Digital Art Zone

Just one of many covers of another favourite song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ5QEXzPpE0
.

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

And I reckon Mr Longthorne would be pleased to hear yet another female call him Mr Longhorne.  He has a few words for women who flatter him like that.

*innocently* Gotta blame Animal Planet and their longhorn beetles! http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/animal-planet-presents/videos/buggin-with-ruud-longhorn-beetle.htm

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Both the musician and singer are Japanese, but it’s sung in English and there isn’t even the slightest hint of a Japanese accent. 
Follow Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHxEj3UvmNs

Thanks! A very atmospheric track, great for late evenings - kind of dreamy… But I’d never have guessed this is Japanese! The singer sounds more like a soul singer of African descent (is this politically correct enough?), and that’s cool =)

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Yeah, but Freddy Mercury was “theatrical”, but he did it without being annoying!

Maybe that’s because he wasn’t American? =)

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

I don’t think Vitas is a typical Opera singer.

You know… Here in Russia he’s not considered an opera singer at all. He’s thought of as a good pop singer who does inventive things with his falsetto in the studio (and his breakthrough video was called “Opera No ...” something, I forgot the exact number), but that’s about all… AFAIK he hasn’t ever had any vocal training. To be an “opera” singer, you’d need to project those high notes without a mike, over a full orchestra (and then there are other technicalities). If he has learnt to do it, good.  I can’t tell because his TV appearances here have always been amplified and, well, playback - not his fault exactly, Russian mainstream pop is almost always playback for technical reasons (including poor acoustics of pop concert halls here).

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Vitas - Lucia Di Lammermoor (spanning five octaves):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3yfFOq_CFQ

Now look… You’ve got a keyboard. How many octaves does it span? About five, I guess. If you press a key on the far left and then on the far right, you will hear that this song doesn’t really showcase that range. It is sung around the “fifth” octave (with C4 being middle C), but to truly display a five octave range, you’d need to go from Thurl Ravenscroft http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etdMM6VsBos - all the way up to Maria Callas and then some… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaI7UQTUCg (warning: Callas is THE opera singer, listen at your own risk).

“Five octave range” is generally a marketing gimmick. Actually a singer who has a working range of three octaves (especially in true operatic technique) is impressive enough. Here’s a compilation of Callas’ three octaves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJKy8E4JKA8

If Vitas has those Ravenscroft low notes somewhere, great. Low notes are always awesome. It’s just that I haven’t ever heard him use that part of his range, unfortunately.

And BTW, if you’re curious, check out these classically trained countertenors i.e. men who sing hiiiiigh notes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fC03m4MXo4&list=PL6C07DD6D34FC6044&feature=plpp_play_all

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

I think what strikes me about their tracks is the inventiveness.  It’s like they take elements of other genres and structure them cleverly together.  I think they make a good musical job of it because, like I say, I cannot stand rap yet they manage to make it musical.  I cannot stand dub-step yet they make simple but slick use of it.  To top it all off, I love the beat and the fact that they add a classical element to it.  One thing common to the tracks of theirs I like, is the musicality despite the fact that their style of music isn’t exactly cut out for being musical.  I think that’s something that separates them from others in their genre.  There’s definitely something because I normally cannot listen to stuff like that at all.

Yes, you’re right, they’re pushing their genre as far as they can, but it’s still not my cup of tea. First of all, when I wrote that the way the bass is mixed “makes my ears bleed”, I meant it almost literally: it gives me a very tangible headache in just a few bars. Many mainstream artists (and wannabe mainstream artists), even the rock ones, have this bass thing going on. Some domestic appliances generate those frequencies, too, and I physically can’t stand being close to them.
Then, there’s that “abstract” thing, like, their artistic intent. I just can’t see anything artistic about their lyrics, they aren’t even funny. I get they’re like that because of the genre which is, basically, “leg music”, made for dancing, no one should care what the lyrics are - but I do care. Sorry. I’m not mainstream enough to like dance music for what it is =)
I’ve listened to the song at work, through the bad speakers - they “ate” the offending bass, so I could listen in more closely. You asked about the chords - it seems they use the same four chords throughout. A variation of I-vi-IV-V, I think (but they seem to have swapped the minor with the major chord, and the other way around, or something…).

And I don’t like the way he’s rapping. There’s been very few instances of rapping I can stand… Mostly limited to Faith No More´s Mike Patton (who makes up for that by simply being an outstanding singer), and then there’s this:

King Kobra: rock+rap, apparently, for the first time in history - “Home Street Home” - 1986
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnNEhyXL_1U

Some of the most horrible “gated drums” evah // gated reverb is EVIL, especially if the drummer’s good //, but at least the rapping has some sort of emotion. I have no idea who did the rapping part, but it was before Aerosmith released their “breakthrough” single with those three-letter rap guys.

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

But it just goes to show that even in environments like studios where they have dedicated monitors, there is such technology out there that handles it notably better.

