on Danger Mouse's production

[Registered Dude]

Interested read here: Is Danger Mouse Ruining Rock? - Houston - Music - Rocks Off

The Danger Mouse "sound," as it was, combined all the best parts of '50s rock and roll and '60s Motown with a modern hip-hop sensibility. It doesn't take a genius to notice that those are the same elements almost every pop-minded rock star has been trying to tame since the Beatles. From Phil Collins' obsession with it to Grizzly Bear covering Phil Spector girl-group songs today, it's the traditional blueprint for high-minded rock.

Danger Mouse is essentially a one-trick pony. What was refreshing in 2006 and what was even a noble experiment for rock artists to indulge in back in 2008 is officially played out. Danger Mouse is an eminently talented man, but he essentially has one very unique sound. Every single record he produces sounds exactly like him. He's so immediately identifiable that he cannot produce anyone's record without it literally reeking of Danger Mouse.

No album news, but it raises some interesting, debatable points..

is the world already sick of the Danger Mouse sound? will the U2 record end up sounding like a DM album, feat. Bono and Chris Martin on vocals?

the same criticisms have been levelled at Daniel Lanois.. his records do sound alike, but play Acadie, Achtung Baby, Wrecking Ball and Le Noise one after another, and you'll hear 4 very different records..

can the same be said for Modern Guilt, Broken Bells, El Camino and Rome?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Producers obviously have signatures... but yea, I don't know what this guys is talking about.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

U2 sound like U2 with Eno, Lanois, Flood, Howie B, Lillywhite, etc.... I don't care. I hope DM brings something that U2 can add to their sound, that's all. It won't be a Lady Gaga album, nor a System of a Down one..... it will be U2, with some slight changes. We might like it, we might not, we'll see, a few months to go

But thanks for the article

 

[zoopop]

At this point I don't care if Disney produces the next U2 album...I JUST WANT SOME NEW MUSIC

 

[Peterrrrr]

At this point I don't care if Disney produces the next U2 album...I JUST WANT SOME NEW MUSIC

Slipknot - Wait and Bleed (Radio Disney Version) - YouTube

 

[Irvine511]

That article was excruciating.

 

[purpleoscar]

If Danger Mouse did nothing but make bad records I would agree but since he's made good records (hopefully great with U2) then he's hardly ruining music.

 

[Von Schloopen]

I'll agree with the article. He does have a signature sound and style.

But, he's never recorded with U2, a band who write songs while they record. I'm curious to hear how his presence influences the whole shebang. Lord knows he's had opportunity to influence stuff well beyond sonics. U2 producers are a very different breed, cause U2 are fucking strange.

 

[U2DMfan]

U2 producers are a very different breed, cause U2 are fucking strange.

Have to agree with this. That's largely whey they keep working with the same 4 or 5 producers over and over. U2 are...unorthodox.

Working with DM was a great move for potentially pushing them outside of their comfort zone (at least you'd think) all by itself.

That said, I generally feel production influence is overrated.
Bands are responsible for their own music, songs, sound.
U2 can't be pushed around by anybody at this point.
Whatever sound they came up with, they will own it.

 

[U2DMfan]

No album news, but it raises some interesting, debatable points..

Might be a good chance to talk about producer influence in general.

Danger Mouse, most likely, was not afforded the chance to write with them.
So I would not expect a noticeable Eno/Lanois-like influence.

It's probably going to be more like...somewhere between Flood and Howie B.
Influence, not sound. Flood is the more traditional producer playing by 'ear' more than anything else. Whereas they let Howie B inspire them with loops, etc. If I had to guess I would guess DM probably did try to inspire them. But I wouldn't bet any money this new U2 album has some 'signature' DM sound. My is guess DM's approach was closer to steering them away from things, rather than toward things.

Or maybe that's my own wishful thinking. But seriously, I feel like (apart from whatever inspiration) he was there to give a fresh set of ears. Not 'here's the sound you guys need'. U2 in 2013 don't need help with sounds (nothing new under the sun) as much as they need help starting down the right path, conceptually, to begin with. In other words, I don't see him telling the band how to write a bridge, I see his value as "guys, that bridge isn't good enough, let's try something else". But again, maybe that's my own bias.

 

[purpleoscar]

It'll be interesting to see the articles about the making of the album when it finally comes out. Danger Mouse can get involved as a performer like in Rome and Broken Bells, or not.

Right now it's hard to parse out what happened:

"airborne" "light-footed"

"amazing" "big" "Achtung Baby adventurism"

"uncomfortable territory"

"fresh" "With Edge involved, there is still plenty of guitar." (What does this mean?)

