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Chandler Burr on NBC's Today Show...

post #1 of 16
11/30/06 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
Today, on NBC's Today Show, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira met with Chandler Burr. The video is avaialble here (click on "Lifestyles" to view; requires Adobe Flash Player for Windows or Mac).

There were some funny exchanges... Matt Lauer talked about "getting Old Spice out of old sweaters", while Meredith Vieira confessed to wearing el-cheapo Jean Nate. They tested Mugler Cologne, Sol de Vetiver (The Different Company), Joy, and Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose, among others, and the comments were hilarious. By the end, they were about to pass out from all the smellies... a must-watch.
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post #2 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:04am
Really funny and interesting. I would have guessed Matt would have worn something clean at least. Chandler had to be at little put off by their childish attitude toward it all. Good stuff however...
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post #3 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:06am
I actually didn't like it at all; it seemed to me that anybody watching that who wasn't a B-noter or who really wasn't interested in fragrance would only get reinforcement that it's good to go with "the flow" and not branch out. Or, worse, that it's better just to use soap or whatever you can get at the drugstore for less than $10. In short, they made it seem like fragrances are a waste of time (and that, even on their show, they ought quickly to move on to something more important).

The only two that they liked was Clinique happy and one of the Hermes Jardin's... both fragrances that are nice, middle of the road, so-so scents that nobody will have a strong reaction to either way (except on the Hermes drydown, which really isn't so great).

As jock said, Childish was right. I thought Meredith made herself look downright foolish. At least Matt was honest and said he just didn't wear fragrances and was getting a headache.

Overall, it just seemed to me to play into that lowest common denominator factor of our society... reinforcing mediocrity and not taking a chance with something a little out of the ordinary (they HATED the Malle and the Different Company).
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post #4 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Overall, it just seemed to me to play into that lowest common denominator factor of our society... reinforcing mediocrity and not taking a chance with something a little out of the ordinary (they HATED the Malle and the Different Company).

So wait, because they didn't like a couple of NICHE fragrances (which even judging by Basenoter reactions tend to divide people) they're "reinforcing mediocrity and not taking a chance"?

rofl
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post #5 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:29am
I mean I love the Sun City Girls, Einstürzende Neubauten, Squarepusher and The Bug, but I don't even pretend that 90% of the people who heard any of the above would consider any of them anything but noise.

Celebrate the fact that you're different, but don't expect everyone to appreciate the fringe as much as you. if they did it wouldn't be the fringe.
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post #6 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:32am
rentboy, when you've had a chance to pick yourself up off the floor after laughing at my post, maybe you'll bother to see what I was trying to get at... which wasn't just that they didn't like Malle or TDC.

All I meant was that the whole attitude they took, especially Meredith, was rather flippant. Since so many people look to them and their opinions (sort of like Oprah and how a book she recommends will sell a million copies), it just was irritating to me the way they approached both Chandler and his choices.

Watching that bit on the show, I don't see how ANYBODY who isn't a fragrance fan would take anything positive from it. But, it also wasn't my intention to get into a debate about it. It's the Today Show, after all. I just meant to say why I didn't find it all that funny.
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post #7 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:51am
fair enough, and sorry if i came off like a jerk.

i just know there's a tendency for people like us to forget that we're operating very much on the fringe of something and to scoff at "mainstream america" because they don't appreciate the same level of intensity in their fragrance, music, art, etc
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post #8 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:54am
Yeah, Matt and Meredith basically just made a mockery of the whole thing...
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post #9 of 16
11/30/06 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rentboy

fair enough, and sorry if i came off like a jerk.

i just know there's a tendency for people like us to forget that we're operating very much on the fringe of something and to scoff at "mainstream america" because they don't appreciate the same level of intensity in their fragrance, music, art, etc

No problem (I was just being sarcastic, too), and I definitely know what you mean. But, had there been a wine taster or a gourmet chef asking them to eat truffles or something, I just doubt that Matt and Meredith would have acted that way.

