There should be laws against this.
December 2, 2010 9:39 PM Subscribe
I was about to say 'never mind worst band, this is the worst post ever' but then that wedding dj totally saved the day.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:46 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:46 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
listen to these assholes, amirite?
posted by sanko at 9:46 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by sanko at 9:46 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
This is what it would sound like if the Jolly Green Giant had his own band. Because when you're 200 ft tall and sound is moving 1100 ft s-1, we're talking 1-second delays for the sound to go from bandmate to bandmate. This is the music that would come out of the Jolly Green Giant's beanfield.
posted by crapmatic at 9:50 PM on December 2, 2010 [25 favorites]
posted by crapmatic at 9:50 PM on December 2, 2010 [25 favorites]
I thought that Pink Floyd themselves were the worst band ever?
posted by LarryC at 9:56 PM on December 2, 2010 [15 favorites]
posted by LarryC at 9:56 PM on December 2, 2010 [15 favorites]
Ten to one their monitors were off. I've been in similar situations - these guys can't hear each other at all. That became obvious when I saw the bass player emphatically mouthing the words to the song. Feels kind of bad to just sit at a computer and mock them.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:58 PM on December 2, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:58 PM on December 2, 2010 [10 favorites]
and probly their drunk, too.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:58 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:58 PM on December 2, 2010
ahhh... yeah. maybe they just suck.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:00 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:00 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
ahhh, memories.
My first band (I use the term loosely .. we were pretty bad) was in grade 9 or 10. They had already been together for awhile but needed a new drummer and asked me to join. I think we had only had one or two practices when they got the offer to play a daytime festival at the local skate park, and accepted without asking me.
"Don't worry - we're just gonna play those 5 songs we practiced and some covers, stuff you'll know!" they assured me when I expressed worry.
Well, we kind of bungled our way through the 5 original songs, then they started calling out cover suggestions to me. The first few were Nirvana songs and other recent stuff I knew. Then the singer announced, into the mic, "Now we're gonna do our version of Comfortably Numb!" to some cheering and clapping. Meanwhile I'm panicking and whispering "What's that? What's that?"
Apparently it was unthinkable to them that a 16 year-old in the late 90's had never listened to Pink Floyd. What followed would most likely upstage (downstage?) this video as the Worst Band Ever covering Floyd.
Goddamn do I wish there was a video of that..
posted by mannequito at 10:02 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
My first band (I use the term loosely .. we were pretty bad) was in grade 9 or 10. They had already been together for awhile but needed a new drummer and asked me to join. I think we had only had one or two practices when they got the offer to play a daytime festival at the local skate park, and accepted without asking me.
"Don't worry - we're just gonna play those 5 songs we practiced and some covers, stuff you'll know!" they assured me when I expressed worry.
Well, we kind of bungled our way through the 5 original songs, then they started calling out cover suggestions to me. The first few were Nirvana songs and other recent stuff I knew. Then the singer announced, into the mic, "Now we're gonna do our version of Comfortably Numb!" to some cheering and clapping. Meanwhile I'm panicking and whispering "What's that? What's that?"
Apparently it was unthinkable to them that a 16 year-old in the late 90's had never listened to Pink Floyd. What followed would most likely upstage (downstage?) this video as the Worst Band Ever covering Floyd.
Goddamn do I wish there was a video of that..
posted by mannequito at 10:02 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
this is the greatest day of my life
posted by mhjb at 10:04 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mhjb at 10:04 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
MUSIC
posted by bicyclefish at 10:06 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by bicyclefish at 10:06 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
Wow, StSanders outdid himself with this one.
posted by klarck at 10:08 PM on December 2, 2010 [8 favorites]
posted by klarck at 10:08 PM on December 2, 2010 [8 favorites]
Is it really that bad?
(not even counting what happens in outdoors situations; lack of/broken monitors are a silent killer)
/has heard worse sounds emanating from bands that make more money.
Pretty sure the guitar was outta tune and the guy realizes about 4 notes into the solo, but he was near the right notes. Pink Floyd is deceptively slow, there are more held notes and variation than many realize, they should not be covered lightly.
posted by infinite intimation at 10:10 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
(not even counting what happens in outdoors situations; lack of/broken monitors are a silent killer)
/has heard worse sounds emanating from bands that make more money.
Pretty sure the guitar was outta tune and the guy realizes about 4 notes into the solo, but he was near the right notes. Pink Floyd is deceptively slow, there are more held notes and variation than many realize, they should not be covered lightly.
posted by infinite intimation at 10:10 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
In all seriousness, I think the guy is singing "comfortably Numb" but the rest of the band is playing "Freebird."
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:16 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:16 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
I saw this on reddit and I'm kind of disappointed to see it here; yeah it makes you cringe and awful bands are kind of funny, but throwing it online and calling attention to it is kind of mean-spirited. These guys have done nothing to deserve being mocked except getting up on a stage before they were ready. There's no over the top pompousness to poke fun at; they don't deserve to be deflated and taken down a peg. In fact they show quite a bit of shyness in their stage presence. Not surprising because they're obviously still learning how to play as a group. It's probably their first gig. Lots of us fail the first time we try something, sometimes comically so; most of us are fortunate that our failures do not wind up on Youtube.
And no, they're not the worst band in the world, not even close. They all pretty much know their parts; they would sound perfectly decent if they could just stay together, which believe me is not easy when you're starting out.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:19 PM on December 2, 2010 [83 favorites]
And no, they're not the worst band in the world, not even close. They all pretty much know their parts; they would sound perfectly decent if they could just stay together, which believe me is not easy when you're starting out.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:19 PM on December 2, 2010 [83 favorites]
I bet this can be fixed. Just needs some autotune on the vocals, and heavy amounts of reverb and delay. I actually like how the band never hits a single downbeat together. Throw a few effects in and it could be some weirdly hypnotic ambient/chillwave.
posted by naju at 10:21 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 10:21 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Meh. Can you do any better? Sure, they're bad and they're paid and happen to be bad.
Can we get a pastiche of bad Justine Beiber covers?
posted by porpoise at 10:23 PM on December 2, 2010
Can we get a pastiche of bad Justine Beiber covers?
posted by porpoise at 10:23 PM on December 2, 2010
Convenient that the word MUSIC is plastered behind them, just in case you forget what you're supposed to be hearing.
posted by phunniemee at 10:33 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 10:33 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
And listen at 3:00. For about 20 seconds they finally get locked in and it's totally fine. They're really close to getting this song -- they're just not feeling the transitions right and they fall out of step with one another.
And watch the singer's face -- he knows it's a train wreck, all 4.5 minutes of it -- so does the rest of the band -- but they finish the song, and he says "thank you very much". No hissy fit or anger or anything. Nothing to deserve our ridicule.
From the link description:
I'm sorry to the guys, whoever they are, but this is awful. And these guys aren't 12 year old music students... they're grown men who ought to know better.
I'm sorry to whoever posted that, but fuck you. (Actually not sorry, but neither is he clearly, so we're even.) In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt. You don't fucking point and laugh just because you can. You can do better than that.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:35 PM on December 2, 2010 [72 favorites]
And watch the singer's face -- he knows it's a train wreck, all 4.5 minutes of it -- so does the rest of the band -- but they finish the song, and he says "thank you very much". No hissy fit or anger or anything. Nothing to deserve our ridicule.
From the link description:
I'm sorry to the guys, whoever they are, but this is awful. And these guys aren't 12 year old music students... they're grown men who ought to know better.
I'm sorry to whoever posted that, but fuck you. (Actually not sorry, but neither is he clearly, so we're even.) In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt. You don't fucking point and laugh just because you can. You can do better than that.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:35 PM on December 2, 2010 [72 favorites]
It's that kind of playing where you're trying to fake it out just enough and play quietly enough so that your mistakes won't be heard and it'll just barely kind of sort of sound like what you're doing blends in with everyone else, except everyone in the band is doing that at the same time, for the entire song.
posted by anazgnos at 10:36 PM on December 2, 2010 [9 favorites]
posted by anazgnos at 10:36 PM on December 2, 2010 [9 favorites]
You're totally right Percussive Paul. I was going to suggest the thread turn to quoting the last line of the song you heard before you clicked the back or close button, but I'm hesitant to encourage the mean-spiritedness. If I'd been there IRL, though, I would turned and walked back to the bar for a drink.
"Can you show me where it hurts"
posted by Lukenlogs at 10:37 PM on December 2, 2010
"Can you show me where it hurts"
posted by Lukenlogs at 10:37 PM on December 2, 2010
You want bad? Listen to Aerosmith bootlegs.
posted by Ardiril at 10:41 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Ardiril at 10:41 PM on December 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
I just can't get over the horrific vocals... I can't sing to save my life, but I sure as hell wouldn't be on stage displaying it.
And the dj? You're kidding. I would have slapped his bowtie off his stupid neck when he slapped my boob the first time.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 10:41 PM on December 2, 2010
And the dj? You're kidding. I would have slapped his bowtie off his stupid neck when he slapped my boob the first time.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 10:41 PM on December 2, 2010
One of the secrets of being a terrible band is to play fast, because (perversely) timing matters more when it's slow, and the other advantage is that you're done quicker. I've seen a lot of terrible bands in my time, and the slower they are, the more painful the experience.
posted by klangklangston at 10:53 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
posted by klangklangston at 10:53 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
I am glad they got a chance to play in front of other people, I bet it felt great.
posted by not_on_display at 10:55 PM on December 2, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 10:55 PM on December 2, 2010 [5 favorites]
One of the secrets of being a terrible band is to play fast, because (perversely) timing matters more when it's slow, and the other advantage is that you're done quicker.
ie. The Ramones.
posted by empath at 10:58 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
ie. The Ramones.
posted by empath at 10:58 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
The only way it could have been worse was if they played Stairway to Heaven.
posted by dobbs at 11:01 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by dobbs at 11:01 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Uncomfortably dumb.
posted by koeselitz at 11:07 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by koeselitz at 11:07 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Besides, yeah, this is clearly not the worst band ever. I mean, yeah, they guitarist and bassist are actually mouthing the words to the singer, out of concern that he'll forget them in his drunken haze., but I'm pretty sure the Replacements did that too at some point. You could have a beer with these guys. They'd probably laugh and say: "yeah, that was awful. Geez." And it'd be no thing.
No, the worst band ever is very, very good at what they do. They sound catchy, they sound fun. You can even enjoy them a bit if you turn off your soul. And then they become tremendously popular, and the world gets much, much sadder. That's what the worst band ever will be. Maybe it already has.
posted by koeselitz at 11:15 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
No, the worst band ever is very, very good at what they do. They sound catchy, they sound fun. You can even enjoy them a bit if you turn off your soul. And then they become tremendously popular, and the world gets much, much sadder. That's what the worst band ever will be. Maybe it already has.
posted by koeselitz at 11:15 PM on December 2, 2010 [7 favorites]
There should be laws against this.
Well, my inner child was just molested...
posted by En0rm0 at 11:22 PM on December 2, 2010
Well, my inner child was just molested...
posted by En0rm0 at 11:22 PM on December 2, 2010
This is what it would sound like if the Jolly Green Giant had his own band. Because when you're 200 ft tall and sound is moving 1100 ft s-1, we're talking 1-second delays for the sound to go from bandmate to bandmate. This is the music that would come out of the Jolly Green Giant's beanfield.
Haha, I think with some in-ear monitors and mics Jolly Green Giant's dream could still come true.
--
Every time I see a video like this it makes me feel very fortunate to be in a few rock bands with very talented members and to be getting regularly paid gigs.
posted by zephyr_words at 11:25 PM on December 2, 2010
Haha, I think with some in-ear monitors and mics Jolly Green Giant's dream could still come true.
--
Every time I see a video like this it makes me feel very fortunate to be in a few rock bands with very talented members and to be getting regularly paid gigs.
posted by zephyr_words at 11:25 PM on December 2, 2010
Seeing this here means it's pretty much everywhere...which means these guys could leverage their 7.5 minutes of internet infamy into something... not sure what, but something!
posted by bonefish at 11:38 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by bonefish at 11:38 PM on December 2, 2010
Unlcear how to flag.w
posted by snofoam at 11:40 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by snofoam at 11:40 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I only have two things to say to this:
First, from the first note of the bass (out of tune) I knew it was going to be bad, and apparently so did the singer, based on the look on his face. The drummer kept doing little fills slowly, adding a few extra quarter notes to those measures to make it fit, and all told it looks like they had just won those instruments at the music store picnic and were giving 'em a go. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
Second, as horrible as they were, at least they stuck it out. I had the pleasure of being on stage once, as a favor to a friend, backing him on a Tom Waits cover. There were no monitors, and we couldn't hear ourselves, and I'm certain we were terrible, and he ended up throwing the mic down and storming offstage mid-song, leaving the rest of us hanging. So, these guys are better than we were, just by virtue of getting through the song.
You may not be talented, cover band, but you are diligent, and for that I salute you.
posted by davejay at 11:44 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
First, from the first note of the bass (out of tune) I knew it was going to be bad, and apparently so did the singer, based on the look on his face. The drummer kept doing little fills slowly, adding a few extra quarter notes to those measures to make it fit, and all told it looks like they had just won those instruments at the music store picnic and were giving 'em a go. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
Second, as horrible as they were, at least they stuck it out. I had the pleasure of being on stage once, as a favor to a friend, backing him on a Tom Waits cover. There were no monitors, and we couldn't hear ourselves, and I'm certain we were terrible, and he ended up throwing the mic down and storming offstage mid-song, leaving the rest of us hanging. So, these guys are better than we were, just by virtue of getting through the song.
