A Cappella & The Sing-Off - Why you should care! (pt. 1)

Some of my friends made me promise that I wouldn't "Go all Chuck" on the whole NBC Sing-Off thing (back during the campaign to save the show Chuck I was very vocal on Twitter, and everywhere else I could be, as part of the fan efforts to secure a 3rd season). It may be a hard promise to deliver on since my fandom for A Cappella right now might surpass even my fandom for Chuck then.  So my theory at least is that rather than Twitter bomb everyone for the next week I'll write this dissertation of a blog post that no one will have the patience to read. ;)

Okay but A Cappella what's the big deal anyways you ask. Fair enough, I might well have been asking the same question back in 2005 as I sat awaiting a performance by The MIT Logarythms.  I have to admit little would have caused me to imagine what was to come next. The atmosphere was that of a rock concert, an 1100 seat auditorium essentially full, people down in the front row were toting signs, and then they took the stage and things kicked up a notch to something more akin to a Beatles performance on the Ed Sullivan show circa the 1960s.  You only think I'm exaggerating if you haven't seen one of these shows.

I've tried to rationalize many of times what exactly it is about the Collegiate A Cappella genre in particular that has captured my attention in such a profound way.  Each time I try for me it comes down to a few key things: the music, the talent, the accessibility, and the indie feel.

The Music - In the case of Collegiate A Cappella the vast majority of the music is rock, classic rock, or pop music that audiences largely made up of college students themselves will recognize. One of the things I really enjoy is hearing how different groups choose to take widely popular songs and turn them into something completely new as a result of how they choose to arrange the song. For those not in the know most groups are somewhere around 10-20 students, some all female, some all male, and some co-ed and the songs are performed entirely without instruments, which in many cases has to be seen to be believed. Songs are then arranged, molded into something that makes sense for the particular group, often by the students in the groups themselves.

The best example (or at least the one that sticks with me) I've come across yet of how something truly new can be created is the UGA Noteworty's arrangement of Oasis' Wonderwall. Wonderwall is a song instantly recognizable to most and they've taken something so familiar and created something completely new. Take a listen and I'm sure it won't be hard to see why it won awards for best arrangement in 2007.

Lately most of the new music I hear is from A Cappella and I've had some interesting moments lately with the song "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, I recently heard the real version and found myself thinking "Wait that's not how that song sounds," because in fact I'd been conditioned to hearing the A Cappella arrangements. It's worth mentioning as well that as a result of A Cappella I've been exposed to lots of songs and music that I would never come to on my own otherwise, "Love Story" being just one example.

These days I almost never listen to the radio I recognize fewer and fewer of the songs but while that may have been an initial draw that isn't really the point. It's probably more rewarding to not recognize the song but appreciate an obviously unique or complex arrangement or a truly inspired solo.

The Talent - Which I suppose brings me to the next point. Now I should say that I don't have an formal music background in fact I think I got a D in music in the 5th grade because I hated teacher (I often joke I got turned off to the whole music thing because of all those fractions, I was always horrible at math as well). However I think on some level humans have an innate understanding of music, not all of us may be capable of distinguishing the finer points, but we know what moves us, and we know how it makes us feel.  I often wonder if I couldn't be such a fan of this music if I actually had an appreciation for the technical side of things, the sort of "always a critic" mentality.

I'm not even sure how many different shows and performances I've seen in the last 6 months but I can say with confidence that if you limit yourself only to what Simon tells you is good and what makes it on to store shelves you are missing out. It's just that simple.  Friday night for example I was at a show and the encore of a U2 song from years gone by soloed by a former alumni was inspired and amazing. I also had the privilege of witnessing a truly inspired performance of "Battlefield" about a week ago at a very small show, a unique memorable one for sure.  I digress however because words obviously can't convey what I'm try to get at here, you have to get out there and see for yourself.

Accessibility -  One of the things I keep trying to convey to those with even a passing interest in this music is how easy it is to get out to a show. If you live in a place like Boston or the Bay Area or really just about any place with a University within driving distance there's really no excuse for not taking in a show. The vast majority of shows are open and free or tickets are a few bucks.  Arrive about 30 minutes or so in advance and you shouldn't have any problems, but you will watch the line grow quickly.

It's worth mentioning also that most of the groups I've had the privilege of talking to are generally happy to hear from their fans and I've met some cool people as a result and some of those groups have been quite gracious and for that I'm thankful.

The Indie Feel - I suppose, as in my nature, I may have a rose color view of how things actually work. But I like to imagine though that it's up to the group how things sound. No RIAA stooges, producers, etc. crafting a sound that falls nicely into line behind whatever's risen to the top of the top 40 heap. So I at least will go on believing that it is still a largely creative process shaping an arrangement and that it reflects what the group wanted it to sound like, the amount of time they put in rehearsing it, and is generally without undue influence from outside sources.

Still not convinced? Well I suppose I can't blame you. After all a picture is worth 1000 words, a video is worth I'm not sure how many, and how many exactly is a week long prime-time special on NBC worth?

I've spilt only a paltry 1000 here, so I'll simply close by encouraging you to get out to a show, check out some clips on YouTube, maybe even browse some albums on iTunes, and if after all that you're still not convinced perhaps NBC's new primetime show "The Sing-Off" will help.

I humbly invite you to tune in here tomorrow for part two of this post and with my thoughts on the NBC show, a certain hometown group participating, and what it all means, or at least my scribblings on what it all means.