Hey Ya

An a cappella arrangement of the Outkast release, somewhat inspired by Mat Weddle's fantastic acoustic cover.

I'm totally new to recording, so this was something of a learning experience for me. Hopefully I didn't screw anything up too badly...

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by Galvatron (11 comments total)

I didn't want to post a comment tonight out of spite, Mutalk has this mini debate going on about posts and the lack there of blah blah blah but I heard this and I couldn't help myself. Your mics sound good too, def didn't screw anything up.
posted by BrnP84 at 12:03 AM on July 3, 2008

Hey, looks like ibfrog has some company!

At first I thought you said this was a cover of Outkast's new release, and I had a weird moment of knowing that I'd heard this song before many times for many years, and wondering if anyone else had.

I loved the ending, but I really wanted that solo high part to go on just one more bar.
posted by Corduroy at 4:02 AM on July 3, 2008

And thanks for the youtube link; I'm so inspired to learn that version.
posted by Corduroy at 4:06 AM on July 3, 2008

Corduroy: interesting that you wanted the last bar. Whenever I listen to Weddle's version, I always feel like he should have stopped short. I guess I like ending with some tension, which sorta dovetails with the melancholy lyrics.

It's kind of a moot point though. For the sake of comparison I did try recording the last bar, but I couldn't get a take I was satisfied with. That last bit is outside of my comfortable singing range.
posted by Galvatron at 8:29 AM on July 3, 2008

A solid version of a solid song. These slow, almost mournful covers of Hey Ya really bring out the melancholy lyrics. (At least the first couple of verses, before we get to "Hey ladies!" Weddle does a great job with that bit, but it seems like it'd be hard to pull off in a non-rap style.)

Incidentally, the little "measure of 2/4 in a primarily 4/4 song" thing that Hey Ya does? Totally awesome. One of my favorite musical tricks. It seems like I enjoy any song that does that. I point it out to people all the time.
posted by danb at 8:13 PM on July 3, 2008

Also, I'm glad to hear that you end the verse on a minor chord, as Weddle does, instead of the non-diatonic and exceedingly out-of-place major VI chord that OutKast uses. That's always bothered me in the original.
posted by danb at 9:22 PM on July 3, 2008

danb: let's be honest, the original Hey Ya is pretty confused about what it is. With the third verse thrown into the mix, the lyrics read something like "So, um, our relationship is kinda failing, huh? Maybe we should think about, I dunno, ending it or someth--SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE NOW LADIES!" When faced with those kinds of issues, the major VI chord doesn't seem like such a big deal to me.
posted by Galvatron at 6:08 PM on July 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I guess...the English major in me sees your point, but the music major is still irritated. :-)
posted by danb at 6:54 PM on July 4, 2008

This is the greatest thing I've heard in a long time. Seriously. Fantastic.
posted by edlundart at 11:24 PM on July 9, 2008

I'm not sure what I love more, your choice of username or this song.
posted by eurasian at 10:49 PM on October 22, 2008

This is beautiful.
posted by jessamyn at 5:12 PM on December 11, 2008