Sounds good to me
You know what's nerdier than being in an a capella group? Being an a capella groupie.
There were three a capella groups at my college - one was all boys, one was all girls, and the third was mixed. I tried out for the mixed group (All of the Above) one time but didn't make it so I was content to be the #1 a capella fan at Drew University. A capella was a big deal to a small group of people at Drew. Indeed, all of the other founders of Flashpoint were in All of the Above and many of my friends and people I hooked up with in college were in All of the Above or the other two groups (girls was On a Different Note and boys was 36 Madison Avenue, or Mad Ave for short). So nerdy was I that I would show up to the concerts two hours early with duct tape to create a front row seat for myself in case I was late or had to smoke a million cigarettes before the concert or whatever. I made signs. There was one time we painted group names on our arms and legs. Seriously, nerdy.
So of course I was excited when I saw the commercials for Sing Off. I was a little put off by their advertising- calling an a capella competition "the music of Glee and the competition of Idol" (or whatever it was) is just sort of lame. Glee uses instrumentation all the time. I see where they are doing Idol with the judges (requisite 2 guys - one black one white, 1 woman who says ridiculous things and dances at her place), but I think they are doing it wrong. The judges are Shawn from Boyz II Men (ABC BBD the East Coast Family), Ben Folds (awesome) and...Nicole Scheherazade (I made up her last name) from the Pussycat Dolls? Wait, what? Here's what they are doing right: Shawn and Ben Folds actually know what they are talking about. Shawn was practically in an a capella group for chrissake. Their harmonies were sick. But here's where it's wrong: I'm sure Nicole can sing, but there is nothing about her or the Pussycat Dolls that makes me think "musician." They should have like Regina Spektor or one of the Indigo Girls up there or something. That would be AWESOME if it was like Shawn and Ben and the Indigo Girls. (Sing Off producers, call me - I'm full of great ideas.)
The other problem with the show is that the harshest criticism these groups get is "You know, you were a little pitchy there for a minute and I kind of lost the song. But you guys are getting better with every performance and GOOD JOB I LOVE YOU." Come. On. There were at least 4 performances yesterday that made me make a face or roll my eyes or just sort of inhale sharply in a bad way. I certainly do not have the knowledge to give them notes but I know that Shawn and Ben at least do and they need to stop coddling these groups.
I think NOTA is the tightest of all the groups. I was really excited about their take on "Sledgehammer" yesterday, even though I hate that song. I want to see them win this one. Really, I want anyone except the freaking Beelzebubs. The Onion AV Club correctly described them as 40 Andys from The Office.
There were three a capella groups at my college - one was all boys, one was all girls, and the third was mixed. I tried out for the mixed group (All of the Above) one time but didn't make it so I was content to be the #1 a capella fan at Drew University. A capella was a big deal to a small group of people at Drew. Indeed, all of the other founders of Flashpoint were in All of the Above and many of my friends and people I hooked up with in college were in All of the Above or the other two groups (girls was On a Different Note and boys was 36 Madison Avenue, or Mad Ave for short). So nerdy was I that I would show up to the concerts two hours early with duct tape to create a front row seat for myself in case I was late or had to smoke a million cigarettes before the concert or whatever. I made signs. There was one time we painted group names on our arms and legs. Seriously, nerdy.
So of course I was excited when I saw the commercials for Sing Off. I was a little put off by their advertising- calling an a capella competition "the music of Glee and the competition of Idol" (or whatever it was) is just sort of lame. Glee uses instrumentation all the time. I see where they are doing Idol with the judges (requisite 2 guys - one black one white, 1 woman who says ridiculous things and dances at her place), but I think they are doing it wrong. The judges are Shawn from Boyz II Men (ABC BBD the East Coast Family), Ben Folds (awesome) and...Nicole Scheherazade (I made up her last name) from the Pussycat Dolls? Wait, what? Here's what they are doing right: Shawn and Ben Folds actually know what they are talking about. Shawn was practically in an a capella group for chrissake. Their harmonies were sick. But here's where it's wrong: I'm sure Nicole can sing, but there is nothing about her or the Pussycat Dolls that makes me think "musician." They should have like Regina Spektor or one of the Indigo Girls up there or something. That would be AWESOME if it was like Shawn and Ben and the Indigo Girls. (Sing Off producers, call me - I'm full of great ideas.)
The other problem with the show is that the harshest criticism these groups get is "You know, you were a little pitchy there for a minute and I kind of lost the song. But you guys are getting better with every performance and GOOD JOB I LOVE YOU." Come. On. There were at least 4 performances yesterday that made me make a face or roll my eyes or just sort of inhale sharply in a bad way. I certainly do not have the knowledge to give them notes but I know that Shawn and Ben at least do and they need to stop coddling these groups.
I think NOTA is the tightest of all the groups. I was really excited about their take on "Sledgehammer" yesterday, even though I hate that song. I want to see them win this one. Really, I want anyone except the freaking Beelzebubs. The Onion AV Club correctly described them as 40 Andys from The Office.