True. Made me think of this blog, too:
http://forum.recordingreview.com/blogs/paul999/129-studio-monitor-conspiracy.html

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Yup, looks like a TATU type thing, but they’re certainly no TATU judging by that track :-D

Well they (as in, Paula and Mira the lyricists and Jori who writes the music) weren’t even trying to copy them musically, I think. They’ve always written their stuff in Finnish, and it is a sure sign that they aren’t geared towards the international mainstream market. And Finnish mainstream music is wildly different.

I love PMMP because they have a lot of real serious social commentary songs - they’re a punk band at heart even if they don’t always sound like punk. Their latest album is, surprisingly, only the “softer” side of them musically, but the lyrics haven’t mellowed. Just check this out - even if you don’t like the music, the girls have a point, lyrically…

PMMP - Jeesus ei tule, oletko valmis? - 2012

http://lyricstranslate.com/en/jeesus-ei-tule-oletko-valmis-jesus-wont-come-are-you-ready.html - the translation is a bit rough around the edges, but mostly accurate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veRanCpnQ-4 - radio rip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D9mX1UZtVM - live

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

The Rasmus feat. Lena Katina - October and April
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3zN1-0QvkCongratulations on posting the most musical sounding track you have ever posted for me.  I will definitely look into The Rasmus, especially if that track is a typical one, they actually sound melodic to me, so thanks!

You’re welcome, I hope you find their other stuff listenable (Lauri’s voice is a total turnoff for me). They’re actually the most mainstream-oriented Finnish band ever, I’d say.

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

It was also interesting to hear from a native Russian what she felt about the TATU tracks as well.  I guessed a while back they weren’t basic translations, but I never knew what the differences were.  You mention the Russian version is literally murderous, and that fits in with a difference I spotted in “Sparks”.  Early in the track (on the Russian version) I notice Yulia shakes her fists and gives a “look” to the camera, she doesn’t do that in the English version.  Out of curiosity, and due to the murderous intent, what exactly is she shaking her fists about at that point?

Probably that “significant other” - in Russian, the song is about a man and a woman, though it’s not exactly clear whose point of view the lyrics are. Maybe both. What do you call those bright spots that appear on the walls when you catch a sun beam in a mirror? In Russian, they’re “sun bunnies”, like little cute fluffy bunnies. And this is how the song goes, forgive me if this translation is not expressive enough:

Sun bunnies on the wall
Die after the sunset
It’s twice easier, being dead
The bunnies fade out and they short-circuit

repeat chorus

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Of course, another classic is one where Yulia decides to show-off her pianist skills half-way through a track - have you seen it?

I don’t know what to drool over the most, her piano skills, or that beautiful analogue open-reel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxRSGA-6lhg

Wow, this is a super cool video! I haven’t seen it before, thanks! More appropriate for a rock band than for a pop band, I’d say, but I guess this is why I like it =) And I have to say that I saw Julia on TV a couple of days ago, in a quiz show, and I don’t know if it’s some perception inertia of mine or what, but to me, she’s one of those women, who, like Halle Berry, actually look better with short hair than with longer.

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

W.A.S.P. - Keep Holding On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNMJSyxEbmU

Well, had it been analogue or digital, it’s not a good recording either way.  The song felt reasonably melodic.

I’m actually not the one to judge if it’s good or not (I’m sure Blackie made it sound exactly the way he wanted it to sound back then - he changes his mind sometimes about his past recordings, but when he releases something, it is always exactly what he meant it to be at the moment, even if he gets a ton of negative reviews right away) - it does not detract from the song, so I find it adequate.

Here’s that other track you may theoretically like… It’s from the same 1995 album which was originally intended to be an acoustic solo album, but wound up much heavier and being released under the “W.A.S.P.” name. Not that it changes anything - Blackie may have always wanted a “real band” as in “camaraderie and shared aspirations”, but 90% of W.A.S.P.‘s output is pure Blackie - for various reasons.
And the lyrics are super soppy, so close your eyes so as not to read them! =)

W.A.S.P. - Breathe - 1995
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PFASSAe0Ik

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

You had a musical preference when you was a pre-school kid?
Bloody hell, I don’t recall I even had the means to play music when I was that age, nevermind have a preference :-D

Well, I had to ask my parents and grandparents to operate the record player and then, the stereo. But I’ve always been given free reign to mess with the old and battered piano. I never learnt to play it properly as I had no teacher, but I had a couple of colourful children’s books that introduced me to staff notation and basic chords.

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Here, most epic pop song ever produced, the one that made me want a synthesizer (would even part with Lego for one):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRHetRTOD1Q

Yeah… those were the days. Why did the mainstream music have to become so silly now?..

pumeco - 09 August 2012 02:56 PM

Eventually though, I’ll send you a cassette produced in a mobile home, somewhere off the beaten track in Spain.  I hope the quality will be the best you’ve ever heard from a cassette, although I cannot guarantee the same would be true of the music :-D

Awww how cool! =) Thanks in advance =)

UPD:

pumeco - 13 August 2012 06:13 AM

Just one of many covers of another favourite song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ5QEXzPpE0
.

