Musical Pet Peeves

[cruising for burgers]

when, mostly on hip-hop, the band raps about rapping and writing lyrics and making beats and music making technology...

and here i go, makin beats on my mpc
driving the auxiliary bus,
skydiving with a diaphragm of
a microphone as a parachute, etc...

[Audioblysk]

 

When you hear the beat go quarter, quarter, eight eight eight eighth, then a bunch of 16ths. You've definitely heard it before, cant describe it too well

 

...then 32nds then 64ths then a granular roll and then the beat comes back in?

 

 

THIS

 

and vocals that emphasize ego (i.e. using the words, you, me, I, we) I don't know how to describe it. One of the most perfect examples of good lyric writing/vocals IMO would be Deloused and Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta, those vocals have some of the most raw emotion I have heard from any singer. IMO the poetry in between was a story, not too many singers can do this well without cornballing it up or going severely prog-rock.

^^^ (sure I'll catch shit for this one) ^^^

[J3FF3R00]

I can't stand jazz violin.

 

Fuck that.

 

Rick violin is pretty bad too, but jazz violin is deplorable.

 

Fretless bass is pretty annoying too

[Mimi]

My pet peeve is when someone includes a sample of a mouth breath

[Guest Frankie5fingers]

 

women singers. i dont know what it is but i cant stand it when a women sings. they all sound the same to me. ive found maybe 1 or 2 women singers that i like.

 

i also hate Beatles covers.

 

Terrible singing is a rampant problem not bound by any gender. The trends vary though - like Danny mentioned there's a recent trend of exaggerate vibrato and screaming passing as singing on things like American Idol and other music contest shows. A lot of club and EDM hit tracks use godawful soulless female voiceovers saying things with what some doucebag deems "sexy" but really just sounds like:

 

http://youtu.be/pJTrD3R5cj0

 

 

yeah, i guess thats the problem that i really have and then you have all these women who all do it cause they have to if they want to be famous. im sick of all the craziness. why cant they sing like they want too? instead of just doing what every women singer has been doing for the past 10 or so years.

 

i love this chick mainly for this song. Her name is Lisa Miskovsky and she did the theme for the game Mirrors edge. thats how i found out about her. i still listen to this cause her voice blows me away. it really is an amazing song.

 

so i dont hate all women singers, just the ones that do all the same shit every other women singer does.

 

 

@Lewps: while that is cool. i still dont like it (do love Wooten though). im a bit of a purest when it comes to Beatles songs. i mean, even when i hear Paul try to sing the songs nowadays i cringe. i like the way they are and i dont think they should be changed/performed by anyone, not even by Paul or Ringo. im sure everyone has a band or a least a couple of songs that they dont ever want to see be played unless they are performed exactly how they sounded the first time.

[Guest nene multiple assgasms]

and those weird short vocal samples dubsteps people use.

 

could you be more specific?

 

Oh and that sample ceephax used in Life Funk, i hate that.

 

how can someone possibly hate the think break?

 

 

I also hate children choirs in guitar oriented music (in all music really)

 

in general, I agree, however I can think of at least one notable exception:

 

 

 

When you hear the beat go quarter, quarter, eight eight eight eighth, then a bunch of 16ths. You've definitely heard it before, cant describe it too well

 

this is definitely a lazy move, but I can forgive it if the rest of the track isn't boring.

 

 

 

Wind chimes

 

do they make you new rage?

 

 

and squawking saxophone solos. Paramounts of cheese.

 

cheese?

 

 

 

 

sampled phrases of talking. can't fucking stand it. ruins about a billion songs for me.

 

but this is a staple of electronic music lol.

 

 

 

women singers. i dont know what it is but i cant stand it when a women sings. they all sound the same to me. ive found maybe 1 or 2 women singers that i like.

 

misogynist.

 

 

 

I've always wondered why many electronic musicians feel the need to ruin something pretty with super annoying sounds. For example:

 

3:10 with that obnoxious acid line. Why was that needed!?

 

it's by ceephax, and the word "acid" is in the name of the track. what were you expecting?

 

 

AFX does that a lot too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5Gl0Je-4o

That hihat...Why?

 

At 0:25. Pretty much ruins the entire track with this crap.

 

so much of aphex's music is about being hyper/harsh and calm/soothing at the same time. it's just part of his style and one of the things that attracted me to his music.

