Sarah Brand

She went to Cal… Go Bears.

My expectation is still that this has more to her do with her interest in religion and politics than some kind of meta-troll/study but I do think there's something, uh, sociologically interesting about the level of vitriol and condescension in the Youtube comments she's gotten over the last few days, just for singing out of tune - in self-made videos by a previously unknown grad student, done afaict with borrowed equipment. There seems to be a belief that she's wealthy, spoiled, and narcissistic, and needs to be taken down a peg, none of which has been substantiated afaik.

extremely otm

apart from issues of misogyny and the thing we were discussing in the other thread about "off-key" singing being more annoying/noticeable in higher ranges (more associated with female voices) there is really nothing very interesting about this person's work. Like, it doesn't suck badly enough to be impressive, it isn't unique enough to be interesting, and it definitely isn't good or enjoyable, though maybe people think she's hot? idk.

^more or less OTM. Neither song/video is very compelling from any angle (IMO), and the existence of misogyny on the Internet is hardly a newsflash (though I guess it's reminder #26 this week, for anyone who needs it).

It's always weird when one of the millions of randos posting things on the internet suddenly gets the spotlight turned on them for no particular reason. I've certainly seen my share of worse and weirder things that no one seemed to care about.

here is another
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIsX3Fu3VfQ

this one is by a guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VilpAzvSysc

xpost omg u saw the butthole cut of Cats?!!

if anything, this thread is exhibit a for why we should start WeHole-ing it again

(http://www.wehole.tv/)

Go Bears

Cast your slings and arrows but she is serving in that dress

also this song rips the chorus of "Wildest Dreams" more than anything else

I would be extremely impressed if someone was able to fake tone deafness to that degree. I think it would actually take extraordinary musical talent to do. At the same time, the video is uncanny because it's just hard to imagine all these people happily participating in this without dying inside at hearing what the song sounds like.

But that's kind of the only thing that's interesting about it at all to me - the tension between her polished look and polished video production and the abysmal singing. And it's not *that* interesting and I probably wouldn't have even given it another thought if this thread hadn't popped up. TBF, maybe would have cared more if this happened ten years ago. Social media has kind of numbed me to OMGWTF internet bullshit.

Fondly recalling the days when a more innocent nation’s hearts were captured by William Hung (also a Cal student at the time).

I just find the dissonances interesting, especially in context, but I will freely acknowledge that I might be overrating it in reaction to the hate.

chorus gets lodged in my head every time someone bumps this thread

Brand(ed) on the brain?

gonna give myself a lobotomy to get the chorus out of my head

There's a massive clue at the end of the video.

Sarah dancing in the church, congregation look amused, etc. But, no soundtrack. Just the ambient noises and some shoe squeaking.

I reckon the video was made without the music playing....

xp, just put this on repeat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5aPrf2zE0

the women in the drink rum video definitely put Ms. Brand to shame in the posterior category. Oi mates.

xxp I never thought of it that way. Maybe the singing is so strange because she recorded it after making the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtBvCF7P9p8

BTW, did you guys know that ILM favorite MAGIC! (of "Rude" fame) also had a single called Red Dress?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaX64o71vGQ

It features the line "hey you with the red dress on / I gotta find a way to take it off." Which I think arguably makes it a significantly worse song than Sarah Brand's Red Dress.

that "boring version" cover proves that it's still quite a strange song even when sung in tune

it does, and I kind of like it

I'm sure MAGIC! aren't nice people and all but they should all be killed

this makes "Rude" seem like a mere sneeze at the dinner table

Yes, it kind of feels like a Rude b-side. In the worst way.

Red Dress is positively tuneful compared to the acoustic version of Fantasy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOhYhZiyTI

Taylor Swift cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kfVskTOsWw

She should have taken a little bit more care with hiding her previous videos if she wanted to keep up the idea she can't sing.

Her YT channel has a video of her doing cheerleading practice a few years back with no obvious vocal detriment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RTkyfdXVik

From 10:35

https://www.newsweek.com/sarah-brand-red-dress-viral-music-video-rebecca-black-1614254

Newsweek spoke to Gordon Gronbach, the hired freelance filmographer for "Red Dress", who said that there were no hints of the song being a joke on set, but added that he "was not deeply involved in planning before or since," so would be unable to shed light on it being a social experiment of any kind.

Instead, he pointed to the video and song simply being a tool for Brand to show her directing skills. "I gathered it was an exercise in becoming a video director," he said. "She did say she wanted to be a director and it was obvious she wasn't a great singer, with a few off notes, but it was okay and I guess she did it for showreel purposes, and so I respect that."

