September 8th, 2014 at 8:21 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 8:11 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 8:21 AM ^
Their band is better than ours. Negbang commence.
Edit: You guys are doing it wrong.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^
And who gets the best recruits?
September 8th, 2014 at 8:43 AM ^
Actually a better indicator is how many get drafted into the NBL.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
We have 4 and 5-star recruits too...they just develop theirs better.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:27 AM ^
I don't think any college fan base hates their own band as much as Michigan.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:42 AM ^
I hate all bands for the record.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^
They just don't do anythibng for me. No disrespect to any members or whatever, just not my thing.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
I don't hate our band at all. I just feel like it's at its worst when it a) tries to do comedy (because it's awful at it and it's embarrassing to make fun of schools that we have beaten once in seven years), and b) dances. It does both way too often.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:35 AM ^
When I was in high school I took music lessons from one of the MMB instructors and he was telling me that even though Michigan/OSU and others in the Big Ten are not considered "competing" bands as they do not travel for competitions they still do get rated and Michigan's at the time was #2 in the country among the non competing variety, while OSU was way, way down the list (wish I could remember more details, perhaps a former member can explain better?). So maybe when they say best damn band in the LAND they are referring to the greater Columbus area?
September 8th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
Now we're not. Sounds familiar...
September 8th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
Uh, nobody formally rates college bands. Don't know what that person was talking about.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:36 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^
I am so sick of hearing how great their band is. This just in...they are humans like everyone else. Any band can do what they do with ample practice.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
Then why don't we?
September 8th, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^
It's just that so many of you are grossly unappreciative and don't pay attention.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
What do you play? I played percussion in high school and had a blast. Bass drum freshman year (boring), snare sophomore year (fun), and tri toms junior and senior years (awesome). I still want to buy a set of quads soon just for shits and giggles.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^
I played tenors for a year in high school, but I played snare from then on and all four years at Michigan. I still play my kit, although I'm now without a band.
Marching drums are pricey new, but I recommend pinging local high schools to see if any of them have recently purchased new drums. They're typically open to selling the old ones at a discount.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
I will buy a new set, likely Pearl. I graduated high school in 2000, but still remember just about every cadence we played.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
Ask the band members. I think our band is good. Maybe OSU's band practices an extra fifty hours per week; I don't know. I am just tired of so many people saying what they do is god-like, as if no other band has the ability to do that when in fact that is false. It just takes practice and dedication.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:30 AM ^
are they going over the NCAA mandated hours for band practice? Quick get the Dispatch on the line! NCAA is going to sanction them into oblivion!!!
September 8th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
while you're at it apply that to the football team as well.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:47 AM ^
Was Beyonce there?
Or just a bunch of people marching around in pretty pictures?
September 8th, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^
I guess they're good if you like seeing a huge tv set, or a huge dinosaur, or a huge horse etc... every week. IMO it gets old after a while.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
Their band is better than their football team.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^
ours at both band and football. Michigan Football Team v. Ohio State Marching Band, nuetral site football game, the line is Michigan +3.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^
Go fucking root for them. You're a Negative Nancy anyway, but your continuous Buckeye knob-slobbering is just an eyesore at this point.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
to one example of me "knob-slobbering" over Ohio State. Seriously if you could not tell I was joking you are a jackass. Monocle Smile, you take losses way to hard and you go from thread to thread just bitching people out for the entire next week. Go have a productive session with your counselor and come back after the Miami game. Things are okay man.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
In reality, I've been keeping it level and telling people who DO take losses too hard to calm their shit, but that's incovenient to your whining, so you ignore it.
You're not funny at all, ever, and that post came across as sour, not sarcastic. Keep your day job.
The band hate on this blog has been consistent and mind-numbing. It's also almost always accompanied by envy of other programs' bands.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
....speaking of not being funny. You are one of the most ill-informed posters on this board, people just don't call you on it because have you bitch-fits and stalk them all over the board. Grow up or shut up.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:30 AM ^
Ooooooooooook, buddy. Whatever makes you feel better.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^
if our band was the biggest problem that we had! (sadface)
September 8th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
I think Ohio has their own things to worry about other than our band
September 8th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
just amazing.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
I wasn't trying to start a who's band is better argument. I love the Michigan Marching Band. I just was amused by the bombing of the block M in their arrangement and thought the whole thing was pretty cool.
September 8th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^
Y'all know I'm an MMB alum.
I like the OSU band. A lot. They're great at what they do.
The MMB is good at what they do, too.
At the end of the day, the MMB has gone in one stylistic direction (DCI/B10 hybrid, bordering more on DCI these days) whereas OSU has stayed in another (strictly traditional). In my experience, the OSU style tends to resonate better with the general masses, whereas the DCI style is decidedly barking up the band world tree over the past five or six years.
OSU throws down about three or four of these shows per year, and they're great. They go viral, and for good reason. People immediately make the MMB comparison, for better or worse. and conclude OSU is doing something better/more innovative, ergo better band. I think there's some merit to it.
That being said, the MMB is still a fantastic band with incredible tradition. The kids work hard, and put a great product on the field every week. There's nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day, it's not a competition--it's halftime entertainment. And it's really not about the kids when it comes to show design, for the most part--it's a matter of what the leadership wants to design and put out there. The kids just march and play what they're given.
I'll also add I'll take the MMB's integrity over what's going down in Columbus these days, but that's a story for another day.
September 8th, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^
Considering a few of your past comments on the direction of the MMB, I'm going to go ahead and applaud this level-headed take. I allow my percussion biases to cloud my perception of this topic (I very strongly prefer DCI), and this is a fantastic go-to post for all band comparison-related subjects.
September 8th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Agreed. I spent 4 years in the MMB and often think the halftime show would be more entertaining if it were more traditional - recognizing the direction is out of the control of the band members..