Understanding Bad Guy
Рет қаралды 107,688
Ай бұрынPop is weird now and I love it.
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What is pop music? It used to be a pretty simple question, but in the last few decades, changes in the landscape of music consumption and distribution have begun to dissolve the boundaries between genres, and not even the carefully curated landscape of pop has been safe. There are many examples of the increasingly obscure, esoteric, and divergent soundscapes that have come to define modern pop, but if I had to sum it up in one artist, I think the clear choice is Billie Eilish. So let's talk about her.
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Holistic Songwriting video: • How Billie Eilish's Ba...
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@12tone Ай бұрын
Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) When I was making the major version of the bass riff, I went back and forth a lot on whether to end on E or F#. F# matches the scale degree, but E is a pentatonic note, which makes it a better match for the function. I decided to go with E but I'm open to the possibility that F# would've been better. Also, was there actually a point to that demo, or did I just do it 'cause it sounded funny? The world may never know. 2) I didn't want to get into it in the script 'cause it seemed overly technical, but I should note that when I'm talking about how the really low D is hard to parse as a pitch, that also has to do with timbre: On an instrument with more complex overtones, like an electric bass, it'd be easier to recognize because you'd have the upper structure of harmonics to help you fill in the blanks, but this is a really simple waveform with very little happening above around 200hz, so you don't have as many clues. 3) In the Call Me Maybe example, I realized after filming that there's a tiny little "and" after "beg" in the first bar, so my first alteration is inaccurate, although honestly I have to be listening pretty close to hear that so I dunno, I think the general point holds, and the second alteration is extremely present. 4) Should I have included a bit about the A diminished voicing in the background vocals? I dunno, maybe. I couldn't think of anything to say beyond "it's there", though, and the video felt long enough that I didn't want to drag it out further without a clear purpose. But it is there, and that's cool. 4) One thing I noticed in the stems is that the traffic signal sample actually has its strongest accent on the 16th note _after_ the downbeat, which in principle could mean more metric instability, but I don't actually hear much of that effect in the full mix. Still, made editing hard 'cause I kept wanting to align the downbeat with the wrong sound. 5) According to a screenshot of the mix project that engineer Rob Kinelski shared, that industrial percussion track is called "Locust Kit" and that's just a really cool name.
@ethnetomek3621 Ай бұрын
+5,000 points for the Auntie Donna ref. We love you 12tone!
@daishoryujin95 Ай бұрын
you marked two of those as 4.
@55time3 Ай бұрын
If you care to think this much ,Django Reinhardt ,couldn't read music ,have you studied him I'm sure ,did he study I'm sure , how then?
@GizzyDillespee Ай бұрын
@@55time3This is the old way, per documentaries, books, reasearch... Now, people have the internet, and prominent family musicians tour far from home more often. Back before this, Manouche guitarists, such as Django, come from a tradition where the adult musicians play together socially a TON. The kids hang out, and the ones who show an interest are handed a guitar and a pick, and shown how to hold it, and the basics. But mostly they're expected to watch and listen closely, and learn what to do thru absorption into the group and following along. This happens over and over again, so much repetition, and that's how the kids learn the repertoire. They don't work out of books or lessons. As they get older, the kids who have a knack for it practice on their own, and with each other, and even get competitive about who can play the fastest, the cleanest, the most amazing riff, and so on. Backbin Django's day, money was tight (as usual) so the kids who were good players would get work as soon as possible, often before they really should've been in a nightclub (older band members would vouch for them)... and those were many hours per gig, and they would work as much as possible. By that point in their life, they'd be pretty good at picking up new songs quickly, and knowing what to play over them, without needing to know how to read sheet music. Obviously, they came from a rich cultural tradition, and could communicate what to play, with each other, without needing to notate it in the classical tradition. I think the fire, during which Django lost a couple of his fretting fingers, happened when he was in his late teens. And yet, he'd already been a professional guitarist for years, by that point. In case I messed up any details, I'd recommend reading or watching a Django biography or 2. I think Denis Chang, on his DC Music School youtube channel, made a video or 2 about the traditional way a student would learn guitar, especially focusing on what came to be called "Gypsy jazz" after Django pretty much pioneered, or at least popularized, it.
@Nobddy Ай бұрын
@@GizzyDillespeeand now there is suno, an A.I. that can generate (honestly, pretty good) full songs off of a one sentence prompt. It’s so over. What percentage of kids pick up instruments now? 1%? It’s going to be fractions of fractions of a percent of people who bother to learn music soon. Very sad.
@Benji2N Ай бұрын
Wait wtf where am I? Am I no longer "Welcomed to 12tone?"
