play play play play hate hate hate hate
June 10, 2018 7:31 AM   Subscribe

On Ryan's blog, "Ryan Blog", Ryan has blogged many edits of songs to remove every other beat or half-measure and the resulting deconstruction and resynthesis of mega-hits is good as hell. Some favorites: the glitchy weirdness of Uptown Girl; the newfound brevity and energy of Shake it off; the incoherent squashing of Sails.

Ryan's not the first person to do this; a couple of his earliest edits came up in the comments of this related post earlier this year, which also discusses the classic internet beast Infinite Jukebox, itself a product built (like many other neat audio things) on the fantastic Remix API from the weird wonderful folks at Echo Nest.
posted by cortex (29 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
I couldn't listen to more than a few seconds of any of the songs. I missed the missing beats/notes, and it was frustrating. Interesting, but not for me.
posted by jzb at 7:35 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


Ryan's not the first person to do this

For example....
posted by solotoro at 7:43 AM on June 10, 2018 [10 favorites]


Half of Shake It Off is surprisingly good and almost coherent.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:49 AM on June 10, 2018 [5 favorites]


For example....

Ha! Goddammit. Well, it's Sunday and it's not like they can fire me, so I'm standing by it.
posted by cortex at 8:08 AM on June 10, 2018 [15 favorites]


The music is kind of interesting, but the messed up lyrics really keep them as half-songs in my mind. Shake it Off almost works since the words are staccato and the lyrics very simple, but even then not quite.

The people doing these need to up their game and remove the lyrics, and they'd have some dance floor hits.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:34 AM on June 10, 2018


How is it "every second beat" if he clipped "players gonna" (4 syllables) and then includes "play play play play" (4 syllables)? Shoulda been "play gon' play play."

It seems kind of arbitrary where he's clipping.
posted by explosion at 8:37 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]




I know what happens next. A different moderator will delete this thread as a duplicate, then a third will reinstate it. Hijinx will ensue.
posted by yhbc at 8:43 AM on June 10, 2018 [4 favorites]


This reminds me a bit of a vocal production technique that was common in early 90s house music. I don't know if it ever had a name, but you usually heard it on the "dub" version of a track. They'd basically chop a vocal phrase into a bunch of short samples, then play them out of order to create an effect similar to scat singing. Example.

I actually think this (the tracks in the post) would be more interesting if they re-recorded the tracks this way. Most of the surviving beats contain bits of notes or syllables that spill over from the missing beat, which sounds...not great.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:04 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


I know what happens next. A different moderator will delete this thread as a duplicate, then a third will reinstate it. Hijinx will ensue.

From that thread:
"Someone famous dies of old age" newsfilter almost never makes for good posts anyway. The simple fact that a lot of people rush for their keyboards and post about it hoping to be first is enough to justify deleting the lot.

All of us know where CNN's web site is, and know how to read newspapers.
Man, they would've loathed 2016!
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:10 AM on June 10, 2018 [3 favorites]


How is it "every second beat" if he clipped "players gonna" (4 syllables) and then includes "play play play play" (4 syllables)? Shoulda been "play gon' play play."

One beat does not mean one syllable. “Players gonna”, while 4 syllables is said in one beat of the music. “Play play play play” is not.
posted by greermahoney at 9:47 AM on June 10, 2018 [2 favorites]


If they can delete half the beats in disposable pop poo, why can't they delete them all?
posted by tspae at 9:52 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


I know what happens next. A different moderator will delete this thread as a duplicate, then a third will reinstate it. Hijinx will ensue.

Easy fix - just remove every other comment to make it a meta thread.
posted by lagomorphius at 9:53 AM on June 10, 2018 [7 favorites]


If you know the song, you know the lyric is “Players gonna play play play play play play”
^. ^. ^. ^

Those are four consecutive beats, and that’s how the edit gets “Play play play play.” You can even hear the end of “Players” on the first beat but it’s easy to miss/ignore.
posted by Mothlight at 10:04 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


On a casual listen, Sails appears completely unaffected by this edit.
posted by SPrintF at 10:18 AM on June 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


Touch This is amazing. Stop Time.
posted by Catblack at 10:31 AM on June 10, 2018 [6 favorites]


1/2 Toxic by Britney Spears is pretty dope.
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:09 AM on June 10, 2018


If they can delete half the beats in disposable pop poo, why can't they delete them all?

If you include Swift's Shake it Off in that characterization, I will fight you.
posted by signal at 12:49 PM on June 10, 2018 [4 favorites]


If they can delete half the beats in disposable pop poo, why can't they delete them all?

I bet your favorite band sucks.
posted by axiom at 2:06 PM on June 10, 2018 [3 favorites]


If can half beats disposable poo, can't delete all?

by at 3:26 on 10 [ favorite [ ]

posted by Sebmojo at 4:47 PM on June 10, 2018 [4 favorites]


Hijinx will ensue.

I hadn’t planned on it.
posted by hijinx at 7:38 PM on June 10, 2018 [5 favorites]


and yet here you are, or at least half of you
posted by mbo at 8:31 PM on June 10, 2018


Some of these would be awesome in some sci-fi movie in a cantina type scene for "weirdly familiar but undeniably alien music." Bonus points if human culture has permeated the Galaxy but aliens have decided they like the songs better this way.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:43 PM on June 10, 2018


One beat does not mean one syllable. “Players gonna”, while 4 syllables is said in one beat of the music. “Play play play play” is not.

To be pedantic about it, With "players gonna", each syllable is a sixteenth note, "play play play play" is four eighth notes. Thus, "players gonna" and "play play" are one quarter note (one beat) each.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 9:19 AM on June 11, 2018


Ugh, ugh, this is how you induce an anxiety attack. My brain knows this is wrong. I wonder if it would be better with a song I've never heard before?
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:24 AM on June 11, 2018


Nope
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:25 AM on June 11, 2018


On a casual listen, Sails appears completely unaffected by this edit.

Well, instead of going SAILLLL it now sounds like he whispers 'soap' or possibly 'soup'. I want more songs about soup.
posted by FatherDagon at 2:12 PM on June 11, 2018


Thanos killed half the beats!
posted by straight at 5:50 PM on June 11, 2018


Nobody's posted Smooth Criminal yet?

"You've been hit, struck by booth"
posted by a car full of lions at 12:29 AM on June 12, 2018


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