Hello my lovelies!

Today I have (re?)discovered The King’s Singers. Here is their rendition of the lovely Queen song Seaside Rendezvous. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Amy

Out-of-key Christmas carolers might be a bit more ambitious this year, after the fall television season saw the airwaves inundated with group singing.  High School Musical might be old news and American Idol another month away, but Fox’s Glee has had everyone singing along to musical classics and chart hits, and this December, NBC took the hint.

The Sing-Off, a competition between eight a capella groups from across the country (and Puerto Rico, for that matter) showcases show choirs about as close to real-life Glee clubs as any fan of the new teen comedy-drama could hope for.  And if anyone still had doubts about NBC capitalizing on the popularity of group singing and dancing, The SoCals’ rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin,” I think, made things pretty clear.

But The Sing-Off was by no means completely derivative—the most unique aspect being the lack of any and all musical backup.  A capella, as host Nick Lachey mentions half a dozen times an episode, is “singing in its purest form, without a single back-up instrument.”

Fortunately, The Sing-Off’s a capella is a little more modern (and infinitely more entertaining) than Gregorian chanting or doo-wop groups.  Even “Maxx Factor,” the single barbershop quartet on the show—a team of four ladies of a more “mature” age than the predominantly college-aged kids competing with them—couldn’t be called old-fashioned.  Sassy, professional, and masters of the close harmony, Maxx Factor’s best performances included ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.”

Like most reality TV programming, the eight groups were talented, charismatic, and extremely diverse—from Tufts University’s hilarious brotherhood of the Beelzebubs (can we say Andy Bernard?) to Brigham Young University’s wholesome Mormon girls who could belt Aretha Franklin (while insisting that they would refuse to sing anything with cursing or innuendo).  Needless to say, watching these groups sing was almost as entertaining as listening.

The sudden popularization of group singing shares something else in common with reality television—it’s democratic, and I don’t just mean the online voting.  While it’s true that American Idol can easily turn into a venue for the ridiculous and tone-deaf, shows like Glee and The Sing-Off celebrate sheer talent.  A capella, in particular, seems to be a reaction against the glitz, gimmicks, and clever editing of mass-produced media: pure, unadulterated voice is about as egalitarian as it gets.  As one of The Sing-Off judges, Shawn Stockman, another boy band veteran, comments: “It’s about diversity, it’s about switching it up, and it’s about entertainment.”

The finale’s inclusion of Bobby McFerrin (vocalist and conductor, of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” fame) provides a particularly good example.  Looking very cool in a t-shirt and jeans, among the sweater-vested and done-up finalists, McFerrin led the singers in a live, improvisational a capella lesson.  Tapping on his chest for percussion and weaving together nonsense syllables into an original, extemporaneous song, McFerrin’s class was more reminiscent of School of Rock than Glee—especially with the college a capella singers in such classic prep school attire.

The completely unrehearsed character of the session was what made it the highlight of the finale—that’s the beauty of live music (that, and watching Natasha Bedingfield botch her own song on stage, smiling nervously all the while).

But along with following the Glee model of taking popular songs and the most geeky venue possible—a singing competition.  When the Beelzebubs (‘Bubs for short) decided to perform Flo Rida’s “Right Round” sans any sort of accompaniment, one of the members had this to say: “I think there’s something really cool about rap and something really dorky about a capella.”  The combination was as big a success as any Glee number for judge and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, at least, who found the ‘Bubs so “sexy” that she sang with them in the finale to “You Don’t Own Me.”

As dorky and fun as the performances could be, the stakes were high.  The eight groups competed for $100,000 and an Epic Records/Sony Entertainment recording contract. And the ultimate winner of NBC’s a capella championship, while not my first choice, made a lot of sense—Bobby McFerrin’s emphasis on vocal innovation was best echoed by the last singers standing (and if you don’t want to know, stop reading now): Nota.

Six men from San Juan, Nota incorporated R&B, hip hop, mouth-drumming, and latin flavor into their performances (Nota was, without a doubt, the least geeky of the bunch—I’ll go so far as to say they were the first a capella group I’ve ever called “cool”).  Even in their first performance, somehow, the men of Nota turned Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” into a salsa dance.

With the technical aspects of singing down pat—third judge Ben Folds was very serious about dynamics, theory, musicality, diction, and articulation—Nota was free to bring Puerto Rico to Los Angeles.

“You made it your own,” Scherzinger commented approvingly.  “You showed us a little bit of your heritage and culture, and let us be involved with you.”

It’s just one more benefit of good television democracy—nothing planned could be half as creative as a bunch of normal guys with extraordinary talent, doing what they love on primetime NBC.

