Pretty Bird/Jemaine Clement
You think you’re badder than me?
I have seen Rio many many many times in the past few months
Children love repetition
When I was a kid I made my mom sit through Grease three times in a row at the big movie theater in Santiago
For this reason I am afraid to take my son to the movies
On a semi-related note, it wasn’t until college that I discovered that Grease was really quite dirty
I had NO IDEA that Danny was trying to fingerbang Sandy at the drive-in
Had a similar experience watching the reissue of Purple Rain recently
No drive-in there, just Prince’s basement of scarves, dim lighting and lace gloved seduction
But really I meant to talk about Jemaine Clement
I LOVE JEMAINE CLEMENT
It has something to do with “Casual Prince”
But also something to do with the Gondry directed Carol Brown number fron Flight of the Conchords which was meant to be stoopid funny but broke my heart a little (you’d have to see the full episode for context)
In Rio, Clement voices Nigel, an evil Cockatoo with a failed television career and a hatred of “pretty” tropical birds
Pretty Bird is his song
I was hoping that it would get nominated for an Oscar so there could be a Flight of the Conchords Battle Royale Medley with a Hollywood Budget and EXPLOSIONS
And then Bret McKenzie would win for the Muppet song and Jemaine would give a suitably Jemaineish gimlet eyed stare
Sadly it wasn’t
I’ve always loved a good I Am The Villain number
You know, like The Siamese Cat Song in Lady and The Tramp
The kind that make you love the bad guy, especially if the animation matches the spirit of it
Also, fun
Pretty Bird works like that
It follows the who (evil) and why (becuz) formula but also tips its hat to Brazilian 60s pop
The hiccuping cuica underneath
The shrill harmonic pah-pah-pahs of the backing “birds”
The moment Clement drops his voice underneath to deliver the softly crooned punchline
The “Sweet Nightmares!” cackle cackle peace out
The slow lounge vamp and quick burst of rhyming, complete with the poop humor so beloved by children and adults
Classy stuff
No really, it is
