{"id":291,"date":"2023-12-08T13:57:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T18:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/?p=291"},"modified":"2023-12-08T14:00:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T19:00:52","slug":"grand-finale-a-pop-song-is-born","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/08\/grand-finale-a-pop-song-is-born\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Finale: A Pop Song is Born"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>[Interested in the three sets of bonus lyrics? Scroll past the episode transcript to find them!]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the days of old, creating a song required a composer, a lyricist, an arranger, a recording engineer, a band or orchestra. Today, in the pop world, a single person often handles of those jobs in a single studio. In this extraordinary episode, you\u2019ll hear two-time Grammy winner Oak Felder create a new song, in real time, start to finish\u2014and you\u2019ll gain incredible insight into how technology and talent team up to produce art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/UnSci-Oak-Felder-FINAL-V2.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Intro<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Theme begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It used to take a whole crew to create a pop song. You needed a composer, a lyricist, an arranger or orchestrator, a band, a recording engineer, a sound mixer. But today, in the pop world, a single person can do all of that. And that person is called\u2014the producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oak Felder is a producer. A really, really good one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019ve won a couple of Grammys in my career. I literally have a plaque upstairs that says that I sold, I think, 60 million records \/. And none of that matters in this room. Because this is where we create. And I am serving the artist now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this extraordinary episode, this \u201cUnsung Science\u201d grand finale, we\u2019re going to do something I don\u2019t think has ever been done: We\u2019ll record the entire sessions in which a professional LA producer creates a new song, start to finish, in real time. He\u2019ll describe what he\u2019s doing and what technology makes it possible. I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll ever hear a pop song the same way again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m David Pogue. And this is \u201cUnsung Science.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Ads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Season two, episode 25: Grand Finale: A Pop Song is Born.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;So\u2026 I\u2019m serious about that \u201cgrand finale\u201d business. This is the final episode of \u201cUnsung Science\u201d season 2. Also probably the last episode for a while. I\u2019ll explain more about that later.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But before we talk about the future, let\u2019s talk about the past. In January 2020, I reported a story for \u201cCBS Sunday Morning\u201d called, \u201cWhat makes a hit song a hit.\u201d We visited insanely successful songwriters, and asked them to identify the elements that make a pop song pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of those people we interviewed was Oak Felder.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019ve always said that music is a way to&#8211; it\u2019s like a conduit of emotion between the creator and the listener, right? That\u2019s what music is.&nbsp;&nbsp;And so the more organic elements you use in that music, the stronger the conduit is. It\u2019s the way that you can make a person cry listening to a ballad. Or it\u2019s the way that you can make a person shake their bootie in the club. (LAUGH) You get what I\u2019m sayin\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>POGUE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah. I&nbsp;<em>frequently<\/em>&nbsp;shake my bootie in clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, that\u2019s&#8211; that\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>POGUE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guy, man.&nbsp;He\u2019s won two Grammies. Apple has used his songs in two of their ads.&nbsp;He\u2019s written songs for a few people you may have heard of:&nbsp;<a>Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys,&nbsp;<\/a>Mary J Blige, Miley Cyrus,&nbsp;Rihanna, Usher, Ariana Grande, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, and John Legend.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oak wrote songs like \u201cSorry Not Sorry\u201d&nbsp;for Demi Lovato\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSorry Not Sorry\u201d clip<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026and \u201cHere\u201d for Alessia Cara\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHere\u201d clip<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And \u201cGood Kisser\u201d for Usher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good kisser<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s safe to say that more people recognize&nbsp;<a>Oak Felder\u2019s&nbsp;<\/a>songs than would recognize Oak Felder. But he&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;<\/em>pretty recognizable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Man, I\u2019m six foot five and 300 pounds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s six-foot-five,&nbsp;<em>not<\/em>&nbsp;including the mohawk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All told, he\u2019s written hundreds of songs, maybe thousands. And yet he doesn\u2019t call himself a songwriter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See, I\u2019m a musician, too, but my background is&nbsp;<em>pretttty&nbsp;<\/em>different from Oak\u2019s. I spent about a decade conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. Oak Felder is Mr. Pop, Urban, R&amp;B.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so for me, part of the joy of this experiment was going to be witnessing the difference between how Oak does song creation, both technically and creatively, and how they did it back in the Broadway days\u2014you know, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Lerner and Loewe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What we used to call a composer, who would be two white guys in button-down suits, one that does the words, one that does the music, that sit at a piano and write a song that they then hand off to an orchestrator\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u2026 is all you! It\u2019s all like&#8211; that\u2019s what a producer is. You\u2019ve, you\u2019ve subsumed the rule, the roles of many of those things in one person.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah. I happen to work in an area where a producer is kind of expected to be able to do all of that. You can literally go from the bedroom to the radio or from the bedroom to Spotify. Mind you, some producers have people that work with them, like guitar players, keyboard players, drummers, etc. But typically a producer is supposed to encompass all of those roles at the same time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oak Felder is funny, he\u2019s chill, and above all, he&nbsp;<em>loves&nbsp;<\/em>explaining what he does. He\u2019s done TED talks and YouTube videos where he explains how he created his various hit songs, kind of like they do in the podcast \u201cSong Exploder.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I had this cool idea:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like, \u201cSong Exploder\u201d is really cool. They take a great song and they go back and try to remember what it was like to write it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What I want to do with you is to create the song start to finish while we\u2019re recording, so people will get an insight into both the technical aspects and the creative aspects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think it\u2019s I think it\u2019s going to be interesting, sort of showcasing the process, because people tend not to understand how nuanced it is? There\u2019s the starts, the stops, the pivots, the, \u201coh, this is not such a good idea.\u201d And \u201coh, I mssed up recording this part.\u201d&nbsp;So I think it\u2019s brilliant. I think it\u2019s brilliant that that that you had&nbsp;this idea. I think it\u2019s pretty cool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, I\u2019m not going to lie. I was astonished that you said yes. Because like, you produce, you know, some really high level songs\u2026you would think that this was a potential for risk for you, for embarrassment!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. No, I have two kids. You know, they embarrass me enough from time to time, so it\u2019s all good.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We met in his studio, in the mountains overlooking&nbsp;&nbsp;Los Angeles. Not a bad spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right. I mean,&nbsp;famous people have sat here with you and worked through a song together, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The way you explained it to me last year is, typically, you\u2019ll start by just talking. Like, therapy style.