 

[Registered Dude]

It'll be interesting to see the articles about the making of the album when it finally comes out. Danger Mouse can get involved as a performer like in Rome and Broken Bells, or not.

Right now it's hard to parse out what happened:

"airborne" "light-footed"

"amazing" "big" "Achtung Baby adventurism"

"uncomfortable territory"

"fresh" "With Edge involved, there is still plenty of guitar." (What does this mean?)

ethereal, raw and old school have also been thrown into the mix.


to me, that sounds like songs with a live, off-the-floor feel, but effects driven..

 

[Registered Dude]

Might be a good chance to talk about producer influence in general.

Danger Mouse, most likely, was not afforded the chance to write with them.
So I would not expect a noticeable Eno/Lanois-like influence.

I'm thinking the opposite. He's been working with them for so long, he's surely had the opportunity to bring his own material to the table.. maybe not in terms of songs, but launching points.. ie an interesting drum loop, or keys part.. this is how he works right? and we know U2 thrive off of this approach..

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Hopefully he brings a better loop than Enos crooked wheel loop on MOS.

 

[jeevey]

I


"fresh" "With Edge involved, there is still plenty of guitar." (What does this mean?)

It's interesting. Guitar rock has been on a downward slide for a long, long time. U2 know that- have known it since the early 90s. So in a way those two things are at odds. Plenty of guitar and fresh at the same time might be a trick. There may be assumptions or pressures that they need to minimize the big guitar sound to keep it fresh.

 

[scottyT]

Hopefully he brings a better loop than Enos crooked wheel loop on MOS.

True words, I love the song idea, but that loop is a burnt fart. I can't express how annoying it is that someone tried that hard push a river in the wrong direction. That song is and was beautiful without that incoherency. Just because you can put it in a song doesn't mean it should be there.

 

[Rachel D.]

Hopefully he brings a better loop than Enos crooked wheel loop on MOS.

Have you heard him tell about why that's in there? I'm not saying it's a good loop, but there's a reason for it being there.

 

[Von Schloopen]

Have you heard him tell about why that's in there? I'm not saying it's a good loop, but there's a reason for it being there.

You can say it's a good loop. Cause it is.

 

[scottyT]

I know why he says it is there, but that doesn't mean it is a good reason for it to be there. He did a lot with a very little on that loop. He proved his point. But does it make the song better because of it on the whole? I can take it because I like the song, but I feel it could be better if it wasn't Eno trying to prove he could make a fanastic song around a weird broken loop.

 

[scottyT]

Also, I apologize for my first post it was really overly aggressive! Sorry Pals!

 

[Von Schloopen]

Was that Eno's goal?

There are a lot of great things about that tune, but I've never considered that loop part of the core.

You could delete it and still have a great song.

 

[trevgreg]

Call me glib, but where's the 'loop' in MOS that we're talking about here?

 

[U2DMfan]

^ The very first thing you hear when the song plays.

It's interesting. Guitar rock has been on a downward slide for a long, long time. U2 know that- have known it since the early 90s.

That is interesting. In the same way that Santa Claus is interesting.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Yeah. The world is so sick of Danger Mouse already. As if the music he produces is so crazily well known that people are tired if it...

 

[trevgreg]

^ The very first thing you hear when the song plays.

Thanks for explaining! I actually never minded it myself... adds a bit of character to the intro of the song, imo.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

If anything Danger Mouse deserves some sort of an award simply for sticking it out with them for this long.

It must be exhausting to work with this band

 

[david]

At least Danger mouse does more than just lay on a couch when producing albums.

 

[Hollow Island]

I'm thinking the opposite. He's been working with them for so long, he's surely had the opportunity to bring his own material to the table.. maybe not in terms of songs, but launching points.. ie an interesting drum loop, or keys part.. this is how he works right? and we know U2 thrive off of this approach..

U2's producers always contribute a lot to the albums, so it would make sense for Danger Mouse to bring in loops, keyboard parts, and so on. I think this album will sound more like Modern Guilt or TGTB&TQ than his other projects. If he can capture the sound of the band as well as he did with the latter, we'll be in for a treat, regardless of how strong the songs are.

 

[BVS]

That song is and was beautiful without that incoherency. Just because you can put it in a song doesn't mean it should be there.

Except the loop wasn't "put in" the song. The song was built around the loop, the loop came first, so really the song wouldn't exist without it.

 

[Registered Dude]

U2's producers always contribute a lot to the albums, so it would make sense for Danger Mouse to bring in loops, keyboard parts, and so on. I think this album will sound more like Modern Guilt or TGTB&TQ than his other projects. If he can capture the sound of the band as well as he did with the latter, we'll be in for a treat, regardless of how strong the songs are.

my hope is for another headphone album..