OHHHH! EEEEEE! OHHHHHH!
October 31, 2009 12:41 PM Subscribe
Esteemed actor Christopher Walken performs Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". Not a cover. Not an impression.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- loup
Thanks! This and Cartman's cover has suddenly made "Poker face" tolerable in my book.
posted by bread-eater at 12:59 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by bread-eater at 12:59 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
Not a cover. Not an impression.
A recitation.
And a disappointment.
posted by kittyprecious at 1:00 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]
A recitation.
And a disappointment.
posted by kittyprecious at 1:00 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'm sick of Christopher Walken.
posted by jayder at 1:06 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by jayder at 1:06 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
I'm sick of Christopher Walken.
Whats a matter, need more cowbell?
posted by nola at 1:14 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
Whats a matter, need more cowbell?
posted by nola at 1:14 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
Didn't Steve Allen do this 30 years ago with Donna Summer's song Hot Stuff?
posted by immlass at 1:15 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by immlass at 1:15 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Peter Sellers dressed as Richard III reciting A Hard Days Night in 1964.
posted by jouke at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2009 [16 favorites]
posted by jouke at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2009 [16 favorites]
oh, aren't we all too cool for school.
I chortled mightily.
posted by scody at 1:20 PM on October 31, 2009 [3 favorites]
I chortled mightily.
posted by scody at 1:20 PM on October 31, 2009 [3 favorites]
Nothing is any good if other people like it.
posted by bjrn at 1:26 PM on October 31, 2009 [13 favorites]
posted by bjrn at 1:26 PM on October 31, 2009 [13 favorites]
I'm sick of Christopher Walken.
As Samuel Johnson once said, when a man is tired of Walken, he is tired of life, for there is in Walken all that life can afford.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 1:33 PM on October 31, 2009 [30 favorites]
As Samuel Johnson once said, when a man is tired of Walken, he is tired of life, for there is in Walken all that life can afford.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 1:33 PM on October 31, 2009 [30 favorites]
Cartman's version is WAY better, but Christopher Walken is great in the last hour of the deer hunter. amazing in fact.
posted by frankbooth at 1:34 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by frankbooth at 1:34 PM on October 31, 2009
imlass -- Steve Allen first did this about 50 years ago with lyrics from Little Richard and Fats Domino songs. Here's a clip.
posted by Faze at 1:37 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Faze at 1:37 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
jouke: Peter Sellers dressed as Richard III reciting A Hard Days Night in 1964.
Peter Sellers did it better than anyone else. Something about the concept of Peter Sellers doing Laurence Olivier doing Richard the Third doing Hard Day's Night is just so ridiculously convoluted that just by existing it makes me happy. It is a happy coincidence that Peter Sellers is enough of a comic genius to pull it off.
posted by Kattullus at 1:48 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Peter Sellers did it better than anyone else. Something about the concept of Peter Sellers doing Laurence Olivier doing Richard the Third doing Hard Day's Night is just so ridiculously convoluted that just by existing it makes me happy. It is a happy coincidence that Peter Sellers is enough of a comic genius to pull it off.
posted by Kattullus at 1:48 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
First I stuck up for katy Perry and now this. I think pokerface is a fabulously well written song. even the lyrics.
posted by empath at 1:49 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by empath at 1:49 PM on October 31, 2009
Steve Allen first did this about 50 years ago with lyrics from Little Richard and Fats Domino songs
Steve Allen first did this about 50 years ago.
Well he did
Well he did
Shut up
Shut up
Stop it!
Stop it!
Mom!
Mom!
posted by device55 at 1:54 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
Steve Allen first did this about 50 years ago.
Well he did
Well he did
Shut up
Shut up
Stop it!
Stop it!
Mom!
Mom!
posted by device55 at 1:54 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
I think pokerface is a fabulously well written song. even the lyrics.
I like the part when she slips in "Fuck her face."
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:59 PM on October 31, 2009
I like the part when she slips in "Fuck her face."
