got_quiet

Challenge #6

In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

Oh ho ho, what a coincidence that today I was relistening to my playlist of 82 different varieties of the song Stars from Les Miserables. That's right 82 versions of the same damn song, which I collected in a fevered passion over a decade ago. The large number is mostly because the song has been translated into many different languages, so I actually have very few "amateur" tracks included. Anyway I found a new version as I was writing this post so now the list is 83 tracks long.

The playlist is connected to a RL google account (that it appears I can't obfuscate because google is doing evil now) so I won't link it directly, but here are my favorites.

• Phillip Quast 10th Anniversary Concert - The standard to which I judge all other versions. Phillip Quast is my Javert and the 10th Anniversary Concert is my Les Mis musical. I honestly get weirded out when I see the scenes beyond the musical pieces lol.


• Stars in Polish, "Gwiazdy" - Sung by Łukasz Dziedzic. He's got a perfectly powerful voice for the role.


• Stars in Japanese "Hoshi Yo" - Sung by Takeshi Kawaguchi. Fun fact, the guy who played Valjean in the Japanese production was none other than Chairman Kaga of Iron Chef fame.


• Stars in Chinese "繁星满天" - This one is a fan production, but I don't think there is an official Chinese production. Maybe someday!

As to why I like this particular track, I think it perfectly encapsulates Javert's character, and is his best solo song in the play.

Also, in the 10th anniversary concert video, right before Quast is up to sing this song, Colm Wilkinson gives him a little pat on the leg for encouragement and that little gesture has kept the fires burning in my little shipper heart for literal decades. Every once in a while I go back to youtube rips of the VHS to take another look.

To illustrate just how nuts that is, here is a screenshot of the pat.



Can you make anything out there? I absolutely can't, but I remember the VHS tape, and I know what those little blurry dots are doing, and that's enough lol.