infoMania | September 20, 2010 | Comment on this video (83)

Glee, Stop Ruining Great Songs! Music Intervention

Sergio_Cilli
Sorry Gleeks, infoMania's music master Sergio Cilli refuses to let Fox's mega-hit "Glee" ruin classic songs from the Rolling Stones, Billy Idol, Madonna, and even Lady GaGa, by turning them in to sanitized, Mickey Moused, show-choir crap. Wouldn't you want to know if your musical stylings were leading a whole generation to believe Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is supposed to be sung in five part harmony with impeccable diction? The madness has to stop!

It takes a real friend to call an intervention to help you realize you might have a problem. This also applies to music. Except Sergio is not your friend but he still wants you to stop. Here's Sergio's Music Intervention.

infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Erin Gibson, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on Current TV.
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  2. tags:
    Music,  Comedy,  Television,  infoMania,  18 more
  3. credits:
    Sergio_Cilli Writer, Sergio_Cilli Starring, David Nickoll Producer, more
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83 comments // Glee, Stop Ruining Great Songs! Music Intervention // Video

  • Evan_Coburn
  • halcyonacoustic
  • BenPerlis
  • BenPerlis
  • batwithhat
    • 0
      batwithhat  

    • Sergio takes the words right out of my mouth every video, I don't see why there are these comments saying he has shitty taste in music. People who like Glee should at least know it's bad music.... I secretly enjoy some Abba but I still know it's bad. Also, the songs/bands Sergio has mentioned approvingly are good. As a fact, like House of the Rising Sun IS unarguably a good song, like it or not. I've liked songs he's bashed, but I recognized those songs were stupid, and disliked songs that I recognized ARE unarguably good.

      Also he's cute, so it would suck if he left infomania.

    • 1 year ago
  • ColeRayne
    • 0
      ColeRayne  

    • A mark of a generation devoid of current inspirational talent, perhaps is why the indie artist is on the rise... (did I actually just call myself an indie? Ugh...) Cue gen x to take the stage, please.

    • 1 year ago
  • Julia_Marshall
  • Tanya_Davis_Frizzell
    • 0
      Tanya_Davis_Frizzell  

    • Ok, this is simple to debate. I agree with Existentialist when she says that there is nothing wrong with admiring the hard work and creativity the show Glee offers kids(and adults) who are avid viewers(like ME)! I am a 42 year old woman who grew up listening to all kinds of great music, especially the songs that are used for Glee. I love the originals and are faithful to their greatness, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the 'watered down and syrupy sweet' versions of these same songs on the show! It is nice to hear talented people do what they do best, pay homage to legendary music in their own interpretation. Not only are the songs fun to listen to and the dance routines enjoyable to watch, but the show sends a positive message to its audience through this interpretation of these songs in the storylines. It is nice to know that some of the songs I grew up with in highschool are being appreciated by this generation of teens and young adults. They probably would never have heard of Don't Stop Believin' or This Is A Man's World if it weren't for the show. Now they can go onto Itunes or Limewire and find the originals and enjoy those as well. Or maybe not...maybe they prefer the newer versions because it is made for the younger audience to appreciate and relate to. That doesn't mean that we, who know of the older versions, don't have to give up on popping our originals into the cd player(or record player) and bopping away with our memories of where we first were when we learned to love these songs in our youth. Leave Glee be! It is a good thing to have when all you hear about on the news and in the media are the BAD influences on our young people today!!!

    • 1 year ago
  • MelodyMV
    • 0
      MelodyMV  

    • HAhhA! I love GLEE. I love Sergio. I love Infomania. I love this intervention. And, yes, I will continue to watch GLEE.

    • 1 year ago
  • viralvideofilmschool77
  • Chynna_Masters
    • 0
      Chynna_Masters  

    • Wow, maybe watch one of the episodes and the songs would make sense in the plot jackass. Glee is a great show and they do a really good job with the songs. My mom and dad grew up with some of the songs and they love the show.

    • 1 year ago
  • existentialist
    • +2
      existentialist  

    • Glee is not ruining any songs. If anything it is introducing classic songs to people who otherwise never would have heard them and in a creative and accessible way. If you don't like the covers, don't listen to them. Just pull out your CD of the original and jam to that. That simple. Some people enjoy the re-imagining of the songs, even better than the originals. Why can't these people have their cake too?

