The R Word
Lets take a minute to think back to one of your first favorite songs. Literally, take a minute. (1 minute later) I would have to say one my first favorite songs was either “Larger Than Life” by Backstreet Boys or “Bye Bye Bye” by ‘N Sync. Yes I was one of those kids that likes, I mean “liked”, the boy band scene. ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys were huge around the year of 2000 and were known to set trends in the pop music scene. Now we all most likely have heard of the term “boy band” and how it’s used to describe a type of a group that is young, makes pop music, and who tries to create a certain type of persona. So after the N’ Sync and the Backstreet Boys scene, any music group that seemed to copy them was known as a boy band. When I start to think if there any groups in today’s music scene that can relate to this comparison and I can’t seem to think of one…but more like a lot.
Even though today’s music groups don’t necessarily copy 100% of earlier music groups, subconsciously copying others music is a real and natrual thing. When we talk about the phrase “everything is a remix”, I not only agree with it but I also try to realize why this is. Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, more known as Dr. Luke, is a type of person that we can examine for a topic like this. The way Wikipedia puts it, Dr. Luke is a songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and a REMIXER. Yes we said the R word, REMIX. Dr. Luke has had a big impact on a lot of big name albums and even hit singles. He has been a part of the production of Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, Pink, Daughtry, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, Miley Cyrus, Weezer, Adam Lambert, Ke$ha, Lil Jon, B.O.B, TI, Rihanna, T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Shakira, Juicy J, Maroon 5, and Wiz Khalifa songs. Yes that’s a lot, and those big names are only half one of the artists he has done all the work for, I mean “help produce”. This is just one guy in the music industry who makes it possible for so many big named people to be a somebody. So I ask myself, if this is just one guy is co-writing and producing songs for all these big named people, is this a big reason of why so many top hits sound so similar now a days? We criticize on the fact that everything is a remix especially when it comes to music, but is there really a true reason?
According to Wikipedia, a Remix is a song (or other piece of media) that has been edited or completely recreated to sound/look different from the original version. When I started making videos and music back in high school, I started off with making remixes and parody’s because it was a fun thing to do. Today I still do that same thing because it just has always seem like something I enjoyed doing.
Below our just a few examples of the remixes/covers that I have produced that can be viewed at seanmacmedia.com
I can take my personal examples of why remixes are a big thing to do. Remixes are FUN, EASY, and POPULAR. When I first started making music and videos, all I saw were remixes and parody’s of videos that had thousands of videos on YouTube. Just even having the same material a part of your remix can easily attract viewers over something that’s unfamiliar. Remixed videos and songs are so popular because the viewer already can relate to the materiel before even viewing/listening to it. So since making media is partially about entertaining the audience, relating to them is a big thing.
I liked how we discussed in class about how some remixes aren’t totally noticeable to the average listener. Just because the title of the material doesn’t include the “(Remix)” phrase doesn’t mean that it’s in no way, shape, or form related to another piece of work. Many producers and writers now a days re-use, sample, or base their material off of other people’s work even if they know it or not. So believe it or not, I am guilty for this one! When Frank Ocean‘s “Thinking About You” was released in 2012, I fell in love with the simplicity of the beat of the song. With that said, I am guilty of not being “fully” original because I based one of my “original” produced songs straight from “Thinking About You” back in 2012. Below are both Frank Ocean’s song along with my own song where my beat I produced can clearly be compared to Frank Ocean’s when listened to carefully:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/39981864″ params=”color=00cc11&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/65180015″ params=”color=00cc11&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
“Everything is a remix” is such a true statement. Whether it be people like famous producer Dr. Luke or even myself, people of different levels are remixing their media in some way. I think it’s becoming such a natural thing since it’s FUN, EASY, and POPULAR. I could have talked about many different choices of topics for this one, but since I can personally relate fully with remixing I felt that I needed to share some of my personal experiences. If it wasn’t for the idea of remixes, I don’t think I would have dove deeper into making media when I was younger.