Author Topic: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?  (Read 2224 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline ReaperKK

  • Sweeter After Difficulty
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 17715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #35 on: August 18, 2021, 06:23:48 AM »
I think a lot of dredg songs have a unique vibes. Sanzen is a perfect example. The way the guitar is layered gives it such and interesting atmosphere.

Offline Adami

  • Moderator of awesomeness
  • *
  • Posts: 36084
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #36 on: August 18, 2021, 06:41:25 AM »
On second thought, I'd have to say Bohemian Rhapsody. Never heard a song have a similar vibe.
fanticide.bandcamp.com

Offline Kotowboy

  • Yes THAT Kotowboy.
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 28561
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #37 on: August 18, 2021, 06:48:05 AM »
On second thought, I'd have to say Bohemian Rhapsody. Never heard a song have a similar vibe.

I always preferred Innuendo to Bo Rhap. SImilar sort of structure.

Plus Paranoid Android used to get called the prog rock Bo Rhap.

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 42989
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #38 on: August 18, 2021, 07:17:08 AM »
On second thought, I'd have to say Bohemian Rhapsody. Never heard a song have a similar vibe.

I always preferred Innuendo to Bo Rhap. SImilar sort of structure.

Plus Paranoid Android used to get called the prog rock Bo Rhap.

Paranoid Android is to Bo Rhap what a single unamplified kazoo is to the Grateful Dead's 1974 Wall of Sound.

For the uninitiated:



Offline HOF

  • Posts: 8633
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #39 on: August 18, 2021, 07:29:30 AM »
I'm not sure exactly what the OP is going for, here, but I will say that live versions of "Pull Me Under" never seem to capture the vibe of the studio version, IMO.

I have further thoughts on the question in the OP that I'll try to share in the next few days, but I wanted to say now that I really agree with this sentiment.

There's something about the chorus specifically, to me. That chorus grabbed me the very first time I heard the song because it sounded... I don't know quite how to capture it. Almost choral, with this high, clean line repeated a three times. There's something magical about that sound that drew me in right away. And that vibe just can't be replicated live with only one singer. Even if it could... the way James sings it live is fine, but it just doesn't capture that magic vibe. Pre-accident, he puts too much grit on it, and post, he can't sustain those high clean notes in the same easy way he does on IAW. Live it has a different vibe, which is decent, but it's not the magic vibe of the studio version.

I think the chorus of The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun could have had a vibe somewhat like this if it was sung by a chorus. But not quite the same.

Honestly, all of Images and Words would almost be a good answer to me for this thread. There's something about the way that album was written, performed and produced that makes it feel almost ethereal while still having tons of energy. It feels like being in another world, a beautiful one that's wintery yet full of light. Surrounded is the paradigm of this sound, but every song has it. As much flack as DT album art sometimes gets, I think the artwork is close to the unique vibe I feel on this album, but it's still difficult to describe.

Awake has its own distinct vibe for me, too, but it's not as distinctive as IAW. It's in another world, too, but one that's a little closer to ordinary life. It's an icier world with a sense of anxiety where the world of IAW has a sense of deliverance.

The other DT albums don't have a unique vibe like this for me, although that's not to say they aren't different from each other and don't have unique vibes at times.

I hadn’t considered that the OP might be asking about “recreated live,” but I definitely agree on Images and Words being something that’s almost impossible to pull off live (in terms of the specific vibe on the album that is).

I also never thought Marillion’s Brave and Marbles material translated well live. Something about the Dave Meegan production and mix that didn’t quite translate to the stage.

Offline Pettor

  • Posts: 597
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #40 on: August 18, 2021, 11:20:20 AM »
I am immediately thinking about California Dreaming with The Mamas and Papas. Its always been a strange vibe to that song and no cover manages to capture that. The song is just so good because it has this eery, moody feeling.

Offline dparrott

  • Posts: 2516
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #41 on: August 18, 2021, 04:24:19 PM »
Yes to Chris Isaak and M&P
"I don't know nuttin about nuttin" - Marshawn Lynch

The very soul of what was once real music is now lost in a digital quagmire of emotionless sonic madness.

Offline 425

  • Posts: 6910
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #42 on: August 18, 2021, 08:35:22 PM »
I hadn’t considered that the OP might be asking about “recreated live,” but I definitely agree on Images and Words being something that’s almost impossible to pull off live (in terms of the specific vibe on the album that is).

