pshh I could do that
cept maybe for the bass part

anyways that was neat, and hes good

Wow, the last high note was LONG.

I'm usually pretty meh when it comes to youtube trends, but as a long time fan of acapella music, I am really enjoying most of the people doing this kind of thing.

Wow.
Yup.
Wow.

Makes me wish I had trained my voice a little more than I did.

Lame

I'm waiting for the lyric, "Folgers in your cup."

Anyone else? Just me?

reminds me of the office when ed helms had the ringtone where he's singing all the harmonies.

I liked it. The lyrics suck, the subject matter and inspirational tone are lousy, but the dude's got pipes and I love the harmony.

/sucker for vocal harmony

This guy's okay.

If you really want to see talent check out Simon Rylander (aka FineyLeee)

Here (new window) or Here (new window)

Yes, FineyLeee is indeed awesome. He sells an MP3 album of songs on his website, for whatever price you're willing to pay (PayPal Donate button). It's well worth the price you'd pay for a typical RIAA-member CD that would otherwise be a ripoff with only a couple decent songs, and since the RIAA is not involved in this, FineyLeee and the actual songwriters and arrangers get all the money you pay, as it should be.

I chose this video instead of one of his because (A) it's a full song and not just a tag [for those who don't know, a "tag" in Barbershop is the fancy ending of a song that substitutes for the usual instrumental finale flourish of popular music, and generally has lots of really juicy chords], (B) it's available in YouTube's new 720p HD unlike any of FineyLeee's stuff to date, and (C) even with my profound creativity deficiency, I could come up with a decent pun in the headline to increase the chances of this getting greenlighted. I see that my brilliant strategy worked. ;-)

Other great YouTube™ a capella multitrackers include the one who started it all, BHSnerd; plus VancePerry (who had a great entry in the FreeCreditReport.com contest), nbro085 from New Zealand (practically 180° straight through the center of the Earth from FineyLeee the Swede, yet the two of them have done several videos together), bordonthestreet (who has started doing awesome HD tag-teaching videos that use YouTube™s Annotations feature to excellent effect), and many others.

Over a year ago, I submitted to FARK this video featuring BHSnerd, FineyLeee, nbro085, and bordonthestreet (this being his first one!) who did a very good (and quite difficult) tag together, despite the fact that the four of them live in four different nations and on three different continents, and between them represent all four of the Earth's hemispheres, both horizontal and veritcal. At the time, they had never met in person.

WaywardSon, the song is from Disney's Hercules (thus the headline pun). If you don't like the lyrics, etc., blame them and their songwriters.

Well damn.

tortuga: This guy's okay.

If you really want to see talent check out Simon Rylander (aka FineyLeee)

Here (new window) or Here (new window)

Tortuga, have you checked out Simon's latest and greatest? I was tempted to submit this one to Fark under the headline, "Okay, now he's just showing off!" (from an actual comment by someone else on that video) :-)

COMALite J:
WaywardSon, the song is from Disney's Hercules (thus the headline pun). If you don't like the lyrics, etc., blame them and their songwriters.

Sheesh, did you miss the part where I said I liked it? Never saw Disney's Hercules.

COMALite J: tortuga: This guy's okay.

If you really want to see talent check out Simon Rylander (aka FineyLeee)

Here (new window) or Here (new window)

Tortuga, have you checked out Simon's latest and greatest? I was tempted to submit this one to Fark under the headline, "Okay, now he's just showing off!" (from an actual comment by someone else on that video) :-)

No, he was showing off when he did "Scarborough Faire".

His newest one is just plain awesomeness. I wish he'd do this one and push the scene to an even higher standard then those guys have already set.

Also, if you guys like this one check out the aforementioned VancePerry's "Sweet Hour of Prayer" It's in HD, too, and it's really good.

R33t, like I said, that was from an actual comment (not by me) in the comments to that video.

Another one of these that got greenlighted about 3½ months ago (and submitted by me) was by VancePerry, under the headline Most impressive one-man a capella chorus version of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho you'll see/hear all day. (Yes, view it in High Quality for stereo.)


WaywardSon, did you miss the part where (A) you said, "The lyrics suck, the subject matter and inspirational tone are lousy," and (B) I said, "If you don't like the lyrics, etc. ..." (with "etc." meaning "subject matter and inspirational tone")?

Danny Fong (the young man in this video) transcribed this from a recording by Vocal Spectrum (arguably the best-sounding quartet performing today -- they won International Collegiate championship in 2004 with far and away the highest scores ever in that contest, and entered the main International Contest the following year -- their Bass, on whom the foundation of the Barbershop sound rests, had laryngitis during that contest, and they still came in sixth place out of a field of nearly 50 competitors, all of whom had to pass their district or affiliate preliminaries with high scores to even get to set foot on that stage! Were it not for the laryngitis thing, they likely would've won that year, doing what only a handful of Quartets have ever done: winning the main Contest the first time they tried. They went on to win the main contest the following year [the second time they tried], again with some of the highest scores ever) on their second CD (the "White Album" -- the first one is the "Black Album" and includes "Cruella de Ville," which is the song that both BHSnerd and FineyLeee did the [absolutely amazing, with 30+-second sustained note] tag of as their very first [and the very first in the case of BHSnerd] YouTube™ Barbershop multitrack videos) and did it only based on his transcription, not the original sheet music.

So, he may not've known that the original movie lyrics towards the end of the song (in the reprise, actually) say, "I will please the gods, I can Go The Distance..." (hey, this is sung by Hercules in a movie about a Greek pagan myth, with lots of gods on-screen!), but Vocal Spectrum, being Good Christian Lads, substituted, "I will please my God, I can Go The Distance...". Or, maybe he did know, and is a Good Christian Lad himself and so wouldn't sing such blasphemous / idolatrous / pagan lyrics. :-)

Does that help fix the subject matter for ya? :-)

By the way, Vocal Spectrum somewhat specializes in childhood movie songs, Disney and otherwise, both classic and modern. In their contests and on their albums, they have so far done:

• "Cruella de Ville" (101 Dalmations)
• "I Wanna Be Like You" (The Jungle Book [original animated version])
• "Cheer Up, Charlie" (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
• "Go the Distance" (Hercules) ← the song of this video

There are several videos of Vocal Spectrum on YouTube™.

COMALite J: Does that help fix the subject matter for ya? :-)

As a non-believer, no. Not at all. That the lyrics come from a Disney movie designed to create an emotional response in its audience as well as draw in vast sums of money in ticket and DVD sales does nothing to help me appreciate the lyrics or the message. However, it does explain why the lyrics are abysmal and the message is so full of diabetes-inducing inspiration and sappiness, which further explains why I haven't watched a Disney movie since Lion King.

/except for Fantasia 2000, which doesn't count
//and I'm totally down with "Cruella de Ville"--great song from a bygone era in animation