Dennis_dup2 Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I have had a band i am producing really try to "Pull me into" Matchbox 20. THere is one single that i give credit that is a good song, its that track called UNWELL. Then the follow up single go my intrest, so i listen, it grabs me...sounding quite crafty THEN the worlds WORST opening Tom fill of all history comes in. What the F*** were they thinking? If i were producing that song, i'd have to have fired their drummer on the spot. Its such a bad fill that it offends me. Then that "Lets come together" sounding bridge comes in. What a joke. What that band needs is a Nut Cuttin Producer to make some hard decisions. I know I know, they are climbing the charts...blah blah blah. The joke is on Us. THey are climbing the top 40 with that insult of a tom fill. But didnt SOMEONE in the band speak up during playback and ask the drummer if it was a mild or major heart attack, cuz that could be the ONLY explination for such a heinus fill. To think it went to pressing with such an aweful tom fill. Can someone please explain that fill to me so it makes sense? Because from a songwriter and producer POV, it sucks major rope! Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Knight Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I know the one you're talking about. I hate it too. It sounds really green. I don't have it here to listen to again, but as I recall, the fill is in a shuffle/swing type feel, where as the intro prior to the fill is not, or at least shows no signs of that kind of feel until the "killer fill" stumbles down the stairs. The feel then carries on in a shuffle/triplet fashion. Really cheesy... I'm glad I'm not the only one. It makes sense when you realize that the shuffle feel will carry on, but it hits me every time as .... aaahhggg. I think it was one of those things that people probably didn't like but was "justified" with an explanation. Bass player: That sucks! Drummer: It sets up the feel moron. Bass player: No, it sucks. Drummer: Look... you just don't understand it yet. The song swings right after, so this sets things up perfectly. Bass player: Oh... OK (While thinking "I still think it sucks"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gord -B Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 The moral of the story... always listen to the bassplayer Derek Smalls: It's like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water. http://www.myspace.com/gordonbache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Originally posted by Gord -B: The moral of the story... always listen to the bassplayer Yes, that's right... listen to ME! sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 My friends and I, when I was producing, called that kind of fill "three sneakers in a clothes dryer". - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_dup2 Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 Jeff, That probably the technique they used to get that fill! Too funny! Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysexguy Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I hate to be unpatriotic but Triumph (the band, not the insult comic? dog) and Loverboy (the band, same....) had some real winners Rockn' roll Machine and Get Lucky first come to mind. ..and bozo ToneLoc "borrowing" of Alex Van Halen's Jamie's Cryin' Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Originally posted by sysexguy: ..and bozo ToneLoc "borrowing" of Alex Van Halen's Jamie's Cryin'Tone Loc paid for that fill, Andy. I know the story: VH (who shares writing credit between the four guys) were offered the choice of getting a royalty on the tune or a one-time pay-out of not very much. They wisely took the payout...having no idea that "Wild Thang" would be a HUGE hit. Tone Loc also used samples of Foreigner and Stones guitars on the other hit from that album, "Funky Cold Medina". Ba-da bum bum bum bum... - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salyphus Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 That Tone Loc album is great. My understanding was that the album was made prior to the precedents being set for rights clearance of samples and that they had to pay a huge amount of money afterwards due to the enormous amount of samples they used. Of course, that doesn't preclude Jeff's story; they may have negotiated the most obvious samples upfront. Of course I could be totally wrong, that's just something I read in a magazine a long time ago. Would be interesting to know the whole story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_dup2 Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 Yeah, but the Tone Loc /VH fill makes some musical sense, its even and fluid. That Matchbox song sounds like someone fell on the kit while the tape was rolling. Its just WRONG! My 8 year old son can drum fill better than that. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegrijak Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I have to include the tom fill in the solo section of "Flamethrower" by J. Geils as a fill that I, being a drummer could NEVER understand! This way, no, wait, that way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel: My friends and I, when I was producing, called that kind of fill "three sneakers in a clothes dryer". LOL that's great! Haveta tell our drummer that one... another drummer friend calls it "throwing washing machines down a flight of stairs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Just about everything that Ive heard from Matchbox 20 makes me want to hurl . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_dup2 Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 AGREED! But this track was expecially offensive to me. Its like they lowerd the bar even LOWER by letting out such SUB SUB Standard drum performances. Jeesh, next thing we know, they will be turning former Mousekateers into Superbowl Half Time Shows! To quote Brando "The Horror, The Horror!" Dennis Originally posted by Dylan PDX: Just about everything that Ive heard from Matchbox 20 makes me want to hurl . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlampson Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 The song is called "Bright Lights" and sounds just like an old Elton song, which is a shame, because I like Elton. Anyway, we've listened in amusement to that fill a few times here at work. It's not out of time, really, just really poorly played. I think the drummer offered to deliver the masters to be pressed and on the way slipped in that tom fill! John ----------- John\'s Songs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_dup2 Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 Again, i have to agree! It seems very drummer like to do such a dastardly deed! I cant decide if its the tom fill our the whacky out of place bridge that sounds like a cheap cheap imitation of "Come Together". The song has potential, but it never quite got there. I try to be open minded about new bands, but when i heard this fill, i thought it was a joke. The fill COULD have worked, but like you mentioned it was SO poorly executed. Dennis Originally posted by jlampson: The song is called "Bright Lights" and sounds just like an old Elton song, which is a shame, because I like Elton. Anyway, we've listened in amusement to that fill a few times here at work. It's not out of time, really, just really poorly played. I think the drummer offered to deliver the masters to be pressed and on the way slipped in that tom fill! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblue1 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 I dug up "Bright Lights" 'cause I had to hear it after all this bad talkin'... I caught the snippen on Amazon. Well... there is a triplet thing underneath the intro, some kind of 12/8 kind of underbeat, not too explicit. And the tom fill does make some kind of vague sense rhythmically... but it's clearly an aesthetic disaster. I would have done anything else to set up the next part... it's a hideous cliche that's gotten mangled. But the real insult to my ears is the guy's squirrelly, quavery voice. ARGH! It makes me want to rip my ears off the sides of my head. It makes me think of all the treacly 70s lame-o rock (America, Dan Hill, Styx, et al) rolled into one chipmunk on estrogen ball of whineyness... Sadly (or maybe not) the snippet gave out before the bridge, so my aesthetic life is still not completely complete... bookmark these: news.google.com | m-w dictionary | wikipedia encyclopedia | Columbia Encyclopedia TK Major / one blue nine | myspace.com/onebluenine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alndln Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 I heard Wing and William Hung are both looking for a drummer. "A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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