Is this Eva Mendes the actress??

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

*innocently* Gotta blame Animal Planet and their longhorn beetles! http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/animal-planet-presents/videos/buggin-with-ruud-longhorn-beetle.htm

:-D

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Thanks! A very atmospheric track, great for late evenings - kind of dreamy… But I’d never have guessed this is Japanese! The singer sounds more like a soul singer of African descent (is this politically correct enough?), and that’s cool =)

I’m not sure what’s politically correct nowadays and frankly couldn’t give a crap, I say what I like, what I believe in - as should everyone.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Maybe that’s because he wasn’t American? =)

No, it’s because he was entertaining without the annoying vocal mannerisms.  Nothing to do with him not being American, Elton John is’t American either and I can’t listen to him for exactly the same reason.  I don’t like the way Elvis or Elton John seem to put on or exaggerate the way they sing in their particular stylistic fashion, it’s annoying.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

You know… Here in Russia he’s not considered an opera singer at all. He’s thought of as a good pop singer who does inventive things with his falsetto in the studio (and his breakthrough video was called “Opera No ...” something, I forgot the exact number), but that’s about all… AFAIK he hasn’t ever had any vocal training. To be an “opera” singer, you’d need to project those high notes without a mike, over a full orchestra (and then there are other technicalities). If he has learnt to do it, good.  I can’t tell because his TV appearances here have always been amplified and, well, playback - not his fault exactly, Russian mainstream pop is almost always playback for technical reasons (including poor acoustics of pop concert halls here).

Like I said though, I don’t see him as a typical opera singer, and he doesn’t really sing opera songs.  The fact that he mixes pop with an operatic style is what makes him stand out from the usual “style” of opera singers.

I don’t know enough to debate how he compares to other opera singers, but what I do know is that he isn’t just a production voice.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Now look… You’ve got a keyboard. How many octaves does it span? About five, I guess. If you press a key on the far left and then on the far right, you will hear that this song doesn’t really showcase that range. It is sung around the “fifth” octave (with C4 being middle C), but to truly display a five octave range, you’d need to go from Thurl Ravenscroft http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etdMM6VsBos - all the way up to Maria Callas and then some… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaI7UQTUCg (warning: Callas is THE opera singer, listen at your own risk).

“Five octave range” is generally a marketing gimmick. Actually a singer who has a working range of three octaves (especially in true operatic technique) is impressive enough. Here’s a compilation of Callas’ three octaves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJKy8E4JKA8

If Vitas has those Ravenscroft low notes somewhere, great. Low notes are always awesome. It’s just that I haven’t ever heard him use that part of his range, unfortunately.

And BTW, if you’re curious, check out these classically trained countertenors i.e. men who sing hiiiiigh notes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fC03m4MXo4&list=PL6C07DD6D34FC6044&feature=plpp_play_all

To be honest I only mentioned the octave range because of what someone said on YouTube and I thought it might interest you, I haven’t actually tested it for myself.  And anyway, I’ve got the full eight octaves on my keyboard. thankyou very much :-)

It’s one of those 8-octave Technics with weighted keys.  No buttons apart from a few selectors hidden on the side of the unit, and sadly no modulation and pitch-bend either - it’s just a heavy slab of keys.

Ravenscroft was indeed amazing, wow, so low!  And Callas, why I could never listen to her for long periods, I understand what you’re getting at.  She was also pretty hot judging by the final photo on that last video of hers, but I’d still rather listen to Vitas.  Maybe with Vitas being male he has slightly more richness to his voice when it’s high pitched, I dunno, but Vitas is easily listenable for me whereas general opera singers aren’t.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Yes, you’re right, they’re pushing their genre as far as they can, but it’s still not my cup of tea. First of all, when I wrote that the way the bass is mixed “makes my ears bleed”, I meant it almost literally: it gives me a very tangible headache in just a few bars. Many mainstream artists (and wannabe mainstream artists), even the rock ones, have this bass thing going on. Some domestic appliances generate those frequencies, too, and I physically can’t stand being close to them.
Then, there’s that “abstract” thing, like, their artistic intent. I just can’t see anything artistic about their lyrics, they aren’t even funny. I get they’re like that because of the genre which is, basically, “leg music”, made for dancing, no one should care what the lyrics are - but I do care. Sorry. I’m not mainstream enough to like dance music for what it is =)
I’ve listened to the song at work, through the bad speakers - they “ate” the offending bass, so I could listen in more closely. You asked about the chords - it seems they use the same four chords throughout. A variation of I-vi-IV-V, I think (but they seem to have swapped the minor with the major chord, and the other way around, or something…).

