If I'm honest about it, I have a terrible crush on the a capella group Straight No Chaser. I first became acquainted with them 2-3 years ago when, like literally millions of others, I was first introduced to their original version of the 12 Days of Christmas on YouTube. It was amazing, and I've adored them ever since.
Straight No Chaser began as one of the a capella groups at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. During a show in 1998, they performed their incredibly clever arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas and went on their merry ways. Ten years later, they decided to get back together for a reunion. On a lark, one of the guys posted some video footage of that concert on YouTube, including 12 Days, to get everyone in the mood for the reunion. Views of the video climbed to 100,000, much to the guys' surprise. Less than a week after their video reached the 100,000-view mark, it had climbed to 200,000. Shortly thereafter it went viral all over the internet, and currently has over 13.5 million hits. As a result of the sudden publicity, the video was seen by an Atlantic Record Company rep, who immediately signed the group. Straight No Chaser has been touring and making albums ever since. I have purchased each and every album and I even had the pleasure of seeing them in concert last December. They were SPECTACULAR. I highly recommend seeing them. Their harmonies are intricate and exacting and their showmanship is unparalleled. Best of all, they know which side of their bread is buttered--at every concert they insist their venues suspend taping regulations and allow the audience to take as many videos or pictures as they want as a nod of respect to us all for sharing their video and putting them where they are today. And that's pretty damn cool.
I considered swapping out today's video for the 12 Days video since that's the one that started it all and since I had to explain about it before showing the 3-4 SNC videos I've got planned for this month, but I just couldn't let go of the idea of sharing 12 Days during the actual 12 days of Christmas. I'm just compulsive that way. So enjoy this entertaining performance while you wait for their signature song. Meanwhile, I'll be waiting impatiently for the 18th, which is when I get to go see them again in Atlanta. Score!
05 December 2011
Straight No Chaser's Christmas Can-Can
If I'm honest about it, I have a terrible crush on the a capella group Straight No Chaser. I first became acquainted with them 2-3 years ago when, like literally millions of others, I was first introduced to their original version of the 12 Days of Christmas on YouTube. It was amazing, and I've adored them ever since.
Straight No Chaser began as one of the a capella groups at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. During a show in 1998, they performed their incredibly clever arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas and went on their merry ways. Ten years later, they decided to get back together for a reunion. On a lark, one of the guys posted some video footage of that concert on YouTube, including 12 Days, to get everyone in the mood for the reunion. Views of the video climbed to 100,000, much to the guys' surprise. Less than a week after their video reached the 100,000-view mark, it had climbed to 200,000. Shortly thereafter it went viral all over the internet, and currently has over 13.5 million hits. As a result of the sudden publicity, the video was seen by an Atlantic Record Company rep, who immediately signed the group. Straight No Chaser has been touring and making albums ever since. I have purchased each and every album and I even had the pleasure of seeing them in concert last December. They were SPECTACULAR. I highly recommend seeing them. Their harmonies are intricate and exacting and their showmanship is unparalleled. Best of all, they know which side of their bread is buttered--at every concert they insist their venues suspend taping regulations and allow the audience to take as many videos or pictures as they want as a nod of respect to us all for sharing their video and putting them where they are today. And that's pretty damn cool.
I considered swapping out today's video for the 12 Days video since that's the one that started it all and since I had to explain about it before showing the 3-4 SNC videos I've got planned for this month, but I just couldn't let go of the idea of sharing 12 Days during the actual 12 days of Christmas. I'm just compulsive that way. So enjoy this entertaining performance while you wait for their signature song. Meanwhile, I'll be waiting impatiently for the 18th, which is when I get to go see them again in Atlanta. Score!
Straight No Chaser began as one of the a capella groups at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. During a show in 1998, they performed their incredibly clever arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas and went on their merry ways. Ten years later, they decided to get back together for a reunion. On a lark, one of the guys posted some video footage of that concert on YouTube, including 12 Days, to get everyone in the mood for the reunion. Views of the video climbed to 100,000, much to the guys' surprise. Less than a week after their video reached the 100,000-view mark, it had climbed to 200,000. Shortly thereafter it went viral all over the internet, and currently has over 13.5 million hits. As a result of the sudden publicity, the video was seen by an Atlantic Record Company rep, who immediately signed the group. Straight No Chaser has been touring and making albums ever since. I have purchased each and every album and I even had the pleasure of seeing them in concert last December. They were SPECTACULAR. I highly recommend seeing them. Their harmonies are intricate and exacting and their showmanship is unparalleled. Best of all, they know which side of their bread is buttered--at every concert they insist their venues suspend taping regulations and allow the audience to take as many videos or pictures as they want as a nod of respect to us all for sharing their video and putting them where they are today. And that's pretty damn cool.
