Featuring.......? A rant about the industry.

[Burnsy]

My honey asked me to check out a song for her, I had never heard of it before. It's by One Republic "featuring Timbaland." Timbaland did this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GojTUmjx ... re=related[/url] It was big in the summer. Not my type of music, but that is besides the point.

This song is called "Too late to apologize" and it is by One Republic. So I find it on You Tube. Catchy song, but something made me irk. The whole "featuring Timbaland" thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePyRrb2-fzs I gave the song a good listen, the video a good watch, to see exactly how Mr Timbaland is contributing. The only contribution, as far as I can hear, is a background vocal noise that sounds like "Ehh, Ehh, Ehh." You hear it 3 times in succession, spread out sporadically throughout the verses, and in the chorus.

I understand that this is pop media bubble gum brainwashing filth. However, in my opinion, this Timbaland part is a very weak contribution to the song. Almost disgusting. I certainly shake my head. So anyways, it makes me wonder why this song is "featuring" Timbaland and his unique vocal talents to begin with, given that his contribution to the song is so miniscule and insignficant. And a light bulb comes on (it takes a while to warm up sometimes), it's all about the F'n business!!! The record company's idea is that One Republic is going to sell more records because it says in the song title "featuring Timbaland," even though it really only took Timbaland 30 seconds or less to contribute his part of the song, and that's giving him 3 or 4 takes!

I know there have been many industry schemes, some rather successful with the possibility of being perceivably legitimate, where an artist has another "featuring" artist on a song, or a whole album of duets. For example, (scheme or not and not my type of music,) but Tony Bennet featuring ... Sting, Bono, Barbara Striesand, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_-M3ZTv3Ws Here's the difference in my opinion, between the the "featured Timbaland"on One Republic's song, and the "featured artists" on Tony Bennets album. The artists "featured"on Tony Bennet's Duets album....... are at least F'n doing something!!!!! Any dying dog with a fart in its gizzard can do what Timbaland does in this "To Late To Apologize"song. The record company makes more money, Timbaland and One Republic make more money and get more recognition ... and I'm stuck listening to this arse picking molasses of a contribution by Timbaland the vocal wonder genius, wondering how it is that we're all not famous and rich yet.

And that is my gripe.

End of Rant. (Sigh of relief) Thanks for listening.

[Mathieu Benoit]

Agreed.

However such is the way of the world. Timbaland is one talented motha. He's the hottest writer/producer in the mainstream pop world in the past 5 years. As far as I'm concerned, if he gets a truck full of money for saying "uh, uh, eh, uh" or whatever ever... Good for him. Because he can still blown my mind with his real work. I'll let this one slide...

The industry is evil though, point noted.

[Burnsy]

And that bothers me even more! The dude is talented and skilled at what he does, but this contribution... is lame. Not that I think the record industry is entirely evil, Like you said, it is what it is. If someone offered me "truckloads" of moolah for a small contribution such as the one we're discussing, I would grab it, but hopefully I could come up with something a little more creative than a couple of grunts. But creatively speaking, maybe that's all the band/record company wanted .... just a couple of grunts. I wish my grunts were worth something.

[Mathieu Benoit]

But creatively speaking, maybe that's all the band/record company wanted .... just a couple of grunts.

That is my suspicion, which is why I say "Good for him."

Likely the track was finished, the marketing mooks decided to make a publicity gimmick at the last minute. Timbaland recorded a few grunts, emailed the .aiff files, and Bob's your uncle.

I too wish that my grunts were golden...

[macrae11]

I may be wrong, but I thought Timbaland had produced that track as well. Maybe he made some other contributions other than just the vocal noises?

But in the urban world at least, the "featuring" moniker is definitely all about the marketing.

[roachie]

I'm sure if Timbaland had anything to do with the tune, he produced it... that's where he gets his $$... doing folks like Nelly Furtado, Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake, and countless others... He probably grunted in the mic a couple of times as an excuse to put his name in the title to sell singles, but I'm sure he played a much bigger part...

[roachie]

By the way, where have you been Burnsy, haven't heard from you in a while...

[Burnsy]

I've got a ton of bodily noises, grunts, creaks, groans, and other more intricate noises that can sound quite musical at times... I assure you. We should hook up a mic and start the collection. Dude, I moved to the West Side about a month ago, and I work all nights Monday-Friday. Weekends are free. I think we work opposite times. But it's all good. We should hook up and shoot some brews or at least the proverbial one of these days. Got any weekends off during the holidays?

[Burnsy]

I'd say that Timbaland definitely re-produced this song. On You Tube I found the original song with none of Timbaland handy work. Huge difference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm0T7_SGee4 And here's the remix produced by Timbaland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePyRrb2- ... re=related Sonically, there is a big difference, and the actual structure of the song has been changed by 20+ seconds of difference. Interesting enough, my ears got so used to hearing Timbaland's version, that when I heard the original, it sounded kind of wimpy. And in the original there are more actual audible instruments. (Guitar solo for example) Still good, but a different feel altogether.