 

 

"House music with vocals about detroit and/or mentioning "deep". That shit is played out.

 

they say house is a feelin'!

 

 

 

I can't stand jazz violin.

 

Fuck that.

 

seriously?!

 

 

 

Rick violin is pretty bad too

 

yeah, fuck that guy.

 

 

Fretless bass is pretty annoying too

 

don't you fret!

 

 

 

My pet peeve is when someone includes a sample of a mouth breath

 

yeah, nose breaths are where it's at.

[J3FF3R00]

 

 

I can't stand jazz violin.

 

Fuck that.

 

seriously?!

 

 

 

 

Yes, seriously. I won't even click that. I've heard plenty of Django before to know it's not for me.

Something about it makes me feel like I'm being bothered by flying insects. No like.

[Ivan Ooze]

when they pitch down the sound in radio dance pop songs, it's already crap, why make it more crap??

 

 

 

I can't stand jazz violin.

Fuck that.

 

seriously?!

 

 

 

 

Yes, seriously. I won't even click that. I've heard plenty of Django before to know it's not for me.

Something about it makes me feel like I'm being bothered by flying insects. No like.

 

it would be better if they pitched it down now and then

[apriorion]

This thread is giving me some ideas. Thanks.

[Guest isaki]

I've always wondered why many electronic musicians feel the need to ruin something pretty with super annoying sounds. For example:

 

 

 

3:10 with that obnoxious acid line. Why was that needed!?

 

AFX does that a lot too.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5Gl0Je-4o

 

That hihat...Why?

 

 

 

At 0:25. Pretty much ruins the entire track with this crap.

 

I could go on. AE does it too in a lot of stuff. Like that one from Exai with the really high pitched hihat. Squarepusher often adds these loud as shit SCREEECH sounds in his stuff, that adds NOTHING to the track.

 

Is it to appear edgy or something? Like "Man this is too pretty, better add something really annoying to really test the listerner's idm-level!!11" What's their deal? And does anyone actually enjoy that bullcrap?

I have to agree with this, AFX is a pioneer of annoying sounds though, especially before drukqs

 

this always annoyed me though, in omgjyjfasaaj switch7 @ 1:15. the high pitched thing... once you notice it you can't not hear it again

 

[ambermonk]

Autotune, excessive treble, lyrics about love, screaming, talking too fast, overused 4/4 dance rhythms, slutty singers, and cookie-cutter or copycat approaches to music in general are my pet peeves.

I'm hard to please, I know.

Having influences and blatant copying of other artists are two different things tho.

[sweepstakes]

I guess what it boils down to is, I don't like stuff that doesn't get my dopamine receptors firing. Predictable vanilla stuff that uses the same bland major scale pop chords, the same socially acceptable vocals, the same steady beats that are easy to dance to when you're drunk, the same airbrushed glossy production. I'm OK with people playing genre music but the point of genre is filling in the gaps in the genre's framework with your own character - listen to some of those old blues recordings, they're some of the most unique and powerful music ever recorded.

 

Also I don't like jock music that's all about technical ability, whether that's rock, drum n bass, hip hop, noise, whatever. I appreciate the competitive spirit when it comes to getting good chops but if that's all you've got to offer, you're not giving me anything. It's a means, not an end. Put your soul in it.

[sweepstakes]

 

"La la la" or "na na na" as lyrics, strikes me as lazy as annoying. Like did you run out of pen space or something?

I think in the right hands it can be good.

 

Oh yeah.

[Friendly Foil]

 

I've always wondered why many electronic musicians feel the need to ruin something pretty with super annoying sounds. For example:

 

3:10 with that obnoxious acid line. Why was that needed!?

 

it's by ceephax, and the word "acid" is in the name of the track. what were you expecting?

 

 

AFX does that a lot too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5Gl0Je-4o

That hihat...Why?

 

At 0:25. Pretty much ruins the entire track with this crap.

 

so much of aphex's music is about being hyper/harsh and calm/soothing at the same time. it's just part of his style and one of the things that attracted me to his music.

1. Because Ceephax has made many tracks where the 303 doesn't sound like garbage. It's just really a shame how he *almost* ruins such a pretty track with a sound like that.

 

2. Well, it still sounds like shit to me. All of his best tracks have none of those harsh-for-the-sake-of-being-harsh kinda sounds.

