Comments on: "as you watch the video you will start to see weird stuff happening..."

"as you watch the video you will start to see weird stuff happening..."

jng — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:14:01 -0800

The story of how The Pharcyde hired a linguist to train them how to rap backwards for the Spike Jonze-directed Drop video

"The members of The Pharcyde had to memorize the lyrics to their verses backwards in order to lip sync convincingly. Using the help of a linguist to get this vernacular right, gibberish was written on the cue cards (phrases like "Eight, Kay, Car, Ick, Side, Jer, Dit")." [quote] Also read the one-page treatment for the video written by Spike Jonze.

By: jng

jng — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:16:39 -0800

Comment from Slimkid3 of The Pharcyde on Youtube:

We had a lot of fun doing this video for sure. This how you are suppose to be creatively about what ever you do. After looking at this clip I realized... Wow... I guess we did study harder than I thought. I also felt and like all we needed was on more day to study and it would have been seamless. :)

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:25:28 -0800

That seems like a lot of effort for a youtube video.

By: Monochrome

Monochrome — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:27:59 -0800

I just wish the crappy quality on Youtube didn't make it so hard to see their mouth movements.

By: theodolite

theodolite — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:28:51 -0800

Not to impugn Spike Jonze's professionalism, but I'm pretty sure he was higher than god when he typed up that treatment.

By: threeants

threeants — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:38:32 -0800

That seems like a lot of effort for a youtube video. I'm pretty sure this was a "real" video, likely pre-dating Youtube.

By: stroke_count

stroke_count — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:40:00 -0800

Yeah, this is a cool technique. I've seen this done by Mutemath. Anyone else? Who do you hire to train to drum backwards?

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:43:38 -0800

I'm pretty sure he was higher than god when he typed up that treatment.

-eating chips -wearing a clown suit -speedo

Yeah, pretty sure.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:52:00 -0800

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:52:42 -0800

-eating chips -wearing a clown suit -speedo I think those ideas wound up in the What's Up, Fatlip? video, heh.

By: xedrik

xedrik — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:55:24 -0800

That seems like a lot of effort for a youtube video. I'm pretty sure this was a "real" video, likely pre-dating Youtube. A bit. 1995. Still just as cool now as it was then. :)

By: clarknova

clarknova — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:57:18 -0800

I want to believe, but the disbelief I have to suspend is that every English syllable and phoneme backwards has its perfect palindrome in an English syllable or phoneme spoken forwards. After Thom Yorke blatantly bullshitted about singing backwards for Spinning Plates I'm jaded against all such claims. What I find more likely is that Jonze shot this as advertised, but dubbed in a forwards track. The payoff for the group's efforts was they could tell a convincing story they really believed, and that their lips synced.

By: isopraxis

isopraxis — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:09 -0800

I'm pretty sure you were high when he was writing the treatment too.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:45 -0800

clarknova, nobody's claiming that the audio of the track is sung backwards. The Pharcyde learned the phonetic pronunciation of their backwards lyrics so their lips would sync with the track during the video.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:08:22 -0800

Even high school students can lip synch backwards. And its still awesome.

By: unliteral

unliteral — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:12:41 -0800

Backwards you say?

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:27:37 -0800

well yo mama got a glass eye with a fish in it

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:28:45 -0800

Oh, and as long as the theme is "Director's Series Backwards", let's hear it for Cibo Matto's Sugar Water.

By: ericbop

ericbop — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:32:11 -0800

needs more dancing flying walkens

By: clarknova

clarknova — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:39:59 -0800

The Pharcyde learned the phonetic pronunciation of their backwards lyrics so their lips would sync with the track during the video. That's what I just said! My point is Spike didn't say it was for lip syncing. He said nothing of the kind. He suggested the opposite and let you believe it if you wanted. _{And yo momma got an afro with a chin strap.}

By: jeremy b

jeremy b — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:44:14 -0800

Nowadays, we'd just use computers.

By: tmcw

tmcw — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:46:31 -0800

Excuse the friend link, but friends-band-backwards-music-video-released-today. I think it's cool

By: flex

flex — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:48:49 -0800

Not to impugn Spike Jonze's professionalism, but I'm pretty sure he was higher than god when he typed up that treatment. He wasn't the only one working stoned, clearly! Those guys were so baked while doing that interview. Heh heh.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:53:00 -0800

Backwards videos make me think of Weird Al's Amish Paradise, where he did a really solid job lipsynching backwards. It's not the whole song, just the last portion, so not quite the same as a full video in reverse.

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:15:03 -0800

After Thom Yorke blatantly bullshitted about singing backwards for Spinning Plates I'm jaded against all such claims. ??? They haven't bullshitted about it at all. It was something like: He recorded the vocal forward, played it back in reverse, and used that to learn to sing it in reverse. Then he recorded his reverse version, then reversed that again, resulting in the very odd elocution he has in the song. It doesn't sound quite like it's forwards or backwards. I might be misremembering the details slightly, but there's not been any bullshit.

By: infinitewindow

infinitewindow — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:06:22 -0800

euhhhthat giumyou uhloyk kees ehhhcoming gback kin stieel

By: mannequito

mannequito — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:33:35 -0800

that's how I remember the story going as well, sparkletone (one of my favorite Radiohead songs, too)

By: kid ichorous

kid ichorous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:53:38 -0800

Loki / Eric Fensler: Six Feet of Space.

