What is the most complex and elaborate pop song of the past 25 years?
[DISCUSSION]
Gonna have to cast my vote for "Confessions, Pt. II" by Usher
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There must be literally a hundred vocal overdubs in this song
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The two verses are so different from each other that they are almost like different sections (Usher does this a lot)
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The harmonies are fucking incredible, esp. "SHE OPENED UP THE DOOR AND DIDN'T WANNA COME NEAR ME"
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The added thirteenths and the major sevenths in the chords
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I honestly discover something new every time I listen to it, and it's like the second most-listened song in my music library
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The arrangements and production are perfect (those drums are pretty lit for 2004)
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I think that this is probably the right answer, or maybe it's Flesh without Blood. Listening to either of these songs with headphones is insane, because you can isolate a single instrument/line and just hear it evolve and change throughout the song. Everything in those songs has texture, and then just looking at the structures is crazy. Art Angels continues to blow my mind.
Seriously. The episode of Song Exploder about this song broke my brain.
Girls Aloud - Biology is like seven different songs all mashed up together
i love it every time someone bring sthis song up. IT'S SO GOOD
This is the first song I thought of when I saw the title of this thread. I'd love to hear someone explain just how it works so well hahaha.
Sia's "Elastic Heart" has so many damn layers of vocals, instruments, and electronic sounds. It's extremely complex especially towards the end of the song in terms of what comprises it.
Her best song imo. Such a well crafted song
Oblivion - Grimes
I feel like she just throws 5+ songs on top of one another and they just happen to sound amazing
example ps brooke candy slaying
does It's All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine count?
participateintheCANADIANDIVASrate put on by u/lassidoggy
That song/video was so Meatloaf in both music and in aesthetics and I'm living.
Written by Loaf collaborator and songwriter Jim Steinman
Paper planes, I was blown away when I first heard this song
The last 30 seconds of Into You by Ariana Grande is pure pop magic. So simple yet so complex the way her vocals and the synths are layered.
All of the Lights by Kanye charted on the hot 100 so it counts as pop to some extent.
This is a wavy subreddit kanye is always welcome no exceptions
Any Florence + the Machine song tbh. There's so many layers that using a cheap headphones doesn't give it justice.
You made me appreciate Confessions Part II even more. Thank you.
Demons by Imagine Dragons. The song is layered perfectly and has tons of them interwoven in the chorus. Say what you want about Imagine Dragons but this song is stunningly crafted.
The incredible thing is that it's the exact same four chords the entire way through, but the sections are also different and well-written that people won't notice (I didn't notice until I looked up the chords, and I usually catch on to stuff like that)
I know, it's so simple yet so complex
My vote goes to literally anything by Clarence Clarity. His album No Now is like this cacophony of vocal samples, barely audible background effects, and completely fucked up and dissonant synths. There's hidden sounds, reversed audio, and just a ton of weird things going on here.
I cant pick a song but I would go with Will to Believe. It's so fucking messy and confusing that I don't even know how to begin dissecting it. I don't have it on vinyl or anything and I don't have great headphones so it's like this wall of sound.
The whole album No Now is amazing though. One of my favorites in the last few years.
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You put it in words better than I could. Incredible piece of music.
If you want to talk about Usher and "complex", "Good Kisser" is also a brilliant little mindfuck of a song - the syncopated melodies, the dense vocal harmonies, the pERCUSSION.
Also, the fact that he manages to pull off "chitty chitty bang bang."
26 years rather than 25, but Kiss Them For Me by Siouxsie & The Banshees is such an underrated gem when it comes to the overall composition. I absolutely love the way that the song makes so many diverse layers of vocals and instrumentals work with one another as it progresses, while also managing to hold the listener's attention the whole way through.
Aura - Lady Gaga.
I would have to say the roof by Mariah Carey. It's her most complex, beautiful, sad, yearning song ever.
The instruments are on point
The vocal layering actually kills me
The subject matter is so sultry
The lyrics and rhymes are so fucking brilliant,
Rhyming Moët with liberated is so so hot.
"CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT" slays me
And the song even has a sequel!!
The roof : https://youtu.be/qi5oxzttjgo
Lullaby (the roofs sequel, not as good, but those last 30 seconds are such a good payoff!) https://youtu.be/yp_SmCBofTE
Katy Perry - Bon Appétit.
1 Up you: Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe
In b4 some Little Monster says Bad Romance
I Got a Boy (Girls Generation) is pretty all over the place...what can I say? It was a hit.
Drip Drop by Taemin is just a heavenly ride from start to finish
The chorus of HEAVEN is pretty wild.
BABYMETAL - Tales of the Destinies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02uq_GQAly0
Basically poppy prog-metal.
If the Fiery Furnaces count as Pop then pick a song from Blueberry Boat
katy perrys E.T. has so much going on from a production standpoint. same with other dr. Luke(ew) productions. but i have multitrack stems of that song and just the number of instrumental tracks going on is mind blowing. i could sit and isolate tracks forever and find something new about them.