Mouth Off

Monster Mash Christopher’s obsession with Finland continues another week as he crushes bigtime on FORK and their musical theater tributes. LOL Dave can’t decide if he’s in love with–or freaked out by–livelooper comedian Reggie Watts. Listener Mailbag Christopher fields an email from a fan looking for suggestions on writing original songs for a cappella. Album Review D&C review No Safety Nets, the latest record from Rochester Institute of Technology’s all-male Eight Beat Measure.

Around The Horn London A cappella Festival wraps up, Stephen Colbert can’t remember the Swingle Singers, The Sing-Off goes Dutch, A Cappella Records reaches 50K downloads, BOCA/BOHSA catalog to hit digital stores, LA/AF is less than 2 weeks away!, CARA noms coming February 1, A Cappella Blog announces 2011 ICCA Bracket, Austrian livelooper-beatboxer Fii is on tour promoting new album VoxBox, bass/beatbox microphone The Thumper digital revamp continues, The Red States debut album No Political Affiliation lands January 25 (“Creep” single out now), Memphis groups DeltaCappella and Riva to perform in groundbreaking A Midsummer Night’s Dream Opera A Cappella. 5 Minutes With… Peter Hollens. Christopher kicks back with On the Rocks star Peter Hollens, who shares an insider view of The Sing-Off, new albums he’s producing, and his brand new split-screen YouTube video (single on iTunes). Spit Loud Jake Moulton is better at beatboxing than you.  And imitating instruments.  And vocal scratching.  And songwriting.  And… everything. Album Review After becoming addicted to their latest album Tarinoita, Christopher declares that Finnish group Rajaton is the best group in the world.  Dave implores you to buy it today (in Euros).

Around The Horn LA/AF IS COMING, Freddie Feldman needs your help to launch a new version of The Thumper, Sing Off S1′s Maxx Factor wins the 2010 Sweet Adeline International Festival, Acappella Blog is back, CASA.org is now accepting nomination categories for the ACAs, The Backbeats’ Catherine Ricafort invited to join Broadway cast of Mamma Mia!, Straight No Chaser’s With A Twist in top 75 best-selling CDs on Amazon.com, Sing Off S2 champs Committed signed to Epic Records, the Swingle Singers’ Jo Eteson teaches The Hoff how to violin with the mouth, and the Boxettes release a kickass new song and music video. Music From  The Future Dave reaches into the future to nab (and play) a few great tracks from the upcoming album from the Denver University Idiosingcracies. Sexypella Christopher thinks your brain might melt out of your ears listening to the sexy jazzy sounds of Italian supergroup, Ghost Files. Album Review Dave and Christopher love the creative song choices and innovative flair of Univ. of Colorado-Boulder MiLE 21′s Detour, but wish it was a bit  more polished and focused.

Farewell to The Acapodcast With Christopher out celebrating Baby-New-Year style, Father Time Dave looks back at the good times–the auld lang syne, even–the community has enjoyed with Chad Bergeron and The Acapodcast, which officially retired this week.  A celebratory playlist includes: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” Spiralmouth Spiralmouth “Come Back” Duwende Collective “Slumber” USC SoCal VoCals The SoCal VoCals “Never Gonna Give You Up” University of Oregon On the Rocks The Green Room “Creep” Clockwork Every Voice Counts “A Thousand Miles” The Hyannis Sound Cape Standard Time “Cement” Cluster Cement “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” University of Pennsylvania Off the Beat Kenophobia “Better Man” Washington University-St. Louis Greenleafs “Light of Stars” The House Jacks Fitchy & Grikko