And I don’t like the way he’s rapping. There’s been very few instances of rapping I can stand… Mostly limited to Faith No More´s Mike Patton (who makes up for that by simply being an outstanding singer), and then there’s this:

King Kobra: rock+rap, apparently, for the first time in history - “Home Street Home” - 1986
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnNEhyXL_1U

Some of the most horrible “gated drums” evah // gated reverb is EVIL, especially if the drummer’s good //, but at least the rapping has some sort of emotion. I have no idea who did the rapping part, but it was before Aerosmith released their “breakthrough” single with those three-letter rap guys.

Had to stop King Kobra about 25% of the way into the track, and no way could I listen to that over BEP.

As for the ear-bleeding, lol, well funny enough the only time I thought my ears was going to start bleeding was a few months back when I accompanied my sister to an Il Divo concert in Sheffield.  It was amazing.  We got really good seats near the front side but it meant we were sat directly beneath one of the speaker-stacks suspended from the roof.  On the third track I think it was, I honestly thought my ears might start bleeding, it was like I could feel slight physical pressure on my eardrums!!!

Thanks for the heads-up on the chord progression, I’m going to buy a book or two on the subject because I think that’s probably the main element that shapes what I like.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

True. Made me think of this blog, too:
http://forum.recordingreview.com/blogs/paul999/129-studio-monitor-conspiracy.html

It’s an interesting blog and I understand the reasoning behind it, but I do not agree with all of it.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Well they (as in, Paula and Mira the lyricists and Jori who writes the music) weren’t even trying to copy them musically, I think. They’ve always written their stuff in Finnish, and it is a sure sign that they aren’t geared towards the international mainstream market. And Finnish mainstream music is wildly different.

I love PMMP because they have a lot of real serious social commentary songs - they’re a punk band at heart even if they don’t always sound like punk. Their latest album is, surprisingly, only the “softer” side of them musically, but the lyrics haven’t mellowed. Just check this out - even if you don’t like the music, the girls have a point, lyrically…

PMMP - Jeesus ei tule, oletko valmis? - 2012

http://lyricstranslate.com/en/jeesus-ei-tule-oletko-valmis-jesus-wont-come-are-you-ready.html - the translation is a bit rough around the edges, but mostly accurate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veRanCpnQ-4 - radio rip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D9mX1UZtVM - live

They bore me, they just do.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Probably that “significant other” - in Russian, the song is about a man and a woman, though it’s not exactly clear whose point of view the lyrics are. Maybe both. What do you call those bright spots that appear on the walls when you catch a sun beam in a mirror? In Russian, they’re “sun bunnies”, like little cute fluffy bunnies. And this is how the song goes, forgive me if this translation is not expressive enough:

Sun bunnies on the wall
Die after the sunset
It’s twice easier, being dead
The bunnies fade out and they short-circuit

Chorus:
220 (Volt - in Russia, it’s the voltage in the mains) onto oneself
Wrap [the cord] around yourself, and go
220 onto oneself
220 onto her

You’re teaching me to wait
You’re saying laughable things
While I want to give everything
If it’s love, it means it’s right away

In your dream you’ll never realise
If it’s love, it means everything will burn
Bunnies on the wall
They die after the sunset

repeat chorus

Wow, I never meant for you to translate the whole track, but thanks for doing it :-)

Yes, very different, and it seems a bit incoherent as well, especially compared to the English version.  Before you translated it I thought maybe they were slagging each other off or something.  Regards the “Sun Bunnies”, the English term is “Caustics” unless I’m misunderstanding you.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Wow, this is a super cool video! I haven’t seen it before, thanks! More appropriate for a rock band than for a pop band, I’d say, but I guess this is why I like it =) And I have to say that I saw Julia on TV a couple of days ago, in a quiz show, and I don’t know if it’s some perception inertia of mine or what, but to me, she’s one of those women, who, like Halle Berry, actually look better with short hair than with longer.

You mean like this (see attached)?

I don’t recall I’ve ever seen her with long hair, but yup, she definitely looks good with short hair.  And yes, I know, while the men admire her, you’re admiring the trendy leather threads she’s wearing - and wondering where you could download the pattern to cut your own :-P

Anyway, new song of hers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_AFd3mmeXI

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

I’m actually not the one to judge if it’s good or not (I’m sure Blackie made it sound exactly the way he wanted it to sound back then - he changes his mind sometimes about his past recordings, but when he releases something, it is always exactly what he meant it to be at the moment, even if he gets a ton of negative reviews right away) - it does not detract from the song, so I find it adequate.

Here’s that other track you may theoretically like… It’s from the same 1995 album which was originally intended to be an acoustic solo album, but wound up much heavier and being released under the “W.A.S.P.” name. Not that it changes anything - Blackie may have always wanted a “real band” as in “camaraderie and shared aspirations”, but 90% of W.A.S.P.‘s output is pure Blackie - for various reasons.
And the lyrics are super soppy, so close your eyes so as not to read them! =)

W.A.S.P. - Breathe - 1995
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PFASSAe0Ik

Like the other it sounded reasonably musical, but the words on this one seemed too smoothie-blendie into one another.  And yes, that was too super-soppy :-D

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Yeah… those were the days. Why did the mainstream music have to become so silly now?..