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, for sure. It\u2019s important to be able to pull the, the emotion into the song, you know. Songs that are based on real situations or at the very least based on real emotions, I think tend to transfer better to the audience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, well, that\u2019s great. \u2018Cause I have real childhood problems with my mother.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay. All right! Let\u2019s go diving into the deep end!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, no. I kid, I kid. But what I did do to save us time is I\u2019ve written three complete lyrics, three radically different styles of songs. So I thought maybe I\u2019d let you read \u2014and you haven\u2019t seen these. Ladies and gentlemen, he has no idea what\u2019s on these piece of paper.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No idea.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right. So here\u2019s the first one. This is the \u201cbreaking up with a narcissist\u201d song. It\u2019s called You Do You. Here you go!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let\u2019s see it. You have like a full lyric here.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I mean, I didn\u2019t know if you were going to be like, \u201cthis isn\u2019t how I do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a>FELDER<\/a>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m not gonna lie to you, there aren\u2019t people who are usually as organized as this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You can use the word \u201canal.\u201d That\u2019s okay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay. Yeah. Sure. We can use that word. All right, all right. Let me read these to you all, check it out. \u201cYou spend less time with me than you spend on your hair. When we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there. Your favorite pickup line is, \u201cGuess how much I lift?\u201d Your sole religion seems to be that you\u2019re God\u2019s gift.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s really cool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There actually is no podcast, ladies and gentlemen. I just wanted to get Oak Felder saying that I\u2019m cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is your shot, man. This is your shot! [Laughter]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK\u2026going on with the cold reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There\u2019s the hook: \u201cYou do you. You\u2019re head over heels for you. You do you. You\u2019ve got all the feels for you. You do you. Finally, we can agree. You do you\u2014without me.\u201d I like this one a lot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, cool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can we look at the other two options before we make our selection?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So this is the second one. This is based on a true story. So I\u2019m imagining she is singing to him before they have to be separated for a year. And she\u2019s saying, \u201cwe will survive. We can make it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But you can tell that she really&nbsp;<em>doesn\u2019t<\/em>&nbsp;think it\u2019ll last.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, no. Here we go. This is a ballad. This is obviously a ballad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s only a year, baby. It\u2019s only a year. And then I\u2019ll be there in the spring. It\u2019s nothing to fear, baby, it\u2019s nothing to fear. A little break won\u2019t change a thing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You said you don\u2019t know, baby. You said you don\u2019t know, how to feel while we\u2019re apart. Give it a go, baby. Please give it a go. Aren\u2019t you listening to your heart?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know what I like about this, by the way? Side note? I like how the font that you\u2019ve selected to write these out are very, like\u2026. Like this font? This is something that you would see on like a really thought out, like Hallmark card or\u2026.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>POGUE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s in italics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lotta love and care went into that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right, so here\u2019s candidate number three. This one proposed by my daughter, Tia. She\u2019s like, if you want to reach the youths today\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The youths.&nbsp;Yes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u2026they think the world is going to hell. So maybe you do something on all the ways the world sucks, but the chorus is like, \u201cBut at least you and I have each other.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah. \u201cIf I look at the news these days, I start not feeling well. Yeah, I can name a thousand ways the world has gone to hell. The CO2, the equine flu, the species that we\u2019ve lost. The dying bees, the plastic seas. And how much groceries cost? The violent cops, the dried up crops, the heat waves in the fall. But I say, Oh, but even so, my headline tops them all. Chorus. I\u2019ve got you, you, you. You make it all somehow make sense. Yeah, you, you, you. You\u2019re my current of events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I dunno.&nbsp;I like all three of these.&nbsp;I think the \u201cYou Do You\u201d idea is really cool. Yeah. I think that\u2019s cool. All right\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK. So at this point, Oak turns to his huge computer screen, angled slightly backward on his desk. There\u2019s a keyboard right under it\u2014as in, a piano-style keyboard\u2014and then his computer keyboard and mouse are below&nbsp;<em>that<\/em>&nbsp;on a pull-out tray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the rest of this episode, you\u2019re going to hear the musical creation process with minimal interruptions. I&nbsp;<em>highly&nbsp;<\/em>recommend listening with headphones or earbuds or good speakers, if you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway. On his screen, he\u2019s running Logic Pro, software that can display hundreds of parallel bands that represents the tracks of the song you\u2019re making. One for bass, one for drums, and so on. Like a pro version of GarageBand, I guess.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>(plays piano)&nbsp;<\/em>Like I have a lot of different instruments that are sort of in it that either I would install it or already come with the program. This particular piano, it\u2019s called KeyScape. It\u2019s a great sampled piano and it sounds like a real piano, which is why I like using it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just to be clear: The musical keyboard on Oak\u2019s desk is called a controller. It\u2019s not a synthesizer; it doesn\u2019t make any sounds of its own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s only a trigger, you know. So when I press the C note, the sound isn\u2019t actually coming from the keyboard. It\u2019s telling my computer to tell the Keyscape plugin that\u2019s in Logic, to generate the sound that a piano would have generated if the C key on an actual piano were pressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s awesome.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, it was time to start actually writing. He set the metronome to 93 beats a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All righty. I think 93 is a good tempo. Okay, so this is a darker concept. So right now, what I\u2019m doing is I\u2019m opening another program, or rather, I\u2019m opening another plug in that\u2019s going to give me yet another sound. I need, like a low rolly bass, I think.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays a synthy bass<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>POGUE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh my god\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right. So now that I have my bass, I need a basic chord progression. So starting on this minor chord.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Good call\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because it\u2019s a darker feel. Up to the major to kind of give it a little bit of light, but then\u2014psych!\u2014bring it back down. Okay, so now that I\u2019ve figured out what my chord progression is going to be, I\u2019m just going to play the bass line. And when I press Record, if you hear this\u2014 (clicking)\u2014That\u2019s my metronome. \/ I opted to go at 93 because it\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s fast enough to bop to, but it\u2019s slow enough to cry to.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He records the bass line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I mean, it is already cool enough that I feel like we should have the conversation about the royalties.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, here you go! There you go! He\u2019s learning, ladies and gentlemen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I have a I have a vocal idea. I think this is going to end up being, if I\u2019m not mistaken, I think this feels like a female vocal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes. Okay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And that\u2019s the thing: when you work with different artists. You kind of have to really get a sense of them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mm hmm.