#acaplaya ramblings

[acaplaya-musings]

I didn't have the space to fit this one into my Voiceplay Visuals part 1 post for Thriller (dang image limit) but I felt compelled to share this one anyway, so here, have a bonus Geoff pic! Honestly he's so pretty (yes yes put another dollar in the jar), and maybe it's just me but it feels like this could be like a painting or something?

(Also would anyone at all be interested in a post or two of me showing off some of the pics of Geoff that I've accumulated? I have a whole folder full of them)

[acaplaya-musings]

Okay, I did a first watch-through/reaction and was going to type a few thoughts and then go back and rewatch it, but then I realized I'd probably have more to say after the second time.

Probably won't do a Voiceplay Visuals post for this video (unless any of you really want one anyway), but that doesn't mean there weren't any interesting things to look at! Really need to go back and pause a few times when I inevitably go back and rewatch after writing this

This was an Eli & Layne arrangement! The last time Eli and Layne collabed on a song arrangement was for Enemy, and the last time Eli did any sort of arrangement at all was for Creep (which also featuring Anthony Gargiula, interestingly enough)

I thought from the teaser image that this was maybe filmed at OptiView360 like Sleeping In The Cold Below, but actually it was filmed at Vū Studio Orlando, the same place that was used for Valhalla Calling!

We love a good subharmonic drop from Geoff <3 (and I love his grey streak too okay bye)

Oh boy I cannot wait for the reaction videos for this one! Plus I feel like this cover deserves some proper analysis that I don't have enough knowledge to do myself!

And just like with Sleeping In The Cold Below, Voiceplay have created this fascinating world/story concept, that just makes me want more!!!!

(Never beating the non-human allegations now /j)

Black Hole Sun - VoicePlay ft. Anthony Gargiula (acapella) Soundgarden #...

This is just mind-blowing 🤯 As someone who loves the original and ADORES the cyberpunk aesthetic, it's like VoicePlay put this piece of art together for me specifically. Treat your ears today and give it a listen.

[acaplaya-musings]

(As per previous videos, this was written up after I got Early Access on Patreon, but before I had actually watched it. Thoughts/Commentary post will be up not long after the YouTube premiere)

My guess was right! It's Thriller! And J None's back!!!!

I thought they weren't gonna do this song unless they could get Omar Cardona for it, but I guess this was too big of an idea to miss out on, and obviously J is gonna be perfect for it as well!

Honestly, after the god-tier amazingness of Hellfire last year, I've been really keen for months about what VoicePlay would do for Halloween 2024. And now? Well of course I'm still super excited, but I'm also scared 😅

Of course the song cover itself will undoubtedly be super amazing (I can practically hear Geoff doing that bassline already!) but what the heck is the music video going to be like? (And again, remember that I haven't got a proper thumbnail to go off of, and in fact I haven't even yet read the description of the Patreon post!) I'm hoping for no jumpscares like in the teaser (@VoicePlay y'all make me high-strung enough already thank you very much!), and that hopefully I can survive whatever Geoff looks like, for better or for worse (y'all reading this will obviously know what he looks like just from the premiere thumbnail posted above, but I'm keeping this here anyway).

Oh and also Geoff better do at least some of Vincent Price's spooky monologue or else what is even the POINT.

See you on the other side, I guess!

[acaplaya-musings]

Man, what is it with me and men who can sing who care a whole dang lot about their son and wife (as they should, don't get me wrong)

Like okay one is Geoff and the other is Odysseus from Epic The Musical/The Odyssey, but still, when I'm in two fandoms at once, you can't blame my brain for finding/making connections!

(EDIT: any Epic fans who see this and decide to leave a like on this are legally obligated to go to Geoff Castellucci's YouTube channel and listen to at least one of his covers /j)

[acaplaya-musings]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Geoff Castellucci (@geophr3y)

He's never beating the dragon allegations honestly /j

Also he's getting really good at holding subharmonic notes I mean like damn

[acaplaya-musings]

It seems VoicePlay have been busy doing filming for their October/Halloween video! (And yes I know they haven't posted anything (full-length) for September yet but it should be coming this Friday/Saturday, hopefully (timezone-dependent)).

