A Capella Wars

DwnWthVwls · 11-30-2015, 07:40 PM

Yes. He's one of my favorite artists (Hiphop and Soul/Pop)

A nice variety if you're interested:

Spoiler for Emanon / Aloe Blacc:

Lisnaholic · 12-02-2015, 05:34 PM

Ticking Bomb:
This starts with the soothing rhythm of a gospel song, but it doesn´t lull you for long. There´s no reassuring God here, and the tension suggested by the title adds a note of unease to the choir´s kind of menacingly calm delivery. Then things liven up...so it´s all quite clever, the way the song conveys the message of the lyrics.

Billie Jean:
MJ´s records have always felt over-produced and overly busy to me, so it was a refreshing novelty to hear this a capella version. He´s always had a good voice, but unadorned like this, I found his gasps, grunts and squeals rather exaggerated. Singing isn´t some Herculean physical effort, so why does MJ make it sound like it is?

So my vote goes to ticking bomb:-

Ticking Bomb: 1
Billie Jean: 0

Thanks for the Aloe Blacc material! I really liked the "Dollar" song and will simple the others soon.

Pet_Sounds · 12-02-2015, 06:21 PM

I've never been a fan of "Billie Jean"--or MJ in general, for that matter--so my vote would probably go to "A Ticking Bomb" even if I didn't enjoy the latter so much on its own merits. The threatening vibe was cool.

Ticking Bomb: 2
Billie Jean:0/ 0

Lisnaholic · 12-05-2015, 06:37 AM

Thanks for your comment, Pet_Sounds. Yeah, I´m also no fan of MJ´s music; I admired him more as a dancer and full-time weirdo than anything else!

Despite- or should that be because of- the slow voting in this round, I figure it´s time to fix a deadline and move on. Would you like to put up a couple of nominations later today or tomorrow, P_S ?

Lisnaholic · 12-12-2015, 10:39 AM

"The original instrument; the most soulful instrument; the human voice." That´s what the sleeve notes say on one of my cds, and it´s a good point. The human voice pre-dates every other instrument (apart from banging things with a stick) by millions of years and yet people are still experimenting with its possibilities.

I wanted a couple of selections that showed the historical range of a capella, and came up with these:

Not sung by Australian aborigines, but this song has its roots in "the world´s oldest living culture":-

VS. Modern experimentation from Meredith Monk:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enbHYaF8Vas

DwnWthVwls · 12-12-2015, 06:04 PM

Tiddas - 1
Meredith - 0

The first video was nice and relaxing to listen to. I enjoyed the second one also but it was a little slow for me. The progression build up was cool.

Gonna be taking a break from this thread unless we get more activity, seems like you and I are the only ones interested which doesn't make for very good battles. I'll still post acapellas though if you're interested in sharing good finds.

Lisnaholic · 12-13-2015, 09:18 AM

^ Thanks, DWV. Yes, I think you´re right; not enough interest here to sustain any proper battles, but I´m still interested in sharing a capella tracks as and when we find some good ones.

In fact, both the ones I just posted I find irritating at times. After a few listens, the Tiddas one is just a little too sweet, and I also suspect that it turns up in a Disney movie, which is pretty damning in my eyes.

But as you say, the Meredith Monk is too slow; it gets interesting in the middle but she could´ve easily chopped off a minute from the front and back to make it more compact.

Pet_Sounds · 12-14-2015, 08:03 PM

Hey, Lisna and DWV! Sorry for my lack of participation--I haven't been on much during the past couple weeks.

I'd suggest making this thread similar to the Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread: somewhere we can leave cool a cappellas for others to enjoy. I'm not active enough to vote regularly on "battles," but that's probably my favourite thread on MB, and it seems to thrive.

Lisnaholic · 12-16-2015, 03:15 AM

^ Thanks for looking in here, Pet_Sounds. I know you have various things going on irl and can´t post as often as you used to:

As you and DWV suggest, this might be best as a recommendation thread, so I´m going to go ahead and post a song I have fallen in love with recently:-

DwnWthVwls · 12-16-2015, 06:21 AM

That was okay. I like his voice and the way he holds some notes (almost sounds tribal at times), but idk wtf he's talking about.

Do you like hiphop acapellas at all?

Silent Knight Acapella Fella

12-02-2015, 05:34 PM	#182 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Ticking Bomb: This starts with the soothing rhythm of a gospel song, but it doesn´t lull you for long. There´s no reassuring God here, and the tension suggested by the title adds a note of unease to the choir´s kind of menacingly calm delivery. Then things liven up...so it´s all quite clever, the way the song conveys the message of the lyrics. Billie Jean: MJ´s records have always felt over-produced and overly busy to me, so it was a refreshing novelty to hear this a capella version. He´s always had a good voice, but unadorned like this, I found his gasps, grunts and squeals rather exaggerated. Singing isn´t some Herculean physical effort, so why does MJ make it sound like it is? So my vote goes to ticking bomb:- Ticking Bomb: 1 Billie Jean: 0 Thanks for the Aloe Blacc material! I really liked the "Dollar" song and will simple the others soon. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

12-02-2015, 06:21 PM	#183 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,489	I've never been a fan of "Billie Jean"--or MJ in general, for that matter--so my vote would probably go to "A Ticking Bomb" even if I didn't enjoy the latter so much on its own merits. The threatening vibe was cool. Ticking Bomb: 2 Billie Jean:0/ 0 __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

12-05-2015, 06:37 AM	#184 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Thanks for your comment, Pet_Sounds. Yeah, I´m also no fan of MJ´s music; I admired him more as a dancer and full-time weirdo than anything else! Despite- or should that be because of- the slow voting in this round, I figure it´s time to fix a deadline and move on. Would you like to put up a couple of nominations later today or tomorrow, P_S ? __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

12-12-2015, 10:39 AM	#185 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	"The original instrument; the most soulful instrument; the human voice." That´s what the sleeve notes say on one of my cds, and it´s a good point. The human voice pre-dates every other instrument (apart from banging things with a stick) by millions of years and yet people are still experimenting with its possibilities. I wanted a couple of selections that showed the historical range of a capella, and came up with these: Not sung by Australian aborigines, but this song has its roots in "the world´s oldest living culture":- VS. Modern experimentation from Meredith Monk:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enbHYaF8Vas __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

12-13-2015, 09:18 AM	#187 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	^ Thanks, DWV. Yes, I think you´re right; not enough interest here to sustain any proper battles, but I´m still interested in sharing a capella tracks as and when we find some good ones. In fact, both the ones I just posted I find irritating at times. After a few listens, the Tiddas one is just a little too sweet, and I also suspect that it turns up in a Disney movie, which is pretty damning in my eyes. But as you say, the Meredith Monk is too slow; it gets interesting in the middle but she could´ve easily chopped off a minute from the front and back to make it more compact. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

12-14-2015, 08:03 PM	#188 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,489	Hey, Lisna and DWV! Sorry for my lack of participation--I haven't been on much during the past couple weeks. I'd suggest making this thread similar to the Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread: somewhere we can leave cool a cappellas for others to enjoy. I'm not active enough to vote regularly on "battles," but that's probably my favourite thread on MB, and it seems to thrive. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

12-16-2015, 03:15 AM	#189 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	^ Thanks for looking in here, Pet_Sounds. I know you have various things going on irl and can´t post as often as you used to: As you and DWV suggest, this might be best as a recommendation thread, so I´m going to go ahead and post a song I have fallen in love with recently:- __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953