Vocal effects, a toxic relationship, and emotional stasis: Worst Thing I Could Do (ARORA)
A cappella electronica? This episode covers “Worst Thing I Could Do,” from contemporary a cappella group ARORA’s groundbreaking album, Bioluminescence. The group leverages advanced vocal effects and processing, creating ethereal, electronic textures that blur the line between human voice and synthesizer.
In this week’s conversation, Trist and Elaine rave over the chord changes, dynamic arrangements, and clever use of half-choruses and rhythmic effects. They also analyze the song's poignant lyrics, which depict a toxic, unresolved relationship, and discuss how the unresolved musical ending mirrors the emotional stasis described in the words.
In the Mailbag segment, Elaine and Trist discuss a real-world example from Threads illustrating the dramatic shift in songwriter earnings from the CD era to the streaming era, highlighting the challenges and reduced royalties faced by modern songwriters.
Listen to the song
* YouTube - https://youtu.be/2GAbXRIu6v8 [https://youtu.be/2GAbXRIu6v8]
* Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/track/1gxzmqDNAILcvi0iOp5BOl?si=e78fa631505b4805 [https://open.spotify.com/track/1gxzmqDNAILcvi0iOp5BOl?si=e78fa631505b4805]
* Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/song/worst-thing-i-could-do/681276513 [https://music.apple.com/us/song/worst-thing-i-could-do/681276513]
* Amazon - https://music.amazon.com/albums/B00E8WEALQ?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_1cRxsNHQ8PyoK0o8vZFxFlOAk&trackAsin=B00E8WEJTO [https://music.amazon.com/albums/B00E8WEALQ?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_1cRxsNHQ8PyoK0o8vZFxFlOAk&trackAsin=B00E8WEJTO]
Other links
* Playlist of the songs we’ve reviewed
* YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5bn23baJ4xQ1t0TMqukELY5W95HwuMoT [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5bn23baJ4xQ1t0TMqukELY5W95HwuMoT]
* Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gCOF5M0zYS1fBvXgT5ccI?si=7F3yVdEDRRWa_gAArK3AYg [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gCOF5M0zYS1fBvXgT5ccI?si=7F3yVdEDRRWa_gAArK3AYg]
* Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/songs-reviewed-on-the-musicians-loupe/pl.u-V9D7maah06JNo [https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/songs-reviewed-on-the-musicians-loupe/pl.u-V9D7maah06JNo]
* Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/3b47be4937b7490982f4a872db32ec8dsune?ref=dm_sh_AEFZY8KhvSsz1TGoRmasg6zHZ [https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/3b47be4937b7490982f4a872db32ec8dsune?ref=dm_sh_AEFZY8KhvSsz1TGoRmasg6zHZ]
About us
Trist Curless is a Los Angeles-based vocalist, educator, and sound engineer. As a performer, Trist has toured worldwide as a co-founder of the pop-jazz vocal group m-pact and a 10 year member of the Grammy-award winning The Manhattan Transfer. In addition to these two vocal powerhouse groups, he’s also performed with Take 6, Bobby McFerrin, New York Voices, Vox Audio, Naturally 7, and The Swingle Singers. His latest venture, The LHR Project, is a new vocal group collective celebrating legendary jazz vocal group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross.
As an audio engineer, Trist has toured nationally with several vocal groups and bands in a large variety of venues, working for Grammy award winners Pentatonix and Take 6, as well as prominent a cappella vocal groups Straight No Chaser, VoicePlay, and Accent.
Elaine Chao, M.Ed is a San Francisco Bay Area-based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, vocal percussionist, and songwriter whose career spans a cappella, contemporary worship, and classical music. She has leveraged her training in classical and choral music over the course of her contemporary performance, including in orchestras for musical theatre and in sacred spaces. In addition to music, she also is a martial artist and published author. She currently leads a product management team at a major software company dedicated to creative expression. All statements in this podcast are her own and do not reflect the opinions of her employer.
