You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Duel of Dopeness: Songs That Should Suck

Episode Date: November 1, 2021

Don't judge a (real)book by its cover - Peter and Adam lay out some tunes that might seem lame, but on closer inspection actually swing.Have a question for us? Leave us a SpeakPipe: link.youllhearit.com/speakpipeSupport the pod by spreading the word with the link youllhearit.com Learn more about Open Studio Pro: openstudiojazz.com/proInterested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Let us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Twitter | Instagram

Hey, Peter. Yo. It's a new feature today. Yes. What's it called? Dual of dopeness. Hashtack, dual of dopeness. I'm Adam Anus.

And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear podcast. Music, advice, inspiration, and dope musical discoveries. Coming at you. There's a lot of dope in our podcast recently. I'm liking that word. So today is a new feature that we're probably going to do every week. I would imagine that a thousand episodes from now, Peter,

we'll still be doing this feature. It's that good. I hope so. Either that or this will be the only time. It'll be one or the other. Both of those are highly likely, knowing us. 50-50. It's a coin talk.

This is called the dual of dopeness. Now, here's the thing, listener. We're going to need your help on this. So we are every week going to pick a theme. This week's theme is songs that should suck. These songs on the surface, if I were to tell you about them, or you were to hear the title or see the album cover, you'd be like, oh, that's going to suck. Right.

But they're actually really, really dope. They're really, really good. That's right. So that is our theme this week, is songs that should suck. And we're going to have three rounds. Peter and I are going to duel it out and go head to head. And the way we're going to duel is we're both going to each round be able to offer up a song that should suck, a specific track. Yeah.

That is unbeknownst to the other as of now. Yes. Right. Exactly. So it will be like, bam, you lay something out. Then I lay something out. So it's like mono e mono, songy, oh songy. That's right.

That's right. Yeah, yeah. And so please hit us up on Twitter. At, you'll hear it. Yes. Hashtag, hashtag duel of dopeness. Yes. And let us know your idea for a category and we'll do it next week.

That's right. Yeah, yeah. Okay. All right. You ready? Yes. Hold on. So we've already rock paper, scissors and I've elected to go second.

Yes. You are kicking off. It's a veritable kickoff is what you're doing. Well, I'm going second, though. I've elected to go. I've elected to defer. You. Oh, I'm kicking.

That's what I'm saying. It's like you won the coin toss. Gotcha. You're kicking off because you're going to hope that you're going to be, I'm going to be. three and out, punting, and then you're going to come back in for the win. But my good friend, that may not be happening. I don't want to get cocky, though. All right, well, we'll see here.

Round one, fight. Paid a lot of money for that. Okay, here we go. Peter's first pick here. Yes. So this, the name of this track is, wouldn't it be loverly? What? Yeah.

Doesn't that sound like it would suck? It really does. That song sounds like it would suck. Yeah. And so this track, I can guarantee you, does not suck. All right. But the song seems, and it's actually a. beautiful tune, beautiful vocalist.

So I offer up, wouldn't it be loverly? Okay. Oh. Far away from the cold night air. Shirley Horn. Yes. Yeah. With one E.

Loverly. Oh, and that copping in between? I know. The copping is so good. You know what, man? You were totally right. If I saw a tune called Wouldn't it be loverly, I might skip over it.

I might think, what? Loverly. Are you trying to be too cute here for me? Yeah. So I don't know. I came strong. What you got? All right.

So my first one. Now imagine you're perusing a record store. Yes. And you see a compact disc. A CD as it were. It's the late 90s. Late 90s. There's a guy and he's got a big butterfly collar and a gold medallion and a hairy chest, an afro.

Yes. Is he of Italian descent by any chance? No, he's not. He's got a really, he's got a big square glasses on. He looks kind of, he looks like a nerdy guy at a disco. Okay. I'll be honest. Okay, got you.

No disrespect. Okay. And the track is called sunlight. Oh. This couldn't be good. O Contrere, my friend. That, of course, is Herbie Hancock from 1979's Sunlight. So I think you're going by the cover as much as the title, right?

I'm going by a few different criteria. Basically, I'm going by, if I were to describe this to you or tried to describe, it's like a disco record from a jazz musician. And he's using a vocoder and he's got a suit on with a butterfly collar and a golden dally. You'd be like, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't know. I don't know.

So I'm going really by how I would describe it. You just have to hear it, is how I'm thinking of this. Yeah. That was good. So now how do we decide who wins round one? I think the listeners decide, but I think I won that. No, I think I won that. Wouldn't it be lovely?

I mean, it's Herbie. It really shouldn't suck. All right. We'll call it a draw. We'll call it I won. Round two, fight. Okay. Thank you, Mortal Kombat.

So I'm going to go first again because that's the way this works. This one, I'm feeling a little less confident now, but that's okay because I won round one. So I've got, you know, it's mine to lose at this point. Are you going all on title? Well, I think so. I think I traded more title. So this song should suck.

See jam blues. Oh, yeah, it should. You know what I mean? What? Are they giving me, are these nerds giving me the key to the song? Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, C jam blues.

It sounds lazy. Yeah, sounds lazy. It's like, see, we're just kind of jamming, but it's a blues. So anyway, this track definitely does not, especially this version. Yeah, that doesn't suck. Already, four notes in. Oscar Peterson, I haven't even started yet. So crazy.

