"Arguably the Coolest High School Chorus in the World!"

February 28, 2014 5:45 PM

Chapel Hill's The Chorus Project sings songs by artists as diverse as R.E.M, The Kinks, Adele, David Byrne, St. Vincent, and Justin Timberlake. Loosely inspired by the 70’s Langley Schools Music Project, Glee and Polyphonic Spree, the chorus is made up of singers from different schools and diverse backgrounds. Subscribe to their YouTube channel to get their latest releases, and to enjoy the songs they've already done.

Covers include:

"Who" by David Byrne and St. Vincent
"Suit and Tie" by Justin Timberlake
"Wake Up" by Arcade Fire" (and another version)
"Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks (with the help of the dB's)
"Bing Crosby", an original song written and arranged by Seamus Kenney and produced by Kenney and Chris Stamey, founding member of the dB's
"No One's Gonna Love You" by the Band of Horses
"I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five
"Shark in the Water" by VV Brown
"Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
"Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.

posted by carrienation (10 comments total)

fuck that cover of waterloo sunset...shivers and tears
posted by PinkMoose at 7:12 PM on February 28, 2014 [2 favorites]

Can someone let that adolescent boy singing lead on "Waterloo Sunset" know that my sixteen year-old self called and his heart is broken from the crush he'll never be able to say hello to?

Because sob.
posted by Mike Mongo at 8:05 PM on February 28, 2014 [3 favorites]

Man, Waterloo Sunset does this to me every damn time. Doesn't matter who performs it but by that first "sha-la-laa," I'm tearing up.
posted by KingEdRa at 8:41 PM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just listened to two, and they seem to be mainly soloist + chorus as backup. Are there any which are more choral, where the main line of the song, and the lyrics, are sung by multiple people at one time?

Yes, I realize that with most high-school students, this would make it difficult to make the words intelligible, but that's the challenge!
posted by amtho at 8:51 PM on February 28, 2014

the girl who sings on 'rolling in the deep' has got some star power.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 9:25 PM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ooh, thanks for this post! The guy who directs this project, Seamus Kenney, also directs another project, for adults: Popup Chorus. People show up one night a week at a bar in nearby Durham, N.C., and he leads them through practicing and performing (and recording) two songs. I went to Popup Chorus for the first time last week and it was really fun! Met a few people there whose kids have been involved in The Chorus Project and they had nothing but glowing things to say. Plus Seamus seems to be a great guy and is a talented director.

Also, btw, St. Vincent tweeted about the performance of "Who". So cool!
posted by aka burlap at 6:23 AM on March 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh and amtho, it's not high schoolers, but the Popup Chorus performances are more choral. Here are a few:

"Ride" by Lana del Ray
"Hungry like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
"Sweet Darlin" by She and Him

OK, will stop hijacking the thread now!
posted by aka burlap at 6:32 AM on March 1, 2014

I thought this was going to be about the Popup Chorus (which deserves its own FPP). I didn't know there are two pop chorales in the Triangle.
posted by 3.2.3 at 3:09 PM on March 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, the anticipation of watching the second soloist wait for her turn in "I Want You Back" is delicious.
posted by desuetude at 10:41 AM on March 2, 2014

I skipped ahead to to Everybody Hurts, which is giving me so many memories of high school that it... hurts.

Not sure I can handle that Waterloo Sunset you're all talking about.
posted by knile at 11:27 AM on March 2, 2014