About ten months ago, I did a MUSICAL YOUTUBE JOURNEY experiment where I typed “Take On Me Cover” into Youtube’s search bar and made myself listen to ten covers of a-ha’s ’80s glorious cheesiness that is “Take On Me.” Since then, I’ve found even more covers, and realized that the only logical course of action is to once again see just how many times I can listen to the same song and be excessively critical of people with more vocal talent than I have!

a-ha

Just in case you missed me doing this the last time, or if you really don’t know how this song goes, here’s what I said about the original last time around, and that the video is more the highlight than the actual song is.

Music: 4/5 (It’s the original. Can’t blame them for being dated.)

High Notes: 5/5

Creepy Close-Ups of Gazing, Lovestruck Faces: 4/5

Zoo

An example of how to cover “Take On Me” without making it your own at all. It’s basically a carbon copy of the original, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, provided you don’t mind listening to 80s synth pop. The vocalist mostly pulls it off, although his voice doesn’t quite carry the same power that’s in the original, most noticeable before in the high notes before the high note. And because I’m sounding way more music critic-y than I mean to right now, I’m just going to cut straight to my sarcastic scoring system.

Music: 4/5 (It’s a carbon-copy of the original. Blame them for being dated.)

High Notes: 5/5

World’s worst strobe light: 3/5

A.C. Newman

So here we have the New Pornographers frontman doing a mostly acoustic-ish, strummy, echo-y cover of Take On Me for a Starbucks covers compilation. It’s all very soft and subdued, but I think it works wonders this way. The synth melody (is that the right term? I only kind of know things about music) only appears rather subtly in the bridge, and the only instruments for most of the song are a strumming acoustic guitar and some strings, but they work together to build and release the intensity, along with the echo-y chorus vocals. So, um, I’m coming off as way more music critic than I want to in this post so far, but, man, I like this cover a lot.

Music: 5/5

High Notes: 5/5

Makes Me Want To Buy Coffee: 1/5

Wohlstandskinder

Last time around, I found another band (MxPx) that tried to do a straightforward punk version of this song, but Wohlstandskinder (yeah, say that five times fast. Or just once. Seriously, I’ll be impressed if you can actually say that name.) gets right what they did wrong: not sucking. They replaced the high notes with some typically angry-sounding punk vocals, but it still sounds good (and to their credit, they do actually do the higher notes in the third line of the chorus). I rather like the quick little ska-flavored mini-breakdown towards the end, but I’m not quite as sure about the “la la la” outro. It strikes me as, you know, not particularly punk, but, then again, neither does Take On Me, so their little artistic liberties work out in the end. Except the end is where they go “la la la la la la la la” for about thirty seconds.

Music: 4/5

High Notes: 3/5

Band Name Is Easy To Spell: 1/5

Popcore

I have no idea if this band is actually called Popcore or if this is a tv show or what the story is, but the cover is actually really good! A pretty straightforward rock adaptation of the song, with all the distorted guitars and whatnot you could ever want out of a harder cover of this song. The guy struggles with deciding whether he wants to sing or scream the high notes or ignore them, but in this case the way it comes off as unpolished really helps it out. I approve! The video itself is silly though. Check out the face that semi-goth chick makes at the beginning. It’s silly.

Music: 4/5

High Notes: 2/5

Silly faces: 4/5

Sarah Bareilles

This one’s got a nice coffeeshop-vibe to it (though it has nothing to do with coffee, unlike other entries in this post… surprisingly…). Just some sort of bongo-y percussion, acoustic guitar, and vocals. And it sounds great. She doesn’t hit the high notes for each chorus, but when she does, it is wonderful! There’s a great deal of emotion in here, and the minimalist skat-take on the bridge is pretty unique.

Music: 5/5

High Notes: 5/5 (for when she does)

Makes Me Want To Buy Coffee: 4/5

some random dude on youtube with an acoustic guitar

Yeah… I have no idea who this guy is. I can’t find a name to go with the video, but in a sense, what better way to cover the “hundreds of anonymous people covering some song on YouTube on an acoustic guitar”, uh, genre? Yeah, that said, I felt the need to find a good example of one of those kinds of videos to really make this post feel complete, and I think that whoever this guy is doesn’t disappoint! His guitar playing does a great job of fleshing out the sound despite there only being a guitar and his singing, and his singing is quite impressive. He doesn’t hit the high note each time, but, like what seems to be the recurring theme today, can really hit them when he decides to do so.

Music: 4/5

High Notes: 5/5 (when he feels like it?)