Sometimes on these topics you just have to range wildly. ;)

But seriously, I think being hard to recreate live is a good indicator of a song having a unique vibe, although it's not true in every case of that. A live performance is not as capable of faithfully presenting a specific nuance in the sound or performance as a studio recording. And a band's live performances tend to render different songs from across their career into a more homogenous-type sound. Listen to Live at Luna Park, for example, and you'll hear songs from Awake, Systematic Chaos, Octavarium and Images and Words, albums that occupy fairly distinct sonic spaces, all being played over the same basic setup with not a lot of variation in things like guitar/bass/drum sound, and featuring James's one-take live performance on two particular nights of a tour years or even decades after those songs were first written and recorded. The main thing that remains distinct is the songwriting. And if the unique vibe primarily came out of the songwriting, it'll still be there. But to the extent that the unique vibe was in the other elements, it won't show up. (I think the unique vibe on IAW comes partly out of songwriting, and that element of the vibe is still present in live versions, but other parts of the vibe come from factors like performance and production, and those don't tend to come across in live versions.)
And if spirit's a sign,
Then it's only a matter of time

Offline Cool Chris

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 13557
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #43 on: August 18, 2021, 09:00:08 PM »
Wicked Game - Chris Isaac.

Random:  the song plays while Ross and Rachel have sex for the first time on the TV show Friends.  In a later episode, Isaak made a guest appearance and had a short tryst with Phoebe.  At the end of the episode, she was teaching him the lyrics to her silly song "Smelly Cat," and he sang along with his trademark falsetto, to which she responds by asking if he didn't want to use a more manly voice.

That was actually the first thing I thought of, and will always think of, when this song enters my mind. I liked it when it hit. Can't say I know if I have ever heard anything else he's done.

When I think of a song aching with pain, I go straight to Linda Rondstadt's Long, Long Time, and Nazareth's Love Hurts.

"Nostalgia is just the ability to forget the things that sucked" - Nelson DeMille, 'Up Country'

Offline DragonAttack

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 4161
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #44 on: August 19, 2021, 08:09:49 AM »
The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations'

[lock thread ;)]
« Last Edit: August 19, 2021, 08:53:32 AM by DragonAttack »
...going along with Dragon Attack's Queen thread has been like taking a free class in Queen knowledge. Where else are you gonna find info like that?!


Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 42989
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #46 on: August 19, 2021, 09:46:18 AM »
Wicked Game - Chris Isaac.

Random:  the song plays while Ross and Rachel have sex for the first time on the TV show Friends.  In a later episode, Isaak made a guest appearance and had a short tryst with Phoebe.  At the end of the episode, she was teaching him the lyrics to her silly song "Smelly Cat," and he sang along with his trademark falsetto, to which she responds by asking if he didn't want to use a more manly voice.

That was actually the first thing I thought of, and will always think of, when this song enters my mind. I liked it when it hit. Can't say I know if I have ever heard anything else he's done.

When I think of a song aching with pain, I go straight to Linda Rondstadt's Long, Long Time, and Nazareth's Love Hurts.

Aching with pain:  "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones.  I cry like a baby when I hear that.
Melancholy heartbreak:  "Drops Of Jupiter" by Train.   I also cry like a baby when I hear that (but for different reasons).

Offline HOF

  • Posts: 8633
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #47 on: August 19, 2021, 09:55:38 AM »
Wicked Game - Chris Isaac.

Random:  the song plays while Ross and Rachel have sex for the first time on the TV show Friends.  In a later episode, Isaak made a guest appearance and had a short tryst with Phoebe.  At the end of the episode, she was teaching him the lyrics to her silly song "Smelly Cat," and he sang along with his trademark falsetto, to which she responds by asking if he didn't want to use a more manly voice.

That was actually the first thing I thought of, and will always think of, when this song enters my mind. I liked it when it hit. Can't say I know if I have ever heard anything else he's done.

When I think of a song aching with pain, I go straight to Linda Rondstadt's Long, Long Time, and Nazareth's Love Hurts.

Aching with pain:  "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones.  I cry like a baby when I hear that.
Melancholy heartbreak:  "Drops Of Jupiter" by Train.   I also cry like a baby when I hear that (but for different reasons).

Aching with pain:

The Blue Nile - Family Life

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfnr8eYWOig

Paul Buchanan’s voice breaks during the song.

Wish Me Well is another:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbujOtX4zuk

Offline dparrott

  • Posts: 2516
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #48 on: August 19, 2021, 10:58:51 AM »
Pretty much anything by Slowdive.  Many try but there's no replicating their magic.
https://youtu.be/VRtnS0MHq_A
https://youtu.be/xBHHQgA7AeQ
https://youtu.be/Jr1xv1c_kqo
"I don't know nuttin about nuttin" - Marshawn Lynch

The very soul of what was once real music is now lost in a digital quagmire of emotionless sonic madness.