I've heard this like a billion times. Every time that bass drum hit. All we have to do is make it to the first solo break. But now I'm a little worried, much like with the Herbie. Oscar Peterson playing C-Jem. Actually, it shouldn't suck. I don't know. We'll see.

All our aspiring jazz pianists, just go. and transcribe that line. If you haven't already, I mean, just come on. What are you doing? If you haven't transcribed that little bit of language, even if you don't really like Oscar Peterson, that's such an iconic moment. You gotta do it.

Okay, so I'm gonna go a little bit more obscure. Okay. I'm not gonna tell you the name of the artist or the name of the track. Okay. But I'm gonna describe it and it's gonna sound like it might not be something you would be interested. Okay.

That'd be something you might be interested. You'd be like, no. Okay. Okay, so it's a tune. Yes. Uh, it's like, it's, for 16 bars, it's just this one chord. Okay. The one chord.

It's just, no, well, not even really. I mean, it's, it's just like a D minor. And then they're in the middle there. It'll go to E flat minor for a little bit. Impressions. No. And then it'll go back to D minor for a little bit, and then it starts over. A foggy day.

No. And then you're like, what's, you're like, was there a melody? And I'm like, kind of, not really. Like, it's, and it's kind of played by the bass player. And you'd be like, ooh, really? Oh, bass player, that should suck. Yeah, that should suck, right? That should suck.

Now, what if I told you that it was, so what? By Miles Davis. That doesn't suck. Right? Like, from the description, you're like, just one chord? Right. And the melodies played by the bass player? Right.

What does that mean? And even the intro. It's a little groggy. It's a little groggy. Yeah. I mean, it's beautiful. It's beautiful, of course. It shouldn't suck, but.

All suckness finished. Yeah, there's nothing that sucks about this. Oh, that's good. That's good. So what? Yeah. So, yeah. So, all right, you came strong on that one.

Would that be something you might be interested in? Yeah, yeah. I think you won round two. I'm going to give you round two. Oh, okay. All right, I'll take it. Because that was, that's dramatic. And with the intro and everything.

Yeah, but you get it. Like, if you, if someone were to describe, so what to you. You got very storytelling. Very atmospheric with it. You'd be like, what? Yeah. Anyway, all right. One more round.

Okay. Here we go. Hold on, hold on. Final round Fight That's from like some video game It's from Mortal Kombat Yeah

Okay so for my last offering of songs That should suck but don't Whatever confidence I started with With first track that started to Slightly elude me on track number two Now I'm getting very nervous Because this is the title of this Just like to remind you

This was all your idea This is by Antonio Carlos Jobbeam So already right there It shouldn't suck So you know So I back my myself in a corner but the title of this happy madness that sounds like happy madness exactly see you're you're making my point like one of those things outside

of a car dealers yeah yeah happy man the same 50% on all four escorts today only right that should stop right for a very important day yeah I like this I'm feeling better now okay here's happy madness oh it's deep Okay, I think you've already won this round. Is Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson from Double Rainbow, of course? Would that be something you might be interested? Yes.

Man, that's so good. Yeah. Woo, Double Rainbow, Joe Henderson. But an underrated album. Yes. Yes. Check out this. What Herbie plays you.

I know at the bottom. Come on. I'm going to give you, because I know what I chose. I'm going to give you this round already. You might have won the final round here. That is so good, man. And that's a great... You know what's funny about the dope, dual...

What is it? Dual of dopeness. Dual of dopeness. Hashtag dual of dopeness. Is that... I think one of the funny things is we both kind of came at it from two different frames, right? Like, I framed it like, how would you describe it to someone? If you were to describe the tune, it wouldn't be that appealing.

But when you hear it, it's great. And you came straight at it from the title. Straight from the title. Happy Madness. It's a corny title. Corny title. Happy Madness. But it's an unbelievably deep tune.

Yeah. Just like wouldn't it be loverly, CJ? Yeah, I was thinking one. Actually, my last one, the title is kind of,

it's not great. I don't think it's a great title. But if I were to say, Hey, hey, Peter. I love your, I know.

I'm gonna keep the happy madness voice going for the last one. So if I were to play for you a track that was a bebop classic, an up-tempo, B-Bop classic, but the melody was played, by an electric bass player.

That sucks. Right? He'd be like, what? I don't want to hear a melody played by an electric bass. What if it was Jacco Pastorius. It's Donna Lee, of course, which is the title is all right,

Donald. Donnelly sounds like one of my ants with a long skinny cigarette at Christmas around the ping pong table. Dona Lee with her Benson and Hedges. Yeah, exactly. I mean, the thing is, I got to say, I think you won this round.

Really? Because, and I think you won today, because I'm going to fix that for you right now. Thank you, Harry. Because when you factor in the name of this, your aunt with the skinny cigarette, and I'm just remembering I had to pull up

the album cover to this. Combined with the electric bass player playing a B-bop tune, you know, and then it's sounding so great in this being such a... I know, it's so killing. The disparity between how this looks and what you think it's going to be and what it is, unless you know Giacopestores, then of course you would expect it. But I think you got me on that one. All right,

listener, hashtag duel of doepeness on Twitter. Send us your ideas, and we'll do them. Do it. Send it to us. and hit us up at you'll hear it on the Twitters. We're very excited about our new Twitter. Twitter. Follow us and talk to us over there. And next week, we will have another duel of doveness.

And look, if you don't send us any good categories, we're going to come up with our own. I'll play and tell you what it is later. That's right. We'll just do that. Exactly. Until next time. You'll hear it.