…so I know what a riff-off is now. It was actually pretty cool at first. It’s a game between all of the a cappella groups on campus where we gather in the emptied campus pool and have an a cappella battle. Now it sounds lame when I really think about it, but it’s like a test for your group’s musical spontaneity. A category is chosen, and then groups must sing songs within that category, stepping in on words that other groups are singing. For example in the category “Ladies from the 80s” and the Treblemakers sang “Hey Mickey” and on the line “You’re so fine” the BU Harmonics jumped in with the line “fine, and you’re mine” from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”, thus taking control of the round. That continues to happen until groups can no longer think of songs, sing a song out of category, or the line that they match is not correct. What was so amazing about the experience is that as a group, the Bellas and myself were listening to one another – and doing well.
But of course, nothing can be fun since we lost when I said “it’s” instead of “it”, and Aubrey was mad. I almost saw her loosen up a little bit, but once we were “cut-off” (disqualified), she was back to business on the old stuff. It’s like she’s scared of change or something; I mean I know she has experience that the rest of us don't, but she can't be afraid of anything new. Since school is still a thing to take care of, I probably won't be posting again until after finals and the holidays. We out!
Because the riff-off is amongst all of the a cappella groups on campus, it is vital to the quest because it demonstrates that the Bellas reputation is at stake. The Bellas have become old and tired, and Beca wants to bring new life to the group. Because Aubrey sees only their failure, the quest expectation of reputation being crucial to the king is demonstrated in this entry. Chretien de Troyes depicts women in a dramatic and negative light, and Aubrey parallels that here with her poor response to losing. Like the women in the Story of the Grail, she overreacts when others are just having fun. Beca did not know what the riff-off truly was going into it, so the sense of adventure is established in this event because she is embarking upon the unknown, along with her fellow a cappella knights.
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