Hoist the Colours

[igenlode]

Watch on YouTube

Voiceplay meets Pirates of the Caribbean (and 'breaks the reactors', apparently -- I didn't even know 'reactors' were a thing until I saw the comments, but I suppose it makes as much sense as YouTube channels consisting of people watching other people play computer games :-p And some of those reactions are definitely entertaining...)

Comments

[capri0mni]

Not all reactors are the same. Many (the ones that watch, and don't react any deeper than "Wow!"), I don't find worth the time. But others -- particularly those who are musicians, singers, or filmmakers, themselves, I find fascinating, because they can give feedback on details my untrained ear or eye would miss. And they know which skills are especially difficult to master, and can explain why they said "Wow!")

[igenlode]

Yes, even with my short-term exposure to the scene I can detect the varying ranks of those who really are effectively just piggybacking on other people's song releases (showing a film of their own faces while playing the music, then announcing 'that was really good' at the end), those who are providing entertainment via bodily ecstasies (at what point did ovaries take over from hearts as the metaphorical seat of the female emotions?), and those who are able to spot and analyse the technical background details.

Although I'm not sure the 'never heard this before' convention for this format does the latter class any favours; when you're doing an in-depth commentary, you'd normally be allowed/expected to study the subject matter repeatedly and at length, rather than being required to spot the fine detail on the first-ever encounter :-(

[capri0mni]

The YouTuber Peter Barber is one that says: "Of course I've heard this before; you're here for analysis" (He's a professional opera singer), mixed with a bit of theatrical reactions.

Elizabeth Zharoff (Channel name: "The Charismatic Voice") is another professional opera singer (and vocal coach) who does more intellectual reactions. And she'll also often comment on how certain sounds are created, physically, and whether a singer is performing in a healthy way, or threatening damage to their vocal folds.

[igenlode]

Yes, I came across the Charismatic Voice channel in the context of Geoff Castellucci, where YouTube was recommending her analyses as related video content :-)
I was hoping she would do one of this song, since I very much appreciated her in-depth look at the various "Nightmare Before Christmas" Voiceplay arrangements, but she hasn't as yet.

One problem I have with her channel is that it can be a bit like hearing someone lecture on modern art: the professor waxes lyrical on the inspirational subtleties of the paintwork and all the imagery involved, and you think you might quite like it after all, and then you see the actual painting again and it still looks like random blobs. I'm still not getting anything from most of the 'alternative' forms of music but screaming and strange noises (although "The Hu" were definitely quite scary...)


My favourite reaction so far was from Mortius, who is apparently an a cappella arranger himself and picked up on several details that the seventeen or so predecessors didn't (in addition to being gratifyingly impressed!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCLSEd-FOK0

And after that Qofy, who seems to know what he is talking about and appears to have a pretty decent voice of his own (although the episode of the missing trousers was undeniably amusing too ;-p)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1vF9-VCvb8

[betweensunandmoon]

That was really cool!

[igenlode]

I thought that might appeal to you in particular :p

(Now I've got that song stuck in my head, and I didn't even particularly *like* it in the film...)

[betweensunandmoon]

Awww, you're so thoughtful. :)

[capri0mni]

It's definitely a "land-lubber's" song -- a bunch of nautical-sounding phrases strung together that don't really make sense if you think about them too hard. But that's fitting for a Hollywood fantasy with a pirate aesthetic.

But performed well, it has an effective vibe, even if no-one would confuse it with a real Fo'c'stle shanty.

And this is performed well. I liked how the singers traded off the lead in the middle of lines, and did it seamlessly. And I'm a sucker for polyphonic harmonies.

[igenlode]

Now that you mention it, it's not even that nautical -- beyond the single 'hoist the colours' line ( and 'lay [a course] to Fiddler's Green').
And of course no real-life shanty would feature the refrain "yo ho" :-)

I think it's in one of the early Hornblower novels when C.S.Forester has his tone-deaf protagonist comment on how unseamanlike the lyrics of the popular 'sea songs' actually are, and how the sailors singing them would never tolerate any such situation in real life! (He's quoting "Tom Bowling" or "Hearts of Oak" or something of that ilk composed for parlour performance...)

[watervole]

Ow wow!

I Loved it!

[igenlode]

It's not just choral -- it's practically symphonic!