SCFrankles (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scfrankles) wrote2020-11-24 03:50 pm
scfrankles) wrote2020-11-24 03:50 pm
Something That's Making Me Smile At The Moment
I’ve been a fan of Dutch performer Alex Klaasen for a couple of years now. He’s a very talented man. He’s a singer, dancer, actor, and also comedian—in the sense of doing sketches and songs. And I recently discovered a stage act that he does occasionally with actor and comedian Henry van Loon, and musician brothers Jan and Keez Groenteman. It’s a fictional band called H.E.A.R. which affectionately sends up some aspects of Dutch pop music, like sentimentality or over the top emotions or being self-important and not being self-aware. Things that are certainly not specific just to the Dutch… Alex Klaasen and Henry van Loon are the front men doing the singing, Keez Groenteman plays drums and occasionally guitar, and Jan Groenteman plays keyboards. The Groenteman brothers also write all the songs.
I’d really like to share one of H.E.A.R.’s songs with you. It’s in Dutch but I think you might find it entertaining even if you don’t know the language.
It’s called Dorp in het groen. That translates literally as “Village in the Green”—that is, in the countryside. I think the joke here is that the song has been inspired by the classic Dutch pop song Het Dorp and also, going by a review I read, that it’s sending up the idea of rich and famous people banging on about their humble roots and insisting they’re still ordinary people. But I have to say it’s a very sweet song, a great tune, the performance is full of energy and I enjoy it all completely unironically.
This performance dates from 2015, from the first year they performed together. If you’d like to see it, I’m putting it down below. I’ll just add a word of warning—perhaps turn your volume DOWN a bit first. The volume seems very high compared to other YouTube videos.
Alex Klaasen is the singer on the viewer’s left—blond hair and pale brown leather jacket. Henry van Loon is the singer on the viewer’s right—tall and dark-haired. Keez Groenteman is, naturally, the one playing the drums, and you can catch occasional glimpses of Jan Groenteman playing the keyboards. Incidentally, they haven’t all got dressed in the dark—their outfits belong to their fictional popstar counterparts and are part of the act.
A translation just of the song’s chorus:
Oh, village in the countryside/ Warm in every season./Oh, village in the countryside./ After all this time, you’re still just as lovely as you were then.
I’d really like to share one of H.E.A.R.’s songs with you. It’s in Dutch but I think you might find it entertaining even if you don’t know the language.
It’s called Dorp in het groen. That translates literally as “Village in the Green”—that is, in the countryside. I think the joke here is that the song has been inspired by the classic Dutch pop song Het Dorp and also, going by a review I read, that it’s sending up the idea of rich and famous people banging on about their humble roots and insisting they’re still ordinary people. But I have to say it’s a very sweet song, a great tune, the performance is full of energy and I enjoy it all completely unironically.
This performance dates from 2015, from the first year they performed together. If you’d like to see it, I’m putting it down below. I’ll just add a word of warning—perhaps turn your volume DOWN a bit first. The volume seems very high compared to other YouTube videos.
Alex Klaasen is the singer on the viewer’s left—blond hair and pale brown leather jacket. Henry van Loon is the singer on the viewer’s right—tall and dark-haired. Keez Groenteman is, naturally, the one playing the drums, and you can catch occasional glimpses of Jan Groenteman playing the keyboards. Incidentally, they haven’t all got dressed in the dark—their outfits belong to their fictional popstar counterparts and are part of the act.
A translation just of the song’s chorus:
Oh, village in the countryside/ Warm in every season./Oh, village in the countryside./ After all this time, you’re still just as lovely as you were then.
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I've been getting a lot of joy out of watching live performances by different musicians this year. Thanks for sharing one of your favorites :)
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Hope you and your family are continuing to do well ^____^
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Thanks so much for giving the song a listen ^____^