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An A Cappella Manifesto
And now for your Wednesday rant...
I just read Pitch Perfect and have been listening again to my burgeoning collection of college a cappella albums. What this throws into even starker relief is the difference in recording between the groups with gobs of money ($30,000 for one Tufts Beelzebubs album), and those without.
( An a cappella manifesto )
Now I'm not saying it's unethical to record albums using every tool available. I like quite a few albums that do. But when it comes to competitions, right now if you pick up BOCA (Best of College A Cappella), all you're listening to is money. Mickey Rapkin (author of Pitch Perfect) wasn't kidding when he said you could buy a spot on it. I think it is unethical to compete with that kind of an edge and still call it a cappella.
Or we could just call this competition what it is: Best of College A Cappella Record Producers.
I just read Pitch Perfect and have been listening again to my burgeoning collection of college a cappella albums. What this throws into even starker relief is the difference in recording between the groups with gobs of money ($30,000 for one Tufts Beelzebubs album), and those without.
( An a cappella manifesto )
Now I'm not saying it's unethical to record albums using every tool available. I like quite a few albums that do. But when it comes to competitions, right now if you pick up BOCA (Best of College A Cappella), all you're listening to is money. Mickey Rapkin (author of Pitch Perfect) wasn't kidding when he said you could buy a spot on it. I think it is unethical to compete with that kind of an edge and still call it a cappella.
Or we could just call this competition what it is: Best of College A Cappella Record Producers.