ICCAs: Live on TV!

Sort of. Check out this excellent piece that aired tonight on Current TV, and focused on Divisi's quest for collegiate a cappella glory and Pitch Perfect. Spread the word! This is what the book is about! Heart, humor and runny mascara!

Ben Folds: High Five!

Collegiate a cappella groups cover Ben Folds about as often as they do John Mayer. Which is to say, early and often! Guess what? The indie rock God has noticed. And he's pleased. Here, in an interview with the Pitch Perfect blog, he addresses the a cappella-ification of his catalog.

When did you become aware that so many collegiate groups were covering your music?
Years ago on the road, people would hand us CDs with a cappella versions. But I didn’t know that the culture existed or that it had ballooned—until I saw loads and loads of a cappella groups on YouTube. That was about a year ago. My bassist sent me the first link, I think.

Were you flattered? Confused?
First of all I was impressed. And then I was moved. Some are better than others. But some of the interpretations are just so—I don’t know—just so genuine. We’re so inundated with music made by certified platinum-selling rock stars, which is fine, that’s cool too. But there’s really something to be said for smart music. Some of the a cappella interpretations of my songs—on a lot of levels, they're better than the way I did them. They're better than the originals.

Really?
I think so. They couldn't come first. Or maybe they could. I don't know. But it highlights something pure about the songs. These groups have to be inventive. They have to figure out a way to arrange these songs and these harmonies. In an age where music education is just going to down the shitter, on college campuses maybe you expect karaoke or a wet-shirt contest night. You don’t expect kids to get together, breakdown the arrangements, rearrange, reinterpret and then practice.

Or record them in professional studios. The Beelzebubs recorded Code Red at Long View Farms—where the Rolling Stones rehearsed for the Tattoo You tour.
As music is eroding popular music, the record industry is in depression, and what’s being spoon-fed isn’t necessarily working. It’s interesting that people have to make music. They don’t just accept that music is dead. They make it themselves.

Why do you think your music works so well a cappella? College groups also do a lot of Guster, too. Any comparisons?
I think the music is built well. My music has worked really well with symphony orchestras. Guster and my music are pretty dorky. It’s also put together. It’s got some integrity. It seems to work a cappella. It might be hard to put a lot of bands to that. Sufjan Stevens’s music would work well.

Is there one a cappella version you remember that really moved you?
There were a few versions of “Brick.” And one of “Still Fighting.” And then there was this one—and it’s not up anymore.—of a little high school kid singing the song “Gone.” This little red head kid with braces on. And he was singing the shit out of it.


Here's Hyannis Sound singing Ben Folds's "Not the Same." Link via Bojangles. Thanks!

A Cappella Causes NPR Controversy!

NPR's Weekend Edition featured a story about Pitch Perfect last week, and even included some sound clips of the Tufts Beelzebubs. Well, apparently the music confused listeners, who wrote in to NPR insisting that what they heard on the radio couldn't possibly have been a cappella. Well, it was, as Scott Simon confirms in an update to the story, which aired this morning. Aca drama!

Give the original Weekend Edition piece a listen here. The follow-up is posted here.

John Mayer: A Cappella.

Ever notice how collegiate a cappella groups seem to gravitate towards certain artists? In the 90s, every all-male group had a Barenaked Ladies tune in their repertoire, and every all-female group could be counted on to bust out the Indigo Girls. Then it was Coldplay. But even with those bands, a cappella groups were mostly all covering the same tracks. (Coldplay's "Fix You." Barenaked Ladies's "Brian Wilson." Indigo Girls's "Galileo.") But lately I've noticed that John Mayer's music is all over the collegiate scene. And it's not just the obvious tunes. It's EVERY tune.

Herein, the John Mayer oeuvre: a cappella.

"Say" (performed by the Harvard Veritones)



"No Such Thing" (Roxbury Latin Latonics)



"Your Body is a Wonderland" (Williams College Octet)



"Daughters" (Florida State University's All-Night Yahtzee)



"Love Song for No One" (Williams College Ephlats)



"Waiting on the World to Change" (University of Maryland's Kol Sasson)



"Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" (Stanford's Mixed Company)



"I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You" (Carleton College's Exit 69)

The 'New York Post' loves 'Pitch Perfect.'

We got our first major commercial review last weekend. And it was a rave. William Georgiades of the 'New York Post' writes: "Finally, a journalist with the courage to investigate the cutthroat world of collegiate a cappella." Ha! He continues: "Rapkin has the perfectly bemused and giddy tone to tell these stories with the reverence they deserve... Comic actress Elizabeth Banks recently acquired the rights to 'Pitch Perfect' and it's easy to see why Hollywood would respond to the sheer, giddy joy that Rapkin captures in this sub-culture."

Read the full review here. WARNING: This review contains spoilers. So read at your own risk!

I didn't take this video.

But I'm glad someone did.

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Tufts Beelzebubs's 45th anniversary celebration in Boston. Of the 250 total Bub alums dating back to the founding in 1962, close to 150 were on hand for the festivities, flying in from as far as Asia.

Here's a clip of the Bubs—past and present—singing their signature tune, "Brothers in Song." The room was shaking. This is what it's all about.

'U.S. News and World Report.' Not just for college rankings!

The weekly magazine weighs in on "Pitch Perfect." Read the story (and my jokes about a cappella Rihanna covers) by clicking here. (This story will also appear in the print edition, on stands Monday.)

Patrick Lundquist, late of the UVA Hullabahoos and a recent addition to Hyannis Sound, gets a shout out in the piece. (As if his ego wasn't big enough!) Here's a clip of Patrick singing, so you can see what I'm talking about.



And here's some Rihanna for you, just so you know I'm not exaggerating. First, an all-male version from the Tufts Beelzebubs...



...and then an all-female version from Berkeley's California Golden Overtones.