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because every artist has a different sonic. What I call a sonic palette. And there are sounds that I would use for Demi Lovato that I would never use for, say, Ty Dolla sign. There are sounds that I would use for Selena Gomez that I would never think to use for Anne-Marie, the UK artist Anne-Marie. So that while I\u2019m creating and while I\u2019m adding sounds, usually they\u2019ll be sitting back on on the on the couch right where you\u2019re sitting, going, \u201cOh, that\u2019s fire! Oh, that\u2019s dope! That\u2019s amazing!\u201d When that doesn\u2019t happen, that means I\u2019m really bombing it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;So right now, I\u2019m creating another sound here. This is called the Rhodes Keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, I had a Rhodes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, man. These are the classic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s like fom the 80s.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, absolutely. A little bit of reverb.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, my gosh. That\u2019s cool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then I\u2019m going to add something called Wow and Flutter. And it basically takes the sound and makes it sound like it\u2019s coming off of a really old-school tape. (plays) Hear it? It\u2019s sort of emulating what, like, worn tape would do or like a warped vinyl. And believe it or not, that they use a lot of that in music.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Are these standard\u2014is this red and blue in your paint box? Are these things you use all the time?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. Because in my mind, the lyrics here\u2014Look, you\u2019re criticizing a person for being a narcissist. But it\u2019s not spoken. But what makes it really awesome is that if the artist somehow insinuated. You think you\u2019re all that and you think you\u2019re this and you think you\u2019re God\u2019s gift to everything, etc., etc., etc..&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you know what? You do you. That, to me, is so cool. The insinuation of how awesome I believe myself to be, to let go of your egotistical ass. And somehow I think that that energy needs to make its way into the music. Wow and Flutter is instant cool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Absolutely. I should mention, by the way, that while I\u2019m working on this, Keith and Alex are working on accompanying sonics to go with this. \/Drum stuff. Ear candy, extra chord progression stuff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s talking about Keith Sorrells and Alex Nice, who\u2019d been working in the same room this whole time, with headphones on. Keith and Alex are Oak Felder prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, talented young producers in their own right.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And shoutout to Oscar Linnander. He\u2019s my assistant engineer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oscar was recording this whole session on separate tracks, so I could make a podcast out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/a>So. Right now my voice is going through Auto-Tune. [sings:] \u201cI have autotune on my voice!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You and T-Pain, man.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Me and T-Pain.!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 1:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, right. Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So I know that the word \u201cyou\u201d is going to feature very prominently in this song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I want to give a little bit of foreshadowing to that earlier in the song. [sings:] You! OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[00:36:46] \/ I have a little bit of reverb. And this particular reverb is pretty big. So kind of sounds like I\u2019m in a big cavern. And then I have a little bit of wow and flutter on this track as well. Those things put together kind of create almost like a very vintagey sounding, sampled vocal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m going to add a snap right quick just to kind of set the rhythmic tone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On two and four?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s exactly right. I have a library of sounds. I have\u2014 I have \u2014I have sounds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the screen, he\u2019s got like 75 clicks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I make the joke that a producer\u2019s life is looking for sounds. You wake up, you brush your teeth, you look for sounds. You get dressed, you go to work, you look for sounds. You get to the studio, you sit down, you look for sounds. Like, that\u2019s just a producer\u2019s life\u2014looking for sounds. So I want something not too crispy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Tries snap sounds]&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe that one. I like this sound, but I think it\u2019s a little too, too low\u2026 (plays it) \/ And this is what it sounds like after pitch shifting it upward.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u2026 Which I think is cooler. All right. I\u2019m gonna add one more instrument here. Something to add just a little bit of buzziness. First I\u2019m gonna to find the sound that I want to use to layer. Again, looking for sounds. Here we are. Welcome to my life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So now we have this initial sound. So I\u2019m going to layer it. I\u2019ve created a duplicate track with another instrument, and I\u2019ve just taken the data of what I\u2019ve played and copied it down. And so now there\u2019s a second track playing this.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sort of Blade Runner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Very much. Matter of fact, the instrument that this plug in emulates was used to make the Blade Runner sound. That and \u201cStranger things.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 1:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Really?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, totally, man. Very, very popular. So when you put those two together. So it kind of creates a little bit of a menacing feel like\u2026&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays the song so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because it\u2019s scathing, right? I can see her delivering it in a very sort of pleasant tongue in cheek\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>POGUE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u2026poisonous smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\/ Very&nbsp;<a>poisonous smile&nbsp;<\/a>vibes here. \/ this is exactly what happens while you\u2019re creating a production. You\u2019re thinking about all the emotions and you\u2019re trying to figure out a way to represent those emotions sonically. In a lot of ways, creating a pop song is you\u2019re scoring the lyric that\u2019s that \u2014that it accompanies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I\u2019m gonna create an alternative section. [00:58:22] My man! Okay, so Alex just sent me some stuff. This is what Alex just added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Come on, bro! Woo! And so these are all of the tiny details that go into a production that make it feel so much richer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that moment, Oak\u2019s&nbsp;<em>other&nbsp;<\/em>co-producer, Keith, sent&nbsp;<em>his&nbsp;<\/em>stuff to Oak over the network. Some fancier drum work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So has he sent you his stuff now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, yes, he has!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 1:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;WHOO!!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;My God.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 1:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let\u2019s go, brah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(music fades under)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was here, for the first time, that Oak started thinking about a&nbsp;<em>melody&nbsp;<\/em>for the song. He\u2019d come up with the vibe first, then the chord progression, then the arrangement\u2014and only then, the tune.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK. I can hear a melody for the verse. \u201cYou spend less time\u2014you spend less time with me than you spend on your hair. When we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there. Your favorite pickup line is \u2018Guess how much I lift?\u2019 Your sole religion seems to be that you\u2019re God\u2019s gift.