Why Do We Love SPED UP SONGS?

[@MicTheSnare]

I made a short lil playlist with some of the sped-up songs I played - it’s not on Spotify or Apple Music this time, but the YT link’s in the description. Thanks for watching!

[@teamkockroach4080]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#/media/File%3ALyndon_B._Johnson_1972.jpg President Snare, thanks so much for signing the Civil Rights Bill of 1964! You look great for 114 years old, btw

[@zdsfhnbvhigf]

thanks mic

[@takahikomusic]

would love to hear your thoughts on “slowed + reverb” and “empty mall music” next.

[@SoloSlater]

bruh the edgy doomer radiohead no surprises slowed + reverb is so cringe

[@SOAD_Enjoyer69]

And something about chopped and screwed too would be cool

[@Rin-jz4ul]

It’s probably the same reason as this video but slow but I would also like to mention that Slowed + Reverbed do have an “nostalgia aesthetic” as well

[@emilysorano7768]

one of the tiktok songs that takes up the most space in my head is the slowed and pitched down version of when he sees me from the musical waitress (i will never escape the theater kid allegations unforch)

[@noeliafernandz]

YES PLEASE

[@kialyreaulo3448]

It was me, I was the one shaking my device and screaming "NIGHTCORE!" Thank you, Mic, I feel seen.

[@conoreastwood9917]

Same.

[@jaysukellus7718]

I don't have another theory - but my uncle played a nightcore version of "I Lived" at my grandfather's funeral which definitely motivated me to outlive everybody who was involved in that decision

[@sallyqa7633]

I'm crying hahahahaha

[@Roseberry606]

I'm so sorry for your grandpa I mean this both in dying and in having nightcore i lived playing in his funeral

[@g.u.959]

Ah yes, Mic the Snare, fellow DMV enjoyer 🤝

[@MicTheSnare]

I got my tickets early this year 🤗

[@ramenai]

i see it like this: i crave a specific melody, but the energy/tempo of the original song is too much/little to match my current emotional state/vibe, so i search for a sped up/slowed down version. the same can also be applied to "another room," "speakers of empty mall," or any other "muffled" version of a song. for me, it's mainly a vibe thing and, to an extent, plays to how i "musick" to a specific song?? not sure how it is for others tho

[@RFieth]

I think one often overlooked part of sped-up music, especially on KZbin, is skirting around automatic copyright takedowns. Sure, Caramelldansen has existed long before copyright bots were even a gleam in Satan's eye, but I do think it has certainly played its part by sort of necessitating the trend.

[@MysteryMii]

Yeah. The problem now is that the ContentID system can detect songs even if they’ve been sped up. You can still get a ContentID claim even if you’ve sped up the song.

[@shiquote]

I’d really love to see you break down Chipmunks on 16 Speed, and why/how a chipmunk cover record works so well as industrial doomer music.

[@illusionprisoner4631]

Lit idea)

[@adritachanda]

Shit, i love your idea

[@dylancarvalho5761]

Kanye

[@kevinwillems8720]

Oh yeah, that album fucks so hard. Everyone Role Playing in the comments is a nice touch as well.

[@kevinwillems8720]

Sludgefest

[@hannahchristinah]

Another theory: Faster voices = higher voices = more youthful/androgynous voices = perfect for target TikTok market

[@ethanlopez9069]

My pessimistic opinion: younger ppl have been overstimulated from social media (not to sound like a boomer) and speeding up songs is another solution to their increased tolerance to stimulation.

[@theonlycaamz]

one of my favorite quotes is "slowed + reverb is just gentrified chopped and screwed"

[@heeheehoohoo3507]

this is cool becase when i was on tiktok in like 2019-2020 sped up songs were barely there. most of tiktok's lifetime has been dominated by slowed and reverb songs, especially songs that were regular tempo and then slowed down at a beat drop or something. it's weird how fast things change. i would definitely watch a video of yours that went in depth on tiktok audios / songs that blew up on tiktok, like it's really changing the entire music industry so quickly

[@koleking2519]

Jamming nightcore throughout my 2000s childhood was certainly my gateway to the gecs, dorian electra, and other lesser known hyper pop lmao. I still revisit my nightcore playlist so often