(Note: neither of these are my screenshots - both got shared by different people on the VoicePlay Patreon Discord server).

At this point in time at least I really know nothing about what VoicePlay have in store for us for October, only that this year, Geoff is in charge of the Halloween song/video, not Layne (just the way the "arrangement/video leader roster" worked out this year, I guess?).

And if by some miracle they managed to get Omar Cardona as the collaborator for this one (he's been busy performing in an off-Broadway musical), then I'm pretty sure I know what song they're doing, because it's a song the Patrons have been requesting and Omar is the one that Geoff said he'd want as the collaborator if they were to do it. But I really don't know, and I'm not holding my breath. Whatever it is, I know it'll be amazing!

(And finally, I wonder if Geoff is wearing at least some of his video outfit in that photo or if that's just casual clothing, because I like the red/maroon/magenta shirt and it's not a colour he wears all that often, and pairing it with the unbuttoned black shirt feels like a deliberate choice. Okay bye)

[acaplaya-musings]

So there's an unofficial Discord server for Geoff's Patrons (he's very much aware of it and totally cool with it), and last night someone said that we should've suggested Geoff do a new cover of Be Prepared from The Lion King for Halloween (last we heard, he's yet to decide on a song for this year). And then someone else presented a description of how Geoff could dress/appear for such a video and it's been living in my head all day rent-free, so now I'm sharing it with all of you (but tweaked/added onto, courtesy of me)

Geoff with black hair (or at least very very dark brown) (but still with the white-grey streak (maybe even with the streak being more prominent?)), a scar across one eye, of course, and a low-cut shirt (maybe even a slightly ragged shirt with rips in it) (sleeves optional).

I swear if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in the middle of working on a big/super-detailed fanart thing that I wanna get finished as soon as possible, I'd be so tempted to try and draw this. But maybe I'll keep it in the back of my mind and get around to it at some point after I finish my current art thing. And I'll just leave you all with the mental image for now ✌️

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay Stand By Me - thoughts/commentary

You really can never quite tell what kind of video you're gonna get when Voiceplay uploads something new; sometimes it's a warm hug in musical form, and this is one of those times! <3

I gotta start by giving some appreciation to how Geoff looks absolutely lovely in this one! The necklace is on full display, as is the silver-white in his hair which is *chefs kiss*, and I definitely love the blue floral shirt! (10/10 would wear it myself). Honestly it reminds me a little of the shirt he wore in Whiskey In The Jar, which is kinda funny because that was 2023's November upload, and this is 2024's November upload!

But like also everyone is definitely styling in this video. Cesar with the subtle eyeliner (we stan), Layne with that cool white shirt (genuinely he looks great in it), Eli with the leather jacket, and Mykal with that denim jacket and purple shirt that's unbuttoned about as much as Geoff usually has his! 😄

Okay, main visual thoughts out the way, time for musical thoughts!

Geoff absolutely delivered with the bassline, just as I knew he would 💜

I'm not the greatest at remembering most of the actual music arrangement after my first watch-through of a VoicePlay video, though perhaps it's harder when I already know the original song and thus my brain is still attached to what I already know. But basically the first watch is just for the vibes, lol. And so a lot of these thoughts are from after an additional watch-through!

As I said when I talked about Be Prepared, Mykal was a founding member of 4 The Love, which then became 4:2:Five, which then became VoicePlay. He only stuck around for a few years I think, and then went to go pursue a stage/theatre career iirc, but while he was part of the group, he was "Tenor 1", i.e. could literally sing higher than Earl (Earl became Tenor 1 after Mykal left, and they brought in a guy called James May as Tenor 2).

I'm atheist, but damn, I'm pretty sure Mykal took us to church with this one! Well done my guy!

