User:PSA/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Most nominated woman in the 2018 Grammys, most nominated person in the 2024 Grammys, for her album SOS and its tracks "Kill Bill", "Low", "Love Language", "Snooze", and "Ghost in the Machine".

Apple Music Interview[edit]

  • "I Hate U", "Blind" "Kill Bill" were palate cleansers
  • There were songs that SZA considered important to finish and strove to be as best it can be, and there were others she called "palate cleanser" moments: songs she would quickly write in between her more serious projects. She named the tracks "I Hate U", "Blind", and "Kill Bill" as such cleansers, then "F2F" as one of the songs she took more seriously, because she kept finding ways for the song to not sound "corny".
  • She wanted to simplify/strip down "F2F" to what it would sound on stage:"Too many sounds, and then it's like the mix is funky, and then my voice is battling with the instruments, and it sounds like um, like um thin"
  • deluxe "it would be a whole 'nother thing"
  • 25:10 for deluxe stuff
    • i've talked about every relationship that way anymore... i want to be different my nervous system is shot my cortisol levels are shot
    • stopped trying to find the most hurtful thing i can say about myself
    • making shit about whatever it is

Other stuff about SOS recording[edit]

"Shirt" music video[edit]

"Dangerously chill vibe"

Inspiration from Pulp fiction and Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino stuff)

"off beat underworld"

Symbolism about mental burdens and cleansing "spirituality to contrast the violence"

The more SZA kills the more she puts dots on her wrist (burdens she's killing off)

Color symbolism (orange for impatience, purple for pride, green for judgment, and pink for innocence

Water-soluble paint for bullets, and it was the most challenging part because the bullets were one-use and could get on someone's eyes

As SZA's soul ascends towards space, Stanfield's face replaces hers; he then sees a vision of SZA on his rear-view mirror while driving at nighttime. The events indicate that Stanfield and SZA's characters are the same people; Stanfield is SZA's ego, whom she must eventually leave for dead as well. His character, tied up in a basement, is approached by SZA who seductively dances in front of him, then by various men who brandish kitchen knives and kill him.

After Stanfield's killing, SZA shoots her shadow, which drops dead afterward, and drives a car off the docks and into the water. She flees on a sailboat, symbolizing her feeling "lost at sea" but "free of burdens". Once the song ends, the video begins playing a snippet of the song "Blind".

Stanfield represents SZA's ego, his face replacing hers when her dead soul ascends towards outer space; he sees a vision of SZA on his car's rear-view mirror as he drives during the night. and her soul

https://web.archive.org/web/20231123102449/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBlekGakEW0

"But whether they’re nuns, healthcare workers, or pizza delivery drivers, they always have guns. Curiously, every time SZA murders someone, dots of different colors appear on her wrist, ultimately spelling out “SOS” in rainbow. At one point, SZA’s spirit ascends into the sky after she gets shot, and her face temporarily morphs with Stanfield’s. The pair clearly have a complicated relationship; she later walks away from him when he’s tied up and apparently about to be cut open by a group of butchers."

https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/sza-shirt-music-video-release.html

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-02-23/sza-sos-glows-up-in-public

Punch nonsense[edit]

  • But in the decade since he signed SZA, the two have publicly butted heads, with Henderson cast in the role of evil corporate suit trying to wrangle new music out of her. During recording sessions, he says, he’s learned to be scarce, only popping in to discuss surface-level matters, like deadlines. In 2020, SZA implied to fans on Twitter that her new album was being held up by Henderson. “Y’all gotta ask Punch,” she tweeted, noting that their relationship had “been hostile.” SZA eventually scrubbed those tweets. In the last year, says Henderson, the two have shared a more compassionate understanding. “I think it’s hard living under the magnifying glass,” he offers." https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-02-23/sza-sos-glows-up-in-public

Writing[edit]

  • She wrote over a hundred songs for SOS, shuffling back and forth between serious undertakings and what she called "palate cleanser" moments, parts of her schedule when she would quickly write full songs in between ones she took more seriously and wanted to meticulously finish.[1] Many songs like "Ghost in the Machine", "Snooze", "Kill Bill", and "I Hate U" were written under around 20 to 30 minutes; her works were primarily improvised, recounting that she "never [has] topics before [starting] a song"[2]
  • "She has a straightforward creative vision, and everyone just listens to her. It seems like she’s the head of everything"[3]

Boo! did I scare you?[edit]

