Hup234 Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Exactly what is unrealistic about saying it like it is? A lot of drum corps programming (mostly in the DCI arena) is ego-stroking. It's the "Seinfeld" approach to drum corps: shows about nothing! But, where Seinfeld would poke fun at that pompous idea, drum corps is completely SERIOUS about it. No sarcasm or satire involved. "Come one, come all! Come see the Blue Regiment Cadets' 2007 program entitled 'Introversion: Navel Gazing in 3 Movements'." It's all "Look how clever we are!" Drum corps has become the naked Emperor wearing his "new clothes", and now some people are calling it as they see it.If drum corps is truly as "niche" as you say, unmarketable to the masses, then by that logic, drum corps should not in any way, shape, or form alienate any segment of its fan base. Yet, many drum corps (individually and as a whole) do precisely that. The pseudo-intellectuals who impress the non-intellectuals with their vapid ideas and preening, elitist show concepts ensure that the niche gets filled with less substance every year. Now, it's a case of self-fulfilling prophecy: drum corps is too elite to market/let's make it even more elite/it's too elite to market, etc. How do you break that cycle? I'll agree that drum corps has become more fast-paced and athletic. (I too ran my butt off this past season.) But, those don't necessarily translate to "exciting" and, in fact, have not in most cases. Your own elitist attitude slips out when you run down college bands. I've seen many a college band that was pretty good, and none of them "danced". And, I'd rather watch some of them than many drum corps' shows from the last few years. College band shows are very UNpretentious and always fun. Yes, not so complex, but then they have less time to prepare than corps do, and they usually do 5 or 6 different half-time shows, plus pre-game. In your syllogism about good and great drum corps, you left out the part where the drum corps entertains. It used to be that drum corps entertained a whole lot more people. A good drum corps can still entertain me as much standing still as on the move, if their music is good and their approach to it is good as well. I stopped buying DCI CD's many years ago because it was a waste of my money. I stopped going to multiple shows annually a couple years after that. Theoretically, I should be able to turn the sound down and still be entertained by the visual without the music, and I should be entertained by the music without the visual. (Yes, the synthesis should be most entertaining.) Good corps can fulfill those requirements. Lately, I don't find that to be the case, and more so on the junior side of things. Many corps decided that designing pretentious shows around an empty-headed "theme", especially programmed with music dug out of the back of some college wind ensemble library, would be the birth of a new idea and ditching G for Bb was honoring tradition. This is the great "balance" you want? Maybe the trombonium bugle was an idea best left for dead, but the concept of mass entertainment should not be. In the end, though, what is truly unrealistic is the idea that more of the same from the pseudo-intellectuals who are currently ruin-, I mean, running drum corps (especially DCI) will somehow snap drum corps out of its long-term death march. The above may well be the single best posting on this DCP website, and it's all the more remarkable because it comes from someone within the existing structure. I echo all the sentiments and have dared to emphasize the parts I especially applaud, though of course my own input lacks the gravity of one on the inside. Would that more such visionaries emerge to risk ostracism with truth - but of course those have historically been rare. What was that Albert Einstein quote again? Something like "Great thinkers have always experienced violent opposition from mediocre minds." I also like the automatic quote that appears below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hup234 Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 . . . If you disagree with him, well, that’s why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream and purple Kool Aid.Ouch. I'm reminded of one notorious 1979 instance when the latter connoted total conformity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moon Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 I see you guys have met MikeD. Please be kind to him, he lives in a world where drum corps, marching band, winter guard, and indoor percussion are interchangeable. Fewer drum corps can be offset by more marching bands. If you disagree with him, well, that’s why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream and purple Kool Aid. If you want more entertainment, check out the thread The Drum Corps Activity is Healthier Than Ever!, Time to Celebrate!. Please try to raise your children to have better reasoning skills. I did. My comment was " stick your head in the sand and run for the DCI board. You would be a good fit". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moon Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 The above may well be the single best posting on this DCP website, and it's all the more remarkable because it comes from someone within the existing structure. I echo all the sentiments and have dared to emphasize the parts I especially applaud, though of course my own input lacks the gravity of one on the inside. Would that more such visionaries emerge to risk ostracism with truth - but of course those have historically been rare. What was that Albert Einstein quote again? Something like "Great thinkers have always experienced violent opposition from mediocre minds." I also like the automatic quote that appears below: Agree. Gets my vote. I just got E-mailed a 2 min. clip from your tube. It is Phantom doing a warm up. My monitor is really dark so I can see very little. I am not a PR fan but when this thing played the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Try to do that with artsey, fartsey visual cr*p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbalaya Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Wow.......not only do I agree, but the phrase "effete, intellectual snobs" :angry2: comes to mind. This quote goes waaaaaaay back and can be attributed to Spiro Agnew. He was NOT a drum corps guy. JC Exactly what is unrealistic about saying it like it is? A lot of drum corps programming (mostly in the DCI arena) is ego-stroking. It's the "Seinfeld" approach to drum corps: shows about nothing! But, where Seinfeld would poke fun at that pompous idea, drum corps is completely SERIOUS about it. No sarcasm or satire involved. "Come one, come all! Come see the Blue Regiment Cadets' 2007 program entitled 'Introversion: Navel Gazing in 3 Movements'." It's all "Look how clever we are!" Drum corps has become the naked Emperor wearing his "new clothes", and now some people are calling it as they see it. If drum corps is truly as "niche" as you say, unmarketable to the masses, then by that logic, drum corps should not in any way, shape, or form alienate any segment of its fan base. Yet, many drum corps (individually and as a whole) do precisely that. The pseudo-intellectuals who impress the non-intellectuals with their vapid ideas and preening, elitist show concepts ensure that the niche gets filled with less substance every year. Now, it's a case of self-fulfilling prophecy: drum corps is too elite to market/let's make it even more elite/it's too elite to market, etc. How do you break that cycle? I'll agree that drum corps has become more fast-paced and athletic. (I too ran my butt off this past season.) But, those don't necessarily translate to "exciting" and, in fact, have not in most cases. Your own elitist attitude slips out when you run down college bands. I've seen many a college band that was pretty good, and none of them "danced". And, I'd rather watch some of them than many drum corps' shows from the last few years. College band shows are very UNpretentious and always fun. Yes, not so complex, but then they have less time to prepare than corps do, and they usually do 5 or 6 different half-time shows, plus pre-game. In your syllogism about good and great drum corps, you left out the part where the drum corps entertains. It used to be that drum corps entertained a whole lot more people. A good drum corps can still entertain me as much standing still as on the move, if their music is good and their approach to it is good as well. I stopped buying DCI CD's many years ago because it was a waste of my money. I stopped going to multiple shows annually a couple years after that. Theoretically, I should be able to turn the sound down and still be entertained by the visual without the music, and I should be entertained by the music without the visual. (Yes, the synthesis should be most entertaining.) Good corps can fulfill those requirements. Lately, I don't find that to be the case, and more so on the junior side of things. Many corps decided that designing pretentious shows around an empty-headed "theme", especially programmed with music dug out of the back of some college wind ensemble library, would be the birth of a new idea and ditching G for Bb was honoring tradition. This is the great "balance" you want? Maybe the trombonium bugle was an idea best left for dead, but the concept of mass entertainment should not be. In the end, though, what is truly unrealistic is the idea that more of the same from the pseudo-intellectuals who are currently ruin-, I mean, running drum corps (especially DCI) will somehow snap drum corps out of its long-term death march. The above may well be the single best posting on this DCP website, and it's all the more remarkable because it comes from someone within the existing structure. I echo all the sentiments and have dared to emphasize the parts I especially applaud, though of course my own input lacks the gravity of one on the inside. Would that more such visionaries emerge to risk ostracism with truth - but of course those have historically been rare. What was that Albert Einstein quote again? Something like "Great thinkers have always experienced violent opposition from mediocre minds." I also like the automatic quote that appears below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2SMA Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 ..."effete, intellectual snobs"... Geez Jim, probably only a few of us left who remember that one, and the context in which it was uttered... Are you sure Spiro was not a drum corps guy? Seems to me they used to have a lot more corps and shows in Maryland when he was Baltimore County Executive and later Governor... Ooops, sorry, didn't mean to steal the thread, but look at the numbers! The March of Champions contests at the old Baltimore Memorial Stadium (34th St and Loch Raven Boulevard?) were perhaps the biggest DCA Contests ever held. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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