I considered swapping out today's video for the 12 Days video since that's the one that started it all and since I had to explain about it before showing the 3-4 SNC videos I've got planned for this month, but I just couldn't let go of the idea of sharing 12 Days during the actual 12 days of Christmas. I'm just compulsive that way. So enjoy this entertaining performance while you wait for their signature song. Meanwhile, I'll be waiting impatiently for the 18th, which is when I get to go see them again in Atlanta. Score!
04 December 2011
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
Tonight I offer you "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," as performed by the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Robert Shaw. It was originally written in German in the 16th or 15th century, but was adopted by English protestants in the early 1600s. I've always liked it.
This version is good, though I actually prefer the Rutter version performed by the Cambridge Singers. You can find that version here.
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
Tonight I offer you "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," as performed by the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Robert Shaw. It was originally written in German in the 16th or 15th century, but was adopted by English protestants in the early 1600s. I've always liked it.
This version is good, though I actually prefer the Rutter version performed by the Cambridge Singers. You can find that version here.
03 December 2011
The Story Behind TSO's "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24"
In putting together my list of Christmas videos for this blog, I tried to include a variety of types of music: some classical, some contemporary, some choral, some instrumental, etc. I have fairly eclectic tastes in music, so many different types of music appeal to me for a wide variety of reasons. But then I suppose that's kind of the point of music, really. It speaks what we cannot. As Victor Hugo once said, "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent."
Tonight's musical selection is "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I've always loved the arrangement, but I figured that something as specifically titled as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo" had to have a story behind it. So I did a little research and discovered that the song originated when TSO heard a story about a cello player who was born in Sarajevo. The cellist left the country when he was young and went on to play throughout Europe as a well-respected musician. Many years later he returned to Sarajevo as an elderly man, and was distraught over the destruction of the city wreaked by his own people.
Instead of taking shelter from the nightly bombings, apparently this elderly man went into the town's main square to where a fountain used to be and climbed atop the rubble. He took out his cello and proceeded to play classical music while the city was being bombed. He returned to play every night, eventually switching from Mozart and Beethoven to Christmas carols. Paul O'Neill of TSO states "it was just such a powerful image -- a white-haired man silhouetted against the cannon fire, playing timeless melodies to both sides of the conflict amid the rubble and devastation of the city he loves." Pretty intense, indeed. Eventually a reporter who'd also heard this story tracked down the man and asked him why he'd done such a crazy and stupid thing. The man replied that it was his way of proving that "the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place, despite all evidence to the contrary."
Music, in all its forms, is a very powerful expression of who we are or who we choose to be. With that in mind, enjoy the video.
Breimeier, Russ (2003-12-22). "Interview with Paul O'Neill on ChristianityToday.com". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2011-12-3.
Tonight's musical selection is "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I've always loved the arrangement, but I figured that something as specifically titled as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo" had to have a story behind it. So I did a little research and discovered that the song originated when TSO heard a story about a cello player who was born in Sarajevo. The cellist left the country when he was young and went on to play throughout Europe as a well-respected musician. Many years later he returned to Sarajevo as an elderly man, and was distraught over the destruction of the city wreaked by his own people.
Instead of taking shelter from the nightly bombings, apparently this elderly man went into the town's main square to where a fountain used to be and climbed atop the rubble. He took out his cello and proceeded to play classical music while the city was being bombed. He returned to play every night, eventually switching from Mozart and Beethoven to Christmas carols. Paul O'Neill of TSO states "it was just such a powerful image -- a white-haired man silhouetted against the cannon fire, playing timeless melodies to both sides of the conflict amid the rubble and devastation of the city he loves." Pretty intense, indeed. Eventually a reporter who'd also heard this story tracked down the man and asked him why he'd done such a crazy and stupid thing. The man replied that it was his way of proving that "the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place, despite all evidence to the contrary."
