Billie Eilish

[OldJong]

Like her “ unplugged “ stuff

Don’t like album and overproduced stuff with exaggerated bass.

 

[MZKM]

This is one of those albums that sound really bad on a great system. The antithesis to audiophile bliss. I really do not care for the badly distorted bass on most tracks. Just listen in on nda around 2.40 and happier at about 3.40. Maybe this is intended because it is really hostile distortion. Sound bad on my desktop (ADI-2 dac, Neumann KH750/KH120) and in the living room (Adam 3SV, digital input from Allo DigiOne). Source is Roon/Tidal. First thought playback chain is broken.

Childish‘s Gambino’s ‘Sober’ has insane distorted bass at around the 2:45 mark:

Not the hugest fan of its utilization.

_________
Most of her songs are from personal experiences, so it of course is about teenage girl problems. I really like listening to her content though as Finneas makes the production interesting on many songs and her voice is simply pretty, like take her recent live, acoustic recording of ‘Male Fantasy’:

The single also is pretty with many stacked vocals.

 

[DVDdoug]

Is she recorded and produced in mono?

I don't have any Billie Elish music so I don't know if this relevant or not...

When Metallica's Death Magnetic was released (which I also don't own) there were complaints of it being compressed to death and some people mentioned that it "sounded mono". I started thinking about how compression pushes everything towards the same volume. That would tend to move everything that wasn't 100% panned left or right toward the center. ...And, it's kind-of funny thinking about the mixing engineer carefully positioning every instrument across the soundstage before the mixing engineer messes everything up!

 

[tonyo123]

Zero clipping whatsoever on my end. Also, are you listening to streaming services? I notice that the physical CD album actually has lower peaks overall than the streamed files though the overall DR is the same, just lower TPL and LUFSi across the board. Could be that the Vinyl and CD are from same master while streaming is different/inferior master?

View attachment 145554

Here you go:

The 'Happier Than Ever' title track is the example you indicate. The album is DR5, the song DR3:

Here is the waveform showing compression and clipping especially over last 40% of the song:

For comparison, here is Diana Krall Avg Album DR14 and song DR15.:

Here is this waveform:

I understand pop music wont be mastered like the latter, but, can it at least have some headroom with no (or less) clipping?

Other poster indicated the bass (at the denser points) is harsh and unlistenable over a home stereo. I agree. On my phone with good earphones, pretty much the same.

 

[Pdxwayne]

I checked out 'Happier Than Ever' YouTube video with my phone + headphones, and my two 5.1 setups. Sounded fine to me.

 

[jensgk]

Classic FM's take on Billie Eilish:

A new Billie Eilish song is actually based on a Gustav Holst hymn – and it’s very beautiful:
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/holst/billie-eilish-goldwing-hymn/

How good is Billie Eilish’s singing voice, from a classical music perspective?
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-...-eilish-voice-analysis-classical-perspective/

 

[jensgk]

Also:
Which Singers Have the Biggest Vocabularies?
https://word.tips/singers-vocabularies

Key Findings

• The star with the biggest vocabulary overall is legend Patti Smith, who uses 217 unique words per 1,000.
• Billie Eilish is the modern star with the biggest vocabulary: 169 per 1,000.
• Legend Luther Vandross and modern star Trey Songz are tied with 66 for the smallest vocabulary.
• The song with the most unique words is Lou Reed’s The Murder Mystery, recorded by The Velvet Underground, with 639 words.

 

[jensgk]

This is one of those albums that sound really bad on a great system. The antithesis to audiophile bliss. I really do not care for the badly distorted bass on most tracks. Just listen in on nda around 2.40 and happier at about 3.40. Maybe this is intended because it is really hostile distortion. Sound bad on my desktop (ADI-2 dac, Neumann KH750/KH120) and in the living room (Adam 3SV, digital input from Allo DigiOne). Source is Roon/Tidal. First thought playback chain is broken.

It sounds very good on a great headphone system. I guess her music is optimized for listening with headphones.

 

[MZKM]

I checked out 'Happier Than Ever' YouTube video with my phone + headphones, and my two 5.1 setups. Sounded fine to me.

Maybe people are taking the distorted bass notes as unintended distortion.

With her style of singing though, it’s bound to have less dynamic range and vocals boosted to be audible in the mix.

 

[Longshan]

I don't know why anyone would produce anything in mono. Or deliver such. The production may be mostly mono sounds but wouldn't imply the recording itself being such.

Mono mixes are useful in some public situations, like at a dance club.

 

[Longshan]

Is she recorded and produced in mono?

Here's part of the in-the-box mix board for the song "Ocean Eyes." As you can see, it's in Stereo.

 

[majingotan]

Here you go:

The 'Happier Than Ever' title track is the example you indicate. The album is DR5 Album, the song DR3:
View attachment 145647

Here is the waveform showing compression and clipping over last 40% of the song:
View attachment 145646

For comparison, here is Diana Krall Avg Album DR14 and song DR15.:
View attachment 145648

Here is this waveform:
View attachment 145650

I understand pop music wont be mastered like the latter, but, can it at least have some headroom with no (or less) clipping?

Other poster indicated the bass (at the denser points) is harsh and unlistenable over a home stereo. I agree. On my phone with good earphones, pretty much the same.

