New Monday #105
Happy Monday!
We begin year three with episode 105, in which we look, forensically, at lip-syncing and other things related to voices. Lots of video clips, and a rabbit hole leap into an 80s classic.
Kid Kontroversy
Oh no! The big news has been Kid Rock! The sticking point: Did Kid Rock lip-sync his performance of his song, Bawitdaba, at Turning Point USA’s alternative universe Superbowl Halftime Show???
I watched a clip of it, and at first glance, YIKES!! This guy lip-syncs worse than Keith Moon pretends to play drums. That entire Who clip is worth a watch... Pete Townshend playing an “acoustic."
Kid Rock defended himself: I’m not lip-syncing, said the Kid, the video guys edited it badly, throwing the video guys under the bus.
Here’s the forensic evidence. I cued the clip up to the more incriminating bits: https://www.youtube.com/live/nJszMT9wZtQ?si=hzT-aXzvF6Y8eFPL&t=3959
Notice you can hear rapping even when the mic is nowhere near his mouth. Certainly looks like he went to Ashlee Simpson Lip Sync Academy.
But, the reality is, Bawitdaba is usually performed as a call and response between Kid Rock...
I feel stupid writing that... he’s 55 years old. Codger Rock. I’m 62, I can use the c word.
This song is usually a call and response between Codger Rock and one of his DJs. Here’s a video of the same song done live in 1999. There’s a spot at 4:49 where he and the DJ are clearly workin’ the rap together: https://youtu.be/LMKfIXdxh-U?si=TYDOODxShg6dInHc&t=275
The verdict? Hard to tell. It’s definitely two vocals handing off. It might be a live performance and the video and audio are out of sync in some spots, because there are definitely times when Codger is rapping into the mic but his mouth seems off. It could also be that the whole thing is lip-synced badly, but not so badly that he’s got the mic nowhere near his mouth while rapping. At the end, the pyrotechnics are synced perfectly to the last note. Blowing the sync on a video edit strikes me as a bush league sort of mistake.
Unless it is an old Godzilla movie, in which half the charm is how badly things are done. Dig this!
Lypsinka
There’s Kid Rock, and then there’s Lypsinka. Witness Lypsinka here!
Lypsinka is the drag alter ego of pianist John Epperson. He married a love of old movies, dance, mime and make-up, and turned it into high art. His shows as Lypsinka are him, as Lypsinka dragged to a glam mashup of Joan Crawford and other leading ladies of the 50s, lip-syncing live over clips from films and records. It’s an amazing show, fast-paced, really funny, performed with a deadpan attitude. I’ve seen Lypsinka twice. In one, she wore a costume that was reversible and reconfigurable, such that complete costume changes happened right before your eyes. It’s brilliant, imaginative stuff.
Lypsinka started performing downtown in NYC in the early 80s, graduated to performing off-Broadway, appearing in films, and performing lip sync shows and his own musicals all over the US. Now in his 70s, Mr. Epperson appears as Lypsinka rarely. If you ever get a chance to see Lypsinka, go see Lypsinka!
Jungle Book
I collect things that I think are interesting for you guys, and then wait for a New Monday episode in which they might fit. This fits, I think.
Voice acting is somewhat similar to lip-syncing, although perhaps backwards—usually the voices are recorded first and the action, animation, game cut scene, etc., are layered on top. Picsynka.
The ultimate masters of this weirdly symbiotic relationship are the animators at Disney. I don’t know why this particular clip caught my eye and ear—maybe because I’ve heard the voices a million times and never connected the faces. There was amazing teamwork at Disney. Their animated features were a running conversation between actors, animators, directors, and camera and sound people. Here’s a short vid on the original Jungle Book voice acting.
Voices Carry
Since we’re talking about voices, I’m using it as an excuse to look at one of the great songs of the New Wave era—a huge hit for a little band from Boston called ’Til Tuesday.
Voices Carry—the single and the album—was tracked at RPM Studios in NYC on a Neve 8086 console to analog tape. RPM was a wonderful, boutique facility that was part of a lot of great records. Brief history here. Unfortunately, like so many great studios, it is no longer.
It’s a simple song, but it is really well produced by Mike Thorne. Interesting arrangements, and nice ear candy tucked in.