@pratitghosh5973 Ай бұрын
🥲🥲🥲🥲
@brandonhenderson9118 Ай бұрын
😂
@KirbysPVS Ай бұрын
He's the bad guy... duh! :D
@billyalarie929 Ай бұрын
@@KirbysPVS😂😂😂😂😂
@AManChoosesASlaveObeys Ай бұрын
@@KirbysPVS *synth sounds*
@BuddhaMonkey7 Ай бұрын
One huge element of the vocal delivery that I didn't hear addressed in this: the quietness. The most distinctive thing about Billie Eilish's vocal style has to be the way she always sounds like she's whispering in your ear, letting the microphone do all the work of projecting the sound outward. Most singers perform in the studio like they're singing in front of a crowd, but she actually sounds like she's recording alone in her bedroom for people listening alone through headphones. It feels intimate, obviously, but it also feels thoroughly modern, because it's incorporating recent changes in the way music is produced and received into the sound of the music itself. It's also part of what makes the "duh" so effective, because that's the one point in the song where she shifts from that whisper tone to what sounds like a more normal speaking volume. The rest of the song feels like she's almost literally inviting you inside this character's head, but there she suddenly shoves you away and makes it clear you're not really in on the joke.
@cavejohnson9071 Ай бұрын
Yes! The way she sings in some of her songs is like she’s taking the idea of “crooning” to an extreme
@roccocroce Ай бұрын
Or it just isn’t that good.
@TallicaMan1986 Ай бұрын
yeah it's very different type of music and is not playing the Loudness Wars. A lot of Billie Eillish is nigh unlistenable over the radio because no one is playing it loud enough and they don't have the Bass system to accommodate the sub bass. All you get is some small burst of energy then it's quiet again. I respect that approach to soundscapes.
@moosemangarfield9650 Ай бұрын
@@roccocrocewow what an interesting and well thought-out contribution to the conversation. thank you very much
@Copperyfoxx Ай бұрын
1000%. When I heard her sing “Have yourself a merry Christmas” on SNL it made my eyes well up. Effortless. I don’t even like Christmas music. Mark my words, Billie is here to stay. She’s incredibly talented. ❤
@WRussellPortfolio Ай бұрын
Fun fact - that synth melody line was inspired by the main theme from Plants vs Zombies.
@etheraelespeon1986 Ай бұрын
oh god thats why it sounded familiar, i had never heard this song before this video waagh the instrument is even similar
@Blaineworld Ай бұрын
pool level?
@link113gaming Ай бұрын
That's where I thought I heard it before...
@vincio_dev Ай бұрын
@@Blaineworld no, the main menu theme
@ArgoBargo Ай бұрын
I thought it was wizards of waverly place
@Rubrickety Ай бұрын
I lost it at the doodle of the Tesla Truckstrosity for "overcorrection".
@bhpinball Ай бұрын
Too bad they didn't actually call it the Truckstrosity; I wouldn't've been all that surprised, I'd've just said "Oh, that's just what Tesla does."
@It-b-Blair Ай бұрын
I just got there😂😂😂 immediately came to look for this comment 😂😂😂🤣🤣💀
@Mighty_Atheismo Ай бұрын
Truckstrocity goes so fucking hard omg
@teally-bop Ай бұрын
It was so dang funny
@Mighty_Atheismo Ай бұрын
When Rotting Johnathan said "Chowayfowahfowahchuwancheanetowanytowanyfowahchowahchunee" that really spoke to me.
@Look_Dad_Old_Tunes Ай бұрын
About butter, probably.
@languageresources2314 Ай бұрын
How many times did you listen to that to achieve such crisp transcription??? That is EXACTLY what he actually said. I chortled.
@Mighty_Atheismo Ай бұрын
@@languageresources2314 quite literally dozens. Thank you for making the effort worthwhile with your kind words and enjoyment!
@Mireille7458 Ай бұрын
Using Vincent Adultman as the illustration for 3 bass beats stacked on top of each other is *chef's kiss*.
@myboatforacar Ай бұрын
Was expecting Aunty Donna to the line "everything's a drum" lol
@larksie Ай бұрын
@@myboatforacar there's an illustration of a ladle banging on a pot, though ;)
@alexgrunde6682 Ай бұрын
It’s ironic to me to call this an “end of pop” song as pop has always played this knife’s edge dance of incorporating the new underground, avant garde, experimental, ground breaking work from other genres, but never too deep or too soon to alienate the mass market audience. It needs to be just new enough to feel contemporary and with it, but not so new that it’s unmoored from the conventions the pop music consumers are expecting. Billie and Finneas do that expertly in meshing EDM genres with catchy, hook-filled writing (and if there’s anything that’s dead in modern pop music, it’s hooks).
@lt_johnmcclane Ай бұрын
Yeah Björk was already blurring the lines of pop, avant-garde and EDM in the 90’s (not saying she was the first or only)
@alexgrunde6682 Ай бұрын
@@lt_johnmcclane Hadn’t thought of it that way but it’s a good analogy, Billie and Finneas are occupying the same lane in modern pop music as Bjork’s in the nineties
@loveslayer718 Ай бұрын
Especially since it's not very experimental at all, Billie's minimalistic moody pop is mostly by the numbers and draws heavy inspiration from Lorde, who I believe actually made this sound popular along with Lana Del Rey. Even Kesha has released an album with this sound last year. Pop music's ability to transform and water down sounds from other genres to the mainstream is its whole point.
@tito_me_doe676 Ай бұрын
Take a closer listen to pop music. This has always been the case. Listen to the 12” version of “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer
@grayshadowglade Ай бұрын
@@tito_me_doe676 100% agreed, I mean look at everything Bowie did as well. Some could even argue he helps to define the pop mold out of the folk and rock essence of the 60's and 70's.