Fragrances are one of the areas (it seems to me) where people don't have a problem being as obstinate, untrying, or downright rude as they want and it is totally acceptable. Often the same person who would never tell somebody "hey, your sweater makes you look like a fat cow" has no problem saying, "You smell like my grandfather's armpits." Likewise, someone who would look oddly at an educated adult for saying, "I'm not trying that nasty raw fish stuff!" would have no problem when they act the same way with a fragrance.

It's just something odd to me...
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post #10 of 16
11/30/06 at 12:17pm
I have a feeling these presenters deliberately "dumbed" down their approach, sort of a "you know, we're just a couple of ordinary people." I have an inkling that these two probably have some terribly expensive (read: complex, niche, etc.) perfumes at home.
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post #11 of 16
11/30/06 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rach2jlc

All I meant was that the whole attitude they took, especially Meredith, was rather flippant. Since so many people look to them and their opinions (sort of like Oprah and how a book she recommends will sell a million copies), it just was irritating to me the way they approached both Chandler and his choices.

Watching that bit on the show, I don't see how ANYBODY who isn't a fragrance fan would take anything positive from it. But, it also wasn't my intention to get into a debate about it. It's the Today Show, after all. I just meant to say why I didn't find it all that funny.

Yeah, exactly what I thought. What I also didn't like is how they went through about 80 scents in what seemed 20 seconds. They may have not had much time for this item but seriously, who is going to get any wiser of this bit of lousy TV? Like you said, people who are clueless about fragrances won't lose any of their ignorance.

Thanks for posting the video, MFfan.
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post #12 of 16
11/30/06 at 1:45pm
I agree with BrothaG when he said they went through a lot of fragrances quickly.
I also noticed they didn't give Chandler enough time to explain what the fragrances were or what situation would be best to wear them. The whole segment lasted about 90 seconds.
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post #13 of 16
11/30/06 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MFfan310

The video is avaialble here (click on "Lifestyles" to view; requires Adobe Flash Player for Windows or Mac).

I don't see "Lifestyles." Is there a direct link?

Adobe Flash? Holy shit, Adobe acquired Macromedia---sometime in 2005 apparently. Huh.

(edit: Using a Google search almost worked.)

(edit again: I finally found a link to the video under Video->Today Video, and after manually editing some Firefox configuration files I managed to coax out a direct link. I'm sure Tim Berners-Lee never wanted the Web to be this difficult!)
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post #14 of 16
11/30/06 at 2:35pm
I love this poll:

Quote:
DOES YOUR GUY WEAR COLONGE?

YES 65%
NO 35%

I wonder how many of those 35% wondered, "Who or what is colonge?"
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post #15 of 16
11/30/06 at 2:58pm
It seemed to me the hosts reacted honestly: they sniffed them for a moment and said either "no" or "that's not bad actually" in a perfunctory manner. This is exactly what I expect from normal people testing fragrances. I imagine if one stood around a fragrance counter and watched the SAs hand tester strips to shoppers, this is close to what one would see. It's normal and sensible behavior, and I'm not offended; I just think it was bad showmanship and made for horribly boring television.

I think their biggest mistake was inviting Chandler Burr. Having an "expert critic" appear and present them with esoteric samples was utterly pointless in this context, and it didn't really connect to the first part of the segment about celebrity scents.

What they could easily have done without Chandler is to buy a bottle of each celebrity scent they mentioned, then smell them and react honestly in the same fashion as to what Chandler showed them. This would have been far more entertaining.
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post #16 of 16
11/30/06 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by d4

It seemed to me the hosts reacted honestly: they sniffed them for a moment and said either "no" or "that's not bad actually" in a perfunctory manner. This is exactly what I expect from normal people testing fragrances. I imagine if one stood around a fragrance counter and watched the SAs hand tester strips to shoppers, this is close to what one would see. It's normal and sensible behavior, and I'm not offended; I just think it was bad showmanship and made for horribly boring television.

I think their biggest mistake was inviting Chandler Burr. Having an "expert critic" appear and present them with esoteric samples was utterly pointless in this context, and it didn't really connect to the first part of the segment about celebrity scents.

What they could easily have done without Chandler is to buy a bottle of each celebrity scent they mentioned, then smell them and react honestly in the same fashion as to what Chandler showed them. This would have been far more entertaining.

Great post; that is very true and I hadn't thought of it that way.
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