As American as Apple Pie – Grand Rapids LipDub May 28, 2011
Posted by alwaysjan in Food for Thought, Music.Tags: American Pie LipDub, American Pie Lipsync, American Pie Lyrics, Art, Art in the schools, Arts Education, Don McLean, Dying Cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Michigan economy
4 comments
My husband forwarded to me a link to Indiewire, an independent film site, with the message, “You’ve GOT to watch this!” (Click the Indiewire link to watch the Grand Rapids LipDub.)
After Newsweek listed Grand Rapids, Michigan as one of America’s 10 “Dying Cities,” independent filmmaker Scott Erickson decided to showcase his hometown in a one-take, 10-minute video to the tune of Don McLean’s iconic song American Pie.
When I told my brother, who lives in Michigan, about the video, his initial response was, “It can’t be Grand Rapids-that’s one of our favorite places to go. Are you sure they weren’t talking about Detroit?” He informed me that Grand Rapids is GR to Michiganders.
Maybe it’s because I can vividly recall the dingy bar I was standing in drinking 3.2% beer when I first heard the song American Pie, but I dare say, I got a little misty eyed watching this video.
At a time when funding for the arts is being cut from our schools, I’ve become all the more convinced that it is the arts that elevate our spirits while also bringing people together.
Psst! If it’s been awhile since you’ve heard the song, you, like me, will be trying to decipher the lyrics. But, it’s already been done for you on Understanding American Pie. The site takes you through the song verse by verse. Whoa! I think it gave me flashbacks.
I rate this video GR, for GREAT. Enjoy!
planetjan 