I think it goes without saying that this was the first time I saw it, right? I hadn't even heard I Dreamed A Dream before Wednesday, so... It was kind of a big deal, is what I'm saying.
And so since Wednesday, I've been basically listening to all the Les Mis recordings and to Anne Hathaway's version of I Dreamed A Dream over and over and over and over and it's actually been affecting my life in that I kind of can't do anything else, apart from also think about the storyline of Les Mis and how, if you view the story from Cosette's PoV it's actually a fairytale. I wake up every day with my brain singing songs from Les Mis, and it's wonderful and a liiittle bit irritating, but mostly wonderful because I haven't been obsessed with something in this way, with this intensity, for a looooong time, and I kind of didn't know I still could be. So it's alllll good.
Other things apart from Les Mis did happen this week (probably...) Um... I did some baking! Today is my cousin's birthday so I baked her a cake yesterday (it's pretty awesome. I haven't taken pictures of it yet, cause LAZY. But maybe later) and obviously I made cookies for my blog birthday so there was some lovely time spent in the kitchen this week. And last night I went to see The Woman in Black (NOT The Woman in White, as I kept calling it like an idiot. But COME ON people, The Woman in White! Obviouslyyyy!) which was as creepy as I was always promised it would be, and made me jump quiiiite a lot.
Of course, in the middle of it my brain started singing songs from Les Mis, which did tend to ruin the effect a tiny tiny bit. But still, I was preeeeetty scared!
Hmm, what else? Well, I have finished three books this week which is ridiculous, and I haven't written a WORD about any of them. I'm having a non-non-fiction reading thing at the moment which is kind of strange, and I've been reading David Mitchell's memoir for about a month without much progress... I guess I'm just in more of a fiction mood at the moment, which my love for Ready Player One seems to have solidified. I might start reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (obviously) because, you know, I might as well read the original if I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about the musical, but I'd say I'm at a bit of a reading crossroads right now.
Are you still awake? I'm not sure I am, that was really boring. I just zoned out listening to Red and Black in my head. I actually have a serious problem here, people!
In summary: Les Mis, Les Mis, kitchen things, Les Mis. *bows, awaits applause*.
Hehe, that's exactly how I was after watching it!!!! :D I saw it about a month ago now so I've kind of snapped out of it now, but for a week or so my brain was like... Les Mis, Les Mis, Les Mis, Les Mis....
ReplyDeleteI feel for my husband who had to listen to me singing various terrible renditions of all the Les Mis songs. Hehe. I hope he realised that this was what he was signing up for when he married me!
Ahhh, see it only came out a week ago here, so it's still all new and exciting and OMG LES MIS! *siiiiiigh* now I just have to see the show!
DeleteHahahaha, I hope he did realise this, otherwise it must have been a bit of a shock for him! Who could complain about hearing Les Mis songs all the time?! (Not me!)
The show is amazing too :D
DeleteMy poor husband. I did realise after a while that I must be driving him nuts, so I tried to keep the singing to times when he wasn't at home, but I'm not sure I was entirely successful. Ah well!
Hehehehehe, I can just imagine you trying to hold the songs in and just EXPLODING into them every once in a while, and going 'I'm so sorry. So, so sorry.' Hehehehe.
DeleteHaha, I LOVE that Les Mis even took over your viewing of another movie. I get that with songs and reading. Like, I'll just be sitting there quietly reading Jane Eyre or something, and BOOM! I'll get that really catchy song from Enchanted stuck in my head. And then I start thinking about how funny it is when the chipmunk sings it. TALK ABOUT A MOOD KILLER.
ReplyDeleteYou are a baking maestro, dude. I'm SO LUCKY to have you as a wife, I really am. *leaves a trail of crumbs as she flits away again*
*whispers* it was actually the play of The Woman in Black. But ANYWAY, yeah! It was so odd but like funny. To be fair, since there is a song in Les Mis *called* Red and Black, what else could I do but sing it to myself?!
DeleteDude, you so are. Our wedding cake was incredible, by the way.
I love so much about this post. I didn't love the movie--I expected to, but I merely liked it quite a bit. BUT, and here's the thing: I know exactly what you mean! For days, and maybe even weeks after I saw the film, I would wake up in the middle of the night with lyrics in my head and it took me forever to fall back to sleep. I would wake up in the morning at the proper time and have a different set of lyrics in my head. I would randomly sing bits of songs whenever they hit me. I was grocery shopping for my mom in a tiny town in central Wisconsin (read: conservative and not really embracing of strangers) and before I knew it I was in the beer & wine aisle singing (kinda softly, but not exactly under my breath or anything): "The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!" People in central Wisconsin don't like strangers singing such things in their grocery stores. That's all I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteBut I could *totally* get in on a bi-continental duet with you for I dreamed a dream. Srsly.
See, I don't know if you've seen the show or not BUT since this was literally my first ever experience of Les Mis I'm so INCREDIBLY in love with the film. But, having listened to the show performances, I'm ALSO positive that seeing the show would be way better, so... I'M JUST SO EXCITED ABOUT THE WHOLE THING! I love love love that you were just singing in public in a place that doesn't look kindly on strangers. AMAZING.