[@UnfortunatelyTheHunger]

One factor I feel people forget when talking about this subject, is the fact that a lot of dance music has slowed down considerably the past 15-20 years. We went from trance and techno pulsating at well over 140 BPM, to electrohouse middling in the 120-130 area, to the various recent subgenres of bass music droning at 100 BPM, if even that. So i think beyond the other factors mentioned, people are speeding up music because that is often the only way can listen to anything remotely uptempo

[@TheMaplestrip]

Really surprised you didn't mention "Caramelldansen", the ultimate sped-up song.

[@shaggypoo4120]

my introduction to nightcore when i didnt know what it was then lmao.. and that was what, 2007?

[@AlfoMedia]

love when you have theories

[@memorygongs1133]

Ever since I left TikTok earlier this year, I'm always struck by how fast everything sounds when I overhear someone scrolling through their for you page. I think the saturation of sped-up songs can be attributed primarily to the fact that, lyrically, they get to the point faster - and song lyrics are functionally punchlines for a large portion of TikToks. Definitely a far cry from all of the slowed + reverb reworkings of 2019 and 2020

[@itsabdullahkhalid]

Another reason might also be that tik tok audios are getting made to capture your attention, and a sped up song would be more noticeable in getting that immediately as compared to regular audios.

[@kenzood5290]

the person shaking my device like a lunatic screaming NIGHTCORE? me I feel represented.

[@alejandrovasquez8527]

Perhaps the most well-known sped-up song (other then Caramelldansen, unless that's how it always sounded?) is "Roses (Remix)" by Imanbek, which hit the top ten on Billboard Hot 100 back in 2020. It's especially curious because the original "Roses" was virtually unknown. Even the DJ behind the remix was unknown, at least to American audiences. Yet it took off on TikTok and, more astonishingly, became a radio hit. Truly an anomaly.

[@niknovo]

Bananaphone got so popular (around 15 years ago, or whenever that was) because of the sped-up version. The original is great, but the sped-up version fits the whole song and its theme just so much better, it's actually kinda funny that it wasn't this fast in the first place 😅 I remember that when I was still using WinAmp, I had a pitch plugin installed and almost always listened to everything sped up by 6%.

[@misiit]

I always assumed that it’s because especially children enjoy higher pitches sounds. The same reason why mothers talk to their baby in a higher pitched voice

[@DG-mg9yn]

Not sure if I'll ever be able to understand our fixation with speeding up songs. The vocals sound all out of whack, bass sounds ridiculous, and drums are either amazing or sound like the drummer is having a stroke. That being said, I think it can be done and executed. Would be happy to hear someone do it well .

[@iLOVEJDD]

^^ THIS GUY DOESNT LIKE NIGHTCORE! GET EM BOYS!!!

[@DG-mg9yn]

@@iLOVEJDD Wait! Before you sharpen your pitchforks! Huge Nightcore fan, love it as an art style. But choosing to speed up a perfectly good song? Nah. Not for me. Nightcore is great for falling asleep to though.

[@Aperez06.]

@@iLOVEJDD we do not care

[@DG-mg9yn]

@@Aperez06. 1. Imagine your height being your only personality trait, to the point where it has to be your name. 2. Imagine not liking Nightcore. 3. No. Seriously. How can you not like Nightcore? This human is anatomically incorrect.

[@Aperez06.]

@@DG-mg9yn 1) I couldn’t think of an inventive name so just went with the first thing that came to my mind that didn’t sound straight up stupid. 2) I tried, it’s just not my kind of music. I like a lot of genres but I just can’t get into it. 3) why are you acting so serious bro it’s a genre. People don’t like genres. I’m sorry if that upsets you man but it’s the truth.

[@nyxqueenofshadows]

ah, the person screaming into their device NIGHTCORE was me, thanks for the call out 👍 i would also add vocaloid as a kind of adjacent influence on that, partly cos miku's voice sounded very nightcore anyway (apparently nightcore came first, tho i would argue their rise in popularity came at similar times) and partly cos of that inhuman vocals thing you mentioned which affects the other, less high-pitched, vocaloids. i know how that affects *me*, a person who grew up watching nightcore amvs of that angel song and that psycho song, and so why i like it for nostalgia reasons. as a wider "we all like it?" no clue. anyway fun video!

