Is anyone else sick of the Michigan marching band's shenanigans
In response to the outcry over richrod's piped in music overshadowing the traditional marching band, i say...to hell with the marching band.
I'm sick of stupid non-marching band music...earth, wind, and fire...journey...the jackson five...basically everything i've heard them play over the last two or three years. Some of those songs are great, sure, but not from a marching band, or from this marching band at least. It's stupid. It's quiet. And it's boring. I want the marching band of my childhood back!
How about we get back to playing real band music. Loud band music. Traditional band music. Exciting, fast paced band music. Every single game I went to this season, I was dying during half time. I couldn't wait for the other team's band to take the field and play music that I could actually hear over the whining idiots sitting behind me. Give me something I can chant and shake my fist to!
How about some freaking pep. And enough with these stupid artsy band formations that look like paint splatter. Give me a big block M that turns into something crazy, and then goes back to an M. Enough with this garbage. I want to see some high knees, some hustle, some quick turns. And enough of the color guard with their purple/pink/orange flags! Is maize and blue getting too old for you!?
Marching band - if you're reading this, you had a down down year this season. Pick it the hell up. Band director, if you are reading this, get yourself a beer and read bo's book, lombardi's book, bear bryant's book...shit, anything. No one goes to the football game for your art festival. Do something to get us fired up.
christ.
NOTE - please excuse my rage, i have been working on my thesis for about 16 hours straight.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:07 AM ^
This will end well.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:14 PM ^
It's that simple.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:32 PM ^
I know i'm not adding much to the conversation, but I support this %100. I grew up in EL and would always go with the fam and listen to the MSU band before games and stay for every half-time show, and all four years I was in AA I would end up wandering away. No one wants to hear West Side Story for the thousandth time... play more real classic marches!
December 10th, 2009 at 5:33 PM ^
[Double Post.]
December 10th, 2009 at 6:11 AM ^
I must admit, I have similar feelings-Feelings! whoa, whoa, whoa!- that some of the selections are bland and others have gone stale. What the band does-how they perform-is second to none, but whomever is in charge of the direction needs a swift kick in the pants.
Okay, so who do we talk to?
December 10th, 2009 at 3:39 PM ^
Nothing worse after Baby Seal U's band performed (yes, THAT is a performance!) and then our band announcer comes on and says something to the effect of "and now the Michigan Marching Band presents [dramatic pause] a night at the opera!"
Seriously! SNORE!!!!!! I'm with you here. The bands performances this year have been particularly snooze-worthy.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:48 PM ^
A Night At The Opera?
Did they maybe mean the Queen album? Because that would've been AWESOME.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:12 AM ^
Did the MMB pee in your Cheerios this morning?
December 10th, 2009 at 6:15 AM ^
Ummm Wow. Calm down a bit. You have a few good points, but you also have a strange amount of 6 am RAGE.
Still, I will agree with you that the MMB has not harnessed the same amount of energy as they have in years past. The piped in music has also helped to point this out, especially when some fans react better to the piped-in music than the MMB.
Although, I completely reject the OP's tone towards the marching band I do partially agree with him on the MMB choice of music/shows this year. I wish the band could have played some more exciting music. The opera show was a flop. I don't really remember many of the other shows because they just weren't that interesting. I do remember the Monty Python sketch, Bohemian Rhapsody played by a mob of horns in the corner by the student section and the Guitar Hero show from two years ago. The band shouldn't be playing technically difficult concert music. That is for the winter seasons. The fall is for fun and exciting music with performance shenanigans thrown in. Bring on the skits, the dancing, the pelvic thrusts and the piling into the corner by the student section.
Finally, stop complaining about volume. They are playing as loud as they can to still sound good. Here is an analogy for all of you who haven't in Band. The blaring instruments sound about as good as a speaker turned up louder than it reasonably should go.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:25 AM ^
don't get me started about that opera show. This year was terrible from a show design standpoint. The year before they had that awesome boy bands show and that drum major's day off skit show. Where did those shows go?
