Yes, it is obviously pitch-corrected.
But his assessment for how this performance was done is not correct. It’s just booth recorded as separate tracks with reverb that matches the space. Much easier than his hypothesis.
And then they lip-sync in the kitchen. That’s it; that’s all.
That’s a great analysis. Such a difference when you watch someone who actually knows something about music.
Rick doesn’t usually talk about percussion, so I guess I will. The rhythm part of “God Only Knows” is just as interesting and as unusual as the rest of the song. It’s all completely intentional to achieve the ends of the song. It’s structured to highlight emotional beats rather than to “drive” the song as standard percussion does in most rock songs. Sometimes the percussion just disappears altogether and then resumes to highlight and elevate a phrase.
Sleigh bells in the intro and first verse make the song feel like stepping into a shimmery fantasy. The distinctive “clopping” sound in the song (perhaps coconut shells or wood blocks?) mimics a soft horse-hoof rhythm that makes one think of pastoral ease, of falling asleep in a meadow and awakening in a transformed world. Those sleigh bells I mentioned earlier make their return subtly during the instrumental interlude (just before the final chorus) and propel the fade-out, adding a soothing, ethereal sparkle. Sparse drum hits highlight repeated vocal phrases. Timpani rolls add drama and make the song feel orchestral rather than rock-like without overwhelming the progression and becoming overwrought.
Even drum phrases that might typically repeat do not. Instead, they shift and respond to the vocal lines. Check the end of the song particularly. Not one is precisely the same and all work exactly with the vocal part.
Most songs do not get better as you deconstruct them. “God Only Knows” does, though. There’s just so much in it. And it all fits perfectly.
This is ok, but Rick Beato doesn’t really like women artists all that much. Here’s a few women artists (in bands or alone) with songs that have good vocal intros.
“If I Die Young” by The Band Perry
“Down By the Water” by PJ Harvey
“Team” by Lorde (Really great vocal intro!)
I was listening to this on YouTube and I noticed that there is what I think is a still taken from a video where Hope Sandoval some time back in the day is playing a vibraphone (that is in front of maybe a marimba?). What the fuck video does she play a vibraphone in? How have I never seen this?
I need to see that.
I don’t think this makes me superior to anyone1, but it’s a weird thought that I listen to more new songs in a day than most people listen to in years.
I just love music. And not performatively. It’s easy to do a lot of something you deeply enjoy and love to do, really.
She does a great job of learning a song in 40 minutes. And what a fun personality!
This is not to take anything away from Sina. She’s great. An amazing drummer. But there’s never been a pure rock drummer like John Bonham. Perhaps Karen Carpenter. And…that’s about it.
That’s a great cover. And there’s nothing wrong with this, but she’s not Bonham. She’s a little too on top of the rhythm. Bonham dances with the rhythm, he plays with it and brings it where he needs it to be before you know it needs to go there. He’s behind the next note when that’s what makes sense and emphasizes or drags out a few phrases to make the music better. And, mostly, Sina doesn’t do any of that. Because what Bonham does can’t be imitated and probably cannot be taught.
Sina’s cover is technically perfect. But it’s also a bit shallow. It just doesn’t have the same soul.
Sina is better than almost any drummer who has ever lived. But when you’re playing against Bonham that simply does not matter.
Now compare Sina’s version with the original.
That hurried little fills in Kashmir are so great. How you learn to do something like that I cannot even begin to imagine.
This is how all AI-generated music sounds. Not knowing anything about it, I identified it as AI slop within the first two bars.
It’s very static and repetitive in a way that human music just never is. I am not sure if I could teach others to clock AI-created music, though. Most people have not listened to the absurdly-vast amount of tunes that I have. But to me AI music stands out like a flashing blue light in a moonless night.
It’s not a bad song. It’s not a good song. It’s a nothing song. It’s just completely soulless. And that is apparent quite quickly.
I know I’ve said it before, but I wish I could do anything as well as Blu DeTiger plays bass. She just makes it a completely different instrument than it is in the hands of mere mortals.
Most overrated musical artist: Bob Dylan
Most underrated musical artist: Kitten
The less said about Dylan the better. Kitten, though, has a fantastic ever-changing lineup, years of great songs, and Chloe et. al have songwrting chops like mad. I’ve yet to meet a single person who has heard of them but they are wonderful.
Of new music, I now listen to more songs in non-English than English. There’s just more good music in Spanish, French, German and other languages than there is in English.
The signs of decline are exhibiting everywhere.
Country music can capture a set of feelings that no other genre can: that of abject existential regret and soul-deep anguish. That’s when it’s at its very best and why I love it.
This morning I listened to all or part of 296 new (to me) songs. Of those, I liked 10.
This took about an hour and a half. And this is how you find all that good new music that many people claim does not exist.
Why do nearly all songs recorded in the 1970s sound so much worse than many songs recorded in the 1960s? I can’t understand it. Did recording tech go backwards? I can’t find any evidence of that (and I know quite a lot about that) but otherwise it’s difficult to explain.
It must be just stylistic, then, but why? Why was it important to people that their music sound murky and the drums be so far back in the mix they sounded like a chipmunk banging on some styrofoam cups with a toilet brush? I find most 1970s songs intolerable not just because they are vapid but because the recording is so atrocious and unlistenable.
Even though I grew up with a lot of those 1970s songs I am not at all nostalgic for any of them as they all sound so horrible.
People react oddly to how I consume music. One reason is because I have no set playlists. Every single playlist I make is unique and ephemeral. I never save them. I also don’t use Spotify, which seems de rigeur now in people’s minds. I also don’t listen to albums (generally hate them) and rarely listen to much that is beyond 10 years old.
A friend wanted me to share my playlists with her and was incredulous when I said I didn’t have any. But I do not.
This works for me but as with many areas of life, I recognize that I am puzzlingly unusual.