Bohemian Rhapsody- Pentatonix/Queen

May 1, 2017 9:29 PM

Side by Side versions of Bohemian Rhapsody by Pentatonix and Queen. If you're going to cover a song.... and, a little extra.. Can't Helping Falling in Love With You.
posted by HuronBob (53 comments total)

Okay, I actually don't mind Pentatonix.

But NO.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:49 PM on May 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

But why? It's a pretty amazing cover.
posted by HuronBob at 9:52 PM on May 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

No. Just no.
posted by seawallrunner at 10:15 PM on May 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

That was horrific bedtime listening. Either one can stand on its own merits (I prefer the Queen version personally), but early on the merged version has a flanged quality, and then later it's off-key insanity.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:47 PM on May 1, 2017

But then again, this would make a good head-turner on a party playlist.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:52 PM on May 1, 2017

My classmates and I went out to Karaoke after our last exams and we ended the night with that song. We were totally that good. Better even. I'm certain of it.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:53 PM on May 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

"So what makes a capella so cool?"
posted by effbot at 11:02 PM on May 1, 2017 [10 favorites]

That reeks of the sort of frequent blatant tinkering with classic rock tunes I keep hearing on restaurant sound systems - well known songs have been ham-handedly remastered to add domineering robotic drum machine tracks that lack nuance and in fact actively detract from the original recording. I cannot comprehend any good reason for doing this.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:09 PM on May 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

In other words, I'm not against remaking classic songs with different arrangements; just for god's sake make it your own, don't do an inferior parroting of the original!
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:14 PM on May 1, 2017 [9 favorites]

But why?

I have some snarky comments on Pentatonix typed out that I'll post if you really want to know why I dislike them, but I thought it would be more interesting to ask you to post why you do like them. What I look for in a cover version of a song is some additional or new understanding of the source material and I'm not getting that from this. What about it makes it amazing to you?
posted by Candleman at 11:25 PM on May 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

Like most a capella, Pentatonix is kinda cheesy, but they make all those sounds with their mouths. I don't know how anyone can be not at least a little bit impressed by that.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:58 PM on May 1, 2017 [4 favorites]

What sets Pentatonix apart is their severely underappreciated and very lowkey bass singer. But everything else about them kind of bothers me, they seem a little bit too polished?
posted by yueliang at 12:19 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

I mean, Pentatonix are no The Bobs, but they're pretty awesome.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:07 AM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

Appreciate the post, especially the 2nd cover, and I found a nice video where Dolly Parton joins them for Jolene.

First I've heard of the group, but based on what showed up in the youtube sidebar as I was listening to other cuts, apparently they've been around long enough to become snark-targets—and the hate seems out of proportion to issues with their music. Have the members committed some social faux pas that put them on the outs with the cool kids?
posted by she's not there at 1:23 AM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]

Internet: "Hey, have you considered that this thing you like might actually be terrible?"
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:34 AM on May 2, 2017 [13 favorites]

Acapella groups covering rock/pop songs is my kryptonite. I cringe inside whenever I hear it happen. It often sounds overly methodical and (ironically because it's human voice) inorganic. Then you have the production layered on top with reverbs and compression and EQ and it just sucks the life out of the song.
posted by tunewell at 3:08 AM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

"But why?"

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to like it. And the harmonizing is good, as is the "instrumentation." But honestly, listening to any other voice but Freddy Mercury's singing lead felt WRONG on a molecular level.

If they'd isolated his vocal track and only backed him up, THAT would be cool. But listening to someone else sing that plaintive "gotta leeeeave it all behind and faaaace the truuuuuuth...." Just felt wrong.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:23 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

See, I just KNEW you guys would love this... :)
posted by HuronBob at 3:43 AM on May 2, 2017 [8 favorites]

Harsh critics up on the MeFi. Who woulda thought?

