Let me start this post by stating that if you haven’t seen the masterpiece that is Pitch Perfect, you probably won’t understand the actual chokehold this movie had on me in 2012. Even if you’re older or just not into that kind of thing, you might’ve heard one of your little cousins clap their hands together and bang an old plastic cup on the living room floor, desperately trying to learn the iconic Cup Song.
And if you were a tad crazier, you might’ve convinced your entire friend group to perform it at your primary school talent show. But that’s beside the point.
However, if you live under a rock and actually have no idea what I’m talking about, then here’s the scene that lived in my head rent-free for many years after its release.
I always dreamed of being able to do something like that. And I found it so satisfying and absolutely insane that they could sound like that so effortlessly, without any instrument other than their vocal cords. At the time, I was also convinced that everything was filmed and recorded live. Mind you, I was 10 years old when that movie came out, so I had yet to understand what post-production and editing actually were.
Regardless, throughout the years, Pitch Perfect became one of those comfort films that I would rewatch sporadically, for old times' sake.
December 22nd, 2023
So on a random Thursday in December of 2023, out of boredom and nostalgia, I challenged myself to recreate that mashup with nothing but my own voice and my beloved GarageBand.
Something you should know about me, however, is that when I start any creative project, I will work on it until my body physically cannot continue. I will record and edit until my eyes are burning and I can’t see my screen anymore. And I remember having this specific and (not-so) brilliant idea around 8 PM that night. Next thing I know, it’s 1 AM, and my mom is asking why I’m in the hallway, recording myself while stamping my foot on the ground with only one shoe on.
And I, for some reason, was under the impression that singing a cappella wouldn’t be that hard… right?
WRONG. ENTIRELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY WRONG. Creating a song out of nothing but vocals means that every track has to be perfectly aligned and in time with each other, WITHOUT having any musical backing track to follow or any foundation to build from. Not to mention, this particular scene featured a thousand harmonies, TWO songs mashed up together, and the power of Universal Studios and its sound engineers to go along with it.
I quickly realized that my iPad and I were in for a bumpy ride.
Needless to say, I underestimated this task and went to sleep pretty late that night, tired but satisfied to have finished the song.
For some reason, I woke up from my frenzy the next day and never got the motivation to film anything for it. Or maybe I didn’t think it would fit my normal content. Or maybe I thought people would find it strange that an adult was recreating a scene from a movie meant for teenagers.
However, I now think it’s unfortunate I never did anything with it, because I know my 10-year-old self would’ve found it pretty damn cool.
With love,
- Marianne