DeleteLet's do this duet somehow! I should warn you that I can't proper sing, so... we must never let anyone else hear it. But yeah!!
YES!
ReplyDeleteThat is all.
DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? SINGING THE SONG OF ANGRY MEN! etc etc etc etc etc to infinity
ReplyDeleteI had "Do you hear the people sing..." stuck in my head for a week after I saw it. I would just randomly bust out singing it and my kids would stare at me like, "what is wrong with her?" I looked at the soundtrack and bummed that it doesn't look like that song is on it!
DeleteI really loved the movie, but some of the singing was distracting. I feel like such a jerk saying that, but Russell Crowe was kind of disappointing and as much as I really wanted to like Eddie Redmayne, sometimes he sounded like Kermit the Frog. Overall, it was amazing. I want to see it again.
Yeah, it's not on the movie soundtrack for some reason! And it's basically my FAVOURITE! (except for I Dreamed a Dream, OBVS)
DeleteDude, I thought Russell Crowe literally wasn't going to be able to sing, so he was better than my expectations but still not great. And Hugh Jackman was kind of *distractingly* bad, and OMG you're spot on with Kermit! Cause, yeah, Eddie had like a stronger voice than the other 2 dudes, but it was waaaay Kermit-y!
And YET I am still in love with it. Because it's Les Mis, I guess! LES MIIIIIIIIIIIS!
I have not watched the movie yet. (I'm a crier) but I did reread the book. Funnily enough, well perhaps oddly....I don't think I've ever heard the full musical. I know. I can't wait for the dvd so I can be moved and cry in the privacy of my own living room.
ReplyDeleteJenn, seriously I had never read the book, so I didn't even know the story, AND I hadn't heard like any of the musical, EXCEPT On My Own. So it was just this crazy mindblowing experience! I definitely can't wait to cry in privacy too :)
DeleteOk havent read all of the post yet cos long day and knackered but YES LES MIS! It is so much awesome and SERIOUSLY you must see it on the stage. You will cry and cry and it will be all the awesome. Yes
ReplyDeleteI will, I will! It's SO expensive, but I will definitely see it someday (hopefully soon!) SO EXCITING!
DeleteAlso :((((( for knackeredness! Hope you had a good nights sleep!
We should read Les Mis together! I was intending to read and review it part by part (it's so flipping huge) so yes, we should do this! If you want!
ReplyDeleteWe should! I shall email you.
DeletePoor men, rich men, leaders of the land
ReplyDeleteSee them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand...
and now a slightly more sensible comment:
ReplyDeleteUntil you've woken up in the middle of the night with this bit of Stars playing in your head:
And so it has been and so it is written
On the doorway to paradise
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price!
You don't know true Les Mis insanity. I'm a little worried it's a conspiracy by religious crazies to scare me into believing in god..
Yeaaaah, it really hasn't had that effect on me. It's more like 'daaaaamn, everything is terrible. There definitely isn't a god.' That kind of thing. Even though I keep singing 'To love another person is to see the face of goooooooooood!'
DeleteI'm still waking up to Les Mis songs though. It's very distracting.
The story from Cosette's PoV is pretty fairy tale-ish. Probably why she typically annoys me so much cos she's all "tra-la-la life is grand" and all I can think about is the shit Fantine went through. STOP BEING SO DAMN HAPPY.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to read the Abridged version of Les Mis or tackle the full 8,000 page one with way more details than are necessary about sewers. (So I've heard since the full version intimidates me and I've only read the abridged one.)
Aw, it's kind of really easy to be irritated by Cosette, but I'm more like 'MAKE HER A PROPER CHARACTER FFS' because she's kind of one of those annoying women characters who only exist to be adored, a la Laura in The Woman in White. But she's totally like 'oh boo hoo daddy doesn't let me go out lots' and it's like 'YOUR MOTHER WAS A PROSTITUTE TO TRY AND FEED YOU, YOU HAVE IT EASY!' Buuut... She doesn't know all this, right?
DeleteI'm totally going to read the big version because, well, I *own* it, and it feels wrong to buy another one just cause it's, you know, easier. But I'm not like not going to skip the parts about the sewers, because SNOOOOORE.
I've never watched the musical, seen the film or even read the book of Les Mis. However, I am totally on board with the idea of a Laura Sings The Songs From Les Mis Really Badly video. This would be entertainment indeed.
ReplyDeleteWHAT?! You must rectify this immediately! I can't make such a video until you've seen some kind of version of it, otherwise ALL WILL BE RUINED!
DeleteI've never the any of the musicals/films nor have I read the book. But I'm thinking it would be a really good idea to go see Les Mis this week, even if its by myself. I have four days off, so why not? (Cause I'm a homebody, that's why not, but I still might go see it.)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had an awesome week, and it's so fun to get SO into something like that. Last time that happened to me it was when I read Wicked and listened to the Wicked soundtrack for the first time.
Yeeeeeeah, go and see Les Mis! It's so so so so good (as long as you like musicals. Although maybe if you don't, too) and you'll love it and we can sing to each other across the Atlantic!
DeleteOh maaaaaaan, I loves Wicked too! I was pretty into that for a few weeks, actually. Good times!
I loved it too! I have had the soundtrack running through my head for weeks now!
ReplyDelete