Actually I'm not quite done with all my visual thoughts - I just realized that when Cesar sings the repeated "stand by me" bit at the end of the first verse (after the "no I won't be afraid" bit), he looks down at Mykal and Eli and then up/back at Geoff and Layne and smiles at all of them awwwwww

I see VoicePlay decided to do a repeat of Lion Sleeps Tonight in that we got a truly lovely section of Layne on lead vocals, followed immediately by Geoff on lead vocals in a 1-2-whammy! (I swear they do it deliberately, lol 😅)

"I won't cry, I won't cry. No I won't shed a tear..." Well I might!! (I didn't, but this part definitely had me a little bit 🥺, y'know? (but in a nice way of course!)

Not sure what sort of technique (if any?) Geoff was using for the end of his "stand by meeeeeee" line, whether it was a growl or soft subharmonic or just 'regular' chest voice, but it sounded really nice!

Honestly Stand By Me isn't a super long song - like when I've sung it to myself on random occasions, I've thought that maybe there's a verse or something that I've forgotten, but no, it really is that short and simple (not that that's an inherently bad thing, mind you).

Actually the VoicePlay version is longer than the original audio track by roughly 30 seconds, not counting the credits at the end (just going off how long the Patreon early access video is). And of course they found many cool and interesting ways to make the song their own! E.g. I liked the "ad-libs" that Mykal was doing at the end (like "you don't have to do it alone"), and I also liked the build from no percussion, to very subtle/quiet percussion, to more of a powerful beat as the song reached its climax.

So this is a Layne arrangement! Honestly was not sure - I know he arranged Be Prepared, so I guess it kinda makes sense that he did this one as well so they were both ready to go at around the same time? I still wouldn't have picked it (and genuinely wasn't sure until I got to see the YouTube video description) but very well done!

So yeah, lovely sweet song, lovely harmonies, and by the time you're reading this post, this cover will already be on my Voiceplay/Geoff Spotify playlist, undoubtedly! And now we just wait to see what December will bring! (Or late November for us Patrons, I guess). Until next time!

[acaplaya-musings]

(As per usual, most if not all of this post is typed up after the video got its Early Access release on Patreon, but before I've watched it, so I can still share my own genuine thoughts/speculations based on knowing what the song is now and nothing else).

Looks like the speculations about the mini teaser clip were 100% spot on! And also dang this went up quicker than I thought it would - I wasn't expecting it to hit YouTube for another two weeks, but maybe it was pushed out a little earlier than initially planned due to Be Prepared getting delayed? Or maybe Geoff still planned for it to release before the end of September this whole time, idk.

As I said when I made my own post about the teaser video, I've never read any of the books or watched any of the movies in the Tolkien franchise, and most of what I know comes from being on the internet/in pop cuture spaces for like 10 years or so. And I don't really know this song, other than when I listened to the Clamavi De Profundis version on YouTube like yesterday (as of me typing this on the 19th), but I only got through maybe a minute of it before my attention span dwindled (and to be fair it was just a lyrics video, so there no interesting visuals to focus on). But with that being said, we know full well by now that Geoff is a MASTER at taking "dull"/repetitive songs and melodies and putting his own twist on them and giving them new life. I'd be shocked if this beats Unshaken or Big Iron for me in terms of 2024 favourites, especially as, again, I'm not a Lord Of The Rings fan, but it'll likely be another to add to my Spotify playlist, and probably worthy of at least a short Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals post, because how could I not?

[acaplaya-musings]

Y'all didn't hear this from me, but you're gonna want to keep an eye on the Pattycake Productions YouTube channel in October - there might be a *very interesting* video coming... 👀

[acaplaya-musings]

YESSSSSSS LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!!!!

You might like to know that I typed (most of) this at roughly 11:45PM on the 31st of August - the video just appeared on Patreon (no countdown for us this time), Epic The Musical's Wisdom Saga just dropped yesterday (and I am still far from recovered from it), and suddenly I have this? Voiceplay! Y'all are gonna kill me! (ADDITION from current me: And we don't get a proper thumbnail on Patreon - all I saw was a mid-zoom (head-to-chest) shot of Geoff and Cesar! And that didn't prepare me!)

