Merry Christmas!

With the UVA Hullabahoos.

What took so long?

SUNY New Paltz's Absolut A Cappella puts a ring on it.

'Pushing Daisies'

There was a nice little a cappella snippet last week on ABC's Pushing Daisies, a show which (incidentally) is produced by a former member of the Yale Bakers Dozen, Oscar-winner Bruce Cohen.

A short clip here:




(Thanks to Mark for the tip!)

Viva La Vida? Loca!

Collegiate a cappella groups love Coldplay. Like, a lot. A few years back, every group sang Coldplay's "Fix You." In fact, so many groups were submitting their version of "Fix You" to BOCA (the Best of College A Cappella compuilation), that the judges selected one just to stop the flood!

Well, apparently Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" is just as viral. Six versions here. Many, many more online.


UPENN's Off the Beat:


Absolute A Cappella from SUNY New Paltz:


The Bostonians of Boston College:


The Duke Pitchforks:


Catholic University's Red Line:


MIT Resonance:

Hazing? In A Cappella?

Just when you thought you'd seen it all.

An a cappella group at the University of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Gentleman, are under investigation for an alleged hazing incident, the university's student newspaper reports. Until the case is resolved, the Gents are barred from performing on campus. "However," the paper adds, "they will be allowed to practice and appeal for certain performances next semester, and will be back with certain stipulations in the fall of 2009."

Read more here. (Tip via the A Cappella Blog.)

Here's a video of the Gents singing "Up the Ladder to the Roof." Which, presumably, is where the hazing happens! (We kid! We kid!)

Much better, yes?

The paperback cover for Pitch Perfect, out in April 2009.

In Case You Missed 'World News'

ABC News: Group Gets Record Deal From YouTube

Posted using ShareThis

Forget the economy!

ABC's World News Tonight investigates the rise of Straight No Chaser tonight. Tune in!

Want to read more about SNC? We covered them here, here and here.

And The Winners Are...

Remember that contest Ben Folds was sponsoring? He was looking for the best collegiate covers of his music. Then, he'd pick a handful of his favorites and fly his own producer out to record the groups in the studio? (Refresh your memory here.) Well, the winners—from more than 200 entries—have been announced.

And they are:

1. Blue Notes (Wellesley College) - Annie Waits
2. Midnight Ramblers (University of Rochester) - Army
3. Leading Tones (Ohio University) - Brick
4. Lady Bens - Cigarette
5. Newtones (Newton High School in Boston) - Evaporated
6. Fifth Element (University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire) - Fair
7. Gracenotes (West Chester University of PA) - Fred Jones Part 2
8. Loreleis (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) - Jesusland
9. Colorado University Buffoons - Landed
10. Voices In Your Head (University of Chicago) - Magic
11. Spartones (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) - Not The Same
12. Jazz Singers (Sacramento State) - Selfless, Cold and Composed
13. Mosaic Whispers (Washington University - St Louis) - Still FIghting It
14. The Amateurs (Washington University - St Louis) - Luckiest
15. Nassoons (Princeton) - Time
16. With Someone Else's Money (University of Georgia) - You Don't Know Me
17. All Night Yahtzee (Florida State) - Missing The War
18. Treble in Paradise (American University) - Zak and Sara

Some of these tracks will make Ben's a cappella compilation album, due out this spring. The proceeds will go to Save the Music. It's nice to see a genuine rock figure supporting collegiate a cappella.

Read more:

The Daily Princetonian covered the Nassoons's recording session here.

And check out Ben Folds's blog here.

Athletes and A Cappella?

While the UVA Hullabahoos have an intramural football team, traditionally, athletics and a cappella have not mixed. Well, Gen-O is changing all that! Yup, a couple of varsity athletes at Princeton have formed what I believe is the first-ever all-athlete a cappella group called (wait for it) Jock Jams. It could be worse. According to the Daily Princetonian, the group almost called themselves Varsitunes.

Read it and weep here.

Yuletide A Cappella Cheer

It's poised to be a very merry a cappella Christmas, what with Straight No Chaser selling a boatload (or a small rowboat, anyway) of their major label debut, Holiday Spirits. (To read more about SNC, check out this just-posted story from the Chicago Sun-Times.)

To which I ask: Where is the big a cappella Hannukah album!

No, I don't ask that. Because there is none! What would be on it? Me singing "Dreidel" maybe.

Anyway, if you're in the market for Christmas music (without instruments) this season, I'd like to point you to the UVA Hullabahoos disc, "Better Than Coal." The track list is here.

For a preview, check out the Hullabahoos singing "All I Want For Christmas Is You" here. Listen to that applause. Deafening!

The Economic Crisis Hits A Cappella!

Yes, it's true. It looks like the sinking Dow has killed off the AC 100—a planned celebration of the 100th anniversary of collegiate a cappella. This is sad news!

The pithy proof is here.