2nd Annual Mouth Off Awards Mouth Off! Dave & Christopher mouth off one last time about season 2 of The Sing-Off, turning to the fans for thoughts on Monday’s star-studded finale.  Committed were crowned champions, but there was still plenty to be said about runners-up Street Corner Symphony, finalists The Backbeats and Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town,  and guest celebrities Sheryl Crown, Neil Diamond and Sara Bareilles. Want more? Check out some great writing on The Sing-Off: Mister Tim has a blog at CASA.org, Yahoo News featured a short article, and even the New York Times chimed in with a short blurb. 2nd Annual Mouth Off Awards No fancy judging panels or nominators here- Dave & Christopher deliver a very opinion-y list of awards for the movers and shakers of 2010′s a cappella scene (with lots of clips, of course)! Where else will you find awards like “Best Group We Never Talked About”, “Best A Cappella Fan”, “A Cappella Tweet of the Year”, “Aca Boyfriend/Girlfriend of the Year”, and “Freaking Genius of the Year”? And where else will the honorees include a cappella flash mobs, the House Jacks, SoJam, Cadence, the NYU N’Harmonics, Sonos, Varsity Vocals, and the inside of Dave Sperandio’s house? Final Thought Dave shares the year in headlines, and under special permission with Sonos themselves, Dave & Christopher offer you “Home”, by Benjamin McLain and Sonos in its entirety. See you all next year!

Mouth Off! Dave and Christopher turn to their awesome listeners again as they get you up to speed on the most recent two episodes of NBC’s The Sing Off. Voicemails from the Mouth Off Hotline and opinions from the Facebook page fill you in on the recent cuts, controversies, and standings of the four remaining groups: Committed, The Backbeats, Street Corner Symphony, and Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. Girl Power Dave shares a bit about Anonymous 4, a New York-based all-female quartet who has been making quality recordings of primarily medieval music for almost twenty years. Cool Chord Of The Week Christopher thinks the coolest chord of the week- and maybe of the year- comes from Sing Off S2 contestant Groove For Thought‘s “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” featured on Sing Off: Harmonies For The Holidays. Album Review Christopher and Dave agree that Take 6‘s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year is a flawlessly executed instant holiday classic, but disagree on whether or not it really captures that “Christmas tingle”.

Mouth Off! Our lovely, fragrant, intelligent and opinionated listeners lead the way with their voicemails as Dave and Christopher recap the first two episodes of NBC’s The Sing Off.  Clips and opinions abound as the boys discuss Men of Note, Pitch Slapped, Groove for Thought, On the Rocks, Eleventh Hour, Street Corner Symphony, the Backbeats, Committed, the Whiffenpoofs, and Jerry Lawson. AcaTube Christopher praises the clever  ”Morning Ditty” videos from the world-famous Swingle Singers. In Your Earbuds In the spirit of the season, Dave suggests aca-alumni Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson’s “Winter Song“, and shares a recording from Lewis and Clark College’s Section Line Drive who took it on. Album Review Christopher and Dave agree that the original songwriting, effortless arranging and thoughtful song choices make Sonos‘ December Songs an instant new holiday classic.

Hear All About The Sing-Off Around The Horn The Maccabeats go viral, Naturally 7 sings on the Today Show with Michael Buble and films music video with Ludacris and Quincy Jones, Flying Pickets have a new Christmas album, Sing Off featured in the New York Times, Stevie Wonder on Larry King Live, Catherine Papworth releases The Truth, CASC only $5 for CASA members, Sonos recommended by NPR, Vocal Blog explores a cappella in mainstream media, and Sing Off Season 1 champs Nota have a new Christmas EP! Young And Original Christopher lauds the top notch songwriting from University of Oregon’s award-winning all-male group, On The Rocks. In Your Earbuds Aside from stacks of holiday albums, Dave is  digging Berklee Pitch Slapped’s new single “Disturbia” and Kettering Fairmont Eleventh Hour’s newest release, Electrify. 5 Minutes With… Ben Bram. The former music director of the USC SoCal VoCals and current assistant vocal arranger for the Sing Off shares some of what goes on behind-the-scenes. Album Review Christopher and Dave find a lot to love on the big new Sing Off holiday album, Harmonies For The Holidays.

5 Minutes With… Courtney Jensen. In Your Earbuds Christopher is HAUNTED by “Lunta” off Rajaton’s gorgeous album Kevät, and he’s loving the groove of “Morning Star” by Jazzanova. Did You Know? Inspired by Sonos’s SoJam performance of the mashup “I Wonder As I Wander/Wonderwall,” the all-knowing Catherine Lewis shares the story behind the band Oasis and the song “Wonderwall.” *Special thanks to Tony Huerta for the live audio tracks from SoJam 2010. Podcast Update A recent guest on NPR’s Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me was none other than vocal legend Bobby McFerrin. Album Review Dave and Christopher go off about Bobby McFerrin’s masterpiece VOCAbuLarieS.