Youtube-iness (includes leaning over camera to turn it off, etc.): 4/5

Capital Green

Since I’m a college student now, I’m probably required to review an a capella version of this song too. Here’s the best one I could find, although that’s probably not what I should be doing, since although I’m sharing a lot of good music with you guys, I tend to be more entertaining when I’m bashing something horrendous. I’m just finding a lot of good covers of Take On Me this time!  And everybody seems to be able to hit the hit notes! Even this guy! I mean, a capella is either your thing or not your thing, but I think it works nicely.

Music: 4/5

High Notes: 5/5

Using funny noises like “babada boop doop” to cover Take On Me: 5/5

MercyMe

I love this cover. I have no idea where to start talking about how silly it is. The singer is wearing a Star Wars shirt and a top hat and jumps back and forth between opera singer and Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, the guitarists stare straight into the camera as eerily as they can when they do the backing vocals, and when they all hit the high notes, they belt it so loudly their camera’s microphone can’t take it and it just comes through as distorted yodeling. It is perfect.

Music: 3/5

High Notes: 3/5

SILLINESS: 100/5

Manualist

He’s playing Take On Me by making fart noises with his hands. Enjoy.

Music: 3/5

High Notes: 5/5

Maturity 1/5

Well, my better judgment has escaped me, and to wrap up this post, I invite you to witness the glory that is my own Take On Me cover. That’s me on ukulele, my friend on violin. We didn’t practice this and did it spur-of-the-moment in one take, with a simplified bridge and outro made up right when we got to it. He did the vocal line on the violin on the spot, so props to him! The video and audio quality is probably terrible, and we make mistakes all over the place, but I’m okay with that. It’s not like… okay, yeah, this probably is the worst cover in this post. Whoops.

Music: um… yeah, not going to rate my own cover. Just… never mind.

High Notes: We cheated.

Narcissism: Why did I put this on YouTube?

]]> http://thecoverstory.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/traditional-music-because-i-love-christmas-o-come-all-ye-faithful/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:49:14 +0000 Andrew http://thecoverstory.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/traditional-music-because-i-love-christmas-o-come-all-ye-faithful/

So remember in the last post when I said I hated most Christmas music? That must not be construed with me hating Christmas in general. I actually LOVE Christmas. I know there were so many negative overtones to the holiday spirit in the last post, but really… I mean come on, can’t I be a traditionalist and cynic at the same time?

I grew up in the tradition of celebrating Christ–rather than Winter–on Christmas day, so you can see from whence my negative and sordid attitude comes toward camps that glorify gift-giving and merriment solely because “it’s the holidays.”

In the spirit of the real meaning of Christmas (and I mean this in the real Christian way, not the overly-done 1960s crappy animatronic Rudolph way), I present to thee a cover of my favorite Christmas song, O Come All Ye Faithful. Don’t let me get too sappy here, but I believe this song is a truly great composition that commemorates the most basic tenets of the Christian foundation. This cover does the same, but it does so in a very modern and alternative way that I think Christmas lovers–Christian or otherwise alike–will enjoy. That is, you don’t have to be Catholic or protestant to enjoy this great piece of music.

Having grown up in the church, you’d think that I’ve heard every possible version of every Christmas song ever, but this song proves us all wrong. Pomplamoose Music (which you’ve seen here before with their cover of Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel) takes some very creative steps with this version of a Christmas carol. They introduce the accordion and ukulele to a genre primarily dominated by piano, choir, and orchestra, and the entire song is complemented with a steady percussive beat. However, their alternative steps don’t stray too far from the original tradition. They include a totally a capella interlude that reminds me of the choirs I heard on the stereo on Christmas morning every year, complete with angelic harmonies. Enjoy here:

This song, according to wikipedia (yeah, that’s probably accurate) has unclear beginnings, but here’s one American icon singing this song:
Nat King Cole singing O Come All Ye Faithful” on YouTube.

Happy Holidays!

I hope you’re all getting as fat as me this holidays season.  Let the dinner parties begin!  I want you all to have a safe and happy holiday this week and for the rest of the year.  Be sure to send out my holiday music videos to your friends and family to brighten their day…and mine.  thanks!

I’m heading to Mexico for the big day this week and can’t wait.  LA’s warm…but Mexico is warmer!  i’ll be happy as long as the tequila is cold and tortilla’s are hot!

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come O Come Emmanuel (with looping vocals)

‘Pitch Perfect’ blog interview….