Offline Zook

  • Evil Incarnate
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 14144
  • Gender: Male
  • Take My Hand
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #49 on: August 19, 2021, 11:20:55 AM »
KrotchRaut - Reapercution

Offline WildRanger

  • Posts: 1301
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #50 on: August 20, 2021, 02:17:32 AM »
Wicked Game - Chris Isaac.

His voice aches with pain.  The guitar aches with pain. The song aches with pain.

Also makes my ears ache with pain.

 :lol :lol

Can't say I disagree, and all the "aches with pain" stuff is kinda odd, given that the song is about having a strong attraction to a woman who called to hook up with Isaak.


My hot take: I don't find a woman in Isaak's music video attractive.  ;D

Online King Postwhore

  • Couch Potato
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 59284
  • Gender: Male
  • Take that Beethoven, you deaf bastard!!
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #51 on: August 20, 2021, 05:46:07 AM »
I think you have a concussion WildRanger.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
"Oh, I am definitely a jackass!" - TAC

Offline ReaperKK

  • Sweeter After Difficulty
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 17715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #52 on: August 20, 2021, 07:08:19 AM »
I was listening to Kaki King's album Glow and that whole album has a vibe that would be really difficult to replicate. The guitars she uses on the album have a very distinct sound.

Offline billboy73

  • Posts: 367
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #53 on: August 20, 2021, 07:31:30 AM »
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

The "airiness" of his version, and his vocals just make it so unique.

Offline Stadler

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 42989
  • Gender: Male
  • Pointing out the "unfunny" since 2014!
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #54 on: August 20, 2021, 09:02:58 AM »
Wicked Game - Chris Isaac.

His voice aches with pain.  The guitar aches with pain. The song aches with pain.

Also makes my ears ache with pain.

 :lol :lol

Can't say I disagree, and all the "aches with pain" stuff is kinda odd, given that the song is about having a strong attraction to a woman who called to hook up with Isaak.


My hot take: I don't find a woman in Isaak's music video attractive.  ;D

Helena Christensen.  She's no Cindy Crawford ( :tup), but she's no slouch either.

Offline pg1067

  • Posts: 12430
  • Gender: Male
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #55 on: August 20, 2021, 11:11:43 AM »
No pain in loving someone who doesn't love you back like you do?  I feel like you need to re read the lyrics on this song.

Quoth the author:  "It's about four in the morning, and somebody calling and saying I'm coming over to your house and I thought right after I said okay, I thought I should have never allowed this person to come over to my house.  I know what's going to happen.  And I wrote the song between the time I got off the phone and the person came over to visit.  It was just about what happens when you have a strong attraction to people that aren't necessarily good for you.  I think it hit a nerve because I think a lot of us have a strong attraction to people that aren't necessarily good for us."  https://www.rockhall.com/chris-isaak

It's not about loving someone who doesn't love you back.  It's about having the hots for someone who also has the hots for you but isn't good for you.


My hot take: I don't find a woman in Isaak's music video attractive.  ;D

I tend not to be terribly attracted to super models because, as a general rule, they tend to be incredibly gaunt.
"There's a bass solo in a song called Metropolis where I do a bass solo."  John Myung

Online King Postwhore

  • Couch Potato
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 59284
  • Gender: Male
  • Take that Beethoven, you deaf bastard!!
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #56 on: August 20, 2021, 11:53:47 AM »
Hey, most people can take lyrics and make it into what they think.  Lot's of lyricists want that.  Reading the lyrics you would never get that it was about a booty call that he unsure of. 
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
"Oh, I am definitely a jackass!" - TAC

Offline hefdaddy42

  • Et in Arcadia Ego
  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 52771
  • Gender: Male
  • Postwhore Emeritus
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #57 on: August 20, 2021, 12:03:43 PM »
KrotchRaut - Reapercution
Gonna have to agree with this one.
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline crazy climber dude

  • Posts: 302
Re: Songs with UNIQUE VIBES that cannot be replicated?
« Reply #58 on: August 20, 2021, 12:16:56 PM »
Led Zeppelin-Down By The Seaside

That reminds me:  Led Zeppelin, "In The Light"

Amazing. The almost instantaneous thought that came to me after reading the thread title was Ten Years Gone. I don't think it's any coincidence all three of these songs are from Physical Graffiti. The entire album has that kind of vibe.