Word: bernhard
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...expecting the worst when I put on Sandra Bernhard's new CD "Excuses for Bad Behavior, part I," and I was admittedly somewhat disappointed. The album is short on Bernhard's increasingly boring what's-an-outrageous-Jewish-dyke-to-do monologues, and long on her singing, and she's a good singer. She's not a good songwriter, but she hired excellent producers and back-up musicians, the result being that this collection of Bernhard originals interspersed with covers of the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix and others is a nice listen...
Inevitably, though, it leaves the listener asking, "What's the point?" Sure, it's more palatable than most celebrity albums, although that's not saying much, but it's all been done before. It's unclear whether Bernhard herself knows what the point is; it's probably that she likes to sing and has the renown and money to put out an album. But, she doesn't have enough faith in her singing to let it speak for itself. In "The Letter," one of several spoken word tracks on the album, she imitates a whining fan: "Oh Christ...
...letter" goes on to describe the disgruntled fan taking her revenge by destroying the items of Bernhard's ouevre in her possession. The message seems to be that Bernhard doesn't care what we think, and that she will do whatever the hell she feels like, and that, moreover, we should do the same. The first track, a short spoken-word piece entitled "Excuses for Bad Behavior," frames the album as a self help course that will teach us that what life boils down to is "me, me, me." This is fine, but you'd have to be pretty hard...
...case, it's silly of Bernhard to attempt to undercut our criticism by predicting it. I personally would rather hear Bernhard sing than bitch any day, as she's gotten downright pathetic lately, but no doubt much of her public feels otherwise. It's not an unreasonable proposition that an entertainer should be entertaining, which Bernhard isn't when singing, though she's tuneful enough. Her response would probably be, Okay, then don't buy the CD (I got my copy free), but the fact is that someone who relies on public performance can't get too selfish, not even...
...midfield strengths of senior Bo Bernhard, junior Chris Wojick, sophomore T.J. Corella and multi-faceted freshman Tom McLaughlin to the mix, and all the elements of a darkhorse Ivy League contender are there. With an entirely new assistant coaching staff (Gary Crompton guiding the attackers as Murphy teaches the defenders), Locker says that team chemistry is good, perhaps well-removed from whatever demons of early-season befuddlement remain from his first two years...