Customer Reviews

Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I sang in my college and graduate school a cappella groups, so I was very excited to hear about this book and eager to read it hoping to relive the many unique and hard-to-describe experiences and emotions that I experienced during my years in the two cappella groups. While I think Mr. Rapkin does a good job relating some of the novel situations and inside stories of some of the best groups in Collegiate a cappella, once I finished the book (and even several times while reading it), the stories and anecdotes never sufficiently grabbed my interest. At the heart of it, that may be the biggest hurdle to overcome in relating these experiences--what happens to the members of an a cappella group is fundamentally only really interesting for those same members. The events just aren't as entertaining in the narrative as they must have been for the subjects as they occurred. Furthermore, the characters featured in the book show themselves through numerous examples to be so self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing that once I finished it, the book seemed to me to be a squandered reading opportunity--I wish I had read something else.

After reading about it in Rolling Stone and USA Today on the same day, I decided to buy it. AND IT'S GREAT. It reads so well and is so funny, kinda like the movie Bring It On, but this is about college singers. I had no idea that this whole world existed and I didn't even go to college that long ago. It didn't matter that I didn't know about a cappella, though, because the author gives you all the background you need, while also keeping the story going. Apparently, Mickey Rapkin's an editor at GQ; I'll have to look out for him.

Mickey Rapkin, who himself sang a cappella with Cayuga's Waiters at Cornell University, covers a year in the life of three a cappella groups, two male, one female. People unfamiliar with this college subculture will get a good introduction to the competitions groups have with each other, both formal and informal, the clash of egos, the battles over trivial issues, and the other social aspects of collegiate a cappella singing groups collectively referred to in his book as "aca-politics."

While one of the groups described is a female group, it is clear that Rapkin is more intimately familiar with the male group experience, which is fine. Female groups have a different social dynamic, and mixed groups (which are barely mentioned in this book) are different from both. I am not bothered by the relative lack of coverage of these other social dynamics since it is clearly not the point of the book to be completely comprehensive, but rather to describe the experience from the point of view of three specific (and very different) groups.

I do have to penalize a star, though, for a number of errors concerning the history of a cappella music. (For example, he refers to The Manhattan Transfer's "Mecca for Moderns" as an a cappella album when, in fact, it contains only one a cappella track.) However, this book is not intended to be a historical tract; it intends to convey the feeling or the experience of being in a group, while at the same time discussing (and not impartially) the merits and drawbacks of the recent commercialization of the art form. To my knowledge, this book is unique for what it does and it is definitely a worthwhile read to anyone interested in music, even if the a cappella scene is somewhat alien.

I must admit, I'm a big fan of collegiate a cappella since attending college in the late 90s (listening to the NYU NHarmonics, NYU APC Rhythm, and UPenn Off The Beat)...so I was eagerly awaiting the release of this book. I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint AT ALL! Whether you are a fan or completely unfamiliar with collegiate a cappella, the stories of triumph, tragedy, and yes, even tales of glory that are woven in the page of Rapkin's book are accessible to all. But I will say, if you are in a college a cappella group, if you ever have been part of one, or ever want to be...this book is a MUST! Everyone else can read and marvel at how guys that sing in 8-part harmony while wearing goofy-looking robes can be some of the most successful with the ladies at UVA...

I've been a fan of a cappella groups since before most of the people in this book were born, so I had good reason to think this would be an interesting read.

The book traces the ups and downs of three college groups over the course of a year, although there are many "side trips" to include stories from other years. The two male groups, the Beelzebubs from Tufts and the Hullabahoos from the University of Virginia, are so similar that it was difficult for me to remember which group I was reading about, especially with all the attention paid to "college hijinks" (i.e. drinking and irresponsible behavior, especially in the one scene in which the two groups meet and almost get into a fight). If I wanted to read about this kind of thing I'd read the screenplay for "Animal House" ;)

The one group whose story piqued my interest was the "token" female group, Divisi from the University of Oregon. They seem to be in a different universe, concentrating upon their ongoing frustrations with a national collegiate a cappella competition and with problems in their lives that make the East Coast boys seem even more shallow by comparison. (The books' subtitle implies that it's going to concentrate on this competition, but in fact Divisi seems to be only one of the three that's participating.)

For a book that's supposed to be about singing, not much time is spent showing the groups actually doing that, or on any meaningful analysis or criticism about how they do it. Fortunately there's a lot on online recorded material of the three groups, YouTubes as well as material on their websites, otherwise the book would have given me little idea of just how well they sang.

And finally, I understand that this is a book about collegiate a cappella, but there are a number of references to pro groups, most frequently the imho overrated Rockapella ... but the most creative and individual group out there, the Bobs, isn't mentioned at all.