Okay so I'm not gonna say too much here because I wanna go watch this ASAP, but basically I can tell you now that this is already getting a Voiceplay Visuals post, 100%, don't need to watch it before I confirm that. (ADDITION from current me: But I will confirm it anyway - it'll be happening. And I also made a thoughts/commentary post (mostly) focusing on the vocals/music arrangement, which will be scheduled to upload not long after this video debuts).

Oh my god I've been dying to hear a bass cover of Be Prepared, but I don't think I am prepared for this! But let's do it anyway!

(Sure this has been sitting in my drafts for four weeks now, but y'all still deserve to see just how darn excited (and slightly freaking out) I was about this (and rightfully so!) the moment it appeared on Patreon).

[acaplaya-musings]

It's time for YouTube Music's annual music recap, and just like last year, I downloaded the app purely to get my summary/statistics, and then deleted it again.

No surprises here, though honestly I wasn't quite sure if VoicePlay and Geoff would be that high up in my artists list (or top songs), because my music range has been more varied on YouTube as compared to my Spotify usage, but no, they still took the top spots! 😁

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay/Geoff Christmas song predictions for 2024

I don't know for absolute certain that we're getting full-length Christmas covers from both Geoff and VoicePlay this year (for all we know we could get a 'regular' non-seasonal song from one or both channels, idk), but I do hope so, especially as Geoff's last full length thing (Song Of Durin) was back in September, and VP's Stand By Me was filmed roughly around that time or earlier as well, so we can hope that everyone's had enough time to plan out some Christmas stuff.

Anyway, I initially made this list last year, as I was starting to become a full-on massive VoicePlay fan, and I might as well share it here for this year! It's my list of hopes and/or general predictions for what Geoff and VoicePlay might do for Christmas this year. That way, if I do end up predicting something correctly, then I can brag about it I have proof! And I'm posting this now because I wanna get in early, before I potentially hear any hint of any new releases on the Patreons (and it feels like nearly everyone here has decided that Christmas season has begun already anyway, rip).

So yeah, list time!

Geoff Castellucci predictions:

Sleigh Ride (you do likely know this song, even if you're not familiar with the title. It's fairly catchy)

Silent Night (I'm not typically a fan of most "traditional" Christmas carols, but this one is undeniably a classic, and if Geoff did this? God I would melt! It would be the most gorgeous thing honestly)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (he's got the right voice for it, and I'm quite fond of this song ngl)

Voiceplay predictions:

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree (trying to recreate the saxophone solo in acapella style could be a challenge, but hey, they could always bring out Violayne again for it!)

Let It Snow (no real reason for this pick other than "I know the song and I think it would be doable in group acapella format")

Winter Wonderland (VoicePlay could have a lot of fun with this one I feel like, in both the arrangement and the video (actually, there's actually a cover of this on their Spotify - from one of their 2004 EPs, Unstoppable, back when the group was still 4:2:Five, but like it's been 20 years, y'know?))

Silver Bells (This is perhaps an unusual addition to my list, simply because I'm actually not all that fond of this song - I find it kinda boring/dull. But that's kinda exactly why I'm including it here - if anyone can make me like a song, it's VoicePlay/Geoff. I would never ordinarily choose to listen to Silver Bells, but if it was a Geoff/VoicePlay cover? I so absolutely would!)

WILDCARD: Santa Baby as a Voiceplay Mini (this isn't one I'm actually holding my breath for, more of just one that my brain was like "hey you know what would be really funny?" (And listen, I first made this prediction last year, before the release of Jingle Bell Rock - I'm just saying!)) (Also you can't tell me Cesar wouldn't fully commit to the bit!)

I will also mention that at least one or two VP Patrons have been holding out hope for a Carol Of The Bells cover this year, but I'm not overly fussed about that one either way (there's a Peter Hollens cover of it that I really like and quite honestly I'd be shocked if VoicePlay managed to create a version that was just as good). But maybe we'll get a Christmas cover from one or both channels of a song I'm not even originally familiar with! (Like with Geoff doing Blue Christmas last year).

