Music Mixing Analysis: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
Welcome to the first installment of the Music Mixing Analysis Series. In this series of blog posts we’ll be going over what makes the song mixes of history so great. Everybody can have a say in the matter so if you want a particular song analyzed or throw your opinion in then by all means, let us know in the comments. I’m always on the look-out for interesting songs to pick apart, so your favorite song might be a great example for one of our future posts.
First track on the list is U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.” It’s random I know, but the U2 song from the Batman Forever sound-track will always be special to me. Mostly due to the fact that it was one of the first CD’s that I bought when I was 12 or something. It wasn’t until somebody pointed out to me how great this song sounded that I started to listen to the production of it. It comes as no surprise that U2’s songs have incredible production value but it’s very enjoyable to dissect and deconstruct what makes their songs so enjoyable and the production so great.
Production-wise, I wrote for Audiotuts a while back and use Beat, Riff, Melody and Fills/Breaks. These categories are usually enough to categorize a mix or production but some songs are more complex than others, as we will be finding out in the following weeks.
Beat
Obviously – with U2 being such an incredible successful band – it comes as no surprise how tight their rhythm section is. Larry Mullen Jr. holds down the fort in the rhythm section with a simple but tight drum beat. Notice the added hand-claps in the chorus that add accents to the guitar riff. Overall, the production is pretty big and you can tell how great those drums sound from the tom fill at the absolute beginning of the song.
Riff
This song is just filled with grooving riffs. The whammy-pedal driven guitar riff starts the song off and leads us into the power-chord rock riff of the chorus. Notice the dynamic drop-off into the verse as the rock guitar is replaced with a groovy but subdued bass-line. Keeping the dynamics of the song interesting, notice how the whammy-pedal riff continues playing in the second verse. Both the pre-chorus and chorus have the guitar lead and Bono’s vocals weaving in and out, interacting in a somewhat call-and-response way.
Melody
The reason I like this U2 song so much is that it almost sounds nothing like U2, even down to the gritty vocal effect on Bono’s voice. I can’t pinpoint what type of effect is on his voice but there is definitely some saturation and distortion going on. The vocal also has a warped short delay of sorts, like a small room setting with a short delay as well. Also, in the typical fashion of making a chorus sound bigger than any other part of the song the atmosphere is piled on the vocals during the chorus. Listen to how much bigger the vocals get when he starts singing “Hold Me…” Definitely some doubling and delays going on in order to elevate the lead melody.
Fills/Breaks
Obviously this song wouldn’t be half as big if it weren’t for the rock opera strings going on in the background. The rock symphony arrangement that accents every riff and weaves in and out of the main elements of the mix is what gives the song such depth, especially in the outro. The strings serve as support for all the riffs but they occasionally come into their own as separate lead lines.
Conclusion
Overall, an amazing production and one incredibly well mixed song. Fire up the song on the Youtube video above if you haven’t already and try to find what stands out for you. I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts on what makes this song sound so good. And better yet, if you actually know how they achieved some of these sounds please share!
That’s it for now. What song should we take apart next time? What oldie or goodie would you guys want to be in our next installment of our music mixing analysis?
image by: FilthySize
Music Mixing
LEAVE A COMMENT