Quad Aces Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Did everyone catch the new title for Cadets 2014 ("Promise: An American Portrait")? They seemed to have snuck that into the e-mail from this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 These types of shows ( with narration) really do nothing for me. The message doesn't matter. I do not feel that competitive marching band or drum corps are places for "verbal messages" and personal opinions. I'm even leery about using our idiom with narration to even describe events. I mean aren't there other venues for that? Why not just stick to music and motion to express ourselves within the confides of THIS idiom? Now, I've heard music with narration at various museums, and that seems appropriate in those settings, where the music is not the focus. In those venues, the message is what is most important So I don't hate the idea of music with voice-over, it's just that these types of shows come across as pretentious. The message should not be the focus of these shows, and these marching units should not be the mouth piece for a political or social message from the designers. So I'll probably not be too into this show, yet again. The music sounds pretty cool. It probably could stand on it's own. I know many will disagree with me, but this show sounds like it's going to be full on talking during most of it. Its makes the music and motion secondary to the narration and message that we will be directed to get. The specific message may be a good one, but the whole idea of this show, the way it's being constructed ( narration > music & motion) is where I have the problem. ...and incidentally this may be the reason for the relative Cadets silence. I hear the Tenderland and I tear up (the Promise of Living has me blubber). I didn't know about The Tenderland until SCV played it way back. I didn't know about Appalachian Spring until SCV played it way back. So many of you knew it prior. Not me. I listened to the attached YouTube video and it hit me again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I don't really like "A Lincoln Portrait" as a centerpiece (it's pretty enough, but I'm not engaged), or most of previous Cadets narration packages, or that their latest visit to Americana at least partly involves pieces corps have done over and over and over. But... They might be pursuing a less-well-known part of App Spring, plus at least one upbeat tune that might not be from the Best Of reels. So, cool enough (but maybe I misunderstood one of Hop's facebook messages). And he talked earlier in the fall about trying to address their recent guard deficiencies. And, time and again I've dismissed Cadets shows at this point in the season for seeming uninventive or blah or yawn, only to often come around to them in the end. Not to say that each one could have been better. I'm talking about 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012 (yes, I happen to like it quite a bit), and 2013. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I hear the Tenderland and I tear up (the Promise of Living has me blubber). I didn't know about The Tenderland until SCV played it way back. I didn't know about Appalachian Spring until SCV played it way back. So many of you knew it prior. Not me. I listened to the attached YouTube video and it hit me again. Oh I love it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 We don't know what the narration is going to say, that makes a big difference. Will the message be something we don't all know already? I suspect it will mostly be quotes relating to the 'promise of the future' idea. The question then is; will it be something we're not expecting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 if the show doesn't take a leftist political tilt then I'll heat my hat. Err shako the music sounds great - supposedly the brass line is very strong (even compared to last year) and the battery is incredible again. Hopefully the program will be good enough to overcome the narration. One thing's for sure; any politics in the show will be dwarfed by the political whining about it on these forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) One thing's for sure; any politics in the show will be dwarfed by the political whining about it on these forums. Well, that depends if politics is injected into the show it would seem to me. Political narration by its very nature does invite political discussion on the part of viewers as a natural response to the political injection into the show. I'm not suggesting, nor have any knowledge, that the Cadets adult staff designers are setting out to make a political statement here with this show. So I see no need to jump to that conclusion here either. Edited January 26, 2014 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 if the show doesn't take a leftist political tilt then I'll heat my hat. Err shako Sure, Hopkins leans left, but it's hard to argue that Lincoln, Kennedy, and Roosevelt wouldn't be natural choices to include in a show designed around powerful presidential inaugural speeches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Well, that depends if politics is injected into the show it would seem to me. Political narration by its very nature does invite political discussion on the part of viewers as a natural response to the political injection into the show. I'm not suggesting, nor have any knowledge, that the Cadets adult staff designers are setting out to make a political statement here with this show. So I see no need to jump to that conclusion here either. I agree. It is possible though, that their choices will include a message that they do not think is politically controversial, but which some will. More likely, the statements themselves will not be controversial, but when we try to discuss their implications we will see them through out own filters, and that's where the political debate will come from. And the mods will step in when it gets too far from being about the drum corps show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I agree. It is possible though, that their choices will include a message that they do not think is politically controversial, but which some will. More likely, the statements themselves will not be controversial, but when we try to discuss their implications we will see them through out own filters, and that's where the political debate will come from. And the mods will step in when it gets too far from being about the drum corps show. DCP'ers, on the whole ,are ok with this stuff, imo. The 2013 Crossmen show had the potential to become a lightening rod for controversy, but in the end, it came out fine with its messaging and with not a lot of flack from DCP'ers on here I thought. Its all in the presentation it seems to me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.