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Impersonation

#21
Not just glam rock, but other musicians adopt various degrees of "persona" for a show. It seems to me the purpose of which is to add some visual performance element to accent the music.

Off the top of my head:

-- Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull played the "Aqualung" character

-- Roger Waters played "Pink" from "The Wall" album.

-- Maynard from "Tool" often plays characters from their songs while singing

-- Les Claypool of "Primus" always wears a costume of some kind on stage.

--And "Bucket Head" - whatever that's about.

-- Countless female pop singers like Madonna or Lady Gaga.
 
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#23
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#26
In the UK there is a disturbing trend (to me at least) of people dressing in WW2 era uniforms, suits, dresses, work clothes and attending dances with bands playing period music.

The last thing I want to do is pretend to be my parents, yuck!

I am trying hard not to turn into my father as it is so I am certainly not going to dress like him.
 
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#28
Funky Ghost said:
Ok, this is gonna embarrass me a bit but I find when I talk to others I tend to adopt their accents a bit. I'm not sure if it's a way to make them feel more comfortable in communicating with me, but I hear myself doing it and still can't seem to stop. For what it's worth I'm told I'm very good at communicating to others and since I tend towards the gregarious side when speaking in public I suppose that helps as well.

So I guess I'm being myself while not being myself.

I can't recall hearing anyone else do it. Maybe I'm a deviant :D
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Parroting accents. You are not alone. But I don't think it (or several other things here) really meet the thesis.Tossing an appropriate accent on while pretending to be some other place or time would be more in line, if I get it correctly.
 
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#31
Otherkin -- I want to interpret them in relation to (or maybe as co-opting) various cultures' use of totemic animals or belief in faires etc., so I'd be curious to what extent you could draw parallels between the modern phenomena and various historical cases.

Also Clowns -- their dual role as entertainers and (dangerous) transgressors have a long history.
 
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#33
delta7fred said:
In the UK there is a disturbing trend (to me at least) of people dressing in WW2 era uniforms, suits, dresses, work clothes and attending dances with bands playing period music.

The last thing I want to do is pretend to be my parents, yuck!

I am trying hard not to turn into my father as it is so I am certainly not going to dress like him.
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More likely pretending to be their grandparents...I'd guess, anyway.
 
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#34
T_Bone_TL said:
More likely pretending to be their grandparents...I'd guess, anyway.
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Yes you are right. A lot of them are young enough to be my kids.

My parents met during WW2 when my father was a farmer (exempt from joining the armed forces) and my mother was a Land Army girl. She was a town girl who was living at home with her widowed mother and bored with her office job. The Land Army provided the escape route and allowed her to do her bit for the war effort with the added bonus of providing access to one of the few supplies of eligible young men in the country.

My father asked her to accompany him to the local dance and the rest as they say is history.
 
#35
Here are a couple that I think you can use:

1. Vintage base ball (yes, that's how they spelled it) - people play competitive ball with 19th century rules, using uniforms and equipment authentic to the era. They maintain their identity, but as was common in the time, usually earn nicknames that they are often called on the field, rather than their given names. Most fields are set up as fields were back in the day Also, teams often travel to other towns/states to play other local teams, and after the games, the home team generally hosts the visiting team for an afternoon out of food and drink. Some website to check:

- bulldogbatsonline.com (yes, my site) - bats, gloves, and other equipment for the game
- VBBA.org - national association of teams who play

Maybe you can do something with the athletic department. Pm me if you need more info.

2. More than just big places like Williamsburg, there are tons of places where historical sites where there are Craftsmen and other people who dress up in periodic clothing and work with the tools of the Revolutionary or Civil War era.

3. Definite +1 on Civil War reinactors. It's amazing how far some of these people go to be authentic. Not just soldiers - all sorts of camp followers.

4. Some antique car, train, or trolley owners/operators dress according to the time, and use tools of the period.
 
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#36
Gorn said:
Maybe this doesn't qualify but I've always been fascinated by psychopaths. True psychopaths that are pretending to be normal 24/7. They're supposed to be really good at it right? Good at manipulating people.
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Illin and living out in the open?

Here you go.
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#37
Funky Ghost said:
Ok, this is gonna embarrass me a bit but I find when I talk to others I tend to adopt their accents a bit. I'm not sure if it's a way to make them feel more comfortable in communicating with me, but I hear myself doing it and still can't seem to stop. For what it's worth I'm told I'm very good at communicating to others and since I tend towards the gregarious side when speaking in public I suppose that helps as well.

So I guess I'm being myself while not being myself.

I can't recall hearing anyone else do it. Maybe I'm a deviant :D
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The ability to ape another's speech patterns and accents quickly is highly valued in cold call sales. People need to trust you to buy something from you and if you sound like them you must be like them, and if you are like them, then you must have a lot in common, and...you see where this is going.

I used to sell space in trade shows over the phone and I was killer at it and didn't really realize exactly why, then one day my boss mentioned how quick I was to match my prospects speech and accents. She even taped some of my calls without me knowing and within a sentence or two I'd be matching them almost perfectly and I was not even aware I was doing it.
 
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