Music Is Good Mailbag #1 - Aliens, Overproduction, and Youtuber Music
Hey all, happy Thursday! This week I’ve decided to answer some music-related questions that friends and subscribers have sent my way. My agent (me) tells me this is good for “fan engagement.” Thank you to those who submitted questions, you are the best. Alright, let’s go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What makes something sound “overproduced” to you?
I think producers walk an extremely fine line when they get into the minutiae of a recorded track. No performer is faultless, but a lot of producers try to make it sound like they are.
I’ve got an example for you. Now, I know I’m irrelevant so the small sect of crazy BTS fans won’t come after me when I say this - HOLY COW is their recents string of songs overproduced. There are seven members of that band, and with the amount of work done on each of their voices, there’s just nothing distinct about each individual singer. They all sound robotic.
That’s the mark of overproduction - when you can really hear it without looking for it. Some music, however, is supposed to be overproduced. A lot of modern electronic music, like Daft Punk, is listenable because of the amount of work done on the track.
When I’m listening to stuff like electronic music, I want to hear overproduction. When I’m listening to other genres, I’ll pass. Occasional pitch correction is passable, but let’s ease up a little bit. These people are famous musicians because they’re talented, not because they need constant correction.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think of Youtubers branching into music?
Yeah, maybe just stick to what you’re good at. Of course, the first song that comes to mind is Dream’s “The Mask,” because it’s the most recent one I heard. It’s just awful from top to bottom, but I think it served its purpose - it made Dream a bunch of money he wouldn’t have made otherwise.
The reason most Youtubers branch into music isn’t because that’s always what they’ve wanted to do - it’s because they have an agent in their ear telling them how to expand their portfolio. It’s the same reason that a ton of Youtube personalities all wrote books within like 3 years of each other.
I’ve never heard a song from a non-music Youtuber that I’ve particularly liked, and I don’t think much thought goes into the creative process. It’s for the money. That’s what the song is. That’s what the point of the song is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is there anyone who’s ever replicated Linkin Park? It feels like I haven’t found anyone else that makes that blend of pop, rap, and alt rock.
I think part of the reason Linkin Park goes under appreciated is due to bad timing. A lot of rap-rock music at the time was just so bad. Outside of LP and Rage Against the Machine, you’ve got your Papa Roaches, and your Limp Bizkits, and your Korns.
Linkin Park, quality-wise, is much better than most of their contemporaries. They (mostly) weren’t coming from a money-making mindset, which separates them from a lot of similar groups at the time.
Chester Bennington wrote about his emotions, but in a “I’m struggling but I want to be a better person” kind of way, not in a Limp Bizkit “I hate my parents” kind of way. There were artists making similar music at the time, but the only similarity is the genre comparison, not the quality.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You get to pick 3 albums to show aliens as a representation of humanity. What do you choose?
I’d start with Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain.” Lots of different genres present in that one, some of humanity’s most talented musicians, plus funk music is extremely catchy and danceable, but this album also has a very spaced-out element to it. I think it’s a great introduction.
Second, I’d go with “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars,” to show them what one of humanity’s most important musicians thinks of them. I think this album borrows themes and ideas from a lot of different sci-fi tropes, so it’d be funny to see how accurate it is. Also, it’s one of the best albums of all time, so there’s that.
Finally, I’d show them Steely Dan’s “Aja,” because it touches on human themes and perfectly explains the comedic tragedy of the human condition. I think the aliens and I would really get emotional listening to Deacon Blues.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What are some of your favorite meme songs?
“All-Star” by Smash Mouth, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Flamingo” by Kero Kero Bonito, “Ocean Man” by Ween, The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Theme, and “Rasputin” by Boney M.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What widely-hated musician is a guilty pleasure for you?
I have ZERO guilt for listening to them, but people don’t like 100 gecs for some reason. Hyperpop is the perfect modern genre. It takes the conventions of pop music, cranks them to 11, and creates something so self-aware and absurd that it’s really fun to listen to.
It’s so hard to innovate in modern music spaces, because it seems like everything has been done, but Hyperpop managed to do it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What band/artist sounds like the Phoenix Suns?
This is a really fun question, because I had never considered it until I was asked.
I’ve always considered basketball to be like jazz. Yes, I know Michael Scott said this in The Office, but I’m serious. It’s structured, but free-form in a way that anyone who plays it is granted the creativity to innovate within the form. I also love both jazz and basketball immeasurably.
I think I’d go with Herbie Hancock. He makes incredible jazz music that has this unexplainable cool element to it. In this metaphor, I guess, Herbie Hancock would be Chris Paul. Both are the band leaders of the situation, creating a space for other talented people to have fun.
Devin Booker is Bennie Maupin, Deandre Ayton is Harvey Mason, Mikal Bridges is Paul Jackson, and Jae Crowder is Bill Summers. And they’re called the Head Sunters, or something.
Man, that’s a deep cut. Sorry if that’s too niche. Listen to 1973’s “Head Hunters.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What’s your favorite/least favorite song/album/artist?
I got a few of these, so I will answer them here.
-My favorite Joy Division song is either “Disorder” or “She’s Lost Control,” because you can’t go wrong with the classics.
-My favorite Kanye album is “Yeezus,” and that one is also his best. He’s created 4-5 of the best rap albums of the past 20 years, but “Yeezus” separates itself from the pack by being his most individualistic. Nobody does it like Kanye, man.
-My favorite hip-hop album is A Tribe Called Quest’s “Midnight Marauders,” because it is lyrically and instrumentally incredible and relaxes me to no end.
-My least favorite popular artist from the 2010s is Drake. I’ll never see the appeal. Some have him on their rap Mt. Rushmores, which is just silly to me. He breaks chart records, people are clamouring for more music from him, and I like some of his songs, but like… I’m good. Most of Eminem’s stuff is pre-2010, but this all applies to him too.
-My favorite cover song is Los Stellarians’ cover of “This Charming Man,” because it’s all of the great songwriting with none of the Morrissey.
-My favorite songs from Bomb the Music Industry’s “Vacation,” which turned 10 last month, are “Everybody That You Love” and “Felt Just Like Vacation.” I know this sounds niche, but the love that my buddy Carson and I share for Jeff Rosenstock is endless.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, that’s what I’ve got for you this week. I don’t really want to make a new playlist for you this week, so here’s one I made in 2020 of some of my favorite rap songs, because I really like it and I think you will too.
If I didn’t answer one of your questions this time around, it’s because I either have a newsletter on a similar topic brewing in the back of my mind, or because I wanted to save a few questions for the next time I do this. I’ll get to it, I promise.
Thanks for reading, if you’re not subscribed you can click the button and enter your email to get more of my words in your inbox, and I’ll talk to you next week.