\u2019\u201d Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These sounds\u2026&nbsp;This is called the swish. Happens a lot of music. Mmmmwah! It\u2019s like a buildup\/release. So this is going into our pre-chorus. And our pre-chorus is a little bit of a drop off of energy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(plays)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a>Then we go into our chorus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>(imitates drum fill)<\/em>&nbsp;Doo-da-boo-da-boo-da\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Exactly! That\u2019s exactly right. Then we go into our chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m going to lay like a quick idea of what I think the melody of this should be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, here\u2019s the part that really blew my mind. We\u2019d both envisioned this song for a woman to sing to a man. And now he was about to lay down a rough scratch track of the vocal line\u2014as a man! And, as you are probably aware, most men\u2019s voices have a lower range than women\u2019s voices.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So get this: He transposed the key of the song&nbsp;<em>down&nbsp;<\/em>for his own sung version\u2014with the intention of shifting it back&nbsp;<em>up&nbsp;<\/em>again later.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sample lower-key versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So what I\u2019m doing is I\u2019m pitching it down. I\u2019m going to sing it pitched down. Then when I pitch it back up, my tone will have shifted to be a little more representative of what a female vocal would feel like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may be familiar with an earlier use of this technique. In 1958, songwriter Ross Bagdasarian bought a tape recorder with a unique feature, as his son Ross Junior explains in a YouTube video:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ROSS:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the tape recorder. And what it was able to do that none of the other things could do back in those days, was to actually switch speeds. You could actually change the speeds so that then\u2026&nbsp;my\u2026dad\u2026spoke\u2026like\u2026that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. When Bagdasarian Sr. recorded his own singing voice normally\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a>SONG:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWant a plane that loops the loop; me, I want a hula hoop\u2026\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then sped the tape recorder to its faster speed\u2014voila. Alvin and the Chipmunks were born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SONG:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWant a plane that loops the loop. Me, I want a hula hoop!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now 65 years later, Oak Felder was about to perform the same trick digitally\u2014not to make himself sound like a rodent, but to make himself sound like a female vocalist. Here\u2019s his original performance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cYou spend less time with me than you spend on your hair. When we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then he did the same trick with the prechorus, a melody that he made up on the spot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You must be chilly with your veins full of ice\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then with harmonies added on successive passes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You must be chilly with your veins full of ice\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then here it is after Chipmunkization\u2014introducing, Oak Felder, female vocalist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You must be chilly with your veins full of ice\u2026Since you won\u2019t ask me, let me tell you my advice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, the moment of truth. The chorus. The hook! A super creepy, super ear-wormy leap to the ninth of the scale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK. Ok. \u201cBaby, you do you. You\u2019re head over heels for you.&nbsp;<a>Baby, you do you<\/a>. You\u2019ve got all the feels for you, baby, you do you\u2026you do you\u2026&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So that\u2019s my rough scratch of where I think the verses are. Can we do a crowd stack?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you guys the crowd?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 1:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You\u2019re the crowd, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m in it?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hell, yeah!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Come on, now! We are all the crowd!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I get mechanical royalties now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hey, you can go get that AFTRA check!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, we were about to do a crowd stack. Also known as a gang vocal. Also known as, being backup singers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So let me explain, for people who can\u2019t see what\u2019s going on. We\u2019re crowding around a microphone, getting ready to record what\u2019s called a gang vocal. I like to do my gang vocals outside of the booth. Basically, anytime you listen to a record that I\u2019ve done or somebody else have done, you hear a bunch of people shouting in the background. One good example is \u201cCheers,\u201d by Rihanna. \u201cCheers to the frickin Wiccan, I\u2019ll drink to that!\u201d Everybody singing with them and her .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crowd:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cCheers to the frickin\u2019 Wiccan, I\u2019ll drink to that\u2026yeah yeah!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And it\u2019s like 15 people all at the same time. More often, it\u2019s actually 3 or 4 people, recorded numerous times to make it sound like there\u2019s more than 3 or 4 people in the room, just like we\u2019re getting ready to do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the reason you would record a gang vocal: I find that a gang vocal is a way to inform the audience of what to sing. \u2018Cuz if they\u2019re listening to a song and they hear a group of people singing, your natural inclination is to want to join and sing along. And so it\u2019s sort of an instruction that tells the audience, \u201cnow this is where you sing!\u201d So that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing right now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was Oak, and his assistants, and me. He sang the lick for us a couple of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right, so the line: \u201cOooh!\u201d That\u2019s all it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ALL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cOooh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[01:23:02] Fantastic. Gimme two more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ALL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cOooh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ALL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cOooh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[01:23:20] Appreciate y\u2019all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[playback] Might need a little bit of tuning, but ya\u2019ll sound great! To tune this, actually, I have a program called Metatune that will tune anyting. It\u2019ll tune all of the voices simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ohhhh!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays the song back<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We\u2019re going to stop the beat for dramatic effect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, yeah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right there.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plays the song back<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, my God.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s so good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gotta tell you\u2014the mood in that room was getting electric. We were creating something from nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So yeah\u2014that\u2019s the process. For the most part, at least the writing portion of it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then there\u2019s part two, which is the recording portion, where we get to the vocal. And that\u2019s a little bit different. It kind of requires a little bit of a switch in mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You know what I think we should do? I should book a vocalist to come in and sing this. Because my vocal wouldn\u2019t stay on the recording. I\u2019m not a singer. But once we get a vocalist to come in and knock it out and nail it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s going to sound fantastic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Honestly, that was my secret fantasy for this thing from the beginning. I mean, LA must be full of amazing singers, and Oak Felder probably knows a lot of \u2018em.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And after the ads, you\u2019ll get to hear how&nbsp;<em>that&nbsp;<\/em>went\u2026and at the very very end of this episode, you\u2019ll finally get to hear the mixed, final, finished masterpiece\u2014 \u201cYou Do You.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Second ad break<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The writing session you heard before the break, where Oak Felder wrote a song in real time, took place in October 2022. All we had left to do was get a great singer to record it\u2014but getting that lined up took nearly a year. On top of his regular songwriting duties, Oak Felder started winning awards, writing more movie scores, and traveling a lot\u2014and, of course, I live on the wrong coast.