The music is just awful. It's taking songs that were never meant to be acapella and stripping them of any soul, groove, funk, etc. and reducing them to mere notes. Is it difficult? Sure. Do they work hard at it? Yeah, probably. Does that make it good? Nope. There is a TON of good choral, acapella music out there just waiting to be performed. Do we really need an acapella version of "Buy You a Drank"? It's pandering to a lowest common denominator, and I disagree with that. Let's say I have a bunch of kids sign up to sing in choir, and they come in expecting to sing T-Pain. How will they react when I give them an Eric Whitacre piece? They'll start running for the door. I disagree with the idea that this "celebrates choir". It does nothing of the sort: it celebrates T-Pain, Flo Rida, et. al. And I have no problem with that kind of music...in the club, on the radio, etc. But in a choral setting, it has no place. I also disagree that any type of exposure to the mainstream will help. It's a bit like saying "getting your kids to eat anything will help them eat their vegetables". So, what if they eat a big batch of cotton candy? Well, this is the musical equivalent of cotton candy: sweet, fun, but in the end, empty calories that can do more harm than good. Sad, but true.
It is a different interpetation of a song, and it is still music, so you are basically saying you don't like non-traditional music, or someone elses interpetation. Yeah, better to have those kids turned off from music and running for the door than getting them to enjoy all kinds of music... What???? Not true at all, you are just a snob for your type of music....loosen up a bit, enjoy the popcorn for what it is, and realize that if you get some kids that do this, they might not run for the door, and might embrace other types of music....as well. This just sounds like parents b****ing about the Beatles in the 60s, or hard rock in the 70s.... And honestly, I can't stand rap, but I can appreciate that some people do.... Maybe if you mixed in one of these types of songs along with others your kids would enjoy it? I mean it is like running a reverse in football, sometimes we forget that it should be fun. DD
This thread brought to you by the same people who brought you the "Bachelor Switcheroo" and Kobe Bryant-lovin' threads...
Not at all. I love non-traditional music for what it is: non-traditional. I like Flo Rida and T-Pain just fine. I just don't think they should be done in an acapella setting. It's like this: I like pickles. I like ice cream. But I'm not going to eat pickle-flavored ice cream. Yuck. As a music teacher, I can tell you that having kids "turned off" from music is not a problem at all. The problem is getting them to embrace music other than what they find on the radio. You don't accomplish that by giving them what they hear on the radio. You give them varied repertoire: something they HAVEN'T heard before. This is usually something more mainstream choral, rather than a acapella interpretation of "The Thong Song". Ok, wow. The name calling is uncalled for. They might. But more probably they'll complain about the 4-part English madrigal you just handed them and ask why they can't sing an arrangment of Lil Wayne's new single. Educationally, it's one step forwards, but two steps back. Sorry, this is a fallacy. As a teacher, my job is to educate not entertain. I need to keep in mind my choir's development as a group of student musicians far more than whether or not their latest song is teh hotness.
OK, you don't like it, but your students might. Again, why not do a Mr. Holland's opus and show them how much classical music is included in what they listen to today? I think you are missing an opportunity to grab their attention. Fair enough, sorry. not sure what a madrigal is, but it sounds exciting. :grin: I disagree about the rest, to me any way you can reach them is a good thing. Sort of an "Ok, we are going to do the normal choir stuff, but we are also going to have a spice it up kind of song too", Sort of a Whoppi Goldberg situation as a nun. Yes, but you know as well as I that an engaged and interested student learns more than one going through the motions. Why not watch the show and see if they are any good and I would be happy to discuss it afterwards. DD
Because it's not. There's a big difference between the Beatles drawing from classical influences in the 60's and Beyonce in 2009...
OMG I LOVE YOU FOR POSTING THIS! i was gonna post anoop but you beat me to it i freakin love anoop!!!!!!!!!! i talk about him all the time haha. no joke! i know all his clef songs already! im ok.
clef hangers are really good. this year is atotally diff group of guys tho. the lead singer is steve mcquaid. you can see anoop in the background. the guy next to steve is david mikush...he writes his own music and he's really talanted. and the tall guy next to mikush is brandon, he tried out for AI with anoop. how i know this? tjhats what happens when you like american idol too much! (don't judge) haha
I watched a few minutes of it. Seems like an interesting show, no music, just people.. NICOLE is beautiful!
I watched the opening performance with all the groups and then watched the first two individual acts. I can appreciate the "artistry" and creativity of what they were doing, but it just didn't entertain me enough to keep it on.
Or Take 6. I could listen to these guys all day long. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fTQZAe3CWtg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fTQZAe3CWtg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
It was TURRIBLE!!!! Thats putting it lightly imho. The UNC group would have destroyed all those on the show. The judges were equally horrible. It was like listening to three Paula Abduls. Plus, anyone else think Ben Folds looks like Austin Powers? I gotta disagree with Mr. Chilcutt as I think Nicole Scherzinger is overrated(hotness) but i guess different tastes. Gimme Sofia Vergara or Salma or another dark haired latina. All in all, thought the show was bad.
I agree. It was really bad. The only remotely interesting group was the first one from Puerto Rico, but after they performed, I was like, blah...just didn't know it was going to get worse. The good news? 2 hour show could be watched in under 45 minutes on DVR, since if I was going to watch that show, I had to watch Casino Royale on scyfy channel first. Also, I thought Ben Folds was hilarious and spot-on.
