Sounds or effects in songs you can't stand

[Threadslayer]

14 hours ago, Shamanzarek said:

The "Orchestra Hit" or something close to it was originated by The Moody Blues on the song "Question". 

 

Huh. I would have guessed it originated with an orchestra.

[Threadslayer]

13 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

 

But ultimately the <two>most annoying sound<s> or sound effect<s> in all of music <are> is: opera <and rap>. 

Fixed for my own use.

[KuruPrionz]

Phasers. 

I'm ok with chorus or rotary speaker effects but phasers bug me. Probably because they are simply turned up too far, there are likely musics I've heard where a phaser was used in a subtle way and I was not annoyed by it. It just sounds like someone hawking a loogie into a freshly flushed toilet to me. Ugh... 

[Anderton]

18 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Auto-tune. If I can hear the artifacts, I'm done listening.

 

As long as I can't hear the effect, I'm okay with it - not against it for philosophical reasons. BUT if I can hear it, my first reaction is "too lazy to redo/punch/comp the vocal." 

 

Where I really like pitch correction is creating harmonies that are out of my range. The slightly different timbre works well when mixed well behind the lead vocal.

 

As to sounds I'm tired of hearing...I think the TR-808 kinda needs to be retired.

[Ivan May]

When I was a kid, I always liked the glass breaking sound effect on the song You May Be Right by Billy Joel. Now, whenever I hear it, it just pisses me off.

[ProfD]

Time and context is everything. 

 

Taking a step back in time, when we 1st head that sound or effect that has become annoying/offensive...it was OK.

 

That orchestra hit on Owner of a Lonely Heart" was a cool sound back in 1983.  That song catapulted a Prog Rock band into Pop music.

 

It wasn't until a song was played a million times and the orchestra hit showed up on everything as if it was Frank's Hot sauce that folks got tired of it.

 

Same goes for other sounds and effects.  Starts out cool until it's not.  Saturation.

 

Interestingly, nobody ever gets tired of hearing the sound of an acoustic piano.😁

 

I've never cared for Opera.  Love Rap/Hip-Hop. 😎

[bill5]

6 hours ago, ProfD said:

That orchestra hit on Owner of a Lonely Heart" was a cool sound back in 1983. 

Speaking only for me of course, nah, it was annoying as hell from the start. But I get what you're saying: sometimes the annoyance comes from overuse.

 

Quote

I've never cared for Opera.  Love Rap/Hip-Hop. 😎

I don't get this and similar comments...? Styles or genres of music aren't sound effects (that said, one I guess could use snippets as a kind of "sound effect" in a song of other styles). 

 

[Anderton]

12 hours ago, Threadslayer said:

Fixed for my own use.

 

Re opera, I never "got" it until I saw the the Ring cycle live, and it blew me away. Opera recordings just don't work for me, any more than a live recording of the Who sounds like the Who. But also, not all opera is on that level. After seeing the Ring live, though, the experience finally made sense.

 

Re rap, like any other genre only a small percentage is excellent. The first time I heard Public Enemy, I realized that samplers were good for more than imitation French horns, pianos, and strings   But I also locked in to Chuck D's voice. I later worked on a mix where he was the featured vocalist, and when I put up the raw vocal tracks, couldn't get over the natural power and depth. He didn't need any significant processing, I think maybe it was just a couple dB of limiting.

 

Some of the best rap IMHO comes out of France. At least to my ears, there's something about the language that works well for rap.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

I don't get this and similar comments...? Styles or genres of music aren't sound effects (that said, one I guess could use snippets as a kind of "sound effect" in a song of other styles). 

My tangential response happens in any thread.😁

 

 But surely, Opera or Hip-Hop like any other audio material could be sampled as a sound and/or effect.😎

[Joe Muscara]

Rappers who start a tune with, “uh… uh… yeah” That just seems lazy and now trite to me.  

 

Speaking of “uh,” I know some guys on a podcast who, when listening to jazz, will go, “uh!” when they hear something cool in a tune. 

 

Remember earlier in the thread when I mentioned sirens? I have tickets to see Lakecia Benjamin on Friday, and pulled up her album. I had my phone turned up previously from something else, and first sound on the first track was… a siren. 😡 Now, I know the song is political and has a reason for it just from the title, but I was like, “really? I know I just said I don’t like that, but really? Now?”  At least I wasn’t driving. 

