I've been going back and forth on this all week after listening to that old track 'I Ran' by A Flock of Seagulls. The drum machine on that song is so clunky and off, it's almost painful. But the lyrics are just as weird talking about running so far away. Which part actually makes it so bad it's good for you guys? I had a buddy who swears it's the beat that carries the whole thing, but I think the nonsense lyrics are what make me laugh. What do you all think matters more for these so-bad-they're-good songs?
Used to think they were just lazy cash grabs (and some still are honestly). But last week I found a guy on Soundcloud who remade that Billie Eilish song using only a Game Boy sound chip from 1989. Took him 3 weeks of coding hex values by hand to get the bass right. Now I actually look for these covers instead of skipping them. Anyone else have a genre they wrote off too fast?
I picked up a Casio SK-1 at a garage sale last month for 5 bucks. At first I was just using the preset drum patterns and mangling the demo songs, which was fun but kinda boring. Then I figured out you can tap your own rhythm into the memory bank one hit at a time, no quantizing at all. The timing is all over the place but it gives these crazy off-kilter loops that sound like a robot having a seizure. Has anyone else messed with those old keyboards just for the wonky beats?
I always thought auto-tune was just pop garbage, but last weekend I found a cassette where my uncle and his buddies tried to record a cover of 'Take On Me' with zero pitch correction. The warbling was so bad it actually made me laugh and then appreciate why engineers use the stuff. Has anyone else heard a raw recording that flipped your opinion on a production trick?
Stumbled on a 2008 MySpace song called "Crunk Juice Crisis" and the beat is just a guy banging on a shipping box with a pencil. Took me 20 minutes of rewinding to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. Has anyone else found a song where the 'drums' are clearly household items?
I was at a garage sale last Saturday and found this old 90s house tape where the kick drum was completely off tempo from the vocals. The guy selling it laughed and said that's what makes it good, but I couldn't get past how off it felt. On one hand, the wonky beat gives it this weird charm you can't plan for. On the other hand, it's just sloppy production that beats the whole purpose. Which side do you lean on for these so-bad-they're-good songs?
Found it in a box at my uncle's garage sale last weekend. The beat sounds like a skipping CD player mixed with someone dropping pots and pans, but the lyrics are about a sandwich. Makes me wonder what other accidental masterpieces are hiding in old boxes?
I bought this old Alesis SR-16 off Craigslist from a guy who said it worked fine. Got it home and it only runs at 120 BPM no matter what buttons I push. The kick drum sounds like someone tapping on a cardboard box and the hi-hat cuts out halfway through every pattern. I tried factory resetting it three times and even opened it up to check for loose wires but nothing helps. Instead of sending it back I've been using it to record lo-fi demos where the bad rhythm actually adds character. My bandmates hate it but I think we finally found our sound. Has anyone else held onto a broken piece of gear because the flaws made it interesting?