I think it's a well done and fairly faithful recreation within the bounds of acapella. A solidly listenable achievement. My main criticism is that I love Mitch's angelic voice; it's truly beautiful, but what it doesn't do, at least in this song, is convey the range of emotions expressed by Mercury, the theatricality, the exuberant defiance, the pathos. Does he understand the song he's covering? Maybe, but you can't tell from his performance. In order to work, the cover version is reliant on the listener's knowledge of and feeling about the original, and that makes it weaker. Compare and contrast that with say, P!nk's cover. (Note, the video clip is a horribly out of sync mashup of the CD version and the corresponding performance, but it's worth enduring for the sound quality.) She gets Freddie Mercury. And she gets the song and why it's a classic, and we get that she gets it.
posted by xigxag at 4:26 AM on May 2, 2017 [5 favorites]

I like Pentatonix version.. but:

1) I don't know shit about music theory. I only know I like what I hear.
2) I only like covers when they're identical to the original/first time I heard it. I may be missing the point of a cover?

As soon as a cover draws out a note that isn't in the original, or messes with the tempo, I stop listening.
posted by INFJ at 5:30 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

I knew you guys would tear this up, and the continued hate for Pentatonix mystifies me. This is a remarkable feat of vocal arranging.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 6:31 AM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

I can't help being skeptical of vocal harmonies like this that sound too perfect. To my ear they sound like they've been autotuned so precisely that all the humanity has been drained out of them. When I compare them to vocal harmonies from the age before autotune—The Mamas and the Papas, CSN&Y, Manhattan Transfer—those guys could all sing flawless harmonies without sounding like their voices were being filtered through the VOICE setting on a Casio keyboard. I strongly suspect there's technical chicanery afoot.
posted by Flexagon at 6:44 AM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]

Personally, I really enjoy Pentatonix. I haven't listened yet, but I thought I'd give 'em some love.
posted by Sophie1 at 6:52 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

This cover also belongs in every a capella thread: Wishmaster by Van Canto ft. Ned Flanders.
posted by effbot at 6:58 AM on May 2, 2017

What I look for in a cover version of a song is some additional or new understanding of the source material and I'm not getting that from this. What about it makes it amazing to you?

Because what I look for in a cover version is a different group's performance of a song I'm already familiar with. Bohemian Rhapsody is a 42 year old song; at a certain point, a new understanding of the source material is going to include "hey, let's use a megaphone to alter my own voice to sound like an electric guitar."

Pentatonix is a talented group. They get dragged because they also happen to be young and attractive.
posted by kimberussell at 7:09 AM on May 2, 2017 [5 favorites]

Talent? Yes. What gets cheesy to me is presentation. If I heard/saw them do this live, I'd likely really enjoy it. As soon as it's so polished, mixed and produced, it falls into gimmick territory.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 7:15 AM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

I strongly suspect there's technical chicanery afoot.


No, they've just been singing together that long -- particularly Kirstie, Mitch and Scott -- and have an astounding blend.

at a certain point, a new understanding of the source material is going to include "hey, let's use a megaphone to alter my own voice to sound like an electric guitar."


Yeah, I thought that was creative and cool.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:26 AM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

Never heard of them. Polished, quite polished, perhaps a smidge too calculated gender/ethnically polished, but nice, clever, talented, look like they work really hard.

I mean, Pentatonix are no The Bobs, but they're pretty awesome.

Clicking through ytube I see clever arrangements called "the evolution of MJ/Beyonce/music/etc", yea, they really need to do the Evolution of The Bobs.
posted by sammyo at 7:26 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

For all the people complaining that they sound 'too polished' or that they are 'too calculated gender/ethnically polished' (really? how is that even a criticism):

Kirstie, Mitch and Scott have been singing together and friends since high school. Scott met Avi through acapella groups and thought of him when they were planning to try out for The Sing-Off, and the original 3 found Kevin via YouTube.

They have been working really hard together to hone/improve their sound and abilities. Even if you don't dig their stuff, it is really hard to not be impressed with how they use their voices as instruments (Avi and Kevin impress me the most).