      I really respect "Glee," because I know how much hard work it is orchestrating, choreographing and directing the musical pieces the show highlights. At, least from what I have seen the show does a great job of making the songs "its own" in wonderfully creative ways.

      I know Sergio is just jesting, and he probably watches "Glee," but a lot of people here are taking this too seriously. So I had to throw out my two-cents in defense of such a creative show.

    • 1 year ago
  • Sergio_Cilli
  • IJELLINEK
    • +1
      IJELLINEK  

    • you NAILED IT. Glee is killing an entire generations desire to go experience music for themselves. I am a music nut, but when I see my younger sister,mother and father enjoying glee it nearly brings me to tears. Glee not only sanitizes/strips songs of their meanings and depth, it also takes what the artist was trying to convoy through complete lyrics and orchestrated sound. Perfect example, "Somebody to love" arguably one of the greatest rock vocal performances, and one of the most meaningful song when you look at Mercury's relationship to the public and his own Aids virus. Glee of course makes zero mention of any of this, instead relegating the song to a superficial nothingness. Because when Mercury said " each day i get up I die a little" i'm sure he wanted that to be used to describe a high school football/cheerleader relationship. Don't let the Gleeification of music ruin some of the greatest rock songs ever, music is THE universal language and its being stripped of all meaning.

    • 1 year ago
  • existentialist
    • +3
      existentialist  
    • IJELLINEK:

      If you really were a "music nut" I think you would enjoy (edit: I should have used the word "respect" instead of "enjoy") "Glee." I am not trying to pass judgment, but do you listen to all types of music and enjoy all types of musical performances? Country? Musicals? Classical? I just ask because I have several friends that are self proclaimed "music nuts," yet they don't move outside certain genres and brush aside anything that doesn't fit their taste as "mainstream," "low-brow" or "unoriginal." It is funny because many of these friends listen to classic artists who were "mainstream" during their time and it is impossible to claim any band or artist is completely original. Every artist has their influences and tastes. What makes an artist great is not their ability to be original but their awareness of the greatness that came before them (all the way back to the classical masters and before) and their ability to improve upon it.

      Second, great artists realize that it is not them who put meaning into a song, but the listener. Music is NEVER about the artist, it is about the listener. In fact, the greatest songs are the ones that have myriad interpretations and allow all different types of people to relate to them. Even if that interpretation seems superficial. I am sure Pearl Jam's "Black" was not about my high-school girlfriend breaking up with me, it sure seemed like it at the time though. That meaning for me was just as real or more real than any other meaning that could be derived from that song. In addition, the meaning of a song does not always have to be something profound or deep for it to be great. A lot of times the genius lies in the presentation.

      This brings me to my last point: above all music is about entertainment. Its about giving the listeners something they can hear and be drawn into. Something they can dance to, laugh at, cry over, be in awe about, or otherwise give them a small escape or diversion from everyday life. The performances on "Glee" do a wonderful job at entertaining. Like many musicals I watch, I stare with admiration at the work and great direction that goes into each musical number. All of that meticulous work just to entertain me. It really is amazing.

      I am sure your family is moved in the same way by "Glee" as you are with music of your taste. The joy, sadness and amazement that your family finds in "Glee's" music, is in no way less meaningful or real than the feelings that arise in yourself when you listen to the music you love.

    • 1 year ago
  • iLoveOlivier
    • +2
      iLoveOlivier  
    • existentialist:

      Everyone has their preferences. Like Stevie Wonder said about music in Sir Duke - "you can feel it all over." So maybe music isn't about the artist or the listener, it's about the music itself. What the music enables people to feel. So if you prefer Glee's renditions or the actual originals, whatever. Just enjoy it. I don't think it's anything worth seriously arguing over.

    • 1 year ago
  • existentialist
    • 0
      existentialist  
    • iLoveOlivier:

      That was pretty much my point. His family likes Glee for the same reasons he likes his music. Neither is superior. I probably should have said he would "respect Glee" rather than he would "enjoy Glee." Anyway, it is about the listener.
      "[music]'s about the music itself"
      That sentence does not make sense at all.
      "music enables people to feel."
      That is the goal of music, to affect the listener. It is about the listener.