You may not be talented, cover band, but you are diligent, and for that I salute you.
posted by davejay at 11:44 PM on December 2, 2010 [4 favorites]
shit. unclear how to clarify drunkest comment ever, which is also trying to illustrate unnecessaryness of post. sorry.
posted by snofoam at 11:47 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by snofoam at 11:47 PM on December 2, 2010
Oh, and yeah, as mentioned above -- the monitors were DEFINITELY not turned on. Guaranteed train wreck. Nothing worse than being able to hear the drummer. And nobody else. Not the singer, not the bassist, not the guitarist, nothing, not even yourself. Ugh.
posted by davejay at 11:49 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by davejay at 11:49 PM on December 2, 2010
now I know what tonight's nightmares are going to be about
posted by davejay at 11:51 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by davejay at 11:51 PM on December 2, 2010
oh my god this youtube comment is the best: "That sign above them is VERY misleading."
posted by davejay at 11:52 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by davejay at 11:52 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
02:10 - Guitar solo falters, male audience member laughs sharply.
posted by christopherious at 11:53 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by christopherious at 11:53 PM on December 2, 2010
Chumbawumba!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:56 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:56 PM on December 2, 2010
You know what? I want to go to a show that has a large collection of brilliant musicians, really skilled people at the top of their game -- and then they get paired at random into a "band", run onstage, pull a song out of a hat, and attempt to cover it, with no monitors.
I can't find 'em, but remember those YouTube videos of a band playing covers of songs, over the videos of those songs, only when they recorded the covers (playing along to the videos live) they all wore headphones so they couldn't hear themselves or each other, just the song from the video playing in their ears? It would be like that. Only live. And I want to go to there.
posted by davejay at 11:59 PM on December 2, 2010
I can't find 'em, but remember those YouTube videos of a band playing covers of songs, over the videos of those songs, only when they recorded the covers (playing along to the videos live) they all wore headphones so they couldn't hear themselves or each other, just the song from the video playing in their ears? It would be like that. Only live. And I want to go to there.
posted by davejay at 11:59 PM on December 2, 2010
It was for a Charity Event?
posted by Israel Tucker at 11:59 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by Israel Tucker at 11:59 PM on December 2, 2010
I'm sorry to whoever posted that, but fuck you. (Actually not sorry, but neither is he clearly, so we're even.) In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt. You don't fucking point and laugh just because you can. You can do better than that.
Oh, stop getting so emotional. Nobody is calling for their heads (just don't read the YouTube comments). I'm sure they're fine gentlemen/fathers/whatever. I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're swell individuals but good god, they suck as a band. Plain, flat-out suck. I know guys like that and have played with guys like that. Just not for money and/or in front of people. I've been a part of many musical train-wrecks and this is right up there with all of them. The singer knows it and at the 4:21 mark, you can actually see the guitar player retire from the music business. Hey, it sucks to suck but maybe they'll get better and blow us all away in six months or a year.
Also, I'm not sure how many of you had the same inkling that I did - that this was intentional or somehow doctored? That bass player seems competent enough. I just can't imagine him being that far off. Just a hunch.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:00 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
Oh, stop getting so emotional. Nobody is calling for their heads (just don't read the YouTube comments). I'm sure they're fine gentlemen/fathers/whatever. I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're swell individuals but good god, they suck as a band. Plain, flat-out suck. I know guys like that and have played with guys like that. Just not for money and/or in front of people. I've been a part of many musical train-wrecks and this is right up there with all of them. The singer knows it and at the 4:21 mark, you can actually see the guitar player retire from the music business. Hey, it sucks to suck but maybe they'll get better and blow us all away in six months or a year.
Also, I'm not sure how many of you had the same inkling that I did - that this was intentional or somehow doctored? That bass player seems competent enough. I just can't imagine him being that far off. Just a hunch.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:00 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
This could very well be an "open jam" situation as well. Notice how there's nary an ounce of chemistry between the players? Maybe it's shell-shock or their music careers flashing before their eyes but something just doesn't seem quite right about this.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:03 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:03 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Better link for Legion of Rock Stars, since the one in the MetaFilter FPP is pulled from YouTube.
omfg Mr Blue Sky and Silly Love Songs
posted by davejay at 12:05 AM on December 3, 2010
omfg Mr Blue Sky and Silly Love Songs
posted by davejay at 12:05 AM on December 3, 2010
Oh, stop getting so emotional.
I'm not emotional about it myself, but I thought this was really uncool.
posted by grouse at 12:35 AM on December 3, 2010
I'm not emotional about it myself, but I thought this was really uncool.
posted by grouse at 12:35 AM on December 3, 2010
Much as I don't like this post, I have to say, after three listens: This little ditty really grows on you.
posted by Dumsnill at 12:43 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Dumsnill at 12:43 AM on December 3, 2010
I am glad they got a chance to play in front of other people, I bet it felt great.
posted by not_on_display at 12:55 AM on December 3 [1 favorite +] [!]
OK, that was clearly non-eponysterical.
posted by sourwookie at 12:46 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by not_on_display at 12:55 AM on December 3 [1 favorite +] [!]
OK, that was clearly non-eponysterical.
posted by sourwookie at 12:46 AM on December 3, 2010
If indeed their monitors were off and that caused all the trouble, and they are in fact better than that performance, then you have to feel sorry for them for being in a trainwreck and not being able to anything except either soldier on or walk away, neither of which are at all appealing.
It's far different than bands who think they're good and have no idea that in reality they're heinous.
posted by bwg at 12:53 AM on December 3, 2010
It's far different than bands who think they're good and have no idea that in reality they're heinous.
posted by bwg at 12:53 AM on December 3, 2010
The Dead C reunion tour!
posted by Joseph Gurl at 12:59 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Joseph Gurl at 12:59 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Imo, Najuwasrite (mostly I got rid of the annoying behind the camera laughing, and suddenly it sounded better)
I have listened to this like a hundred times (16), youtube is very clearly suffering from being wrong, and on the internet. I am glad for having been introduced, thanks. Hopefully the cd will have some interesting material.
posted by infinite intimation at 1:01 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I have listened to this like a hundred times (16), youtube is very clearly suffering from being wrong, and on the internet. I am glad for having been introduced, thanks. Hopefully the cd will have some interesting material.
posted by infinite intimation at 1:01 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
They deserve respect - not mockery.
Yeah, and that's why i don't like this post so much: it feels mostly like a point-and-laugh at random, harmless people trying to enjoy themselves sort of thing.
On the other hand: I've never much liked Pink Floyd, and I'm starting to prefer this version to the original.
posted by Dumsnill at 1:07 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yeah, and that's why i don't like this post so much: it feels mostly like a point-and-laugh at random, harmless people trying to enjoy themselves sort of thing.
On the other hand: I've never much liked Pink Floyd, and I'm starting to prefer this version to the original.
posted by Dumsnill at 1:07 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think that these guys are taking lessons at that store and got the chance to play out of that. It's hard to believe they've been playing long or practicing much together because they don't connect at all, but none of them are good enough to do jam sessions/pick up groups (or seem arrogant enough to do that when they really suck.)
Lots of rookie mistakes-- for example, right before the lead the guy with the SG stops playing, takes his foot off the monitor and hits his effect pedal, then sets back up and does his lead. Same thing at the end of the lead. You know, they make those things with foot switches for a reason.
Can't call the guys the worst band because they aren't a band yet. They just got in over their heads and unfortunately got the video posted.
posted by InfidelZombie at 1:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Lots of rookie mistakes-- for example, right before the lead the guy with the SG stops playing, takes his foot off the monitor and hits his effect pedal, then sets back up and does his lead. Same thing at the end of the lead. You know, they make those things with foot switches for a reason.
Can't call the guys the worst band because they aren't a band yet. They just got in over their heads and unfortunately got the video posted.
posted by InfidelZombie at 1:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Really? Am I going to be the one who has to say it? Ok, then.
FAKE!
posted by i_have_a_computer at 1:30 AM on December 3, 2010
FAKE!
posted by i_have_a_computer at 1:30 AM on December 3, 2010
Oddly enough, this was the second time tonight I'd listened to complete.
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 1:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 1:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt.
Pretty much where I'm coming from with this, too, in that these guys were not only making a sincere effort here that deserves a wincing slow-clap rather than sneering; they're not even close to the worst band ever. The Worst Band Ever can be found in the bonus material of the Butthole Surfers' "Blind Eye Sees All". There, a highly lysergic Gibby Haynes, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts (until seconds later, when someone yanks them down), is trying to play the bass but is staring blissfully at the booing crowd. A clearly frustrated Paul Leary on guitar tries to play 'BBQ Pope,' only you can scarcely hear his guitar. There is no drummer, but a drumset is on stage. Out of sheer pity, some random stranger climbs onto the stage and does an unenthused snare-bass-high-hat tapping out of the rhythm of the song. And that's only a minute into the song. Then the beer cans start flying.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:53 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Pretty much where I'm coming from with this, too, in that these guys were not only making a sincere effort here that deserves a wincing slow-clap rather than sneering; they're not even close to the worst band ever. The Worst Band Ever can be found in the bonus material of the Butthole Surfers' "Blind Eye Sees All". There, a highly lysergic Gibby Haynes, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts (until seconds later, when someone yanks them down), is trying to play the bass but is staring blissfully at the booing crowd. A clearly frustrated Paul Leary on guitar tries to play 'BBQ Pope,' only you can scarcely hear his guitar. There is no drummer, but a drumset is on stage. Out of sheer pity, some random stranger climbs onto the stage and does an unenthused snare-bass-high-hat tapping out of the rhythm of the song. And that's only a minute into the song. Then the beer cans start flying.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:53 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt.
Lordy, I wouldn't want to live in such a world. How drearily earnest and, arguably, insincere. If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy.
posted by Decani at 1:57 AM on December 3, 2010 [8 favorites]
Lordy, I wouldn't want to live in such a world. How drearily earnest and, arguably, insincere. If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy.
posted by Decani at 1:57 AM on December 3, 2010 [8 favorites]
Decani: "If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy"
Well yeah, it's how we improve, getting feedback. This post seems less like feedback and more like "Ha ha, look at these losers trying and failing." Kind of a joyless way to get your laffs.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:05 AM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
Well yeah, it's how we improve, getting feedback. This post seems less like feedback and more like "Ha ha, look at these losers trying and failing." Kind of a joyless way to get your laffs.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:05 AM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
That's feedback too. Risk is an important part of life, and performing live music for an audience is inherently risky.
Especially in the era of pocket digital video and smartphones.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:52 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Especially in the era of pocket digital video and smartphones.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:52 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Lordy, I wouldn't want to live in such a world. How drearily earnest and, arguably, insincere. If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy.
Completely agree -- and that's what friends are for. When it's a bunch of strangers -- well, it kinda transforms Metafilter into a gramatically superior version of the YouTube comments section.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:00 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Completely agree -- and that's what friends are for. When it's a bunch of strangers -- well, it kinda transforms Metafilter into a gramatically superior version of the YouTube comments section.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:00 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Joseph Gurl: "Risk is an important part of life, and performing live music for an audience is inherently risky."
Yes, that's sort of the point. It takes balls to get on stage and actually finish the song, even after it's obvious within the first few seconds that you haven't practiced enough and/or your monitors aren't on. Feedback may come in the form of "Yo, guys, maybe spend a couple more months in the garage banging that out for a while? And a sound check might be a good idea, too." Or it may come in the form of derisive laughter. That's a risk you take when you stick your neck out. I guess I just don't take pleasure in watching someone making an honest effort and falling flat on their faces.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 4:03 AM on December 3, 2010
Yes, that's sort of the point. It takes balls to get on stage and actually finish the song, even after it's obvious within the first few seconds that you haven't practiced enough and/or your monitors aren't on. Feedback may come in the form of "Yo, guys, maybe spend a couple more months in the garage banging that out for a while? And a sound check might be a good idea, too." Or it may come in the form of derisive laughter. That's a risk you take when you stick your neck out. I guess I just don't take pleasure in watching someone making an honest effort and falling flat on their faces.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 4:03 AM on December 3, 2010
I am trying to not be mean, but this post is just lame. Couldn't op have spent 5 more minutes making this interesting. Other bad bands or something?
posted by psycho-alchemy at 4:22 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by psycho-alchemy at 4:22 AM on December 3, 2010
Just realized that there are two youtube links. Its all better now.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 4:23 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by psycho-alchemy at 4:23 AM on December 3, 2010
This fills me with the urge to defecate.
posted by punkfloyd at 4:38 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by punkfloyd at 4:38 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
On one hand, the band isn't that incredibly awful. On the other hand, holy crap some people really don't enjoy it when people draw humour from watching minor failures of others.
posted by tehloki at 4:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by tehloki at 4:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Meh. Can you do any better?
Well ... yes. Yes I can.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:47 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well ... yes. Yes I can.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:47 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
No, the worst band ever is very, very good at what they do. They sound catchy, they sound fun. You can even enjoy them a bit if you turn off your soul. And then they become tremendously popular, and the world gets much, much sadder. That's what the worst band ever will be. Maybe it already has.
