- Actually, I know when it's time for me to just shut up and listen, and while I thought the eliminations were justified but surprising (for the Berklee group, based on pedigree), you all know more. This is turf on which your knowledge dominates mine, and I just want to complain about the double-fault on Philadelphia Mall Geography with Men of Note -- having a group from Cherry Hill perform at a mall that isn't the fabled Cherry Hill Mall? That's bad. But unforgivable is CAPA graduate Shawn Stockman referring to the Gallery as a "South Philly mall." Really, Shawn? Really?
- Okay, Isaac, I'll play Slap-A-Whiffenpoof with you anytime you want. I get your reaction. [No, I don't think "Slap-A-Whiffenpoof" is a term in Urban Dictionary. But it could be.]
Monday, December 6, 2010
EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE A CAPELLA WORLD: A thread for the debut episode of NBC's The Sing-Off. My comments below the fold; also, more Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.
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Like it seems the judges might be, I'm all in for Committed. I'm usually anti-god stuff in my reality TV, but that was SO good, and they're so sincere about their faith anyway that I can't get my back up about it.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agreed on the eliminations. Men of Note were charming but bland; the Berklee group had tons of talent but picked a strange song choice and projected a brassy, shouty tone.
ReplyDeleteI'll stand up for the Whiffs. Yes, the "we invented a cappella" line was obnoxious, but Shawn called them on it (and I suspect the producers pushed them to say something like that, too). I liked how they opened and closed in the expected horseshoe formation but played around with their conventional style for the rest of the song. Plus, I'd never heard that song before, and boy, does that Mika guy want to be Freddie Mercury or what?
Of the others, the Backbeats are definitely the most polished, though it sounds like they may keep doing the same kinds of songs. Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town was/were wonderful, but I'm curious to see if and when the judges will stop worshipping them and start judging them. And yes, Committed was all that.
Very fine start, and really entertaining for the whole family (the kids, 9 and 11, loved the episode and are squeeing that some of their current Top 40 faves are on tap for Wednesday).
I haven't watched the show, never really had a capella on my radar... but this Christmas season I've discovered Straight No Chaser (the live performances of 12 Days of Christmas on youtube have made the rounds to friends and family), and I'm thinking about joining the fun... better late then never, I guess!
ReplyDeleteBad Romance + Zombie dance moves = Epic win. I thought they sounded pretty good, but my opinion may have been skewed by so much awesome.
ReplyDeleteReally liked Committed, the Backbeats (though something about the lead singer's voice bugged me in the opening all-group number, I think it was her vowels but it might've been thin tone - but I liked almost all of her Beyonce, all but one note with the same slightly grating thing), the Nashville guys who had terrific vocal percussion (not showy, it just blended it beautifully until we suddenly said, "wait, that's vocal percussion!"). Highly enjoyed On the Rocks, though I'd like better vocals next time, but how much fun was that. Wanted to slap the "we invented a cappella" Whiffenpoof across the face with his own white glove.
ReplyDeleteReally would've liked to have heard what arrangements Pitch Slapped would've come up with for the rest of the shows. Bummed that they're gone, on that basis. On first hearing, thought their song was the best of the first half, but on rehearing (with the volume up much louder), could see what the judges might've been talking about in terms of dynamics, and the sound seemed less full than the smaller group Eleventh Hour. But their arrangement was cool and complex, voices were generally quite good, and I so would've like to have seen what else they would've come up with. They looked stunned to be eliminated, too. I would've much rather have sent out the Whiffenpoofs to join Cherry Hill - their arrangement had a lot going for it but I still didn't like it at all.
Disagreed with the first half elimination. the high school groups was the weakest, I thought, but demographically they weren't going to send them home yet. So it should have been the jazz group that did Stevie Wonder. Pitch Slapped was solidly third in the first half groups. Second half elimination of Men of Note was kind of a no-brainer. The Longest Time? Really? In a completely standard arrangement? Bad choice.
ReplyDeleteI love the Whiffs, and it was nice to see them break out a bit. Loved the arrangement. Yes, yes, they're obnoxious, but Jeff's right - that's the role they're playing here.
Committed needs a little more polish and to get some of the nerves under control, but they did a great job. They did a very savvy arrangement - impressive. Also liked Streetcorner Symphony - fabulous arrangement of Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
Someone tell my how a guy who spent 40 years singing lead with the Persuasions gets to be on this show? I mean, there are few more distinctive voices in a cappella than Jerry Lawson, and it seems unfair to put him out there with these other groups.
