If you’re looking for a acappella to remix, andiamnotlying has a craptacular for you:
Smashmouth is the music version of the bet t-shirt at Hot Topic, the best of a rotten lot when choice is utterly not an option.But this track, it’s something else entirely. It’s the singer’s isolated vocal track from the song “Days Like These” … and if you thought the band in aggregate was craptacular, this little gem is a white dwarf of sheer sub-par suck-rock. It is Kool-Aid without sugar, a burger on bread without ketchup or salad. It is peanut butter on Wonder Bread, eaten in the back seat of a hot car on family vacation … there are good times to be had, but this is the space in between.
It’s days like these that makes you want to chill and enjoy the ride!
The best part is waiting for the next line. You never know when it will pop up, but when it does..
Jenn – exactly – and the vocals seem completely inane outside of their normal context, don’t they?
Gooooood!!!
Has anybody here ever tried to write and sing their own music? It’s hard.
Seriously what is wrong with that take?
The pitching seems fine and it definitely sounds like either a double of the main vocal in a gruffer voice etc or just a harmony.
Standard vocal technique for a huge amount of recording vocalists.
In the mix that take would probably sound fine.
You could probably do this isolating one track from practically any huge hit single and have a laugh at how it sounds naked. Find the multi tracks of bohemian rhapsody. Listen to freddy being pitchy and squeaky on some of the wierder harmony parts. Then listen to the whole mix.
I cant stand Smash Mouth btw.
I agree with sdOK, if you have ever been in a studio and listened to a solo vocal track, there is nothing out of the ordinary here.
I also hate Smash Mouth, but his voice sounds as expected solo’ed.
I think Smash Mouth is a terrible band, but this sounds fine for a solo track.
ok i hate smashmouth and others like them as much as anyone if not more, but, as an engineer, i can attest to the fact that 99% of vocalists out there dont sound that pretty w/o the band backing them there are lots of multi tracks out there you can download, try a few you may be surprised at how your favorite vocalist sounds.
Wow, you people are clueless about what singers really sound like. I’m impressed that this guy is hitting the notes (hopefully) without pitch-control. Yes he’s rough, and sour, but he’s on. Go back and listen to solo tracks from the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and so on. Same shit.
I absolutely disagree. You need to raise your standards if you are willing to settle for a vocal track that sucks when put alone. An effect or audio treatment should be an enhancement, not a band-aid.
One thing about pitch-correction; there are several formulas for pitch-correction, and many times Autotune may be used w/out the listener ever knowing. (Of course that heaviest autotune treatment is the one everybody know; Cher, Kanye, etc.) In the case of Smashmouth his raw vocal fits the pop-punk bill.
I’ve been scoping around for talk about this. I certainly am feelin good now that I ran across this web site.
Trent Reznor @ 1:36? lol
I don’t really understand everyone leaping to Smashmouth’s defense here. Yes, any isolated vocal track is going to sound a little funny almost regardless of who it is (obvious exceptions are out there, including the Beach Boys). That’s the entire point here. And Smashmouth is an inherently silly band that is easy to laugh at, so this equals comedy. Everyone getting all “uhh what is funny about this it’s just a dude singing back off!” just don’t get it.
Yah, you guys are missing the point entirely. It’s the idea that the lyrics are so inane, and his voice so energetic, that this sounds completely ridiculous. It’s a 40 year old man singing “It’s days like these tha make you wanna get your groove on.”. It’s awful, and you “recording engineers” (GarageBand aficionados) need to relax and “enjoy the riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide”
Guy nailed this. Especially concerning garageband “engineers.”
But in all honesty, the reason why this is still hilarious is not how he sounds; it’s what he is saying. Reading the lyrics helps one understand how craptastic they truly are:
California got sunshine
Hanging out with your friends
Settin’ out for a good time
Just won a million so you drive the brand new Benz
It’s days like these that make you want to chill, enjoy the ride
It’s days like these that let you get your groove on,
Nothing goes wrong, everything’s alright
Knowing you deliver like a winner every single time
Yup. This happened.
What’s wrong with this is not that the vocals are solo is that the lyrics are fucking awful. Utterly abysmal. Trite doesn’t even begin to describe this crap. Even for smash mouth this is bad.
There are so many references in this article that there’s barely a complete sentence. The writing sucks just as hard as Smashmouth’s music, I guess, I don’t even know what the point is now.