Gotcha.
posted by entropone at 5:15 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
Gotcha.
posted by entropone at 5:15 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
They're not even close to the worst ever; while not a band, can anyone say Icy Hot Stuntaz?
posted by bwg at 5:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bwg at 5:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh come on, he fake-does the echo on the word "Relax." The guitarist is searching to find the chords. The bassist is consistently about 2 seconds late.
There's some funny stuff here. I hope they have the ability to laugh at themselves.
posted by fungible at 5:32 AM on December 3, 2010
There's some funny stuff here. I hope they have the ability to laugh at themselves.
posted by fungible at 5:32 AM on December 3, 2010
I'll bet these guys were just randomly chosen winners.
FIRST FIVE DUDES TO COME THROUGH THE DOOR GET TO ROCK OUT WITH OUR JAMMIN MUSIC GEAR!
They got to go up on stage with the store's out of tune instruments, playing a song that the manager chose at random out of a nearby song book. Poor bastards.
posted by orme at 5:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
FIRST FIVE DUDES TO COME THROUGH THE DOOR GET TO ROCK OUT WITH OUR JAMMIN MUSIC GEAR!
They got to go up on stage with the store's out of tune instruments, playing a song that the manager chose at random out of a nearby song book. Poor bastards.
posted by orme at 5:39 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I really can't figure out what happened here, other than a complete failure of every possible thing that could fail. The drummer seems like he's trying to keep time with the bassist, but then suddenly he rushes a section for no reason. The guitarist sounds like he's struggling to find the chords and is just a little late on every change. The bassist just sounds like he's ignoring the drummer and going at his own pace. The singer sounds like he can't hear anybody. And who knows about the guy in the corner in front of the Orange.
I've played in some bad bands. I've played in some bands with people who weren't ready for 3am, let alone primetime (myself included). I've played with some flat-out incapable musicians. But never was it quite like this. It's the perfect storm of suck.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:44 AM on December 3, 2010
I've played in some bad bands. I've played in some bands with people who weren't ready for 3am, let alone primetime (myself included). I've played with some flat-out incapable musicians. But never was it quite like this. It's the perfect storm of suck.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:44 AM on December 3, 2010
So my Slacker radio was playing Les Claypool's cover of Shine On You Crazy Diamond as I loaded Metafilter and saw this thread... and I'm not sure what you're getting at.
posted by LordSludge at 5:48 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by LordSludge at 5:48 AM on December 3, 2010
My first and only high school band was called Black Dahlia. The only great thing about us was the name, a name I'd lifted from a James Ellroy novel. Previously, we'd called ourselves XLR8, but that wasn't edgy enough for the metal band we aspired to become.
We had a bassist (me), two guitarists, a keyboardist and a drummer. We were all juniors and seniors in high school (apart from our drummer, who worked in a carpet tufting mill and had his own place). Also, there was a kid named Kevin who played bass as well, but his was one of those basses with a shorter neck, so he considered it an entirely different (and therefore necessary) instrument. "Fine," he'd say, "you play long-neck and I'll play short-neck."
We knew three entire songs: "Johnny B Goode," Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll" and Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again." In a crunch, we could stumble our way through "Smoke on the Water" (naturally) and David Lee Roth's "Just Like Living in Paradise." Our drummer had a double-kick-drum rig a la Lars Ulrich, so we had aspirations of conquering "Master of Puppets" and possibly "One."
We played one gig. We were the halftime entertainment for a junior high talent show -- . We played our three signature songs and it was awesome for about fifteen minutes. Autographs were scrawled on mimeographed programs.
Shortly after, I got a call from our drummer. He told me that the band was questioning my commitment to the future of Black Dahlia, what with me heading off to college and out of town in the fall. Because of that uncertainty, I was kicked out of the band.
Besides, Kevin could handle bass duties.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:56 AM on December 3, 2010 [7 favorites]
We had a bassist (me), two guitarists, a keyboardist and a drummer. We were all juniors and seniors in high school (apart from our drummer, who worked in a carpet tufting mill and had his own place). Also, there was a kid named Kevin who played bass as well, but his was one of those basses with a shorter neck, so he considered it an entirely different (and therefore necessary) instrument. "Fine," he'd say, "you play long-neck and I'll play short-neck."
We knew three entire songs: "Johnny B Goode," Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll" and Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again." In a crunch, we could stumble our way through "Smoke on the Water" (naturally) and David Lee Roth's "Just Like Living in Paradise." Our drummer had a double-kick-drum rig a la Lars Ulrich, so we had aspirations of conquering "Master of Puppets" and possibly "One."
We played one gig. We were the halftime entertainment for a junior high talent show -- . We played our three signature songs and it was awesome for about fifteen minutes. Autographs were scrawled on mimeographed programs.
Shortly after, I got a call from our drummer. He told me that the band was questioning my commitment to the future of Black Dahlia, what with me heading off to college and out of town in the fall. Because of that uncertainty, I was kicked out of the band.
Besides, Kevin could handle bass duties.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:56 AM on December 3, 2010 [7 favorites]
Ten to one their monitors were off.
there was a time, back in the late 60s early 70s, where low level bands didn't have monitors and they still kept it together
posted by pyramid termite at 6:04 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
there was a time, back in the late 60s early 70s, where low level bands didn't have monitors and they still kept it together
posted by pyramid termite at 6:04 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
been there, done that. the guys seem a little old to be starting out, but watching the lead guitar guy work to form his chords, especially that confounded C, it's clear he hasn't been at it very long. this isn't a bad band, its a very young band. everyone starts out there. kudos to these guys for having the balls to put themselves out there.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:11 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:11 AM on December 3, 2010
Comment at YT: "A song about needles and anesthesia is always appropriate for a breast cancer awareness event."
posted by Eyebeams at 6:16 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Eyebeams at 6:16 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wow, just wow. The only way this could have been more perfect is if the giant word MUSIC behind the band had had quotes around it. And oh, that wedding DJ? No adequate words... why does that woman just stand there? Are they both aliens?
posted by kinnakeet at 6:17 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by kinnakeet at 6:17 AM on December 3, 2010
yes, i don't think you can blame poor monitoring on a complete inability to keep time. it takes a lot of effort to be that untogether.
posted by peterkins at 6:19 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by peterkins at 6:19 AM on December 3, 2010
Do not meddle in the affairs of prog rockers, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
posted by digitalprimate at 6:28 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by digitalprimate at 6:28 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
it takes a lot of effort to be that untogether.
Yeah, worst case, you can't hear, you play with the drummer. The worst part might actually be how sure the bassist looks as he plays completely out of time. When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:31 AM on December 3, 2010
Yeah, worst case, you can't hear, you play with the drummer. The worst part might actually be how sure the bassist looks as he plays completely out of time. When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:31 AM on December 3, 2010
In the world I want to live in we are human beings and treat each other well. Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt.
Lordy, I wouldn't want to live in such a world. How drearily earnest and, arguably, insincere. If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy.
And as you can tell by the singer's face, he is oblivious to the fact that they aren't playing well, and in fact thinks they totally rock.
Also, everyone knows it's impossible to let someone know they play badly and be compassionate at the same time. That kind of information can only be coupled with contempt.
posted by the other side at 6:33 AM on December 3, 2010
Lordy, I wouldn't want to live in such a world. How drearily earnest and, arguably, insincere. If we do something and we suck, we deserve to know it. It's healthy.
And as you can tell by the singer's face, he is oblivious to the fact that they aren't playing well, and in fact thinks they totally rock.
Also, everyone knows it's impossible to let someone know they play badly and be compassionate at the same time. That kind of information can only be coupled with contempt.
posted by the other side at 6:33 AM on December 3, 2010
Ten to one their monitors were off. I've been in similar situations - these guys can't hear each other at all. That became obvious when I saw the bass player emphatically mouthing the words to the song. Feels kind of bad to just sit at a computer and mock them.
But that's make it not funny. That just makes it sad funny.
posted by Bonzai at 6:49 AM on December 3, 2010
But that's make it not funny. That just makes it sad funny.
posted by Bonzai at 6:49 AM on December 3, 2010
I'm coming down on the side of sympathy for these dudes. Clearly their first gig, clearly they are uncertain about themselves, clearly they know they are sucking hard, but goddamn they're living the dream. I hope their wives and kids and all the coworkers they could convince to come to the show are supportive.
Replace Pink Floyd with Pavement and this is my band's first show. I'm sure everyone here whose ever laid it out there on stage for others to see understands.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:50 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
Replace Pink Floyd with Pavement and this is my band's first show. I'm sure everyone here whose ever laid it out there on stage for others to see understands.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:50 AM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
I wish this post wasn't still here.
posted by rollbiz at 6:59 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by rollbiz at 6:59 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
That "best worst metal band" link is a parody of a rather drippy song and video by drippy pop-folk experts NoX.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:08 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Wolfdog at 7:08 AM on December 3, 2010
Oh, and yeah, as mentioned above -- the monitors were DEFINITELY not turned on. Guaranteed train wreck. Nothing worse than being able to hear the drummer. And nobody else. Not the singer, not the bassist, not the guitarist, nothing, not even yourself. Ugh.
Enough of this monitor talk! Monitors are a luxury. As a dude in a working band, 80-90% of the time we don't have monitors, and in the rare event we do, they are only carrying vocals for the singer. These guys are clearly playing at low volume in a non-acoustically challenged space. There is absolutely no reason they wouldn't be able to hear one another.
posted by anazgnos at 7:12 AM on December 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
Enough of this monitor talk! Monitors are a luxury. As a dude in a working band, 80-90% of the time we don't have monitors, and in the rare event we do, they are only carrying vocals for the singer. These guys are clearly playing at low volume in a non-acoustically challenged space. There is absolutely no reason they wouldn't be able to hear one another.
posted by anazgnos at 7:12 AM on December 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
Thank you, anazgnos. The monitor excuse was really starting to annoy me. Musicians have made music - good, tight, well played, perfectly performed music - for centuries without monitors.
These guys are perfectly awful. They seem to know it. It's baffling why they did this. But it speaks highly of them that they stuck it through to the end. The sweet, sweet, merciful end.
posted by Xoebe at 7:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
These guys are perfectly awful. They seem to know it. It's baffling why they did this. But it speaks highly of them that they stuck it through to the end. The sweet, sweet, merciful end.
posted by Xoebe at 7:23 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Metafilter: You don't fucking point and laugh just because you can.
posted by stevil at 7:24 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by stevil at 7:24 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
As a dude in a working band, 80-90% of the time we don't have monitors, and in the rare event we do, they are only carrying vocals for the singer.
Really? In the past year of performing between one and three times per week, I've never not had a monitor. What sort of dive are you working at?
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:34 AM on December 3, 2010
Really? In the past year of performing between one and three times per week, I've never not had a monitor. What sort of dive are you working at?
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:34 AM on December 3, 2010
NoX's 2005 Eurovision appearance has also been brutally parodied.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:34 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Wolfdog at 7:34 AM on December 3, 2010
palate scrubber
Is it really that bad?
Well, he gets all the lyrics right. That's one positive.
On the other hand, yeah, it's pretty horrible. I mean. C'mon.
I have sympathy for the guys, but it is still hilarious for some reason. I think it is because it's a real-life version of Sgt. Sanders.
In all seriousness, I think the guy is singing "comfortably Numb" but the rest of the band is playing "Freebird."
I loled. I swear I was thinking the same thing! There is one stretch where it sounds an awfully lot like the guitarist is freestyling with a Freebird riff (or he forgot what song they were playing.)
Ten to one their monitors were off.
Uh, I dunno ... I've played outside before with shitty equipment and god, no, we were not that bad. Not even at 15.
And the way that the singer looks at the drummer at 0:26 (like WTF man), indicates he can clearly hear exactly just how godawful they sound.
If the monitors are "off," i.e. there's a delay or something, couldn't they just turn off the bad monitor(s)? Muscle memory and paying attention should suffice, I would think.
The first and biggest problem here is the drummer. It's not an easy song by any measure, but Comfortably Numb still has a basic bass/snare beat. He started with a cymbal "flourish" and then sorta barely kinda hits the high hat.
And then the bassist. Good lord. The whole rhythm section gets an F-.
When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
Exactly. Regardless of all the shit we get, drummers can be essential for keeping everyone together.
The singer is pretty bad, imo, and he's sorta what makes it the funniest (when they hit the chorus at 0:56 is the first time I started laughing). He's stumbling around like the ghost of a drunken John McCain who does not want to be there.
but, and that's a huge but, if he had a competent rhythm section and guitarist, I bet he could sing the song OK. the drummer is what dooms the effort from the first 10 seconds.
And, as someone else noted, I think, they are clearly out of tune. That's what really takes it into Sanders territory. (And now reading through comments, I might be inclined to believe FAKE as well ...)
The moral: Don't play live until you're ready.
Meh. Can you do any better?
Of course we can. And we suck. That's why we're laughing.
Like Confucius said, the funniest thing in the world is to see your neighbor fall off his roof.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:35 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Is it really that bad?
Well, he gets all the lyrics right. That's one positive.
On the other hand, yeah, it's pretty horrible. I mean. C'mon.
I have sympathy for the guys, but it is still hilarious for some reason. I think it is because it's a real-life version of Sgt. Sanders.
In all seriousness, I think the guy is singing "comfortably Numb" but the rest of the band is playing "Freebird."
I loled. I swear I was thinking the same thing! There is one stretch where it sounds an awfully lot like the guitarist is freestyling with a Freebird riff (or he forgot what song they were playing.)
