Ohio State Marching Band Pays Tribute to Michael Jackson

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GophersInIowa

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Pretty cool.

<img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/br-cdn/temp_images/2013/10/21/2013-10-2113_29_28.gif">

 

Fail

I didn't see a single member of the band turn into a white guy.
 



My only wish is that these videos were of the MN Marching band...
 


I doubt Penn State could do the same routine.
 

The face was unrecognizable as a human face, so I would say it was a pretty good impression of Jackson.

I remember one Gophers homecoming game, I think it was commemorating 125 years of Gopher football, where at halftime, they did a number of routines from years past. I liked the one where they did the William Tell Overture, and the band formed a bow, arrow and an apple. I think a salute to video games would be cool, turn the band into a human Super Mario Bothers...
 


Nokomis said:
Here you go: video of the MN Marching Band dancing to Thriller.

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Would love to see more of this out of the band, halftimes are incredibly stale and boring. Pregame is awesome, but the lowstep halftime shows of music from the 70's are nap inducing.
 



Ski U Master said:
Would love to see more of this out of the band, halftimes are incredibly stale and boring. Pregame is awesome, but the lowstep halftime shows of music from the 70's are nap inducing.
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As a band alum, I whole-heartedly agree. But with back to back home games, the band often has only a week to learn a new show. With four weeks since our last home game to prepare, hopefully the band has something sweet lineup up for Nebraska.

I actually think drill is getting better. When I was in the band, it seemed like every show was an amorphous blob into another amorphous blob. Boring to watch? Even more boring to perform.
 

Ski U Master said:
Would love to see more of this out of the band, halftimes are incredibly stale and boring. Pregame is awesome, but the lowstep halftime shows of music from the 70's are nap inducing.
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The problem isn't that they can't or don't do good halftime shows, or even that the music selection is any worse than any other band in the Big Ten. I know for a fact the UMN band pre-dated the OSU band in doing a video game compilation (I know as I marched it in 2006, OSU recently did a Pokemon/Halo/Tetris/Zelda/Mario show in 2012) with Mario running/jumping on the field and Tetris blocks falling. We did shows where we formed a plane, moved a train down field, and back as a steamboat. We did a Queen show where we made 2 bicycles and raced them down the field. They did a Guitar Hero show, and seems like they do Mound of Sound yearly. The problem is the 3-4 shows a year with vaguely vulvic formations on the field and lots of stand n' play. They're capable of more (and do it, regularly), but sometimes the schedule doesn't allow for more. Plus, we don't see the non-spectacular OSU shows.

That said, OSU has a great combination of quality, loud sound, excellent drill execution (lines straight, etc), and fun music. They're definitely one of the (if not THE) top bands in the country.
 







RailBaronYarr said:
The problem is the 3-4 shows a year with vaguely vulvic formations on the field and lots of stand n' play.
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Problem found! I think the biggest problem I have is that the band does these quasi-drum corps style shows and they are not very good at that style. That isn't a knock on the band, they are a Big Ten traditional college band and should be doing shows that fit the style. Trying to be a corps style band when you don't really have the technique down comes off as a poor facsimile of what it should be. The band just doesn't seem to play to its strengths in the halftime shows.
 



Ski U Master said:
TBDBITL is at it again:

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The title of TBDBITL isn't just hubris. They really are heads and shoulders above any band in the nation.

Anyone have thoughts on the U's show last week? I thought it was good. Lots of movement and liked the music selection. Classical, rock, pop -- a little something for everyone.
 

Nokomis said:
The title of TBDBITL isn't just hubris. They really are heads and shoulders above any band in the nation.

Anyone have thoughts on the U's show last week? I thought it was good. Lots of movement and liked the music selection. Classical, rock, pop -- a little something for everyone.
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When the Pride of Minnesota has 4 weeks to prepare a show, it is usually a good to great show. The thing about Ohio St. is that they can do great shows with less prep time.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
When the Pride of Minnesota has 4 weeks to prepare a show, it is usually a good to great show. The thing about Ohio St. is that they can do great shows with less prep time.
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They also only have brass and percussion in their marching band... Makes for a better sound in stadiums...
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
When the Pride of Minnesota has 4 weeks to prepare a show, it is usually a good to great show. The thing about Ohio St. is that they can do great shows with less prep time.
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They are also a smaller band that is 100% audition only and from what I understand the auditions are rigorous and you are not guaranteed a spot from year to year. It would be cool if the U band leadership could go down there and observe what they do kind of like how coach Kill visits other fb programs to pick their brain.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
When the Pride of Minnesota has 4 weeks to prepare a show, it is usually a good to great show. The thing about Ohio St. is that they can do great shows with less prep time.
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Same as a football team, the quality of the band greatly depends on the number of upper classmen. The success of the U's band has just as much to do with the student leadership as it does the directors. How do you get students to stick with it for 4 years? You need incentives. OSU consistently goes to a good bowl and takes regular away trips. Can't say for sure, but I'm guessing they have a lot of seniors in TBDBITL.
 

Nokomis said:
Same as a football team, the quality of the band greatly depends on the number of upper classmen. The success of the U's band has just as much to do with the student leadership as it does the directors. How do you get students to stick with it for 4 years? You need incentives. OSU consistently goes to a good bowl and takes regular away trips. Can't say for sure, but I'm guessing they have a lot of seniors in TBDBITL.
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Being in a marching band is more than just about bowl games. It becomes part of your extended family. Bowl games are great, but it is not going to be a solid recruiting factor. Having 320 instant friends, being part of the school, and being in a group that makes any college campus feel small is a big draw.

Any marching band is probably an even distribution of upper and underclassmen. Does OSU's marching band draw more talent than Minnesota? Sure. But that has more to do with OSU's band establishing themselves as a standard in the B1G for musical ability. Does the School of Music tend to advise students at the U to not join the Marching Band? Sure. The UMMB has always drawn 320 members over the last 20 years. But they also are willing to take people who have never touched an instrument, or marched before, and teach them from scratch. Consider that the next time you watch the Band during pregame or halftime. Some of the band members are completely new to the activity. Do the directors at the U strive for musical excellence? Yes, because it teaches students precision, attention to detail, working in teams, work ethic, etc.

It is just a different approach to fielding a marching band. Popularity has soared to the point where every section now has to audition to be part of the Pride of Minnesota. That speaks volumes about how many people wish they could do what the Band does. Every band is good at what they do. No matter what the score, the bands always win.
 

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