I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS

December 18, 2010 7:48 PM

Meet the Gifford Children's Choir out of Racine, Wisconsin as they perform Still Alive from Portal.

But no, seriously, folks. They've also done Eduard Khil's vocal version of I Am Glad I'm Finally Going Home, which you may have heard before. Not to mention Pomplamoose's tribute to Lady Gaga's Telephone. Aw heck, why not go watch all their videos?

posted by Evilspork (42 comments total)

Those little fuckers!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:20 PM on December 18, 2010

grumble grumble... these third graders these days... why did even bother installing risers on my lawn?
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 8:20 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Unbelievable! You, GIFFORD CHILDREN'S CHOIR, must be the pride of RACINE, UNITED STATES.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:20 PM on December 18, 2010 [21 favorites]

why did I even bother,
And fer cry eye, why did I bother correcting this? And these kids, with their obviously nerdish choir director, will they in 15 years appreciate what they did in the service of nerdkind?
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 8:26 PM on December 18, 2010

I TrololoLOLed.

The variety of masks the choir was wearing was amazing, amusing and frequently frightening.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:32 PM on December 18, 2010

That was the best episode of Glee ever.
posted by NoraReed at 8:33 PM on December 18, 2010

I'm not even angry.
posted by inedible at 8:35 PM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

Let us beat them.
posted by boo_radley at 8:38 PM on December 18, 2010

THE GIFFORD CHILDREN'S CHOIR AND CAIMAN CHORUS

Wait... they're not gonna bite any electric eels, are they?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:41 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was going to complain about outdated memes, but you know what? This is actually awesome. I wish my choir class in 6th grade had been anywhere near as fun.
posted by kmz at 8:48 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm gonna not watch it and go ahead and complain about outdated memes.
posted by thylacine at 9:00 PM on December 18, 2010

Was there another group of kids who did this? Or did I see a different take on this same thing?

Either way, it was awesome with sauce.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:01 PM on December 18, 2010

Main link is a rickroll, just fyi. Done by children and thus charming, I guess, but kind of annoyed me. If you want the Still Alive for reals click first link in [more inside].
posted by marble at 9:04 PM on December 18, 2010

My favorite part of is at the end, when the song is over, and all the little raised arms go uncertainly up and down for a few seconds. Precious.
posted by PhatLobley at 9:05 PM on December 18, 2010

White people are adorable.
posted by bardic at 9:09 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Main link is a rickroll, just fyi. Done by children and thus charming, I guess, but kind of annoyed me.

Yeah, I almost didn't click through the rest. Glad I did, though.

White people are adorable.

A cry for attention if I ever heard one.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:21 PM on December 18, 2010

I'm gonna not watch it and go ahead and complain about outdated memes.

Songs are not memes.
posted by explosion at 9:32 PM on December 18, 2010

Songs are not memes.

Moonlight and love songs, never out of date...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:35 PM on December 18, 2010

A cry for attention if I ever heard one.

I don't think you ever heard one.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:36 PM on December 18, 2010

It's hard for me to imagine that many sixth graders would really get why that song is so awesome. It's cute, but it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, like the kids are just being used to amuse the adults rather than doing something they would enjoy themselves.

Am I completely off base? Are there really a lot of kids who love the song "Still Alive"?
posted by straight at 10:15 PM on December 18, 2010

it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, like the kids are just being used to amuse the adults rather than doing something they would enjoy themselves.

Have you ever been to school? That's a large part of it.

Anyways, apparently some of the kids have played portal, and I'd guess they both enjoy it and appreciate the humor of the song at the end. Sure, some of them probably had never heard of it, but at least it exposes them to culture.
posted by inedible at 10:37 PM on December 18, 2010

I'm still not sure if having a bunch of third graders sing to their parents "When you're dead, I will be still alive" is creepy or awesome. Does every family need a memento mori moment in elementary school?

But I still think it pales in awesomeness to the Langley Schools Music Project; a 1978 recording of a music class in small town Langley, BC singing contemporary pop hits that lay dormant until one of the 200 pressings was discovered by a DJ in a Vancouver thrift shop in 2000. There's a three part documentary and several singles available:
Space Oddity
I'm Into Something Good
Band On The Run
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:55 PM on December 18, 2010 [5 favorites]

That was very nice. That said, I'm feeling slightly pandered-to.
posted by bicyclefish at 11:03 PM on December 18, 2010

Does every family need a memento mori moment in elementary school?

I'd say... yes.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:03 PM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

Oh, and I was wondering if anyone would link to the Langley Project: immediately thought of it when seeing this, and I agree that the Langley kids did indeed have lots more going on than this bunch. But, hey, good on these kids anyway. there needs to be plenty of music in the schools, it is a [good thing].
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:07 PM on December 18, 2010

This isn't bad, but it is a stunt, and one done mostly for the amusement of the choir director and his audience of other people who recognize Internet memes. I teach kids music for a living, and I suspect I would rightly worry I was wasting the kids' time for my own amusement.
posted by argybarg at 11:18 PM on December 18, 2010

ChurchHatesTucker: Was there another group of kids who did this? Or did I see a different take on this same thing?

That's what I was thinking, too.

straight: It's hard for me to imagine that many sixth graders would really get why that song is so awesome. It's cute, but it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, like the kids are just being used to amuse the adults rather than doing something they would enjoy themselves.

Am I completely off base? Are there really a lot of kids who love the song "Still Alive"?