Who knows, idk, but you know me, I'll be happy with pretty much anything! <3

[acaplaya-musings]

Geoff Castellucci Song Of Durin - Thoughts/Commentary

At first I wasn't planning on making a post just about the vocals/music arrangement for this one, but then I ended up watching the video four times across the day that it dropped on Patreon and it turned out that I do in fact have Thoughts(tm).

So as I said in the Premiere post, I know the Clamavi De Profundis version a little bit - enough that I know what the original vocals for it sounded like, and yeah damn Geoff's voice works absolutely perfectly for this!

This is yet another case of "this feels like it's a very intricate arrangement, but I don't have the music knowhow to fully comprehend it." (Bring on the reaction/analysis videos!)

Tenor Geoff My Beloved! Like okay there weren't actually many high parts in this, but there was a bit right towards the end where I was like "oh wait that's so pretty"

Honestly there weren't actually any "super-duper low" parts either (or at least nothing that sounded that way), but that's totally fine! It was a perfect blend of bass, baritone, and tenor, and it sounded gorgeous! And the lower parts that were there felt so natural and suited to the song, like they had been part of the original arrangement too (I haven't heard enough of the OG to know for sure but I doubt it).

A couple of random vocal things that stood out to me that I liked:

The drop on the word "fall" on the line "in Elder Days before the fall"; it's practically a classic Geoff thing at this point to find opportunities to do low notes on words like "down", "low", and "fall" 😁

The way he sings "throne" on the line "a king he was on carven throne" - it's got a bit of a sort of lilt/accent to it? There may be other examples in the song too but that's the one that catches my ear the most. It's reminiscent of the Clamavi De Profundis version and also it just sounds nice <3

Honestly the whole vibe of it is actually kinda really beautiful imo in a way that's almost a little hard to put into words. Like I guess you could say Misty Mountains had a sort of determination to it, with a slight kind of confidence that comes from hard-earned knowledge and experience. I See Fire had the vibe of "sombre resoluteness"; pre-emptive mourning, even - the awareness of heading into what you know will be your final stand. But Song Of Durin, meanwhile, is not mournful; it's wistful, but sort of in a "mature" way? It's being at peace with the way things have turned out now, while still being able to reflect on happier times. It has a complicated sort of hope, almost, that isn't exactly saying "things will get better" per se, but it leaves you feeling stronger and lighter by the end of it regardless.

(I'm still not sure whether that fully makes sense or if I'm saying anything of worth here, but I typed that up on the Geoff's Patrons Discord the night after the release and then a couple hours later was like "actually that feels like it deserves to be put in a Tumblr post" so here we are).

So does this beat I See Fire for me? Unsure - it feels a little tough to compare them tbh, right now at least. But I still really enjoyed this, perhaps even a little more than I was expecting to!

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay Thriller - thoughts/commentary

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oh my god that was PERFECT! Unexpected in a few ways, but so amazing! And just enough spookiness and creepiness without actually being scary to me! Honestly I think it's tied with Be Prepared for my favourite VP release of 2024.

Obviously this is getting a VoicePlay Visuals; the video was amazing, I absolutely loved it, and all my concerns were for naught! It's so fun and cool! However, this post is just to share my thoughts on the arrangement and vocals and stuff. All my thoughts about the on-screen stuff are waiting for my proper visual analysis!

More yelling/rambling of mine below the cut!

Oh god, I'm gonna have to make this into a two-part Voiceplay Visuals, aren't I? Like what I did for Classical Chaos. There is so! Much! To talk about!!!

UPDATE: I actually went through and did a sort of "image tally", like just noting down tally marks to make a rough estimate of how many screenshots I might want to include in a post for this (e.g. "I might take one here" or "I might want two pics for this moment" or "I might grab three screencaps from this moment"), and yeah I ended up with just under 60 - this is absolutely becoming a two-part Visuals post.