*** for the Divisi chapters.

Here's some of the music referred to in this book:

Divisi ([...]): Undivided
Tufts Beelzebubs ([...]): Pandæmonium
UVA Hullabahoos ([...]): You Found Me
BOCA 2009: Boca 2009 Best of College a Cappella
The Bobs ([...]): The Bobs Cover the Songs of...

I often wondered what became of some of the guys in my college's a cappella group -- they seemed to be so consumed by the activity, allowing it to dominate & define their entire college experience, oblivious to classes and grades and similar trivialities. How I underestimated the commitment -- for the members of the three groups featured in this book -- the Tufts Beelzebubs, the UVA Hullabahoos, and the University of Oregon Divisi, coursework and academic activities are an afterthought to their core collegiate experience -- a cappella. The groups travel extensively, train, communicate internally with special language, perform, recruit -- it's pretty all- consuming. The other thing that is particularly striking is how the a cappella experience endures -- seems like many of the alum don't want their experience to end and find some way of continuing to keep their finger in the pot -- through arranging music, participating in alumni singing activities, donations -- rather than finding a grown-up job.

This is non-fiction that reads like fiction -- the characters are well developed and the conflict is ongoing. What I liked best about this book: you really get to know the members of the three featured groups -- their goofy antics, their personality conflicts, the stars & the not-so-stellar performers, all the dirty laundry -- and (assuming you're reading this in 2008), you can go to the groups' websites and see bios of many of the individual singers featured in the book. It's like the epilogue to a movie that features "where they are now". Kind of fun. The book also reveals the quirkiness and cleverness of the a cappella crowd -- the group names are priceless.

One of the other reviewers noted that when you get right down to it, the characters really aren't all that interesting -- they're self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing college students. Perhaps that is precisely why it is so interesting. These are just quirky college kids, completely dedicated to this craft (spending hours on end rehearsing, recording, coming up with clever choreography), occasionnally professional and responsible, and, at the same time, incredibly irresponsible and immature (not showing up on time for critical engagements, getting into literal pissing contests) and lacking any business sense (not invoicing for performances). Reading this took me right back to college -- and reminded me of a number of classmates who were consumed by one activity or another.

I would have liked to know a little bit more about more groups, instead of focusing exclusively on these three -- but perhaps that will have to wait for another book. By the way, I googled the one guy I remembered from my college's a cappella group, and sure enough -- his "job" involves staging college musical productions.

Disclaimer: I want to be up front in noting that I am a former member of one of the a cappella groups chronicled in Mickey's book, so I can't possibly claim objectivity. That said, I also know a great deal about the facts and stories contained within the book (at least as they relate to one of the groups).

Overall, I think the book does a good job of doing something that I've always found very, very difficult - trying to describe the experience of being in one of these groups to someone unfamiliar with the world of collegiate a cappella. The great challenge of trying to portray the strange, entertaining world of collegiate a cappella is that, as the book demonstrates, the experience of any one person or group can and does vary widely based on the character and personality of the group in question. That said, Rapkin does a nice job of giving us a window into the world of these 3 groups, with a tone that alternates between admiration, humor, and a bit of sarcasm.

This book cannot, and does not, cover the full range of issues and areas of collegiate a cappella. It certainly is not a comprehensive history of the topic, nor does it portray every side of every story with regard to the individuals mentioned in various chapters. But truth be told, that isn't the purpose of this book, nor should it be. This book is about telling a story that, until now, has largely gone untold - the story of a unique part of today's collegiate culture that prompts thousands of college students every year sign up for a cappella groups across the country. These groups are often the single most defining element of their members collegiate lives, and the types of memories they create (for better and worse) are well captured in Rapkin's book.

i devoured this book in one day--today--and was alternately enthralled by the stories of the individual groups, fascinated by the facts i never knew, and laughing my head off at the author's sarcasm and wit.
i have been a big follower of collegiate a cappella for a few years now; both my older brother and i are in groups at our universities and my uncle was a part of Cornell's Hangovers. I have attended countless shows, both professional (Five O'Clock Shadow is my favorite group on the face of the earth) and collegiate, including the ICCA semifinals. needless to say, i thought i had a pretty good knowledge of the world of college a cappella. this book showed me i was wrong, and in the best way! It also made me interested in groups i'd never heard of, and i will most definately be on the lookout for some CDs...
I will also be recommending this to any and all a capella fans i know and just about anyone else who likes a good story.

The book was great. It's truly inspiring for any a capella lover. This book will give you a detailed account of the history and development of collegiate a capella. It's well written, funny and honest. Pretty quick read

A great read about a topic not widely known. The struggles of these college singing groups, the fun, the laughter and the hard work is depicted with an easy to read, and interesting to follow, account. Another picture of college life is shared with the reader in a style that reads like a novel. Well worth reading.