Seriously? In grade school *alone* I was in at least two dozen recitals and performances and what not. I never once actually felt any fondness for the source material we were doing, and that's an hour per recital or whatever, minimum.
posted by paisley henosis at 12:04 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Waitasecond...you mean this hasn't been on mefi before? This has been banging around the internet and it wasn't until NOW someone did a post here on it? You actually mean to tell me that any time in the last three months I could have been the first person to post about this video?

FUCK!!!

I mean...great post man. Good job.It's really cool seeing those kids do Portal.

*grumblemuttermuttergrumble*
posted by happyroach at 2:14 AM on December 19, 2010

Anyways, apparently some of the kids have played portal, and I'd guess they both enjoy it and appreciate the humor of the song at the end. Sure, some of them probably had never heard of it, but at least it exposes them to culture.

I just had a little nerdgasm. I never thought I would live to see the day when introducing kids to a song from a video game counts as "exposing them to culture." Excuse me, I have something in my eye now . . .
posted by treepour at 3:06 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the madrigals and the Heinrich Schutz in high school choir. I really did, and still remember it fondly. But, uh, we never got to sing anything contemporary that wasn't art music. Would it have killed someone?

So bravo to the fact that something a bit more -relevant- to the times in which they and their parents live is programmed. Imagine the danger though: the next thing you know there'll be guitars in high school band. That'll be the end of music education AND the downfall of civilization.
posted by Twang at 4:09 AM on December 19, 2010

Songs are not memes.

Milhouse singing is not a meme.


*grumblemuttermuttergrumble*

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posted by Evilspork at 5:07 AM on December 19, 2010

Screw Portal. If I don't see some more Half Life soon I'm going to go portal. I mean postal.
posted by Decani at 5:17 AM on December 19, 2010

Twang : But, uh, we never got to sing anything contemporary that wasn't art music. Would it have killed someone?

This.

Kids don't want to sing "a song that was a hit before your mother was born". They don't even want to sing the best of the 60s, 80s, or even last year - They want to sing what they hear on the radio today.


the next thing you know there'll be guitars in high school band.

Now let's not get all crazy here! If Glenn Miller didn't have one, where do these whipper-snappers get off wanting to play one?


Of course, more seriously, I think we have to take into consideration the audience, who already suffers enough going to these performances. So you have parents that already hate the crap their kids listen to, and locked-in nursing home patients just thrilled to have someone visit unlike those rotten good-for-nothing kids who never wanted for anything and don't even call except on holidays and would you like a piece of 20 year old ribbon candy dearie?
posted by pla at 6:14 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

I love creative uses of children's choirs.

That Trololo is one for the history books. Weirdalicious.
posted by dgaicun at 6:17 AM on December 19, 2010

Does every family need a memento mori moment in elementary school?
What, you didn't make period-accurate gravestone drawings in elementary school? Maybe it's a New England thing.

I am not the intended audience for this. In fact, I tried listening, but years of being subjected to acappella groups without choice has driven me away from choirs and the like. And I don't know if 'Still Alive' is a good choice for two reasons: the kids don't get it and the parents likely won't either. Totally the late 20s director's indulgence. Added to the the last part. Oh, god, the last part. They are doing a version - of a cover - by a hipster duo that fills me with rage* - of delicious, albiet processed, pop music. The kids might know the song, so there's that, but I can see parental aaarg from it, and that seems career-suicidal.


*seriously the recent ad with the Christmas music has gotten a quicker reaction with me and the mute button than the political ads this year
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 7:07 AM on December 19, 2010

Kids don't want to sing "a song that was a hit before your mother was born". They don't even want to sing the best of the 60s, 80s, or even last year - They want to sing what they hear on the radio today.

Or they learn music that's new to them, but which they come to love. I teach rounds, some obscure jazz songs, folk songs, South African music, Mardi Gras chants, gospel music, sea chanties, and so on. It isn't identifiably "my" music, but isn't theirs either. If all goes well, it becomes ours.

My point with this choir is the kids are props. The choir director clearly can't wait for the this-is-so-awesome comments from the online audience. I distrust this kind of game.
posted by argybarg at 8:03 AM on December 19, 2010

Speaking of Portal. Steam has a Portal 2 promo video up and says it will be released April 18, 2011. Game features collaborative play. The video managed to make my brain break with the same feeling of awe and confusion that the original Portal did the first time you dropped yourself in an infinite loop.

Here's the co-op teaser video.
posted by Babblesort at 8:41 AM on December 19, 2010

While this is anecdata, I happen to know several 8-9 year olds who have played things like Half Life and Left 4 Dead, so I assume it is not terribly unusual for a child in this age bracket to have in fact played Portal. Kids do in fact regularly play video games, even the ones we think of as more grown-up than, like, Mario. And given that I still remember (and love) the theme song from Secret of Mana and it didn't even have lyrics? Yes, I would say that kids are capable of appreciating video game music.
posted by gracedissolved at 10:37 AM on December 19, 2010

I thought the girl in the front was dressed as the cake. Boo, hiss!
posted by benzenedream at 12:08 PM on December 19, 2010

Buncha grumps in here. That was great, and I'm sure the kids had a blast doing it- even without a full understanding of the game references the song's still funny (that was a joke, Ha Ha, fat chance).
posted by nzero at 1:03 PM on December 19, 2010

Was there another group of kids who did this? Or did I see a different take on this same thing?

PS22 Chorus:

One Day, Bjork

Just Dance, Lady Gaga

Viva la Vida, Coldplay

Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
posted by Feisty at 3:34 PM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is a funny idea, but these kids don't sing well. I'm not the only one who thinks this, right?
posted by d. z. wang at 3:56 PM on December 19, 2010