I had a fun interview with a cool new blog this week.  It’s called Pitch Perfect and its written by a writer who also writes for GQ Magazine.  ooh la la!  The focus is all about A Capella singing.  If you didn’t know, i directed my college a capella group at Vanderbilt (and, more recently, sing on the hit show Glee) so they were interested in my thought’s on a few things.  Did you know Sara Bareillis and John Legend directed their a capella groups too?  don’t hate–some of us come out ok. click here to read the full interview.  do any of you sing a capella?  (in groups….not the shower or car!)  what’s your favorite song to sing?

Live show videos…

Here are a few more videos from my show at Room 5 in LA. Enjoy!

L.O.V.E.

Love Me or Leave Me Alone

I Never Meant to Make You Cry (with strings)

Cookin’ up a storm with Eli Sussman of ‘Freshman in the Kitchen’

So this new cookbook has been written by one of my good LA buddies, Eli.  It’s called Freshman in the Kitchen and you can get it on Amazon and in some book stores.  Its for people like me who want easy to make, yet gourmet, meals.  It’s the shit.  a perfect holiday gift you can use year round.  They’ve been featured on the Today show and, most recently, interviewed by the Huffington Post.  Check out the interview here. let me know which recipes you liked from the book…

Let the recording begin…

Today’s blog is short (sorry) cause i’m off to continue recording my album.  this is week 2 of recording and its going siiiick.  its a really cool album already and i can’t wait to see how it shapes up!  its definitely groovier than anything i’ve done before so, again, prepare thy asses to shake.

have a wonderful holiday!  look forward to talking to you next year (and from mexico)

adios-

c

Taking holiday spirit to a new level
By Megan Browne Helm Tue, Dec 15, 2009

Straight No Chaser bounded onto the stage of the Lied Center in Lawrence, Saturday night with the energy of a spirit squad. With fingers snapping, knees bending, and backs arching, I half expected them to make a three person high pyramid complete with basket tosses. Hearing them at the University of Kansas somehow completed the College connection.

Their music is quintessentially “a cappella”. And I’m not talking about the brand of classical unaccompanied vocal music we hear in Kansas City by groups like Octarium or Musica Vocale. No, this is the Glee club variety of a cappella based on drinking songs at the fraternity mixer.

They re-arrange popular tunes to fit their voices, add high energy “choral-ography”, and rapid melismatic endings to songs. It all results in a crowd pleasing, highly marketable, brand of entertainment perfect for the whole family. It is known as “a cappella” and I’m not ashamed to say…I like it. It can be cheesy, yes, but sometimes a little cheese tastes good with a dry white wine.

Collegiate a cappella is a big deal. Thousands of students all over the country meet every year in American Idol-esk competitions for top honors and bragging rights. It’s like a spectator sport that’s driven by high quality talent, imaginative choreography and the power of personality. Straight No Chaser is the a cappella group that carried on after graduation to critical acclaim.

Part of their success can be attributed to their social media savvy. Discovered, by chance, on YouTube by Atlantic Records, they allow the audience to freely photograph them during the performance, knowing full well the pictures will be posted and spread around the internet. They, in turn, photograph the audience so that they can “tag” themselves right from the Straight No Chaser Facebook page. The idea seemed kind of smarmy to me at first but I appreciate its genius. Not everyone will be able to adopt this idea without seeming like a copycat. SNC was one of the first.

With adoring fans packed to the rafters of the Lied center, it was evident that Straight No Chaser had a loyal following in Lawrence. Audience members from 5 to 95 packed the house for a high energy musical review. Singing everything from Bebop to hard rock and a smattering of holiday tunes, the group had something for every generation. They announce the pieces periodically throughout the show but relied heavily on the audiences’ previous knowledge of the iconic pieces. Everything was familiar but sounded fresh when given the SNC treatment.

The group got its start at Indiana University in Bloomington over ten years ago. They still have their boyish charm and youthful optimism but their sound is fuller and more mature. The school of music at Indiana fields some of the finest talent in the United States, so it isn’t surprising that the group has chops. Throughout the performance, their voices become drum sets, electric guitars, keyboards and basses. They wail back-up vocals that rival the Beach Boys and even the Supremes. Grinding and winding their harmonies as they modulate, the group would unexpectedly change tempo and styles with ease.

What is surprising is that they have managed to stay together and still have fun. Their comedic jabs and jokes between songs attested to their long friendships and the audience became part of their exclusive clique. A particularly entertaining portion of the show was their TV Theme Show medley. Pointing their microphones into the audience during key verses of songs we all knew by heart, they turned the piece into a retro sing-a-long. They even scolded us when we couldn’t come up with a line in the Cheers theme.