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But finally, in August 2023, our stars and our schedules aligned. Oak invited an up-and-coming vocalist to record our masterpiece. Her name is Lex. She\u2019s 24, she\u2019s from Anchorage, Alaska, and as far as I can tell, her voice can do&nbsp;<em>anything.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She went into the vocal booth off of Oak\u2019s studio, where Oak could direct her over an intercom setup.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mic check, mic check. You hear me?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I can!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How are you feeling, my friend?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m feeling great! Happy to be here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wow, you sound awesome right now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thank you so much. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can I tell you how I&nbsp;<em>expected&nbsp;<\/em>the recording session to go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I assumed that Oak\u2019s folks had sent the song to Lex, so she could learn it and rehearse it ahead of time. Maybe they\u2019d even written it out as sheet music? I dunno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, boy, was I surprised. Upon her arrival at the studio, Lex knew nothing about the song. She didn\u2019t know what it was called, what it was about, or how it even went. And she had no expectation that she would know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay. So this is what we\u2019re going to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m going to loop the first eight bars of this for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Playback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So usually the process is up, especially when there\u2019s a vocalist that has been cut, that hasn\u2019t heard the song yet because she hasn\u2019t heard this before.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So I just loop it section by section. She cuts it section by section. She\u2019s going to learn it, and then we\u2019re going to get like multiple passes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You\u2019re doing like line by line!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, we\u2019re going to cut it line by line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s\u2014that\u2019s normal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, typically; about 60% of the time it\u2019s like that. So yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh my god, that\u2019s so different from what I expected!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Lex wasn\u2019t just recording each line&nbsp;<em>once.&nbsp;<\/em>She recorded each phrase over and over, even though each one sounded perfect to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWhen we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic pass. Love that one. Give me another one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWhen we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Beautiful! Great tone, homie. Three more passes, I think we got it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cWhen we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic. Next two passes, give me a little bit more emotion, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cyou\u2019re not even there\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Beautiful. One more! One more!.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And the reason you\u2019re doing multiple passes is because\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Is because\u2026 so I\u2019m going to have this time I\u2019m going to have maybe like 6 or 7 takes here, and I\u2019ll be able to cut between each of them to get the best parts of them to create one performance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So you might take one syllable from take one, one syllable from take four?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s exactly right. And that\u2019s what comps are called. That\u2019s what comps are. Esssenlly, like this lyric here. \u201cYou spend less time.\u201d I could literally take a word from each pass.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when you get a chance, look up \u201cBillie Eilish comp.\u201d First of all, she does, like, 80 passes. Literally a syllable from each pass. Google that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I did! It\u2019s on YouTube. It\u2019s a clip from the Netflix show \u201cMy Next Guest with David Letterman,\u201d and Billie Eilish and her brother&nbsp;Finneas&nbsp;are showing Letterman the tracks she recorded on the screen, showing how the finished vocal line was cobbled together from individual pieces of dozens of different takes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finneas:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here is the vocal take for Billie\u2019s song \u201cHappier than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BILLIE:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So do you see all of the lines? Those are all cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finneas:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Separate audio files that have been put into one take. We got up to like 87 takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finneas:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pay attention. (playback) Different take.&nbsp;Different take. Different take. Different take. Different take. And you would never know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so that\u2019s how Lex recorded the song\u2026one phrase at a time, six or seven times apiece. Sometimes, Oak the composer\/arranger\/instrumentalist\/sound engineer also gave her performance notes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One thing I want you to focus on here: your \u201csole religion.\u201d Watch your enunciation there. I want to make sure that the L is there. Otherwise it\u2019s going to sound like \u201cyou\u2019re so religion.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK, one more time. You sound amazing, my friend!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And you\u2019re a musical director, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Got to be, man. Got to be. Because the thing is, is that being in the booth and recording a song is like being too close to a mirror. Like you need somebody with a further-away vantage point to kind of give you a pointer on what it is that they\u2019re doing wrong, are doing right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic, my friend! Let me get two more, and I think we got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through the afternoon, Oak introduced me to new recording techniques\u2026 like stacking\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So we\u2019re stacking. So that basically means I\u2019m getting her to overlay the vocal that she\u2019s already done, to make it sound like there\u2019s multiple versions of herself. I usually stack four times and then pan them out to the left and right to make it sound wider.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I can\u2019t believe you say \u201cusually,\u201d like this is a well-known thing that everybody does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh totally, man.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the consumer, the listener has no idea what goes on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They have no idea, yeah. There are so many technical things that happen that I think that the listener takes for granted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But to be honest with you, if we\u2019re doing our jobs correctly, then they should. Because, you know, it\u2019s part of the art of making it sound great. And you don\u2019t want to necessarily think about&nbsp;<em>why<\/em>&nbsp;it sounds great.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Great. Yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You know, people who go to amazing restaurants don\u2019t necessarily care how the chef made this compote tastes so good. It just tastes good, and that\u2019s all they care about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026I also noticed that he usually made up one harmony line while Lex was recording the previous one. Sometimes he\u2019d sing it into his phone, into Voice Memos, so he\u2019d remember it a minute later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gimme two more passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK. (sings) \u201cSince you won\u2019t ask me, let me tell you my advice\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So you\u2019re thinking of harmonies?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Harmonies. Yeah. We\u2019re gonna have\u2026 (sings) Yo. Can I get a harmony right quick?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lex:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yup!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(sings) \u201cSince you won\u2019t ask me\u201d\u2014can I get that real fast? Here we go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cSince you won\u2019t ask me!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here we go. \u201cSince you won\u2019t ask me!