Writing and recording

  • The album was recorded across several locations, from spaces within houses such as SZA's in Malibu and Rick Rubin's in Hawaii to professional studios including Shangri-La in Malibu and Westlake in Los Angeles. Many of the producers who helped SZA with Ctrl, such as Carter Lang and ThankGod4Cody, returned to work on SOS alongside new collaborators like Rob Bisel.[4]
  • SZA told Wonderland magazine for their July cover story that working on new music had left her anxious, confused about the different facets of herself she could express with every song. For the album, she said, she experimented with trap beats, acoustic sounds, and falsetto vocals, even taking inspiration from the music of folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.[5] (from Joni article)
  • SOS took five years to make,[2] with over 100 songs recorded across sessions.[6] From 2017 to the first half of 2019, SZA recorded infrequently, doing so only when she felt motivated to be in sessions partly because she had been performing on several concerts such as ones for Ctrl the Tour and Top Dawg Entertainment's Championship Tour.[7] In the meantime, she recorded the lead single "Good Days" in 2018 with Lang at her Malibu house.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-02-23/sza-sos-glows-up-in-public After touring, the two rented an Architectural Digest studio in Malibu where they recorded "Notice Me" and "Love Language"[7]
  • SZA reached out to artists who can possibly feature on her album primarily through online messages; many of them failed to respond

Created articles[edit]

  1. High School in Jakarta (creation)
  2. Smoking on My Ex Pack (creation)
  3. Open Arms (SZA song) (creation)
  4. DTM (song) (creation)
  5. Barbie World (creation)
  6. Kill Bill (SZA song) (creation)
  7. Guitar Songs (creation)
  8. F2F (song) (creation)
  9. Blind (SZA song) (creation)
  10. PSA (song) (creation)
  11. Gangsta Boo (song) (creation)
  12. SOS Tour (creation)
  13. The Grants (creation)
  14. Princess Diana (song) (creation)
  15. TwoAM (creation)
  16. The Boy Is Mine (Ariana Grande song) (creation)
  17. Saturn Returns Interlude (creation)
  18. Joni (song) (creation)
  19. Taylor Made (song) (creation)
  20. Lunch (song) (creation)

SZA[edit]

Shirt reception section[edit]

"The emotional and sonic complexity of SOS was teased by three such songs, pre-release singles placed toward the end that are crucial to the sequence. The brilliantly lean and scuffed Darkchild collaboration 'Shirt' allows all the space needed for the singer to unleash some terse invective directed outward and inward." https://www.allmusic.com/album/sos-mw0003876335

"instrumentally rich, vocally excellent masterclasses, but more impressive is the fact that they manage to blend in seamlessly to the rest of SOS, on which there are perhaps more than ten more songs that could have been singles to lead the record" https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/albums/sza-sos-hits-the-heights

"Maturity looks good on her—who among us hasn’t scolded herself with a version of 'damn bitch you so thirsty,' as she intones on the soundly quotable 'Shirt'?" https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/

Pitchfork's Julianne Escobedo Shepherd praised the maturity that came with the song's introspection around outside validation, highlighting the lyric "damn bitch you so thirsty" as quotable.

In addition, year-end lists from several publications have ranked it among the best 2022 songs.[8][9][10][11][12]

Live performances[edit]

  • Lollapalooza (Argentina)
    • Seek & Destroy
    • Love Galore
    • Broken Clocks
    • Forgiveless
    • Blind
    • Shirt
    • Ghost in the Machine
    • All the Stars
    • Garden (Say It like Dat)
    • F2F
    • Drew Barrymore
    • Low
    • Supermodel
    • Special
    • Nobody Gets Me
    • Saturn
    • Kiss Me More
    • Love Language
    • Snooze
    • Rich Baby Daddy
    • Kill Bill (?)
    • I Hate U (?)
    • The Weekend (?)
    • Good Days
  • Glastonbury
  • Dreamville
  • BST Hyde Park
  • Osheaga
  • Government Ball
  • Sol Blume
  • Gazebo
  • Primavera
  • Fuji Rock
  • Roskilde
  • Add this [13] citation to GiTM

Track listing[edit]