[@SketchyTigers]

I remember finding Cafuné;s song first through the sped up version on vertical videos. I enjoy both versions but the sped up version has a sort of energy i can't describe

[@FilthyTea]

I don’t listen to sped-up songs very much. When I do, it’s usually out of curiosity of what my favorite songs would sound like if they were sped-up. Weezer’s El Scorcho is a trip at double speed, btw.

[@DeronHargrove]

I'm just happy to hear A. G. Cook and 100 gecs mentioned

[@agayrius]

at least with nightcore's rise in the early 2010s, the issue of copyright was also a part of the equation! even people uploading non-nightcore songs into youtube would sometimes speed - or at the very least pitch - up the music ever so slightly to avoid automatic copyright claims and having to reupload their video every other day. ofc nowadays the algorithm is better at catching even modified tracks + tiktok doesn't really have the same issue with copyright claims that youtube does, but still an angle to think about!

[@selinitygrace]

The very end of your video reminds me of the medicine ads at the end

[@KrisTheNinth]

I know its literally the opposite of the premise of this video, but I love Monument by Royksopp and Robyn, which uses slowed down audio as part of its audio landscape, and theres also a youtube video of an 800% slower version of Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap that feels like I'm witnessing the birth of the universe; it could've fit right onto the Arrival soundtrack as well.

[@benyoung3421]

I genuinely thought earlier today that someone should research why we love sped up songs and you’ve gone and published this. Incredible.

[@fairyeater]

i think in many ways it’s a natural progression of the way we absorb information, or content, in an era where more information is readily available than ever before. there is more of everything and everything is faster, and our attention spans have adapted to that by becoming shorter and more durable.

[@paddle_my_mad_laddle]

Kind of surprised you didn't mention chipmunk soul and how kanye used pitch shifting of vocals to revitalize the soul sound for a new generation of hip hop instrumentals for his generation

[@beecherb]

Impressed you talked about sped up songs having higher pitches and not making an Alvin and the Chipmunks reference. Mic the master of not grabbing the low hanging fruit!

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

0:25 now i understand the "i wanna ride a bunny" origin and why its popular

[@Beren0323]

I had to pause at "bingus hellfrick" to laugh. Well done. It was so unexpected.

[@Kino_the_Crusty]

worth mentioning the chipmunk soul boom sparking popularity and widespread appeal, because not only can they now use gospel and squeeze it into their sampling to align with the tempo of the song, (given that gospel rarly ever reaches a tempo this high) the rise in pitch also provides contrast with the lead vocals so that they aren't competing, more turning the chipmunk vocals into an instrument first and foremost

[@Lonestardebater]

If music is a mood altering drug, as some have said, increasing a song's tempo skews its mood in the direction of positive emotions. So a listener gets that sweet hit of nostalgia while amplifying the positive emotional content of the track.

[@apoplexiamusic]

Y’all ever of UK Hardcore / Breakbeat Hardcore / Rave Music? What about Jungle and Drum & Bass? Happy Hardcore? Gabber? Thrash and Death Metal? All genres much older than the stuff mentioned here…. All relying on sped up everything

[@theglowfishpark]

The only sped up song that i think blew up without the original is Roses Imanbek remix which I"m surprised you didn't mention! The original track is extremely slow, the remix obviously also adds a new beat and effects but the biggest and most noticeable change is just the tempo increase.

[@gabe_s_videos]

I feel like a big factor in the appeal of sped up songs is the inherent bastardization of natural sound. We know this isn't what it REALLY sounds like, it's essentially a caricature of it. I remember playing around with tape recorders as a kid, putting Adam Sandler skits onto cassettes and speeding up the playback to hear chipmunks cursing XD. On that note, I also feel like part of the appeal is getting the idea out faster. I think of Looney Tunes cartoons that'd use snippets of popular pre-existing songs played at a decidedly fast tempo as part of a punchline. That's just for comic timing, cuz if you played it at normal speed, you'd be bored before the joke was over. But that also appeals to an era where everything is vying desperately for people's attention, people only have so much attention they're willing to give and you can get the satisfaction of something familiar without having to invest too much time in it. It's the same appeal behind clips of movies and TV shows on KZbin instead of just watching the TV show or movie.

