November 19, 2008
Something that’s driven me crazy for a while is pop music artists that use that effect you’ve probably heard where they sound just a little like a robot on certain notes. Kid Rock
probably used it first, trying to copy the effect on Cher’s “Believe”, and now everyone from Britney Spears to Akon uses it. People who sort of know what they’re talking about think it’s a Vocoder or a talk box, but it is in fact an abuse of the settings on Autotune, which is meant to correct a vocalist’s bad pitch. If you’ve ever seen this clip of Billy Joel singing the national anthem, you’ll know why I say “abuse” (I’ve always wondered if that sound guy still has a job). In any case, long before Peter Frampton or Stevie Wonder used the talk box effect, there was Peter Drake. In the clip here (from 1964!), he performs the spooky country tune “Forever”. The clip is probably better viewed full size, to capture the creepy, David Lynchian surreality of the zombie-like backing band.
It’s almost like Lawrence Welk’s show.
Comment by TeacherPatti — November 19, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
I’d bet a nickel that it IS the Lawrence Welk show. It’s really something how much more patient listeners must have been when that song was current. There’s little payoff, and the wrap up comes only after a pretty un-remarkeable 45 seconds of filler. Nice piece of music history, tho.
Comment by Dojo Nick — November 22, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
A-wunnerful, a-wunnerful. I vividly remember that even as a kid, the Lawrence Welk Show made me a little uneasy somehow. The armchair psychologist in me theorizes that it’s because you “feel” the repressed energies of the probably slightly decadent entertainment/musician types playing the roles of sinless polka-playing ice-cream social attendees. It reminds me a little of the “downunder Topeka” in A Boy and His Dog
Comment by admin — November 23, 2008 @ 1:12 am