Could be that the 24/44.1 FLAC is streaming version from Tidal or Qobuz, but the physical CD that I rip definitely has less overall loudness peaks. While both have crappy DR which results to flat dynamics, at least the CD version does not induce harshness, clipping/distortion in my experience. I listen with Yamaha HS7 speakers 2 feet away from tweeter on axis which is pretty revealing on the mid-frequencies

 

[tonyo123]

Could be that the 24/44.1 FLAC is streaming version from Tidal or Qobuz, but the physical CD that I rip definitely has less overall loudness peaks. While both have crappy DR which results to flat dynamics, at least the CD version does not induce harshness, clipping/distortion in my experience. I listen with Yamaha HS7 speakers 2 feet away from tweeter on axis which is pretty revealing on the mid-frequencies

I think the CD will be very similar, but, I admit I would need to listen to it. LPs are typically rendered with more dynamic range and little or no clipping. Maybe someone with the album or LP can plot those (waveform) for comparison. These plots clearly show the clipping as they are pegged to the edge of loudness (bits=1,1,1s). That confirms the clipping and distortion. The instruments blend into harshness. I hear it on my stereo home system. I heard it on two sets of headphones. The soft portions are fine but the louder part of the music is lost to distortion and only unmastered or better mastering can get us cleaner more accurate sound.

So, I find it strange that most on this site care about the accuracy of the equipment that reproduces music, yet some appear to accept lesser quality recordings to play through these systems. Yes, the artists or master engineers intended it this way. I assume these are primarily mastered for bluetooth earbuds or soundbars or smaller speakers. Also, yes, during these extended peaks, the clipping robs us of the true clear dynamic recording which allows us to hear the voice seperated from the bass seperated from the guitar from the keyboards and from the sound affects (which are expertly added by her brother). Maybe I'm just trained to be aware of the distortion subtleties. Maybe it's all in my head (of course).

Anyway, I don't want to further debate the sound quality. The music and songs are very good. Clear at soft levels. The stereo and panning are fair to good. I'm glad it sounds pleasing to many. I don't mean to pick it part. Enjoy the music, that's what matters. That's what I am doing as I find the time.

 

[TankTop]

I checked out 'Happier Than Ever' YouTube video with my phone + headphones, and my two 5.1 setups. Sounded fine to me.

I bought a Lexus last night and streamed that sound from Tidal and there is one bass track in it that is ridiculously distorted so bad that it could only be intentional.

 

[restorer-john]

So, I find it strange that most on this site care about the accuracy of the equipment that reproduces music, yet some appear to accept lesser quality recordings to play through these systems.

So true. The absolute garbage recordings being held up as something wonderful, show how deluded those 'audiophiles' really are.

 

[Pdxwayne]

So true. The absolute garbage recordings being held up as something wonderful, show how deluded those 'audiophiles' really are.

You refused to listen to her because of her age.

Now, you claim her music is garbage because someone said her music is not audiophile?

I wonder who is the deluded one here? You? Or those who gave her these rewards?


Per Wikipedia:
Eilish has received several accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, one Guinness World Records, three MTV Video Music Awards, and two Brit Awards. She is the youngest artist in Grammy history and second overall to win all four general field categories—Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year—in the same year. She was named to Time magazine's inaugural Time 100 Next list (2019). According to the RIAA and Billboard, Eilish is the 26th-highest-certified digital singles artist[2] and one of the most successful artists of the 2010s decade.[3]

I think the answer is clear....You.

 

[diddley]

You refused to listen to her because of her age.

Niw, you claim her music is garbage because someone said her music is not audiophile?

I wonder who is the deluded one here? You? Or those who gave her these rewards?


Per Wikipedia:
Eilish has received several accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, one Guinness World Records, three MTV Video Music Awards, and two Brit Awards. She is the youngest artist in Grammy history and second overall to win all four general field categories—Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year—in the same year. She was named to Time magazine's inaugural Time 100 Next list (2019). According to the RIAA and Billboard, Eilish is the 26th-highest-certified digital singles artist[2] and one of the most successful artists of the 2010s decade.[3]

I think the answer is clear....You.

Those prices mostly means that she sells the most records (and a lovely bedroom story)
I gave her a try yesterday and all i could hear is a softly singing moaning girl, and not a artist that is dangerous in inventing her own style.
But i like artists that are growing or outgrowing their audience people like Neil Young and so on.
People who play safe or go naked on the cover of the Voque neh not my cup of the YMMV

 

[Pdxwayne]

Those prices mostly means that she sells the most records (and a lovely bedroom story)
I gave her a try yesterday and all i could hear is a softly singing moaning girl, and not a artist that is dangerous in inventing her own style.
But i like artists that are growing or outgrowing their audience people like Neil Young and so on.
People who play safe or go naked on the cover of the Voque neh not my cup of the YMMV

Sorry, your first sentence showed that you didn't do your homework.....

Anyway, like whatever you like.

 

[diddley]

Sorry, you first sentence showed that you didn't do your homework.....

Anyway, like whatever you like.

agree to disagree ;-)

 

[tonyo123]

She and her brother are great artists. The music is melodic, clever, complex at times, with excellent rhythm and beat. They add great sound effects whether its their added voices or samples. There's stuff in some of the songs that when you think you hear it, you have to go back and check that that's what you heard. I also believe it is recorded and mixed well. The up front work and care are there. My only issue is with the final compressed mastering as it can be grating during the artificially loud passages. But, the lyrics are interesting and it's okay to listen to the head space of a teenager, or young woman, just as it is okay to listen to Diana Krall or Pink Floyd or Aerosmith. Songs tend to transport some to the places and situations of the story teller. Nice to hear other's points of views.