[J3FF3R00]

 

 

 

 

I've always wondered why many electronic musicians feel the need to ruin something pretty with super annoying sounds. For example:

 

3:10 with that obnoxious acid line. Why was that needed!?

it's by ceephax, and the word "acid" is in the name of the track. what were you expecting?

 

AFX does that a lot too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5Gl0Je-4o

That hihat...Why?

 

At 0:25. Pretty much ruins the entire track with this crap.

so much of aphex's music is about being hyper/harsh and calm/soothing at the same time. it's just part of his style and one of the things that attracted me to his music.

1. Because Ceephax has made many tracks where the 303 doesn't sound like garbage. It's just really a shame how he *almost* ruins such a pretty track with a sound like that.

 

2. Well, it still sounds like shit to me. All of his best tracks have none of those harsh-for-the-sake-of-being-harsh kinda sounds.

I disagree, too.

 

That ceephax track is perfect, as is. One of my faves, actually. Great driving track.

 

Those afx tracks are also uh-mazing. To each his own, I guess.

[Friendly Foil]

Disagreeing is fine. No need for snarky comments like "what were you expecting?" though. That's just silly.

[Ivan Ooze]

"La la la" or "na na na" as lyrics, strikes me as lazy as annoying. Like did you run out of pen space or something?

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

[triachus]

"La la la" or "na na na" as lyrics, strikes me as lazy as annoying. Like did you run out of pen space or something?

 

 

[mcbpete]

I've mentioned it before but ... killing the dynamics of a track with excessive sidechain compression

 

An example being from 0:30 here -

 

[Friendly Foil]

Lone hurts my head.

[joshuatxuk]

 

"La la la" or "na na na" as lyrics, strikes me as lazy as annoying. Like did you run out of pen space or something?

I think in the right hands it can be good.

 

 

It's pretty much a staple of shoegaze.

 

 

Exactly, if done right it's almost like another little musical detail akin to a hi-hat or little synth florish, it's a staple in bossa nova and other downtempo tracks too:

 

 

that said zkreso, this is a good example of the crap you're talking about

 

 

mmmmmm BOP BOP BOP

[joshuatxuk]

 

 

When you hear the beat go quarter, quarter, eight eight eight eighth, then a bunch of 16ths. You've definitely heard it before, cant describe it too well

 

...then 32nds then 64ths then a granular roll and then the beat comes back in?

 

 

THIS

 

 

daRUDE

 

 

 

and vocals that emphasize ego (i.e. using the words, you, me, I, we) I don't know how to describe it. One of the most perfect examples of good lyric writing/vocals IMO would be Deloused and Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta, those vocals have some of the most raw emotion I have heard from any singer. IMO the poetry in between was a story, not too many singers can do this well without cornballing it up or going severely prog-rock.

 

^^^ (sure I'll catch shit for this one) ^^^

 

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. mentioned that he specifically avoided using the work "I" in his lyrics all the way up until their album Green. When he finally did those songs were still anything but self-centered. There are plenty of bands that succeed in this, Interpol also comes to mind. The Beatles were among the first to have a hit song from a 3rd person perspective in "She Loves You."

 

I am always impressed by good lyricism, which for me usually involves unassuming and indirect storytelling or specifically avoids any kind of personal focus. There's nothing wrong with a songwriter making very personal, even egotistic music, so long as it can resonate with the listener. That's good songwriting. When people fail to do that it's pretty obvious and usually I can't even listen to it. I think it's a big challenge too - often a "less is more" realization. My good friend is really talented guitarist and musician who has been writing songs for years and it took dozens for him to really get effective at writing good lyrics. I suppose it's all subjective, but I know what you mean. Any terrible pop song more often than not suffers from the "ego" focus. Or shit about the club. Or too much deliberate rhyming...

 

[colunga]

not really a "pet peeve" but a few years ago I noticed that a lot of british vocalists will have an "American" way of pronouncing things. I wondered why more American artists don't put on a "British" accent when singing. (Maybe really early Green Day sort of did this?)

[LimpyLoo]

Bad Tutorials

 

I just unsubscribed from a YT channel that generally serves up bad lazy tutorials

 

but the most recent one was just so god-awful that it actually kinda bothered me

[Adieu]

You should comment and tell them everything they did wrong and then start your own tutorial video series.