Right out the gate it started to become clear that VoicePlay absolutely made this song their own (while still definitely "paying respect" to the original), which I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about - this was arranged by Geoff, after all, and he almost never arranges covers to be just a carbon-copy of the original, and this is certainly no exception!

Geoff's bassline is shorter than I thought it would be (not exactly like the original), and starting with vocals right out the gate definitely caught me off guard (UPDATE: actually Geoff's bassline changes and is pretty dynamic in this song and it's amazing actually)

With that being said, I GOT MY WISH!!!! Basically as soon as Geoff began the whole "darkness falls across the land" spiel I think I nearly exploded with joy.

While doing my image estimation tally, I also went back (for like my 5th watch) and took down some notes on the music arrangement and stuff, because this video has a lot of stuff in it, my memory is not always great, and I wanted more to talk about here.

The "I'm gonna thrill you tonight" bit obviously isn't in the start of the original song, but it is in there! Originally it's part of the "filler/adlib" (?) part in between the two halves of the spooky monologue (I don't know fancy song terminology don't @ me)

On the line "you see a sight that almost stops your heart", J removes the word "stop" (he momentarily stops singing, get it?), and then before you've even fully processed that surprise change, he follows it up with a riff down on the word "heart"!

So if you've ever watched the full-length Thriller music video, you'll know that it's a bit "odd" in the fact that it re-orders the parts of the song, so it goes 'verse-verse-verse-monologue-chorus-chorus-chorus', and I'm pretty sure it leaves out the bridge entirely? The album version goes the more typical route of 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus-chorus- monologue' (though having a verse after the bridge section is something I feel you don't really see that often in songs nowadays?).

VoicePlay, meanwhile, take a bit of inspiration from both versions of the song, and they go 'verse-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-verse-chorus-monologue-chorus'. Also, they take the chorus that was originally in between the first and second verses and stick it in between verse 2 and the bridge instead, meaning that we don't get the line "there ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes", which is a small shame because that line has always been a memorable one for me, but eh, minor personal hangup, it's no big deal. And the original music video version didn't have that chorus either I'm pretty sure

(Am I just stating the obvious? Perhaps. Am I actually making a point here? No. But this is as much for my own interest as for anything else).

ANYWAY, time for more actual song cover thoughts:

I loved how each person really got a chance to shine in this - everyone got plenty of parts to sing! (Well, except Layne who was just on backing harmonies and beatboxing, but he still very much got to shine on-screen, which I will say more about in my visual analysis!)

After the line "you hear the door slam" there's a percussion sound effect that kinda sounds like something slamming shut!

The lead-in to the first chorus here???? Like the way it goes "cause this is- cause this is- cause this is THRILLER!" with like the muffled audio effect on the first repeat, like dang it's honestly so groovy and funky

"You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller toniiiiight" yeah that was smooth

But seriously THE MONOLOGUE!!!! That was utter freaking perfection; guess Geoff's experience with doing narrations really came in handy, huh? I love the little inflection he put on "to terrorize y'all's neighbourhood" (and yes the "y'all" is part of the original too), I love the groove/percussion behind the second half of it, and of course the spooky/evil laugh at the end of the song is great. Honestly if Layne had arranged this song instead, I feel like he too would have definitely given Geoff the narration bit, because like duh! It's got his name written all over it! Hell, I made a post on my Discord like over two months ago specifically hoping for VoicePlay to do Thriller, and I said that Geoff would be perfect for Vincent Price's narration, and I was right!!!

But yeah everyone brought their A-game for this, this was such a fun arrangement, had me absolutely grooving, and I shall see you in a few days (probably) from when this is posted for my Voiceplay Visuals post for this video!

[acaplaya-musings]

New sneak peek teaser image from Geoff! Apparently us Patrons will be getting early access to this video very very soon (shortly, even), but as of me typing this, I'm as clueless as the rest of you!

Also I gotta laugh ngl because it was literally just a few days ago that I made a post here being like "man there's just something about Geoff and a piano; I love watching him play it!" and now look! He's at a piano again! I manifested it!