    • 1 year ago
  • KeithdaSneith
  • rainforestgardn
    • +2
      rainforestgardn  

    • Stop being so serious, people. Glee is funny albeit cheesy. This Music intervention is also funny as hell... Poker face on Glee was random and awful.

    • 1 year ago
  • PhatNick
    • +4
      PhatNick  

    • I actually like Glee and their mickeymoused music (most of it, anyway). Not everything on this planet has to be dark and edgy.

      It's okay to smile.

    • 1 year ago
  • Sergio_Cilli
  • Robert_Gallegos
    • +1
      Robert_Gallegos  

    • Love Glee, but that was effin' hilarious! "Memory: Destroyed!"

      Also, I promise I will find a way to use the term "mime-job" in the future... So, thanks for that!

    • 1 year ago
  • BinarySolo
  • katethagreat
    • +1
      katethagreat  

    • love glee, and i love this rant. *however* the glee version of "poker face" is not a glee version. i heard lady gaga herself do that version of the song herself a while back. i believe on saturday night live.

    • 1 year ago
  • Proud_Progressive
  • Sergio_Cilli
  • burnsy
    • 0
      burnsy  

    • i have now had "Sweet Caroline" stuck in my head for a couple days since watching this...but not the original Neil Diamond version...the Glee version

      and i can't stop seeing them swaying around. UGH. Someone please shoot me in the face.

    • 1 year ago
  • CanadianBacon
    • +1
      CanadianBacon  
    • burnsy:

      ... and I have the asshat Glee version of "Poker Face" in my head. Belting out of the terrifying "DEMON! DEMON!" muscle-busting singsmiles of mother and daughter (they have the same hairdo, so they're related!)

      This is the nasty side-effect of Sergio's Fine Work. All the steaming piles of pop music crap I avoid in life are compiled into a few minutes of 3OH3MileyCyrusDisneyStar ear-bleeding horror that I have to listen to if I want to enjoy a nice olde fashioned music intervention. Consarnit.

    • 1 year ago
  • PhatNick
  • Justin_Oliver
  • SuperGay
    • 0
      SuperGay  

    • I'm gonna leave my opinion out of this and just point out that the cover of "Dancing With Myself" was based on the Nouvelle Vague version. I don't think Idol has a problem with it.

    • 1 year ago
  • greendervish
    • 0
      greendervish  

    • yeah, that was very funny. one problem... glee rules! and their versions are usually great - diamond, journey, billy idol and all. some of us grow up. maybe you could try that? you don't look 14 3/4 anymore.

    • 1 year ago
  • remanns
  • Shawna_Hammond
    • +1
      Shawna_Hammond  

    • Ugh, there have been HOW many music interventions and still you guys don't get that it's SATIRE. Please use a dictionary and look it up.

      Also, if you're looking for music along the lines of what Glee tries to do (but 100% better), check out Scala and Kolansky Brothers. They are a girls choral group that often covers pop and rock songs, but doesn't do it in that Mickey Mouse way.

      With Or Without You (their best, in my opinion):
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcjec7WZ41s

    • 1 year ago
  • Daena_Smith
  • Will_Rojas
    • +1
      Will_Rojas  

    • I agree with you Randallr but at the same time i disagree..

      some songs are good and some sound like kids bop from the disney channel. it does make em sound kinda lame but not all songs lol

    • 1 year ago
  • randallr01
    • +1
      randallr01  

    • I heavily disagree. If you think the songs are actually "ruined," maybe you shouldn't watch Glee. I'm really tired of your lame opinions lately.

      ...And I'm not even exactly a Glee "fan."

      You just keep coming out with lots of bullshit. Go back to the "White Hot Top 5" and stay there, please.

      YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF MATERIAL FOR INTERVENTIONS. IT'S OBVIOUS.

    • 1 year ago
  • Stever_B
    • +1
      Stever_B  
    • randallr01:

      thankYOU!

      Randall's right. The truth is when you're doing a music intervention on "Glee", you're out of material -- at least until Idol comes back in January.

