Harry Styles has made a lot more money out of the music business than I have! Is he related to AJ Styles?
First and foremost itās a recording forum. I was expecting comments about the processing, the mix, the production etc. Thatās why I posted the track(s).
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Sorryā¦ Iāve had too much of that beer medicine that you take
Regardless, context is everything. You canāt critique songs like these outside of the context for which the song was created.
The only thing youāve really said about the Little Mix video is that the vocals are mechanical.
What else is wrong with the mix? Really - why is this an OMG WTF mix?
The bass hits fine in my speakers, the groove is balanced on verses and choruses, the vocals are (yes mechanical) but clear, the synths are wide and even, the harmonies are tight (though obviously edited), and the song makes sense rhythmically, lyrically, and harmonically. There is sufficient variety of texture from the verses to the chorus to the bridge, as this song develops and progresses consistent with other radio pop tracks. There are build ups, drops, and one-off accent effects that are appropriately placed.
Iāve listened to this track three or four times by nowā¦if you want to talk about the mix itself, we actually ought to be looking at this one for what we can learn from it.
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I can see why someone that is stuck with 30 years of preconceived ideas (not referring to AJ, just anyone in general) would dislike the mix on Sign of the Times. In case people here havenāt noticed, the āoveruseā of reverb is getting quite popular again. When you really take another listen to this one, where exactly is the flaw in the balance? More snare on the chorus? Kick drum too bright? Bass guitar overly distorted? Vocals recorded through a cheap mic? Or is there too much compression on the overheads?
Hereās my question to anyone else whoās jumping at the chance to ābashā this mix. What do you think should have been done differently? For me, the balance is there. I can see that some of the unfamiliar stuff (like the low-fi) tails on the delay throws are āexperimentalā enough to where they are borderline distracting to a trained engineer. What I love about this one is the balance between the bass, drums, and piano on the verse. Almost like 70ās-esque in the snappy gated snare, the highly compressed mid-boosted piano. Quarter notes and rhythmic pattern on the piano made me think of āimagineā by John Lennon. The other thing that is adding to this is the use of the dominant 7th as a passing tone when moving from the V to the I. Unique to that style. Almost NEVER see that in later 90ās and 2000 mainstream pop, though its quite common in country. But the blend of textures on the chorus really just works for me. Now the reverb on the vocal on the hookā¦yes, its pretty over the top. My question is if it succeeds in achieving the etherial melancholy sort of dream like sedated messiness that they were clearly going for. I think it makes it unique. We all know how easy it is to make a bland generic mix out of this. I thought the mix took a risk on the creative end, and its far more interesting to me than most other studios promo EPKās that are online at the moment.
Well for a start off I would have worked with the girls and actually got them singing. What Iām hearing in the recording is not human voices, and not singing. Itās vaguely reminiscent of humans, but itās been so processed, ragged about and digitised that thereās virtually nothing human left in it. Same with the backing vocals. They sound so perfectly in pitch and characterless that they may as well have been played on a keyboard. Maybe they were, who knows. I mean, these girls can actually sing, itās a shame that the production has gone down the route of producing a plastic version of their voices.
Combine all that with the obligatory sequencer-generated VI instrumentation, and Iām struggling to find anything commendable about it. We said in the songwriting thread that the song is relatively easy, the excitement and originality comes from the performance. Iām just not hearing any performance. At all. Just a production process that has resulted in a sterile recording that is not even worthy of telephone hold music.
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I can certainly relate to your third question! To be very honest, my musical tastes are somewhat stuck in the 60ās/ 70ās, and I find modern music hard to relate to. My eldest granddaughter decided that I need re-educating so she lent me her copy of Now 96, which is a compilation of whatās popular in the UK Charts at the moment.
Oddly enough, this track wasnāt on it, but The Little Mix one was. In the context of the whole double album, this track by Harry Styles is brilliant!
You are spot on hereā¦ Mr Simon Cowell and his multi-gazillions SYCO corporation! One miss and youāre out! Yep, you donāt need to win the X-Factor to be famous, as One Direction found out! Now Harry is reaping the spoils for himself! Fair play to him!
Whilst I was trying to be funny the other day posting after a few too many bevvies I had a good listen to this track, and yep, I genuinely like it! Itās been well produced, and itās got everything in it that a number one should have. What we need to bear in mind is that this ballad has been aimed at a specific market, the young! It wasnāt made for us ageing rockers to drool over, it was aimed at the teeny-boppers to wave there illuminated mobile phones to on dark evenings, play on their I-Pods and I-phones and also to make Simon Cowell even richer!
To sum it all up matey, to briefly answer the 3 questions you posedā¦
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Have I got it wrong? There is no right or wrong! You expressed some thoughts that I respected 100%!
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Is it actually good? I think it is, but thatās my opinion
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Am I just a curmudgeonly old git? Iām one too!
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Somewhere there is a parallel universe where this shit is illegal. Please take me there if you find it!
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I listened to this song last Thursday or Friday only once and thought it was decent but it was very long and repetitive. Thereās only 2 partsā¦They change the instrument arrangements behind those 2 parts a few times during the song, but that doesnāt really fix the monotony of it. I have no major issues with the production though it might not be ideal sounding. Songs are usually what catches my attention over production values.
I seen Harry performing this tune on Saturday Night Live , just a day or two after I heard the song posted on this thread. That was the second time I heard itā¦And I woke up the next 2 mornings with it playing in my head ! Grrrrrr, the dreaded earworm!
On Saturday Night Live they abbreviated the songā¦which is a good thing. I still found the song repetitive and it just feels like 2 parts put together that donāt quite equal a full song. I think the more I hear this song the less I will like it. Some songs grow on you and some songs fade really quickly. This song feels like a āfaderā to me. Sometimes that happens with songs that catch you really quickly. Sometimes the best songs are ones that grow on you slowlyā¦Itās like fast food and healthy food. The fast sugary food is an immediate compulsion , while the healthy food actually makes you feel better and in the long run you enjoy it a lot more.
egad thatās awful, lol!
My granddaughter would love it.
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