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:59 PM on October 31, 2009
Unless this is Steve Allen you're stealing my bit!
posted by The Whelk at 2:10 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 2:10 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, Poker Face is a great song (so's Hard Day's Night and Be Bop a Lula). Here's Lady GaGa doing an acoustic version Poker Face, accompanying herself on piano.
posted by Kattullus at 2:15 PM on October 31, 2009 [11 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 2:15 PM on October 31, 2009 [11 favorites]
ahhh, Mr. (the continental) Walken, now that's a name I've not hear in a long, long time...
but really, are you sure you didn't came here for "ace reporter" Don Stevens , sent out to cover the fighting in Lebanon. Depressed and disillusioned, with his counterpart British journalist colleague Mike, he stays in his hotel until unexpectedly he is promised an interview with a top PLO leader, Yassin. This is a set-up. He is duped into interviewing an imposter who claims the PLO are prepared to negotiate peacefully. Outraged by this deception, Stevens becomes determined to find out the truth?
posted by infinite intimation at 2:16 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
but really, are you sure you didn't came here for "ace reporter" Don Stevens , sent out to cover the fighting in Lebanon. Depressed and disillusioned, with his counterpart British journalist colleague Mike, he stays in his hotel until unexpectedly he is promised an interview with a top PLO leader, Yassin. This is a set-up. He is duped into interviewing an imposter who claims the PLO are prepared to negotiate peacefully. Outraged by this deception, Stevens becomes determined to find out the truth?
posted by infinite intimation at 2:16 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
I have to say I've never listened to the song in its entirety, but I now respect it a lot more. Why? Not sure, perhaps it's simply the Walken Effect.
posted by neewom at 2:19 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by neewom at 2:19 PM on October 31, 2009
Thanks for that, Kattullus. I don't know a lot about Lady Gaga except that this song is overplayed on the radio and on TV commercials. But that acoustic version is all kinds of awesome.
So is the Walken version, but that goes without saying.
posted by robcorr at 2:40 PM on October 31, 2009
So is the Walken version, but that goes without saying.
posted by robcorr at 2:40 PM on October 31, 2009
I would just like to say that I watched Sandy Perlman, the real "more cowbell" guy, give a lecture today on Bruckner and heavy metal. That is all.
posted by nosila at 2:49 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by nosila at 2:49 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
That Beeb is made for Walken.
posted by chavenet at 2:53 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:53 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]
ahhh, Mr. (the continental) Walken, now that's a name I've not hear(d) in a long, long time...
Really? Huh. Have you been living in a hole? Perchance a coma? I do hope all is well.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:25 PM on October 31, 2009
Really? Huh. Have you been living in a hole? Perchance a coma? I do hope all is well.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:25 PM on October 31, 2009
Christopher Walken is great in the last hour of the deer hunter. amazing in fact.
I wish Walken would do a serious dramatic role of that nature again. He was amazing in The Deer Hunter.
Other than that, the watch from Pulp Fiction is pretty boss.
So is Lady Gaga to 2009, what The Beatles were to 1964?
posted by Skygazer at 3:28 PM on October 31, 2009
I wish Walken would do a serious dramatic role of that nature again. He was amazing in The Deer Hunter.
Other than that, the watch from Pulp Fiction is pretty boss.
So is Lady Gaga to 2009, what The Beatles were to 1964?
posted by Skygazer at 3:28 PM on October 31, 2009
Here's Lady GaGa doing an acoustic version Poker Face, accompanying herself on piano.
In the "please your fans" category, she does this version in concert and then does the album version right after. I can't find the whole thing on Youtube but you can see a bit here.
posted by smackfu at 3:31 PM on October 31, 2009
In the "please your fans" category, she does this version in concert and then does the album version right after. I can't find the whole thing on Youtube but you can see a bit here.
posted by smackfu at 3:31 PM on October 31, 2009
That acoustic version of Poker Face is awesome. I appreciate Lady Gaga a lot more after seeing her own that song with just the piano.
My point in mentioning Steve Allen is that what Walken's doing here isn't a particularly original phenomenon, so I'm not surprised there are earlier and even better examples of the genre. Dance music isn't designed to be read as poetry and so its lyrics frequently sound kind of dumb when you read them in that context. (They also look kind of stupid when transcribed for karaoke.) The exercise just seems like an easy target.
Or maybe, like Shatner reading the poetry, er, speeches of Sarah Palin, it's funny in small doses, and the correct dosage for me is tiny.
posted by immlass at 3:33 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
My point in mentioning Steve Allen is that what Walken's doing here isn't a particularly original phenomenon, so I'm not surprised there are earlier and even better examples of the genre. Dance music isn't designed to be read as poetry and so its lyrics frequently sound kind of dumb when you read them in that context. (They also look kind of stupid when transcribed for karaoke.) The exercise just seems like an easy target.