SOS track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."SOS"
Jay Versace1:57
2."Kill Bill"
  • Lang
  • Bisel
2:33
3."Seek & Destroy"
3:23
4."Low"
  • Bisel
  • Buccellati
  • Aire Atlantica
3:01
5."Love Language"
  • Yakob
  • Lang
  • ThankGod4Cody
  • Bisel[v]
3:03
6."Blind"
  • Rowe
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • Margaux Alexis Rosalena Whitney
  • Will Miller
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • Miller
  • Yuli
2:30
7."Used" (featuring Don Toliver)
2:26
8."Snooze"
3:21
9."Notice Me"
  • Halm
  • Uzowuru
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • ThankGod4Cody
2:40
10."Gone Girl"
  • Bhasker
  • Haynie
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • ThankGod4Cody
4:04
11."Smoking on My Ex Pack"
Jay Versace1:23
12."Ghost in the Machine" (featuring Phoebe Bridgers)
3:38
13."F2F"
  • Bisel
  • Lang
3:05
14."Nobody Gets Me"
3:00
15."Conceited"
  • Rowe
  • Fayne
  • Bisel
ThankGod4Cody2:31
16."Special"
2:38
17."Too Late"
2:44
18."Far"
3:00
19."Shirt"
3:01
20."Open Arms" (featuring Travis Scott)
  • Halm
  • Uzowuru
  • Bisel
3:59
21."I Hate U"
  • Rowe
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • Fayne
  • Dylan Patrice
  • Bisel
  • Lang
  • ThankGod4Cody
  • Sir Dylan
2:54
22."Good Days"
  • Lang
  • Los Hendrix
  • Nascent
  • Bisel[v]
4:39
23."Forgiveless" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard)
Darkchild2:21
Total length:67:51
Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
24."PSA"
  • Rowe
  • Lang
  • Miller
  • Lang
  • Miller
1:38
25."Joni" (featuring Don Toliver)   
26."Boy from South Detroit" (featuring Lizzo)   
27."Saturn"
3:06
28."Asparagus"   
29."On Accident"   
30."Mirrors"   
31."Guard Down"   
32."Nightbird"   
33."Butterfly Garden"   
34."Open Arms" (solo version)
  • Rowe
  • Halm
  • Uzowuru
  • Bisel
  • Ford
  • Halm
  • Uzowuru
  • Bisel
3:34
35."Take You Down"   
36."DTM"   
37."Work It"   
38."Gotta Go"   
39."Protect My Heart"   
40."27 Hours"   
41."Alice in Wonderland"   
42."Can You Still Call"   
43."Brace Yourself"   
44."Treat Me Better"   
45."Glo (Holy)"   
46."Problems"   
Total length:81:21

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer.
  • "Ghost in the Machine" and "Far" feature additional vocals by Sadhguru.
  • "Low" features additional vocals by Travis Scott.

Sample credits


SOS Credits[edit]

Instruments

  • SZA – lead vocals (all tracks); background vocals (14, 16, 20)
  • Travis Scott – additional vocals (4); lead vocals (20)
  • Don Toliver – lead vocals (7)
  • Phoebe Bridgers – lead vocals (12)
  • Lizzo – background vocals (13)
  • Granny – skit (7, 20)
  • Sadhguru – skit (12, 18)
  • Carter Lang – guitars (2, 13); bass (2, 13, 17); drums (2, 12–13); choir (2, 12); keyboards (3, 6, 12–13, 17); piano (12)
  • Rob Bisel – guitars (2, 13); bass (2, 13, 17); Mellotron (2); choir (2, 12); keyboards (3–4, 6, 12–13, 17); additional vocals (4); acoustic guitar (6); drums and piano (12); background vocals (14, 16, 20)
  • ThankGod4Cody – keyboards and programmed drums (3); choir (10); drums (17)
  • Scum – keyboards (3)
  • Alessandro Buccellati – keyboards and accordion (4)
  • Aire Atlantica – programmed drums (4)
  • Yuli – viola (6)
  • Will Miller – keyboards (6)
  • Stix – drums (10)
  • Jewchelle Brown – choir (10)
  • Storm Chapman – choir (10)
  • Erik Brooks – choir (10)
  • Chelsea Miller – choir (10)
  • Joslynn James – choir (10)
  • Roman Collins – choir (10)
  • Alexandria Arowora – choir (10)
  • Anthony Johnson – choir (10)
  • Charles Harmon – choir (10)
  • Dylan Neustadter – choir (10)
  • Imani Carolyn – choir (10)
  • Syd Tagle – choir (10)
  • Matt Cohn – drums (12)
  • Benny Blanco – keyboards and background vocals (16)
  • Blake Slatkin – keyboards and guitar (16)
  • Omer Fedi – keyboards (16)
  • Sammy Witte – guitars (17)
  • Still Woozy – guitars (17)
  • Teo Halm – guitar, drums, and keyboards (20)
  • Jacob Collier – background vocals (22)