That’s easy, but I’d be booted of the forum for life if I expressed my opinion on that one.

Mustakettu85 - 13 August 2012 09:32 AM

Is this Eva Mendes the actress??

Yes, and it’s just one of many covers of that song.  That’s one of the newer ones and although I think it’s sung too fast, she made a better job of it than a lot of them do, it was certainly listenable.  To be honest, one of my favourite versions is one a Second Life member performed and Recorded himself.

Dated graphics now, but quite an interesting take on the song, and one that works pretty well I think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC3IGDIelPY
.

Well, I am back…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzhyKn1ThpU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZbM_MIz4RM&feature=related

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

I’m not sure what’s politically correct nowadays and frankly couldn’t give a crap, I say what I like, what I believe in - as should everyone.

Well I just don’t want to accidentally offend any person of colour. I think they are awesome, and my best friend is ahem of African descent… but she’s Russian, and we do use simple words for ethnicities…

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Elton John is’t American either and I can’t listen to him for exactly the same reason.  I don’t like the way Elvis or Elton John seem to put on or exaggerate the way they sing in their particular stylistic fashion, it’s annoying.

You’re officially the first person I know who doesn’t like Elton John!! =D
I guess I’m not that sensitive to mannerisms, I just like a strong voice with a decent range and a memorable timbre - and it’s also important if the singer hits the notes correctly. Sir Elton fits the bill =)

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

To be honest I only mentioned the octave range because of what someone said on YouTube and I thought it might interest you, I haven’t actually tested it for myself.

Weren’t it you telling me not to pay attention to youtube comments? ;D Anyway, thanks, but the thing is… How did you discover Vitas? I can understand where T.A.T.U. comes from - they are well-known all over the world, but Vitas didn’t even do a single Eurovision AFAIK. I’ve read he’s popular in China, but I never knew people listened to him in Europe =)

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

And anyway, I’ve got the full eight octaves on my keyboard. thankyou very much

It’s one of those 8-octave Technics with weighted keys.  No buttons apart from a few selectors hidden on the side of the unit, and sadly no modulation and pitch-bend either - it’s just a heavy slab of keys.

Oh, I think the advantages far outweigh the lack of pitch-bend in this case. Congrats on owning such a fine unit!!

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Ravenscroft was indeed amazing, wow, so low!

Yes, he is indeed! And so are those Russian basso profundo (super low bass) singers found in Church choirs… Here is a youtube playlist with some of this awesome music - I don’t know your stance on religion, but please listen even if you’re atheist…

Orthodox Church choir - sacred music

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Maybe with Vitas being male he has slightly more richness to his voice when it’s high pitched, I dunno, but Vitas is easily listenable for me whereas general opera singers aren’t.

Well I’d say it doesn’t have anything to do with him being male - male voices generally have far less power in the higher register, for physiological reasons (same as low female ones). I think it’s just because you aren’t (yet) accustomed to classic operatic voices, so they sound weird (= unfamiliar) to you. Many people seem not to have a deep appreciation of two types of singing in Western music: opera and extreme metal - because these singing techniques are not that closely based on the patterns and mechanisms of everyday human speech.

Just in case you missed this link - a playlist with classically trained highest male voices. They are sort of rare in what we think of as opera these days, but anyway, take a listen, what if you like something =)
Countertenors]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fC03m4MXo4&list=PL6C07DD6D34FC6044&feature=plpp_play_all]Countertenors and sopranists[/url]

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Had to stop King Kobra about 25% of the way into the track, and no way could I listen to that over BEP.

Hey but that’s not fair, I have listened to your rapping track to the end! LOL

And no, I’m not asking you to choose KK over BEP (KK were an 80s heavy rock band, I’m not even posting their “real” tracks because there are no 80s rock fans here…), it’s just a rare example of a rapper voice that does not make me want to hit him over the head with a crowbar. The actual music is irrelevant here.

But now it would be cool of you if you sat through the whole Faith No More video!

Faith No More - Epic - 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yoABwIlX3s

And yes, I think the video is super idiotic, but this band can play, oh how they can play… So you can close your eyes but please listen…

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

As for the ear-bleeding, lol, well funny enough the only time I thought my ears was going to start bleeding was a few months back when I accompanied my sister to an Il Divo concert in Sheffield.  It was amazing.  We got really good seats near the front side but it meant we were sat directly beneath one of the speaker-stacks suspended from the roof.  On the third track I think it was, I honestly thought my ears might start bleeding, it was like I could feel slight physical pressure on my eardrums!!!

Oh my XD I’d thought Il Divo were doing very soft music! But I guess if the venue was large enough… yeah that can hurt.

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Thanks for the heads-up on the chord progression, I’m going to buy a book or two on the subject because I think that’s probably the main element that shapes what I like.

