Who is Best Ringo? · 3:42pm Oct 29th, 2014
This is a bit of a weird addendum to my reaction to Rainbow Rocks regarding two things. It's something I glossed over in that reaction combined with recent trends in fanfics based off of events in the movie. If you're not intimately familiar with the history of the Beatles, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. I'll try to simplify things the best I can, but honestly, it's not that easy to explain.
Warning: Untagged spoilers abound because I can't make my point otherwise. Proceed with caution.
If you've seen Rainbow Rocks, you know that a major plot point in the film is that Fluttershy keeps trying to get the Rainbooms to perform her songs, only to have Rainbow Dash blow her off. My brother made a joke after the movie that this plot point gave Fluttershy the dubious title of Best Ringo, in honor of the allegedly least popular member of the Beatles, Ringo Starr. I say "allegedly" because although people joke about how very few of his songs got recorded and how he didn't measure up to his comrades, he ironically did get more fan mail. Again, this stuff is kinda hard to explain, and to be honest, some of it doesn't really make sense to me (and this is coming from someone who grew up listening to the Beatles). But focusing back on Fluttershy, her conflict with trying to get the Rainbooms to play her songs can be seen as a parallel to Ringo's songwriting career (or at least the jokes people make about it). Hence why Fluttershy is Best Ringo (which if this isn't a thing, someone make that a thing).
But another aspect of Ringo is that in some scattered cases, the least popular (and in certain instances most underrated) member of any given band is considered to be the "Ringo" of the group. It's hard to find any specific examples of this, but I'll just say if you're familiar with the musical Jersey Boys, you'll know what I'm talking about. With this in mind, I do believe Fluttershy's title of Best Ringo has some competition. Who is this competition, you might ask? Why, none other than Aria Blaze.
I'll be the first to say that there is a lot of potential to be had with the Sirens in terms of stories. Heck, the ambiguous nature of their defeat has spawned dozens of fanfics already (and will probably spawn a dozen more). But with Adagio getting most of the attention in the film for being the leader and Sonata getting all the praise from the fans (for good reason, but I digress), poor Aria seems to be left out. Frankly, I don't get this. Only a select handful of stories I've seen involving the Sirens bother to give Aria a personality beyond being a generic thug. Most of the time, she's just the Silver Spoon to Adagio's Diamond Tiara. But just like with Silver Spoon, there's a lot of nuance in Aria's character that people seem to gloss over (a trait Aria also shares with Fluttershy, interestingly enough). Heck, the fact that she's the perfect straight man to Sonata's ditzy nature alone shows just how much potential she has. She's certainly more compelling than Adagio's one-track mind, at least in my book. Yet from the stories I've seen about the Sirens, I'm one of the few people who realize that. Thus, she's a definite contender for the title of Best Ringo.
So, if you weren't deterred by the incredibly strange nature of my wandering mind, I pose this question to you. Who do you think is Best Ringo? Is it Fluttershy for echoing the apparent satire that is Ringo Starr's songwriting career, or is it Aria for being the most under-appreciated member of a music group? I've presented my arguments for both sides, and personally, I think they're both valid in their own way. But I would very much like to hear what you guys think, and as such, the table is open for discussion.
That was an interesting analysis. Thanks for sharing this!
As for the question posed, I honestly don't know how I'd answer, as both sides have their own valid reasons and it's hard to choose one over the other. I guess Fluttershy and Aria can be the Ringo of their respective groups. Either way, as a huge fan of The Beatles, I like the thoughts this blog post brings up.
You do kind of have a point. Adagio is the leader, and Sonata has that whole Pinkie randomness and the taco line...
Great now I'm tempted to do something for Aria
I actually set up a story (going to write it in December) called "George Harrison Visits Fluttershy in a Dream", wherein the titular characters comisserate about not getting their songs played. Sure, Ringo wanted to contribute more, but he's never been a particularly spectacular song writer. George on the other hoof wrote loads of material the band refused to play, enough that he was able to release a highly successful triple solo album right after they broke up.
2562233 Huh. That tidbit about George is honestly a new one on me. Well, you learn something new every day, I suppose.
By the way, I'll have to keep an eye out for that story you're planning when December rolls around. It should make for an interesting read.
Definitely an interesting analysis.
I know I am in the vast minority here, but Aria is by far my favorite Dazzling. Unfortunately, there are still no stories about her that aren't also about Adagio and/or Sonata. Someone really needs to do something about that. I've thought about it myself, but I haven't come up with any good ideas yet.
I thought that your comparing her to Silver Spoon was interesting, because she is another one of my favorite characters. Though I honestly don't really care for most of the stories about her on this site.
2562298 Writing Aria solo would be pretty tricky, especially considering that her relationship with Sonata is one that begs to be explored. A story where she's the central focus, however, is something I'd personally like to see.
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Yeah, that could be interesting, and for all I know, it might have been done already. But I've checked a few times since Rainbow Rocks came out (including before my last post, of course), and there have never been any stories tagged with Aria but neither of the other two Dazzlings. (There are, for the record, currently 19 stories about Sonata and 14 about Adagio without the other two.)
But even if Aria and Sonata do have an interesting relationship (and I suppose they do, but I'm already kind of tired of all of the Sonata fics around here), there's no reason that someone couldn't write a story that explores the relationship between Aria and anyone else. Any of the mane six could work, Trixie might be interesting, maybe Gilda...I'm sure there are other interesting options too.
THE DUDE WAS FREAKING MR. CONDUCTOR!
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140414211044/shiningtimestation/images/f/f2/Mr._Conductor_-1.jpg
I don't care how unpopular people think he was, without him most of my childhood wouldn't have happened, and that alone makes him the best to me.
Very cool!
2562793 Hey, I hear you, man. My first exposure to the Beatles came from the Yellow Submarine movie, and I do believe Ringo wrote the titular song of that album. As such, I really don't get why this under-appreciated status of Ringo Starr is a thing. I just know that it is.
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The dude's just kinda awesome IMO, but again I have bias because of Shining Time.
2562904 Agreed. I don't mind Carlin's replacement of him here in the US (RIP), but the Brits definitely got a downgrade when he got replaced with Michael Freakin' Angelis.
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Well, he was the season two replacement, and honestly I enjoyed him quite a bit (as did I enjoy Alic Baldwin in the Magic Railroad), but honestly the whole reason Shining Time was even made was for us ,it was a delivery system to get Thomas to America.
Reminds me, I gotta watch that season one episode with Percy's Ghostly Trick, it's a personal favorite, and I just want to hear Ringo's narration of it.
2562793 Same here!
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Always nice to know I'm not alone in my crazy opinions.
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2562298
I see a lot of good potential as well in the Aria/Sonata interaction. I'd like to explore more of it myself in writing, but we'll see where inspiration leads.
And I love your overall take on Aria here; agree fully. Sad too that her name wasn't actually spoken once in the entire movie. She's moved up over Adagio now to the one that holds the most potential interest from me.
I think both are the Ringoes of their respective groups.
Also, the lack of appreciation for Aria really is a shame, because between her interactions with sonata and her hinted Starscream tendancies, she strikes me as very interesting, and is my personal favorite of the Sirens. One can take only so many taco jokes before they begin to grow stale, after all.