Madison Scouts 2023

[BlueStainGlass]

23 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

Makes we wonder whether judges even care what the show is called. If the Scouts had called their show "Garden of Sound," or "ACME drum corps show" or "X" . . . . would it be making any difference in their performance ability? Any difference in the ability of the performers to communicate with the audience? Any difference in how they are being adjudicated?

I'm not saying design does not matter. Let me be clear: Design does matter. A show needs to be cohesive. It needs to be intelligible. That is not the same thing, however, as saying a show needs a narrative, or even a label. A ball rolling around the field doesn't necessarily need to add up to "sound garden." The ball rolling around the field might make complete sense if the show had no name at all, and in theory anyway, the score should be the same whether the show has a name or not. By that same theory, MC should be getting the same scores for its show design regardless of whatever name they put on the program. Time was, not so very long ago, that DCI corps did not give names to their shows.

I don't like the "not so very long ago" since they've had names since I've been alive and my students tell me how old I am often 😅 I can be wrong but I do know in WGI you can give like a 150 character description to help the judges figure your show out on their own. If Madison has some word soup explanation and a judge just sees 4 guard people moving it around they would get hit with a what and why tape. When they announced this show I was excited for the idea but disappointed in the execution. And the show making sense focuses in GE caption which is the heaviest weight. 

[MikeN]

34 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

Time was, not so very long ago, that DCI corps did not give names to their shows.

It was actually 30 years ago.  We're old.

Mike

[KVG_DC]

2 hours ago, BlueStainGlass said:

 But MC has literally some of the best minds in indoor and outdoor with less talent than others. They've been slowly building an amazing design team and just need to improve the sections. 

This. There's gonna be a lot more corps being beaten by MCDC before long and not because those corps have slumped

[mjoakes]

3 hours ago, Vuitton said:

@Cappybara you can laugh at this all you want, but Madison is lucky SCV Cadets and Blue Devils B aren’t at worlds this year.

COME ON MUSIC CITY! PUSH! BEAT MADISON!

I get the angst about the Scouts. Really. But it seems inappropriate to root on another corp to beat Madison inside the Madison discussion forum. You can express your concerns and gripes without that.

[Cappybara]

48 minutes ago, mjoakes said:

I get the angst about the Scouts. Really. But it seems inappropriate to root on another corp to beat Madison inside the Madison discussion forum. You can express your concerns and gripes without that.

The things people do for attention. Imagine being a current member and seeing this sentiment expressed by an alum

It isn’t uncommon to see current Madison members on Reddit express that they feel like a good chunk of the older alum base is toxic. Not hard to see why. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Cappybara

[Gantang]

48 minutes ago, Cappybara said:

It isn’t uncommon to see current Madison members on Reddit express that they feel like a good chunk of the older alum base is toxic. Not hard to see why. 

Toxic is a ridiculous word. How about disappointed, embarrassed, or angry? And why do the current members have time to spend on Reddit? Hmmm...

Maybe the current members should start thinking that a good chunk of the older alum base is pointing out things to which no one else is willing to speak the truth. Maybe they should start asking if the current leadership and staff are giving them the product to be competitive (in World). Maybe they should ask "why" a good chunk of the alum base is disappointed, embarrassed, or maybe even angry that there seems to be little desire or hunger to be more competitive (in World).

Generally, the squeaky part gets greased. The current leadership has heard the squeaks for a long time but instead of applying grease, they turn up their internal noise to drown out the things they don't wish to hear.

Is it toxic to want any organization or person to do better? Or is it obtuse to ignore the people expressing a desire for change?

[BlueStainGlass]

I mean if I have to point this one out - there are phones now a days not newspapers.  You ride in things called buses and have these things called meals where you can relax outside of rehearsal.  So now these phones have the internet where they can read what people are constantly saying here, reddit, and facebook.  I normally agree with @Vuitton but I would NEVER sit there and cheer for my group to lose to someone to prove a point.  

[kdaddy]

21 minutes ago, BlueStainGlass said:

I mean if I have to point this one out - there are phones now a days not newspapers.  You ride in things called buses and have these things called meals where you can relax outside of rehearsal.  So now these phones have the internet where they can read what people are constantly saying here, reddit, and facebook.  

Plus there's an offseason. They can still be "current members" in March.

[MikeD]

3 hours ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

 

Garfield Cadets

1971 - “America, the Brave”…complete with printed libretto passed out in the stands.

1972 - “No More War”…with placemat sized 3-photo handout.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by MikeD

[Cappybara]

53 minutes ago, Gantang said:

Toxic is a ridiculous word. How about disappointed, embarrassed, or angry? And why do the current members have time to spend on Reddit? Hmmm...

Maybe the current members should start thinking that a good chunk of the older alum base is pointing out things to which no one else is willing to speak the truth. Maybe they should start asking if the current leadership and staff are giving them the product to be competitive (in World). Maybe they should ask "why" a good chunk of the alum base is disappointed, embarrassed, or maybe even angry that there seems to be little desire or hunger to be more competitive (in World).

Generally, the squeaky part gets greased. The current leadership has heard the squeaks for a long time but instead of applying grease, they turn up their internal noise to drown out the things they don't wish to hear.

Is it toxic to want any organization or person to do better? Or is it obtuse to ignore the people expressing a desire for change?

Sorry, you’re right, the members should be studying and playing their instruments on the buses, not taking some down time to relax after long days of rehearsal. 
 

There is a right way and a wrong way to express things. You need to realize there is a generational gap and things are expressed very differently nowadays than they were back when you marched. Today’s generation has very little tolerance for BS and are actually willing to stand up for themselves. If they felt like they were being mistreated or let down, they would express that. But instead, their ire is directed towards some of the alums who make a clown of themselves on social media and pass it off as frustration.