[@em-ai-kay-ay]

new mic the snare is the best day-before-birthday gift i could've asked for

[@1chaft]

i think it has something to do with GEN-Z brains being adapted to fast paced content due to tik tok itself (10 second videos), my theory is that every generation we become adapted to a faster pace of things compared to the last.

[@idontknow-re9dx]

This video was both interesting and very funny, lots of good jokes... so why am I losing my mind at "bingus hellfrick"?

[@c.carter5887]

Glad you brought up nightcore, I was in fact shaking my device like a raging lunatic up until that point

[@phoenix_2k]

Most of my love for sped up songs comes from weird underground hip hop & cloud rap on Soundcloud, where people have kinda revitalized and recontextualized old scene/dance/nightcore aesthetics for a modern generation, made by people who probably grew up with that kind of stuff. Kid Trash & capoxxo are artists I'd say do a good job of exemplifying this sort of ethos, at least to me.

[@koleking2519]

Ay thanks for the Trash kid recommendation, I liked his newest project pretty well. Check out funerals newest drop for some similar sorta similar hyper rap

[@phoenix_2k]

@@koleking2519 real shit, funeral is one of my fav artists from that hyperpop/digicore scene, so glooks on that one. :)

[@untermensch731]

if u like dat kinda stuff u mite like artists like h3artcrush, punkinloveee, tr1st4n etc. u mite already kno em n think theyre trash or that theyre pedophiles or whatever but theyre some of my favs. theyre more focused on revitalizing scene aesthetics tho, taking inspiration from artists like botdf brokencyde etc

[@Gayoinion]

2010s Alvin and the chipmunk remixes of popular songs were the precursor to hyper pop

[@liamthemusicreviewer]

What I find quite interesting is certain acts playing into this trend. Case in point, Tek It by Cafune which takes up 3/5 of that act’s most popular song slots with sped up and slowed down remixes. That all came down to a sped up version someone made on TikTok doing the rounds BIG TIME! As much as I love the OG version, the sped up one tickles my brain just right. Can’t explain it, maybe it’s cause it reminds me of those nightcore anime videos from my teen years? Maybe it’s cause it just sounds *NEAT*? Either way I’m here for it!

[@LoraCoggins]

Thank you for acknowledging me, the one raged lunatic shaking my device shouting "Nightcore!"

[@marcel1372]

I'm the lunatic shaking my phone while you talk about nightcore, screaming CHIPMUNK EDITS

[@jessicaschultz9795]

I also think there's something to be said about having less time to get a musical idea across to the audience. This can be due to a limitation from the platform (e.g. tiktok length) or the attention span of the audience. Speeding up the song fixes that problem.

[@MrStarman926]

You know that clip of Uncle Phil on Fresh Prince saying "We?" and then laughing? That's me @ this title

[@zonkconk3837]

BLADEE REFERENCE DRAAAIN GANG

[@enoughmusicchris]

Sped-up songs are the new ringtone rap

[@WhatSmada]

as the #1 Donda Alvin and the Chipmunks channel - thank you

[@themetalmanlives]

idk what the obsession is with the sped up song trend but i just hate it 😭 i can’t get behind it bc they speed it ridiculously fast and you can’t even appreciate the melody of the song with all that action

[@myHuge249]

i do think at the peak of nightcores popularity, it was pretty frequent for weebs to discover songs purely because of their nightcore version (im totally not calling myself out) Like how else would i have found cocaine by nomy or angel with a shotgun by the cab

[@user_314_andmore]

the square and rectangle analogy *yum*

[@Actinjsh]

Something about high vocal frequencies just tickles our brains the right way. Just look at how successful the song Dance Monkey was, just because of those high pitched vocals over an average EDM beat.