@fabianwho9797 Ай бұрын
I hereby declare high interest in an analysis of Bury a friend, which is also my favourite track
@_err0r_error_ Ай бұрын
Seconding this
@ericepperson8409 Ай бұрын
Absolutely - it's the track off the album that really really gets your attention. Love Bad Guy, but BaF just resonates more with me.
@davidg5898 Ай бұрын
At 26:30 your subtitles restart to the beginning of the script, leaving the last 4 minutes with the wrong text.
@IlBiggo Ай бұрын
Switch subtitles to English (auto-generated). Google seems to make a much better job than humans sometimes.
@bonecanoe86 Ай бұрын
Another factor in this transformation is the generational handover of the pop culture from Millennials to Zoomers. It's hard to pin down an exact year when this happened but I think around 2017 was the tipping point--Lorde's "Royals" was the warning shot that things were about to change, but "Bad Guy" in 2019 signified that the Zoomers had fully arrived. And say what you want about Millennials but they loved their bright, escapist electro-pop, whereas Zoomers...they're just a weird, weird generation lol. And I don't mean that as an insult btw. No one celebrity exemplifies the Gen Z vibe more than Billie Eilish in my opinion. I don't really like most Zoomer pop but I've been fascinated by Billie since I heard "Bury a Friend" randomly on the radio in 2019. Like her or not (I do, for the record), she is a generational artist.
@xSaintxSmithx Ай бұрын
I see where you're coming from but Millennials also had artists like SOPHIE and GFOTY making exprimental and unconventional pop music, and we had songs like Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz and Crazy by Gnarles Barkley that are basically the blueprint for Billie's dark, moody approach to pop.
@FPSBuzz Ай бұрын
Maybe I'm reading what you mean incorrectly, but royals came out in 2013
@ronanmcintyre Ай бұрын
@@xSaintxSmithx Sophie and GFOTY have never been anywhere near mainstream popularity though, so they're kinda different. I do see the similarities with Feel Good Inc. (which has clear hip hop influences, like Bad Guy) and Crazy (which sounds to me like it has a bit more of a traditional, R&B backbone) because of their darkness, but there are definitely a few elements to Bad Guy's aesthetic and attitude that were quite new to the mainstream
@bonecanoe86 Ай бұрын
@@FPSBuzz Yeah I kind of worded that strangely. I meant that Royals in 2013 was the warning shot that the changeover was about to come, 2017 was my estimation for the tipping point, Bad Guy in 2019 was the signal that the changeover was complete.
@DirranProductions Ай бұрын
Yeah, I don't know too much about that. Oldest of us was 17 when Royals came out.
@Cross_Contam Ай бұрын
I'm not too much of a pop fan but this song hit pretty hard like when Brittany Spears' Toxic came out. They were more experimental than many other pop songs. Oh and with the bass being a drum thing... not related to this but if you write a cool midi drum part and then copy/paste it into a bass track you can get some pretty cool yet dissonant primus esque bass lines.
@user-er5mg6zj4v Ай бұрын
it’s the slap bassline cheat code: kick = slap, snare = pop
@Cross_Contam Ай бұрын
Yes it's a good cheat. Sometimes it results with something incredibly chromatic.. which is always fun to write some chords and melodies over.
@frtzkng Ай бұрын
I have like zero understanding of this but using the bass percussively instantly reminded me of Korn with their clicky bass
@TheHopperUK Ай бұрын
Aw I'd love to hear you go into Bury a Friend.
@camdenwaldron9496 Ай бұрын
Same here. It's my favorite song on the album.
@matthewparker9276 Ай бұрын
"Into" is pulling a lot of weight in that sentence.
@markbertenshaw3977 Ай бұрын
Being over 50, the first Billie Eilish song I heard was 'Bury a friend', and only because it was used as the recent True Detective theme tune. Thought it was brilliant. Shame about the TV show. Anyway, I would be interested in a breakdown of that.
@NikolaHoward Ай бұрын
I've never heard it (I don't think) but I love watching 12tone videos, whatever they are taking apart. If it's not something I've heard before, I watch, then go find to listen. and I appreciate new things!
@anirishgoose Ай бұрын
Kind of a small thing, but the part where you mentioned that she's rhyming the second to last word in the faster part of the verse felt really nice to see, because I know there's a lot of people online who (likely in bad faith) would get really mad at that and say she's just rhyming "guy" with "guy" which always frustrates me a lot whenever I see it happen. Keep up the great work!
@peterwaterford9482 Ай бұрын
Those are called "feminine rhymes" (rough guy/tough guy/get enough guy),
@Domitianvs Ай бұрын
That Tesla Cybertruck as an illustration for an over correction is just absolutely sublime. Well done, good sir, well done indeed!
@alexngomusic Ай бұрын
I think you're totally right! As a pop fan, I'm always slightly disappointed when a music theorist makes a big list of "Cool Modulations," "Fun Time Signatures," etc. but it's only rock bands from the 60s and 70s. Again, we love The Beatles. But there's also lots of cool stuff happening contemporary pop!