If you don't like this, at least look up their other stuff before shitting on them. They have always been really good, but clearly have improved so much as they have made this journey together.
posted by Catbunny at 7:46 AM on May 2, 2017 [7 favorites]

I enjoy Pentatonix quite a bit, but I've never heard them sing anything that made me say, "Damn, I wish I could've been in the room and heard those overtones" like this song from GQ (Previously).
posted by straight at 7:58 AM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've seen them twice in concert and they are every bit as talented as they appear to be in their videos. They even performed one song entirely without amplification -- dimmed the lights, asked everyone to be quiet, put away their mics, and sang a gorgeous five-part a capella song flawlessly to all of DAR Constitution Hall.

Now, the Bohemian Rhapsody cover is clearly a gimmick, something to do because why not -- they knew it would go viral and it did. Their real strength is in their more unusual vocal arrangements -- the linked video of "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a good one, as is their recent covers of "Imagine" and "Hallelujah" (a song so over-covered I can barely stand to listen to it anymore).

Some of their originals are even better, like "Run to You" or "Light in the Hallway" (in this version, sung live with a Make a Wish participant).

Yes, they are young and attractive and dress funny and they became famous quickly, but they are honestly talented and seem to be nice people and I just don't understand the reflexive hate.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:05 AM on May 2, 2017 [5 favorites]

I can't help being skeptical of vocal harmonies like this that sound too perfect ... flawless harmonies without sounding like their voices were being filtered through the VOICE setting on a Casio keyboard.

I don't think it's technical cheating so much as aiming for a different kind of sound. They want that sound so pure it could be a synthesizer or an organ stop. Doesn't mean anyone has to like it, but some people sure do.
posted by straight at 8:10 AM on May 2, 2017

I knew you guys would tear this up, and the continued hate for Pentatonix mystifies me.

I don't hate Pentatonix so much as I love Bohemian Rhapsody.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:12 AM on May 2, 2017

I don't think it's technical cheating so much as aiming for a different kind of sound. They want that sound so pure it could be a synthesizer or an organ stop. Doesn't mean anyone has to like it, but some people sure do.

In addition, they are not positioning themselves against other a capella groups (where vocal effects are generally considered to be a no-no), but against current pop music, much of which is very electronic in nature. It's not autotune, but just a tweak to emulate the slickness of pop music. And, if you listen to their albums, they certainly don't use those effects on every song (or even most songs), but only on those with a pop/rock sound.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:14 AM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm a show choir nerd/would-have-been vocal performance major/a capella-loving guy. But I just can't hang with Pentatonix. They're not bad on a technical level, for sure. They're actually insanely good with the harmonies and arrangements. But I can't get with the Glee-esque pop stylings on the main vocal. It's all scoops and breathiness and eye-fucking the camera.

The only emotion on display, visually or vocally, is "I AM PRETTY AND I SING PRETTY DON'T I SING SO PRETTY? SINGING PRETTY IS SERIOUS BUSINESS." It's like they don't speak English and learn every song phonetically. They don't sing like they know what the lyrics mean.

So yeah.. it's so technically perfect it's almost sterile, and completely devoid of emotion or soul. Weird to have a group that's all voices sound so robotic.
posted by skullhead at 8:25 AM on May 2, 2017 [19 favorites]

I kinda like the Molotov version.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:37 AM on May 2, 2017

I listen to a lot of choral music, predominately early modern sacred stuff, where the words can just as commonly be in Latin or French or German as English (or late medieval/early modern variants thereof), and the ability to convey emotional force alongside technical proficiency is not dependent on the meaning of those words being understood by performer or listener. During rehearsal, the leader or conductor will shape the music - and will know the piece well enough to explain what needs to be explained - but good performers can follow those emotional cues in practice or performance whatever the underlying language.

Alternately, you can sing any old verbal tosh and make it real. Freddie Mercury, QED. (Which is not to say that Queen are particularly deficient in the rock lyrics department compared to their peers, but they do serve up some joyous twaddle.)

But the stuff that has all the precision and none of the feeling... is the stuff I cant listen to.
posted by Devonian at 9:13 AM on May 2, 2017

Weird to have a group that's all voices sound so robotic.