Ten to one their monitors were off.
Uh, I dunno ... I've played outside before with shitty equipment and god, no, we were not that bad. Not even at 15.
And the way that the singer looks at the drummer at 0:26 (like WTF man), indicates he can clearly hear exactly just how godawful they sound.
If the monitors are "off," i.e. there's a delay or something, couldn't they just turn off the bad monitor(s)? Muscle memory and paying attention should suffice, I would think.
The first and biggest problem here is the drummer. It's not an easy song by any measure, but Comfortably Numb still has a basic bass/snare beat. He started with a cymbal "flourish" and then sorta barely kinda hits the high hat.
And then the bassist. Good lord. The whole rhythm section gets an F-.
When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
Exactly. Regardless of all the shit we get, drummers can be essential for keeping everyone together.
The singer is pretty bad, imo, and he's sorta what makes it the funniest (when they hit the chorus at 0:56 is the first time I started laughing). He's stumbling around like the ghost of a drunken John McCain who does not want to be there.
but, and that's a huge but, if he had a competent rhythm section and guitarist, I bet he could sing the song OK. the drummer is what dooms the effort from the first 10 seconds.
And, as someone else noted, I think, they are clearly out of tune. That's what really takes it into Sanders territory. (And now reading through comments, I might be inclined to believe FAKE as well ...)
The moral: Don't play live until you're ready.
Meh. Can you do any better?
Of course we can. And we suck. That's why we're laughing.
Like Confucius said, the funniest thing in the world is to see your neighbor fall off his roof.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:35 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
In case you missed it in infinite intimation's comment above, do check out his reworking of this recording in MeFi Music. It really is quite passable with just a few spacy effects added in.
posted by naju at 7:36 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by naju at 7:36 AM on December 3, 2010
It's not a monitor issue. They're all singing along. In perfect time. The bass shouldn't be coming in late. The guitar shouldn't be doing ... whatever it's doing. The drumemr should just be click clack click clacking like it's the first time her ever sat down behind a trap set.
They just fucking suck.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:37 AM on December 3, 2010
They just fucking suck.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:37 AM on December 3, 2010
So this took place at Big City Music, in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday October 23rd of this year, at an event called Live on the Lawn, which BCM seems to do at least once a year. Figured this out a couple days ago when this thing was still in the "curiosity on youtube" stage and not quite into the "steamrolling viral meme" stage yet; I went looking out of some sense of forensic curiosity about these guys, not really expecting to find anything and finding exactly that. They didn't strike me as being together enough to be operating under a cohesive band identity or anything, but I was hoping I might at least find a myspace page or something.
By what accounts I could find, LotL is a pretty varied local-band charity event that commonly includes a couple of performances by student bands made up of folks (generally, if not exclusively, kids) taking music lessons locally. So the context of "people who aren't necessarily great musicians yet but who want a chance to perform" makes this make a fair amount of sense as a place where a very rough but wanting-to-perform local group would end up being on the docket to perform. It's possible the organizer didn't know how rough they would be; it's possible he did but let 'em let their rock flag fly anyway. I hadn't seen any details on or response to the whole thing from the BCM folks when I was looking the other day.
And my feeling is: yes, they suck. It's a bad performance, in a lot of ways. But they suck in what seems like an obviously earnest they-need-more-work sort of way that probably comes down more to lack of rehearsal time and some mix of stage nerves and unfamiliar sonic environment than it does to anything. If these were thirteen-year-olds, it'd just be another awkward student band. Because they're thirties or forties, we see adults and that "oh, man, you're trying to learn" forgiveness is easy to let slip away.
The worst part might actually be how sure the bassist looks as he plays completely out of time. When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
Yeah, the clearly have no "let's get our shit back in order" plan. You have to play together and know how things go badly—for a performance in general, for your band in specific—to get to the point where you can not only know something is wrong but make an attempt to communicate with each other in real time to make a midstream correction to the problem. Whether that's something that could have worked here or not is an open question—everybody needs to recognized and agree on what's going wrong if it's going to be fixable—but I don't think they had the communicative toolset to deal with the problem in any case.
And not to single a motherfucker out, but the bassist fucks this performance as much as anything. He's a bar late on several chord changes, which is fucking up the singer because those changes are the cues for the vocal stanzas; he's early or late on a bunch of notes in a variety of ways. You can't fuck this shit up as the bassist. You and the drums are keeping the time. Put a guy on the four string who can keep time and this would be half the trainwreck it is at most.
I mean, yeah, they guitarist and bassist are actually mouthing the words to the singer, out of concern that he'll forget them in his drunken haze.
Some non-vox members of good, great, and terrible bands all mouth or even quietly sing the words of the song along with the singer at times, for any number of reasons: because they like singing a bit even if it's not their job in the band; to keep from losing their own place in the song; because that's the way their brain works and they'd have to actively work to not do it (which is more attention than someone already struggling to do their part can spare for a cosmetic detail), and so on. It doesn't necessarily have to do with any concern about the lead singer losing his way, and honestly the lead singer here seemed to know where he was at least as well as the rest of the band.
Second, as horrible as they were, at least they stuck it out.
Yep. Balls. You get up on stage and suck in the wind, that's a terrifying feeling. The look on the lead singer's face is hard to read, and I think it's kind of a fascinating thing to watch, because he does not look happy the way I feel happy when I'm performing, but he's up there, he's doing it, he's even flirting with a little bit of performative drama at time. He chews into some of Roger's lines in the verses with ghost of bite and flair, like he understands that you can play a part on stage and he has an idea of how that might play into the song he's performing, even if he hasn't actually gotten any good at selling that drama on stage yet. He gets the idea of being a rock singer, he's making small overtures to that idea throughout.
What I read was a kind of belligerence on his face, a mix of determination and discomfort and desire to go rock star with the whole thing while not really knowing how to get there or not being willing to let his hair down the way he feels like he should in his mind's eye. Could be drunk, could be not. Short of falling down hammered, it's not necessarily easy to tell with someone on stage with no context.
But he's up there, and he, unlike the rest of the band, has no instrument to stare at and so he's got the daunting job of staring out at the crowd and being the eye contact, and he makes that effort while probably having a good idea that they're not rocking faces off, and that's some basic guts. Stage lights are bright and hot, but they're also pretty forgiving: you can't see faces much when you play indoors at night. Outdoor in broad daylight with the bad sound that comes with that and full view of the people you aren't wowing is a hell of a lot rougher.
FAKE!
You haven't seen enough bad inchoate bands performing. Seriously.
Meh. Can you do any better?
I can do a lot better. I did better in high school, after doing equally bad a bit earlier in high school. I've never done a cover of Comfortably Numb as an adult, however, because it's not actually a very forgiving song and I don't think I'd really like what I produced if I tried to do a straightforward take on it. It'd be a lot better than this, but it might not be a very interesting recording.
It's not a complicated song, structurally: four chords in the verse and four chords int the chorus and none of them particularly tricky (the Bmsus2 and Asus2 stuff in verse is both optional and pretty easy to fret if you decide not to simplify the chord forms), everything is in a straight four, no bridge, lyrics are pretty straightforward and don't vary metrically from stanza to stanza, bass line is meat and potatoes stuff.
Vocally, though, you've got two distinct vocalists on the original and the song showcases the difference in their styles: Roger Waters being nasty and baiting and almost conversational with his verse stuff, David Gilmour pumping out all the soothing glass note vocals he could in 1979 on those dreamy choruses. One talented vocalist can make a go of covering both of those styles in a workable way; one not-very-good vocalist is going to struggle mightily. This guy doesn't have the range to comfortably hit the chorus high notes, you can hear him scraping and wavering a bit on that "I / have become" bit, and that's a key turnaround in the chorus, so it's a bad place to be struggling. But it's a hell of a thing to bite off and try to chew.
The guitar solos in the song are hugely famous as far as classic rock goes. I daydreamed about miming them when I was learning guitar. I'm a much better guitarist now and I've given up on trying to copy them because it turns out that I'm not actually David Gilmour and don't enjoy struggling to pretend I am; I play guitar the way that's comfortable for me and play the solos that actually come out of my fingers. It takes a while to learn that lesson, though, and from the looks of this guitarist, he hasn't been at it long enough to really frankly assess the gap between daydream and reality. He's got to get a lot better and more comfortable with his instrument before he starts to understand what he can and can't (or is and isn't willing to force himself to learn to) do.
They all know the song. They're all making an honest effort to play the song. With some more practice, and assuming none of them are fundamentally arhymthic or something (I'm looking at you, bassist dude), they'd be able to play it in time together and iron out some of the details. Won't make the dude a better singer on short notice, won't make the guitarist able to credibly pull of that solo, but they can tighten things up and iron out the structural stuff and maybe go for a simplified solo and this would go from OMG Worst Ever to Another Random No-name Bar Band pretty quickly.
And because the song is so straightforward structurally, and down tempo, structural stumbles are a lot more obvious, so aside from these untrained dudes trying to tackle both an iconic pair of vocal parts and an iconic guitar part, their lack of togetherness as a band means they're throwing a spotlight on all the things going wrong with the performance. The whole here is worse than the sum of the parts.
posted by cortex at 7:40 AM on December 3, 2010 [32 favorites]
By what accounts I could find, LotL is a pretty varied local-band charity event that commonly includes a couple of performances by student bands made up of folks (generally, if not exclusively, kids) taking music lessons locally. So the context of "people who aren't necessarily great musicians yet but who want a chance to perform" makes this make a fair amount of sense as a place where a very rough but wanting-to-perform local group would end up being on the docket to perform. It's possible the organizer didn't know how rough they would be; it's possible he did but let 'em let their rock flag fly anyway. I hadn't seen any details on or response to the whole thing from the BCM folks when I was looking the other day.
And my feeling is: yes, they suck. It's a bad performance, in a lot of ways. But they suck in what seems like an obviously earnest they-need-more-work sort of way that probably comes down more to lack of rehearsal time and some mix of stage nerves and unfamiliar sonic environment than it does to anything. If these were thirteen-year-olds, it'd just be another awkward student band. Because they're thirties or forties, we see adults and that "oh, man, you're trying to learn" forgiveness is easy to let slip away.
The worst part might actually be how sure the bassist looks as he plays completely out of time. When shit's going that bad, you at least lean into the drummer and try to get locked in.
Yeah, the clearly have no "let's get our shit back in order" plan. You have to play together and know how things go badly—for a performance in general, for your band in specific—to get to the point where you can not only know something is wrong but make an attempt to communicate with each other in real time to make a midstream correction to the problem. Whether that's something that could have worked here or not is an open question—everybody needs to recognized and agree on what's going wrong if it's going to be fixable—but I don't think they had the communicative toolset to deal with the problem in any case.
And not to single a motherfucker out, but the bassist fucks this performance as much as anything. He's a bar late on several chord changes, which is fucking up the singer because those changes are the cues for the vocal stanzas; he's early or late on a bunch of notes in a variety of ways. You can't fuck this shit up as the bassist. You and the drums are keeping the time. Put a guy on the four string who can keep time and this would be half the trainwreck it is at most.
I mean, yeah, they guitarist and bassist are actually mouthing the words to the singer, out of concern that he'll forget them in his drunken haze.
Some non-vox members of good, great, and terrible bands all mouth or even quietly sing the words of the song along with the singer at times, for any number of reasons: because they like singing a bit even if it's not their job in the band; to keep from losing their own place in the song; because that's the way their brain works and they'd have to actively work to not do it (which is more attention than someone already struggling to do their part can spare for a cosmetic detail), and so on. It doesn't necessarily have to do with any concern about the lead singer losing his way, and honestly the lead singer here seemed to know where he was at least as well as the rest of the band.
Second, as horrible as they were, at least they stuck it out.
Yep. Balls. You get up on stage and suck in the wind, that's a terrifying feeling. The look on the lead singer's face is hard to read, and I think it's kind of a fascinating thing to watch, because he does not look happy the way I feel happy when I'm performing, but he's up there, he's doing it, he's even flirting with a little bit of performative drama at time. He chews into some of Roger's lines in the verses with ghost of bite and flair, like he understands that you can play a part on stage and he has an idea of how that might play into the song he's performing, even if he hasn't actually gotten any good at selling that drama on stage yet. He gets the idea of being a rock singer, he's making small overtures to that idea throughout.
What I read was a kind of belligerence on his face, a mix of determination and discomfort and desire to go rock star with the whole thing while not really knowing how to get there or not being willing to let his hair down the way he feels like he should in his mind's eye. Could be drunk, could be not. Short of falling down hammered, it's not necessarily easy to tell with someone on stage with no context.
But he's up there, and he, unlike the rest of the band, has no instrument to stare at and so he's got the daunting job of staring out at the crowd and being the eye contact, and he makes that effort while probably having a good idea that they're not rocking faces off, and that's some basic guts. Stage lights are bright and hot, but they're also pretty forgiving: you can't see faces much when you play indoors at night. Outdoor in broad daylight with the bad sound that comes with that and full view of the people you aren't wowing is a hell of a lot rougher.
FAKE!
You haven't seen enough bad inchoate bands performing. Seriously.
Meh. Can you do any better?
I can do a lot better. I did better in high school, after doing equally bad a bit earlier in high school. I've never done a cover of Comfortably Numb as an adult, however, because it's not actually a very forgiving song and I don't think I'd really like what I produced if I tried to do a straightforward take on it. It'd be a lot better than this, but it might not be a very interesting recording.