You’re welcome, and I think you could start with wikipedia, they have a nifty category, and some articles have playable generic examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chord_progressions

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Wow, I never meant for you to translate the whole track, but thanks for doing it

My pleasure! If you need to understand any other Russian song, just ask.

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Regards the “Sun Bunnies”, the English term is “Caustics” unless I’m misunderstanding you..

You know, I think caustics is for fancy shapes that happen when light hits convex/concave surfaces, like water ripples or magnifying glass, and what if a child just takes an ordinary flat mirror and plays with the light that reflects from it? It would be just a simple bright spot on a wall. Maybe there’s just no word for it in English because only Russian children play with mirrors??

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

You mean like this (see attached)? I don’t recall I’ve ever seen her with long hair, but yup, she definitely looks good with short hair.

I think I like the style in the video more. But maybe it’s because her pink lipstick in the photo scares me LOL
I found a recent photo of hers with long hair in a TV guide, if you want, I could scan it for you…

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

And yes, I know, while the men admire her, you’re admiring the trendy leather threads she’s wearing - and wondering where you could download the pattern to cut your own

Haha, you’re right! But not for myself, more for that best friend of mine, it would be very much her style, she’s super slender and edgy.

Anyway, new song of hers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_AFd3mmeXI

Not bad! But I somehow think Lena has a more diverse voice.

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

W.A.S.P. - Breathe - 1995
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PFASSAe0Ik
Like the other it sounded reasonably musical, but the words on this one seemed too smoothie-blendie into one another.  And yes, that was too super-soppy :-D

“Smoothie-blendie” OMG what a fun word =D - what exactly do you mean by it?

pumeco - 13 August 2012 01:23 PM

Dated graphics now, but quite an interesting take on the song, and one that works pretty well I think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC3IGDIelPY
.

Dated or not, I think the video is very creative. The arrangement is also interesting - how is that style of electronic music called?

Allibaba - 17 August 2012 11:20 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZbM_MIz4RM&feature=related

I know it’s blasphemy, but I also like Floyd after Waters!!

Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly - 1987
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrGuVa-4BVE

Bryan Adams - Summer of 69
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFjjO_lhf9c

Deine Lakeien - Reincarnation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7u4Ws62GZ8

Deine Lakeien - Love Me To The End
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we3eQtkLzdU

Shadow G - Step On Stage (Official Music Video 2012) EXPLICIT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6A_XUjIc0M&

This is a music video I recently finished working on with Chicago rapper Shadow G. It was shot in Tucson, AZ over a period of four days. I did the videography, directing, and cutting. I am currently in preproduction for another music video with Shadow G.

The woman looks bored out of her mind and and the inconsistent colours and lighting between the scenes make this look cheap, together with this reality show look you’ve got there with most of the footage.

@Kettu
Hope you’ve not missed me too much, I’m preparing a large reply to post later :-)

@Allibaba
Things are slipping mate, they’re not even in the same league as Summer Wine for sheer musical enjoyment ;-)

@Ascania
I agree, the girl looked bored out of her mind :-D

@Pavel
Congratulations on the music video and best of luck to Shadow G :-)

I agree with Ascania about the girl looking bored, although I’m not sure what she meant about the “reality show” thing.  If I could criticise, I would say some of the shots should have been underexposed and had the shadows lifted in post in order to avoid white-outs, but I didn’t mind the cinematography, it seemed to suit the music.

BTW, tell Shadow G I think the name sounds cool, and let’s face it, names are important in such an industry.  Dunno what the “G” stands for, but it sounds cool nevertheless.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

You’re officially the first person I know who doesn’t like Elton John!! =D
I guess I’m not that sensitive to mannerisms, I just like a strong voice with a decent range and a memorable timbre - and it’s also important if the singer hits the notes correctly. Sir Elton fits the bill =)

I know he’s a good artist, just one of those things, same with Elvis, good but not for me.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Weren’t it you telling me not to pay attention to youtube comments? ;D Anyway, thanks, but the thing is… How did you discover Vitas? I can understand where T.A.T.U. comes from - they are well-known all over the world, but Vitas didn’t even do a single Eurovision AFAIK. I’ve read he’s popular in China, but I never knew people listened to him in Europe =)

You’re quite right, I should know better than to listen to just anyone on YouTube :-P
As for how I discovered Vitas; it was through the internet.

Vitas and his production team have produced some incredible work, I don’t just mean the voice, I mean the audio production is first-class as well.  Together it makes for an impressive audible product.