I agree that people shouldn't complain about the volume. Asking to be heard in a shallow bowl full of 110000 sound absorbing bodies without electronic assistance is unrealistic.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:31 AM ^
Exactly. I don't want to pile on too much, but the MMB seemed to reminiscent of the band from Drumline playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" during the game.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:41 PM ^
Thought the same thing a few times this season.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:01 AM ^
You say it's unrealistic to expect to hear the band in our stadium, yet I have heard other bands. I used to be able to hear the Michigan band as well. It seems to me their technique and song selection have made the band impractical for a stadium setting. Either they should correct those issues or decide they aren't suited to the venue and give up.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^
are you sure about this? i dont know either, but someone in florida state's band told me that if they wanted to a big marching band could drown out EVERYTHING else in the stadium.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:29 PM ^
While I'm a proponent of sacrificing a little sound quality on the field in the name of volume, your friend speaks of the opposite extreme, in which the band sounds like total crap. (See: Wisconsin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QBG9xnDhzs&feature=related
That being said, it's possible to get a whole lot louder while still sounding good, too. (See: University of Texas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57jhWyFLD5U&feature=related
December 10th, 2009 at 6:43 AM ^
I think the low volume is the result of song selection. there are far too many solo sections for specific groups of the band. give me everyone going full boar at the same time for a ten minute half-time show!
December 10th, 2009 at 6:30 AM ^
Are you really ranting about the band in the middle of December?
Yeah there are some things they do that make me scratch my head (opera for Delaware State anyone?). I thought they improved on many of the concerns that fans had over the course of the season. The show where they marched to the four corners was an attempt to be heard by everyone in the stadium, song choice was questionable. Their hands are tied due to their location in the stadium. The new boxes seem to help.
Chill out a bit, come back next season, and see if anything improves.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:33 AM ^
SHOWTUNES!!!!
EVerything's coming up roses and daffodils!
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.
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Once we have nothing but showtunes piped into the stadium, then we can get that Michigan Marching Band back up to snuff!
December 10th, 2009 at 7:42 AM ^
I agree with you that the programming of the MMB has lacked creativity. What happened to the halftime program "Salute to MSU animal husbandry". Drum Major's day off, etc. I know programs like this are labor intensive and difficult, but fans love them and remember them for years.
My greatest complaint is that the music selection is poor, the quality of the sound is good but the quantity of sound is poor/ Our MMB gets drowned out on a regular basis by visiting bands who play every chance they can when a play is not being run. They don't wait for the MMB to stop playing, they play over them. I don't like to see this happen on our home turf. The MMB is positioned where a great deal of people can't even hear them and if they want to play instead of having music piped in, take a page from PSU band and play every down and every time out. Play music that pumps people up and gets them rockin'. Otherwise, pipe in Seven Nation Army, Eminem and anyone else who gets people excited and drowns out the opposing band. F**k the civility of band directors. This is a brawl.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:44 AM ^
The other thing I wonder is if we as fans have been so frustrated with the performance of the football team that we have been looking forward to something great during our hours in the stadium. When we are let down by the MMB it's just too much to handle and we start complaining.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:46 AM ^
No, because there were complaint threads when we were 4-0 too. The sentiment then was "isn't it great that this is all we have to complain about?" Then 1-7 happened and here we are.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:44 AM ^
If you rewrite this in a respectful way and email the director of the MMB and his boss - [email protected] and [email protected] - you will likely get a response. It may not contain what you want to hear, but it will at least confirm the source of your frustration and let you redirect your feelings appropriately.
Stop posting anonymously on the internet. Man up and take your concerns to the staff. You're not wrong, but you don't have to be an asshole about it.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:02 PM ^
Every email makes a difference whether they deflect the criticism or not. The volume of mail doesn't go unnoticed by the higher ups.
+1 to you for your post and information
December 10th, 2009 at 8:07 AM ^
listened to/watched this past season, the "quietness"of the band has more to do with instrument selection. Flutes, clarinets and piccolos are okay indoors, but in a football stadium you can't hear those instruments in the 2nd row. The loudest bands, OSU Del. St. and others are almost all brass instruments.