Here are two mixes of it, one from the album, the other the Bob Clearmountain mixed 7” single. They are really different and the differences make for a fun and informative listening.
Drums are wide panned. Nice clean cymbals, snappy toms, kit from audience perspective. That snare sounds like a sample—big, dumb and 80s.
Keyboard riff. I think it’s autopanned through the opening and first verse, after, once it is harmonized, it’s low part left, high part right. This is one of the most iconic 80s keyboard parts, courtesy of Joey Pesce.
Guitars: There’s chick chicking at the top to the left. This carries through the first verse. The choruses are a wash of arpeggiated reverbed textures, blending in with keyboards. Listen for the cool little fills guitarist Robert Holmes throws in all over the place. They’re mixed into the mush of the song and are definitely ear candy. Squint for them. The clicky guitars drop out for the second verse and keyboards take over.
L-Vox: Singer/lyricist/bassist Aimee Mann is too loose by today's standards. If someone made this song today, they’d have pitch-corrected that vocal to death. Meh. I think that looseness is what gives the vocal its incredible sincerity. There’s a vulnerability to it. Listen for a bright slappy plate on her voice—almost like a huge bathroom. 480L Snare Plate? Keep the sound of the ‘verb in mind when you listen to the next mix.
B-Vox: The choruses have male voices, harmonized, wetted up and panned hard left and right.
Bass: One of the things I love about this mix is the bass. Ms. Mann is a very melodic player with a great sense of groove. Check out the bass on the instrumental first half of the bridge and throughout the ending vamp of the song. It sounds like a fretless at times—maybe they overdubbed a fretless bass on the break? Whatever, really lovely playing all over the record.
The Vamp Out: On the vamp, Ms. Mann performs a bit of a monologue in the center, supported on both sides by the repeating chorus. Squint and you’ll hear a hint of some other vocal part but it’s buried. The bass is glorious!
This mix was by Harvey Goldberg. Solid credits.
This is by Bob Clearmountain, probably done on an SSL 4000 somewhere. It’s really different.
First of all, it’s got huge bottom end. Much bigger and warmer.
Drums are pulled in tighter—listen for the ride cymbal, you’ll hear it’s more centered, while the toms are wide.
Bass is more of a growl, and less distinct. There’s more an impression of the bass than bass itself. That depresses me, because Aimee Mann is a wonderful bassist.
Guitars... first of all, the clicks at the top are on the right now, flipped from the album mix. follow the same arrangement as the album mix, but the differences between the first and second verse are really highlighted. The single mix is a lot more dramatic, the sections clearly delineated.
L-Vox: The plate is off her voice—now it sounds like a big warm chamber, the reverb lower in the mix, the vocal more out front. Listen for a repeating, almost frozen reverb as the song heads into the instrumental break—“OH OH” seems to go on forever. On the vamp, the hook line is accentuated by Ms Mann’s doubling and harmonies.
B-Vox: The big difference is in the vamp out. This mix brings up a counter melody backing vocal part that you can barely sense in the album mix. It’s off a bit to the right—listen for “Hush, darling, Hush. Voices carry” and some variations on that. Sounds like a single male voice, probably Robert Holmes.
As long as we’re in a Voices Carry rabbit hole, here’s the original video, which is still a killer. How couldn’t we all fall in love with Aimee Mann, and want to strangle that smug guido boyfriend in the video? 37 million views on YouTube, the song and the video scream out just like on MTV in 1986. Clearmountain’s mix.
Here’s ’Til Tuesday live at The Ritz in 1986. I missed this show. Check out drummer Mike Hausman doing that Charlie Watts thing—no hihat on the snare hits. This was a really good band, and Aimee Mann was truly captivating. She still makes excellent music, rich, interesting, heartfelt, and kinda weird. All the things one wants.
Lastly, this POS: the Kate Hudson cover of Voices Carry. I hate this. It’s worth a listen just to hate it. Slower tempo, like, I went nuts at the all-you-can-eat buffet and now I am going to waddle over to the couch slow. A country influence. Some sleazy sounding saxophones. Was this trip necessary?
ANYWAY...
Here we are, at the end of the beginning!
Warm regards,
Luke