With their special shaken, not stirred, mix of pop tunes and Christmas carols, Straight No Chaser is easy to swallow: smooth and full with a bass kick at the end.

Well, What do you think?

Last night we were fortunate to host the A capella group Vanguard at a Christmas Party. Vanguard is a quartet of two men and two women who artfully performed an hour long concert all a capella, using only their voices and hands. It was especially delightful to hear Vanguard perform after watching the groups on The Sing Off–NBC’s a capella singing competition.

Enjoy!

I’ve been watching this a cappella (show choir) competition in America and I am soooooo head over heels in love with this particular group.

My heart totally melted when I saw this. After the song ended, I heaved a huge “AWWWW” in this big empty five room flat that only had me as its only resident for tonight. The main singer (I found out his name was Penn!!) in this song was soooo adorable and he looked sooo heartfelt when he was singing the song. Any girl’s heart would have melted if he was singing it directly to her.

Puck did a version on Glee but I’d think this one is wayyyy better. They are awesome! Well, it also helps that they are an all males a capella group. Hurhur.

Beelzebubs – Ride Round (Flo Rida)

MUST WATCH!!!

Beelzebubs – Sexyback & Loosen Up My Buttons

I laughed like a crazy woman when I watched this video, in the middle of the night. It’s HILARIOUS!

All these a cappella is putting me right in preparation for tomorrow’s Budak’s show! Wooohooooo!

Don’t know if anyone else has caught this one, but over the last 2 weeks there has been yet another talent show trying to mine the Gold first produced by American Idol.  This one, loosely focuses on Acappella style singing, but fundamentally fails due to trying to mix styles and sizes of groups competing against each other.

Despite the format and structural issues – one group stands head and shoulders above the others in professionalism, skill, and ability – Nota.

These guys are definitely in the Ray, Goodman and Brown/Persuasions (Ain’t got no Band)/Boyz 2 Men class – Check them out:

In the event you’ve never heard of the Persuasions – here’s a clip of them performing more traditional material in Washington DC’s Cellar Door Club in 1974 -

They were originally signed by Frank Zappa – and performed over 40 years on stage. My fav?

An old Sam Cooke song -

I heard this on the radio this morning and it may be one of the greatest discoveries of my entire life.

I’m enjoying the amount of time this is taking out of my schedule…I love a 2-hour show.

In this 2-hour show, they pack a serious load of singing, video pieces, and judges “witty” afterthoughts…the formula for an American reality show (the book written by Simon Fuller and the “cheap pre-holiday specials” producers)

Each group sang two songs— A recent hit, and a “guilty pleasure“.

The Good:

• The Spanish group always putting a latin beat into a bridge or reprise…love it!
• The geeky College group singing a Stix song, and their obvious and self-referential choreography. Did they ever think a Pussy Cat Doll would be staring at (ogling) them? Dreams DO come true…
• That girl with “the hair“ from the All Girls group…like an edgy Ellen.
• Ben Folds brings some class and a real critical ear to the panel…he’s the only one I dont change the channel for.

The Bad:

• The middle aged women singing Taylor Swift and Amy Winehouse… attempting both ends of the “current” music spectrum…hard to listen to and take seriously.
• Nick Lachey feeling the need to exacerbate the definition of “A Capella”…after EVERY commercial break…we get it….NO instruments= point of the show.
• Pussy Cat Doll fitting in a solo, any dance move she can think of, and weaving lines from every song into her critique…painful.
• I thought the point of “guilty pleasure” was that the songs were going to be the “shower” or “house to myself” songs… non were particularly of that calibre in my opinion…the only one close was “Stayin Alive”…but only for the white suit that accompanies that visual.

RESULT: The All Girl Group sings their swan song…I disagree! Good thing I’m a blogger and don’t need to be impartial or non-bias…The Older Women were painful and uncomforatble tonight…It should have been them.

It all returns again tomorrow night…

While some radio stations have been playing Christmas music since well before Thanksgiving, I am of the opinion that the carols and classics should be heard only after the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. Once I get going, though, I’m a full-on, 24-hour, nothing-but-Christmas music machine! Below are nine of my favorites; a mix of classics and quirky songs to get you through the holidays.

1. “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” by Jack Johnson
2. “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley
3. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by the Jackson Five
4. “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt
5. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel
6. “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey
7. “Bizarre Christmas Incident” by Ben Folds
8. “Christmastime is Here” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

And my new personal favorite song of the season…

      9.  “The Twelve Days of Christmas” by Straight No Chaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aCqh4re5Oo

Chorando de rir! Eles são o grupo a capella da UCB, University of California-Berkley. Olhem nos vídeos relacionados a performance de Circus, da Britney Spears! Será que é o Japinha que bola a coreografia? Brilha muito na performance!