I know that the band is handcuffed by the students that go out for the band and what instruments they play, but they need to recruit more trumpet and horn players and less flutes. This will affect the "accuracy" of the music, but I'll take a louder band any day.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:57 AM ^
I've always heard pics, and maybe flutes in the higher registers, but agree about clarinets.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:10 AM ^
I call shenanigans!
December 10th, 2009 at 8:17 AM ^
back in 2000. He was a trumpet player. I told him my concerns, which were much the same as now - band was quiet, boring, and the music selection was not appropriate for the venue. His response was all arrogant and stuff, told me that I didn't know what good band music was about.
He stopped being my friend that day. But that's just it. These guys all want to be fancy pants about it. They aren't after being cool and exciting for the fans. I don't know why they can't be both.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:22 AM ^
lets not call the piped in music "RR's". i am sure he does not care. in fact, he probably hates it as much as all of us do.
i do like when the band does that little led zeppelin medley, the first new thing i can remember only MMB doing. i also like when they did some of the new star wars music, but that spread around college football pretty quickly.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:12 AM ^
I support Rich Rod in his efforts to turn the thing around, but there is a post here by Brian about how RR was behind the piped in music to create a louder atmosphere. That's why people say he is behind it, because most likely he is.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:19 AM ^
He said as much in a press conference last spring. Athletics certainly didn't come up with this on their own, that's for sure.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:39 AM ^
music was RR's idea, and Martin thought it a great idea. Yeah.
Honestly, if you only used the piped in music in short segments of 4-10 seconds, I guess I could live with it so long as it doesn't intrude on the band. They could also turn it down a notch or two.
I agree that we have a few "band issues" but you know what, if they're going to play Sweet Caroline over the speakers, let's just let the band play it instead. Same for RESPECT, etc. etc.
It would be nice if Boerma or whoever realized why the MMB was so great in the late 80's early 90's, too. For one, they were loud. Varsity was great.
To Boerma (or whomeever) credit, I do like the addition of the Yellow and Blue as a staple. There really isn't any reason that you can't have Victors, Varsity, Yellow and Blue every game loudly and with high steppin'.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:36 AM ^
This year the roaming band members who used to go section to section seemed to be lacking. Seems to me this was a great way to bring the band to the fans.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:37 PM ^
Bulwinkle was sweet, I have never had complaints about the Hockey Pep Band (even when used to silence the student's vulgarity)
December 10th, 2009 at 8:37 AM ^
When I was in undergrad at the U I had two roommates who were in the band. I can tell you that these guys put a lot of time into their routines and have competitions to see who gets the right to march +/or travel with the team. The members of the band are serious and I can certainly believe that someone would lose a friendship over complaining about the band. These are guys who go to watch a band performance and a football game breaks out. They would leave the game after halftime if it wasn't for the postgame performance.
I don't have a solution the problem with the band anymore than I have a solution for our woes on the football field, or the basketball court or the ice (these days). I'm just a fan.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:48 AM ^
Led Zeppelin Medley isn't actually new btw. That's on it's 4th year since it was originally played during half time.
You want traditional band music? Like what? Military Marches or classical music? What does this mean?
Stupid music is played because they are trying to please different generations and types of people. This is okay sometimes; however, I don't know what good it does pleasing 100 people when 110,000 people are bored as in some shows.
You asked for high knees, some hustle, some quick turns. You can't sustain any sound from an instrument while doing these things. There is a reason there are only 16 counts of lock step in pregame. High knees, quick turns, moving fast results in out of breath people, which results in an even quieter band.
I don't have a response to the formations thing. I've always wondered about this myself.
Lastly, Dr. Boerma never seemed to be a guy that gets fired up about the right things to me. He knows that he is supposed to be fired up about rivalries etc., but it never felt like he meant it.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:12 AM ^
So they're too tired? I grew up in Miami and the Hurricanes band as the most pathetic group of maybe 25 members I have ever saw, but we would get to see the FAMU band come to town every other year and WOW, those guys danced, jumped, and McGuffed (that's for the backflips) all over the field and didn't miss a beat! The would get the entire opposing teams' fans on their side and rock the house, standing ovations (not b/c we felt bad or bc its tradition to give a standing-o).
