Say, friend…have you experienced the fun of reaction videos? You have? Yeah, I’m not surprised. I’m always late to trends and stuff (and sometimes blog posts, oops. Sorry.) But I’m still enjoying my find!
It started with…okay, I’ve been having a rough month or so. I’ve known Pentatonix for a while. A dear friend basically (through the internet, very impressive) grabbed me by the shirt and made me listen to them years ago. And I liked it! Very much. But somehow I didn’t really fall in. Last month, though, I was attempting to get into the Christmas spirit by listening to all the carols I could stand. (I can’t help it. I have a low tolerance for fifty versions of the same song.) Obviously I was putting Pentatonix on that playlist, since they change, enhance, update everything they do, and I need that variety. (Aside–it will never cease to amuse me, to see Hallelujah treated as a Christmas song.)
Anyway, at some point, I was using YouTube to make it easy. You know, click on two or three videos, and then let YouTube play you twenty-seven different videos of Josh Groban singing “You Raise Me Up.”
…okay, the algorithm is not that bad. But it does have its moments, which I tend to forget. So there I was, listening to the seventh time through of…oh, I think I was on yet another version of Josh Groban (I do love him, but I don’t want seven in a row, thanks) So I picked Pentatonix’s “Coventry Carol” (LOVE) from the suggestions, and then something else, and then “Hallelujah,” which is on the same album as “Coventry Carol.” And then, because I love the PTX version of “Hallelujah,” I clicked on a live version. And then while my hands were busy, YouTube went to another version–a reaction video.
I love the song. I let it play, to hear it for the third time. And then, friends–I discovered the Mitch-slap.
The Mitch-slap is a Pentaholic (that’s a Pentatonix fan) term for the reaction when people hear Mitch Grassi sing. All the members of PTX are fantastic, don’t get me wrong. But when Mitch’s gorgeous voice goes high, then effortlessly soars higher…
The Mitch-slap looks a little like this. (A lot like this.)
And it’s not just the first time they hear him sing, either. One of my favorites, Hannah Bayles, had heard a lot of Pentatonix, just not Hallelujah.
I like Hannah not only for that awesome Mitch-face (the result of being Mitch-slapped) but because I learn by watching her. Music is something that I want to know better, but I really suck at going beyond “oh that sounds good” and I want to.
Another favorite for learning and reactions both is DJ at Temple Music Academy. DJ really wants you to know how amazing PTX is at getting out of each other’s way. (He talks about a lot of other things in videos too.) The Charismatic Voice makes a lovely cross-eyed face when Avi or Matt drops the bass. And Julia Nilon…she’s fun.
January has continued to be rough. So it’s been a fun rabbit hole, falling into reaction videos. Pentatonix makes me happy. People loving Pentatonix makes me happy. People telling me what Pentatonix is doing that sounds so freaking awesome makes me happy.
People who don’t do much analysing, but really love what PTX is doing—they make me happy too. This guy was one of my favorite finds. There’s a lot of swearing—he cannot believe what they are doing.
If you’ve never seen what they do when they sing “Daft Punk,” you might be swearing too.
And no—that’s not a ton of production making it sound like that, either. Here’s what looks like cell phone video of them doing it in…maybe a green room? No mics, no nothing.
So yeah. That’s what I’m up to lately. And you know, going to work, dealing with life stuff, sometimes managing to write…and rewarding myself with more videos.
Here’s a compilation of Mitch-slaps, because I’m not the only weirdo out there. 🙂