[@CadeEarick]

i associate this with when i first got my own record player. there was almost something fun and new about taking a record that spins at 33rpm, and bumping it up to the 45rpm setting. why i see the popularity in sludgecore or the dolly parton "jolene" spun at 33rpm to make it sound like a man singing. it's taking pre-conceived music and notions of said music, and then flipping it into something new, almost unlocking a sense of discovery.

[@KamilHenri]

People like sped up songs because they like to listen to music with the same bpm as their own heartbeat after popping 16 Adderalls

[@scout9329]

It reminds me a lot of me fiddling around with the pitch and speed options on my record player, where I I don’t turn up the speed ridiculously high, but just enough to make it sound in a different key, and good god it’s amazing on some tracks. Rattlesnake is a good example, I find the original recording too slow with the live performances better, but I can modify it just enough to make it faster and have the same energy as the live performances, and it rules

[@witherton8340]

Vroom Vroom sped up is glorious

[@NoOneReallySpecial]

Nightcore has shown my husband and I lots of cool bands. We discovered bands like Thousand Foot Krutch thanks to videos made of them. In fact, last I looked, they got more popular thanks to it. Other great artists such as Starset and Nine Lashes were found via Nightcore, too.

[@AlecComes]

One of the first sped-up songs that I can remember listening to on repeat was Space Jam by Quad City DJs, back when people were making remixes of it with everything. You go back to the original and it just feels so slow.

[@mark-breen]

Life hack: if you watch the sped up version of the video at the end at 0.25x speed then it sounds like a noise you would hear a robot from Portal make as an Easter Egg if you brought them into a secret room behind the wall.

[@puwumats8122]

me downloading obscure nightcore songs i found on limewire in the 2000s, so i could listen to them through my shitty earphones that only worked when you held the cord at the correct angle paved the way so that kids these days can do shitty tik tok challenges to sped up kendrick songs. remember the sacrifices we made, kids.

[@d3ada5tronaut]

I love the changing of the pitch and tempo of songs. I’m a huge fan particularly if slowed + reverb and vapourwave because of the way they use slowness to make the moment last. Slowness seems to invoke for me stronger emotional reactions and a sense of profundity. The change makes you re-examine what you might have missed in the original version and can make you feel like you’re listening to it for “the first time” again

[@lowwwgan]

great video mic! i subscribe to the content theory more than others as, similar to sped up songs providing better delivery for content, it also compresses well due to its speed and short length and is therefore more shareable, more accessible, and thus more popular, creating an endless loop of popular sped up songs until we inevitably get to the point of a sped up version of crazy frog becoming viral

[@NinjaMatt2201]

The history goes back further than that, too. The Chipmunks go back to, the sixties?, and were made by one guy recording all the voices and speeding them up to get the Chipmunk effect. Even though he didn't do this to the music too. Also, you could just play 33 speed vinyl records at 45 speed on any record player to get sped up songs without editing. Which of course you can still do. Most of the time the results would just be funny, but occasionally you'd come across something that sounds better sped up.

[@Fu22ymutt]

Ah yes, the greatest modern philosopher of our day and age, Bladee

[@blurblarted]

YES!!!! THANK YOU!!!! NIGHTCORE!!!!!

[@Niriixa]

All I know is that the nightcore version of Everytime We Touch makes me overflow with as much energy as downing three cups of coffee in quick succession.

[@sausboi9677]

CUZ EVERY TIME WE TOOOOUCH

[@franklynmazeli7856]

"Every day in this 'bingus hellfrick"- by MicTheSnare. 2:57

[@jishmoans]

Speaking of TikTok: you kinda look like that oil tycoon Cornelius guy.

[@LonkinPork]

now I'm just wondering about _Chipmunks on 16 Speed,_ that Soundcloud project where someone took old Alvin & the Chipmunks covers from the 80s, and (presumably virtually, in a DAW) played the recordings - which were cut at 33 1/3 rpm - at 16 rpm, making them slow and sludgy but bringing the chipmunk vocals back down into a normal tenor/baritone range.

