Discourse.net

OK, I think this is a bit weird, a more serious piece of strange than Stairway to Somewhere: someone has set a complaint to music. And not just any complaint, but Mackris v. O’Reilly, the infamous sexual harassment complaint filed against TV bloviator Bill O’Reilly and settled for an undisclosed sum.

There’s a video with a lengthy excerpt of this work at O’Reilly’s Sexual Harrassment Lawsuit Sung Like Handel’s “Messiah”. And here’s how they describe the project:

The piece is a setting of the sexual harassment complaint lodged against Fox News pundit, Bill O’Reilly, by staff producer, Andrea Mackris, in October 2004 and recorded at its world premiere in January 2007. It includes all memorable moments from the original complaint and more – paranoid rants, clumsy sexual innuendo, and the famous falafel fantasy. Composer Igor Keller has produced this concert-length work in the form of a baroque oratorio, in the style of an updated Handel’s Messiah, for 28-piece chamber orchestra, 26-voice chorus and three soloists. It’s an oratorio for the 21st century!

There’s also an extensive FAQ.

I’m in no position to judge from the excerpt if this this is good art or not (although I am suspicious). I did go see “Jerry Springer: The Opera” the last time I was in London, and despite what one might think about the idea of basing an opera around Jerry Springer, it was good. So who knows.