Ask Gleeves?

I've been asked to answer the question "What Is Glee?" by Ask Jeeves. Here's what I came up with. And check out the picture too. Bet you wish you were as cool and moody and black & white as me.

For many, Glee is a TV show from America that takes elements from a bunch of different pop culture products (High School Musical, the movie Election, Jane Lynch’s character in Role Models, the music of Britney Spears) and packages them together to make one thing that isn’t quite as good or unique as the things from which it has borrowed. It’s inexplicably described as a comedy and explicably insanely popular. The show gets its name from High School Glee clubs where groups of teens get together to performs songs by systematically removing meaning and, in its place, adding rows of gleaming teeth formed into smiles that would seem forced and garish in the opening sequence of Blue Velvet. These clubs, as far as I’m concerned, have as little to do with the word ‘glee’ as badges on a TGI Fridays waitress’ uniform have to do with the word ‘flair’.

The feeling of glee is different to happiness. It’s devilish, it’s naughty. It’s best summarised, to my mind, by my friend Fordy. Fordy is a man controlled by his own wide –eyed excitement at the world around him. When Fordy is possessed (and there really is no other word for what true glee does to you), whether by a song or a memory or an anecdote or the thought of his heroes Stuart Pearce or Tony Blair, his whole body convulses. He shakes with excitement. He emits high-pitched yelps and squeals. He rubs his face uncontrollably. It might sound horrible in print but in person it’s infectious. It’s real and it’s visceral and it’s more compelling for me than hearing the phrase Grilled Cheesus will ever be.

Find out more about Matt [sic] and what he thinks at: matthewcrosby.blogspot.com /www.twitter.com/matthewcrosby / www.pappyscomedy.com