Try This
posted by sammyo at 9:17 AM on May 2, 2017

Just popping in to add that as someone who adored all seasons of The Sing-Off, Pentatonix was a definite fave in my musically inclined family who watched each week, and we all were rooting for them to win their season just because their live performances did indeed sound so polished and "electronic," and their energy level they brought to stage felt fresh and exciting.

Spoiler alert, they won.

I still happen to love acapella acts in general and Pentatonix in particular. And Avi in most particular.
posted by paisley sheep at 9:29 AM on May 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

paisley sheep, I've also been a huge fan since the first Sing-Off episode. I wonder if those of us who have been following them since they were just five kids without all the polish view them differently than those who discovered them only after their success?
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:36 AM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

A cappella groups are the mimes of music.
posted by entropos at 10:49 AM on May 2, 2017 [6 favorites]

One of the occupational hazards of a cappella is a certain earnestness that strikes a nerve sometimes.

It looks like they had to sanitize their YouTube channel, either for aesthetics or rights issues, but back before they started doing the big tours/making money most of their videos were shot on a sofa in someone's apartment, and youtube was their primary form of engagement and they were clearly working their asses off. My favorite "produced" video, the above-linked Daft Punk medley, apparently spent its entire budget on the contact lenses.

I know that Scott and Mitch (aka Superfruit) engage a lot with the queer-kids-who-need-a-lifeline demographic and just generally the group has a lot of young fans and they are unfailingly kind and thoughtful to them. I can't at all fault them for getting all fancy once they got some production cash, it doesn't seem to have changed that core attitude.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:24 AM on May 2, 2017 [5 favorites]

I wonder if those of us who have been following them since they were just five kids without all the polish view them differently than those who discovered them only after their success?

I think there's truth to this, and I find myself fiercely protective of them.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 12:14 PM on May 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

Thanks for this eye-opening thread. Perhaps in the future the step from "this thing irritates me" to "I dislike the people who made this thing" will be a little less automatic for me. On the subject of covers, one of my favourite pairs is this song, and then its cover, this.
posted by holist at 12:42 PM on May 2, 2017

One of the occupational hazards of a cappella is a certain earnestness that strikes a nerve sometimes.

To me, there's something human and charming about making, with a completely straight face, your voice sound like an electric guitar or a trumpet. It's already inherently silly (and sometimes awesome); there's no need to wink at the camera to make sure everyone notices that you're not really playing a trumpet.
posted by straight at 1:19 PM on May 2, 2017

There's no need to wink at the camera to make sure everyone notices that you're not really playing a trumpet.

Perceptions may vary, but I've never gotten a sense of the hokiness of which you speak.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 2:22 PM on May 2, 2017

By the way, Metafilter has a long, storied history of sharing covers of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Sharing a new cover earns HuronBob his Queen mefi merit badge.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:29 PM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh! I had only heard but not seen the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, but now I see this video is totally an homage to the "Pentatonix Onna Couch" days.

Also, while some of their arrangements can be a little sterile, the I Can Help Falling In Love arrangement/video rivals even UB40, which was previously my favorite version.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:35 PM on May 2, 2017

My main criticism is that I love Mitch's angelic voice
particularly Kirstie, Mitch and Scott
Kirstie, Mitch and Scott have been singing together
Scott met Avi through acapella groups
I know that Scott and Mitch (aka Superfruit)
(Avi and Kevin impress me the most)


You are all on a first-name basis with this band?
posted by gurple at 8:49 PM on May 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

I just like hearing how I imagine myself sounding in my own head when listening to the song.

FTR this is the first rock song I could sing all the way through. Really enjoyed this video.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:11 PM on May 2, 2017

Joey, I earned that back in 2012.😊
posted by HuronBob at 2:11 PM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

In that case, since you've posted about Queen multiple times, you are now elevated to the rank of Mefi Freddie Scout.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:41 PM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

About Avi Kaplan ... he's stepping down later this year.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:21 AM on May 22, 2017