@jerrys.9895 Ай бұрын
Sent this to my friend who teaches music for 4th-7th graders. to explain to your students why music theory and informed critical listening is still relevant in current music. Also, if you want to explain to the boomers why modern music is still worthy of critical listening. Also, "working really hard to sound lazy" and how that describes the depth of the meaning of the lyrics through their delivery really makes me appreciate Billie Eilish even if her music isn't really my vibe. Doesn't make her or her brother, who co-wrote and mixed the album, lesser skilled musicians just because their music "sounds" simple. It's not simple, it's been pared away to the bone, so every remaining element has to be so tight that any deviation has to be intentional by the artist.
@rachaelknudsen8801 Ай бұрын
Simple doesn't mean easy.
@jerrys.9895 Ай бұрын
@@rachaelknudsen8801 it does not, and it's nice to have the reminder now and then
@lunatictumor Ай бұрын
Just because something can be analyzed super deep doesn't mean that it wasn't intended as simple. Many authors have said their works get interpreted as something vast and allegorical when they really meant that the balloon was just red. Sometimes a kick drum is just a kick drum.
@jerrys.9895 Ай бұрын
@@lunatictumor I think you're right, and there's a reason 12Tone doesn't often dig into lyrics. Sometimes a kick drum is just a kick drum, but whether the artist was conscious about it, there's a reason they used that style of drum there. So many great musicians don't have a deep background in theory, but that doesn't mean theory doesn't apply to their work.
@OhMyGoshItsALeg Ай бұрын
@@jerrys.9895 This the right way to approach analysis of media, whether musical, narrative, aesthetic, etc. Just because an artist isn't intentionally including something in their work doesn't mean people won't read that thing into it, and it also doesn't mean that an artist's own unconscious biases don't influence their work. Our absorption of media around us really does settle deep in our minds, foundational to our perception of our own tastes, and it influences our own creative decisions in ways so subtle even we can't always explain them. Sometimes a kick drum is just a kick drum, and sometimes it's a subconscious reflection of every kick drum the artist has ever internalized, the kick drum in their favorite song growing up that they never really thought about but it still made an impact.
@ianjhonson5752 Ай бұрын
I'm sorry, but "there's three instruments here, just one of those instruments happens to be a choir" goes so fucking hard.
@Lemanic89 Ай бұрын
It’s just a really blues-y Deep House track fit into a pop song. The blues is the creep factor here. She made the vibes of Larry Heard speak goth.
@GizzyDillespee Ай бұрын
Definitely. I hear some Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode) and other pop influences, too. But deep house and blues for sure.
@MrOtistetrax Ай бұрын
Totes. The whole thing is constructed just like a deep house or tech house track.
@lightningmcqueer95 Ай бұрын
@@GizzyDillespeethis is the first time i've ever heard anyone reference this and i'm so happy im not alone in thinking that.
@jsloanhpi Ай бұрын
Oh I instantly-clicked here, I have never seen the song’s appeal AT ALL but 12tone is phenomenal in teaching me why all musicians shown here are musical geniuses.
@mjdally82 Ай бұрын
“Everything is a drum” yeah aunty Donna! 🤩🦘🇦🇺
@stefanpredoi4564 Ай бұрын
I always thought that the lead synth's portamento and Lydian minor scale was an intentional callback to the 1950s theremin movie soundtracks. I think it adds a layer to the sarcastic horror aesthetic by evoking something that used to be considered scary but now seems campy and funny. Billie & Finneas are very smart songwriters.
@literallymyusername8291 Ай бұрын
I'm almost 40 and find her music fascinating. It isn't something I expected to like. Musically although it didn't make that much sense to me, it still sounded good, and that's all that really matters in the end.
@EpifanesEuergetes Ай бұрын
I'm in my 50s and for the last three years or so she's been my most listened artist. Just like you, it isn't something I expected to like. Just a month and a bit and the 3rd album comes out. I'm hyped.
@AnonymousFreakYT Ай бұрын
As a late 40s Gen Xer, I came of age with the early female alternative artists like (of course) Alanis, Bjork, Ani DiFranco, The Cranberries, Hole, Fiona Apple, Sleater-Kinney, L7, Liz Phair, etc, etc, etc. Some of them had "pop" crossover appeal, but many stayed firmly "alternative". Then there was the absolute explosion of bubblegum pop (Britney, Christina Agulerra, Backstreet Boys, etc.) But at the same time, bubblegum pop started shifting. Mariah Carey going more and more R&B, Christina Aguilera (Yeah, I have no idea how to spell her name,) similar. It's more that "pop" just sort of shifted to be more R&B, while "alternative" became popular enough to meld into the space pop occupied.
@tosteson1 Ай бұрын
Same
@chrishillery Ай бұрын
21:32 Oh man, that was an Omega-level diss in the art. Classic.
@MichelAzevedo29 Ай бұрын
8:54 wait, did I just catch an Aunty Donna reference? I really get this energy on you somehow
@chloemchll3774 Ай бұрын
Yeah, that post chorus melody you talked about as “playful” is the one she borrowed (I called it a sample before but it might be a recreation) from a video game (Plants vs Zombies, a game that has a playful spooky feel). Given that she and Finneas have both talked about it in interviews, I’m a little surprised you didn’t mention that.
