Trite Trivia: TWCSRadio Tricks

While browsing around tweets on west coast swing, I came across a trick that may intrigue you guys. Do anyone of you want more music to practice with instead of hearing your same old playlist over and over again? Well, with TWCSradio.com, your problems are solved. All you need is just a laptop and a good wifi and you're all set.

But for those who depend on the iPad, iPhone, iPod, or Android, there are other methods to accessing the radio.

For iPod, iPhone & iPad:

1. Download SHOUTcast Radio - AOL Inc.
2. Go to the stations tab
3. Search for "TWCSradio" (all in one word)
4. Press play

For Android:

1. Download Winamp for Android
2. Go to the shoutcast tab
3. Search for "TWCSradio" 
4. Press play

And you're all set to hearing a different mix of songs on your mobile now! While you're at it, you can also play around with the search tool and see if there are salsa or latin stations as well. It can help salseros and salseras find new music too.

5 A Capella Songs to WCS to

A Capella, as a genre, is pretty versatile. It simply needs vocal range, talent and a bit of vocal percussion, and pretty much any genre can be mimicked by using voices in place of musical instruments. This is pretty similar to the nature of West Coast Swing where you can dance to any 4/4 count song and not being confined to slow, bluesy songs. Hence I've compiled a list of A Capella cover songs that you could try your hand - and feet - at west coast swinging. If it fails, enjoy listening to some sweet, raw vocal talent anyway.

Misery - Mike Tompkins (originally by Maroon 5)
If you were to type in "A capella cover" on the search bar in YouTube, Mike Tompkins' name is guaranteed to come up at least once on the first page of search results. With a song that is already good enough to swing, why not go for a cover that utilises only one person's voice and an audio editor?

Forever / With You / Yeah 3x - Committed (originally by Chris Brown)
The Sing Off Season 2 champions arranges a medley of 3 Chris Brown hits into one catchy song. Smooth transitions, romantic vocals (especially when they were signing in "With You"), and dance related lyrics, what's not to love? This can be a nice challenge for dancers to adjust our styling on the spot as soon as the music changes as well.

Somebody That I Used To Know - Sam Tsui (originally by Gotye ft. Kimbra)
A song that became so viral it has an internet meme now has a cover that turns its eerie level up to 11. Like Mike Tompkins, Sam Tsui layers his voice to create the background music before singing the lyrics. It's also pretty impressive to think that he didn't even need a female vocalist to do Kimbra's part - Sam has one heck of a countertenor range.

Grenade - Delilah (originally by Bruno Mars)
Delilah as a group brings out the emotional aspects of this song, mostly due to Amy Whitcomb's powerful vocals and the group's silky voice as the background. They've turned this song into a nice slow ballad to swing with, and I would applaud anyone who can move people to tears with a choreography with this song. (It's not like it hasn't been done before, just look up Jordan and Tatiana.)

Piece of My Heart - Pentatonix (originally by Janis Joplin)
This song has been stuck in my head for quite a while, simply because the swing beat is really catchy here. The group's voices blend with each other so well, even if they only have 5 people in the group. I especially love Kevin's honkytonk solo in the middle of this song - it really helps demonstrate his vocal range. That, and he's also the group's beatboxer/rapper.

A Capella is an increasingly popular genre due to a revived interest from the internet. It'll be great if the dance scene can incorporate some A Capella music into a social night's playlist, or even in a performance.

ps: If you love the Sing Off as much as I do (3 out of 5 of these artists I listed here were from that reality TV show) you should sign a petition to bring a 4th season back on NBC. I'm an advocate of encouraging and positive criticism from the judges instead of what dramatic shows we get these days. #SaveTheSingOff

5 Silliest songs to WCS to

Let's face it, at some point in life you'd actually want to take a romantic partner dance, give it a 180, and do the most unromantic and silly interpretations that you can come up with. Perhaps it'll scare your dance partner, but you're doing it all in the name of fun and games. Here's a brief list of songs to swing to that is sure to make people think twice about your sanity.

You're Pitiful - Weird Al Yankovic
When it comes to making parodies, Weird Al is the boss. Take a slow romantic song that's naturally fit for the relaxed style of west coast swing and give it a sick twist, and you can say goodbye to that second date. Really, who else would want to interpret the lyrics of someone mocking a 42 year old shut in who lives with his mom? Maybe silly people like me would, but then again I wouldn't wanna take my chances.

Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
Is anyone brave enough to try west coast swinging to a song that has heavy bass and provoking lyrics? Me neither, but a small part of me wants to. NO, please DO NOT STRIP AND WIGGLE THAT JUNK. Have you no integrity and self-esteem?! Anyway, if it so happens that you're caught dead shaking loose to this tune, bye-bye second date...maybe you won't even get the first. However, if we're talking about Noah Guthrie's cover, it might turn out completely different...I'll leave it to you to find out.

Barbie Girl - Aqua
Autotuned squeaky voice and lyrics that are riddled with innuendo in all of its bubblegummy cheesy glory? Thanks but no thanks. Barbie and Ken can go have that happy time together but no, I don't have plastic boobs, nylon blonde hair, pink clothes that have hook and loop stickers at the back that would make me prone to rape, and I am never, ever, anyone's doll. Would you still party and dance with me though?

Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой - Eduard Khil (otherwise known as the Trololo song)
If in some rare case there's a West Coast Swing social night in Russia, dancing to this song would make sense. It's slow, happy, arguably sexy due to the baritone voice, and catchy. But thanks to the internet, a song that was supposed to mean "I'm very glad I'm finally returning home" took a big uppercut to become a sensational trolling internet meme. Even I can't get over this song, and you have no idea how much I resist wanting to mock people around me when it plays, along with the many times I busted my spleen trying to mimic Eduard Khil's laugh (may the good man rest in peace.)

4 Chords - Axis of Awesome
Recognise the song? Yes, you do. You pick up your partner readying yourself with the side steps, but suddenly you realise the lyrics sound a bit different than normal. You internally curse in your head realising that the current song playing is the internet's most incoherent song (lyric-wise) that takes apart the "sekrit" formula of pop songs and mashes it together into the catchy viral song we know today as 4 Chords. Good luck matching your styling with the lyrics that changes at every 4 bar...unless you're crazy or silly enough to memorise the lyrics like I have then I shall take back everything I said. Enjoy yourself! (In the meantime, you can support indie artists like Axis of Awesome by purchasing their song here.)

Now I wonder who's the insane person that would actually take this list and sabotage the stereo? Any takers? *cough*