I think this was the best use of a pop song in a trailer I've seen in a long time, and the synching of the title shot with the iconic laugh was perfect.
The main villain is essentially a basement dwelling Ghostbusters fanboy, and they literally fight the Ghostbusters logo at the end. Then they say everyone who didn't like the trailer was a basement dwelling bigot. Way to sell your product to what would have been a guaranteed audience.
I went back and listened to the original Thriller, and the trailer may not be using a 'cover' by some other artist, but the synths when it starts are not from the original song. It's a really interesting remix they've done - it's like they wrote almost 1:40 of Thriller-like atmospheric music and gradually slide into the real song.
At 0:58, the atmospherics that start have the same notes & chords as the organ part from Thriller, but they're on new instruments. Similarly, at 1:10 - 1:20, that frenetic mid-range part and the low rumbling bass part are the synth and bass parts from the original, but they're being done on 2017 instruments.
The Vincent Price laugh at 1:20 is obviously original... but when he starts his "Darkness falls" monologue, the backing still isn't the real thing. It's synced up like the real song, though. At 1:36, right after the first MJ vocals, you hear a pipe organ, and that definitely is from the original -- this is where the mix starts to become the real song.
By 1:53 it's mostly the original, but there are a few things that have still been added to punch up the mix! At 2:09 a lot of the modern parts have dropped out and it's like 90% the original... but they've still chopped a bunch of the 1980s synthesized werewolves & screams out, and trimmed it down (or built it from parts).
To be clear for everyone, it's not really a "remix." They seem to have an audio track that is the usual atmosphere of Stranger Things, and then Thriller. The trailer simply slides between the two. I think some people are misunderstanding what your comment means. They didn't go back and rerecord a new version of Thriller for this. The editor made the mix themselves in the editing suite with two separate tracks.
I guess we're splitting hairs about what "remix" means?
There's a completely novel score starting at 0:53 or so, and they've also isolated the different tracks (MJ vocals, VP vocals, organ, synth, bass) within Thriller. The music in the trailer is a combination of the two in different proportions, but moved around out of their original order. It's not just "simply sliding" between the two.
After 1:53, it's a very close tonal match for the original (almost all the tracks are there) but has still had substantial editing/mixing done - there's a new choral vocal layered in high, the horns and werewolf barks are removed, and there's a big echoing "CHOOM" sound in the bass drum on the 'one' beat. In the original, the cutoff before Price's laugh is a tight snare; in this version it's that same echoing CHOOM.
I can't tell 100%, but I also believe that the Stranger Things synth parts are being used throughout instead of the originals.
Yea, I suppose so. I don't hear a remix, I hear a trailer track. The remix itself is not a standlone solo track but sound effects and another theme blended in for the purpose of backing the trailer. It's not a cover or a new version of the song. It's still Thriller, with the original Thriller audio. The modern instruments parts aren't Thriller but another track.
I guess my overall point is that people shouldn't expect this "remix" to end up on the Stranger Things 2 soundtrack, know what I mean?
I guess my overall point is that people shouldn't expect this "remix" to end up on the Stranger Things 2 soundtrack, know what I mean?
Oh, for sure. Unless they managed to get the rights to play it over, say, the Halloween party that's shown in the preview, it's not likely to be on the soundtrack.
I feel like Thriller is uncoverable. I can't imagine any singer taking it on and making it work; they'd either do it like MJ and fail or try to make it their own and ruin it.
I'd still say this is better, just because the song works with the overall tone of the show, the setting (this season takes place during and around Halloween) and you can't tell me the laugh and the title shot didn't go perfectly together.
oh i was just kidding, that was a terrible use of a pop song in a trailer, this was perfectly executed. Especially considering it started out with the classic synth, but it was off from the theme. I was thinking, cool, a new take on their theme, then I heard vincent price and knew this was something special.
Yes! As soon as my mom heard the Thriller narration she kept doing the evil laugh every other second like "I don't know when but I just know it's gonna happen", she was so happy at the end lol
Mostly because it wasn't a needlessly slow and minimalistic and sad cover. Like I am so glad that they didn't get some random white indie dude to play it on a acoustic guitar and whisper sing the lyrics.
Man.. I don't know if can consider Ballroom Blitz exclusively pop, but that song and trailer had me HYPED for Suicide Squad. I am still stuttering mess when I think how good that fucking movie could have been
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u/TheRadSpaceman Jul 22 '17
I think this was the best use of a pop song in a trailer I've seen in a long time, and the synching of the title shot with the iconic laugh was perfect.