[@VinceWhitacre]

Give me chopped and screwed anyday... I always assumed the sped up thing was just to get more of it in the short video. Interesting analysis. I don't much care for the chipmunky thing, but hey, people should enjoy what they enjoy. I had to learn long ago that the internet isn't just for things I like 😀 (and of course the twist is... I love a lot of super fast hyperpop - I think my dislike of sped-up songs is the converse of your point #2: if I already like a song, I don't want to hear it changed that much) (Unless it's chopped and screwed. RIP Screw)

[@ashleytisdalesbrokenheel]

5:10 welp...ya caught me 😖

[@georgeharrison5753]

I actually think that it has to do with copyright issues. You take a song everyone loves and use it on your content sped up so you don't get a copyright strike. Once everyone does it, people consider it the norm and the original version seems weird since they haven't heard it in ages.

[@Space_Reptile]

that DMV like has to be one of the best lines ever on KZbin

[@PhoenixIsOnline]

in contrast to the one point about how "vary rarely does a new song blow up because of a sped-up remix": i feel like the band CAFUNÈ has been the sole recent exception to this phenomenon. the sped-up version of their new song Tek It has been all over my FYP on tiktok for the past 2 or 3 months. (beside the point, but it slaps imo)

[@ad-ll6he]

Nah, slowed and reverb is where it's at

[@noomj3922]

Nightcore remixes raised me

[@SanguineThor]

A good example would be Cafune - Tek it. They have multiple versions and remixes of their hit song that were popular from tik tok, and they posted both the slowed down and sped up version on their channel!

[@nubbles9431]

You should do a deep dive on chopped and screwed music. It’s one of the few hip hop sub genres i could never get into or figure out

[@Tftapodcast]

I have a theory: I love your hair and if you keep growing it out, I will love it more. Also, great video as always 😊

[@jpmoraissales]

there's that "slowed" phenomenon as well. legendary german singer nico's official streaming pages uploaded an "official" slowed+reverb version of 1967's "these days" which is only that... a slowed and reverb heavy version of "these days". no remix, no remaster.

[@orhanamin1347]

Well maybe Because for *ahem* Crazy Frog.

[@essentiallife1758]

I'm not fond of these kinds of things generally speaking, mostly what I would want to speed up was a bunch of +1 hour ambient/electronica pieces to get glimpses of the enjoyability and almost all of essay styled videos so that I couldn't get bored and wasting 2x of my time. I found a lot of Nightcore remixes to be obnoxious and sucked out of the soul with all the ridiculous pitch shifting and 1.25x speed, making it all sound clunky and uncomfortable. To be said, I much prefer chopped and screwed over slowed + reverb and Nightcore at any given day.

[@ShotgunStephens]

Good video, I really liked the shorter content based on one topic not like just an artist or album

[@abbie_joan]

I liked sped-up/ Nightcore playlists mostly because I used to download the mp3/MP4 to my android phone to listen to them so I wouldn't have to use data on my phone (but also because some of those creators make FIRE remixes)

[@CA8IN8MU8IC]

idk if u did this on purpose but i like the much faster pace in the editing and flow of this video, makes it funnier to me

[@claudiacarcabaalvarez2573]

Hmm... Maybe copyright also has something to do with it. If memory serves well, back in ye olde days Alvin and the Chipmunks versions of songs were made to fit in more songs in the record as well as avoid copyright

[@matheussampaioo]

I really thought the first theory would be "because of crazy frog"

[@lucasrolon2120]

Exception that proves the rule and so on, but Ultra Solo, a song that came out this year, blew up when people started using the sped up remix on tik tok. So, most people likely heard the sped up version first, which has to be weird lol

[@lebrun9383]

Ok I’m ready thanks for waiting 💕

[@MiloKuroshiro]

You can also see the rise on sped up songs as a counter to the slowdown+reverb that started with Vaporwave (born the same way as Nightcore), and how both cycle in popularity. One after the other

[@music18021]

I just think they use sped up just to avoid copyright

[@SnowghostFilms]

Listening to Revolver, I get sped up parts in two ways. First, the amount of varispeed on that album to get that Psychedelic soundscape (Thanks George Martin and Jeofff Emerick). And second, just put that thing on at 45rpm.

[@justabee0]

gentle giant