Or maybe, like Shatner reading the poetry, er, speeches of Sarah Palin, it's funny in small doses, and the correct dosage for me is tiny.
posted by immlass at 3:33 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
So is Lady Gaga to 2009, what The Beatles were to 1964?
Not even close... Lady Gaga is a demon.
posted by pwally at 3:35 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Not even close... Lady Gaga is a demon.
posted by pwally at 3:35 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
A sense of how fast the world moves now: Lady Gaga performing in 2006.
Another fun fact is that she was a piano prodigy.
posted by smackfu at 3:44 PM on October 31, 2009 [5 favorites]
Another fun fact is that she was a piano prodigy.
posted by smackfu at 3:44 PM on October 31, 2009 [5 favorites]
Skygazer: "I wish Walken would do a serious dramatic role of that nature again. He was amazing in The Deer Hunter."
Have you seen Suicide Kings? Walken spends pretty much the whole runtime duct-taped to a chair and still manages to intimidate his captors by being charming and menacing, frail and terrifying at the same time.
Great movie, especially if you skip most of the Dennis Leary monologues (although one of them is pretty cool, and you'll never look at toasters the same way).
posted by PontifexPrimus at 3:45 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
Have you seen Suicide Kings? Walken spends pretty much the whole runtime duct-taped to a chair and still manages to intimidate his captors by being charming and menacing, frail and terrifying at the same time.
Great movie, especially if you skip most of the Dennis Leary monologues (although one of them is pretty cool, and you'll never look at toasters the same way).
posted by PontifexPrimus at 3:45 PM on October 31, 2009 [4 favorites]
That dude can DANCE tho.
I work on media software, and we use this video for testing purposes. So us engineers have all seen it a zillion times. When bored, we've been known to try to imitate the dance moves. Christopher Walken = magnificent dancer. Your average software engineer = not so much.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:47 PM on October 31, 2009 [3 favorites]
I work on media software, and we use this video for testing purposes. So us engineers have all seen it a zillion times. When bored, we've been known to try to imitate the dance moves. Christopher Walken = magnificent dancer. Your average software engineer = not so much.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:47 PM on October 31, 2009 [3 favorites]
"I wish Walken would do a serious dramatic role of that nature again."
"That dude can DANCE tho."
which are the two best reasons for watching True Romance and Pennies from Heaven.
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 4:51 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]
Now I'd like to see Lady Gaga play Walken's role in this scene in this scene.
posted by not_on_display at 4:52 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by not_on_display at 4:52 PM on October 31, 2009
Christopher Walken was on The Daily Show once. Christopher Walken shares his theory on the dancing cops of Queens and invites Jon to his house for dinner (video may not work in Canada, sorry).
posted by bjrn at 5:12 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by bjrn at 5:12 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
How is this not a cover? Are you saying that Christopher Walken was actually the guy who wrote "Poker Face," and that Lady Gaga was covering him?
posted by koeselitz at 5:43 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by koeselitz at 5:43 PM on October 31, 2009
"The ICE ... is gonna BREAK!"
posted by bwg at 6:06 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by bwg at 6:06 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
As a handsome man I'd just like to point out that everything is beautiful. In its own way.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:06 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:06 PM on October 31, 2009
I am reading this thread dressed as Lady Gaga dressed as a Viking. Oh yes. Go, Walken, go!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:23 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:23 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Calling people ugly on the internet is a pretty obtuse thing to do unless you're some kind of Adonis or something.
Actually, calling celebrities (not "people") ugly on the Internet is a pretty standard thing to do unless you're Mother Teresa.
posted by blucevalo at 6:40 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Actually, calling celebrities (not "people") ugly on the Internet is a pretty standard thing to do unless you're Mother Teresa.
posted by blucevalo at 6:40 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
What happened to his hair?
posted by chillmost at 6:41 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by chillmost at 6:41 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Re neewom's Walken as Angel of Death sketch upthread: damn, that got cut at rehearsal? There have been entire seasons of SNL that weren't that funny!
posted by Naberius at 7:33 PM on October 31, 2009
posted by Naberius at 7:33 PM on October 31, 2009
Mod note: comments removed - very seriously shut up about profile pics and act like someone from metafilter please, thank you.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:44 PM on October 31, 2009 [7 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:44 PM on October 31, 2009 [7 favorites]
The video for Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim is my favorite fish-out-of-water moment for Christopher Walken. He spends so much time there, he may be evolving lungs, and his flippers are looking a bit feet-like.
posted by dylanjames at 8:51 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dylanjames at 8:51 PM on October 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
"I'm sick of Christopher Walken."
