Metafilter Orchestra - It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

The Metafilter Music Collaboration, as described here and here.

Starring cabingirl on violin, chococat on acoustic and electric guitars and vocals, equalpants on electric guitar, escabeche on bass guitar and vocals, myself on drum programming and vocals, googly on beats and bass, herrdoktor on noise Moog, buzz bass synth and tambourine, jazon on acoustic and electronic drums and tambourine, karlos the jackal on tremoloa, karlos the jackal's wife on vocals, micayetoca on melodica, shaker and pandeiro, snsranch on banjo, tdismukes on bass guitar, tehloki on bass synth and strings synth, verysleeping on vocals and singing saw, and ZachsMind on vocals.

Previously: Teaser #1, #2.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (54 comments total)

MeTa.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:00 PM on December 30, 2007

This sounds great. I love the break in the middle. So that's ZachsMind singing the lead? He does a good Stipe if you ask me.
posted by itchylick at 8:47 PM on December 30, 2007

Nope, it's me. Zach's in there doing backup - and "Leonard Bernstein", not to mention.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:50 PM on December 30, 2007

Doh. Well good job sir. You all sound great.
posted by itchylick at 8:55 PM on December 30, 2007

Dude, that's pretty awesome. I especially love whatever's going on in the background in the second verse (is that the saw?).
posted by equalpants at 9:44 PM on December 30, 2007

Turned out very fun! Congrats on getting that done!

I'll try to participate on the next one. I tried to master these lyrics but it just fried my fragile little brain too much so I gave up. Sorry. :)
posted by miss lynnster at 9:58 PM on December 30, 2007

Great work, folks! I kind of hate this song, but I love all of you!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:05 PM on December 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

This is supercool. I really, really like the melodica stuff and the stuff around it in the "Bernstein" verse, and the awesome guitar solo right after. I can catch only the tiniest hint of tremoloa, but it occupies the same general timbre-area of an awful lot of other things going on there, so it's not surprising that it disappears.

Fun stuff! Let's do Metal Machine Music next!
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 10:22 PM on December 30, 2007

Oh man, the singing saw is one wild instrument.

Really cool. Nice job putting it all together, goodnews.
posted by Corduroy at 10:27 PM on December 30, 2007

FreeBird!!
posted by heyho at 10:51 PM on December 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Good job! No covers next time!
posted by cashman at 11:07 PM on December 30, 2007

Bravo, everyone!
posted by gummi at 11:28 PM on December 30, 2007

Cool, good one folks.
posted by doctor_negative at 11:43 PM on December 30, 2007

Thinking of putting the tracks up anywhere?
posted by tehloki at 1:35 AM on December 31, 2007

Nicely done. It sounds really great, gnfti. Great job mixing it all together.
posted by sleepy pete at 4:39 AM on December 31, 2007

So awesome. I feel like a complete goof for not getting tracks off to gnfti. Oh, the Rick Astley counterpoint that could have been...

Full tracks are available here.
posted by cortex at 6:53 AM on December 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

Needs more cowbell.
posted by chlorus at 7:48 AM on December 31, 2007

I say it every time I hear a banjo: I wish I had the patience to actually learn to play. This is awesome.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:54 AM on December 31, 2007

Y'all is awesome.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 8:09 AM on December 31, 2007

This is great.

I'm sorry for being one of the 20 people to poop out on this. I'm so worthless.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:15 AM on December 31, 2007

Yeah, me too..

It feels like back in high school when you wanted to try out for the school play, and then didn't, and it was a huge hit.
posted by davey_darling at 9:20 AM on December 31, 2007

So, John Cage collab, anyone?
posted by spiderwire at 9:33 AM on December 31, 2007

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who was lame.
They don't call me Baroness Ruinstein von Gartenpartei for nuthin'.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:30 AM on December 31, 2007

Cool beans! Pretty amazing to hear everything come together.
Well done.
posted by herrdoktor at 10:49 AM on December 31, 2007

This is terrific; add my kudos to the heap!

I have to admit, I can't hear myself in here at all, but the things I do hear sound much better than what I sent in, so I can't complain!

Looking forward to the next song.
posted by escabeche at 1:06 PM on December 31, 2007

I just can't imagine what a migraine-inducer it was to work with so many tracks recorded at different levels. I'm really impressed -- well done.
posted by melissa may at 3:13 PM on December 31, 2007

That's just really freaking awesome, you guys!
posted by headspace at 4:26 PM on December 31, 2007

Yea, GNFTI, you did a great job with this!
posted by snsranch at 5:04 PM on December 31, 2007

Sounds fantastic, well done you guys.
posted by jokeefe at 5:35 PM on December 31, 2007

Could y'all please stop interrupting my John Cage collaboration?