It's not a complicated song, structurally: four chords in the verse and four chords int the chorus and none of them particularly tricky (the Bmsus2 and Asus2 stuff in verse is both optional and pretty easy to fret if you decide not to simplify the chord forms), everything is in a straight four, no bridge, lyrics are pretty straightforward and don't vary metrically from stanza to stanza, bass line is meat and potatoes stuff.
Vocally, though, you've got two distinct vocalists on the original and the song showcases the difference in their styles: Roger Waters being nasty and baiting and almost conversational with his verse stuff, David Gilmour pumping out all the soothing glass note vocals he could in 1979 on those dreamy choruses. One talented vocalist can make a go of covering both of those styles in a workable way; one not-very-good vocalist is going to struggle mightily. This guy doesn't have the range to comfortably hit the chorus high notes, you can hear him scraping and wavering a bit on that "I / have become" bit, and that's a key turnaround in the chorus, so it's a bad place to be struggling. But it's a hell of a thing to bite off and try to chew.
The guitar solos in the song are hugely famous as far as classic rock goes. I daydreamed about miming them when I was learning guitar. I'm a much better guitarist now and I've given up on trying to copy them because it turns out that I'm not actually David Gilmour and don't enjoy struggling to pretend I am; I play guitar the way that's comfortable for me and play the solos that actually come out of my fingers. It takes a while to learn that lesson, though, and from the looks of this guitarist, he hasn't been at it long enough to really frankly assess the gap between daydream and reality. He's got to get a lot better and more comfortable with his instrument before he starts to understand what he can and can't (or is and isn't willing to force himself to learn to) do.
They all know the song. They're all making an honest effort to play the song. With some more practice, and assuming none of them are fundamentally arhymthic or something (I'm looking at you, bassist dude), they'd be able to play it in time together and iron out some of the details. Won't make the dude a better singer on short notice, won't make the guitarist able to credibly pull of that solo, but they can tighten things up and iron out the structural stuff and maybe go for a simplified solo and this would go from OMG Worst Ever to Another Random No-name Bar Band pretty quickly.
And because the song is so straightforward structurally, and down tempo, structural stumbles are a lot more obvious, so aside from these untrained dudes trying to tackle both an iconic pair of vocal parts and an iconic guitar part, their lack of togetherness as a band means they're throwing a spotlight on all the things going wrong with the performance. The whole here is worse than the sum of the parts.
posted by cortex at 7:40 AM on December 3, 2010 [32 favorites]
> Do not meddle in the affairs of prog rockers, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
And then slow to anger for a very long passage, and then unsubtle and quick and loud, but oddly shrill, before slowing again.
posted by ardgedee at 7:42 AM on December 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
And then slow to anger for a very long passage, and then unsubtle and quick and loud, but oddly shrill, before slowing again.
posted by ardgedee at 7:42 AM on December 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
They won't ever be the worst band ever if they're not wearing their own t-shirts.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:46 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Wolfdog at 7:46 AM on December 3, 2010
Worst hiphop video ever.
I can only hope that their excuse was that they couldn't hear what they sounded like, at any point in the production. Possibly that the MC is deaf. I love the part when they fall off beat while the video shows her eyes tracking the lyrics off of a cue card.
posted by FatherDagon at 7:48 AM on December 3, 2010
I can only hope that their excuse was that they couldn't hear what they sounded like, at any point in the production. Possibly that the MC is deaf. I love the part when they fall off beat while the video shows her eyes tracking the lyrics off of a cue card.
posted by FatherDagon at 7:48 AM on December 3, 2010
Gotcha
I'm sorry, that was really uncalled for. That's just awful. What the heck was that??? Please don't post anything like that ever again!
posted by Danila at 7:55 AM on December 3, 2010
I'm sorry, that was really uncalled for. That's just awful. What the heck was that??? Please don't post anything like that ever again!
posted by Danila at 7:55 AM on December 3, 2010
Metafilter: You don't fucking point and laugh just because you can.
No. We point and laugh because there but for the grace of [insert deity here] could be us.
And also because we can.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:57 AM on December 3, 2010
No. We point and laugh because there but for the grace of [insert deity here] could be us.
And also because we can.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:57 AM on December 3, 2010
If I'd been there, I would have enjoyed that.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:57 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:57 AM on December 3, 2010
Guitarist: Hey guys, I signed us up to play at a breast cancer awareness event.
Bassist: Dude, don't you think we need more practice?
Guitarist: Have you learned nothing from Susan G. Komen? People will buy anything, no matter how crappy it is, as long as it has a Pink cover.
posted by condour75 at 8:09 AM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
Bassist: Dude, don't you think we need more practice?
Guitarist: Have you learned nothing from Susan G. Komen? People will buy anything, no matter how crappy it is, as long as it has a Pink cover.
posted by condour75 at 8:09 AM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
I used to live with a guy who fancied himself a guitarist. He started a band. They were worse than this most of the time. It didn't help that they were drunk 100% of the time. They did two things right that kept them from being completely awful, though: They got someone who actually knew how to play the drums correctly to be their drummer, and they only played songs with lots of overdrive, thus masking the..mediocrity..of the guitarist.
Their singer was just effing terrible, though. Maybe it would have been OK if they were trying to be Disturbed or KoRn or something more along those lines, but that's not the sort of music they usually played.
Also, anyone who can't belt out Comfortably Numb and have it sound like Waters and Gilmour is a twit. It's not a terribly hard song to sing or anything.
posted by wierdo at 8:15 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Their singer was just effing terrible, though. Maybe it would have been OK if they were trying to be Disturbed or KoRn or something more along those lines, but that's not the sort of music they usually played.
Also, anyone who can't belt out Comfortably Numb and have it sound like Waters and Gilmour is a twit. It's not a terribly hard song to sing or anything.
posted by wierdo at 8:15 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is the worst band ever in the sense that last week's FPP about Free was right in its fulsome praise of that serviceable-but-midrange group: people (mefites included) like superlatives.
As with a few others here, I have been onstage for worse performances than this: in 1989, right before my band decided to splurge for electronic tuners we played a show with both guitars and the bass all tuned to their own idiosyncratic pitch; ten years later, in another band, we were opening for a locally famous act that was looking for an opening act for an upcoming tour. Our opening slot was essentially an audition for that slot, but the singer declared we should not play stuff that sounded "old and tired" (that is to say, material we knew well and had down) but stuff that was "fresh" (i.e. songs we had played maybe twice in rehearsal and barely had the changes down). These shows were appalling, and are only not featured in the FPP because that happened before YouTube.
I won't rehash the dozen reasons given above for what happened here but I will point out that the way you get good at anything is by first being lousy at it. There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name. Whether or not Your Favourite Band Sucks, quite assuredly Your Favourite Band Once Sucked. It gets better.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:26 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
As with a few others here, I have been onstage for worse performances than this: in 1989, right before my band decided to splurge for electronic tuners we played a show with both guitars and the bass all tuned to their own idiosyncratic pitch; ten years later, in another band, we were opening for a locally famous act that was looking for an opening act for an upcoming tour. Our opening slot was essentially an audition for that slot, but the singer declared we should not play stuff that sounded "old and tired" (that is to say, material we knew well and had down) but stuff that was "fresh" (i.e. songs we had played maybe twice in rehearsal and barely had the changes down). These shows were appalling, and are only not featured in the FPP because that happened before YouTube.
I won't rehash the dozen reasons given above for what happened here but I will point out that the way you get good at anything is by first being lousy at it. There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name. Whether or not Your Favourite Band Sucks, quite assuredly Your Favourite Band Once Sucked. It gets better.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:26 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Gotcha. [brokencyde video]
That's a weird video to watch after a whole season of Storm Chasers... I kept mentally substituting Reid Timmer in over the guy who goes BLEEEAAARGH, and you know, it kinda worked.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:30 AM on December 3, 2010
That's a weird video to watch after a whole season of Storm Chasers... I kept mentally substituting Reid Timmer in over the guy who goes BLEEEAAARGH, and you know, it kinda worked.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:30 AM on December 3, 2010
Danila: “I'm sorry, that was really uncalled for. That's just awful. What the heck was that??? Please don't post anything like that ever again!”
No, that was AWESOME.
posted by koeselitz at 8:33 AM on December 3, 2010
No, that was AWESOME.
posted by koeselitz at 8:33 AM on December 3, 2010
This thread is the best thing ever. It's so full of astounding music.
posted by koeselitz at 8:35 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 8:35 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Actually, Comfortably Numb is a little harder than you'd expect, and yes, I have done it on stage for an audience (whereas I suspect others here have not).
And no, we didn't do it very well (and I was singing). I'm not sure it was as bad as this - but I'm not sure it wasn't. And the band was pretty good - we were just suffering from poor monitoring, an unenthusiastic crowd and not enough practice on this song.
The issues are a lot of fairly similar chord changes, the fact that it's pitched higher than you'd think, but mostly the fact that the tune isn't actually very "tuneful" so your pitching has to be bang on to sound good. (on preview, cortex nails it.)
Another tune that's hard to cover is White Rabbit, for more or less the same reasons - though White Rabbit goes much higher than Comfortably Numb.
I've seen much, MUCH worse bands than this.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:41 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
And no, we didn't do it very well (and I was singing). I'm not sure it was as bad as this - but I'm not sure it wasn't. And the band was pretty good - we were just suffering from poor monitoring, an unenthusiastic crowd and not enough practice on this song.
The issues are a lot of fairly similar chord changes, the fact that it's pitched higher than you'd think, but mostly the fact that the tune isn't actually very "tuneful" so your pitching has to be bang on to sound good. (on preview, cortex nails it.)
Another tune that's hard to cover is White Rabbit, for more or less the same reasons - though White Rabbit goes much higher than Comfortably Numb.
I've seen much, MUCH worse bands than this.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:41 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've never done a cover of Comfortably Numb as an adult, however, because it's not actually a very forgiving song and I don't think I'd really like what I produced if I tried to do a straightforward take on it.
Yeah, song selection was a big culprit here. They are out of their league.
If you suck, pick something louder and faster. The Enter Sandman band in the first comment are horrible, but pure volume covers up a lot. You'll also be a lot less tentative and more likely to relax and let it all hang out.
There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name.
But to be fair, that was probably their first week or two together, and they didn't play any shows until they were at least half decent. I dunno. I'm all for being lousy, but not when you get on stage to perform. Mediocre is fine, but pure amateurism, I dunno. Depends on the stage, I guess, as cortex mentions.
If I'm going to see a band play, even for free, and I'm not a friend/relative of anyone in the band, I'm going to enjoy myself, not support the artist (unless I'm already a fan).
When Green Day became Green Day, they were far better than this band. U2 and Phish, maybe.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:24 AM on December 3, 2010
Yeah, song selection was a big culprit here. They are out of their league.
If you suck, pick something louder and faster. The Enter Sandman band in the first comment are horrible, but pure volume covers up a lot. You'll also be a lot less tentative and more likely to relax and let it all hang out.
There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name.
But to be fair, that was probably their first week or two together, and they didn't play any shows until they were at least half decent. I dunno. I'm all for being lousy, but not when you get on stage to perform. Mediocre is fine, but pure amateurism, I dunno. Depends on the stage, I guess, as cortex mentions.
If I'm going to see a band play, even for free, and I'm not a friend/relative of anyone in the band, I'm going to enjoy myself, not support the artist (unless I'm already a fan).
When Green Day became Green Day, they were far better than this band. U2 and Phish, maybe.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:24 AM on December 3, 2010
ricochet biscuit: There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name.I don't think that's true- unless we're saying this was the very first time these guys played together, including any practices... we might be cutting these guys some slack if they're brand new to music, and this was their teacher saying "Hey, we know you've only been taking 3 months of lessons, but why don't you form a band just for this event?" type of situation.
But I have to disagree with cortex to some extent; Comfortably Numb is a really straightforward enough song, and there's no excuse for the bad timing. Timing that awful, can you even correct it with training? Also, the singer is just terrible. I can't believe they had practice sessions that went well enough they felt emboldened to get on stage, and then produced... that.
I think it's okay to point and laugh because they put themselves on stage. I don't do karaoke because I have the world's worst singing voice- which is why you won't see video of me singing, much less on stage.
posted by hincandenza at 9:45 AM on December 3, 2010
The song is too hard for them and it makes them sound bad. They should have realised this before they got on stage. The fact that they didn't and still tried to plow through is funny. It's that combination of swagger and incompetence that I find funny.
Every musician of every stripe (and I say this as a classically trained musician who trains classical musicians, but it's equally true of other genres) has sucked at one point, but they have both the talent and the tenacity to keep at it. You have to learn from your mistakes, but part of that is getting some crappy reactions from people. It makes you realise what you can do better and what you find important. It's part of the process.
As I said tenacity it important too. I saw "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" recently, and I found it hilarious. But I wasn't laughing because I thought they sucked, I was laughing because of their fantastically naive tenacity, their childlike optimism. In the end I really warmed to them despite laughing most of the way through, because I wasn't really laughing at them. In the case of this video, I am. They just suck. Deal with it.
posted by ob at 9:58 AM on December 3, 2010
Every musician of every stripe (and I say this as a classically trained musician who trains classical musicians, but it's equally true of other genres) has sucked at one point, but they have both the talent and the tenacity to keep at it. You have to learn from your mistakes, but part of that is getting some crappy reactions from people. It makes you realise what you can do better and what you find important. It's part of the process.
