Walking the Dog

I have a huge aca-crush on Mouth Off. It's not like I didn't know that Dave and Christopher were brilliant before, but this concise podcast warms my heart like my mother's cobbler-- they are charming and sometimes awkward, effusive--yet amusingly so, and tactfully critical of their subject(s)--- about which they are well-informed and thoughtful. They make me laugh at the office, and that's difficult.



Things their podcast made me think about:

1. The gents laud the Bubs' version of NIN's "All the Love in the World" as being very raw, but I think it's not gritty enough. The song sounds like Robbie Williams to me, and that's not what I'm looking for in a NIN song.



2. Speaking of artists on the Bubs album, both The Format AND NIN have a song called "Closer." They are very different songs. I have heard neither a cappella.



3. If I were to create an a cappella cover album (like Sir Folds), I wouldn't mind listening to an album of the following:

The Format
1990s female One-to-Two Hit Wonders (Robyn, anyone?)
Radiohead
Rufus Wainwright
Phoenix
New Pornographers/ Neko Case
Sigur Ros

I think that the last one could be particularly gorgeous, esp. in the hands of the Divisi or Noteworthy (either) girls.



4. I miss Nate Ruess. I miss the Format. I've seen them live 4 (5?) times, and every time was just...special. I'm not kidding. I'm making a pouty face right now. It drives me up the wall that most people have discovered them post break-up, when I spent Freshman year of college telling everyone to buy their album. I also tried to make everyone love The Botticellis. Check out their Daytrotter session here.

Regarding Nate's new band, Fun, I'm split. Jack Antonoff is swell. I like Steel Train, I like his sister's clothing line, I like that he dates Maeby from Arrested Development... but I don't like that they've been around for a bit and haven't made it to the Midwest. The new music sounds, well, fun. I await the album in August with bated breath.



5. It frustrates me that my old a cappella group is putting so many tired songs on their next record. They have been playing with some of my indie favorites, but decided against recording them; the safer, well known songs will be recorded and mixed. Even more interesting music was scrapped at the suggestion phase (including Eisley's "Invasion"). I'm trying to be a judgemental alum, and I'm not biased-- one of the overdone songs happens to be one on which I sang the solo-- I just wish they would take more risks across the board. There will be 4 different incarnations of the group on this record, and I'd like it to represent us well.

I suppose I should be grateful-- at least they're staying away from Nickelback.



6. I wish Christopher Diaz and Dave Brown lived in my living room instead of my roommate's stupid dog. It smells bad and goes INSANE when I listen to a cappella. No joke. Runs up and down the hallway.



7. Worst syllable(s) I've ever had to sing? Other than an entire song of "Jn jn jn jn jn ja jn jn jn ja?" No, that was easily my own personal version of hell. The best? "vvvvvvvvvv" (a bee buzz) for almost 3 pages of music. IF I remember correctly, the sopranos were singing "wop wop wop wop."


8. I also miss The Blonde One. Hi, Blondie.

Good Day

It's Friday and I am listening to vocal jazz and Jukebox the Ghost. This entry was almost titled "Lighting Myself on Fire," but some of you probably wouldn't find that nearly as entertaining as I do (in my brain, it is similar to every time I use superglue and end up attached to things/myself).

Everyone is talking lately about the a cappella Ben Folds album. It's neat. I've given it many a listen, and it turned out exactly how I thought it would... sort of. There are a few songs that make me press the "skip" button (mostly because I don't like the soloist), but overall it's an enjoyable listen. There were actually 18 songs recorded for the CD-- here are the videos of the songs that didn't make it on the finished product.

"Missing the War" All Night Yahtzee

I'll just say this: I love Yahtzee. When I was applying to college, FSU offered me a full ride, and this group has made me wish on more than one occasion that I would've accepted... just to have auditioned for them. Love the arrangement, love the group, love the Diaz.


"Annie Waits" Blue Notes of Wellesley College



"Cigarette" The Lady Bens

(note: I am mildly afraid of puppets)


"Zak and Sara" Treble in Paradise of American University

Love Me Do (Re, Mi)

Why this blog is dead:

1) I am afraid of people yelling at me for being anonymous. This is, admittedly, because I don't know as much as the yellers from RARB. I also really like them and dislike most of the anons at whom they yell. Don't want to join that club.

2) We are doing the following: grad school, co-habitation, singing with a band, long distance relationships, singing hooks on a rap album, writing, having red hair, hating leggings, committing voter fraud, singing a cappella, living up North/ down South/ Midwestern-like, learning a foreign language, *blinging*, going to four hundred-y weddings, running, watching our sports teams hurt our hearts, blogging elsewhere, pregnant. We are, therefore, busy.