\u201d Let me get a harmony there, too. Let\u2019s go.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cSince you won\u2019t ask me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Beautiful! Thank you! Lex, you sound incredible, my friend.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thank you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You already knew that, though.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You know what? I like hearing it every now and then!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m not mad at you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The reassurance is great. I love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reassurance is very important. That\u2019s very true.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I mean, you know, I think the world of you, Oak. But she sounds a lot better than your demo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Definitely sound a lot better than my demo. Yeah, no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I learned about punching in, where the software plays back a full line of what\u2019s already recorded, but re-records only a note or two of it, a couple of seconds that you\u2019ve specified in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Punching is really cool because I get to just dip in and out of a performance that she\u2019s already done. Like, let\u2019s say she does a pass that sounds amazing. And there\u2019s just one word that\u2019s kind of out of place. I get to have her just jump in on that one word and leave the rest of the recording unaffected.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And is that better than having her do the whole take, and you\u2014?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Typically, I prefer a whole take because it gives you a more natural performance. But sometimes when the performance that you have feels amazing and you just need it to be technically correct.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mm hmm.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes it\u2019s better to focus on technicality in a precise way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I see. I see.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As opposed to trying to redo the whole thing. So, \u201ctell you\u201d\u2026&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK. \u201cSine you won\u2019t ask me, let me tell you my advice\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thank you. I appreciate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Masterclass with Oak Felder.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Masterclass with Oak Felder.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know what else was in his masterclass? This little bit of sneakery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then the very last line. Gotta deliver it with a lot of attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cBaby, you do you, without me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nice! Come on. Great vibrato. Jeez. So sometimes without knowing. I\u2019ll just record them like I\u2019m doing, right?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Uh huh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She thinks he\u2019s practicing it, but I\u2019m actually recording it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because sometimes you get gold that way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hell, yeah. And it\u2019s a way for them to record without the pressure of worrying about getting it right, which makes you get it right more often.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just for the record, Lex didn\u2019t get paid for any of this. None of us did. For Lex, it was all about working with Oak, hoping to sow the seeds for a big career.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regardless of this podcast thing\u2014you will work with a total unknown, a young promising person just because, like, it\u2019s investment, they might become somebody big?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Absolutely. Absolutely. Especially if I believe in it. I mean, to be fair, it takes a little bit of\u2026 delusion to be in the music industry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You kind of have to believe that unlikely things are likely to happen, right? But to be honest with you, I wasn\u2019t even the space where I wanted to like, like develop an artist or anything like that. And I was skeptical at first. I was like, \u201cOK, whatever.\u201d And then she went in the booth and her voice is its own character, which is wonderful.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s how it went. Oak crafting the pieces of the song one snippet at a time, feeding it to Lex in the booth, while somehow keeping the bigger picture in his head. Oh, and we got to do another gang vocal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So the note is\u2014we\u2019re going: \u201cOooh! Oooh!\u201d Shall we do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>(singing)<\/em>&nbsp;\u201cooh! Oooh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Such a cool lick!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OAK&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK, give me four more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>(singing)&nbsp;<\/em>\u201cooh!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nice. Double that, please. Here we go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic. Great job, y\u2019all. The \u201cYou Do You\u201d crew!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, after only a couple of hours, it was time to give the whole thing a listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fantastic. Lex, come on out for one second, my friend. Incredible. \/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of you are like making stuff up as it goes along. And that is so not what I come from, where you have a piece of sheet music with the whole orchestra and everybody\u2019s parts and everybody\u2019s rehearsed it\u2026.&nbsp;\/ I&nbsp;mean, Lex, I can imagine you walking out of here and not being able to sing the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lex:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Really!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because you\u2019ve only done it in pieces.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 7:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There\u2019s a lot of times where I forget what I did as soon as I leave the booth. But then, you know, after a while you kind of hear it back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once it\u2019s top 40 and you hear it coming out of every radio, then you\u2019ll know it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, then you\u2019ll know. When somebody stops you in the grocery store\u2026.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 7:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When I can\u2019t even go to the grocery store!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When you can\u2019t even go to the grocery store!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 7:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s when I know that I\u2019ve delivered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The singing was over\u2014but there was a little spoken part I thought might make this song extra juicy\u2026and Oak Felder himself volunteered to be the voiceover artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, so now I\u2019m going to put our outro here. At the very end of the song. I think that\u2019s a good way to cap off the song, in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TRACK:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cNarcissistic personality disorder is found more commonly in men. Symptoms include an excessive need for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Going to make my voice a little bit lower.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TRACK:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cNarcissistic personality disorder is found more commonly in men. There is no cure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ALL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ha ha ha. Love that. That\u2019s cool. Oh, my God. That\u2019s hilarious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally\u2014the grand reveal. We all sat on the couches, listening, grinning, and bopping, as we played back the rough cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK. Let m me do some leveling here, and then we can play it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TRACK:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cYou spend less time with me than you spend on your hair; When we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I\u2019m not gonna spoil it for you. You\u2019ll hear the finished thing in just a second. But when&nbsp;<em>we&nbsp;<\/em>finished listening, it was like\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amazing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yayy!&nbsp;And the \u201cYou Do You Crew!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;David and the You Do You Crew!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We got us one, boys!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s fantastic. I love that. That\u2019s actually a really dope song!