As I said tenacity it important too. I saw "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" recently, and I found it hilarious. But I wasn't laughing because I thought they sucked, I was laughing because of their fantastically naive tenacity, their childlike optimism. In the end I really warmed to them despite laughing most of the way through, because I wasn't really laughing at them. In the case of this video, I am. They just suck. Deal with it.
posted by ob at 9:58 AM on December 3, 2010
Another tune that's hard to cover is White Rabbit, for more or less the same reasons
The bottleneck isn't finding someone who can sing like Grace Slick?
posted by cj_ at 9:58 AM on December 3, 2010
The bottleneck isn't finding someone who can sing like Grace Slick?
posted by cj_ at 9:58 AM on December 3, 2010
I recall an anecdote in Slash's memoir about one of his post-GNR groups practicing for weeks with a new singer, but because of the loudness of the band and the poor PA, they never really heard him sing. Then when they hit the studio it quickly became apparent that he was terrible. Perhaps this clip is a similar reveal of suck.
posted by Paid In Full at 10:03 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Paid In Full at 10:03 AM on December 3, 2010
But I have to disagree with cortex to some extent; Comfortably Numb is a really straightforward enough song, and there's no excuse for the bad timing.
I don't think you're actually disagreeing with me, here; the song is indeed straightforward, with simple time that should not be hard to keep, and the bassist in particular seems to be completely failing to keep that time. There's no song-specific excuse for the bad timing, indeed. There are woeful-lack-of-experience excuses for it, which I think may be what's primarily going on here. But the timing is awful regardless of why it's happening.
The things about Comfortably Numb that make it a poor choice for any not-good band are the iconic vocal work required and the relative famousness of Gilmour's solos and difficulty of aping that cleanly. I don't think it's a hard song to do a credible cover of if you know what you're doing. These guys clearly don't, and there are far better songs to not know what you're doing on in front of a crowd.
posted by cortex at 10:10 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I don't think you're actually disagreeing with me, here; the song is indeed straightforward, with simple time that should not be hard to keep, and the bassist in particular seems to be completely failing to keep that time. There's no song-specific excuse for the bad timing, indeed. There are woeful-lack-of-experience excuses for it, which I think may be what's primarily going on here. But the timing is awful regardless of why it's happening.
The things about Comfortably Numb that make it a poor choice for any not-good band are the iconic vocal work required and the relative famousness of Gilmour's solos and difficulty of aping that cleanly. I don't think it's a hard song to do a credible cover of if you know what you're doing. These guys clearly don't, and there are far better songs to not know what you're doing on in front of a crowd.
posted by cortex at 10:10 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Completely agree -- and that's what friends are for. When it's a bunch of strangers -- well, it kinda transforms Metafilter into a gramatically superior version of the YouTube comments section.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:00 PM on December 3
Well, I wasn't just talking about Metafilter but life in general. It's my contention that there is a particular value and benefit to be had from taking flak from strangers, and for that flak to be pretty unforgiving. It toughens us up, tempers us and often makes us stronger. It can also be a welcome and much-needed slap in the face when we're getting a wee bit too up ourselves and thinking everything we do is goddamned wonderful. Friends have a tendency to be too kind, or to accentuate the positive when the reality is that it's the negative that needs accentuating to get through to us. Strangers are really good at that, sometimes, not least because we know they're not softening their opinion. And man, this band suck and they need to be told that.
All too often I find that people who get outraged about mockery, snarkiness, satire, irony, bitchy remarks etc remind me of those endlessly indulged kids who insist on boring the crowd to tears at family gatherings with some horrible "Look at me! Look at me!" display and everyone says "Yes dear, that's nice, aren't you clever?" when the kid would ultimately benefit far more from the occasional "Christ, you're out of tune and people here are trying to talk. Give it a rest." And then they run away bawling "Waaah, you're all so mean!" But if they're smart kids the day comes when they realist it was the best thing those people could have done for them.
There is more than enough bad art, bad music, bad literature, bad thinking and bad opinion in the world as it is. If we don't smack some of the more appalling examples of it down from time to time we're headed for a nightmare world where everyone gets a sweetie and a pat on the back no matter how egregiously they annoy us.
posted by Decani at 10:16 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:00 PM on December 3
Well, I wasn't just talking about Metafilter but life in general. It's my contention that there is a particular value and benefit to be had from taking flak from strangers, and for that flak to be pretty unforgiving. It toughens us up, tempers us and often makes us stronger. It can also be a welcome and much-needed slap in the face when we're getting a wee bit too up ourselves and thinking everything we do is goddamned wonderful. Friends have a tendency to be too kind, or to accentuate the positive when the reality is that it's the negative that needs accentuating to get through to us. Strangers are really good at that, sometimes, not least because we know they're not softening their opinion. And man, this band suck and they need to be told that.
All too often I find that people who get outraged about mockery, snarkiness, satire, irony, bitchy remarks etc remind me of those endlessly indulged kids who insist on boring the crowd to tears at family gatherings with some horrible "Look at me! Look at me!" display and everyone says "Yes dear, that's nice, aren't you clever?" when the kid would ultimately benefit far more from the occasional "Christ, you're out of tune and people here are trying to talk. Give it a rest." And then they run away bawling "Waaah, you're all so mean!" But if they're smart kids the day comes when they realist it was the best thing those people could have done for them.
There is more than enough bad art, bad music, bad literature, bad thinking and bad opinion in the world as it is. If we don't smack some of the more appalling examples of it down from time to time we're headed for a nightmare world where everyone gets a sweetie and a pat on the back no matter how egregiously they annoy us.
posted by Decani at 10:16 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Tough crowd.
Why do most folks, like this dude, put that "Waters inspired accent" on their voice when singing this song? I know I am guilty of it. It makes me want to search out all the covers of this song and compare. But the horror of it all could just turn me off of the Floyd for good.
posted by brando_calrissian at 10:19 AM on December 3, 2010
Why do most folks, like this dude, put that "Waters inspired accent" on their voice when singing this song? I know I am guilty of it. It makes me want to search out all the covers of this song and compare. But the horror of it all could just turn me off of the Floyd for good.
posted by brando_calrissian at 10:19 AM on December 3, 2010
Really? In the past year of performing between one and three times per week, I've never not had a monitor. What sort of dive are you working at?
The dives I'm playing at are, in fact, dives.
I think Spaceland might be the only club I can recall where we each had a dedicated monitor mix and that club, itself a dive, is generally a little above our bracket.
posted by anazgnos at 10:28 AM on December 3, 2010
The dives I'm playing at are, in fact, dives.
I think Spaceland might be the only club I can recall where we each had a dedicated monitor mix and that club, itself a dive, is generally a little above our bracket.
posted by anazgnos at 10:28 AM on December 3, 2010
Why do most folks, like this dude, put that "Waters inspired accent" on their voice when singing this song?
Because the tone and inflections of Roger's voice are as integral to the song as certain notes, such as C and G, are.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:29 AM on December 3, 2010
Because the tone and inflections of Roger's voice are as integral to the song as certain notes, such as C and G, are.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:29 AM on December 3, 2010
There is more than enough bad art, bad music, bad literature, bad thinking and bad opinion in the world as it is.
Yeah, but all of that exists because people have an instinctive powerful urge to create. If you want to go at the actual root of the problem and not just attack the symptom, you need to go ahead and reinvent the human organism to get rid of that part of our brains.
Which is to say, I totally agree that blunt criticism serves a functional role in creative endeavors, but it's a mistake to excuse treating people poorly on the strength of that utility. Just as friends and relatives can and do err on the side of kindness in their creative feedback, strangers can err on the side of cruelty. It's possible to be honest and kind, even if there's not a whole lot of situations that impose an explicit incentive to be both.
Being unnecessarily cruel to people's because one dislikes their creative output doesn't do anything meaningful to reduce the amount of bad creative output in the world except at the same very small scale that increases the amount of human cruelty in the world.
posted by cortex at 10:38 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
Yeah, but all of that exists because people have an instinctive powerful urge to create. If you want to go at the actual root of the problem and not just attack the symptom, you need to go ahead and reinvent the human organism to get rid of that part of our brains.
Which is to say, I totally agree that blunt criticism serves a functional role in creative endeavors, but it's a mistake to excuse treating people poorly on the strength of that utility. Just as friends and relatives can and do err on the side of kindness in their creative feedback, strangers can err on the side of cruelty. It's possible to be honest and kind, even if there's not a whole lot of situations that impose an explicit incentive to be both.
Being unnecessarily cruel to people's because one dislikes their creative output doesn't do anything meaningful to reduce the amount of bad creative output in the world except at the same very small scale that increases the amount of human cruelty in the world.
posted by cortex at 10:38 AM on December 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
ricochet biscuit: “There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish...”
According to popular legend, Phish's first show was performed in the student union at Goddard College. They used a hockey stick as a mic stand. The show ended when one of the other students switched off the PA in disgust and put on a Michael Jackson cassette. I am not making this up.
One of the more interesting aspects of all this, I think, is the way that the ubiquity of media – the ease of videotaping something and putting it on the internet so that millions upon millions of people can see it – has totally changed this equation. Today, the sort of legendary event I describe above would not have happened without being recorded, even though Phish were nothing back then, a few college kids fucking around together. The process has disappeared. That's largely a good thing – the example I always think of is Cheap Trick, a band that I think is pretty proficient, has a sound of its own, and frankly I happen to like listening to. But Cheap Trick were performing for years before they even got a chance to step into a studio together. It took a lot of work to get to the point of recording.
Up above, chaff linked to something that I really find incredible; this video of some band called Complete performing in Fort Worth, Texas. chaff says "suffer," but actually I enjoyed this performance immensely; it's really amazing when you listen to it and pay attention to what they're doing. Yes, the bass player is relentlessly out of tune; yes, the singer doesn't even get to be off-key, because he doesn't even really sing notes, or even lyrics, just recites a slightly premeditated stream of consciousness that might make sense in some distant dimension. The drummer absently lets his sticks fall on various drums at random, without any sort of order, and the guitar player pounds that ONE CHORD, distortion turned all the way up. If they're aping a style, it's hard to say what style it is; maybe power ballads? Lyrically, maybe... no, even the lyrical meanderings give no clue. I can't even say what these guys listen to in their spare time.
Anybody who's ever played in an awful band – and I have, a terrifyingly bad punk group alternately called "Boethius Bound" or "Puke Vomit," our version of "99 Red Balloons" was utterly the most painful thing I have ever been a part of – anybody who's ever done this knows that the stuff Complete is doing isn't easy at all. It's very difficult. And I think it's admirable; I'm not just saying something like "oh, it's hard to suck that bad." No, what they're doing has an expertise to it. When we played that cover song, or (even worse) our originals, I couldn't get through a chorus or two without being embarrassed, and I'd keep my head down. Our songs were always a bit short, because they were fun blasts of stupid, but even we had very little confidence in what we were doing, and were very conscious of where we were and how awful we sounded. These guys – the fantastic guys in the group, Complete – they clearly know exactly where they are, they can hear themselves, and yet they're going completely all-out.nothing back – he's pouring his whole heart out, doing that yell/shout/croon thing as hard as he can. And they're all very intent, very passionate about what they're doing. The bassist is wearing a Cat In The Hat hat. The drummer, there are a few clips where you see him – he's having so much fucking fun.
It's not just about that "do whatever you want as long as you're passionate about it" bullshit, either. They know what they're doing. And it is powerful. There's something in the mix, the way they blend, something incredibly raw, incredibly forceful, it is not melodic but it is direct. It's the essence of everything truly great and noble about punk rock... though, again, I can't really tell if they even know that punk rock exists. (In our LCD Soundsystem era of rote following of influences, that in itself is a triumph.)
There are other songs of theirs out there. There's even an interview on Youtube where they talk about their motivations and their trajectory; Curtis claims that they wanted to start a band that's "like nothing else, the music of the 60s and 70s," but even this is completely ambiguous to me; I mean, everything is like the music of the 60s and 70s – does he mean they wanted to create a band like that? Or unlike that? I don't know. They say they're about to try to release a CD. Maybe I'll figure out how to find that thing and listen to it; I'm convinced it's golden. In any case, this is what music is about, and it's something we're missing a lot in a world where anybody can record themselves in their living room, but most are afraid to try.
posted by koeselitz at 10:42 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
According to popular legend, Phish's first show was performed in the student union at Goddard College. They used a hockey stick as a mic stand. The show ended when one of the other students switched off the PA in disgust and put on a Michael Jackson cassette. I am not making this up.
One of the more interesting aspects of all this, I think, is the way that the ubiquity of media – the ease of videotaping something and putting it on the internet so that millions upon millions of people can see it – has totally changed this equation. Today, the sort of legendary event I describe above would not have happened without being recorded, even though Phish were nothing back then, a few college kids fucking around together. The process has disappeared. That's largely a good thing – the example I always think of is Cheap Trick, a band that I think is pretty proficient, has a sound of its own, and frankly I happen to like listening to. But Cheap Trick were performing for years before they even got a chance to step into a studio together. It took a lot of work to get to the point of recording.
