What Will People Chuck At Booers Now?

sarcasm-

I would say "obviously" but I guess that there are people out there who would actually harbor that opinion.

i know, all i listen to is opera and boy bands all day long.  is there even any other music out there?

Wait, you thought boy band music would appeal to the student section?  I begin to see the root of your problem.

There's a lot of "classic" music that most us like (stuff from the 1960-1980s).  Or you can convert rap to big band music.  My high school band used to do a lot of Ludacris and Sir Mix-A-Lot.  If you don't tell anyone what it is or sing the lyrics, the old folks have no idea they should be offended and writing angry letter.

Rollout by Luda really lends itself to the Big Band sound.  

Edit:  Also I will personally assure you, if you let the MSU band do their show and as they walk off, take the field playing "Move Bitch" by Luda, the stadium will go nuts.   

Oi, Second Edit:  As a general solution, think about the game, think about the atmosphere.  Who are our heroes in that stadium?  Woodley, Graham, Jackson, Hart, players who have an edge to them.  They rip the heads off QBs, they slam into LBs and pull them over.  The only song you guys play that remotely has an edge to it is "Hail To The Victors".  Varsity puts me to sleep, Temptation and the Hawaiian War Dance are classics, but they don't exactly get me bouncing my seat.  Get some stuff that the drum corps punches out and gets me on my feet and ready to roll for the second half.  Not elevator music that serves as background music while I check scores on my phone.   When I think Woodley I don't think Hanson or Beethoven.  Go look at highlight reels on Youtube and look at the kind of music people opt to play in the background.  Get ideas from that.

End of the day, MMB seems to be all about having the alumni like them.  As long as that's what you are, the student section is going to tune you out.  If you don't like it, step it up and get the directors to change the music.   PSU found a way to get away with pumping Zombie Nation into its stadium and everyone loves it now, you can find away to play some decent music.  Let the almuni band crank the classics for Homecoming.  Yet you're going to get angry letters from some uptight alums that take the "public ivy" too seriously, but you should be pinning those up on the billboard as proof you're playing mainstream music, not catering to those who get offended by anything written post-Fielding Yost.

Man, I wrote a long response TWICE to you and both times I got crashed and lost it.

Third time's the charm, eh?

First, I want to point out that our baseline for MMB is "you guys are the shit." The Michigan Marching Band is hugely respected and admired by the Michigan fanbase. We think you are awesome; what we want is simply for you to be more awesome.

I think there's some constructive criticism in the thread below that you are reading as simple discontent. I think we need to do a better job of explaining exactly what we want from you.

When I was a kid, before the band came out of the tunnel, the stadium would literally shake. When the band exited, you could hear them from the Fleetwood; if you were at Elbel you might as well be in the building (the stadium probably has more to do with that). They drowned out the loudspeakers. They hurt your ears 20 rows up.

When we say "play louder" we mean rock the fuck out!

We want the horns to pucker up andd fucking blow. We want to see a trail of withered and abused reeds following the wind section wherever they march. We want the line to notice they have two perfectly good beat sticks, and a drum who has been a very very bad drum. We want to see a torrent of spit released from every valve, a cascade of sweat on every uniform by halftime.

What we are asking is that you sacrifice, oh, 25 percent of pitch and notes and synchronity and adopt a punk mentality. I want you to play your instruments as if their bells were in the face of a particularly shitty referee and only maximum sound could Lloyd his attention. If it's between hitting your notes, or hitting our testicles, my vote is with the boys.

On music selection, I'm pretty much down with most everything you choose to play (so long as it's never Good Charlotte, in which case I will find marshmallows and chuck them into your sousaphones so help me G-d!). I loved when you did Thriller and danced to it a few years ago, and the Guitar Hero thing, and when you Rick Roll'd 111,000 people at once.

If I may make a show request to launch this new paradigm, let it be thus:

1) Play "Sometimes When You're On" by Rilo Kiley as a shoutout to the bloggers (when it hits the hard-ass second verse you will wow the fanbase with your newfound LOUD

2) "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan. Ever hear the bootleg of when Dylan is responding to the guy who calls him Judas and turns to his band and says "Play it really fucking loud!"? The band then goes on to play a very very loud, very not-perfect rendition of Dylan's first electric hit, and it is more awesome than the album version or any music written until that point. That's a seminal moment in music history. It's the "Snare Heard Round the World." You could perfectly recapture that moment.

3) It's high time you bring back "Michigan Replay" or at least the cheesy blacksploitation funk theme that went with it.

Remember your primary purpose out there on Saturdays in not to deliver a concert, but to provide maximum entertainment. You are essentially cheerleaders, and as such, our mood and cheering tenacity will follow your leadership.

Ultimately what I'm talking about is a paradigm shift. Don't take yourselves, or us for that matter, so damn seriously. Just go out there and play from the scrotum, especially when it's time to sing "The Victors."

As an MMB member, I am continuously frustrated by the negative reactions from both the students and alumni. We can't please both and you know this.

We did a boy bands show and the alumni wrote self-righteous, uppity letters to our director. We did an opera show and the student section fell asleep. The Big Ten outlaws electronic amplification. What the hell do you want from us?

 

For starters? More damn sound.

Look, pregame was top-notch last year. The Victors gets played at a reasonable tempo with some nice new cuts. Prof. Boerma did a great job pointing the band around the stadium and having them play more frequently too. That stuff is all great!

But there's competition now, in the form of a seemingly quieter band (due in equal parts to placement, numbers, and balance) as well as RAWK MUSIC getting piped in that people react to. How do you compete? Not by pouting, but by being more clever, louder, and interesting.

Research what other popular bands around the country played in previous years to find fun, engaging, relevant shows or drill. Get groups to suggest these in the summer. Offer to meet with Prof. Boerma to discuss ideas.

Don't take this so personally. Nobody is questioning the work ethic of the band or its members. I put in my 4 years and can vouch for that. We're disappointed with the product as a result of management decisions.