What’s Realer Than Fat and Tendon? The Humanity of P.O.S.
At some point, I had aspirations of creating a list chronicling the best releases of the past year. But when I thought of what albums should appear on such a list, one hip-hop record in particular kept imposing itself and making it’s presence known. That record is Never Better by P.O.S.
A Man and a Mission: The Eternal Plight of Andrew WK
Andrew WK is some rare beast. He is a snarling, roaring animal. A human wrecking ball. He doesn’t have violence or mayhem on his mind, however. In reality, he wants two simple things: He wants to party, and he wants you to join him. But make no mistake, folks. Andrew doesn’t half-ass these things. When it’s time to party, he will party hard.
YouTube Round-Up: 5/26/09
The YouTube roundup is a regular feature, showcasing various music-related videos that inform, entertain, or stupefy.
DJ Funktuall
This guy is a gem in the pile of shit that usually makes up YouTube. He has a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of Funk, Soul, and classic Hip-Hop; knowledge that he is more than happy to share. He has his semi-regular series “Top 10 Samples in Hip-Hop History”, part 20 of which is posted above. He has managed to capture the base excitement of hearing something familiar in it’s original context, all wrapped in the personality of a guy who is smart, funny, and knowledgeable. He has the recipe, to say the least. Subscribe immediately.
Matt and Kim – It’s a Fact
I touched on Matt and Kim in my previous post on Auto-Tune, but they deserve more than a passing mention. The premise of their sound is fairly basic. Kim pounds away on the drums, while Matt bangs on a handful of keyboards while half-yelling, half-singing into microphone. And with these three elements, they produce the happiest music you will ever hear. As testament to this, scour the internet and try to find a picture or video of Kim when she is not smiling. I have heard rumors and whispers in the wind, but have yet to witness actual proof.
The Same Love Made Me Laugh
Bonnie Prince Billy covers Bill Withers’ “The Same Love Made Me Laugh”. I believe it might be impossible to find a single flaw in this thing, because it’s the little imperfections that make the performance endearing and, ultimately, perfect. The wavering pitch, the crack in the voice, the nervous tick all make the emotional context a real, tangible thing, as apposed to an abstract concept. It’s not rehearsed or practiced, this is Bonnie Price Billy, just as he was made.
The Thing About Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune’s been getting a bad rap lately, and it’s really not the poor girl’s fault.
First, a bit of an overview for those unaware. Auto-Tune, produced by the fine people at Antares, is a relatively simple concept. It is a music production plug-in that will analyze the audio brought into it (usually a monophonic instrument, such as a voice). It will identify the pitch, and shift that pitch, in real time, the closest note value. Controls are available to set it within a certain key, or change how fast it clamps down on errant notes. Essentially, it is rounding everything off, sanding hard corners and covering blemishes.
Here is the situation that showcases Auto-Tune’s intended use: You have a singer, and he or she has just laid down a perfect take. Or at least as perfect as man has achieved. Confident delivery, emotionally deep, and all that jazz. Here’s the problem with the thing: there is this one, singular, note that is flat. Just enough. Off too much to be unnoticed, and too little to be charming. Will you sacrifice this gorgeous piece of vocal talent over the miniscule issue of pitch? You don’t have to! Throw some Auto-Tune on that bitch. And there, pitches are tightened, and the track is saved.
However, Auto-Tune is known nowadays for how it responds when pushed to its limits. Pitches are locked down hard and fast, with no room for vibrato, glissando, or any real humanity. When people decry the use of Auto-Tune, this is what they are referring to, and any pop music listener should recognize the sound almost immediately.
T-pain is an innovator in this respect. He his currently the most public and vocal (gufaw gufaw) proponent and user of Auto-Tune, although there are certainly earlier examples (see: Cher). He is so intrinsically tied to the sound that when a certain Weezy F Baby (he would ask you to not forget the F) copped the technique, he became known as “T-Wayne”.
In certain ways, Lil Wayne is also influential in Auto-Tune use. He made it OK for rappers to implement the sound, without having to utilize any actual singing talent. I wonder if he knows what he’s done. I wonder if he lays awake thinking about the evils he has unleashed upon the world. I doubt it. I hear untold amounts of money make for excellent bedding.
So, when music snobs, their noses held high, declare the evils of Auto-Tune, this is what their referring to. This is not, however, Auto-Tune’s only purpose. There’s the example posted above, a workman present in any modern studio. Then there are more interesting applications. For example, Daft Punk’s more famous vocal based tracks, such as “Around the World”, and “Harder Better Faster Stronger” push the unnervingly-perfect quality into full on robot speak.