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 4:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Definitely. I\u2019m okay. So let me be 100% honest with you. So what I was, like set to the task of creating this music, creating this song. It\u2019s like, \u201coh, you know, he\u2019s got these lyrics written. He wants you to write a song to it,\u201d my initial reaction that I had to suppress out of fairness was\u2026\u201doh, I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know. You know, you never know if it\u2019s going to be dope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEX:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s kind of a coin toss and it\u2019s like a 60% chance that it\u2019s not going to be good. And this sh* came out incredible. Absolute. This came out really good.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So so when the public hears these songs, your songs, hit songs. They say, \u201cOh, have you heard that new Demi Lovato song?\u201d Right? It when it really was your song? Does that bug you?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, not at all, man. I\u2019m a servant. If I walk into a situation saying, \u201cThis is my show,\u201d I\u2019ve already failed, because it\u2019s not it\u2019s not my show.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m not used to that approach in the arts. In the creative arts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And by the way, I make the distinction of saying that producers are not artists. I don\u2019t consider myself one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker 4:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What? Oh, come on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Absolutely. 100%. Okay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;OK, this interview is over.&nbsp;That\u2019s ridiculous..&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m dead serious.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Every second of every beat. You&nbsp;were making artistic decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019m making artistic decisions, but collaboratively with the other people that are involved. Somebody throws an idea to me. I say, \u201cThat\u2019s dope.\u201d I have an idea. I toss it in there. You get what I\u2019m saying?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, because I saw you write the song, arrange the song, orchestrate the song and sing the scratch track of the song.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s right. And then when this song is a hit, somebody is going to be like, Hey, play that new Lex record..&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That\u2019s what I\u2019m saying!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nobody\u2019s going to say \u201cplay that new Oak record.\u201d Nobody\u2019s going to say that. And rightly so. No one should say that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like you created the rhythm, the harmony, the melody.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, here\u2019s the other thought process, Dave. You got to think of it in this way, man. After today, I don\u2019t have to think about this song anymore. But if this song is a hit, Lex is going to have to sing this record for the rest of her life. This song becomes a part of her legacy. It\u2019s going to be appropriate for someone to say, \u201cOh, it\u2019s that new Lex record.\u201d Of course it is, because it embodies she embodies the performance and the performance embodies her.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All right, Well, I\u2019m not. I\u2019m not kidding, you guys. I had no idea this is how it works. I mean, the ideas fly in back and forth in real time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is not how we did it on Broadway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, man.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogue:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everybody shows up with sheet music. The charts are done, the tempos are frozen. And you start at measure one and you finish at measure 64 and you go home. I mean, this is much more like a, you know, almost like a jazz improv.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FELDER:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, yeah. It\u2019s improvizational creation, which I think is such a magical thing. And the truth is that before we started this process, this didn\u2019t exist.&nbsp;And then someone did something and then it did exist. It\u2019s the biggest rush when you\u2019re when you do it and you do it correctly. I feel like we did that today, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the recording session, we all went our separate ways. Oak spent a little more time with the song, mixing all those tracks into the final version\u2026and you\u2019re about to hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I feel like the climax of this episode should be the grand reveal of the world premiere. So before we wrap up here, I\u2019ve got two small notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, remember how I wrote the lyrics for&nbsp;<em>three&nbsp;<\/em>songs for Oak to choose from? Well, I\u2019ve posted all three of those lyrics at unsungscience.com. If you\u2019re a songwriter yourself\u2014oh sorry, a producer\u2014and you feel inspired, feel free to set them to music yourself. Send me what you come up with\u2014my email address is pogue@me.com. If I get a couple good submissions, I was thinking, maybe I\u2019ll feature \u2018em in a future \u201cUnsung Science\u201d episode. 50-50 split on the fame and fortune\u2014how\u2019s that sound?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the second big note: as I hinted earlier, we\u2019ve come to the end of \u201cUnsung Science\u201d Season 2\u2026and the beginning of my book break. I\u2019m working on a new book for Simon &amp; Schuster\u2014the&nbsp;<em>coolest&nbsp;<\/em>idea I\u2019ve ever had for a book\u2014but it\u2019s a massive project, and I\u2019ve really got to buckle down and get that thing done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you haven\u2019t picked up on it from the warm, honeyed tone of my voice over the last three years: This is my chance to tell you, officialy, how much I\u2019ve cherished your listenership. Your reviews, your emails, your greetings in airports\u2026it\u2019s been a thrilling ride, and I\u2019ve loved every minute of it. Thank you to you, and to the teams at CBS News, Simon &amp; Schuster Audio, and PRX, who made \u201cUnsung Science\u201d possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you haven\u2019t heard all 40 episodes, go back through the archives\u2014there\u2019s some great stuff in there! Meanwhile, here\u2019s a tip\u2014don\u2019t unsubscribe! I may still release an occasional one-off episode, like maybe the songs one I just mentioned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK\u2014and now\u2026 enough teasing. I\u2019m proud to introduce you to the world premiere of a new song by Oak Felder and David Pogue, performed by Lex, recorded by Oscar Linnander, coproduced by Keith Sorrells and Alex Nice. Ladies and gentlemen: \u201cYou Do You!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[They play the song.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonus Lyrics<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote three sets of lyrics, to give Oak Felder a choice of which one to produce. Here are all three! If you feel like setting one to music, have at it! If you sent it to me (pogue@me.com), I&#8217;ll consider it for a possible bonus episode of \u201cUnsung Science\u201d! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014David Pogue<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Do You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You spend less time with me than you spend on your hair<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we hang out together, you\u2019re not even there<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your favorite pickup line is, \u201cGuess how much I lift?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your sole religion seems to be that you\u2019re God\u2019s gift<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You change your clothes three times before you\u2019re out the door<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your strongest memory of each date is what you wore<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You must be chilly with your veins all full of ice,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since you won\u2019t ask me, let me tell you my advice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re head over heels for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve got all the feels for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014finally, we can agree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re utterly right for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re the light of your life for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014without me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The way you tune me out is getting kinda lame<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And after all this time, your friends don\u2019t know my name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You were so charming once\u2014we fell in love so fast<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I should have figured out the sweet stuff wouldn\u2019t