February 23rd, 2006

Has it been another two weeks already? It has, so it must be time for another episode of the Acapodcast! I have to say, the response so far has been pretty good. There are over 50 listeners to the show… but I know there are a lot more fans out there. If you know someone who loves A Cappella music, why not get them subscribed to the Acapodcast as well? They’ll get to hear this weeks great artists, which include:

• The Swingle Singers, as this episode’s featured group. They start things off with their rendition of Also Sprach Zarathustra, from their album Screen Tested. When I asked them for permission, they were very excited at the idea of being on played on the podcast, and I was happy to play a couple selections from them this time around. Their innovative choice of music goes to show how varied the field of A Cappella music is.

•The Coats, with The Ebb And The Flow. A marvelous group from the west coast. On this particular track they do use a drum track, so again, this isn’t A Cappella in the strictest sense. The Coats come from a time when Vocal Percusson was not as highly developed an art form (this album came out in ’96), and many groups of the time (e.g. The Nylons) used drum tracks. I try not to play too many of these tracks, but while the show is growing I have to pick from what I’ve been given permission to play. I appreciate that some of you are tuning in to hear pure A Cappella, so I’ll watch out for drum tracks from now on. Thanks for understanding. If you have an opinion on the topic, feel free to e-mail me: chad@acapodcast.com

•The Nylons. This version of Let It Be comes from a 2001 Hot Lips Records album called Come Together: An A Cappella Tribute To The Beatles. Proving that with time most of the A Cappella groups have given up drum tracks in favor of the all natural thing. Oh, and this album is one of the best albums around if you want to sample a bunch of great groups at once. There are other compilation albums out there, like the CARA albums, or the Harmony Sweepstakes, but those are drawn from a specific year (not that they aren’t also great samplers). This album went out and found some of the hottest groups out there, even if the track didn’t come out that year. Any fan of the Beatles or of A Cappella music should pick this one up.

•Moosebutter. From Colorado, this group makes music as humorous as their name. Mashups or medleys are popular with A Cappella groups, but are not often done as well as this. They’ve taken the songs from Star Wars, and made a medley of them, then pieced together lyrics; part movie quotes, part commentary, all humor. This track comes from the 2003 Harmony Sweepstakes competition.

•The Bobs. Sometimes instruments get in the way of telling the story. Elwood Decker is a great example of this.

•The Swingle Singers, one more time. This is another movie medley, but done completely as an homage to the original, and not in parody. James Bond Medley takes a few of the great themes and strings them together like a necklace of pearls. Thanks again to the Swingle Singers for letting me play such wonderful music.

Thanks for listening to this episode. I’d love to hear from the listeners. Let me know what you think. Let me know what you like. Let me know what you’d like to hear more of, or less of. If you would like to e-mail me, the address is chad@acapodcast.com, or music@acapodcast.com if you are with a group and would be generous enough to give permission to be played on the show.

-Chad Bergeron, Host of the Acapodcast.

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