When the first bits of Kanye West’s 808’s and Heartbreak began to trickle out, fans and critics derided him for apparently appealing to trends by adopting sung, auto-tuned vocals. Really, though, what he was doing was, and still is, a completely unique approach to auto-tune, and really, pop songwriting in general. No one else has really been able to imitate this type of stark, electronic sound. Besides, it’s hard to argue with Kanye’s reasoning. From an interview with Fader: “I’m using auto-tune because I don’t give a fuck. I like the way it sounds.”
One final example: “Lightspeed” by Matt and Kim. As we’ve seen above, Auto-Tune is typically associated with Rap and R&B. However, here it is applied to great affect in perhaps one of the happiest songs you will ever hear. It only requires bare instrumentation, and the effect only makes itself apparent when the vocals begin to careen wildly.
So, my fellow digesters and critics of music. Don’t criticize Auto-Tune as you did before you were properly educated. The old girl deserves better than that. Criticize, instead, the song writers and record producers using the effect in such unimaginative ways. In that same vain, I say to my fellow song writers and record producers, experiment for God’s sake! Do something interesting with the thing! Put on a rhythm part, a string part, anything but a vocal!
Or you could just use Melodyne. Whatever.
Toxicity
We, as both a society and as individuals, would like to think that we exclusively value music that we can identify as “good”. Most take, “good”, to mean that it holds some sort of artistic value. If only it was that easy.
We have all had an experience where a song that we wouldn’t normally consider artistically valid becomes stuck in our head. I have myself recently experienced this with the song “Human” by The Killers. Normally, I consider the lyric ”Are we human, or are we dancer?” to be completely boneheaded and the overall song to be terrible. And yet, I still find myself humming it at odd times. If you’re like me, you justify this kind of activity by saying, “Oh, it’s just catchy.”
We see that there are two types of songs that we assign value to, even if it’s only on a subconscious level. Good songs and catchy songs. A good song can be catchy, and a abhorrent song is often neither. To better understand this, it would be useful to look at specific examples. Luckily, there is an artist that can provide us with what we require: Britney Spears. Regardless about how you feel about her ex, her kids, or her hairstyle, you can’t deny that she has produced some monster pop songs over the years. But are they good, are they catchy, or are they both? Depends on which one you look at.
Can you guess the name of this song? Here’s a hint: it’s repeated more times than anyone should count. One of the easiest ways to spot a song who’s sole aim is to be catchy is to see where it places it’s emphasis. The writers of these songs are often aware that what they’ve composed doesn’t have much value beyond it’s ability to stick in your head. Subsequently, they place all of their metaphorical eggs in an equally metaphorical basket.
In this case, it is manifested through the hammering of the phrase “Gimme, gimme more”. Beyond that, there’s basically nothing here. The same boring bass line and boneheaded drum beat repeat the whole song, with other instruments only being added for the oft-repeated chorus. In terms of composition, tone, and originality, the whole affair is worthless. And yet that damnable phrase refuses to leave you, like Poe’s raven, forever haunting the bust above your door.
There we go. That’s that good shit. “Toxic” is arguably one of Spears’ best songs, along with being a pop masterpiece. Here we are able to find real, tangible value. Musically, it’s a rich and full affair, with guitars, strings, and synths all serving to back up the vocal. All of the instruments, voice included, change dynamics with the song, making for a much more nuanced recording. It’s important to note that “Toxic” is just as catchy as “Gimme More”. However, this song is memorable for entirely different reasons. Instead of relying on rote memorization, “Toxic” stays with you due to well-written melodies and interesting sounds, such as the string part during the verses.
Basically, this whole exercise leads us here: “Gimme More” is a catchy song. ”Toxic” is a good song. We have plenty of one, and far too few of the other. And it seems, more and more, that we are confusing these two aspects of popular music.
YouTube Round-Up: 2/13/09
The YouTube roundup is a regular feature, showcasing various music-related videos that inform, entertain, or stupefy.
The History of the Amen Break
Great documentary on one of the most famous samples ever. It’s interesting how such a small section of a relatively minor piece of music can birth whole genres and embed itself in the public consciousness, without most of the public even knowing it’s origins. Also offers some thoughts on the ethics of sampling, a topic I will surely be covering at a later date. Gets a little preachy, but still worth watching.
The Monome
I find the Monome to be an exciting endeavor, despite the actual hardware being extremely simple. It’s a bunch of buttons. They light up. That’s it. What makes the Monome revolutionary is its open source nature, and how the electronic music community has embraced the platform. The thing can be shaped and carved into whatever the user wants. In my mind, this is the essence of true innovation, musical or not.
The Beastie Boys – Three MC’s and One DJ
I can’t really generate a lot to say about this. It’s just astounding. Look past the corny set-up, and you are seeing the roots and basics of hip-hop culture. This song is the year zero of the genre, years after the date in question.