last<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Voice:] \u201cNarcissistic personality disorder is found more commonly in men. Symptoms include an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others\u2019 feelings, an inability to handle criticism, and a sense of entitlement. There is no cure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>And you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You\u2019re totally nuts for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You got such a crush on you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014I\u2019m settin\u2019 you free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You take your breath away<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Don\u2019t let yourself get away<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014Without me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bridge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I see\u2026the way you\u2019re always checkin\u2019 out the room<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I smell\u2026a little whiff of somebody\u2019s perfume<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hear\u2026you\u2019re not the Boy Scout boyfriend you once were<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know\u2026you loved me once, but now I\u2019m not so sure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus 3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll always be there for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll always take care of you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014that\u2019s how it\u2019ll be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have so much fun with you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you do you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re clearly the one for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do you\u2014without me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Far and Away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s only a year, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s only a year<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>And then I\u2019ll be there in the spring<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s nothin to fear, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s nothin to fear<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little break won\u2019t change a thing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You said&nbsp;you&nbsp;don\u2019t know, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You said you don\u2019t know<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How to feel while we\u2019re apart<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>But give it a go, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please give it a go<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Aren\u2019t you listening to your heart?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little time, a little space<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little missing your sweet face<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A couple months, a couple flights<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A couple hundred empty nights<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s just a pause, it\u2019s just a break<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s just my universe at stake<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little time, a little space\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s not the end.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bridge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Are far and away the brightest star I see<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>And you<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Bring far and away the best parts out in me&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s true<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This is far and away the hardest day today<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>But I\u2019ll love you<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Even when you\u2019re far and away.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse 2&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We\u2019ll both make it through, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You know that it\u2019s true&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Let me get this one thing straight:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I want only you, baby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I want only you<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Don\u2019t you think we\u2019re worth the wait?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little time, a little space<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little sadness on my face<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A couple months, a couple flights<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A couple hundred empty nights<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s just a pause, it\u2019s just a break<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s just my universe at stake<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A little time, a little space\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It\u2019s not the end.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Right with the World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If I look at the news these days<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I start not feeling well<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, I can name a thousand ways<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world has gone to hell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CO2, the equine flu,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The species that we\u2019ve lost,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dying bees, the plastic seas,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And how much groceries cost<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The violent cops, the dried-up crops,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The heat waves in the fall<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I say \u201cOh, but even so,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My headline tops them all!\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You, you, you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You make it all somehow make sense<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you, you, you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are my current of events<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I, I, I&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Will manage to get by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cause you, you, you\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are what\u2019s right with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The culture fights, and voting rights,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unsupervised AI,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Voting fraud, the ice caps thawed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The heartland going dry<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The crypto crash, and too much trash,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alarming trends in crime<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our kids on screens, mutated genes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pandemics all the time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bridge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now doomscrolling\u2019s the only kind I do<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gloom\u2019s rolling, and darkening the view<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Resume trolling the sites I wallow through<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then power down,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go into town<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And spend the night with you\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You, you, you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You make it all somehow make sense<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, you, you, you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are my current of events<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I, I, I&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Will manage to get by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cause you, you, you\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are what\u2019s right with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Season 2, episode 25. Published December 8, 2023.]<span class=\"excerpt-more-link\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/08\/grand-finale-a-pop-song-is-born\/\">More <svg class=\"svg-icon\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M6.96954 10.2804L11.9999 15.3107L17.0302 10.2804L15.9695 9.21973L11.9999 13.1894L8.0302 9.21973L6.96954 10.2804Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"excerpt-audio-block\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/UnSci-Oak-Felder-FINAL-V2.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions\/294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unsungscience.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}