Petra Haden Implores Us...

Please never play that song again! love your show

Sent by james walsh | 7:59 AM | 11-9-2007

I think that the reason most people didn't enjoy this song is because they are used to American Idol-esque singers who insist on dramatic vibrato and perfect pitch.

The song performed by Petra Holdem was not so mechanistic. It was an organic creature that had a life of its own. Its merit stemmed from its originality and its nuance.

Studios can even make Paris Hilton sound like Gwen Stefani. I'm sick of robot singers. Kudos to Petra.

Sent by Jason | 8:01 AM | 11-9-2007

I'm no music aficionado and I'm probably tone deaf myself but, to me, they were no better than a high school ensemble and sounded flat to me. Truth of the matter, if this had been April 1st, I would have thought this was an April Fools joke. I mean no personal offense to the ladies but it was just terrible.

Sent by Mark | 8:38 AM | 11-9-2007

except where you red lined the mics a couple of times the song was outstanding! I really enjoyed it and now am looking for more...

Sent by Michael | 9:08 AM | 11-9-2007

I listen to the BPP faithfully since day one via NPR.org. I am a trained musician and though Petra Haden's group was a little flat in some spots, they were original (despite singing covers) and interesting. The Bach piece was absolutely angelic. I immediately went to her MySpace page and added "God Only Knows" to my page. Awesome! Any A&R person will tell you that people love to hear a new twist on a familiar tune, and Petra Haden does this perfectly and beautifully.

Sent by Mary Dean | 10:32 AM | 11-9-2007

I loved it. This version should be the theme song of the Kucinich campaign-ok only because of the chorus, but anyway.

Sent by Rob | 10:48 AM | 11-9-2007

ouch- the high notes just plain hurt. The rest of the song is really cool. Overall, thumbs down.

Sent by Scott | 11:32 AM | 11-9-2007

Awesome song, awesome re-make. The beat box woman made my day!

Sent by Amanda | 12:06 PM | 11-9-2007

What's up with the haters? This was interesting and well done. I couldn't listen to a who CD of this or even a whole concert of this but, for a song or two, I enjoyed it.

Sent by Jim Trenton | 12:45 PM | 11-9-2007

Has any one stopped to consider that a "boy born and raised in South Detroit" would actually be born and raised in Windsor, ON?

Sent by Petro | 2:19 PM | 11-9-2007

there's something inherent in an all-female a capella group that leaves it sounding flat and empty. No offense, but the trumpet thing sounded ridiculous. Check out any of the groups at Rutgers (specifically the OrphanSporks) for juicy a capella goodness. Speaking of guilty pleasures, they used to do a nasty version of Final Countdown with an awesome fake trumpet.

Sent by Josh | 6:25 PM | 11-9-2007

wow. i guess I can see why some folks had a hard time with this....but damn, they did all that with only their voices, and live in a less then perfect studio setting. great fun if you ask me!

Sent by Dave | 7:12 PM | 11-9-2007

I wonder if the technology is the problem with the response to the performance. Those of us listening on the web are hearing compressed audio that is coloring the sound and experience. Perhaps a higher quality version of the recording and the results might be different. Cause while they probably are talented musicians it does not sound that good on the podcast.

Sent by Bradford Benn | 12:51 AM | 11-10-2007

I agree with Bradford. The only problem I had was with the sound quality. Beside that it was kicking. It wasn't a studio-grade performance but it didn't have to be.

Sent by Will G | 2:17 PM | 11-11-2007

While I can appreciate the talent, I really did not like the song. It could that I'm such a Journey fan.

Sent by Bret C | 6:49 AM | 11-12-2007

Listen to it on MySpace. It's properly recorded...
http://www.myspace.com/guiltbyassociation

Sent by Marc Naimark | 6:15 PM | 11-18-2007