Solution: Have Mike Barwis train the band 1 day a week. Also too many flute solos! I can't hear a flute being played when it's 30 yards away, in an empty lot, let alone a packed stadium haha. Good post - try decaf ;)
December 10th, 2009 at 9:18 AM ^
Sorry, but I don't know any bands that can do all of those things while playing and still sound even remotely good.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:52 AM ^
Well.....I don't see band members doing back flips, or "Mcguffing" or anything really other than a pretty standard routine, so I'm not sure of what your are talking about. The MMB definitely has performed shows with straight lines in it and occasional picture sets.
Also... the camera is directly in front of where the band is playing in the video and the stadium has a dome. That band still isn't loud.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:55 AM ^
Haha I'm sorry I didn't have time to find one showing the things I spoke about. I'll try to find it later. Take my word for it, they rock the house no matter where they go. Google it. There's a reason sports illustrated did a special on them...
have a good one!
December 10th, 2009 at 10:35 AM ^
I hate to be the grumpy old alum, but I was in the MMB in the late-80s/early 90s, and we did the entire pre-game Victors plus part of the visiting fight song while lock-stepping. Did it sound as good as it did while playing stationary? No. Was it easy? Hell no. But we trained for it. Hard. Band week was physically demanding because we needed conditioning. And was it loud? Yes. Again, because we trained for it. Those who couldn't put out a lot of sound for that long were replaced. And the crowd (and visiting bands) enjoyed it. I still remember marching pre-game my freshman year and seeing OSU (really) band members cheering the high-step.
I don't want this to be seen as a criticism of MMB and certainly not its members. I am not always enthused about the direction of MMB, but I have nothing but the utmost respect for the energy and sacrifice of the students who make it great. And anybody who mouths off at band members because they don't like the shows is an idiot who is completely misdirecting their frustrations.
Now get off my damn lawn.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:39 PM ^
Draft bwlag back into the MMB!!!!!!
December 10th, 2009 at 12:08 PM ^
"There is a reason there are only 16 counts of lock step in pregame. High knees, quick turns, moving fast results in out of breath people, which results in an even quieter band."
Don't be a pussy. If you play louder, you'll use more air, and have to breathe more.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:27 AM ^
to the band any more or any less in my post student days.
I will say this. I will not be sad when the male "twirler" graduates. Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that he broke down that barrier. I think back to my days in high school when girls could go out for the boy teams but not the otehr way around. And yes, I recognize that baton twirling is a skill and that the male drum majors do it and have done it for some time. Heck, as far as the twirling goes, he's probably the best on the field. However, is it really too much to ask for him to have a masculine routine?
That's my contribution to this rant. There is only one on field product that I really care about, and please let it produce next year........
December 10th, 2009 at 9:48 AM ^
Broke down that barrier? MMB twirlers were all male until 1972.
Although they didn't wear outfits that resemble figure skater duds.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:56 AM ^
and well before the time when I would have been watching college football halftime shows.
Modern baton twirlers are traditionally female, so my point is valid.
I don't have a problem with him twirling, but it's like the director of that unit refused to alter the uniforms and choreography to fit a male. It's a little awkward.
December 20th, 2009 at 8:10 PM ^
I know this is of the utmost importance but I'm pretty sure the first female on the MMB twirling squad was 1975 - her name was Susie Michalacheski (sp?)- and she completed a squad of Brian, Brian and Jim.
Would you like to know where they were from?
December 10th, 2009 at 9:48 AM ^
I'm not sure if it's even been 25 years since all the twirlers male
December 10th, 2009 at 9:29 AM ^
The band or the band placement fucking sucks. I cant hear a single note all game long. Its horrible. The 2 best things about going to a game is watching Michigan score TD's and hearing the victors right after. Now sadly the team lets me down on the first and the band kills me on the second. It really is terrible, and I just dont get it. Why not move the band to one of the endzones, and carve out a little seating area for them?
I also have a major gripe since the band moved into the student section. Why have the 2 loudest things in the same place. Now the students just drown out the band. You would think the 2 loudest things at the stadium should be spread out to make more noise?