Music, in all its forms, is a very powerful expression of who we are or who we choose to be. With that in mind, enjoy the video.
Breimeier, Russ (2003-12-22). "Interview with Paul O'Neill on ChristianityToday.com". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2011-12-3.
The Story Behind TSO's "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24"
In putting together my list of Christmas videos for this blog, I tried to include a variety of types of music: some classical, some contemporary, some choral, some instrumental, etc. I have fairly eclectic tastes in music, so many different types of music appeal to me for a wide variety of reasons. But then I suppose that's kind of the point of music, really. It speaks what we cannot. As Victor Hugo once said, "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent."
Tonight's musical selection is "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I've always loved the arrangement, but I figured that something as specifically titled as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo" had to have a story behind it. So I did a little research and discovered that the song originated when TSO heard a story about a cello player who was born in Sarajevo. The cellist left the country when he was young and went on to play throughout Europe as a well-respected musician. Many years later he returned to Sarajevo as an elderly man, and was distraught over the destruction of the city wreaked by his own people.
Instead of taking shelter from the nightly bombings, apparently this elderly man went into the town's main square to where a fountain used to be and climbed atop the rubble. He took out his cello and proceeded to play classical music while the city was being bombed. He returned to play every night, eventually switching from Mozart and Beethoven to Christmas carols. Paul O'Neill of TSO states "it was just such a powerful image -- a white-haired man silhouetted against the cannon fire, playing timeless melodies to both sides of the conflict amid the rubble and devastation of the city he loves." Pretty intense, indeed. Eventually a reporter who'd also heard this story tracked down the man and asked him why he'd done such a crazy and stupid thing. The man replied that it was his way of proving that "the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place, despite all evidence to the contrary."
Music, in all its forms, is a very powerful expression of who we are or who we choose to be. With that in mind, enjoy the video.
Breimeier, Russ (2003-12-22). "Interview with Paul O'Neill on ChristianityToday.com". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2011-12-3.
Tonight's musical selection is "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I've always loved the arrangement, but I figured that something as specifically titled as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo" had to have a story behind it. So I did a little research and discovered that the song originated when TSO heard a story about a cello player who was born in Sarajevo. The cellist left the country when he was young and went on to play throughout Europe as a well-respected musician. Many years later he returned to Sarajevo as an elderly man, and was distraught over the destruction of the city wreaked by his own people.
Instead of taking shelter from the nightly bombings, apparently this elderly man went into the town's main square to where a fountain used to be and climbed atop the rubble. He took out his cello and proceeded to play classical music while the city was being bombed. He returned to play every night, eventually switching from Mozart and Beethoven to Christmas carols. Paul O'Neill of TSO states "it was just such a powerful image -- a white-haired man silhouetted against the cannon fire, playing timeless melodies to both sides of the conflict amid the rubble and devastation of the city he loves." Pretty intense, indeed. Eventually a reporter who'd also heard this story tracked down the man and asked him why he'd done such a crazy and stupid thing. The man replied that it was his way of proving that "the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place, despite all evidence to the contrary."
Music, in all its forms, is a very powerful expression of who we are or who we choose to be. With that in mind, enjoy the video.
Breimeier, Russ (2003-12-22). "Interview with Paul O'Neill on ChristianityToday.com". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2011-12-3.
02 December 2011
Baby It's Cold Outside
I know this is an over-done holiday anthem, but I still enjoy it. Maybe it just reminds me of the Christmas Coffeehouses the youth at my old church did annually; seems like someone was always singing this duet. I've heard the original version too, and while I like it, I just can't enjoy this song without hearing the deep, jowly-sounding voice of Leon Redbone. Zooey Deschanel? Meh. She's okay, though I'll admit her voice does seem to lend itself better to this particular song than to some of the others she sings, though; her unusual vocal cadences work well here.
I couldn't get the video I wanted to paste here, so the only picture you get is that of a nice, roaring fireplace. If you want to see the other one, you can find it here. It's a little Deschanel-centric, given that she's singing, but you can still see some fun stills of Will Ferrell too.
I couldn't get the video I wanted to paste here, so the only picture you get is that of a nice, roaring fireplace. If you want to see the other one, you can find it here. It's a little Deschanel-centric, given that she's singing, but you can still see some fun stills of Will Ferrell too.
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