Listen loud, and listen to this right through and have your hand on standby, ready to catch your jaw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn6b5mZZD-I

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Yes, he is indeed! And so are those Russian basso profundo (super low bass) singers found in Church choirs… Here is a youtube playlist with some of this awesome music - I don’t know your stance on religion, but please listen even if you’re atheist…

Orthodox Church choir - sacred music

Nope, not religious, and I cannot listen to that stuff either way, it just bores me unless it’s forming part of another style of music featuring it as a sort of vocal-pad or something like that.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Well I’d say it doesn’t have anything to do with him being male - male voices generally have far less power in the higher register, for physiological reasons (same as low female ones). I think it’s just because you aren’t (yet) accustomed to classic operatic voices, so they sound weird (= unfamiliar) to you. Many people seem not to have a deep appreciation of two types of singing in Western music: opera and extreme metal - because these singing techniques are not that closely based on the patterns and mechanisms of everyday human speech.

Just in case you missed this link - a playlist with classically trained highest male voices. They are sort of rare in what we think of as opera these days, but anyway, take a listen, what if you like something =)
Countertenors]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fC03m4MXo4&list=PL6C07DD6D34FC6044&feature=plpp_play_all]Countertenors and sopranists[/url]

I didn’t miss the link, but I’m lost in discussion about this stuff, I know nothing about it.  The most I ever learnt about vocal qualities and it’s limitations was playing with Yamaha’s Vocaloid.  That might sound funny, but it’s surprising what you learn to realise when you play around and push things over human limits with it.  I certainly learnt to appreciate people who can reach extreme lows and highs after playing around with it.  There’s an operatic version I was going to get called Prima, that would have been very different in usage to say, Miriam, who sings in a totally different register.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Hey but that’s not fair, I have listened to your rapping track to the end! LOL

And no, I’m not asking you to choose KK over BEP (KK were an 80s heavy rock band, I’m not even posting their “real” tracks because there are no 80s rock fans here…), it’s just a rare example of a rapper voice that does not make me want to hit him over the head with a crowbar. The actual music is irrelevant here.

But now it would be cool of you if you sat through the whole Faith No More video!

Faith No More - Epic - 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yoABwIlX3s

And yes, I think the video is super idiotic, but this band can play, oh how they can play… So you can close your eyes but please listen…

Just so you know, I always listen to what you post and I listen to it right through, never worry about that.  If ever I don’t listen right through, I say so, so no worries there.

As for Faith No More, I thought they had reasonable rhythm, but they didn’t trigger my “catchy music” alarm :-P
I though the compression was amateur as well, to the point it was audibly annoying.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Oh my XD I’d thought Il Divo were doing very soft music! But I guess if the venue was large enough… yeah that can hurt.

Now then, I take it the laughing is because you thought the voices of Il Divo were too much for me to handle :-D

Trust me when I tell you this song was incredibly awesome ;-)

However, you really do not want to be sat under the speaker stack when it’s being performed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KpplyLTEE

As for the the show itself, I have to be perfectly honest and tell you it was very enjoyable.  I thought they were all very good, especially the Spanish bloke, oh, and the American as well.  I mean, I agreed to accompany my sister due to two things.  First of all it would be packed with women throwing their knickers on stage, and secondly, I like a lot of the ballads they sing.

I can tell you that I struck gold on the track selection, although the selection of babes attending was actually quite a mixed-bag.  Luckily, the old lady sat next to me was well behaved and clearly had no intention of throwing her reinforced underwear on stage for Carlos’ pantie collection.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

You’re welcome, and I think you could start with wikipedia, they have a nifty category, and some articles have playable generic examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chord_progressions

Thanks, but it’s those bloody dots again, and anyway, the chord book I have is much better for learning than that :-P

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

My pleasure! If you need to understand any other Russian song, just ask.

Very cool, thanks, that’s good to know :-)

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

You know, I think caustics is for fancy shapes that happen when light hits convex/concave surfaces, like water ripples or magnifying glass, and what if a child just takes an ordinary flat mirror and plays with the light that reflects from it? It would be just a simple bright spot on a wall. Maybe there’s just no word for it in English because only Russian children play with mirrors??

As soon as you replied I realised I misunderstood you.  I was thinking more of the concentrated light than the shadows.  I know what you mean now, but haven’t a clue what the proper English term is for them, sorry.

Shadow creatures maybe, I dunno.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

I think I like the style in the video more. But maybe it’s because her pink lipstick in the photo scares me LOL
I found a recent photo of hers with long hair in a TV guide, if you want, I could scan it for you…

You can if you have some free time, although it’s not important.
But yup, even after a rethink, I’ve never seen her with long hair!

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Haha, you’re right! But not for myself, more for that best friend of mine, it would be very much her style, she’s super slender and edgy.

Now that sounds like a more interesting subject to post, your super-slender friend in her leather gear :-P

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

“Smoothie-blendie” OMG what a fun word =D - what exactly do you mean by it?

Ah yes, that is one of my specially formulated words.  It means that a word seems sort of joined-on in both continuation and pitch to the next.  Not precisely so, but gives that sort of impression to a certain level.  Sort of like a slight portamento effect.

Mustakettu85 - 25 August 2012 10:59 PM

Dated or not, I think the video is very creative. The arrangement is also interesting - how is that style of electronic music called?

