmy at 10:53 PM on October 15, 2005

This is basically the best thing I've ever heard in my life. Thank you for sharing it!

I'd also like to say to the above nay-sayer that Mario is loved by so many people because Mario, the game/story and the work of Shigeru Morimoto (a genius as far as video games go) are all incredibly brilliant, and those of us who appreciate/enjoy video games love it.

It's too bad you dislike it as much as you do.
posted by nonmerci at 11:09 PM on October 15, 2005

words cannot describe how bummed our I was when I found out I missed this.


but on the bright side - we should have a metafilter meetup the next time he plays in l.a.!
posted by punch_the_mayor at 11:20 PM on October 15, 2005

What do people like about Super Mario Bros. so much that they act it out, play its (crappy) music on various instruments, and generally revel in its kitschy-ness?

I don't have any idea why others love Super Mario Brothers related nostalgia, but I was a lonely, socially awkward kid with a Nintendo in the mid-80s. Consequently, Mario was a pretty big part of my life. So you may see it as kitschy, but I, and probably more than just a few males in their mid-20s, see it as one of the few bright spots in a rather unpleasant childhood.
posted by cmonkey at 11:37 PM on October 15, 2005

I didn't own a Nintendo, but I thought Mario was fun stuff. I think it's how nonsensical the game is. Plumbers? Mushrooms? Flying turtles? WHAT? And once they added a rideable dinosaur with a prehensile toungue... well. That sealed the deal.
posted by brundlefly at 12:09 AM on October 16, 2005

brundlefly, and then they treat it all so seriously, too. It's really quite amusing. :)
posted by Malor at 12:25 AM on October 16, 2005

OMFG, MARIO + OPERA = TEH COOOL!!!!!1111

Such cross-cultural mashes are becoming common, and I don't think it's sufficient any more to talk up a given example on its conceptual strength alone. How good is this really?

I haven't heard this, and I haven't given it a fair go, but I gave the snippets a try and I found the vocals grating. I'm no opera buff but I'd say you were onto a loser if the singing is bad, right?

I'm prepared to be told otherwise, but nothing here has really made me want to find out more. Tongue-in-cheek can be a good thing, but it doesn't work *instead* of quality, only *with* quality.

So -- is this any good?
posted by nthdegx at 2:41 AM on October 16, 2005

I couldn't listen to it for more than two minutes.
posted by grouse at 7:45 AM on October 16, 2005