Marie Osmond Does Hugo Ball

MP3: Marie Osmond Performing Hugo Ball's "Karawane" (written in 1916)

Taken from a Ripley's Believe It Or Not segment on sound poetry from the mid-80s. According to producer Jed Rasula, "Marie Osmond became co-host with Jack Palance. In the format of the show, little topic clusters (like "weird language") were introduced by one of the hosts. In this case, the frame was Cabaret Voltaire. Marie was required to read Hugo Ball's sound poem "Karawane" and a few script lines. Much to everybody's astonishment, when they started filming she abruptly looked away from the cue cards directly into the camera and recited, by memory, "Karawane." It blew everybody away, and I think they only needed that one take. A year or so after it was broadcast, Greil Marcus approached me, wanting to use Marie Osmond's rendition of Hugo Ball for a cd produced in England as sonic companion to his book Lipstick Traces; so I was delighted to be able to arrange that."

Comments

[holaka holala]

She really does nail it!

[Aunt Sue]

Wonderful, thank you! :) :)

[Dan Heilman]

This was released about 15 years ago on a companion CD Rough Trade put out based on Greil Marcus's book 'Lipstick Traces.' It sounds as weird then as it does now!

[Roarshock]

You have posted a badly edited and incomplete version of Marie's recitation (compare with the text below). A complete, intact version of her reading can be found here...

http://deuceofclubs.com/tunes/EBOR/Lipstick_Traces-Marie_Osmond-Karawane.mp3

Karawane

jolifanto bambla o falli bambla
großiga m'pfa habla horem
egiga goramen
higo bloiko russula huju
hollaka hollala
anlogo bung
blago bung blago bung
bosso fataka
ü üü ü
schampa wulla wussa olobo
hej tatta gorem
eschige zunbada
wulubu ssubudu uluwu ssubudu
tumba ba-umf
kusa gauma
ba - umf

[Franklin Bruno]

Great to have this - but does anyone know of a source for the video? (I've tried YouTube - no luck.) Jed Rasula was a prof. of mine at Pomona College in the late '80s, and showed the clip to a poetry class. Marie O.'s eyes take on a strange, trance-like glaze that adds a great deal to the otherworldiness of the whole affair. I'd love to see it again.

[Yr Host]

A few years ago, I was at a family reunion in Utah and, after the hayride, pitching horseshoes and a delightful barbecue, a Mormon cowboy recited Jabberwocky from memory. The next day we saw Maureen McGovern in the musical, "Dear World." She was terrific!

I'm not fibbing.

Sincerely,

Yr Host

PS: Greil Marcus is right up there at the top of the prententious ass heap. (Put that in your peep stone and smoke it!)