Know the Score: Game of Thrones

Season Five is Coming...so Know the Score is taking a look at the brilliant music of Game of Thrones!

Know the Score: Top Five Muppet Musical Numbers

September 24th is Jim Henson's birthday, so this month Know the Score presents a list of the Top Five Muppet Musical Moments!  Not that you can really contain the amount of Muppet music awesome in a five-entry list, but I gave it a shot anyway.

Sing-Off Sound-Off: Quick Finale Notes

Not really up for going into a full recap of The Sing-Off finale today, because it's Christmas Eve and in between dealing with a sick husband and over-eager kids and a wonky monitor it's just not doable, plus the whole thing is basically a victory lap for the three finalists and for the season in general with a side of holiday fun.  So you're getting the quick and dirty version.

~First off, yay Home Free!  Totally called it!  (Okay, I also thought Filharmonic was going to make it to the finals, but you can't be right all the time.)  I really love these guys (again, big coming from me as I'm not a huge country fan in general), and hope they can capitalize on this rather than just disappearing into the ether.

~Speaking of not disappearing into the ether, Pentatonix descended upon the scene like the gods of a capella they've become, and pretty effortlessly owned it.  The Sing-Off must be thrilled to have a legitimate success story they can trot out, even if the series arguably had relatively little to do with it.  (Learn from the masters, Home Free--use that money you just won to put together some seriously awesome YouTube videos.  Do a number with Peter Hollens or something.  You'll rock the social media world.)

~Kind of throwing the holiday performances into the finale mix means a little less holiday cheer (and nothing as awesome as, say, Urban Method singing "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch") but I'll take what I can get.  And when I can get Street Corner Renaissance performing "White Christmas," that isn't bad at all.

~I swear, Nick Lachey looks forward to this part of the season every time because he gets to show off.  He even gets to call in his old bandmates to get in on the act.  When did 98 Degrees become a bunch of suburban dads?

~Shawn Stockman, buddy, I love you and your musical knowledge and your crazy fashion sense (where the Hell do you even buy plush velvet bow ties, anyway?), but it is okay to sing one line of a song without going into an elaborate melisma (that's singing sixty-five different notes per syllable for you non-music types).  Trust me, we'll forgive you for it.

~I am developing almost in spite of myself a fondness for Katy Perry's "Roar."  Part of that is because it'a cool down song in my Zumba class (there's nothing like the feeling of "thank God I got through another session without passing out or falling on my ass in front everybody" to make you appreciate a song), but Vocal Rush's arrangement (even if it was a little, well, rushed) is certainly helping matters.

~Will Sing-Off be back for a fifth season?  Goodness, I hope so.  Even if this was a weaker season than the last one (then again, last season had friggin' Pentatonix), it was still a lot of good cheesy fun to watch.  There are worse holiday traditions to have.

Sing-Off Sound-Off: S4E6 "Judge's Choice"

Ah finally, an opening number I can get behind!  "Shake It Off" is a wonderful anthem with a great build, and the soloists are all in top form.  And tonight's theme is one of my favorites--I always love seeing what the judges think will challenge the contestants.  Yet when Nick Lachey (our official mentor for the evening) presents the remaining four groups with their assignments, my heart sinks a little.  They all seem so...conventional.

Filharmonic's song, "Baby I Need Your Lovin'," is probably the most interesting selection, a Motown classic that all but demands the group fix the harmony problems that have plagued them in the past several episodes.  Their hearts are in the right place, and they do tighten it up, with a clean, slick-looking performance.  Jewel, however, is frustrated by the lack of climax.  The look Ben Folds gives her is priceless.



On the other end of the scale, slow-pitches-over-the-plate don't come any bigger than giving Ten "Proud Mary," a song that's so firmly in their wheelhouse they could pilot a ship with it.  And it sounds exactly they way you'd think Ten singing "Proud Mary" would sound like.  Not that that's a bad thing--DeeDee lets fly with her inner Tina--but the judges want them to take more risks beyond being a gospel group.  Then why did you give them the gospel-est of all rock songs to begin with?



Giving Home Free "Colder Weather" is kind of in between the two extremes--it's still in their country-western sweet spot, but it's also the kind of low-key ballad we haven't heard from them yet.  The group once again shows off those lovely close country harmonies that I enjoy so much, but add a new twist by giving Rob (you know, the bearded guy who gets all the comic relief moments in the bumpers) a chance to shine with a tender solo.  Oh Rob, you big adorable teddy bear, I love you.  Austin may have the boyish front man looks, but you and Tim can sing everything forever and I'll be happy.



