Rawls if he can hang onto it, I'd guesss
MBandMarch
History
- Member for
- 2 years 35 weeks
Karma
- Current value
- 2
Recent Comments
| Date | Title | Body |
|---|---|---|
| 2 days 1 min ago | Worst song evah |
Where is Jefferson Starship's "We Built This City" in all of this? Frankly, given the "experience" machine that is Brandon's Athletic Dept, I cant believe theyre not playing this already...... |
| 1 week 6 days ago | Must we really have this conversation? |
Ace my dear boy. How you remind me of my blythly, glibly arrogant 24 year old self. Dont worry, youll have many opportunities to look back on these times and apologize to those who witnessed this time, and theyll give ya a hug. As MGoShoe points out, youre not cutting any new paths with your songlist. Hell, its quite nice actually, as the British would say. Dont Stop Me Now was my FAVORITE song EVER!!!! when I was twelve (in a way that only twelve year olds could love). M83 is my new favorite band (seein 'em in NYC in August, and I cant wait). THE PLAY LIST IS IRRELEVENT. Boys and girls, when did this blog devolve from ^*&^*^Brandon NO MORE PIPED "EXPERIENCE" to "ah vell Monsieur von Romstadt vould zou like a Bordeaux or Chablis viz ze invasion en France?" Alright thats a wee bit hyberbolic, but sometimes thats what those under 40 have to hear. |
| 1 year 38 weeks ago | Lets go to the video 1986 style. |
Revelli youre substantively right. FL, huh? I could drone on and on and on on this topic, but really, lets just let the video record speak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ySr3tEG-M Note particularly from 2:14 on. Becher was the ruination of the MMB. In not getting tenure (he was made director at 25, and coasted on his laurels from there), he allowed the revolving door that has been the MMB directors' position these last 20 years. When you have directors that prefer slinking to marching, they will minimize, rationalize away the value of, and even denigrate the highstep that Revelli (the esteemed director and not his namesake here) invented. They will practice the Michigan tradition only to the extent that they have to to get thru pregame, and they will focus their time on esoteric slinking halftimes that bore fans, but wow the four music majors who are watching. And they will do neither pregame nor halftime well. After a few years of being unable to fully implement their "vision" in such a constrained environment, they will move on to a school that will. Hence the MMB has had SEVEN directors since Becher left in 1990. The marching band's devolution is a systemic problem. The solution rests in the employment of a MMB director who embraces and rejoices in preforming shows in the style of Michigan Tradition, and leaves the slinking to "other" institutions. |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | A little over the top.... |
but really! |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | ProudMMB, MMB, et al |
Listen up. Heres some tough love. THose of us that CARE about MMB want you to succeed. You have huge shoes to fill, and youre not filling them. THe responsibility for this lapse is not on you. It is the responsibility of the band administration. THere is a standard at Michigan and it hasnt really been met for 30 years. Just so you know, my band in the 80s didnt meet this standard either, but we were closer to doing so, largely because less time had been allowed to pass. Now, what you CAN do is put pressure on Boerma and Haithcock to insist on excellence. And you can insist on excellence yourselves. The alumni are really your allies in this as we only want you to excell. Dont accept trite explanations that alumni dont know whats best, or we are all jsut sour grapes. Becher used to do that too to hide his lack of excellence. Demand better. Know the band history. More and more YouTubes show old shows. Get in shape. You guys would be louder if you had more aerobic capacity. I dont envy you your position. I thought we had slipped in the Becher era! Remember it is not your fault, and in such circumstances, it is truly noble to maintain your personal little bit of excellence even in an environment of mediocrity. Know that it will change, and there are folks working towards that change. |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | Thanks for noticing! |
Sorry I cant reciprocate. Young lad/lass, they have these cute little gadgets called lyres and flip folders that, wait for it, hold music! Yes, I know amazing. Check out the 72 band at the Super Bowl on YouTube to see how they work. Then, you can spend all that extra time practicing proper air support so that you might develop what this engineer did 25 years ago. Having watched Revelli and Cavender bands (there was no Symphony Band on Saturday), and having marched in the, albeit lesser, Becher band, your band sounds like a funeral durge, when we can hear it. |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | They march? I look forward to |
They march? I look forward to seeing that. ANd again, memorizing music is an exercise with no relevance to the quality of the sound, volume thereof, or energy exhibited (see: Revelli/Cavender). How bout we take all that time memorizing and apply it to aerobic capacity so that theyre not winded thinking about Victors, much less PreGame. Aerobic capacity plus intonation will go a long way. I will not take Boerma off the hook. He's responsible for the band's time management (memorizing v. practicing/aerobic improvement), and he does make the difference on volume. My 80s era band played loud and in tune. When Revelli or Cavender guest conducted us at Homecoming our tone, our volume, our intensity, our passion, our energy all rose a level. That, is the director. |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | Oh poor deluded soul |
Banal, trite, and sycophantic pandering to your professor betrays far more honor than the worst action taken by those seeking a return to Michigan excellence for our beleagured band. The first step is admitting you have a problem, young one. It gets much easier from there. |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | Does being pelted with batteries count? |
OSU 87 (it was worth it) |
| 2 years 35 weeks ago | Hmmmm. Revelli/Cavender: |
Hmmmm. Revelli/Cavender: carry music/loud(and good) I dont think your causation hypothesis carries much water there.... MMB 83-88 (ya, I carried, and I was loud.) DUH |