It's frankly pretty hard for me to imagine anyone, given the choice between being sick of Lady Gaga or being sick of Christopher Walken, willingly choosing Christopher Walken as the individual to be sick of.
posted by markkraft at 1:02 AM on November 1, 2009 [4 favorites]
It's frankly pretty hard for me to imagine anyone, given the choice between being sick of Lady Gaga or being sick of Christopher Walken, willingly choosing Christopher Walken as the individual to be sick of.
posted by markkraft at 1:02 AM on November 1, 2009 [4 favorites]
I was ready to hate Lady Gaga before hearing her, but turns out she's a pretty good musician. Not really into the whole pop dance thing myself, but she knows what she's doing, and I gather she's pretty smart.
Also, I was rear-ended a week and a half ago, but wait, that isn't the interesting part of the story. It was just a minor deal, and we decided not to exchange insurance and etc., but as I was leaving the woman who hit me told me I reminded her of someone, that I looked like "some celebrity, you know, the cowbell guy?"
Christopher Walken?
"Yeah! That's it!"
I get that sometimes. Still not sure if that's a good thing. She said it was, but I can't dance like that, and dude looks a bit creepy.
posted by krinklyfig at 1:31 AM on November 1, 2009
Also, I was rear-ended a week and a half ago, but wait, that isn't the interesting part of the story. It was just a minor deal, and we decided not to exchange insurance and etc., but as I was leaving the woman who hit me told me I reminded her of someone, that I looked like "some celebrity, you know, the cowbell guy?"
Christopher Walken?
"Yeah! That's it!"
I get that sometimes. Still not sure if that's a good thing. She said it was, but I can't dance like that, and dude looks a bit creepy.
posted by krinklyfig at 1:31 AM on November 1, 2009
I am so sick of going through the drivethrough and hearing, "Dude, it's him! It's Stephen Spielberg! No, all he's getting is nuggets, man. And a coffee."
posted by sneebler at 5:41 AM on November 1, 2009
posted by sneebler at 5:41 AM on November 1, 2009
This was a gas. That "Pennies from Heaven" clip was nuts.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:11 AM on November 1, 2009
posted by From Bklyn at 6:11 AM on November 1, 2009
Alas, I cannot find a clip of the great Amy Poehler (as Leslie Knope, Queen of the Gays) performing a brief excerpt of this song on Parks and Recreation.
posted by NorthernLite at 7:24 AM on November 1, 2009
posted by NorthernLite at 7:24 AM on November 1, 2009
It's frankly pretty hard for me to imagine anyone, given the choice between being sick of Lady Gaga or being sick of Christopher Walken, willingly choosing Christopher Walken as the individual to be sick of.
Well, one of them is a 2 dimensional hack with a single tired gimmick that's been driven into the ground, and the other is Lady Gaga.
posted by fleetmouse at 7:33 AM on November 1, 2009 [3 favorites]
Well, one of them is a 2 dimensional hack with a single tired gimmick that's been driven into the ground, and the other is Lady Gaga.
posted by fleetmouse at 7:33 AM on November 1, 2009 [3 favorites]
"Dude, it's him! It's Stephen Spielberg! No, all he's getting is nuggets, man. And a coffee."
What were they expecting you to order? A small boy and a velociraptor?
posted by fleetmouse at 7:34 AM on November 1, 2009 [5 favorites]
What were they expecting you to order? A small boy and a velociraptor?
posted by fleetmouse at 7:34 AM on November 1, 2009 [5 favorites]
As my sister likes to listen to a Top 40s station when I'm driving her, I've come to appreciate any pop musician who raises the quality of pop music above the baseline. Hence, I'm not too keen on hating on Lady Gaga. I don't have to listen to her all the time, and she's better than most of the other songs. Same goes for a lot of Beyonce's stuff. Note that I find the lyrics for both Lady Gaga's stuff and Beyonce's stuff awful.
