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Since many of the “Glee” stars will graduate next season (a new crop of characters will soon be introduced. TVLine reports that there will be two new mean girls named Sugar and Sheila, a linebacker named Bubba who will play Mercedes’... Read the rest of this post

Blaine Anderson joined Glee last season as the seemingly cool-and-collected lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, an all-boys a cappella glee club that competed against New Directions.

He quickly became more than that, however.

Blaine also befriended Kurt Hummel and shared his own experiences being bullied at his former school for being gay. He encouraged Kurt to stand up to David Karofsky and shared Dalton Academy’s zero-tolerance policy for harassment. After Kurt transferred to Dalton, his relationship with Blaine also became romantic. (For a look at how it all began, watch The Warblers’ a cappella version of “Teenage Dream”.)

It’s true that at the end of season two, Blaine, who’s ably portrayed by Darren Criss, didn’t attend William McKinley High. So even if I were the school’s librarian, I couldn’t officially recommend a book for him.

But because I’ve never seen a single faculty member at Dalton Academy or any evidence the school even has a library, I’d feel comfortable making a casual suggestion the next time Blaine stops by to visit Kurt.

And that suggestion would be Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin (Gotham Books, 2008).

Why? It’s a love song to the collegiate groups the Warblers were modeled after.

The book chronicles how the college a cappella movement started when the Yale Whiffenpoofs formed in 1909 and how it’s grown to where it stands today with intense rivalries, national championships, groupies (yes, groupies!) and increasingly complex and evolving arrangements.

Rapkin focuses on three college groups — the all-female Divisi from the the University of Oregon, the irreverent Hullabahoos from the University of Virginia and the tradition-bound Beelzebubs from Tufts University. He looks at everything from the groups’ histories and cultures and quest for vocal perfection to their egos, immaturity and inevitable conflicts.

And, it’s a hell of a read.

I read a lot of books. And this one was so good I had to put it down a few times because I just didn’t want it to end. Rapkin does a great job of making us care about the members of each group even when we’re cringing for crises going on in their personal lives or shaking our heads at some of their decisions. (Note to future a cappellers: NEVER set fire to the mansion an influential alumni is nice enough to let you use.)

The book is also chock full of musical minutiae — arrangements and key changes and choreography and costumes. I like that sort of thing, and if you do too, you’ll be fascinated.

This book would also show Blaine it’s OK to loosen up a little.

The Beelzebubs (who, by the way, sing background on all of Glee’s season two Warblers songs) are very traditional and buttoned up, at least publically. But the Hullahoos perform in T-shirts, shorts and what looks like wacked-out liturgical robes for goodness sake. And all three groups have enough backstage drama to keep a small soap opera afloat for a season or two.

Despite this, group members can usually laugh at themselves. In fact, they spend almost as much time doing the sort of activities you might expect from overconfident college students — drinking … peeing on a competitor’s van … drinking … making inappro

Most of our favorite YouTube videos are short, lighthearted clips that provide a quick dose of entertainment (but one YouTube user had a different idea. He created the longest YouTube video ever, which takes 23 days and 19 hours to watch! We know... Read the rest of this post

This post was originally publishe on Pat Zietlow Miller's blog. We are re-posting it here with permission from Pat herself. Thanks, Pat!

“Sam Evans needs a haircut.”

Now before you think I’m out-of-touch or unhip, I have to say that, generally, I quite like longer hair on men.

But as the season progressed, Sam’s blond coiffure — that had been favorably compared to Justin Bieber’s famous hairdo in early episodes — got more and more unkempt.

Because several episodes also showed Sam in the background looking glum, I thought he might be mourning the fact that he had been nicknamed “Trouty Mouth” by his then-girlfriend Santana Lopez. She even wrote a song about the size of his mouth that made the normally easy-going Sam take a stand.

While Sam, who is portrayed by Chord Overstreet, does indeed have a large mouth, that’s certainly not the most interesting thing about him. And, in the last few episodes, Glee’s writers explained why he’d been looking a little run-down.

It turns out Sam’s father lost his job.

Then, after their house was repossessed, the family was living in a motel on the outskirts of Lima where Sam watched his younger brother and sister in the evenings while his parents looked for work.

To help his family out, Sam took a job delivering pizzas and had to pawn his guitar. He also borrowed clothes from Kurt and Finn.

So … if I were a librarian at William McKinley High School, I’d suggest that Sam read Guitar Boy by MJ Auch (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2010).

Why? It tells the story of another guitar-playing teen with family troubles.

Travis Tacey is 14 and lives in a rural mountain community. After his mother is injured in a car accident and is unable to return home, his father loses his job and falls apart. He throws Travis out of the house after the two argue, and forces Travis’s older sister to drop out of school and care for his younger brother and sister.

On his own without even a pair of shoes, Travis only has a hand-made guitar that’s been in his family for generations. He hopes he can support himself by singing and playing on street corners, but when his guitar is stolen he doesn’t know what to do next.

I’d suggest that Sam read the whole book, paying special attention to page 150 where Travis watches a guitar being made and page 224 where Travis solos on “Turkey in the Straw.”

I’d also recommend that Sam visit this website to read about how author MJ Auch watched her very own guitar being built from scratch, which inspired her to write this book. I’d even let him use the computer in the library because he probably doesn’t have access to one outside of school.

Things look hopeful for Travis and Sam …

I’d hope Sam would see that even though Travis’ situation is worse than his, Travis still has hope. He follows his love of music and helps get ready for a guitar-picking competition. There, he meets some like-minded people who help him get back on his feet and start reconnecting with his family.