By: rusty

rusty — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:16:57 -0800

It's a Swedish Bookshop!

By: speicus

speicus — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:59:27 -0800

After Thom Yorke blatantly bullshitted about singing backwards for Spinning Plates I'm jaded against all such claims. ELPEEHS PU EKAW

By: Dr Dracator

Dr Dracator — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 04:48:51 -0800

Related. One-line treatment for this comment:

$ echo '.>a/<detaleR>"nosrednA_.J_leahciM/ikiw/gro.aidepikiw.ne//:ptth"=ferh a<' | rev

By: orme

orme — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:36:03 -0800

Pretty sure that's Mark Gonzales painting the glass in the start/end of the video. Coooool.

By: Mick

Mick — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:46:26 -0800

Fu-schnickens did the backwards thing first.

By: antifuse

antifuse — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:01:18 -0800

I have to agree with Monochrome - in the Youtube video it's basically impossible to see their mouths moving. Have to see it on a big screen I guess.

By: that's candlepin

that's candlepin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:08:56 -0800

Yeah? Well your mama has a peg leg with a kickstand.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:38:26 -0800

Your mama has the wings and teeth of an African bat.

By: DigDoug

DigDoug — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:34:19 -0800

Pharcyde is one of my goto groups when people say they don't really like rap. Tribe and Pharcyde for history, Jurassic 5 for more recent history. Who's doing this stuff today? I'm sure they're out there. electroboy: *shakefist* I was going to post a line from that

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:38:24 -0800

I think I am going to become a novelty account that just drops lines from ya mama in random threads. Goes with the username.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:58:10 -0800

...and her middle name is Mudbone.

By: Challahtronix

Challahtronix — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:58:33 -0800

You live in a tree; you eat coconuts! And your whole family's got buffalo butts. _*cough*

By: carsonb

carsonb — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:58:49 -0800

He suggested the opposite and let you believe it if you wanted. What did he suggest? it was for lip syncing is the opposite of what Spike suggested, but I'm having trouble coming up with something opposite that. Help me out, clarknova.

By: mikeh

mikeh — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:26:07 -0800

Music videos are always, always, always lip sync affairs unless it's a "live" conceit. And then, it's usually for a live album or specially released version of the song. The point is to make a video for an existing, prerecorded version of the song. I've never heard anyone imply this video was not a traditional music video.

By: rbellon

rbellon — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:30:43 -0800

Fu-schnickens did the backwards thing first. Wow, that takes me back. I remember listening to these guys in high school. They were popular for like a minute in 1992 but I had totally forgotten about them. Thanks, Mick!

By: symbioid

symbioid — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:26:49 -0800

DigDoug: "Pharcyde is one of my goto groups when people say they don't really like rap. Tribe and Pharcyde for history, Jurassic 5 for more recent history. Who's doing this stuff today? I'm sure they're out there. " Souls of Mischief/Del tha Funkee Homosapien/the rest of the Hiero crew (though they are "old" and not new, I guess). Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon. Again, though -- all old. I haven't followed much of the more current trends in Hip Hop, so, I can't say :( But those are definitely people I'd give as good intelligent hip-hop :)

By: supyo

supyo — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:37:13 -0800

I've been looking for this video for many MANY years. This music video opened my mind as a teenager. Thanks. The linguist fact makes it that much better.

By: jng

jng — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:39:58 -0800

DigDoug, symbioid: Heh, this metatalk made me chuckle. Some good recommendations in there. I have to admit, I'm just as guilty of preferring to kick back to an old Nas record than I am in exploring Rick Ross or Gucci Mane's latest mixtapes. As for the best parallel to the Pharcyde today, Das Racist comes to mind (though I'm sure there are others I can't recall right now) as having that same sort of fun-loving group style (fused with the occasional ultra post-modernist flair, which I know turns a lot of people off). Everyone's fave new rapper these days is Jay Electronica (if you like "smart" hip-hop and haven't listened to his Exhibit series, do yourself a favor and listen to it NOW; the Just Blaze beats are incredible), but folks all be a-quaking in their boots now that he's doing Mountain Dew commercials and is signed to Rocafella. Maybe check okayplayer for other artists if you're not already there. But it's a shame when people (not you guys! I mean others) feel like that if rappers talk about money, thug-life, drugs, and murder that it automatically has no value. Sure, a lot of it is trivial stuff, sort of like how any other genre of popular music has fluff, but there's some solid wheat in there if one is willing to look (for me, Ghostface can do no wrong, even if he's misogynistic on so so so many levels [it's irony! I swear! er, I mean I hope]). I love Straight Bangin, which is ostensibly a sports blog. See his top 50 songs of 2010 list for a interesting recap of what's happening in hip-hop. He's a bigtime Black Milk/Royce/Slum Village/Detroit supporter (all which are great, go give them a listen), sometimes to the detriment of highlighting other equally awesome artists, but like I said, really good stuff in there if you're like me and don't track hip-hop as closely as you'd like.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:07:31 -0800

Fu-schnickens did the backwards thing first. You sure about that?

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:58:42 -0800

Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon Weeeelllll.... I'm a Kool Keith fanboy of the highest order, and I realize people who like the other groups you've mentioned also tend to like the Dr Octagon album for whatever reason, I wouldn't advise someone who likes Pharcyde to go out and grab Spankmaster or Sex Style or the Analog Brothers, for example.