Technical

  • Dale Becker – mastering (all tracks)
  • Shawn Everett – mastering (22), mixing (1, 22)
  • Katie Harvey – assistant mastering (all tracks)
  • Noah McCorkle – assistant mastering (all tracks)
  • Rob Bisel – engineering (all tracks); sound effects engineering (1); mixing (2, 6, 8, 12, 19–21); vocal mixing (1, 3, 17)
  • Carson Graham – sound effects engineering (1, 5–6, 9–10, 17–18)
  • Hector Castro – engineering (9, 15, 19, 21)
  • Dylan Neustadter – engineering (10–11)
  • Dave "Spanks" Schwerkolt – engineering (16)
  • Derek Keota – engineering (19, 23)
  • Micah Pettit – engineering (19, 23)
  • Syd Tagle – assistant engineering (2, 8, 10–12, 15–17)
  • Robert N. Johnson – assistant engineering (2, 4–6, 9, 12–15, 17–21)
  • Trey Pearce – assistant engineering (2, 9, 17)
  • Hayden Duncan – assistant engineering (3, 10, 12, 15–16)
  • Ben Sedano – assistant engineering (5, 7, 19)
  • Jon Sher – assistant engineering (5)
  • Noah Hashimoto – assistant engineering (7, 13)
  • Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit – assistant engineering (7)
  • Jonathan Lopez – assistant engineering (8, 14)
  • Patrick Gardner – assistant engineering (14)
  • Austin Christy – assistant engineering (15)
  • Jeremy Dilli – assistant engineering (16, 18)
  • Shelby Epstine – assistant engineering (20)
  • Josh Deguzman – engineering for mix (4, 7, 11, 15)
  • Bryce Bordone – engineering for mix (14, 16)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Jon Castelli – mixing (4, 7, 11, 15)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (5, 18)
  • Dana Nielsen – mixing (9–10, 13)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (14, 16)
  • Mike Seaberg – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Jacob Richards – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • DJ Riggins – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Rachel Blum – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Zach Pereyra – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Anthony Vilchis – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Trey Station – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Derek "206derek" Anderson – vocal engineering, vocal mixing (4, 7, 20)
  • Ryan "Mellow" Venable – vocal engineering (7)
  • Will Maclellan – vocal engineering (12)
  • Joe Visciano – vocal mixing (22)
  • Carter Lang – programming (14)
  • Benny Blanco – programming (14, 16), engineering (16)
  • Blake Slatkin – programming (16)
  • Shellback – programming (16)
  • Omer Fedi – programming (16)

SOS Credits (alphabetical)[edit]

Instruments

  • SZA – lead vocals (all tracks); background vocals (tracks 14, 16, 20)
  • Travis Scott – additional vocals (4); lead vocals (20)
  • Don Toliver – lead vocals (7)
  • Phoebe Bridgers – lead vocals (12)
  • Lizzo – background vocals (13)
  • Granny – skit (7, 20)
  • Sadhguru – skit (12, 18)
  • Alexandria Arowora – choir (10)
  • Aire Atlantica – programmed drums (4)
  • Rob Bisel – guitars (2, 13); bass (2, 13, 17); Mellotron (2); choir (2, 12); keyboards (3, 4, 6, 12, 13, 17); additional vocals (4); acoustic guitar (6); drums, piano (12); background vocals (14, 16, 20)
  • Benny Blanco – keyboards, background vocals (16)
  • Erik Brooks – choir (10)
  • Jewchelle Brown – choir (10)
  • Alessandro Buccellati – keyboards, accordion (4)
  • Imani Carolyn – choir (10)
  • Storm Chapman – choir (10)
  • Matt Cohn – drums (12)
  • Jacob Collier – background vocals (22)
  • Roman Collins – choir (10)
  • Omer Fedi – keyboards (16)
  • Teo Halm – guitar, drums, keyboards (20)
  • Charles Harmon – choir (10)
  • Joslynn James – choir (10)
  • Anthony Johnson – choir (10)
  • Carter Lang – guitars (2, 13); bass (2, 13, 17); drums (2, 12, 13); choir (2, 12); keyboards (3, 6, 12, 13, 17); piano (12)
  • Chelsea Miller – choir (10)
  • Will Miller – keyboards (6)
  • Dylan Neustadter – choir (10)
  • Scum – keyboards (3)
  • Blake Slatkin – keyboards, guitar (16)
  • Still Woozy – guitars (17)
  • Stix – drums (10)
  • Syd Tagle – choir (10)
  • ThankGod4Cody – keyboards, programmed drums (3); choir (10); drums (17)
  • Sammy Witte – guitars (17)
  • Yuli – viola (6)