@kacheek9101 Ай бұрын
Not sure why this was recommended to me, but I ended up watching all 30 minutes of this music theory breakdown and wow, that was actually really interesting
@grantus_pax Ай бұрын
at 26:31 the captioning stops following the script and just repeats from the beginning audio "industrial sounding percussion (music) that really brings out the horror . . ." captions: "industrial sounding (Bad Guy plays) there's an argument to be made . . ."
@auradmg Ай бұрын
Bad Guy's bassline in a major key turns it into a Bjork bassline! I like that the rhythm of the lyrics gives each line a good punch on the first two beats in the same style as Tainted Love, then the chorus keeps that up but doubles the frequency.
@aeschafer1 Ай бұрын
I have never watched one of your videos before. But the illustration of the Rocky Horror lips at 20:12 to match the word anticipation got me to subscribe instantly.
@JoshZanders Ай бұрын
6:02 I'm kinda fascinated by this assertion that it's super-difficult to differentiate pitch this low - I feel like a D1 isn't THAT low, basslines in music pretty frequently drop to B0 (lowest note on a standard-tuned 5-string bass) or even lower. It has never occurred to me that the D1 in the "Bad Guy" bassline might register as perceptually different than the rest of it for some people. I will grant that I'm personally an outlier, having played bass guitar for fifteen years and listened to a lot of music with *very* low bass, but I have no issue whatsoever locking on to notes in the bottom octaves. I play a bass tuned down to G0 (24.5hz) that I can mostly tune by ear, and I've tested my hearing down to around 15hz (which is DEFINITELY out of pitch-recognition range). I rather suspect that harmonic distribution and tonality of the sound have something to do with the pitch identification, something harmonically rich is probably easier for your brain to lock onto in that range than a pure sinewave. The synth for the "Bad Guy" line definitely has some midrange harmonic content and a little sprinkle of distortion that help make the notes more recognizable.
@mirandameyer237 Ай бұрын
I do think a lot of it is just ear training.
@SianaGearz Ай бұрын
Bass especially at the deeper end is usually effectively and perceptually a slightly tonally tinted percussion instrument, it serves more of a rhythmic function than the harmonic one. At least to me as a listener who doesn't play bass.
@RBonBass Ай бұрын
Yeah this struck me as odd as well
@JoshZanders Ай бұрын
It looks like 12tone mentioned this in his "notes/corrections" comment as well, that discussion about how/why the D1 is hard(er) to parse due to harmonic content was cut from the script for being overly technical and a bit of a tangent. Fair enough, I respect the decision and think it ultimately did make a better video. But hey, that's what the comment section is for, yeah? For internet pedants (like me) to dig into obscure technical details? 😄
@martian_x Ай бұрын
I also listened to this and didn't have any difficulty identifying both the change in pitch and the specific note. As others have pointed out, ear training and extended period of musical training (12+years of piano for me) probably play a not insignificant factor in this phenomenon.
@kenthartig7065 Ай бұрын
I personally struggle to appreciate recent pop, but picking it apart like this makes it much more digestible. I'm absolutely along for the ride if you do more like this!
@theitalianbobcat Ай бұрын
21:35 "This feels like kind of an overcorrection" > draws a Cybertruck. Smooth Cory, very smooth. :)
@XckBrm Ай бұрын
The most absolutely remarkable thing about When We Fall Asleep... is the deafening use of silence throughout the record. Xanny is my favorite example of it. Right after she says the titular lyric? Silence. Unnfffff. Incredible. Coming from a punk rock background, one of the most used tools in my bag is the idea that the most powerful thing you can do in a track is completely stop playing, especially in genres like punk, or in this case pop, the way that the album utilizes silences makes the production mouth wateringly profound in my opinion. Love the way you covered this one. More weird pop, please!
@Fireheart318 Ай бұрын
I just love how... mumbly the synth bass sounds! I often question if it's even there or if my brain is just adding it in somehow! A normal bass would have an "impact" as you pluck each string, but synthesizers don't have to play by those rules!
@AnymMusic Ай бұрын
I've always thought that Pop was just anything that's popular in the mainstream. Like, Avicii arguably was a massive pop artist, even though making progressive house and mixing it with, at the time, other lesser popular genres like Country. Progressive House and Country weren't pop, but Avicii was
@tobiasmeerdink5023 Ай бұрын
I can't believe it's already been 5 years since this album came out. This was great!
@JVR10893 Ай бұрын
Hearing this song for the first time was a revelation. Not since I first heard Metallica did I become a fan of an artist so instantly.
@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 28 күн бұрын
2019 was a terrible year for pop music so I basically had this same reaction in that year.
@Bobbias Ай бұрын
It's analysis like this that I'm subscribed for. This is the kind of song that so many people would struggle to find ways to actually break down and analyze what's going on, despite the song actually being quite interesting. I especially love the way you analyzed the bass as a drum pattern. I've never seen someone analyze a bass part in quite that way before. Granted, it makes perfect sense to do that here.
@XaleManix Ай бұрын
God, this was such a good album. I'd eagerly devour breakdowns of every song from one of my favorite music educators on the internet. Much love. Keep rockin'!
@Site_42 Ай бұрын
Ayyy did I hear a Patrick Willems cameo?
