Accapella stuff

[Star Ranger4]

Trying to remember what it was Bob said about accapella music and Doug's talent.  I do recall a faq somewhere where Bob stated that at least as far as Doug's metatalent, it needed to 'hear' music and lyrics.
Let us not overlook the musical qualities of the human voicebox, though.  Think of any number of human 'boombox'es, or folk like Micheal Winslow (of Police Academy fame)
Accordingly, my subconcious screams Doug's metatalent should jump at the chance to do something with this:
... I'm just not sure what.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[DHBirr]

Well, it's beautiful, and I loved listening to it -- thank you for that -- but my understanding of what's stated in the FAQ argues that his gift couldn't do anything with this performance.  This performance.  A version using at least one conventional instrument should give some sort of power, perhaps along the lines of morale boost or possibly even temporary metahuman enhancement (more-than-human strength, speed, and stamina, for instance) to all allies in the area of effect....
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Considering that one dictionary definition of "carry on" is to "behave or speak in a foolish, excited, or improper manner," the designers of that famous poster, "Keep Calm and Carry On," need to make up their flippin' minds!
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Star Ranger4]

So, yes, either of these arrangements fit the bill, but there is just something about THIS particular version that screams the exception that proves the rule. Probably because of the evident passion of the group?

Hey Bob? I wonder if that could be worked into how Doug's meta-talent works. Its not just an expression of Doug's will, but his MT, being the quirky thing it is, also latches onto a sort of 'karmic echo' of the PERFORMERS passion when they record it. And its sort of a multiplier effect between how strong Doug believes in the lyrics and the original artist that determine 'final chance of success'?
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[DHBirr]

Perhaps if someone did an instrumental rendition of the tune matched into the background of this so neither the Ambassadors nor the instrument drowned the other out, but complemented one another.  A single guitar in the Spanish style, maybe.  Doug might comment then that he was grateful to whoever added the guitar piece, because otherwise he couldn't have activated a power from the Ambassadors' performance.
And I realized there's another possibility for what effect this might produce:  a simulacrum, not of Don Quixote as Cervantes portrayed him, but of the superhero knight of Alonso Quixano's fantasy -- the greatest paladin in all the world, who genuinely can and does kick Evil's butt.  Holly Lisle wrote a short story, "Knight and the Enemy," based on an outline by L. Sprague de Camp and Christopher Stasheff, invoking that figure.  In her story, Harold Shea, though he's been associating with gods lately, thinks he's never seen a more majestic face than that of Don Quixote de la Mancha....
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Proginoskes]

The passion of the performers can't alone circumvent the requirement for a tonal instrument (voice backed only by drums doesn't work either), and whether any given song (indeed, any given arrangement of any given song) will actually generate a power remains uncertain (I'm pretty sure the odds of success depend on how strongly the performance "speaks", which is usually but not always related to its passion), but DHBirr's "hack" should work and a more passionate performance usually maps to a stronger power.