Alice Dranger
Well, actress/singer Alice Dranger is back and doing exactly that. In fact, she continues to ruin them for everyone in the all-new Season Two of her original YouTube series, “Girl Ruins Your Favorite Songs.”(link).
Directed by Erin Ryan, Alice and her bestie, Rachanee Lumayno, set out to sing some of their fav’s, but it doesn’t take long before the duo discover something isn’t quite right.
Previously, Alice brought big laughs to online audiences with her viral video, “Opposing Images: Women Attempt Spider Woman Cover Art,” which examines the anatomical accuracy of the cherished comic book series cover.
I recently had a chance to catch up with Alice Dranger to find out more:
Tell us about “Girl Ruins Your Favorite Songs.”
ALICE: “Girl Ruins Your Favorite Songs” is about two besties who have participated in a YouTube challenge to play a song they know, but not so well, and their struggle to get through the challenge as they keep realizing that there are parts of the song's lyrics that don't make any sense.
Why did you want to create this series?
ALICE: I wanted to create this series because I feel like Pop Music is a really good indicator of the water we're swimming in, as it were. I love literature and poetry and analyzing it, and its relation to culture, and I couldn't quite turn off that part of my brain when listening to Pop Music. I also love Karaoke, so while singing Karaoke I would start to notice things about songs that I'd known for years, and I'd have these moments of "Is THAT what they're saying?" And, there are also a handful of songs that have always bothered me because of various messages about them. Some of the songs can get a little feminist or political, and some of the songs, I just wanted to share my own revelations about what I'd realized the song was saying.
How do you decide on which songs to take-on?
ALICE: So, the songs we decide on are based on two things: this ever growing list I've been sort of mentally carrying around since I don't even know when, at least since high school, of lyrics that bothered me; and on personal experiences I had around the time I wrote the episodes.
So, Taylor Swift's “Love Song” and John Mayor's “Daughters” have always bothered me and I really wanted to take those two songs on. Whereas “Get Lucky” came out of a conversation with one of my best friends while we were driving and “MMMBop” came out of a conversation with an old roommate of mine who really loved Hanson.
Any interesting stories from the set you can share with us?
ALICE: Oh man, we had a ton of fun on set! Rachanee has a great sense of humor and is super observational and we're friends from a previous project; and Erin Ryan, our director, is hilarious. And Ryan, our incredible DP, had this collection of funny one-liners he'd just interject at random. So we all got along really well and would always be messing and joking around.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from creating and starring in this series?
ALICE: The biggest lesson I've learned from this is actually the amount of songs that DO make sense that I thought didn't. Like, I actually developed a newfound appreciation for a lot of pop songs and artists through this. I also really learned a lot about which songs are and aren't problematic, and it was interesting to delve into a song and really analyze and break down all the reasons it felt...off.
And, now just for fun:
Who’s your favorite actor/actress?
ALICE: My favorite actor is Viola Davis!
Favorite movie or TV show from your childhood.
ALICE: My favorite TV show from childhood is probably “Xena: Warrior Princess.” I watched it in syndication and I LOVED it.
What role from the past do you wish you could have played?
ALICE: I wanted to be Xena. And of course, I think my brother would give me a hard time if I didn't mention how much I loved “The Lion King” as a kid.
Tell us one thing that would surprise our readers to learn about you.
ALICE: I think people would be surprised to know that I competed in gymnastics for about 4 years. I never fell off the beam in competition.
[b]How can fans keep up with you?
ALICE: Fans can keep up with me by following me on Instagram: @6impossiblethingsb4breakfast link
Twitter: @AliceDranger link
or my website: link link
Watch "Girl Ruins Your Favorite Songs" now on YouTube: link]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=893iMnG3JXQ[/url][/url]
'Girl Ruins Your Favorite Songs'