...
posted by spiderwire at 7:19 PM on December 31, 2007

Could y'all please stop interrupting my John Cage collaboration?

If you're talking about a 4'33"-style collaboration, spiderwire, keep in mind that Cage fully expected sonic interruptions and welcomed them as an integral part of the piece! In the current context that would certainly include Mefier comments!

On the other hand, if it's some of the prepared piano pieces that you and ol' mischievous John are working up, then I can understand how all these noisy comments could get in the way: you really do need some silence when you're placing those spoons, paper clips and rubber bands onto the piano strings.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:01 PM on December 31, 2007

What I mean is that I can't tune all these goddamn radios if you guys keep talking!


No, I was making a cheap 4'33" joke -- I know what it means, but it was too good to pass up. I even set it up 12 hours in advance. :)
posted by spiderwire at 8:26 PM on December 31, 2007

Ah, the radios! Cool!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:29 PM on December 31, 2007

This is pretty fucking cool...the only thing it's missing is a banjolele!
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:40 PM on December 31, 2007

Goddamn.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:45 AM on January 1

I wish I'd gotten involved in this, but zoikies do I hate that song.
posted by fleacircus at 11:47 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]

holy muffin of doom.

this song shall be the theme song for metafilter: the movie
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:21 PM on January 1 [1 favorite]

Made of win.
posted by Melinika at 11:29 AM on January 2

This is awesome. Good job.
posted by unknowncommand at 6:18 PM on January 2

I wish I'd gotten involved in this, but zoikies do I hate that song.
Ya, I was kind of disappointed at the song selection; I was hoping it would be a gnfti original, frankly. But it was fun to participate all the same and I think he did a great job.
posted by chococat at 7:39 PM on January 2

This is great. Frankly, I love the idea of doing this to all sorts of overplayed classics. There is so much new energy to this version that it feels like I'm back in high school hearing it for the first time, getting my mind blown and wondering just who Leonard Bernstein is. Thanks everyone. Please do another one soon. I'll nominate "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel as another example of the "could use a fresh interpretation" category.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:38 AM on January 3 [2 favorites]

awesome awesome awesome. There's my $5 membership's worth of awesome, right there.
posted by bicyclefish at 9:45 AM on January 3

Amazing! Downloaded and pumping all the time now.
posted by piratebowling at 12:02 PM on January 3

That's just plain 'ol fun.
What a blast to hear.
Thanks!
posted by cccorlew at 6:14 PM on January 3

I have to admit, I can't hear myself in here at all, but the things I do hear sound much better than what I sent in, so I can't complain!

Me neither. But if we don't tell anyone people will think we are as good as the others.

As for all the people who complained about the song: I agree, but still, I couldn't let this pass.
And I'm nicely surprised with the final result, I kinda thought (from what was being said in the Meta threads) that it was going to be a bit more rock oriented.

Also, the vocal teaser is brilliant stuff. (And gnfti deserves an award for putting himself thru this).
posted by micayetoca at 8:22 PM on January 3

I finally got a chance to download and listen to this, and goddamn, if it isn't wonderful!
Nice work, y'all.
posted by lilywing13 at 10:47 PM on January 3

oh! oh! oh!

Just ace. More please :)
posted by freya_lamb at 3:05 PM on January 4

Thanks goodnewsfortheinsane for putting all this together; it sounds great. I cannot imagine the nightmare that was sorting through all of our tracks, but it turned out spectacular!
posted by verysleeping at 1:16 PM on January 8

This reminds me of the one day band from This American Life playing Rocket Man

Only, you know, better.

Oh, and it's definitely worth it to listen to some of the individual tracks on their own. I'm rockin' to tehloki's as we speak.

This really really makes me wish I could, you know, music.
posted by Deathalicious at 5:35 PM on January 10

I tried to master these lyrics but it just fried my fragile little brain too much so I gave up.

lynnster, would this have helped:

انها نهاية العالم كما نعرفها ولكن انا بخير
posted by Deathalicious at 5:46 PM on January 10

Sorry, this is a better link for the One day Rocket Man
posted by Deathalicious at 5:51 PM on January 10

I dunno. I think the song is perfect for the Metafilter Orchestra.
posted by deborah at 7:41 PM on January 25

Wow, this is really, really cool. Shit, nice job, all.
posted by COBRA! at 6:28 PM on January 26

This is amazing!!!! Please please can we have more Metacollaborations?!!!!
posted by saxamo at 5:13 PM on April 30