Living in a Ghost Town
April 23, 2020 12:29 PM   Subscribe

 
That is rather nice.

So's this.
posted by chavenet at 12:38 PM on April 23, 2020 [6 favorites]


Not bad.

But the autotune is a little heavy-handed (and seems out of keeping with what I understand to be the ethos of the Stones). *shrug*
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:45 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]


It is rather good -- and yes, lots of Toronto views, including our doggie fountain at the end -- BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL SINGING IN THE SAME ROOM?
posted by maudlin at 1:06 PM on April 23, 2020 [7 favorites]


From USA Today:
‘‘The Stones were in the studio recording some new material before the lockdown and there was one song we thought would resonate through the times that we’re living in right now," Jagger said in a statement. "We’ve worked on it in isolation. And here it is – It’s called ‘Living In A Ghost Town’ - I hope you like it.”

"We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album," Richards added. "And then (expletive) hit the fan Mick and I decided this one really needed to go to work right now."


So unclear how locked down everything was when they recorded the inserts of them singing together. The city footage, of course, was recorded during lockdown.
posted by Peach at 1:19 PM on April 23, 2020 [9 favorites]


S'okay, the studio footage is from last year. (So's the song -- Jagger & Richard tweaked the lyrics.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:22 PM on April 23, 2020 [4 favorites]


The whole 'Ghost Town' refrain and shots of a deserted London reminded me of the video of one of my favorite songs of all time.
posted by vacapinta at 1:27 PM on April 23, 2020 [2 favorites]


Richards was one of the first rock guys to appreciate reggae, back there in the 70's, iirc.
posted by thelonius at 1:33 PM on April 23, 2020 [2 favorites]


Nice song. The auto-tune is noticeable though.
posted by Pendragon at 1:40 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]


BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL SINGING IN THE SAME ROOM?

Totally good call, but I can't resist:

[Insert Keith Richards immortality joke here]

Alternatively:

[Insert "singing moistly" joke here]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:56 PM on April 23, 2020 [2 favorites]


"We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album," Richards added. "And then (expletive) hit the fan Mick and I decided this one really needed to go to work right now."



So unclear how locked down everything was when they recorded the inserts of them singing together. The city footage, of course, was recorded during lockdown.
posted by Peach

posted by Splunge at 2:54 PM on April 23, 2020


I would guess the auto-tune is in part because of updated lyrics being sung in a non-locked down studio space.
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:08 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]


BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL SINGING IN THE SAME ROOM?

Totally good call, but I can't resist:

[Insert Keith Richards immortality joke here]


You beat me to it, but my immediate reaction to maudlin's question was, "Do you think a mere global pandemic has a chance against Keith Richards' immune system? It is to laugh."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:29 PM on April 23, 2020 [6 favorites]


Covid 19 has more more to fear from Keith than Keith has from Covid 19.
posted by 2N2222 at 3:43 PM on April 23, 2020 [4 favorites]


I would guess the auto-tune is in part because of updated lyrics being sung in a non-locked down studio space.

Could be. I just think it's weird that the Rolling Stones, of all people, couldn't find an engineer who could fix any pitch issues without such an obviously heavy-handed slathering on of the effect.

I'm a musician, and I pitch-correct my own vocals without autotune -- manually tweaking individual words and syllables. It takes time and a certain level of skill, but I'm sure they could afford to hire someone much better at it than I am.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:49 PM on April 23, 2020 [6 favorites]


It wasn't heavy-handed to me - in fact the thought of autotune never even occurred to me till you mentioned it above. As a one-time Stones fan with no musical training or experience, I was just pleasantly surprised to hear a band I'd given up on around 1980 release such a good song today. Who'd have thunk it?
posted by Paul Slade at 4:45 PM on April 23, 2020 [4 favorites]


Probably a more meaningful video than it is a good song, but...

Roll on Stones...
posted by Windopaene at 4:54 PM on April 23, 2020


Very Stones-y sounding for sure. I like it!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 4:58 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]


That's pretty obviously auto-tune being pushed to the hilt to sound like the Futuristic Effect of Auto-Tune. Think along the lines of Cher's "Believe". Brings you a taste of The Future, which is something the song is about.

Also in a strikingly similar vein is the visual of MICK FUCKING JAGGER reading lyrics from an iPad. Wow, time is weird
posted by scrowdid at 10:48 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]


It's rather good.

I thought the OP might just be engaging in hyperbole, but after listening/watching I have to agree, it is rather good.
posted by fairmettle at 11:10 PM on April 23, 2020


to confirm, it's at least rather good, or at least nice





... but The Specials gave us a superior Ghost Town.
posted by philip-random at 12:10 AM on April 24, 2020 [2 favorites]


Not bad for latter-day Stones. Sounds like a discarded track from Dirty Work or Undercover.
posted by blucevalo at 5:50 AM on April 24, 2020


BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL SINGING IN THE SAME ROOM ?

The ways a dead horse can be beaten are apparently infinitesimal.
posted by y2karl at 10:24 AM on April 24, 2020


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