college a capella singing

[sarea]

Happy Friday! I am so, so glad it's here. *hugs it*

If you could have one talent in addition to the ones you already have, what would it be? Mine has always been singing. I wish like anything that I could sing. I can't even sort-of sing. :( But anyway, so one of my obsessions is college a capella groups. I bet you didn't know that. Well, it's true. Hearing all that pure voice talent just does something for me. And it's different from hearing professionals, because ... well, it just is. I think part of me likes the idea that they're just singing because they love it, not because they're making scads of money from it (which is also why I prefer college sports). Plus, of course, groups like these typically do covers, and so one is usually already familiar with the song.

Anyway, a bunch of you on my flist are still in college -- do you know anything about the a capella singing groups on your campus? Are they any good? (I mean, yes, obsession or not, they still have to be good. <g> I've found that not all college a capella singing groups are made alike.)

Over the years, I've found a number of great songs sung by these groups ... my favorite, I think, are the Derbies from Brown University. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites:

* Romeo and Juliet, The Brown Derbies (Brown University), .mp3, 4.32MB

* That Lonesome Road, Awaken (UCLA), .wma, 2.32MB

* Can't We Be Friends, Mixed Company (Stanford), .wma, 3.12MB (I'm not absolutely positive that this is Stanford - the CD says the album was recorded in Palo Alto. Yale also has a group called Mixed Company, but why would they be recording at Stanford's stomping grounds? Thus, my contention is that it is Stanford's group.)

While I'm at it, I'm also going to rec "Miles Apart" by Yellowcard - an actual rock band, not a college a capella group. : ) I FINALLY updated the section on my LJ with the monthly song, so you can download it there. And if you never realized it before, yes, every month I try to put up a song I lurve for your listening pleasure. :D

If you download anything (right click and save, please), let me know how you liked it!

===

In unrelated WoW news, it is becoming quickly inevitable that I shall be quitting for good. Depends on what tech support has to say after my latest reply.

Comments

[selinakyle47.livejournal.com]

Hee! I sang in an a capella group in grad school for a few years. We weren't as good as Northwestern University's best group (Purple Haze) but we were alright. :)

At Bryn Mawr, the best was probably the Night Owls.

I love listening/watching to a capella but I can never get to the concerts. Plus I feel oh-so-old sitting there with all these college students. :P

[corianderstem.livejournal.com]

I miss college choir so much. Most of our stuff was a capella, although we occasionally did something with piano accompaniment. I like my current choir, but we're nowhere near as good as other groups I've sung in.

[scarletmote.livejournal.com]

I go to University of Guelph in Ontario, and the a capella group there is called Sirens. They're AMAZING. We have a nature preserve on campus and there's this little theatre in the middle of it called Theatre in the Trees, and I heard them sing at a show there once a few years ago before I was even in college. My favourite was probably their rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water, which was just gorgeous...

[iamsam-samiam.livejournal.com]

I don't know hom to link things so you can downoload them from here, but here's a couple songs you may enjoy.

from Yale:
here (http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2RD02ILBOQ7VV1F4HPA8JO8NN7)

here (http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1P5D60S8YJV3O0XTU6U0P7NTQQ)

here (http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=34KED2XB8Z1YX1727KO5L1QXV9) Only a snippet, but still yummy.

from err, Riverside College??:

here (http://s24.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0IPGBFW9AD84D335USZE2KK1FI)

here (http://s26.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=10OSYUOLIAY3X13S53ZF832Y1K)

here (http://s24.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2I530257EGEZE09NDMJC1J7W75)

[iamsam-samiam.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'll also send you something from my high school choir, which is similarly worth it. Just give it a chance.

here (http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=39R6L51OK2AGA19DZOZ3MNWRYX)

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

DON'T LEAVE ME!!! *woe*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I don't really want to. :( But I am literally unable to play the game.

[katieowrites.livejournal.com]

I went to Michigan and they had a bunch of a capella groups.. the best was Amazin' Blue. They did an awesome version of Millenium, among others. I think they have a website at www.amazinblue.org, where I think there are some downloads..

I love the Brown Derbies, too. That version of Romeo and Juliet makes me cry. :)

[aud-woman-in.livejournal.com]

Go Blue! I went to UM for grad school and was friends with several of the Men's Glee Club guys. They had a great sub-group, the Friars. (http://www.umich.edu/~ummgc/friars/) What interesting synchrony that you bring this up, sarea. Just the other day, I was watching the episode of West Wing (on a flight to D.C.) where the Whiffenpoofs get snowed in at the White House ;)

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

*CRIES*

/panic

/ponder

Well, if you DO leave me, give me your stuff first! *lol*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Bwahahahaha, people (Jade) have already laid claim to my stuff. :))

But I'm not giving anything to her yet .... my hope is that once I cancel, I have a grace period (30 days, I think?) to uncancel before they delete my stuff. And hopefully in that time they'll come up with a patch that will fix whatever coding fuxored my game/became incompatible w/ my hardware. In fact, my account only just reupped, so they have nearly a month to fix it before I'll actually cancel completely. Though it's pissing me off that I'm paying for a month in which I can't play.

MIT Logarhythms!

[twiddlekinks.livejournal.com]

Recommendation for you: try out the MIT Logarhythms. (hehe Supporting Geek Pride) :) I especially recommend their rendition of "Black Balloon" by the GooGoo Dolls. If you ever see them perform, they also choreograph their shows. They've also been on BoCA (Best of College Acapella) for the past three years. ^_^ Let me know if you like 'em!