Vocal Rush gets Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark," which sounds like an obvious choice for the high school group, until it's pointed out that they haven't actually done anything from their generation yet.  Thanks, Sing-Off, for reminding me all those classic 80s hits are golden oldies by these kids' standards.  Get offa my lawn now.  Oh yeah, the song.  It's pretty good, with the "light it up" hook nice and solid and some great tempo progressions.  Even the cheesy pyrotechnics manage to work somehow.


Home Free and Vocal Rush get the free pass to the finals, which means it's Ten and The Filharmonic for the Ultimate Sing-Off.  Three low-rank finishes in a row for Filharmonic--not a good sign.  And sure enough, even though Joe kills his solo on "Should I Stay or Should I Go," Ten uses the opportunity to showcase their depth of talent and makes it to the last round.  I'm gonna miss those sweet Filipino boys.

I'm sticking to my guns on Home Free--this is their competition to lose.  Conventional wisdom says it will be Ten facing off against them for the last showdown, but Vocal Rush seems designed to undermine conventional wisdom.  I'm not gonna rule them out.

Sing-Off Sound-Off: S4E5 "Movie Night"

Ah, film music--a particular passion of mine, as you're all probably aware.  Sadly The Sing-Off's tribute to songs of the silver screen doesn't get me into the mood right away, as "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"...has never appealed to me. (Seriously, I don't get the whole Dirty Dancing love in general.  I saw the movie once, it was okay, but why it became a cultural touchstone I will never fully understand and I've probably completely alienated my already small audience so I'll shut up now.)  Tim from Home Free and Honey from Voice Play sound odd singing together--something about his full bass and her distinctly husky tone don't gel.  I hope the rest of the night is better than this.

For the second episode in a row, Home Free leads off and have selected "Pretty Woman," proving that this is less "songs written in films" and "songs featured in films in some capacity or another."  Way to keep the concept nice and vague there, guys.  Jewel is mentoring tonight; she encourages the country boys to take the song someplace interesting to keep it from being just a toe-tapper.  And they do, shifting through an interesting progression of rhythm and tone changes that manage to come together in an interesting whole.  Austin has some odd things going on in his flirt-solo to Jewel, but the harmonies are tight and clean and it's good fun overall so I like it.  The judges do too.



Vocal Rush's pick for the night is "Against All Odds," a nice change after the driving "I Need a Hero" and upbeat "Gonna Make You Sweat."  Vocal percussionist Kyana is stepping out of her comfort zone to take the solo and...it's wonderful.  She projects a captivating vulnerability in the song's opening (she may be nervous, but she knows how to use it) before slipping back into her accustomed role without missing a beat (pun semi-intended).  The build of the song is simply gorgeous--some of these kids have bright professional careers ahead of them, I just know it.



After kind of impressing me with "Amazed," The AcoUstiKats are back to making me roll my eyes with their bachelor-party antic and being more interested in praising Jewel's looks than her musical know-how.  Shove off, already.  "Old Time Rock & Roll" is always a fun get-up-and-dance song, but the tempo changes don't serve the 'Kats as well as they did Home Free--it messes up the drive of the song.  In the end the judges have more to say about the strip show than the vocal performance, which doesn't bode well for the Kentucky kids.



Oooh, The Filharmonic are doing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," a song I guiltily love in all its cheesy power-ballad glory.  After being a little too cheery for "One More Night," the group is wistful and heartfelt here in a way that leaves the big, beautiful-voiced Joe in sensitive boy-band tears afterward.  It doesn't go quite as over-the-top as it needs too, but it's still an overall step forward from last week.  Also, bow ties should totally become part of the military uniform.



Voice Play is up next with "Don't You Forget About Me," and even though they're rocking the Breakfast Club style with their 80s high school duds, but musically...I'm just not feeling it tonight. Maybe it's the fact that Honey's distinctive voice just isn't a good fit for this song.  Maybe it's because the counterpoint section feels more muddled than interesting (though it does come together for the final chorus).



And finally, Ten...I owe you guys an apology.  I underestimated you, big time.  I thought your lack of experience as a group would keep you from reaching the potential that, as experienced professionals, I knew you had.  But you left them all in the dust tonight with a gorgeous, soulful rendition of "Skyfall."  It was perfect from the quietly intense pulse of the opening to the furious gospel-belt chorus.  I fell in love with you tonight.  I want you to do the theme for the next Bond movie, seriously.



