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"All they do is stand around and play!!!" A Comparison


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Many drumcorps fans lament the days when corps would play while moving.  This came up recently on the forum... again... and I had some time this afternoon to share with you.  In an unorthodox and entirely unholy move... I am taking the time to directly compare 2 shows from different eras in their entirety (that should be enough to really tick some people off, but I'm doing it anyway).

I provide commentary analysis on the technical and aesthetic elements of each show and attempt to rationalize the perception that the good ol' days were technically superior.

Feel free to watch this through on a slow day this week.  It's a long video, so grab a cup of coffee or a bag of popcorn.  And be sure to fight for your point of view and defame me and my ancestors with comments below!

This YouTube analysis is from YouTube published videos with those additional YouTube source video links listed in the video description.

Enjoy my 'Muppet-like voice' telling you my innermost thoughts on the subject:

 

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Please explain why these two shows were chosen without either show supporting what you may have felt going into this exercise.  Beer for me since I don’t drink coffee and probably trail mix instead of popcorn.  Thank you for putting this together.  Back to SI.

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32 minutes ago, Ghost said:

Please explain why these two shows were chosen without either show supporting what you may have felt going into this exercise.  Beer for me since I don’t drink coffee and probably trail mix instead of popcorn.  Thank you for putting this together.  Back to SI.

Star '91 is one of the most highly cited shows for its visual appeal, difficulty and complexity.  It was arguably Zingali's finest contribution.

BD '14 is equally revered in this contemporary era.  Coincidentally, BD traditionally takes most of the crticism concerning this topic, so it seemed worth while to use one of their shows.

I argue that this general comparison works with essentially all contending shows from then to the present.

Edited by cfirwin3
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Just now, Ghost said:

Might get some push back on 91 Star being “the very best of yesteryears”.

That's fine.  I'm making some pretty general comments that cross shows.

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I just started watching the video and I can already tell you that they actually did march and play quite a bit in BD 2014, and I already know the conclusion you came to within the first two minutes of watching. Had you chosen BD 2017 I think you would get a much different result.

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34 minutes ago, Tupid_06 said:

I just started watching the video and I can already tell you that they actually did march and play quite a bit in BD 2014, and I already know the conclusion you came to within the first two minutes of watching. Had you chosen BD 2017 I think you would get a much different result.

We can work through 2017 on another day.  But I contend that the general observations hold up.

Edit:

They easily hold up:

https://youtu.be/FO6d8zDf1Hg

 

Edited by cfirwin3
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31 minutes ago, cfirwin3 said:

Many drumcorps fans lament the days when corps would play while moving.  This came up recently on the forum... again... and I had some time this afternoon to share with you.  In an unorthodox and entirely unholy move... I am taking the time to directly compare 2 shows from different eras in their entirety (that should be enough to really tick some people off, but I'm doing it anyway).

I provide commentary analysis on the technical and aesthetic elements of each show and attempt to rationalize the perception that the good ol' days were technically superior.

Feel free to watch this through on a slow day this week.  It's a long video, so grab a cup of coffee or a bag of popcorn.  And be sure to fight for your point of view and defame me and my ancestors with comments below!

This YouTube analysis is from YouTube published videos with those additional YouTube source video links listed in the video description.

Enjoy my 'Muppet-like voice' telling you my innermost thoughts on the subject:

I hope to say more when I have time, but for now I just want to thank you for going to the trouble of doing this.

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I enjoyed the comparison - thanks for pulling this together. I don't think Star 91 was the correct show to pick - JMO

Star 90 or Cadets 87 perhaps

Also a lot of comments about Star 91 on "mostly one or two valve" passages - yes. They were marching 2 valve G

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3 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

I enjoyed the comparison - thanks for pulling this together. I don't think Star 91 was the correct show to pick - JMO

Star 90 or Cadets 87 perhaps

Also a lot of comments about Star 91 on "mostly one or two valve" passages - yes. They were marching 2 valve G

Maybe later in the summer, we'll do it again.  Perhaps some suggestions (with one stipulation):  they must both be championship shows or of the same relative placement/scoring range.  We have to be fair.

But again, I'm making some very general observations about a very general criticism.

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