[jerrythek]

Keith Jarrett's vocalizing.... I used to be able to "look past it", but over time it just sticks out like nails on a chalkboard. I can't even listen to Gary Peacock's "Tales Of Another" because of it... It causes me to stop watching plenty of live clips of the Standards Trio.

 

To be fair/honest: I love his playing, have upwards of 60 of his albums, and have seen him in concert over the years about 10 times. I'm a big fan. But I wish they had done some things to mitigate the mic's picking it up so much... put a damn baffle across the music rest area/something. Oh well, sadly it's no longer an issue. I hope he recovers enough to be able to perform or record in some fashion. And I'll welcome hearing new noises from him.

[MathOfInsects]

The "opera" comment was a joke. Well, not a joke, since I mean it; a joke in that it's obviously not an answer to the prompt. You can tell how hilarious it was by the need to explain it. All the best jokes require lots of explanation afterward. 

[RABid]

22 hours ago, IMMusicRulz said:

When I was a kid, I always liked the glass breaking sound effect on the song You May Be Right by Billy Joel. Now, whenever I hear it, it just pisses me off.

Pink Floyd: Money must really set you off.

[bill5]

Pink Floyd's use of sound effects in general tended to annoy me.

[David Emm]

Like a lot of folks, I had a couple of orchestra hits on a Mirage disk, which I found amusing on a LIMITED basis. Fascinating, but clearly a novelty item. Still, a few people found very creative ways of applying it. Here's a wunnerful song by Sparks that makes great use of it as part of the melody. It absolutely works. 😛

 

 

[David Emm]

2 minutes ago, bill5 said:

Pink Floyd's use of sound effects in general tended to annoy me.

 

Oh, I dunno. Some of it stemmed from musique concrete. They were as immersed in a variety of things as we were. Ron Geesin and Roger Waters did an album called "Music from the Body" that was not only intriguing and hilarious, but almost a template for a few moments from DSOTM. If you wanted loops at the time, you had to piece them together with a tape splicing block and a razor blade. I pulled out some hair while I was adding a few things that way, but organic doesn't begin to touch the results. That kind of wrestling experience can seriously inform you as a synthesist.

 

It can also make you scream like a chicken at 3 a.m. when you lose track of the clock. 🐔😱

[o0Ampy0o]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:12 AM, KuruPrionz said:

Phasers. 

I'm ok with chorus or rotary speaker effects but phasers bug me. Probably because they are simply turned up too far, there are likely musics I've heard where a phaser was used in a subtle way and I was not annoyed by it. It just sounds like someone hawking a loogie into a freshly flushed toilet to me. Ugh... 

There are different phase shifters producing a broad range of differences. The MXR Phase 90 sounded different depending on the pickups, amp and distortion. I did not like the way Eddie Van Halen used it. But with a single coil through a Pignose it could be gorgeous. Loved the phasers used by Pink Floyd on DSOTM and Animals. I know there is also Leslie and flanger. Frampton used Leslie and a phase shifter. The guys, Steve Hunter and ?, backing Lou Reed live had nice phasers. 
 

Then there has been that distinct Queen Brian May phaser which was probably a Boss CE1, a “chorus” but more of a phaser. The MXR Phase 100 produced some similarities. Neal Schon used the CE1 in the early pre-Steve Perry era and sounded nothing like the way Brian May used it. Those two are examples of placement in the chain differences.
 

Speaking of turning up too much, choruses can remove the bottom end punch. Not a fan of that application.

[o0Ampy0o]

16 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

The "opera" comment was a joke. Well, not a joke, since I mean it; a joke in that it's obviously not an answer to the prompt. You can tell how hilarious it was by the need to explain it. All the best jokes require lots of explanation afterward. 

The really best jokes contain meandering explanation in the setup. You don’t want the audience to follow. When you get to the punchline you want the applause/sympathy laugh. Half the people in the world hear applause and think something went over their head and will scramble to hide it by faking a laugh. Upon being awakened by the commotion the rest of the audience will think you said something funny.

[jazzpiano88]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:12 AM, KuruPrionz said:

Phasers. 

I don’t mind phasers.  I think the most perfect use I’ve ever heard is on Billy Joel’s Rhodes “Just the Way You Are”. 