Será que rola uma ponta em Glee?

WTF IS THIS?

After very nearly letting this blog slip into  a void of nothingness through not updating it for a couple of weeks I’ve decided to pull my finger out and get back on it. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve found myself dragging inspiration from sweet f.a. to try and muster up any creative flare for my recent uni projects and other reviews I’ve been doing.

I’m feeling a bout of inspiration teetering at this very moment – like when you need a poo and it’s nearly touching cloth – well, there’s an inspirational turtle head poking out. So I’m gonna take a dump on this blog.

Basically this isn’t an original idea in the slightest, in fact if you look to your right at the link to Jake’s Blog you’ll realise that he’s been wacking out ‘mp3 of the day’ pieces for a while now – and I know a band wagon when I see one. Instead of an mp3 of the day I’m going to post on here things which I’ve literally been infatuated with; whether it be a song I’m listening to till my ears bleed or a video I watch until puss begins dribbling out my eyes… your now gonna know about it.

So here goes nothing:

INFATUATED – PART 1

You may think I’m a bit late on this one and I’m jumping onto another bandwagon a bit late… Bandwagon jumping I am not (well perhaps a little) but the whole point of this is to tell you stuff which has fast become an integral part of my day to day life – as important as that first cup of joe in the morning and the cigarette before bed (and the whole lot of being a bum inbetween) – it’s Justin Vernon’s brainchild.

Yeah, Bon Iver, with your high pitched, creamingly intense vocal harmonies and simplistic instrumental melodies your making sweet sweet love to my eardrums over and over again. Using the lubrication of your finely constructed, heartfelt lyrics your fucking me backwards everytime I listen to you day in day out.

I’m left wondering if there is a way that surgeons could perform a voice box transplant? Otherwise nothing a bit of rohypnol and a stanley knife couldn’t conquer…

I must have seen this particular video a thousand times already, but the song  in it’s a capella naked form strips it down to the bare essentials – three amazing voices. I jizzed in my pants.

La Blogotheque never fails in creating videos with such a natural insight into the music – click here to see the other videos they have of Bon Iver from the same session.

As anyone who’s talked to me in the last few days is aware, life at home, it ain’t so grand. Good thing the Internet exists.

Thanks to a mention on The Huffington Post, I was introduced to this uh-may-zing a capella cover — complete with choreography! — of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” Behold, the glory of goofy guys attempting (and ROCKING) hilarious, suggestive dance moves:

My love for all things a capella dates back to high school, when I harbored a slightly unhealthy obsession with the University of Rochester Midnight Ramblers. But putting my clear bias towards these kinds of things aside, I truly think it’s a swell cover, and entertaining as hell.

If it can bring a smile to this miserable monster’s face, it gets my seal of approval. And I’m not bluffin’.

L. 35  12/9/09

Last night, while strolling the vendors at the Holiday Market along F St. between 7th and 9th Streets. NW, D.C., I came across a performance by the University of Maryland (College Park)’s co-ed Jewish a capella group, Rak Shalom. The group was good, and they sang a number of songs in Hebrew which was impressive. One of the non-religious songs they sang was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s, “Love The One You’re With.”

You know how the lyrics go:

“If you can’t be with the one you love,

Love the one you’re with.”

This song obviously, is not a song for people who are alone. I understand that the song is supposed to promote the general loving of everyone, and while that is a nice idea, what are you to do when you are all alone?

Last time, I posted videos from two great solo artists, Ganaa (from the “boy band” Camerton) and Mareljingoo. This week it will be six videos that were really my introduction to the lively pop and alternative rock scene in Ulaanbaatar. I first saw most of them on tv when I was staying at the Narantuul Hotel (highly recommended). I’ve since been able to acquire CDs by all of them and can now listen to their albums whenever I want, which is often.

First up is The Lemons, who are considered an alternative band. Whatever the category, they are one of THE hot bands in UB and one of the most original. I hear this song as background music at least a couple of times a trip in restaurants and stores. It was apparently a big, big hit. The song is called Tsenkher Nud, which I think means “light blue eyes”. It makes me smile every time I listen to it.

And, for something completely different, “Sex Rock”:

Next is A Capella, one of the popular new groups. They are very strong on vocal harmony. There seems to be a thread, going back to Camerton (who was one of the first hit groups in the 1990s after the transition from socialism) of doing songs about rain or that have rain in part of the video. A Capella seems to have taken it to the next level in this video they made for a song called “Boroo” or “Rain”. Another feel-good song.

