Ice Cream Song Dynamics

[Giuliana]

Trying to pin down where in the hell Another Sexless Weekend are coming from can be exhausting work. The Burlington-based "band" (more on that later) doesn't just blur the lines of genre, it all but ignores genre's existence. On its latest LP, Ice Cream Window & the Dynamic Flavors, the group attempts to wrangle a concept record out of 15 tracks of chaos, soaring melodies and wildly eclectic songwriting, all without a hint of fidelity to tone or theme.

Through multiple listens of the record, any attempt to stitch together a story or overall concept remains fruitless. So I'll let the band's founder, Julian Foster, aka Lemon-Toe Braindough, explain what it might be all about.

"The key concept [of the record] being that the ice cream window is the headphones or the speakers where the music comes out and us as the musicians are the flavors that just so happen to land on your tongue if you are so impolite as to leave it in the open position," Foster wrote in an email. "And if that's not the stupidest thing you've heard this month, I have failed in my one and only task of any importance."

Setting that metaphor aside for now, we can attest that the record is overflowing with assorted "flavors." The liner notes reveal five different lead vocalists, all with delicious-sounding names like Raspberry Sue (Natalie Palmer) and Candy Rivers (Giannina Gaspero-Beckstrom). The musicians get the same treatment, from Salty Ass Nickel (Sam Atallah) on piano to Neon de Twinkle (Ben Rodgers) on guitar.

The eccentricities of Another Sexless Weekend began the moment they formed, according to Foster. Combining two separate groups to which he belonged, a Brian Jonestown Massacre cover act and a six-person vocal harmony ensemble, Foster sewed together a sprawling patchwork of musicians that eventually coalesced into one band, at least in the studio. The group checked into Spicy World, the downtown Burlington studio of Dead Shakers leader Kevin Bloom, in late 2019.

Almost four years later, the album is finally out, having been briefly released online last year before the band removed and reworked it. Another Sexless Weekend will post an accompanying novel on its social media pages, according to Foster. Perhaps that will explain the album's concept a little more clearly, but its songs are interesting enough not to need much glossing.

Cream, the influential British rock band of the 1960s, was renowned for their electrifying performances and groundbreaking sound. However, despite their immense success, the band unexpectedly disbanded in 1968, leaving fans and music critics wondering what led to their untimely breakup.

In this article, we will explore the pivotal moments that marked the unraveling of Cream, shedding light on the infamous last gigs that left fans disappointed and critics skeptical. We will also examine the individual perspectives of band members, particularly the insights of Jack Bruce, who attributed the cancellation of a planned Cream tour to the actions of drummer Ginger Baker.

The incredible volume levels at their live performances became a trademark of their sound and a hindrance. Playing loud for the sake of playing loud had nothing to do with the music itself. Instead, it became a competition among the members, with each trying to outdo the others. This overwhelming volume became overwhelming for both the band and their audiences, detracting from the true essence of their music.

Despite their legendary status, the final performances of the iconic band left much to be desired. They stumbled through their last gigs like a broken-down racehorse struggling to reach the finish line. Cream, known for their electrifying live shows and musical prowess, failed to deliver the same level of energy and excitement during their farewell concerts.

Cream had reached unprecedented heights of success with their unique blend of blues, rock, and psychedelia. However, as the band members grew as musicians and individuals, their artistic visions began to diverge, causing emotional fallout and irreparable fractures within the group.

Creative differences played a significant role in the breakup of Cream. Each member had a distinct musical style and approach, initially contributing to their groundbreaking sound. However, as time went on, these differences became more pronounced and harder to reconcile.

Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker each had their own ideas about the direction the band should take, leading to conflicts over songwriting, arrangements, and overall musical direction. These clashes created tension within the band and hindered their ability to develop cohesive and innovative music.

There were also reports of substance abuse and personality clashes, further exacerbating the already fragile dynamics within the group. Ultimately, these factors led to a breakdown in communication and a loss of the camaraderie that had once fueled their success.

Despite their undeniable musical chemistry, Cream could no longer sustain their unity, and the band decided to part ways, ending an era of groundbreaking music and leaving behind a legacy that continues to influence generations of musicians.