I can’t think how I’d place it, probably ElectroExperimental or something.

Anyway, things are really awkward for me right now, but the next time I post here I will have left the UK for good, and will have my mobile home!  That’s great news, but the bad news is that it will be a while before I’m back here (awww) and I know how much you all miss me, so in view of this, I have decided to leave you with something different, some music I like which has a small story attached to it:

THIS STORY IS OPTIONAL, IT IS JUST NOSTALGIA AND LOVE FOR A FANTASTIC PROGRAM:

It’s no secret that I like all things Japanese; the people, the culture, the country.  What you might not expect is that it seems I had a love for Japanese things even when I was too young to understand culture etc.

When I was a kid, they used to air a show here called “Monkey” or “Monkey Magic” as I remember it, and until a few years ago, I actually thought it was some childhood imagination of mine, something I either dreamed I saw on the TV or wished was real.  But one day while I was browsing Amazon a few years ago, I suddenly decided to type “Monkey Magic” into Amazon search.

I could not believe what I saw:  There they were, the four characters I wasn’t sure I remembered or imagined (see attached picture).  When I saw their faces I can imagine my face must have lit-up like, well, you cannot even begin to imagine.  Finding out these characters were in fact real was, I’d go as far as to say, moving enough, but then I found a massive box set that not only had every episode they aired here, but also the episodes they never did (Japanese only episodes).  The box set was expensive, but I just had to have it and bought it, and bollocks to the price!

You can feel the overwhelming love for “Monkey” in the reviews, whenever and wherever it is reviewed:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monkey-The-Complete-Series-DVD/dp/B0002PC2RC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

So what, you’re thinking, well I’ll tell you so what.  Monkey is one of those programs that is just unique (those that know it will understand exactly what I’m talking about), there is simply nothing else like Monkey, nothing.  So I got the complete box set, and that of course meant that I would hear the theme-tune again, and you know what, it was so memorable (such a blast form a thoroughly enjoyable past) - I almost cried when I heard it.

One of the original themes from Monkey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1dlaikCaa4

And it gets better, because I then found out that they made a film in recent times, a spin-off of the original program.  The amazing characters were played by new actors here, obviously, but you know what, they made such an amazing job of it, it is still “Monkey” and you don’t even think of the characters as any different, because well, they’re not any different they did it so well.

The modern film:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monkey-Magic-Blu-ray-Shingo-Katori/dp/B001KJ8N0E/

And that brings me to the track I want to show you, because this new film they made, ended with not one, but two tracks.  The first track I had never heard before (the one you’re about to hear), and when I first heard it, I thought now why the hell did they do that, why not keep the original and update it?  But as that track ended it blended into a brand new recording of the original, and the thing is, it wasn’t long before I realised, wait a minute, this new song is damn good, really fits, eerily well, it’s as good as the original.

So it’s like this:

- Original themes play on the original series.
- New theme plays on the film and then blends into a new recording or the original theme (both fantastic).

Here is the new theme, and if you saw it where it belongs, on the film, you would realise what an amazing track it is because of how it feels, it feels like it belongs Monkey, has that fun spirit, and to be able to achieve that after an original theme was so memorable, I think that’s one very improbable but amazingly factual achievement.

The new theme (the band is half Canadian, half Japanese):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVWChbPeHYA

Better quality audio (sung entirely in English as on the film):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1PHgqJK0jY

And another cool track from the same band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bxnfQjhXu8

Band Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Majik

pumeco - 25 September 2012 07:37 PM

Anyway, things are really awkward for me right now, but the next time I post here I will have left the UK for good, and will have my mobile home!  That’s great news, but the bad news is that it will be a while before I’m back here (awww) and I know how much you all miss me, so in view of this, I have decided to leave you with something different, some music I like which has a small story attached to it:

 

Hi again! It’s awesome to hear your plans are coming to fruition (touch wood)! I can’t watch videos right now (various computer\connection troubles), but the story you posted is very touching and the characters look fun =) I’m actually trying now to remember any character names or other searchable terms from a similarly “most likely imaginary” series from my childhood…

I’ll scan Julia’s photo for you ASAP, but my friend has enrolled in a university in Europe so that I’m not getting to make her pretty clothes any soon! =P

No prob’s Kettu, connections are a pain in the arse!

Anyway, I reckon it’ll be around three months before I’m posting here again, and even when I am, hopefully I’ll have less time to post.  Had enough of being sat behind a computer, and the good thing is the change is likely to make a big difference there.

Bloody hope so anyway :-P

Anyone ever heard or the Gutter Brothers?

The only time I heard them was a movie of OFAH, but the track they produced for it was one of the best covers of this track I’ve heard.  If you’re puzzled how I can like guitars but not like a lot of the stuff posted, this one demonstrates a style of using guitars that I like.  Sounds slick, catchy, and gritty all at once.

Genre is Skiffle/Blues-Rock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLxiLv3a8gg