Up above, chaff linked to something that I really find incredible; this video of some band called Complete performing in Fort Worth, Texas. chaff says "suffer," but actually I enjoyed this performance immensely; it's really amazing when you listen to it and pay attention to what they're doing. Yes, the bass player is relentlessly out of tune; yes, the singer doesn't even get to be off-key, because he doesn't even really sing notes, or even lyrics, just recites a slightly premeditated stream of consciousness that might make sense in some distant dimension. The drummer absently lets his sticks fall on various drums at random, without any sort of order, and the guitar player pounds that ONE CHORD, distortion turned all the way up. If they're aping a style, it's hard to say what style it is; maybe power ballads? Lyrically, maybe... no, even the lyrical meanderings give no clue. I can't even say what these guys listen to in their spare time.
Anybody who's ever played in an awful band – and I have, a terrifyingly bad punk group alternately called "Boethius Bound" or "Puke Vomit," our version of "99 Red Balloons" was utterly the most painful thing I have ever been a part of – anybody who's ever done this knows that the stuff Complete is doing isn't easy at all. It's very difficult. And I think it's admirable; I'm not just saying something like "oh, it's hard to suck that bad." No, what they're doing has an expertise to it. When we played that cover song, or (even worse) our originals, I couldn't get through a chorus or two without being embarrassed, and I'd keep my head down. Our songs were always a bit short, because they were fun blasts of stupid, but even we had very little confidence in what we were doing, and were very conscious of where we were and how awful we sounded. These guys – the fantastic guys in the group, Complete – they clearly know exactly where they are, they can hear themselves, and yet they're going completely all-out.nothing back – he's pouring his whole heart out, doing that yell/shout/croon thing as hard as he can. And they're all very intent, very passionate about what they're doing. The bassist is wearing a Cat In The Hat hat. The drummer, there are a few clips where you see him – he's having so much fucking fun.
It's not just about that "do whatever you want as long as you're passionate about it" bullshit, either. They know what they're doing. And it is powerful. There's something in the mix, the way they blend, something incredibly raw, incredibly forceful, it is not melodic but it is direct. It's the essence of everything truly great and noble about punk rock... though, again, I can't really tell if they even know that punk rock exists. (In our LCD Soundsystem era of rote following of influences, that in itself is a triumph.)
There are other songs of theirs out there. There's even an interview on Youtube where they talk about their motivations and their trajectory; Curtis claims that they wanted to start a band that's "like nothing else, the music of the 60s and 70s," but even this is completely ambiguous to me; I mean, everything is like the music of the 60s and 70s – does he mean they wanted to create a band like that? Or unlike that? I don't know. They say they're about to try to release a CD. Maybe I'll figure out how to find that thing and listen to it; I'm convinced it's golden. In any case, this is what music is about, and it's something we're missing a lot in a world where anybody can record themselves in their living room, but most are afraid to try.
posted by koeselitz at 10:42 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Why do most folks, like this dude, put that "Waters inspired accent" on their voice when singing this song?
Now I wanna hear the Hayseed Dixie version.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:49 AM on December 3, 2010
Now I wanna hear the Hayseed Dixie version.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:49 AM on December 3, 2010
Cool, this thread is still going. Here's some more pain.
posted by chaff at 10:50 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by chaff at 10:50 AM on December 3, 2010
. . . and on preview I'm glad koeselitz and I have finally found common ground - I'm fascinated by Complete too, for a lot of the same reasons. Lester Bangs would have loved them.
posted by chaff at 10:53 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by chaff at 10:53 AM on December 3, 2010
All you need is some laser lights and some acid and that band would be allllllriiiiiighhhht
posted by Ad hominem at 10:55 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Ad hominem at 10:55 AM on December 3, 2010
Up above, chaff linked to something that I really find incredible; this video yt of some band called Complete performing in Fort Worth, Texas. chaff says "suffer," but actually I enjoyed this performance immensely; it's really amazing when you listen to it and pay attention to what they're doing. Yes, the bass player is relentlessly out of tune; yes, the singer doesn't even get to be off-key, because he doesn't even really sing notes, or even lyrics, just recites a slightly premeditated stream of consciousness that might make sense in some distant dimension. The drummer absently lets his sticks fall on various drums at random, without any sort of order, and the guitar player pounds that ONE CHORD, distortion turned all the way up. If they're aping a style, it's hard to say what style it is; maybe power ballads? Lyrically, maybe... no, even the lyrical meanderings give no clue. I can't even say what these guys listen to in their spare time.
Previously.
Yeah, Complete was the first thing that sprung to mind, and at least they were truly visionary in their awfulness.
posted by anazgnos at 10:55 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Previously.
Yeah, Complete was the first thing that sprung to mind, and at least they were truly visionary in their awfulness.
posted by anazgnos at 10:55 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
the relative famousness of Gilmour's solos and difficulty of aping that cleanly
People think those solos are easy because its just a few notes and maybe a couple bends, but it will fall flat without that incredible feel Gilmour has and that's very, very hard to do.
posted by InfidelZombie at 11:00 AM on December 3, 2010
People think those solos are easy because its just a few notes and maybe a couple bends, but it will fall flat without that incredible feel Gilmour has and that's very, very hard to do.
posted by InfidelZombie at 11:00 AM on December 3, 2010
People think those solos are easy because its just a few notes and maybe a couple bends, but it will fall flat without that incredible feel Gilmour has and that's very, very hard to do.
That and you need a triangle muff.
posted by anazgnos at 11:18 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
That and you need a triangle muff.
posted by anazgnos at 11:18 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
there was a time, back in the late 60s early 70s, where low level bands didn't have monitors and they still kept it together
Yes. See also, three months ago on my band's last tour.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:22 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Yes. See also, three months ago on my band's last tour.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:22 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've played plenty of house and loft shows that don't have monitors, not to mention sound systems or mixers. You have to learn to deal with anything.
posted by naju at 11:28 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by naju at 11:28 AM on December 3, 2010
I knew if I dug around in youtube long enough I'd find it.
Here is a video of the worst stage audio experience I've ever been part of as a musician. This is compounded by the fact that it was an enormously important gig - the local dems had invited us to provide a musical tribute during Obama's inauguration - this was the major inauguration event in our state. And there were no monitors, no amps, nothing was padded and we were spread out all across the stage. At the start of the video you can see our bass player (who is an audio engineer) going through the last ditch attempts at fixing the audio. It was a terrifying and humbling experience in front of several thousand people - we're a pretty high-energy group and most of us dance while we play and in the video you can see us all standing stock-still. We're scared. I feel for these guys, when the sound-guy gives the thumbs up you really never know what you're going to get.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2010
Here is a video of the worst stage audio experience I've ever been part of as a musician. This is compounded by the fact that it was an enormously important gig - the local dems had invited us to provide a musical tribute during Obama's inauguration - this was the major inauguration event in our state. And there were no monitors, no amps, nothing was padded and we were spread out all across the stage. At the start of the video you can see our bass player (who is an audio engineer) going through the last ditch attempts at fixing the audio. It was a terrifying and humbling experience in front of several thousand people - we're a pretty high-energy group and most of us dance while we play and in the video you can see us all standing stock-still. We're scared. I feel for these guys, when the sound-guy gives the thumbs up you really never know what you're going to get.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2010
Enough of this monitor talk! Monitors are a luxury. As a dude in a working band, 80-90% of the time we don't have monitors, and in the rare event we do, they are only carrying vocals for the singer. These guys are clearly playing at low volume in a non-acoustically challenged space.
and
Thank you, anazgnos. The monitor excuse was really starting to annoy me. Musicians have made music - good, tight, well played, perfectly performed music - for centuries without monitors.
I respectfully say "bah." First: they're playing electronic instruments while drummer-adjacent, outdoors with ambient noise. If the sound guy set up the PA to face the audience, with the speakers in front of the stage, they're not hearing themselves. Period. That's a lot different from being onstage with your own amps behind you; if your monitors are only carrying vocals, then that's the kind of setup you have. To use a computer analogy, try to write a story with two writing partners on your word processor, if your computer monitor is facing 180 degrees away from you -- you still have the keyboard, and if you concentrate really hard you can type away reasonably accurately, but you're not going to be able to concentrate on that and your writing partners.
Second: musicians have not been playing good, tight, well-played, perfectly performed music for centuries using electronic instruments that make little/no sound themselves -- and most of that over-the-centuries music has involved conductors and sheet music. Again with the computer analogy: what you're saying is like saying someone who can't write on a word processor with no monitor is lame, because people have been writing without screens (but on typewriters and with pencils) for centuries.
posted by davejay at 11:43 AM on December 3, 2010
and
Thank you, anazgnos. The monitor excuse was really starting to annoy me. Musicians have made music - good, tight, well played, perfectly performed music - for centuries without monitors.
I respectfully say "bah." First: they're playing electronic instruments while drummer-adjacent, outdoors with ambient noise. If the sound guy set up the PA to face the audience, with the speakers in front of the stage, they're not hearing themselves. Period. That's a lot different from being onstage with your own amps behind you; if your monitors are only carrying vocals, then that's the kind of setup you have. To use a computer analogy, try to write a story with two writing partners on your word processor, if your computer monitor is facing 180 degrees away from you -- you still have the keyboard, and if you concentrate really hard you can type away reasonably accurately, but you're not going to be able to concentrate on that and your writing partners.
Second: musicians have not been playing good, tight, well-played, perfectly performed music for centuries using electronic instruments that make little/no sound themselves -- and most of that over-the-centuries music has involved conductors and sheet music. Again with the computer analogy: what you're saying is like saying someone who can't write on a word processor with no monitor is lame, because people have been writing without screens (but on typewriters and with pencils) for centuries.
posted by davejay at 11:43 AM on December 3, 2010
they're playing electronic instruments
What do you mean, they're not playing through the numerous amplifiers arranged behind them? They're going direct to the board? That would be a pretty unusual setup, and I don't see any evidence for it in the video.
I've experienced bizarre acoustic phenomena onstage many times, so I know what that's like...and I'm sure it's not doing these guys any favors, but I don't think there is an obscure or preventable technical reason for these guys to sound the way they do.
posted by anazgnos at 11:54 AM on December 3, 2010
What do you mean, they're not playing through the numerous amplifiers arranged behind them? They're going direct to the board? That would be a pretty unusual setup, and I don't see any evidence for it in the video.
I've experienced bizarre acoustic phenomena onstage many times, so I know what that's like...and I'm sure it's not doing these guys any favors, but I don't think there is an obscure or preventable technical reason for these guys to sound the way they do.
posted by anazgnos at 11:54 AM on December 3, 2010
they're not hearing themselves. Period
That's just not true. Or, it may be true in this case, but that's not necessarily true. We play loud, damn loud. And we get monitors on tour, like 50% of the time.
We work around it.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:54 AM on December 3, 2010
That's just not true. Or, it may be true in this case, but that's not necessarily true. We play loud, damn loud. And we get monitors on tour, like 50% of the time.
We work around it.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:54 AM on December 3, 2010
This is a tangent, if anybody's still following this thread, but you know how the Beatles always whine about how they couldn't hear themselves and the technology just wasn't there to let them be heard? The Who were pretty much in the process of inventing the modern PA/foldback/monitor system throughout the 60s. They clearly put the emphasis on developing their live show and just dragged the technology along with them, while the Beatles just couldn't be bothered in that regard.
That Who gear site is really fascinating.
Entwistle:
That Who gear site is really fascinating.
Entwistle:
"We were at the bottom of the bill and they were top of the bill. They couldn’t understand why we were setting up this huge amount of equipment for ourselves. When our stuff was taken off, they brought out The Beatles’ stuff, and it was half the size, and they were using the theatre’s PA system, which was diabolical. The little microphones looked like electric shavers. We couldn’t understand why they put themselves through such rubbish."posted by anazgnos at 12:04 PM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
cortex: I don't think you're actually disagreeing with me, here; the song is indeed straightforward, with simple time that should not be hard to keep, and the bassist in particular seems to be completely failing to keep that time. There's no song-specific excuse for the bad timing, indeed. There are woeful-lack-of-experience excuses for it, which I think may be what's primarily going on here. But the timing is awful regardless of why it's happening.Fair enough; I think I mis-read your original comment to be suggesting that there were song-specific reasons it would be tough, whereas I contend that doing a pitch-perfect, note-for-note cover would be tough but doing a passable version should be easy.
The things about Comfortably Numb that make it a poor choice for any not-good band are the iconic vocal work required and the relative famousness of Gilmour's solos and difficulty of aping that cleanly. I don't think it's a hard song to do a credible cover of if you know what you're doing. These guys clearly don't, and there are far better songs to not know what you're doing on in front of a crowd.
I guess we were saying the same thing: if you're going to suck, there are better songs to mask your suckage than slow tempo tunes with famously long-held vocal and instrumental notes and iconic minimalist guitar solos.
posted by hincandenza at 12:13 PM on December 3, 2010
Baby_Balrog: of the worst stage audio experience I've ever been part of as a musician. [...] At the start of the video you can see our bass player (who is an audio engineer) going through the last ditch attempts at fixing the audio. It was a terrifying and humbling experience [...] We're scared. I feel for these guys, when the sound-guy gives the thumbs up you really never know what you're going to get.Um... that kind of proves the point-and-laughers case, doesn't it? You guys were still pretty good, and the timing was basically there and the crowd seemed to enjoy it, such that I'm not sure what the issues you were experiencing. Sure it could have been better, and that instrumental break halfway through felt... off... but no one's saying "Bands that don't churn out studio-quality performances every time are teh suck!!1"; we're saying that if you're going to be THAT off as they were in the original video, it might be worth not getting on stage yet until you've put more time in.
