Harmonizing Covers

July 21, 2009 3:00 PM

YouTube user ChrisDodgen posts videos of covers he's done. What separates him from the rest is how he mixes multiple videos of himself to harmonize on covers (Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal and Ragged Wood, and The Get Up Kids' Holiday).
posted by spiderskull (22 comments total)

I'm secretly hoping people will post similar videos, since I haven't found the magical keyword combination to search for these.
posted by spiderskull at 3:13 PM on July 21, 2009

See also for self-harmonizing and general cuteness.
posted by lholladay at 3:16 PM on July 21, 2009

that turned out surprisingly well. i am pleased.
posted by mordacil at 3:19 PM on July 21, 2009

the rest of his videos are unfortunately just him playing guitar. i wish those songs were given the treatment of the posted three. cool videos either way.
posted by auralcoral at 3:19 PM on July 21, 2009

He is very good.
posted by Optamystic at 3:44 PM on July 21, 2009

Row, row, row, your boat.
posted by erniepan at 4:00 PM on July 21, 2009

This is excellent. It's interesting seeing three hims playing the song. And, bonus, Fleet Foxes is good.
posted by Askiba at 4:00 PM on July 21, 2009

The prototype
posted by a robot made out of meat at 4:45 PM on July 21, 2009

harshing on your critter post - always begin such posts with big photo link to teh critter - then go for the details.
...just sayin'....
posted by hooptycritter at 4:55 PM on July 21, 2009

OK that was completely awesome. Very nice and pretty seamless.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 4:56 PM on July 21, 2009

Ah nice to see White Winter Hymnal in there, even if it's about POOR HELPLESS LITTLE CHILDREN BEING DECAPITATED IN THE SNOW YOU SICKO
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:58 PM on July 21, 2009

I'll speculate that on WWH, he did the guitar first, then the mandolin (you have to have something to solo over, after all), then the cajon and other rhythm business (left guy). I don't know, but drummer boy there is throwing a thousand yard stare there throughout like a deer caught in the headlights of a shit, I'd better keep an eye on that guy's hands and mouth.

Plus, it could be a lot more in time, IMO, but it's nice rough around the edges like this.

(Me, I'd probably cook up a click track and try to hide the earphones somehow -- he could bury them in his hair, I have a buzz cut. So yeah, I'd probably lip-sync the video parts and defeat the entire purpose.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:05 PM on July 21, 2009

I loved this! Not only are the songs great, but he's genuinely good at covering them.

This is by far and away the best use of the YouTube on Metafilter, in my opinion.

Made my day! And YAY FLEET FOXES ASDFa;dflkjds;lfkj;sdfj
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 5:26 PM on July 21, 2009

This recreation of Air's La Femme d'Argent by the original band doesn't have all the virtual people on screen at the same time, but it's still very good. And very French.
posted by kersplunk at 5:44 PM on July 21, 2009

goodnewsfortheinsane: I read an interview with Robin Pecknold where he talked about the inspiration for that song. It's not about "poor helpless children being decapitated in the snow", but rather about how a bunch of his "friends" abandoned him on the playground one day.
posted by pxe2000 at 5:53 PM on July 21, 2009

pxe2000, do you have a link to that interview? I read an interview where he said the lyrics were "basically meaningless" and that the song was really just all about the vocal harmonies.
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:35 PM on July 21, 2009

! x1000
posted by mhjb at 12:05 AM on July 22, 2009

Aww man. These are well done. I've just done something that's very similar, but less well done. If I release it as it is, people will say "he copied that other guy, but it's not as good." Back to the drawing board!
posted by Magnakai at 1:43 AM on July 22, 2009

infinitywaltz: here it is.

"White Winter Hymnal," from the band's debut album, Fleet Foxes, epitomizes their sound: open and melodic arrangements, chiming four-part harmonies (lots of "oohing" and "ahhing") and primarily acoustic instrumentation. ... Pecknold's lyrics, though, stray farther from basic pop tropes. Pecknold wrote "White Winter Hymnal" about friends who ditched him when he was in middle school. "The songs are written from personal experience," he says. "There are no love songs."

posted by pxe2000 at 4:34 AM on July 22, 2009

Huh, I was just joking around, but that is kind of interesting, thanks.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:09 AM on July 22, 2009

To be fair though, none of that story is actually in the lyrics, unless you count "And I turned 'round and there you go" which would be very tenuous.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:11 AM on July 22, 2009

You know, he's better at this than Fleet Foxes IRL, and he uses some very nice vibrato. I've yet to see them pull off any of these harmonies live. Yes I know they're difficult. Don't write them if you doubt you can reproduce them reliably. Your whole band is about Appalachian-sounding harmonies, DUDE.
posted by littlerobothead at 7:39 AM on July 22, 2009