Skinny Love
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.
Reason #181: Skinny Love
In 2014, The University of Michigan G-Men kicked off ICCA Finals. They didn’t lead off with a barn burner or a big dance number, but rather with just one group member on stage to lead off on the solo to Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love.” When you talk about vulnerability and leaving your heart exposed, it just doesn’t get much better from an aural or visual perspective than the pristine work on this lead, before the rest of the group came out to join him.
Soft, emotionally rich openers aren’t for every group, every time, but this was a case of exactly the right group building exactly the right performance to stick out and command the audience’s attention by making them all listen carefully and lean in a little closer to the masterpiece of a performance to follow.
I love it!