The Ultimate Sing-Off is actually a three-round battle tonight, because it's a two-hour show and there's still forty minutes to fill.  Actually "battle" is a misnomer, since for all the trash-talking in the pre-song packages, these groups are clearly collaborating on their songs and quite happy to do so.  This may be the friendliest reality show on television.

The "Kats and Voice Play lead off with "Eye of the Tiger."  They're having fun with it, obviously, with lots of workout moves and pretend punches thrown.  But it's just not clicking for me.  Maybe this song has just been so overused as a pump-you-up piece that it's lost some of its oomph for me.



Things pick up a bit with Ten and Vocal Rush teaming up for "Fame."  The fact that Vocal Rush is able to go toe-to-toe with a group of people who have sung alongside industry giants and hold their own proves how damn good they are.  They make the song feel fresh, and I'm prepared to think this will be the best Sing-Off of the evening.



....And then Home Free and Filharmonic do "I'm Alright" and I stand corrected.  More than the other pairings, these two groups used the song to show off their unique styles and personalities.  More than that, though, it is so much fun.  They hold down a sweet bass groove (Tim gets to rock the "dit-dit-dit-dit" part).  They trade lead singers.  They pit their vocal percussionists against each other.  Rob does the gopher dance.  Even Nick Lachey's increasingly cheesy litany of golf puns can't wipe the smile off my face.


A prelude of the final showdown?  Before this episode, I would have said absolutely.  Home Free is still a solid bet, but The Filharmonic have been last safe for two rounds in a row now and Ten or even Vocal Rush could end up eclipsing them for the top spots if they don't clean up their act in the next episode.

For now though, it's so long, farewell to the AcoUstiKats and Voice Play.  Voice Play, I really enjoyed what you brought to the show and wish you the best.  'Kats...don't let the door hit you on the way out, you fraternity prats.

Sing-Off Sound-Off: S4E4 "My Generation"

So I'm still not thrilled with dividing the field into two brackets for these past two episodes--it makes it a little harder to track the groups and in this case has made for some uneven fields (Street Corner Renaissance, I still love you!).  But it is what it is, and yesterday was part two of the vaguely-themed "hits of yesterday and today" round.

The second set of four groups opens the evening with a medley of "My Generation/We Will Rock You/It's Time."  Nice way to set up the theme and a good showcase for the soloists, but I loved Thursday's "Your Eyes" better.  (It was the first dance song at our wedding reception; I'm biased.)  Ben Folds is the mentoring judge tonight--love ya, Shawn, but I think the groups you helped out last week kind of got the short end of the stick.

Home Free opens up the field with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"--about the most conventional song choice you can have for a country-western group.  Ben encourages the group to show their vulnerability.  I'm not quite convinced they managed that, but the arrangement does allow them to showcase bassist Tim, who is quickly becoming my Sing-Off crush for the season.  His venture into head voice isn't clean on the transition, but the tone is fine, and he slides down into a nice just-on-the-edge-of-human-hearing low F for a finish.  Not the group's strongest showing of the season, but their consistency and the judge's effusive praise still make them the team to beat this year.



Next, Voice Play tackles "Don't Speak"--talkin' bout my generation here.  Ben wants them to focus on the song and the story it tells, and this is a good song to highlight that, with its intense concoction of anger, desperation, and resigned sadness.  Honey does sell the essential anguish (although wandering around to sing to her male bandmates makes the song lose a little focus), and Eli adds a lovely grace note to her vocals.  It's Voice Play's best showing yet, and the judges love it.  I still like Home Free and Filharmoinc for the top two groups, but these guys could emerge as a dark horse.  (What the Hell are they wearing, though?)



Element goes back to girl group roots with the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (wait, the song isn't called "Set Me Free"?  Huh, learn something new every day).  I like the build of the intro, but once the full group is singing, it just kind of stays at the same level, and there's not enough attitude and style to really sell the inherent fury and resentment behind the lyrics.  It's the same problem Element has had from the start, and not being able to take the judges' notes is death for groups in this competition.



Finally, Vocal Rush takes on "Holdin' Out for a Hero," getting themselves all dolled up eighties-style while remarking that none of them were even born when this song came out.  God, I feel old.  Ben encourages the group to focus on technique in order to remain competitive with the groups that have more age and experience than they do.  The song starts of great with incredible intensity, with quietly intense percussion gorgeous harmonies building under the melody line, before moving through an engaging progression of soloists and modes.  Even if the kids have trouble sustaining the beat (and their breath) through the whole thing, it's fun to watch.