That said, on re-watch in the video you can tell the lead singer is pretty miffed about the whole thing (he's no prize himself, of course) and can tell it's going very far south- and that's still better than those willfully obtuse bands or singers who don't seem to know how bad they are. So I'll tip my cap to them for gutting it out and finishing the song, when it would have been very tempting to just give up before it got worse.
posted by hincandenza at 12:28 PM on December 3, 2010
While she has a powerful voice, I never thought of her as someone with particular broad range and thus more easily covered- especially White Rabbit- than, say, Janis Joplin.Another tune that's hard to cover is White Rabbit, for more or less the same reasonscj_: The bottleneck isn't finding someone who can sing like Grace Slick?
That raises a tangential question: is there a site out there where people have added the song ranges for thousands of well-known songs, as a sort of Karaoke helper? It'd be nice if you could look up a song and see what range it covers (i.e., this song goes from E3 to Bb4, or from F3 to A4 with a single D5 high note, etc)?
If that doesn't exist, then someone should create that: you could even have a flash app on the site that would take you through a voice analyzer and have you sing various notes, and determine what your "strongest" range was- and then tell you what songs you'd sing best in karaoke. I think the legions of karaoke bar patrons would vote you a Nobel prize for this valuable humanitarian effort.
posted by hincandenza at 12:35 PM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
Here is a video of the worst stage audio experience I've ever been part of as a musician.
Are you kidding? Sounds OK to me!
posted by naju at 12:45 PM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Are you kidding? Sounds OK to me!
posted by naju at 12:45 PM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think the legions of karaoke bar patrons would vote you a Nobel prize for this valuable humanitarian effort.
Oh man I used to be a huge karaoke bar "patron". As in 3-4 nights a week. At least where I am there were two types of people, professional musical theatre performers that invariably sing suddenly seymore and afficionados that wanted to sing their favorite song no matter what the range was. The top notch "KJs" have all their songs ripped and use something like winamp that has pitch control plugins.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:35 PM on December 3, 2010
Oh man I used to be a huge karaoke bar "patron". As in 3-4 nights a week. At least where I am there were two types of people, professional musical theatre performers that invariably sing suddenly seymore and afficionados that wanted to sing their favorite song no matter what the range was. The top notch "KJs" have all their songs ripped and use something like winamp that has pitch control plugins.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:35 PM on December 3, 2010
Rule for cover bands: if you decide to cover "Comfortably Numb", and you do not have some sort of echo box in your kit, do not under any circumstances attempt to reproduce the echo effect in the original with your voice. You will sound like Gary Cooper in Pride of the Yankees, and people will laugh at you. That is all.
posted by steambadger at 2:42 PM on December 3, 2010
posted by steambadger at 2:42 PM on December 3, 2010
Re whether Comfortably Numb is a difficult song or not: as a novice drummer in a garage band that has been covering Comfortably Numb for a couple months now, I think it's both easy and difficult.
It's easy in that the composition isn't too complex or demanding or acrobatic, but its very difficult because that unnaturally sloooowwww tempo is murderously unforgiving. I think those slow beats create anticipation, and if you are sloppy you will totally be jerking on your listener's primal rhythm-soul.
When I saw the headline I was stabbed with terror that someone -- maybe the prog-folkies who practice next door to us -- had recorded us and put us on youtube.
posted by Sauce Trough at 3:07 PM on December 3, 2010
It's easy in that the composition isn't too complex or demanding or acrobatic, but its very difficult because that unnaturally sloooowwww tempo is murderously unforgiving. I think those slow beats create anticipation, and if you are sloppy you will totally be jerking on your listener's primal rhythm-soul.
When I saw the headline I was stabbed with terror that someone -- maybe the prog-folkies who practice next door to us -- had recorded us and put us on youtube.
posted by Sauce Trough at 3:07 PM on December 3, 2010
Even with the monitors off, they should be able to play along to the ride cymbal. No monitors might make some people come in late/early, but it shouldn't make them play five beats in a measure like I just saw.
My first instinct was that this couldn't be real. But, I've jammed once with a guy that was exactly as bad as every member in this band. Hard to believe they found five of him, but anything's possible I guess.
posted by readyfreddy at 4:16 PM on December 3, 2010
My first instinct was that this couldn't be real. But, I've jammed once with a guy that was exactly as bad as every member in this band. Hard to believe they found five of him, but anything's possible I guess.
posted by readyfreddy at 4:16 PM on December 3, 2010
well, a long time ago, i attended a suburban party where a very local band called toxic attitude was playing through a cheap amp and a sears silvertone stereo - they were awful, even for a didn't give a fuck punk band and the singer was on some ungodly combination of speed pills and alcohol and insisted on describing the reputations of various lakeview high school girls in scabrous detail until his older sister threatened to take her stereo back
they sucked, but they were amusing - and it was the singer's backyard, so it wasn't like anyone save his sister was going to stop him - during the course of their screwing around and screwing up i was able to grab the microphone and sing louie louie, just for the hell of it - it was bad, of course, but what the hell, i had fun - alas, i stayed too long and ran afoul of some jocks who doused me with beer in my motel work clothes and were prepared to prevent me from leaving and kicking my ass until i demonstrated my willingness to run them over with my car, missing one about about 6 inches
i don't like jocks, i guess
but anyway, i went to work and managed to explain why i smelled like a brewery and everything was cool until a couple of months later, when i attended a punk show at a bar called hank's hideaway - there were several decent bands playing there, and the godawful toxic attitude, who sure as hell weren't any better even through some real amps and a p a system - although the lead singer was certainly as polluted as before - people were laughing at them and they didn't care
in the middle of the gig, before hundreds of people, they spotted me and asked me to sing louie louie with them - well, sure, ok - i walked up there, got the microphone in my hand and they proceeded to play "should i stay or should i go" by the clash, a song i DIDN'T KNOW THE FUCKING WORDS TO
i looked at them like WHAT THE FUCK?
so i had to make some up on the spot and sing the hell out of them and dance around like a maniac just because as a temporary frontman for the band, that's what i needed to do - they were NOT going to make me look like an idiot, even though that's exactly what they had in mind - it sucked but i got a LOT more applause than they or their singer did - i went back to my table of friends and watched the band's gig decline until the singer started an obscene rant and got carried off the stage over the bouncer's shoulder and thrown out of the bar to a rousing round of applause and laughter
there was nothing quite like the early 80s midwestern punk scene in a small city, i guess
posted by pyramid termite at 9:30 PM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
they sucked, but they were amusing - and it was the singer's backyard, so it wasn't like anyone save his sister was going to stop him - during the course of their screwing around and screwing up i was able to grab the microphone and sing louie louie, just for the hell of it - it was bad, of course, but what the hell, i had fun - alas, i stayed too long and ran afoul of some jocks who doused me with beer in my motel work clothes and were prepared to prevent me from leaving and kicking my ass until i demonstrated my willingness to run them over with my car, missing one about about 6 inches
i don't like jocks, i guess
but anyway, i went to work and managed to explain why i smelled like a brewery and everything was cool until a couple of months later, when i attended a punk show at a bar called hank's hideaway - there were several decent bands playing there, and the godawful toxic attitude, who sure as hell weren't any better even through some real amps and a p a system - although the lead singer was certainly as polluted as before - people were laughing at them and they didn't care
in the middle of the gig, before hundreds of people, they spotted me and asked me to sing louie louie with them - well, sure, ok - i walked up there, got the microphone in my hand and they proceeded to play "should i stay or should i go" by the clash, a song i DIDN'T KNOW THE FUCKING WORDS TO
i looked at them like WHAT THE FUCK?
so i had to make some up on the spot and sing the hell out of them and dance around like a maniac just because as a temporary frontman for the band, that's what i needed to do - they were NOT going to make me look like an idiot, even though that's exactly what they had in mind - it sucked but i got a LOT more applause than they or their singer did - i went back to my table of friends and watched the band's gig decline until the singer started an obscene rant and got carried off the stage over the bouncer's shoulder and thrown out of the bar to a rousing round of applause and laughter
there was nothing quite like the early 80s midwestern punk scene in a small city, i guess
posted by pyramid termite at 9:30 PM on December 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
Bluegrass Version: comfortably numb-luther wright and the wrongs
(Love that SFX at "just a little pinprick")
posted by ovvl at 9:46 AM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
(Love that SFX at "just a little pinprick")
posted by ovvl at 9:46 AM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Someone puts themselves out there and fails, you show grace and compassion, not snark and contempt.
I haven't read any of the other numerous comments after this one, but this seeing this comment on Metafilter is funny because this statement right here has never been the policy of Mefites. Metafilter is the refuge of bitchy, unfunny snark.
posted by Lobster Garden at 10:23 AM on December 4, 2010
I haven't read any of the other numerous comments after this one, but this seeing this comment on Metafilter is funny because this statement right here has never been the policy of Mefites. Metafilter is the refuge of bitchy, unfunny snark.
posted by Lobster Garden at 10:23 AM on December 4, 2010
According to popular legend, Phish's first show was performed in the student union at Goddard College.
I attended Goddard College. There's no student union. You probably mean the barn.
posted by not that girl at 12:35 PM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I attended Goddard College. There's no student union. You probably mean the barn.
posted by not that girl at 12:35 PM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
this statement right here has never been the policy of Mefites.
There is no "policy" of Mefites. What a silly thing to say.
Metafilter is the refuge of bitchy, unfunny snark.
I've read plenty of genuinely funny snark here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:34 PM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
There is no "policy" of Mefites. What a silly thing to say.
Metafilter is the refuge of bitchy, unfunny snark.
I've read plenty of genuinely funny snark here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:34 PM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
There was a point in their careers where U2 sounded like these guys, as did Phish and Green Day and anybody else you care to name.
Actually, I thought Phish sounded like these guys right up to the day they disbanded.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:59 PM on December 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Actually, I thought Phish sounded like these guys right up to the day they disbanded.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:59 PM on December 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
I saw this a few days ago when it was new, but it didn't seem like something I would be particularly interested in so I didn't check it out. Then yesterday I picked up the local free weekly paper and there was a writeup on the whole thing! As cortex mentioned above it was recorded right here in Augusta, GA. It seems the band, Hush, will be performing downtown tomorrow if anyone nearby wants to catch them live.
So far on mefi my hometown is known for stupid criminals, the He-Man Woman Haters Club, and crappy cover bands. Now you know why we call it Disgusta.
posted by TedW at 10:04 AM on December 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
So far on mefi my hometown is known for stupid criminals, the He-Man Woman Haters Club, and crappy cover bands. Now you know why we call it Disgusta.
posted by TedW at 10:04 AM on December 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh god bless you, TedW. I never expected closure. Can't find any web presence for "hush" at the moment, but there may well be none to find. I hope they can step up a little bit tomorrow.
Also, one thing this whole thing has taught me is that a lot of people don't seem to know that the lyric is "there is no pain / you are receding".
posted by cortex at 10:14 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, one thing this whole thing has taught me is that a lot of people don't seem to know that the lyric is "there is no pain / you are receding".
posted by cortex at 10:14 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
A little more followup from the daily paper, including comments from the band members, who are taking it all in stride. Interesting anecdote from the article:
During one practice the daughter of rhythm guitarist Steve Zeit, 46, told the band they sounded awful and needed to "hush." Thus, the name.
posted by TedW at 9:57 AM on December 12, 2010
During one practice the daughter of rhythm guitarist Steve Zeit, 46, told the band they sounded awful and needed to "hush." Thus, the name.
posted by TedW at 9:57 AM on December 12, 2010
Their audience was a handful of family and friends, cars traveling from the nearby mall and three guys who came out specifically to watch Hush.
Something about that depresses me.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:59 AM on December 13, 2010
Something about that depresses me.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:59 AM on December 13, 2010
A little more followup from the daily paper,
That article is great, and makes me feel much better about this post. Those guys are alright.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:58 PM on December 13, 2010
That article is great, and makes me feel much better about this post. Those guys are alright.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:58 PM on December 13, 2010
"At least we had the guts to get onstage and try," he said.
Exactly.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:19 PM on December 13, 2010
Exactly.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:19 PM on December 13, 2010
While she has a powerful voice, I never thought of her as someone with particular broad range and thus more easily covered- especially White Rabbit- than, say, Janis Joplin.
I'm not gonna try and argue who had a less reproducible voice: Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. That's not even fair, as the answer is obvious. I was not trying to compare the two. I don't think I even mentioned Janis Joplin? Correct me if I'm wrong.
I was only talking about the idea that White Rabbit is a difficult song to cover because it's musically complicated, which to me is absurd. The song is not complicated at all. It seems to me what makes White Rabbit a powerful song is Grace Slicks rendition of it. It's the only thing that stands out about the original, to me.
posted by cj_ at 1:14 AM on December 17, 2010
I'm not gonna try and argue who had a less reproducible voice: Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. That's not even fair, as the answer is obvious. I was not trying to compare the two. I don't think I even mentioned Janis Joplin? Correct me if I'm wrong.
I was only talking about the idea that White Rabbit is a difficult song to cover because it's musically complicated, which to me is absurd. The song is not complicated at all. It seems to me what makes White Rabbit a powerful song is Grace Slicks rendition of it. It's the only thing that stands out about the original, to me.
posted by cj_ at 1:14 AM on December 17, 2010
There was one European tour I did with my old band Chunk, where we covered White Rabbit nightly. It was fun.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:22 PM on December 17, 2010
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:22 PM on December 17, 2010
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