[o0Ampy0o]

14 hours ago, bill5 said:

Pink Floyd's use of sound effects in general tended to annoy me.

One of the treats was having those sound effects popping out at random from their crystal clear quadraphonic PA while sitting waiting for everyone to arrive before showtime. Pigs, dogs and sheep interrupting conversations, great fun. The cash registers of Money are in the pocket. The dude laughing is Naomi Watts's father, a roadie. The Wall is as much supporting sound environment as it is music as it is a story arc. David Gilmour's rig evolved making his sound as much an environment as instrument. PF have been Great Master of sound. 

[jerrythek]

7 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

I don’t mind phasers.  I think the most perfect use I’ve ever heard is on Billy Joel’s Rhodes “Just the Way You Are”. 

I have to go with Richard Tee's phased Rhodes sound - the definitive use.

[jazzpiano88]

37 minutes ago, jerrythek said:

8 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

I don’t mind phasers.  I think the most perfect use I’ve ever heard is on Billy Joel’s Rhodes “Just the Way You Are”. 

I have to go with Richard Tee's phased Rhodes sound - the definitive use.

Probably.  You don’t hear Billy using that sound much.    Paul Simon and Billy had the same producer around that time - Phil Ramone.  I wonder if he suggested it to Billy from hearing Richard use it.  

[jerrythek]

39 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Probably.  You don’t hear Billy using that sound much.    Paul Simon and Billy had the same producer around that time - Phil Ramone.  I wonder if he suggested it to Billy from hearing Richard use it.  

That's interesting... it very well could be, but Billy didn't copy Richard's settings.

[analogika]

1 hour ago, jerrythek said:

I have to go with Richard Tee's phased Rhodes sound - the definitive use.

I was going to post that. 
 

love both Joel‘s and Tee‘s sound. Luscious. 

[K K]

On 9/7/2023 at 5:30 PM, bill5 said:

Pink Floyd's use of sound effects in general tended to annoy me.

 

My favorite from them is :

 

 

[bill5]

15 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

I don’t mind phasers.  I think the most perfect use I’ve ever heard is on Billy Joel’s Rhodes “Just the Way You Are”. 

I think it's all in how it's used. Phasing/flange can work great if so. I think the trick is to not overdo it.

[Notes_Norton]

Everything in moderation.

[Joe Muscara]

On 9/7/2023 at 8:59 AM, jerrythek said:

Keith Jarrett's vocalizing

For me, it depends on the day. Sometimes I listen to Jarrett and I'm blown away. Other times, I can only hear the vocalizing. I think they leave it in as sort of a trademark. Overall, I wish they didn't and I'd rather have less of it.

 

I used to think I didn't like the Rhodes sound, generally. But it turns out I don't like the way some people effect it. It's probably when they heavily stereo ping-pong it that bugs me the most. OTOH, the tone Billy Preston had on that sparkletop model in Get Back/Let It Be (the album)? I could play that all day and night. 💖

[David Emm]

23 hours ago, K K said:

 

My favorite from them is :

 

 

 

I once had a roommate who was turning beer into a religion, so after one too many screw-ups, we waited until he was passed out cold and rolled the big speakers into his bedroom. This piece was then played at a setting that sent bugs running from the building and set the neighborhood dogs t'howling. At a certain point, he came lunging out of the room and screamed "WHAT THE F*** YOU GUYS??!!!" There's something uniquely wonderful about the whole thing, even moreso because you couldn't begin to explain it to anyone who was ignorant of The Floyd.

[Sundown]

On 9/6/2023 at 12:12 PM, KuruPrionz said:

Phasers. 

 

I have to agree, KP. Flangers are worse. The opening chords of The Cars “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” were the first and last words on the Flanger for me. The only time I will use either effect is to create a tiny bit of animation on fast drum parts and it’s usually mixed quite dry (never fully wet).

 

Extreme Auto-Tune (for effect) is completely played-out, as are low-pass and high-pass filter sweeps on drum loops. The extreme side chain pumping of some dance/pop tracks has also reached an end for me.

 

I know it’s blasphemy being a keyboard player and all, but if I can identify a sound as a Minimoog, I’m probably not going to like it (unless it’s a classic 70’s track where that was the norm). I just think the whiny signature lead sound or the classic bass thump is likely to sound cliche versus alternatives.

 

Todd