@JonathanAcierto Ай бұрын
Definitely sounds like him
@mjdally82 Ай бұрын
Omg thank you! 🫨
@Armakk Ай бұрын
Yes! Thought it was Colbert at first.
@SianaGearz Ай бұрын
G-Man of Nebulaverse.
@deBebbler Ай бұрын
Really enjoyed this examination. Thanks. And, for the record, I click on your videos faster when I don't know the artist/track. Those are the ones where I learn the most, rather than songs I've been listening to and playing for decades.
@CallMeSmigl Ай бұрын
I'm always excited to see a new video. So glad you're taking the time now to dive deeper into the songs/topics.
@weirdredstone42 Ай бұрын
The pacing in this one is really good! Just the right amount of time and attention for each bit. I also enjoyed your tone, it felt slightly more personal/authentic.
@Aerythraea Ай бұрын
Hey! I know you said that nobody would click on a video of “listen before i go”, and I know I don’t speak for everbody, but I’d definitely watch that. “Bad guy” has broader internet appeal, but hearing about your genuine interests and your deeper thoughts is valuable to me.
@feasible Ай бұрын
Great video as always, and I particularly appreciate the section about lyrics.
@jebstuart3162 Ай бұрын
This video was amazing! I wish your videos were easier to binge-watch, cause they're so good and I'd love to watch more but they're so dense
@CAPTAIN_CLOCK Ай бұрын
I would kill for videos on bury a friend and listen before i go!!! Those two songs are so important to me and so is this album. Thank you for making this video, bad guy was a song I often overlooked due to thinking every other song was much more complex. This gave me a much larger appreciation for this track, next time I listen to the album I'll look at it a different way.
@ceegers Ай бұрын
6:05 ... but... you didn't tell us... you're just leaving us hanging? :P
@stillyoung3997 Ай бұрын
Aw man, listen before I go is my favourite from the album too. You’d have had 1 watch! Great vid as always
@ascendedalchemist2551 Ай бұрын
No one really knows what pop is supposed to be anymore. A while ago pop was full of hip hop, folk and ballads, but now gen z musicians are bringing back influences from alternative rock and jazz into pop and at this point we have like 10 different genres that could all be called pop and have quite loose boundaries, which makes it all even more complicated
@adderous Ай бұрын
And it's happening across types of art. The big money keeps tripling down on sequels and reboots and the same thing again, meanwhile the weird indie stuff is growing and slowly becoming the mainstream. Anyways, that's why capitalism is bad and art is cool. (I'm only kinda joking, and that's just because I'm not about to write a damn essay in the KZfaq comments)
@Andreas-pt8le Ай бұрын
What era of pop would you say had one style? Kind of premise of the video, but threw me there as well, so asking here. Might be too old, but to me Pop has been the description for "What currently has enough popular appeal to played on loop in mainstream radio", and has been used since at least the 60'ies. What you describe is what has happened to every musical style like jazz, rock, metal, folk, and I'm just clueless as to what is the roots of pop in modern parlance.
@subjekt5577 Ай бұрын
Pop in modern parlence is whatever music the newest generation applies it to, which is why we'll always repeatedly have this conversation. I remember a bunch of resistance to call hip-hop/r&b/rappers 'pop', and before that 'pop punk' was an insult.
@nolaffinmatter Ай бұрын
@@adderous "Indie musicians are growing in popularity relative to the mainstream" is probably more analogous to decentralized market competition than it is to collective ownership of the means of production.
@adderous 28 күн бұрын
@@nolaffinmatter While I agree that that's the more obvious comparison, I don't think that collectivized production is likely to present any other way in the current capitalistic system. Unless a collective is publishing or releasing art as a group, it would be largely indistinguishable from a large number of decentralized artists individually creating and publishing their work. Realistically, I think that the main difference between them in this context is just that the pooled resources of a collective artistic group are a more reasonable way to bring your work to a market than trying to be fully independent. At a certain point, you might get into philosophical theory debates between anarcho-capitalism and socialist, communist, or pure anarchist structures for such groups or collectives, but that debate is way off of actually mattering outside of how the legal documents are written.
@mkindle Ай бұрын
OMG!! You mentioned the 2 songs I wish you would explain like this: Burry a Friend and Listen Before I Go! ❤❤❤ Please, do it!
@DojoOfCool Ай бұрын
Great breakdown and more to the tune than I expected. Thanks.
@1oolabob Ай бұрын
This analysis really hit the mark for me because it deepens my appreciation of the music. I knew I kind of liked Bad Guy, but wasn't really sure how to justify liking it; I liked it in a guilty pleasure kind of way. The song initially struck my ear as something that might have been soundtrack music from the 1960s Batman TV show, but I couldn't explain that impression to myself very well beyond the simple I-IV-V progression and the overall satirical vibe. Of course, they didn't make music like this in the 1960s, and Bad Guy sounds nothing like any of the soundtrack music used on the 60s teevee show. I'm just imagining that connection, and giving free rein to the part of me that lets music fill in some of my emotional blank spaces. In particular, this was the space where I've been feeling like there should be some intelligent humor in life; I've been missing smart satire, then I found some in Billie Eilish's music. The only remaining question is How Did She Know?