I'm going to dissent from the group and say the Backbeats left me cold. Not really sure why. And I hope they don't rely on that single soloist every week (and that Talk of the Town isn't the Jerry Lawson show every week either).
The show is much better this year, though I still don't like the "eliminate one from each half" situation. They have the sound done much, much better this year (though some of the groups are being badly overmixed), the group number was quite good, and they're keeping the judges comments (which were mostly uniniteresting) to a minimum. I'm a little sad that the first theme is Top of the Charts - not just because it means we get Soul Sister, but because we're getting a lot of predictable stuff, and it won't be that different for most of the groups from tonight's stuff.
I thought the Berklee group's swan-song performance was much better than its performance in the actual competition, though I'm still surprised they got eliminated instead of the high school group.
ReplyDeleteI felt like it was a degree-of-difficulty elimination. If you're a college group, and especially from Berklee, they're going to expect awesomeness.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteI noted to Marsha elsewhere that having Jerry Lawson in this competition was sort of like asking Pete Best to try out for Beatlemania. The guy probably needs the money but it's sort of demeaning to both sides here.
ReplyDeleteI got to agree with Marsha on this one, it seemed to me that the lead of Backbeats was 'a little pitchy Dawg...' and I felt she pitched it too low. While I understand having a few soloists commonly take the lead, I'd like to see it mixed up a little more. One of the reasons I adored Committed (aside from the fact that they were excellent) is because they had a second member take a lead, they didn't have to do that. I was actually not that impressed with Jerry Lawson, et al, but I understand why they were through to the next round.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am a 'poof fan. I thought they were fairly spectacular, even if the head guy was clearly a douche bag.
I thought If I Were A Boy was pitched too low for the lead singer. If the whole thing had been even a whole step up, it would have been better. It felt like it never really reached transcendence because it was all too gravelly.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see Pitch Slapped go before the high school group (who were amazing for high school, and held their own, but won't last much longer), but I did think it was a really bad song choice for them.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I love "The Longest Time," I was annoyed with how much they rushed it (it's "The LONGEST Time" guys - take your time with it). Wasn't surprised to see the Men of Note go after that.
There's a lot of different styles here, and it's going to be tough to judge a college guy group against say, a Manhattan Transfer-type jazz group. And while Jerry Lawson is a legend, I don't want to see him get a pass every week, either.
Anyway, really enjoyed it last night, especially since I fast-forwarded through everything Stockman and Scherzinger said.
I also felt like "The Longest Time" wasn't much of a stretch. It's designed to be a do-wap song, so it lends itself to acapella and isn't much of a challange.
ReplyDelete@NPRMonkeySee: <span>I'm officially anti-Whiffenpoof. They're my Russell Hantz. I want to dirty their vests and choke them with their little ties.</span>
ReplyDeleteThat's certainly how I felt about the judges' comments. But I don't think it's fair to eliminate that way.
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly. It's been done by tons of groups, the arrangement wasn't really any different from when my group did it 15 years ago, and it's not difficult or complex or interestingly varied.
ReplyDelete(I am bad with sports metaphors) but wasn't it a little like Brian Urlacher showing up at a scrimmage for a really good high school team? Some kids gonna get hurt, right? And maybe that confuses or ignores the idea behind the competition?
ReplyDeleteIt's more like putting Martin Scorsese in the Oscar pool with The Departed when everyone knows he's never won one before.
ReplyDeleteI missed the first half, but will definitely be skipping Nicole's commentary next week, if only to save my ears from hearing musical orgasm or musical climax (as previewed) again.
ReplyDeleteyay! a metaphor that makes much more sense for me, and also works better. :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, Linda Holmes gets in a Survivor reference, love it. That said, go Team Poof! It's not their fault they wear those outfits (though I hope they won't wear them every week...also interested to see if they start/end in the horseshoe every week).
ReplyDeleteThis behind-the-scenes clip shows the Whiffs rehearsing that Michael Bublé song in suits and red neckties, so it looks like the penguin outfits aren't going to be permanent.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, there are several other fun videos on the show's website, including genuinely informative clips on doing melisma runs (with two guys from Committed) and beatboxing (with a member of the Backbeats).