3) More busy: 100% of us are in relationships. 100% of those relationships happen to be 100% full of a cappella people. And in case you were wondering, there isn't a tenor in the bunch.

4) James Cannon stopped gnawing on baby skulls.

5) Speaking of babies, I lied about one and/or all of us being preggers. However, I would like to use this moment to challenge The Wise One and The Blonde One to BABY-OFF 2008!!!!111!!!!. First one to pop out a munchkin is entitled to dinner and a night of reallly bad kareoke on the other two.

6. That was a joke. This leads me to another reason I, specifically, am not writing: the lack of funny.

7. The unintentional hilarity of the other a cappella blog makes our little estrogen festival (est-fest) seem completely scandel-less... unless you count the still-angry Emmy Rossum fans.

8. Sarah Palin.

Hate To Say I Told You So

Who knew? This girl.



http://www.newsweek.com/id/151737

Secret Someones- Laura Veirs

I have gossip!

A very well-known weekly news publication is producing a video segment about post-collegiate a cappella. I am currently not at liberty to say which ::ahem:: weekly news ::ahem:: publication and what groups are involved (a lady protects her sources), but this is big and pretty freakin' cool. Look for it within the next month, and be sure to support your local post-collegiate a cappella groups. If you do-- make sure your hair looks good.


Seen any good shows this summer?

Mahna Mahna

I don't particularly like the 4th of July. This does not make me un-American or a terrorist. I just have sensitive ears and think it would be more patriotic if all the money put towards fireworks would instead go to our education systems. HOWEVA.




I know it looks like Animal is playing drums, but it's really VP. The only thing that could make this video better would be Ralph the dog. He's hot.

The A Cappella Bop

Last weekend, I went karaoke-ing with a friend from my former collegiate a cappella group and a bunch of his friends from work. We went to a very nondescript bar in a slightly seedy part of Chinatown - not necessarily a place I would go to again, but fine for a casual non-serious karaoke evening (which of course, being former a cappella singers, we do have.)

As we were sitting at the bar watching other people sing, we'd comment on their song choice and harmonize along under our breaths. When one girl got up to sing, I didn't notice anything about her while listening; she had a nice enough voice. But then, when I looked closer, I totally saw it.

"Hey, that girl was in an a cappella group."
"What? How do you know?"
"She's doing the a cappella bop."
"What?"
"Look how she's bopping side-to-side. She was in an a cappella group."
"No way."
"Go ask her."

So after the song, he went up and asked her, and came back to the bar head-in-hands.

"All-female at Princeton. Tigerlilies."
"I told you!"
"[The Wise One], it's sick that you knew that."
"I know."

No More (The Dirty Projectors)

I am having one of those months where I don't like a cappella. I don't know what my lady-friends will use as their excuse for not writing, but I just don't care about the scene right now. Maybe when I see the Hyannis Sound this summer I will find a renewed love. A cappella: it's not you, it's me.

Things I do like: Ladytron, The Wombats, Switches, mmmmthenewPortisheadalbum, and LOVELOVELOVE for The Presets.

Things I do not like: heat, the horror that is the Scarlett Johansson album (sorry David Bowie), and waiting for the weekend.

Summer travel: Nashville, New York, Chicago, Boston,St Louis, Iowa City, Champaign, Madison, Philly. All are subject to change.

Oh, and I'll just post this in response to the last few e-mails I received via g-mail: I won't share my a cappella music. I would want you to buy my group's cd/ individual songs, so I feel like it's totally uncool to give out someone else's hard work for free. So please don't ask.

Off to a luau I'm throwing. Aloha

Holy Roller

I went to a southern church today for the first time. There was a peculiar moment during the sung offertory where I thought, "If that soprano was in my a cappella group, we'd be having a serious discussion about blend and when it is appropriate to make up parts."


I am officially a bad person.



In other news, there are some things I really can't get used to in the South. For example: Last night at a piano bar, I couldn't finish my whiskey and diet coke because it was A) too strong and B) I'd already had four. So our resident southern girl offered it to the guy at the table next to us! In St Louis or Chicago this would be out of the question (roofies much?)... but the gentleman grinned, took a swig, and cheered to us. Carazy.

Requests

I have it on good authority that Rockapella's contracts state that the following items must be provided for each member in the green room before the show:

- 6 chocolate PowerBars each
- Nature Valley peanut butter crunchy granola bars
- cases of diet Mountain Dew

And that they really do POUND the diet Mountain Dew.