Then there’s this steamy little number “247″

Finally, there’s A Sound, also  very popular. Most of the groups I listen to do a wide range of styles. Even the hip hop groups sing lovely songs about mothers. It’s fun. Since there’s no big corporate music-making industry in Mongolia yet, the musicians can record quite a variety of styles in one album. I can’t think quite how to categorize A Sound. Kinda pop. Kinda alternative. But with a clear jazz influence at times. Very original. And the lead singer records some songs in quite good English.

First is “Shal Demii”. I don’t know what that is in English. One of the commenters on the YouTube video described this song as “Mongolian Bossa Nova”. Now that’s a concept.

And, finally, here is “30 Jil Hamt Baisan”, which I was told means “30 Years Together”. Country rock Mongol-style, anyone?

Enjoy!

Next time, what seems to be one of the most beloved groups in Mongolia, Nomin Talst and…..?

Just to see if we could. We sort of could.

(Extra vocals courtesy of housemate Tim)

I recently performed for the third time at my alma mater, the Spence School, where I went to Kindergarten-12th grade, and as usual, it was so awesome and was my best audience of the year. Each performance there has been better than the last, because the girls keep up with me online in between performances and know my music before I come perform it, so they’re really excited to hear it and I’m really excited to perform it for them.

I was a bit nervous about this performance because it was the first one consisting of my new dance-pop music and none of my old stuff, and I wasn’t sure how much they would like it, but a few weeks before the performances I spoke to some of the girls on facebook and they said they were keeping up with my new music and loved it, so that made me feel more confident.

The performance was not only tons of fun but also really boosted my confidence in the quality of my new music. It is really fuckin’ good. I worked hard on it and made it the best I could and it really paid off because people really enjoy it. Also, performing with tracks is a totally legit way to perform because people still really enjoy what they hear and they get to hear everything as I wrote it, with the same sounds and all the back up vocals, and I think that is really important. Every time I played a song the girls were dancing along and having a great time listening, and they really cheered loudly at the end of each one. I still get totally exhausted singing and doing minimal dancing when I perform a song, and I don’t quite know what to do about that. Run and sing on the treadmill like Fergie?

The only drawback of the show was that somehow the camera didn’t end up taping the show at all. Not one second. Which REALLY sucks because I was hoping to get SIX AWESOME youtube videos out of this performance that really could have helped my exposure and been an EXCELLENT resource to use for bookings. It is the PERFECT gig because it’s great sound, great lighting, and a REALLY large and enthusiastic audience who knows and really enjoys me and my stuff. It is SO LAME that the taping didn’t work OH MY GOD. Not to mention that it was a really special 35 minutes of my life that I REALLY would have liked to have on tape. GODDAMMIT! Oh well, next time. Barf. Will try to get some great video from the Dec 19th show, where of course the lighting will suck and therefore probably so will the video. Goddammit goddammit goddammmiiiiiiiiitttttt!

Whew. Anyway. Focus on the fuckin’ positive, right? I AM SO ANGRY. Ok. Here are the wonderful moments from the performance:

1. I didn’t chicken out about wearing weird stuff. I did the show in my bright pink wig, my new silver sequin jacket, my black sequin tank, my pink tights, and silver boots, and dramatic makeup. I was considering toning down my look for the audience and then realized–wait a minute, this is what I do, this is who I am, and my fans expect me to do it. So I did it up! And everyone was saying how much they liked my wig and outfit and asking where I got my clothes and shoes. Right decision made!

2. Had the fascinating realization that when 12 year old girls in middle school don’t know you and you’re an adult wearing weird things, the experience of them asking you about it is totally different than when you’re their 12 year old classmate wearing weird things. When I was 12 I would get really upset when people at school questioned what I was doing or wearing and didn’t get it. Today, I just told them I was dressed like that because I think it looks pretty and it makes me happy, and that was that. Realized I probably should have done that in middle school, too. Probably wouldn’t have worked though. That’s middle school for ya.

3. Before the performance I sat down on the floor with the girls in the front, joking like I was a student waiting for the assembly to start, and ended up chatting with a lot of them before the show. It was a nice way to break some ice and was also cool because I went on to blow them away with my show and they were all so excited to tell me how much they liked it afterwards.

4. I did a lot of new songs in the show, including “Friday Night Forever” and “Hold For Your Lovin’” which the girls really loved. Was great to hear that people are really liking my new stuff because I think it’s pretty great, too. The girls also insisted on singing Texas Boys a capella with me, which was really fun. Can’t believe I remembered all the words off the top of my head when I haven’t sang or listened to that song in at least 8 months. Was of course great to hear the girls singing along and knowing all the words.