The judges comments make it perfectly clear who's going to be facing off for elimination tonight, but Nick tries to create of air of suspense before announcing Element and Vocal Rush for the Ultimate Sing-Off round.  The ensuing rendition of "Survivor" is probably the best battle since the first episode, and Element finally brings some genuine intensity to their performance.  But Vocal Rush nails it, and earns the right to advance farther than any Sing-Off group in their age bracket has managed.  That alone is something to be proud of.

The Sing-Off: Season Four Thus Far

Yay, The Sing-Off is back! A capella goodness! Smart judges! Nick Lachey saying unbelievably dorky things!

Okay, not too thrilled about that last one. But this is the one reality program I can say I truly love. There is such energy and beauty to be found in a group of people singing with nothing but each other to support, and it’s wonderful to have a show that celebrates that. Plus, it brought Pentatonix to the world. Any series that introduces me to the wonderful basso profundo glory that is Avi Kaplan is okay in my book.

Three episodes into the two-week mini-series, and seven of the ten original groups remain. Of the eliminated three, the only one I wish could have remained was Street Corner Renaissance. Their classic doo-wop sound, cool-old-guy groove and effortless charm that can only come with years of experience made them a delight to watch every time. I wasn’t expecting them to win (their genre of choice is sadly not marketable to a wide audience), but I wanted them to hang around for longer.

 

(Speaking of things I miss: please, PLEASE bring back the Swan Song! I get that the whole “Ultimate Sing-Off Challenge” is supposed to add a sense of urgency to the final moments of each episode, but giving the eliminated groups that last parting shot was a wonderful way to say goodbye. It was sometimes tender, sometimes defiant, and always worth watching.)

The other two eliminations were good choices. Calle Sol had a fun Latin vibe and sweet dance moves but weren’t technically proficient enough to be competitive, and the Princeton Footnotes were completely unable to distinguish themselves from the sea of men’s collegiate groups out there.

That leaves seven groups to duke it out over the week to come. Based on nothing but my own instinct and skewed opinions, here’s my current power rankings:

7.) Element

I want to like these ladies, I really do. I can tell they have a lot of passion, and a fierce desire to prove themselves. But it’s not coming together as it should. Their arrangements need more power and dynamic build. Next Monday is do-or-die time for Element—if they can’t show some big improvements, they’re going home.

 

6.) The AcoUstiKats 

I dunno, maybe I’m burned out on goofy-fun men’s collegiate clubs. But these boys from the University of Kentucky aren’t doing anything for me, and their smarmy frat-boy attitude isn’t helping. Music needs an element of sincerity, but with the exception of Thursday’s elegantly simple rendition of “Amazed” the AcoUstiKats don’t have it—they’re more like the guys who joined choir in high school in order to meet girls. (Full Disclosure: Mr. Diva is a University of Louisville alum, so there may be some adopted prejudice/rivalry leaking through.)



5.) Ten 

There’s big talent (and hair, and earrings) in this group, but I fear their lack of experience singing together is going to hurt them in the long run. Each performance has been a step up from the last, but that might not be enough to catch up to the pack.

 

4.) Vocal Rush 

By far the best teen group to appear on The Sing-Off, Vocal Rush is holding their own now—but their youth and inexperience will become more of a liability as the field narrows down.

 

3.) Voice Play

You can tell these guys desperately want to be the next Pentatonix. They’re not there yet, but after a shaky start this sextet proved they have what it takes to go the distance with a fun, groovin’ take on “Play that Funky Music” that featured Honey’s soulful lead vocals and some seriously subwoofer-rattling bass.
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2.) The Filharmonic

The self-proclaimed “Filipino boy band” has all the elements of previous Sing-Off finalists: technical proficiency, a unique personality, energetic arrangements, and loads of onstage charisma. Despite a misstep that had them facing off against Street Corner Renaissance in Thursday’s episode, these guys have everything it takes to make it to the final round of competition.



1.) Home Free

I’m kind of ambivalent when it comes to country music—on one hand, there’s the deep folk roots, heartfelt songs, and a sense of playful fun; on the other, it tends to breed a lot of off-putting redneck jingoistic posturing. But this quintet of good ol’ boys brings out all the best in the genre, and they’re my current pick to win. As with the Filharmonic they’re the perfect blend of skill and style, with adorably boyish lead singer Austin and mega-bass Tim being a particular delight to watch and hear.

 

(Hmmm, Tim and Avi singing a duet...that would probably cause the tectonic plates to shift.  And it would be awesome.)

Know the Score: Doctor Who-Evolution of a Theme

In honor of Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary this week, Know the Score takes a look at the classic theme and its variations.