I don't care that it's meant to be a cappella - if this were an arranging competition, that would matter more to me. But I care that there's absolutely nothing new about the way they did it. They did the same arrangement everyone does, and brought nothing of themselves to it. Love it or hate it, a cappella shouldn't be dull. That was dull.
ReplyDeleteIt was relatively tolerable this week because with 10 intro packages and ten performances, there was only enough time for each judge to say about 2 sentences. When we're down to 4 groups, I'll be FF'ing Scherzinger, Stockman, and Lachey as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteBen Folds has a blog up here: http://www.nbc.com/sing-off/on-key-with-ben-folds/
ReplyDeletePitch Slapped "went home because we didn't see them improving over the course of the show and I believe that what they have to learn is about musical generosity. "
I haven't watched the show yet (ugh studying for Fed Courts, I want to die now), but wanted to make one Pitch Slapped comment/reveal: the male soloist who sang "Good Girls Go Bad" last night is not the regular soloist for the song. Did you see the adorable (but not classically good looking) hispanic guy in the background who was gamely jumping around while someone else sang the solo? He's the real soloist on this song, and he is amazing. His name is Mario. I suggest that you love him.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this video for a performance of this song from last year in ICCA competition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLT9fRQcu-k
And if you want a better idea of how Pitch Slapped sounds when not punched through the television, they recently released a cover of Disturbia on iTunes - the arrangement is out of this world, Mario sings the solo and it is honestly some of the best recorded a cappella I've heard in the past few years.
OK, back to Wainwright v. Sykes. More when I get to watch!
those were awesome! Thanks professor Jeff
ReplyDeleteCan't seem to get to that blog post - it asks for a password, then shows me something from May about Biggest Loser.
ReplyDeleteSo why didn't the regular guy sing the solo?
ReplyDeleteI think, unfortunately, because they thought the regular soloist wasn't as telegenic? (I feel icky just posting that.)
ReplyDeletebella wilfer, I so hope that is not true and FEAR that it may be. He was amazing in that you tube clip.
ReplyDeleteTry here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbc.com/sing-off/on-key-with-ben-folds/2010/11/season-2/
But it's like doing that when the award for winning is a movie deal. He doesn't need it, he's already had them many times before.
ReplyDeleteAnybody with a CASA account want to ask Deke Sharon, the musical director for The Sing-Off (and general a cappella god)? He's been posting, though guardedly.
ReplyDeletehttp://forums.casa.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6459&start=30
I also would like to hope it's not true, but why else would they replace him? I guess he could have been sick, but I just feel like that probably isn't the answer...
ReplyDeleteLinda Holmes had an absoutely awesome speech defending a cappella and ripping Ed Helms on a recent Pop Culture Happy Hour.
ReplyDeleteIf you watch their "swan song" he had a moment in it where he hit some note that made me want to hear him sing, so I would guess not, but it is only a guess.
ReplyDeleteI can guarantee you that it was because the producers told them to. That actually happened a couple of times last season, too. But I'll ask Deke anyway!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Saray (and good luck on Fed Courts!). I really appreciate your insight into the show and the a cappella scene. Looking forward to watching these videos and listening on iTunes.
ReplyDeleteI say only ARGH ARGH ARGH - if they were told to change soloists, and (a) what an insult to the regular soloists, and (b) if they would've not been eliminated, with their regular soloist, ARRRRRRRRGH.
ReplyDeleteHere's Deke's answer:
ReplyDelete<span>"No one was booted!
RJ sang it in the audition, and when we found out Mario sings it too, we had him try it on set, but frankly the performance and chemistry from RJ was better.
Mario is a MONSTER - amazing voice - kills the last verse of Joy To The World on the Holiday CD.
Don't discount nerves, shortness of breath, etc - just because a person's performance during the show isn't 100% doesn't mean they didn't kill it in dress rehearsal. When the cameras are on and you get only one chance to impress the judges, things change. It is very very very hard to be perfect with 8 million people and 3 judges watching you."</span>
I finished! It's over! Now I just have Professional Responsibility and a paper left.
ReplyDeleteThose of you who want to forget that Nicole Scherzinger is a judge on this show should consider this drinking game: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-sing-off/the-sing-off-drinking-game-38822.aspx
Thanks, Saray!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Saray -- so glad to hear the original soloist wasn't cut for TV reasons.
ReplyDelete