@manueljohn456 Ай бұрын
Absolutely stunning analysis! Thanks man!!
@ryan.noakes Ай бұрын
Nicely done, thank you for this.
@meganp6387 Ай бұрын
First time viewer here; your video popped up on my home feed. Subscribed immediately because this kind of content is my exact niche on the internet. Very well done analysis and I love the doodling that goes along with it!
@thelanavishnuorchestra Ай бұрын
Love your song analyses and big fan of this song.
@shadypotato750 Ай бұрын
When I first heard Bad Guy the duh did surprise me just because it came in after a pause and was spoken while the rest of the song is whispered almost but after that initial listen I was able to feel the groove of the pause. When I sing along to songs with a pause or hesitation like that I count the beats in my head so I can come in on time but with many songs that I’ve heard forever (Under Pressure and Song 2 for instance. Song 2 because I can never come in with the lyrics, I’m always early) I still miss the drop or when the lyrics kick in again, whether that be I was too early or too late, but Im always on time with bad guy.
@GranPaMark Ай бұрын
I enjoy the format and pace of your analysis'.
@stormedcastle2307 Ай бұрын
Thank you for doing this song!
@kdandsheela Ай бұрын
It's funny to look back and remember that this song and album were initially a challenging listen for me. I fell quickly in love, though. It makes me wonder if this was the reason so many people passed on bohemian rhapsody, what is now considered an all-time rock track. It's hard for me to sympathize since I grew up with that song, but maybe I would've initially reacted the same way I heard bad guy if I had first heard bohemian rhapsody as an adult.
@MooImABunny Ай бұрын
6:02 I generally agree that low notes are hard to differentiate (eg. when you turned the line major, the low E sounded to me like the F), but for some reason in this example the overtones were enough for me to hear a B, correct me if I'm wrong
@lucanesterenko8724 Ай бұрын
yep, heard a B as well
@Crimson_Cheetah Ай бұрын
I hear it as a C
@digitalspecter Ай бұрын
To me it sounds like C.
@lizellis2661 Ай бұрын
I deeply appreciate you doing newer music! There's a tendency to see the old classics as more musically... stable? statuesque? concrete? More concrete than current music. Like something that is popular with young people (and especially young women) is more frivolous and therefore less substantial than something appreciated by older folks. But new hits are hits for a reason, and I really like you showing us the details on why.
@stoatystoat174 Ай бұрын
i wander if low notes are harder to tell apart becuse the difference between them are farr less vibrations of our ear drums a second. C2 and E2 are 17 hz apart C3 and E3 are 34 hz apart C4 and E4 are 68 hz apart and i jst realised that every time you double hz and go up an octave you double the number of Hz difference between two notes, Which i should have seen coming. Does help me understand why big close chords sound more roomy higher up a keyboard (carried away thinking out loud typing 🙄)
@Goddzi Ай бұрын
Great video about a great song by a great (true) artist! I was introduced to Bad Guy when my wife came home from work one day, having heard it on the radio, and told me I had to listen to it cos she knew I’d love it…she wasn’t wrong! The album is beautifully crafted as well. Wish You Were Gay is probably my favourite track on it. Not only is it sad but also amusing and very cleverly written with the countdowns in each verse. (Ps. My wife’s favourite track off the album is Bury a Friend). Pps. Ms. Eilish has a new album due to drop next month. Can’t wait ❤
@dimignite432 Ай бұрын
This looks like a good YT recommandation to me ;)
@iquemedia Ай бұрын
he's worth a sub homie, welcome to the club
@NoxiousPluK Ай бұрын
Thanks, straight back to looping this album for a day for me. ❤
@user-er5mg6zj4v Ай бұрын
it reminds of how anyone, no matter how weird, could get a hit if they had a good video in the 80s and 90s
@InventorZahran Ай бұрын
We watched the shows, we watched the stars; on video, for hours and hours! We hardly have to use our ears, how music changes through the years...
@fieryfirefly5769 Ай бұрын
Loved this! For similar vibes would love your analysis on feel good inc.
@AroundTheBlockAgain 7 күн бұрын
This song was definitely more of a curiosity than a personal interest for this thirtysomething when I first heard it in circulation, but I'd never deny how culturally fascinating it is. Very much a "oh, I see why everyone is losing their minds about this song now" moment. Now that fascination is even more in-depth with this video! (And ok, maybe I've gotten more personally invested in it in the meantime, lol)
@stefanpredoi4564 Ай бұрын
Also i just want to say that there's a lot of similarity in the bass melody and the way it's used in the song to Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus". I think the best thing about this song and "Bury a Friend" is the industrial leaning - the clattering percussion on the outro reminds me of "Seele Brent" by Einsturzende Neubauten, and of couese there's "Bury a Friend" and "You Should See Me in a Crown", which are pure industrial pop for the 21st century. Also is it just me or does the little 16th note bass run in the 2nd verse remind anyone else of the intro to FKA Twigs's "Lights Off"?
@mehill00 Ай бұрын
Don’t see an EN reference everyday!
@itsgwenorsomething 27 күн бұрын
I would like to see a breakdown of more Billie Eilish songs, I really really enjoyed this one. It was a pleasure learning from you!
