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The Boston Globe

Opinion

JOANNA WEISS

Beyonce, the lip sync, and the lies

When I was a reporter in the Louisiana State Capitol, toiling in grubby quarters beneath the building’s front steps, another reporter once came to me in frustration. He thought he had a state representative cornered — something about a broken promise to back a bill under certain conditions — but instead of coming clean, the guy was offering double-speak.

I hadn’t been in the business for long at that point, but I had met enough politicians to know that my friend wasn’t going to draw out some dramatic admission. This lawmaker was too smart. He knew that politics isn’t a business of truth.

Comments

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I think  most of the politicians keep their fingers cross when they make promises and then spend us into oblivian, use bribe & kickbacks  when passing the Obamacare bill....can for once when a bill is issued no PORK be put into it....like when they needed the bill for the Sandy disaster and they loaded it with pork....what a disgrace.  I think a name should be  attached to any bill sponsered, then we know who is wasting the money.  Did Puerto Rica really need that $222 million dollars for rum subsidinary  in the Sandy disaster bill?  The all lie, and now we have one as a senator lying before she even got there.

Well, in the words of Stephen Colbert, "Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it."  Plus, it's unbecoming of a journalist, opinion writer or not. 

We really shouldn't care? She lied by faking it! Writers like you keep contributing to the lying

Replies

Did you not enjoy the performance when it was taking place?  Or did you change your mind after you learned that Beyonce DID sing it, just not live on the big stage?

redglare2:

The performance was acting _ no ifs, buts or maybes. It is more pretend than karoke.

James Taylor sang, Kelly Clarkson sang, Aretha sang, Beyonce mouthed the words!

Too funny . . .

Beyonce actually sang the National Anthem at the Inauguration. AND - what we heard was her prerecorded voice track. What we call lip-syncing does not mean just moving one's lips to a prerecorded track.  

To prepare for lip-syncing, a vocalist records her track ahead of time under optimal audio conditions - ie: in a studio - to a playback of the instrumental section. The vocals are then played back on the "set" -- and the platform at the inaugural ceremonies was definitely a set -- and the vocalist then actually sings along to her prerecorded track, and in this case (probably) the "live" band playing exactly what they had played in the studio. But Beyonce's microphone at the inaguration would not have been "on," so what we heard in TV land was a beautifully rendered, clear version of our National Anthem, prerecorded in the studio, yes, but also sung live, with feeling, at the Inauguration. Those standing near her may have heard her actual voice singing along -- perfectly timed -- with her prerecorded version. 

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Karoke?

The Beyonce "scandal" exposes the haters who were looking for some item, any item to denigrate the President and the inauguration ceremony.  And the fact that it has taken on a life of its own is indicative of the continued schadenfreude in our society today.

This is a great article about analysis of double-speak and pretend.

It is one of the best Weiss has ever written _ or did she really write it? 

What a waste of time. 

Let's review.  Low down, dirty politics and politicians in New Orleans compared to Beyonce's possibly lipsyncing The National Anthem?  Wow!  That analogy is just plain bizarre.  Messy analysis, Joanna.