SoJam 2010 Wrap-Up In this special episode, Dave and Christopher fill you in on all the happenings at SoJam 2010! Clips of Sonos, Basix, Rhythm & Blue, Clearly Vocal, concerts, masterclasses, workshops, and more will fill your earbuds with the delights of this world class a cappella conference.

Sexypella: Fresh Air While Christopher and Dave soak up the aca-love at SoJam, they invite you to enjoy Christopher’s latest playlist creation, Sexypella: Fresh Air. Enjoy! “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” Basix Sing IV: Good Medicine “Try to Forget Me” Fork Helsinki “Red Dress” House Jacks Level “Little Bird” Sonos SonoSings “Today” Washington University Amateurs Amalgamation “First Train Home” Boston College Bostonians Flipping Out “Until (A Matter of Moments)” Swingle Singers Ferris Wheel “Aurora” Rajaton Tarinoita “Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig” Riltons Vänner De Vill Att Vi Bugar Och Niger “Surfboard” BR6 Música Popular Brasileira a Cappella Vol 2 “On the Street Where You Live” Cadence Speak Easy “Con Mi Nota En Do” Nota Nota “Walking on the Moon” Club for Five You’re the Voice

Music from the Future After hearing their live studio version of “Billie Jean,” Dave is even more stoked for Duwende’s first covers album, due out Spring 2011. acaTube The new T-Mobile Welcome Back video featuring a flash mob of singers at the Heathrow Airport shows why we all love a cappella. Did You Know? Catherine Lewis shares the backstory of Heart’s power ballad “Alone.” Album Review The King’s Singers newest album Swimming Over London is refreshing and mostly delightful.

Monster Mash UPenn Off the Beat show off their subtle side when they interpolate Zero7′s “In the Waiting Line” into Nikka Costa’s “Fooled Ya, Baby” from OTB’s album Evitative. Competition Update The Sing-Off groups have been announced! Congrats to Committed, Eleventh Hour, Pitch Slapped, Groove for Thought, Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town, Men of Note, The Backbeats, On the Rocks, Street Corner Symphony, and the Whiffenpoofs.  And don’t forget: submissions for ICCA/ICHSA and BOCA/BOHSA are due tomorrow, Nov. 1!  CARA nominator apps are due in just two weeks.  Lots of competitions ahead. Arrangement Spotlight The UNCG Sapphires re-define intensity with their edgy approach to Linkin’ Park’s “A Place for My Head” off their latest album Tempest. Album Review Dave & Christopher love Nota the group, but they’re “mas o menos” on Nota the album.

High School Focus Eleventh Hour has a new album, and they’re going to be on the Sing-Off!  Now if we could just keep their program from getting cut… acaTube The U.Va. Silhooettes were on MTV last week.  No bigz. 5 Minutes with… Jill Clark. Christopher and VP/reviewer/superacafan Jill Clark take a road trip to see Sonos. Classical Corner German quintet amarcord‘s Romantic Rastlose Liebe gets a coveted perfect score from RARB. Album Review Dave & Christopher are floored by the House Jacks, who set a new standard with their brand new album Level.

Around the Horn SoJam passes are gone (except for the 100 new ones!), Nota is now opening for Shakira, new off-Broadway a cappella musical In Transit, Jabberwocks enjoy some fame from their YouTube vid of Cee-Lo’s latest song f[jodo] y[jodo], CASA.org: Dietz pleads for creativity, CASA.org: League Spotlight: GreenTone, CASA.org: “How We Ended Up in the Social Network,” New House Jacks album, a cappella in the New York Times, free Liquid5th download of “On Ice,” Firedrill is back together! Song Suggestion (a.k.a. Swango Suggestion) Christopher agrees with a fan who says that “Back It Up” by Caro Emerald has some great potential for an ambitious all-female a cappella group. I Just Gotta Say… stop whining. Wes Carroll’s comment on Evan Feist’s CASA.org review of Voices Only 2010 sparks a philosophical discussion about purists, instrumental imitation, and what “a cappella” really means. Praisappella Christopher is a big new fan of the Christian group Rescue‘s groovy praise music and their stellar VP Brandon Bell. Album Review Dave is in love with Speak Easy, the latest album from Toronto-based Juno-nominated jazz quartet Cadence.