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:58 AM on November 1, 2009
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:58 AM on November 1, 2009
Well, one of them is a 2 dimensional hack with a single tired gimmick...
but he's not, which the 'Pennies from Heaven" clip reminded me of. I'm not a fan of Walken 'Shtick' and I thought this Beeb thing was a little better.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:11 AM on November 1, 2009
but he's not, which the 'Pennies from Heaven" clip reminded me of. I'm not a fan of Walken 'Shtick' and I thought this Beeb thing was a little better.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:11 AM on November 1, 2009
skygazer: another classic Walken scene from the Tarentino-penned True Romance Definitely one of my Top Ten scenes in cinema.
posted by HyperBlue at 10:30 AM on November 1, 2009
posted by HyperBlue at 10:30 AM on November 1, 2009
Another fun fact is that she was a piano prodigy.
So that would explain the pianist rumors.
posted by gimonca at 2:06 PM on November 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
So that would explain the pianist rumors.
posted by gimonca at 2:06 PM on November 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Nature made Christopher Walken a scary, scary man, but he can act his way out of it - Blast from the Past. I love that movie. Not that his character is any saner than most of his other ones ... but a kindly, fatherly, gentle man.
Reminds me a bit of Steve Buscemi in Ghost World, Adam Sandler in Punchdrunk Love, or Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt - take an actor known for a particular schtick, largely because of his physical appearance, and give him a total counter-part.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 3:44 PM on November 1, 2009
Reminds me a bit of Steve Buscemi in Ghost World, Adam Sandler in Punchdrunk Love, or Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt - take an actor known for a particular schtick, largely because of his physical appearance, and give him a total counter-part.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 3:44 PM on November 1, 2009
Blast From the Past is a charming little movie. I was totally surprised by it. (also surprised by its use of the Jungian archetypes "basement man" and "mad woman")
also cartman doing pokerface is awesome!
posted by vronsky at 6:34 PM on November 1, 2009
also cartman doing pokerface is awesome!
posted by vronsky at 6:34 PM on November 1, 2009
awww crap, I just went to watch it again and they took it down. Those bastards.
posted by vronsky at 6:47 PM on November 1, 2009
posted by vronsky at 6:47 PM on November 1, 2009
I'm just glad that this (and the Cartman version) has gotten the earworm that is the Starbucks VIA cover out of my head for at least a little bit.
Also, I could never be sick of Christopher Walken.
posted by zorrine at 9:36 PM on November 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also, I could never be sick of Christopher Walken.
posted by zorrine at 9:36 PM on November 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
more stripped down gaga
just dance
paparazzi
and, if you're like me, i find it interesting that she doesn't seem to do poker face the same way twice. see this and this and this.
also keeping her away from the traditional poptarts of our age - she performs with a live band, and she'll sometimes go out of her way to prove she's singing live.
posted by nadawi at 3:07 PM on November 2, 2009 [3 favorites]
just dance
paparazzi
and, if you're like me, i find it interesting that she doesn't seem to do poker face the same way twice. see this and this and this.
also keeping her away from the traditional poptarts of our age - she performs with a live band, and she'll sometimes go out of her way to prove she's singing live.
posted by nadawi at 3:07 PM on November 2, 2009 [3 favorites]
Molly Lewis's version is actually pretty decent.
posted by EarBucket at 8:28 PM on November 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by EarBucket at 8:28 PM on November 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
Why did I have this belief in my head somewhere that Lady Gaga was as bad-looking as Amy Winehouse?
In an interview, Lady Gaga says that the reason she dyes her hair blonde is that when she was starting her career (as a natural brunette) she decided to make the hair color change because she was afraid of being mistaken for/confused with Amy Winehouse. (or she had been confused with AW by folks)
So, Lady Gaga told you, that's why.
posted by NikitaNikita at 4:39 PM on November 3, 2009
In an interview, Lady Gaga says that the reason she dyes her hair blonde is that when she was starting her career (as a natural brunette) she decided to make the hair color change because she was afraid of being mistaken for/confused with Amy Winehouse. (or she had been confused with AW by folks)
So, Lady Gaga told you, that's why.
posted by NikitaNikita at 4:39 PM on November 3, 2009
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posted by ants at 12:54 PM on October 31, 2009 [2 favorites]