"It was funny to have the performer be the director and shout 'cut' but she's very focused and knew what she wanted, and I gave it to her I guess," he added.

that "boring version" cover proves that it's still quite a strange song even when sung in tune

― ufo, jeudi 29 juillet 2021 22:28 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

it does, and I kind of like it

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), jeudi 29 juillet 2021 22:36 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

It always seemed to me more like a vaguely postpunk indie take on pop-country than an actual stab at pop-country. Iirc, someone found her Spotify and she mostly listens to contemporary indie.

Also, I think these songs are harder to sing than that cheer, in the register she is singing them in.

Like, it's lot harder for me to sing "Come Sail Away" in tune than to sing "Losing My Religion" in tune.

Her strumming technique makes me almost as queasy as the singing.

also this song rips the chorus of "Wildest Dreams" more than anything else

― cerebral halsey (rip van wanko), Thursday, July 29, 2021 10:35 AM

That's it! The line in Wildest Dreams where TS sings "standing in a nice dress" became the seed of this song, maybe even subconsciously.

📹

Sarah’s from Malibu? Industry plant!

That's it! The line in Wildest Dreams where TS sings "standing in a nice dress" became the seed of this song, maybe even subconsciously.

― enochroot, Friday, 30 July 2021 12:19 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

And, in turn, that part always reminded me of George Ezra's "Are we ridin' shotgun" bit, so..

She loved the nursing home cover.

Ok this all makes more sense to me now. The song sounds just enough like a real pop song that I almost thought she had songwriting skills, but there was something "off" about it. So she ripped it from that song and other songs, and the offness is just the filter of her problem ear. She legit can't sing, as evidenced by the other videos. And the goal was more to show off her video skills, which is believable since those seem perfectly competent. Everything else about her just reads way too normie and sincere for this to be a really elaborate pisstake.

I don't understand the rationale: "I'm going to record a terribly-performed song so that everyone focusses on my video direction?" Instead of directing a video for a competent performer?

Because she's probably blissfully unaware of how bad her singing really is and thought it was good enough?

sometimes a person who can't sing is just a person who can't sing.

I don't really think her songwriting skills are less 'competent' than her video skills.

She definitely demonstrates basic compositional principles of chord progressions, melodic form, phrase structure, and text setting. There's a quote, intentional or otherwise, of "Wildest Dreams" and/or "Shotgun", but it goes somewhere else with it.

Unless all of her songs are sung from the point of view of an "outsider doing things differently and causing discomfort", it's an ex post facto justification - but I still love the way she's fronting.

The dissonance can still work that way even when it's not the lyrical theme. I think the way she uses it in "Fantasy" has a surreal quality, which again fits.

Old man says this is infinitely preferable to excessive autotune.

OTM

I mean, DJP is right, of course - I wouldn't want every singer to sound like this - and this only works because there is a norm that this is defying.

She's also only a 'pop singer' in the broad sense of the term that would also include Danielson Famile's singers. These are self-released indie songs.

Well she also covered a Taylor Swift song in the same "style." I guess if it works for someone in that context, it works anywhere.

Taylor Swift's own s/t-Fearless-era live performances not always a model of "matching and maintaining" pitch tbf.

trying to mimic the awkwardness of t-shirt wearing bleacher dwellers iirc

haha

sarah bland

She's back!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cITvIxVNAN0

on brand

Exaggerated Autotune abuse does seem like a good response to the previous flak but still not sure what to make of this; I think I want either the rapping to be better or the production to be more mental.

while she is clearly going for another shitpost, this one isn't weirdly pleasant to listen to

too boxy and irregular to be passed without a bit of tearing

doctor said that when i was born

lightning not gonna strike twice here. whatever her intent was, she's now In On The Joke

Actually I quite like it now, it does get pretty mad by the end

Wow, this only happened six months ago and my brain had already scrubbed all memory of the phenomenon

A marketing genius at work (the question posed at bottom came up as a notification; clicking it led to this, an autoplay video)

https://i.imgur.com/YTNoj1v_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

oh god no

She’s really leaning into a particular angle now

(YouTube keeps showing me these clips, I must’ve “subscribed” to her channel)

this is not good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzIB9ty-Dp0

The song isn’t, but the video’s pretty well done

haven't watched it yet

wow super bad :/
trying too hard

red dress remains a classic

actually a decent parody of how loads of current pop songs sample metal guitars to be edgy