crownisking Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Were the voice overs that necessary? Wirh a nice sound like that, why dilute that with a voice over. Sometimes less is a lot more. EotB wouldn't be EotB without them. Crown usually doesn't do a whole lot with narration so if they felt it could be done without it, they probably would have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPutnam Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of electronics or narration in Drum Corps. That being said, I really like the way both are being incorporated into this show. The electronics are woven into the overall sound and really add a whole new layer. It's not just electronics for the sake of - "Oh we can use synths now". I think you really need to hear it live to appreciate this effect. The spoken words in the pre-show are not really narration at all. They remind me of some of Steve Reich's work with taped words like in "Different Trains". The interplay of the different words and phrases has an interesting rhythmic interplay. At last night's run the narration in the ballad was missing. I missed it! The poem is just as much a part of the music as the brass in my opinion. And I must say that the way Klesch wove EOTB & The Abyss together is just incredible! Kudos to the kids doing the vocal parts (counting)in the perc. feature. There is a lot of talk about this show being hard to grasp. Here is my take on it... E=mc2 We all recognize this equation. Most probably know that it translates as Energy = Mass x the speed of light squared. But how many of us truly understand the mechanics of the equation? It is an enigma to 95% of the population. We recognize the symbol, but don't understand the symbolism. I think this show design addresses that dichotomy. I think the show can be enjoyed by the average fan from one viewing. There is a bunch of entertainment value in what they are doing. I also think there is plenty of nuance and symbolism for the judges to still be fleshing out come August. No, it's not as obvious as Triple Crown, or Rach Starr, or Even the Common Good but it's going to be an awesome summer for the corps formerly known as the "Cream Team"! Edited June 12, 2013 by MPutnam 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 EotB wouldn't be EotB without them. Crown usually doesn't do a whole lot with narration so if they felt it could be done without it, they probably would have. EotB isn't exactly EotB when it is reduced to 3 or 4 minutes snips (down from 5+ hours) and being marched on a football field. No need to be a purist at this point in the game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) most people get one viewing live. if they have to peel the onion to really make their eyes water, after a while it gets old. all jabs at my intelligence aside. What you fail to see, and like the Blue Koolaiders you love to mock and others arent getting...it's turning fans off. again -- there's no onion peeling necessary. the show reads just fine on first viewing with no knowledge of EOTB. your premise is fine -- I agree with it -- but your facts are in error. perhaps you should wait to see the show live before preaching about onions. just a thought. Edited June 12, 2013 by corpsband 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general_tsos_chicken2 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) listened a few times, just can't get into it, narration/vocals just ruins it for me. Edited June 12, 2013 by general_tsos_chicken2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) again -- there's no onion peeling necessary. the show reads just fine on first viewing with no knowledge of EOTB. I don't agree with this. When I first heard the ballad I was wondering why the narration was there. I then went on YouTube and looked up EotB where I eventually came to Knee 5. At that point I began to see why it was there. My first exposure to EotB goes back to a video of Erte from 80's WGI since yanked from YouTube. If I had not seen that, the "wtf" factor would have been expanded 10 fold. Yet, it's ok to have a show that compels people to look up more about what they are hearing. However, just one year ago BD was severely criticized for causing the same. Edited June 12, 2013 by LincolnV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 EotB isn't exactly EotB when it is reduced to 3 or 4 minutes snips (down from 5+ hours) and being marched on a football field. No need to be a purist at this point in the game. Or when they tack the narration on to a completely different song, the Abyss. I can understand why they might want to do it for continuity and flow but let’s drop this ‘true to the original, musical integrity’ bit. It’s merely a design choice I listened to a bit of EotB, it strikes me that the counting is more a limitation, product of the technology at the time – is there a greater context? Is that the tie in to Einstein, if so, which came first? I have always felt Powaqqatsi would have been the best Glass for the field as it had a built in visual. A corps could act out some on the humanity such as the chain gang, dam building and general traffic – all which would make awesome, unique visuals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Im not saying that I completely agree, but even if the use of narration were simply a design choice, what makes that so bad? Why can't we have some corps use narration and some that don't? On any given year there will always be a large number of corps that don't use narration. The same could be said for the use of synth. Corps like SCV and Boston for example use it very sparingly. Believe it or not, some people actually like narration and synth. Maybe not so much around here, but they exist. Edited June 12, 2013 by crownisking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Even if the use of narration were simply a design choice, what makes that so bad? Why can't we have some corps use narration and some that don't? I didn’t say it was bad as I’m still in wait and see mode. I said it’s inaccurate to claim that the narration over the Abyss is maintaining the integrity of EotB or that it’s faithful to the piece when clearly it’s not 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I didn’t say it was bad as I’m still in wait and see mode. I said it’s inaccurate to claim that the narration over the Abyss is maintaining the integrity of EotB or that it’s faithful to the piece when clearly it’s not I said this yesterday, but if you cut that part of the narration then the two guard people on the park bench seems out of place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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