Technical

  • Derek "206derek" Anderson – vocal engineering, vocal mixing (4, 7, 20)
  • Dale Becker – mastering (all tracks)
  • Rob Bisel – engineering (all tracks); sound effects engineering (1); mixing (2, 6, 8, 12, 19–21); vocal mixing (1, 3, 17)
  • Benny Blanco – programming (14, 16), engineering (16)
  • Rachel Blum – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Bryce Bordone – engineering for mix (14, 16)
  • Jon Castelli – mixing (4, 7, 11, 15)
  • Hector Castro – engineering (9, 15, 19, 21)
  • Austin Christy – assistant engineering (15)
  • Josh Deguzman – engineering for mix (4, 7, 11, 15)
  • Jeremy Dilli – assistant engineering (16, 18)
  • DJ Riggins – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Hayden Duncan – assistant engineering (3, 10, 12, 15, 16)
  • Shelby Epstine – assistant engineering (20)
  • Shawn Everett – mixing (1, 22), mastering (22)
  • Omer Fedi – programming (16)
  • Patrick Gardner – assistant engineering (14)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (14, 16)
  • Carson Graham – sound effects engineering (1, 5, 6, 9, 10, 17, 18)
  • Katie Harvey – assistant mastering (all tracks)
  • Noah Hashimoto – assistant engineering (7, 13)
  • Robert N. Johnson – assistant engineering (2, 4–6, 9, 12–15, 17–21)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Derek Keota – engineering (19, 23)
  • Carter Lang – programming (14)
  • Jonathan Lopez – assistant engineering (8, 14)
  • Will Maclellan – vocal engineering (12)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (5, 18)
  • Noah McCorkle – assistant mastering (all tracks)
  • Dylan Neustadter – engineering (10, 11)
  • Dana Nielsen – mixing (9, 10, 13)
  • Trey Pearce – assistant engineering (2, 9, 17)
  • Zach Pereyra – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Micah Pettit – engineering (19, 23)
  • Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit – assistant engineering (7)
  • Jacob Richards – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Dave "Spanks" Schwerkolt – engineering (16)
  • Mike Seaberg – assistant mixing (3, 17, 23)
  • Ben Sedano – assistant engineering (5, 7, 19)
  • Shellback – programming (16)
  • Jon Sher – assistant engineering (5)
  • Blake Slatkin – programming (16)
  • Trey Station – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Syd Tagle – assistant engineering (2, 8, 10–12, 15–17)
  • Ryan "Mellow" Venable – vocal engineering (7)
  • Anthony Vilchis – assistant mixing (5, 18)
  • Joe Visciano – vocal mixing (22)
  1. ^ Rowe, Solána (December 13, 2023). "Behind SZA's SOS Album & Tour" (Interview). Interviewed by Zane Lowe. Apple Music. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2022 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Aswad, Jem (2023-11-29). "SZA, Variety's Hitmaker of the Year, Unpacks 'SOS,' Her 9 Grammy Noms, and Says 'F— You' to Song Leakers". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  3. ^ Kareh, Hunter Harris | Photography by Ethan James Green for WSJ. Magazine | Styling by Emilie. "SZA's Anxious Rise to Pop Superstardom". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  4. ^ Mamo, Heran (2023-10-11). "Meet SZA's Secret Weapons: Her 'SOS' Producers". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  5. ^ "SZA Talks New Music, Her Fears and Not Being Confined to One Genere". Wonderland. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Cowen, Trace William. "SZA Gives Update on Upcoming Album, Says She's Recorded 100 Songs". Complex. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  7. ^ a b Hiatt, Brian (January 29, 2023). "The Making of SZA's SOS". Rolling Stone Music Now (Podcast). Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  8. ^ N; P; R (2022-12-15). "The 100 Best Songs Of 2022". NPR. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  9. ^ Dazed (2022-12-15). "The 20 best tracks of 2022". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  10. ^ "The 100 best songs of 2022". The FADER. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  11. ^ Staff, Billboard; Staff, Billboard (2022-12-07). "The 100 Best Songs of 2022: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  12. ^ McNeal, Bria; Hassan, Ammal; Miller, Matt (2022-12-02). "The 45 Best Songs of 2022". Esquire. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  13. ^ Reese, Alexis (August 20, 2019). "SZA Reveals Sophomore Album Is On the Way". Vibe. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:PSA/sandbox&oldid=1225083131"