@monoscopes Ай бұрын
Brilliant analysis on a brilliant tune
@denniskielton2447 Ай бұрын
So as a person who's never listened to this all the way through, and just had to use this song for an example for some Berklee homework, the breakdown got me too haha same exact feeling as the "end" of this video, nice edit
@Kiaulen Ай бұрын
> I so rarely get to talk about poetry stuff, you're gonna have to deal with it No dealing required, I love hearing about musical poetry! Enjambment and Portamento are great words, too!
@the.Aruarian Ай бұрын
I wholy agree, I absolutely adore both When We Fall Asleep... and Bury A Friend immediately resonated with me in a deep, dark place. The three piece of Strange Addiction -> Bury A Friend -> Ilomilo is the highlight of the album for me. I will always skip 8, though.
@josnardstorm Ай бұрын
2:44 S-Tier editing. I was SO hoping you’d do that
@mehill00 Ай бұрын
Do what?
@user-eb7qt7lx4g Ай бұрын
Hey I really like the poetry stuff very much and would love more please
@user-es5zv6qs5v Ай бұрын
never a big fan of this song but ur analysis of it is super!
@liav4102 Ай бұрын
More please!
@aeschafer1 Ай бұрын
Those slightly stretched and off-kilter snaps sound like a J Dilla technique.
@robhulse3655 Ай бұрын
Now that you mention the industrial influence, the intro kinda reminds me of NIN's The Hand that Feeds
@anthonygillette Ай бұрын
Bro you should review this whole album. I just listened to this song again after with good headphones and man… completely re-textualized this song for me. And it was fantastic
@ThePwnageHobo Ай бұрын
Oh dear, wait until the Victorians hear you say that the Melbourne walk signal is from Sydney
@strangelet4588 27 күн бұрын
Ah yes. The breakdown, aka mosh time! I remember thrashing around at an Anthrax concert in a pit during the “war dance” breakdown. So good. I saw Billy with my daughter at her first concert for this album. She and her bro are very talented and really injected some life into the pop scene. Sometime you can get into the weeds dissecting a song and ruining the mystery and allure…this is not one of those channels. Your breakdowns are really inspiring. Good stuff.
@Zerbasst Күн бұрын
"Dark but playful" - Tina... :D perfect choice :D noone incorporates that more than her
@YourFriendtheGeek Ай бұрын
15:55 The way I see it, when the bass moves to Cm, the first vocal harmony (a 4th above the "main" melodic line) becomes, itself, the "main" melodic line. It's as if the bass primes my ear to hear the Cm melody as the primary vocal line even if the mix doesn't change.
@steuarthoce3451 Ай бұрын
God I want there to be a beatbox flute solo in this song so bad.
@fatih9135 6 күн бұрын
Great exploration. Your explanations are extremely masterful and easy to understand. Thank you for the content and keep up the good work. It's inconceivable that singers of this level would release work like this. Very nonsense is there.
@lztx Ай бұрын
21:19 how many songs sample the Australian crossing noise? I thought there were a few - i know of Red Alert by Basement Jaxx but were there any others?
@jodysmusicchannel7684 Ай бұрын
27:54 Nah, yours was _WAY_ more interesting and way deeper. Ya did good!
@Treyfc Ай бұрын
I’m simple: I see 12tone video, I like and comment on 12tone video
@charlesnill6286 Ай бұрын
Love this deepdive. Breakdown =Statement of Power
@danglegrinder Ай бұрын
It’s amazing how this kind of analysis proves that no musician ever makes a mistake, everything is intentional and perfect and it just shows how amazing they are
@SianaGearz Ай бұрын
This reads sarcastic but musicians make mistakes all the time, but this is studio recordings, where the parts that are GOOD get to stay, and mistakes get purged. If there was any accidental performance that was considered to be needed, it gets canonised into this is what the song is now. There is always an alternative take.
@ceciliagently Ай бұрын
if you want something outside of rock & metal to cover that i find harmonically very interesting - try porter robinson. im honestly surprised not many of these theory channels have talked about him before. sea of voices is my favorite, but honestly id love to hear someone talk about shepherdess / she heals everything. that chord progression is one of the most beautiful things i think ive ever heard
@joshweedon1967 Ай бұрын
I was waiting for the Aunty Donna doodle from the "philosophically, a drum" line
@FiveFigsDigital Ай бұрын
Very nice. I always thought of the entire first part- (non-breakdown) as a White LA Neo-Ska song. The synth part is a simplification of a Ska horn section, circa 1978-82. Trust me.
@QuikVidGuy Ай бұрын
Brb gonna plug this into a bunch of musescore brass samples
@Packbat Ай бұрын
This is so rad. Thank you. (Quick technical note: the end of the subtitles are ... broken - I think maybe something got copy-pasted wrong in the script?)
@Ft.Gagiano Күн бұрын
As a soon to be 47 year old father. With thre daughters. Both 16,11 and 8 respecivly. This form of pop. Filled our household. For a while now. And this come from a former teen. Who grew up with grunge and 90's metal. EILISH falls in the category of good pop music. She's way more adventures then swift. (Production wise) And that makes her a uhm one of the "good guys"