      It was so fun to see "White Hot Top 5" last week....

    • 1 year ago
  • Sergio_Cilli
  • remanns
  • Stever_B
  • remanns
  • Rebecca_Sedlak
  • Stever_B
  • randallr01
  • cclark_productions
  • Pollo_Loco_
  • CanadianBacon
  • WMS10
    • 0
      WMS10  

    • I like Glee. Sergio, I do, however, respect what you have to say about them ruining those particular songs (especially "poker face") but I think Glee has done some great adaptations. And, yes, maybe some of the songs are odd and misplaced and shouldn't have been covered anyway, but they should be appreciated for their talent and for the attempt (even a failed attempt). The plot and humor of the show is great by the way don't let the songs turn you away if you haven't seen it. There is a reason it got nominated for awards so many times.

    • 1 year ago
  • lukea925
    • +2
      lukea925  

    • saw them try bohemian rhapsody, just terrible. Thats the kind of song you can only sing if your a heartbroken genius dying from aides.

    • 1 year ago
  • ahihoel
  • randallr01
  • burnsy
  • tylervictoria1
  • bc_f
    • bc_f [removed]  
    • This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
  • 24French
  • JanforGore
  • randallr01
    • +2
      randallr01  
    • JanforGore:

      They do covers of popular songs in a different way. I would think that you would encourage such free expression. But I guess you're just sucking the dick of current with this comment.

    • 1 year ago
  • DrTruth
    • -2
      DrTruth  
    • randallr01:

      randallr01, the hate that you have for yourself, life and just everything in general is transparent. your negative comments sound like a screaming, irrational toddler in that they're not specific and just generally mean for the sake of being mean. if you have something to say, think about it for more than three seconds before you decide to type it out. maybe you'll have a succinct thought that could actually make things better. just a thought.

    • 1 year ago
  • randallr01
    • +1
      randallr01  
    • DrTruth:

      I do understand where you're coming from. No, I don't hate myself or life; I just feel very strongly about certain things. I'm not usually compared to a screaming toddler, though. I've been called an angry old man many times.

      You have great points, until you imply I don't have succinct thoughts. All of my thoughts are quite succinct, and that's where I run into trouble. My "general comments" are written assuming that the people who read them already know me & my convictions....

      But you wouldn't know, because you've only ever made a single comment on current, and that's this one.

    • 1 year ago
  • CarlosIsDown
  • BKsaysAction
    • 0
      BKsaysAction  

    • I was working on a school production with a bunch of glee nerds and guess what our working music was? Now they wonder why I don't help them any more.

    • 1 year ago
  • Sergio_Cilli
  • Deremoved
  • Proud_Progressive
  • randallr01
  • remanns
  • blackIrish
  • manobon
  • PigFarmington
  • Baby_Boner
  • PigFarmington
  • ColleenRW
    • 0
      ColleenRW  

    • Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "Dancing with Myself" about masturbating? Hence "dancing" with yourself?

      I've never watched this show, but half the people I know squee with joy whenever anyone mentions "Defying Gravity". So I looked it up and listened to it. It was OK, I suppose, but definitely not the aural orgasm everyone else said it was.

    • 1 year ago
  • Deadtheist
  • timetide
  • iLoveOlivier
    • +2
      iLoveOlivier  

    • first off, sergio you should totally get "mickey-moused" copyrighted, haha. secondly, that show really knows how to butcher a song! lastly, that poor kid with the guitar and scarf trying to act all profound, hahaha

    • 1 year ago
  • 5ka
    • +1
      5ka  

    • I guess I could watch this show to see if it is that bad. But I hate high schoolers, and al capella.

    • 1 year ago
  • unimatrix0
  • remanns
  • EmperorThan
  • smurph25
    • 0
      smurph25  
    • Image

    • A lot of TV stations around the world are cashing in on the "show choir" format nowadays thanks to 'Glee'. In the UK, Channel Five did a show choir talent show over the summer called 'Don't Stop Believing'. Watched it once, and it's too embarrasing to watch it again. (and just as well, the channel is now under new ownership)

    • 1 year ago
  • SpencerTreeGarden
  • PigFarmington
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