Bruce revealed in a recent interview that the band had all agreed to make their live return last year or this year, but something happened between Baker and Clapton that caused the plans to fall through.

The magic that had once enchanted audiences was fading, and it became evident that the end was near. It was in this context that Cream ultimately called it quits. The breakup may have seemed sudden to some, but the signs were there.

Music dynamics are when passages of a song are played at different volume levels. Having contrasts in volume makes music more interesting for the listener. Playing with dynamics on the drums also makes your drumming more interesting for listeners.

In my blog post about attitude I shared a personal experience receiving criticism about my drumming dynamics. It came from world class pianist Phillip Strange and we do a lot of work together here in Japan. His criticism really helped me to refine my dynamic drumming.

Since then, my quiet drumming with sticks has greatly improved and my performance opportunities have increased. I was never a super loud drummer to begin with but the additional work on my dynamics definitely helped my career.

Your drums resonate differently when played softly. There are a completely different set of overtones that occur at lower versus higher volumes. When you can play with dynamic drumming, the soft parts of songs will sound more natural.

Roughly 85% of all of my drumming jobs involve a singer. Singers feel comfortable with my drumming because I support their singing. I know when to play quietly and when I can kick up the energy and volume.

For the last few years, I've been asking myself, "Why the hell does modern metal sound so...dull? And not heavy at all?" My initial response was, well, the riffs suck, no one's coming up with decent riffs anymore. But that's blatantly false. There's more than enough creativity to go around and new sub-genres still pop up once and awhile. Then I remembered the time I was editing a video for a local metal band and noticed the MP3 I was provided with, in terms of its waveform, was just a solid brick. No dynamics at all. It was also clipping pretty bad, too. To my astonishment, I was told this was the final mix.

This is an issue of aesthetic, related to the practices of modern producers. In order to get a louder mix, all the tracks (drums, guitar, bass, vocals, etc.) are pumped up to the max, then squashed with compression, causing every instrument to be equally loud. Every voice is then struggling to overpower the other and the result is a claustrophobic kind of affair where nothing sticks out, and everything is equal in terms of amplitude. This ironically makes the song sound less loud since there are no moments that are louder or softer than any other moment.

Take a look at this image I made in Audacity, comparing the waveform of Cannibal Corpse's "Kill or Become" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." The former is almost solid, its few moments of softer decibel levels being only slightly quieter than the peaks. Contrarily, the latter constantly contrasts loud and soft parts, and if you crank up the volume on these tracks, you'll see what I mean. Black Sabbath sounds loud as fuck despite being recorded 40+ years earlier, while no matter what volume the Cannibal song is set at, there's the feeling that it just isn't loud enough. I wonder if this trend will eventually push producers to go back to a more traditional mixing style, in order to really bring out of the heavy in heavy metal.

There's a lot to be said about brickwalling, most of it negative. Having a larger dynamic range in music accentuates the extremes. Having everything up front at all times just dilutes it all. Much like how you need the bad to appreciate the good, you need the quiet to appreciate the loud.

Yes, I myself really enjoy the peaks and valleys of certain forms of dance music. It can really get you moving. I've largely lost interest in modern heavy music because it's so rare that a producer will make even the slightest attempt to increase dynamic range.

eh, as someone who has recently started delving into more advanced music production like mastering, I thought waveforms of mastered tracks were supposed to look like solid walls, heh. I couldn't really achieve it without ridiculous compression ratios which sounded awful*, and I thought I was doing something wrong. Judging by this thread, it seems I don't need to waste my time trying to figure that one out, fortunately.

I'm confused, how does this make metal sound less powerful? Because of a lack of dynamics? When it is mastered, the sonic power becomes consistent throughout the entirety of the track. And yes, the modern day practice is to use compression because it makes things sound bigger, but it's been like that for a long time now, and it's not just present in metal. The loudness wars has been going on for the past 20+ years. I would argue that this doesn't take away any power from the actual song though, and it also depends on who is doing the mastering. You also have to look at certain bands because Neurosis works with Steve Albini (formerly of Big Black, who is now an audio engineer) and they seek to capture a natural sound. The latest Neurosis album (Fires Within Fires) doesn't have the beefed up compression and effects that most modern metal albums have, as they went for a more natural sound.

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