MSTies will have heard the phrase “swing choir” used on many occasions, usually in a bad way. Just what is a swing choir and why should one not want to be in one?
This is my experience, in Indiana, circa 1992-1997: picture a group of high school students. Usually male and female, although there are some groups with girls only. The girls are attired in matching dresses, the boys in matching outfits that compliment the dresses. Basically what they do is perform a 15-or-so minute long show of say, 4 songs, usually 3 “upbeat” numbers with a ballard in the middle. The songs are obviously slightly shortened to form a medley of sorts. While they sing, they dance. Actually, in my understanding, swing choirs just did very basic moves and swayed a bit, while “show choirs”, one of which I was a member of for FOUR YEARS (I don’t want to talk about it), were much more theatrical in their dance and presentation. Almost all (in my area, at least) had an instrumental section which accompanied them. Most had a “crew” which set up the stage and passed out props, helped during costume changes, etc. We performed at our school probably 5 times a year and the rest of the year we went to banquets and stuff like that or competitions. The competitions were called invitationals and were all-day events hosted by one school with as many a twenty schools competing. 85% percent of the time it would work like this: all the groups perform in the morning and then the judges (choreographers, songwriters, theater type people, usually advertised as “nationally known”) pick a “top six” schools and those groups perform for the big prizes that night. There is grand prize, first and second runner up, and usually awards for the best crew, band, and solo performances. The invatationals are huge events, what with masses of shiny-faced, nervous and excited teens AND parents (some of the parents were real assholes to the other schools. I still remember names) and choir directors (and mark my words, babies, very few egos can compete with those of high-school show choir directors). It was a lot of pressure and hard work, but…GODDAMNIT!! YES!! IT WAS FUN!!! :copiuos sobbing:
So why would Joel and/or Mike and the 'bots hold swing choirs as an endless source of sniggering? Well, there is the theatricality of it all, with all that entails. The bitchy two-faced diva. The group slut. The many effeminate young men (and of course, if you were a guy, and you were in this group, then you were held to be a homosexual by the entire student population, unless of course, you were a football player. Then it was held that you were just there to score with the aforementioned group slut. And it was true.) In fact, most people that I know that were in show choir are ashamed of it now. Or they are show choir directors.
I’m sure that’s much, much more than you wanted the know, Mr. Blue Sky, but there ya go.
To add to what Myrnalene has said, the music itself tended to be pretty cheesy: saccharine arrangements of show tunes and fifties ballads, spirituals with any soul whatsoever expunged, songs with insubstantial texts and happy-clappy music that would have been right at home on the Lawrence Welk show, that sort of thing. It’s the sort of music that was too shallow and silly for the “serious” musicians and too “gay” (and I use that term in a specific context here) for your average high school teen.
Which is not to say that show choir music isn’t fun to sing, in the same way that campfire songs are fun to sing. But I wouldn’t go watch a show choir any more than I’d go watch someone sing campfire songs. YMMV, of course.
Sounds peachy 
Thanks for the info. I can see why Mike/Joel & the Bots had such a good time with it.