All American Rejects: How to Butcher a Song 101

[tikiyaki]

I was going to post this in the "Most Annoying Songs" thread, but this is annoying on a whole nother level....

So, the song itself is not bad, but the singer absolutely BUTCHERS it with his vocal. He's singing full throttle over a simple piano part, like he's singing a full on hard rock track....completely emotionless...it borders on yelling, fer chrissakes !

Absolutley horrible...I know it's not my old age talking, because my fiancee's 16 year old said "I heard this song, and was wondering what was wrong with it".....

I don't know who needs to be slapped in the face with a slipper, the singer, the producer who lets this godawful performance get onto the record, or the public who are buying it....

Elton John, Paul McCartney and Al green should sit this kid in a room and school him on how to sing a ballad....

Sorry, this is a rant, I know, this has been bugging me since I heard this song....

Oh, it's by The all American Rejects....what a fitting name for this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XempunzHQ0U

[lavagal]

I was going to post this in the "Most Annoying Songs" thread, but this is annoying on a whole nother level....

So, the song itself is not bad, but the singer absolutely BUTCHERS is with his vocal. He's singing full throttle over a simple piano part, like he's singing a full on hard rock track....completely emotionless...it borders on yelling, fer chrissakes !

Absolutley horrible...I know it's not my old age talking, because my fiancee's 16 year old said "I heard this song, and was wondering what was wrong with it".....

I don't know who needs to be slapped in the face with a slipper, the singer, the producer who lets this godawful performance get onto the record, or the public who are buying it....

Elton John, Paul McCartney and Al green should sit this kid in a room and school him on how to sing a ballad....

Sorry, this is a rant, I know, this has been bugging me since I heard this song....

Oh, it's by The all American Rejects....what a fitting name for this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XempunzHQ0U

Tiki, my friend, life is too damn short to watch crap. I'd rather you post a link of yourself. Then I'll watch. I am sure I would agree with you that this performer is tragic. What are the chances he knows it, too?

[tikiyaki]

Tiki, my friend, life is too damn short to watch crap. I'd rather you post a link of yourself. Then I'll watch. I am sure I would agree with you that this performer is tragic. What are the chances he knows it, too?


Slim to none....but someone has to say SOMETHING....

I only posted the Youtube link, cos it was the first thing I could find with this song on it. I really didn't even watch the video.

I know, life is short, and I'm learning to not be such an angry young(!) man.
But once in a while, you get your blood boiling.

BTW....All my links are below in my signature :-)

[YoungNeil]

Wouldn't that be any American Idull contestant?

[modpirate]

I've been hearing that song on the radio a lot, but it didn't even occur to me how wrong those vocals were until I saw the video with the guy playing the piano and then suddenly screaming his head off. That's got to be the most unintentionally funny music video ever.

[craigwatanabe]

I think one of the worst remakes was Lean on Me. The video of the remake totally missed the mark on what the song was all about.

The song is about offering support when in times of trouble.

The video shows a bunch of kids having fun in a movie theater leaning on each other.

The remake turns a sombering song into a stupid one.

My kids tell me it's wrong for me to use their generational slangs. So I tell them to stop butchering our music into some modern adaptation. Where's the originality anymore. You can't make new songs so you recycle old ones and kids are dumbfounded when they find out it came from decades ago.

[oceanpacific]

I think one of the worst remakes was Lean on Me. The video of the remake totally missed the mark on what the song was all about.

The song is about offering support when in times of trouble.

The video shows a bunch of kids having fun in a movie theater leaning on each other.

The remake turns a sombering song into a stupid one.

My kids tell me it's wrong for me to use their generational slangs. So I tell them to stop butchering our music into some modern adaptation. Where's the originality anymore. You can't make new songs so you recycle old ones and kids are dumbfounded when they find out it came from decades ago.


I agree 100%. The original version by Bill Withers is a classic. The re-make is a mockery. No comparison at all ............

[craigwatanabe]

That's why I love Greenday. Their music is fresh, and unique and that's coming from a 47-year old fut who has to listen to their kids music whether I like it or not.

[Mike_Lowery]

Hawaii produces a lot of artis--err, entertainers who fit this category. It hurts when classics are Jawaiianized.

I wanna find the factory that produces these entertainers, and blow it up.

[craigwatanabe]

I saw Cecilio of C&K in Tower Records one day when someone waved to him. He responded with a Jamaican accent. That's funny I didn't know he was Jamaican. Man he can't even distinguish himself as a Hawaiian singer or as a Jawaiian one.

Jawaiian may sound hip, but to Jamaicans, its as bad as a haole person trying to talk pidgin. It just doesn't sound right and they're only fooling themselves.

[Cameron]

That's why I love Greenday. Their music is fresh, and unique and that's coming from a 47-year old fut who has to listen to their kids music whether I like it or not.

Your being sarcastic, right?:p

[akrauth]

How dare you say something against the Rejects? I love them! I love "It Ends Tonight," "Move Along," and "Dirty Little Secret."

[craigwatanabe]

Your being sarcastic, right?:p

Believe it or not I actually do like listening to Greenday. I guess somebody has to since the genre that accepted them rejected them because they went mainstream...or maybe because their music appealed to the parents of said genre and now Greenday has become unhip.:rolleyes:

[tvguy]

Anyone ever figure out when you passed a certain threshold and turned into your parents? For some reason, you can't understand the appeal of "current" music and it sounds like noise? And why I can't stand my teenage daughter taking control of the radio in the car? Like me for example, who was a huge fan of early hip hop in the 80s and into the mid-90s....and now can't stand ANYTHING that is considered hip-hop now. All these "crunk" songs sound like the exact same song to me!

[tikiyaki]

Anyone ever figure out when you passed a certain threshold and turned into your parents? For some reason, you can't understand the appeal of "current" music and it sounds like noise? And why I can't stand my teenage daughter taking control of the radio in the car? Like me for example, who was a huge fan of early hip hop in the 80s and into the mid-90s....and now can't stand ANYTHING that is considered hip-hop now. All these "crunk" songs sound like the exact same song to me!

To a certain extent I totally understand that...in this one instance tho', I don't think that is the case...like I said, the 16 year old in the house totally agreed.

I have heard other songs of thiers that I think are ok, like "Dirty Little Secret"...it's a decent powerpop song. This ballad tho is an atrocity...IMO. ;)

[craigwatanabe]

Anyone ever figure out when you passed a certain threshold and turned into your parents? For some reason, you can't understand the appeal of "current" music and it sounds like noise? And why I can't stand my teenage daughter taking control of the radio in the car? Like me for example, who was a huge fan of early hip hop in the 80s and into the mid-90s....and now can't stand ANYTHING that is considered hip-hop now. All these "crunk" songs sound like the exact same song to me!

You cross that threshold when you have teenage kids and you start to complain about their; hair, friends, music and when you lament on "when I was your age...blah blah blah" Oh and the road to school gets longer, less paved and increasingly more treacherous than the previous lamenting.

You cross that threshold when your kid drives you to work to take the car to school and when shoes from WalMart just doesn't cut it anymore for them.:D

[dick]

So, the song itself is not bad, but the singer absolutely BUTCHERS it with his vocal. He's singing full throttle over a simple piano part, like he's singing a full on hard rock track....completely emotionless...it borders on yelling, fer chrissakes !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XempunzHQ0U

Welcome to emo [slash] screamo. It's been around for a while, and is likely to be around a while longer.

I can't stand it myself, but it seems to be wildly popular in the Honolulu music scene (visit Sound|House on any given night). Not unlike three-chord trash, it takes little or no talent to pull the music off, and little or no effort on the part of the listener to "understand" it.