And if Sam looks, he has reasons to hope, too. His friends chip in to get him his guitar back and encourage him to stay in Glee Club. They even come up with a “prom on a budget” plan so he can attend. And things start looking up even more in the last episode when it’s revealed he

If Finn Hudson’s life had a soundtrack, it would probably include The Lovin’ Spoonful’s 1966 hit “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”

Remember how it goes?

Did you ever have to finally decide?
Say yes to one and let the other one ride?
There’s so many changes and tears you must hide.
Did you ever have to finally decide?

Because for everything the Glee character has going for him — starting quarterback on the William McKinley High School football team, co-captain of the Glee Club, homecoming king candidate — his laid-back attitude tends to get him into trouble.

The most obvious example is with girls.

In season one, Finn dated Quinn and made eyes at Rachel. Then, he dated Rachel and looked longingly at Quinn. Then, he dated Quinn and gazed at Rachel. And in the last episode of season two, he kissed Rachel.

What’s odder still is that both Quinn and Rachel continued liking Finn in … um … that way, even when he dated the other one. Maybe it was because he said things to them like, “Just because I can’t be with you doesn’t mean I don’t believe in you.” And, as he was breaking up with Quinn, “I still love you.”

Dude … seriously.

So, if I were a librarian at William McKinley High School, I’d give Finn, who’s convincingly played by Cory Monteith, the book Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron (Amulet Books, 2009).

Why?

Because it’s about Sammy Bojar, a fatherless boy with a guitar who has to make some decisions.

Like how to keep his struggling band together. How to survive school when he’s really only interested in music. What to do about a girl he likes in … um … that way and another girl who likes him and he might actually like, too. And what to do about this grandfather who’s no longer the warm, smart, supportive person he used to be and seems to be falling deeper and deeper into dementia.

And then, there’s what may be Sammy’s biggest worry. He knows he can play the guitar, and he’s happy with the songs he’s written recently, but he worries that he doesn’t have enough confidence or charisma to be the lead singer for a band.

I’d give Finn the book and ask him to read it all, paying special attention to the scene that starts on page 99 where Sammy realizes how he truly feels about Jen5, the scene that starts on page 221 where he talks about relationships with his best friend Rick, who’s gay, and page 273 when he realizes the difference between being in a band that doesn’t work and being in one that does.

Seeing how Sammy makes his decisions might help Finn make some important ones in his own life.

Like, how he wants to spend his senior year. What he wants to do after graduation. And where, if anywhere, Rachel and Quinn fit into his plans.

Another good thing about this book that makes it a GLEE-ful read is a playlist of songs that served as the soundtrack as Skovron wrote. Artists include Jane’s Addiction, The Pixies, Camper Van Beethoven, Mercury Rev and more.

If you’d like to see which books I’ve recommended to other Glee characters, they are:

• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by

Finally! We’re thrilled that Spotify, the music service beloved by Brits (has made its way across the pond at last. Starting today — following a deal on Wednesday with Warner Bros. Music to secure all four major labels — users can sign... Read the rest of this post

As I watched much of Glee’s second season, I had one recurring thought.

“Sam Evans needs a haircut.”

Now before you think I’m out-of-touch or unhip, I have to say that, generally, I quite like longer hair on men.

But as the season progressed, Sam’s blond coiffure — that had been favorably compared to Justin Bieber’s famous hairdo in early episodes — got more and more unkempt.

Because several episodes also showed Sam in the background looking glum, I thought he might be mourning the fact that he had been nicknamed “Trouty Mouth” by his then-girlfriend Santana Lopez. She even wrote a song about the size of his mouth that made the normally easy-going Sam take a stand.

While Sam, who is portrayed by Chord Overstreet, does indeed have a large mouth, that’s certainly not the most interesting thing about him. And, in the last few episodes, Glee’s writers explained why he’d been looking a little run-down.

It turns out Sam’s father lost his job.

Then, after their house was repossessed, the family was living in a motel on the outskirts of Lima where Sam watched his younger brother and sister in the evenings while his parents looked for work.

To help his family out, Sam took a job delivering pizzas and had to pawn his guitar. He also borrowed clothes from Kurt and Finn.

If I were a librarian at William McKinley High School, I’d suggest that Sam read Guitar Boy by MJ Auch (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2010).

Why? It tells the story of another guitar-playing teen with family troubles.

Travis Tacey is 14 and lives in a rural mountain community. After his mother is injured in a car accident and is unable to return home, his father loses his job and falls apart. He throws Travis out of the house after the two argue, and forces Travis’s older sister to drop out of school and care for his younger brother and sister.

On his own without even a pair of shoes, Travis only has a hand-made guitar that’s been in his family for generations. He hopes he can support himself by singing and playing on street corners, but when his guitar is stolen he doesn’t know what to do next.

I’d suggest that Sam read the whole book, paying special attention to page 150 where Travis watches a guitar being made and page 224 where Travis solos on “Turkey in the Straw.”

I’d also recommend that Sam visit this website to read about how author MJ Auch watched her very own guitar being built from scratch, which inspired her to write this book. I’d even let him use the computer in the library because he probably doesn’t have access to one outside of school.

Things look hopeful for Travis and Sam …

I’d hope Sam would see that even though Travis’ situation is worse than his, Travis still has hope. He follows his love of music and helps get ready for a guitar-picking competition. There, he meets some like-minded people who help him get back on his feet and start reconnecting with his family.

And if Sam looks, he has reasons to hope, too. His friends chip in to get him his guitar back and encourage him to stay in Glee Club. They even come up with “prom on a budget” plan so he can attend. And things start looking up even more in the last episode when it’s revealed he and Mercedes are dating.

And jus