5. When I performed “Dance Dance Dance” the girls sang along, and it was quite a funny thing to see these tiny 11 year olds singing “I don’t care what you think, gonna flip my hair and sip my drink!” I inserted the words “of juice!” after that phrase the first time I sang it. Very funny. One of the girls said that was her favorite song, which I love.

6. The girls chatted during my songs and at first I thought it was because they weren’t listening but when I asked what they were talking about, they said they were talking about how awesome I was. I told them to keep talking. Heeeeeeey!

7. Got the girls to do a big “Heeeeeeeeeeeey!” with me, which was funny. The girls also made a big banner with my name on it to hold up which was sweet.

8. At the end of the show the girls asked where Socrates was, to which I replied, “Well you know that’s funny, I mean, it’s funny that you ask, because the thing about Socrates is, well, he’s…he’s dead, haha,” quoting the line from Annie Hall when she says that about her grandma when Alvy asks about her. I then explained that that was a joke from Annie Hall which no one in that room has ever heard of BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL BORN IN THE MID TO LATE 90’s.

9. After the show the girls all took my business card and then ran over to me to have me autograph each one. I gotta say, I LOVE signing autographs! It is SO FUN! Hope to do a lot more of it in the future. Plus the nice thing is, hopefully since I signed all those cards they hung on to them and used them to look me up on the web! (A lot of them did–I’ve got a LOT of pending facebook friend requests from the girls and the song plays on my page are way up today. Yay!)

10. A couple of the girls asked if I would come and watch their choir rehearsal, which I did, and they sang the song they were working on for me there. I could tell it meant a lot to them and I was really happy to watch.

11. A lot of the girls were really excited to see me and were telling me that they were my biggest fans and they wanted hugs and to keep in touch and everything. Love that! It’s so cool to be on the other end of the fan love, cuz I know how I feel about the people I’m a big fan of, so it’s really cool to think I have people who feel that way about me. Hooray!

All in all it was a great success and a great experience and next time I will do everything in my power to capture it on film NO MATTER WHAT and share it here! The teacher who books the assemblies said she’d definitely like to have me back, so I’m already looking forward to next year’s performance! Gotta get in on the upper school assembly too, and should look into other school performance opportunities out there in case they exist!

This is probably one of the most unique and creative executions of a Michael Jackson cover I’ve seen. Kurt Schneider, a songwriter/music producer, arranged and produced the following video while Sam Tsui, a singer/songwriter, lent strong vocals to create an amazing rendition of some of MJ’s greatest hits.

There are so many great artist on YouTube who sing straight into their Web cams, which is great, but I really appreciate the fact that Kurt takes the time to created a fun and creative video for his audience. If you’re looking for some more great videos by Sam and Kurt, check out their cover of Jay Sean’s “Down” and their Glee inspired cover of “Don’t Stop Believin.’”

Like what you saw and heard?  Subscribe to Kurt’s YouTube channel. It’s loaded with 28 videos, including a short film series called “College Musical.” If you want to connect with Sam on Twitter, follow him here and fan him on Facebook while you’re at it.

Penn Glee Club – The Star Spangled Banner

When one asks someone about ‘a capella’ music, the response typically relates back to either Ivy League glee clubs or the Folders commercials from the early 1990’s. And while many scoff at the boundless number of collegiate singers doing renditions of top 40 hits, the discourse around the world of a capella has changed radically.

A capella, at its inception could very much be defined as a folk music. Think about the Penn Glee Club. The group was founded 145 years ago, and still has songs in its repertoire from that day and age. More importantly though, songs such as ‘The Red and The Blue’ and ‘Drink a Highball’ are shared by a broader Penn community and have cultural significance to members of that community, which are typical aspects of folk music.

University of Pennsylvania’s Off the Beat – The Crowing

But the genre has grown far beyond the bounds of college campuses. In the early 1990’s, organizations such as the Recorded A Capella Review Board began writing elaborate criticism of penned arrangements and recorded a capella music, pulling it closer to the realm of art music. Further, as recorded a capella is increasingly able to mimic commercial music thanks to technoglogical advancements, the genre has begun receiving mass acceptance.

Glee – Don’t Stop Believing

This fall, NBC is launching “The Great American Sing-Off”, a primetime competition where a capella groups will perform pop hits weekly. In sum, the discourse around a capella is in flux. As the genre changes, it will be interesting to see where the discourse about a capella moves towards.

Lawrence Crane-Moscowitz