If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the March 13, 2023, issue of Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism.

And who better to usher in a new time-shifted era than the queen of the 18-minute album? This makes the song seem quicker than it is, and may set a precedent for future chart-toppers to come. Using the remixed production as the track’s new spine, it becomes a more-jingly earworm, while the vocals (and Ice Spice’s verse) stick to a normal pace. 2” serves as a bridge between the hack-iness of sped-up trend hopping and genuine artistic needle-pushing. In all of its jittery, ringtone-esque 2000s glory, “Pt. But this redux of PinkPantheress’s 2022 track is more than just a necessary cross-pond linkup.

Of course the year’s first true breakout hit features the patron saint of Zoomer brevity and Twitter’s own Princess Diana. Typically, these versions are successful because they’re danceable a faster BPM equals more urgency, more passion, more energy. But by pitching up a song that’s already slow and emotional, “ceilings - sped up” invokes a quiet, childlike desperation, with lyrics that still manages to strike a chord no matter the speed. The new “ceilings” has mirrored the trajectory of past remixed versions, becoming so popular that they boost the original (hers from 2022) to the Hot 100. If you want to know what Phoebe Bridgers would sound like if she were nine years old, look no further than the sped-up take on Lizzy McAlpine’s “ceilings.” The singer-songwriter, who got big through Instagram and (you guessed it) TikTok, is an ideal candidate for this kind of remix, with an already built-in fan base on these platforms. “ceilings (Sped-Up Version),” Lizzy McAlpine (2023) Fun! Last month, the singer took a note from the book of Lacy and re-released the song as a single, coupled with a “Kill Bill – Sped Up Version.” By pitching up the original a few tones, the sarcastic juxtaposition is enhanced hearing SZA sing “I just killed my ex / not the best idea” in an even-more chipper voice lives up to a quote she gave Glamour in December: “This is my villain era.” In this case, it’s a Disney one. SZA’s “Kill Bill” has been massive on both streaming and radio, a credit to its woozy instrumental and deeply sardonic lyrics about murdering your ex. Who knows! Instead of balking at their existence, though, it’s worth understanding where this “new” sound comes from, and how there might be more to it than just shorter attention spans.įor even more on sped-up remixes, you can check out this recent episode of Switched on Pop. And these remixes have been doing numbers, motivating artists and labels to put out official versions to cash in on the boom.Īs with anything new, this trend has also managed to raise some concerns: if it continues, does the idea of the professional remix DJ fade out? Do the subgenres of ghetto house and juke, which were spawned by Black artists in Chicago speeding up house records, become commodified without us even realizing it? Maybe TikTok will collapse in a few months anyway. For others it’s akin to how people play podcasts on 1.5 speed: you can get around to more music in a shorter amount of time. It’s energetic, it’s lighter, it makes songs more enjoyable.

While some might not see the appeal in a pitch-shifted two-decade-old Michael Bublé song, listeners seem to genuinely enjoy how sped-up songs make them feel. The technique is as easy as turning a record player knob from 33 to 45 RPMs (that’s revolutions per minute). But, most of these sped-up versions, save for a few, feel the same: The songs are often pitched up ever so slightly, sometimes resulting in the shift from a minor key to a major. A pop hit like Bruno Mars’ “ 24k Magic” might shine at its normal pace, but accelerated, it becomes glittery and Chipmunkian - more fit for Mario Kart than radio play. Simply put, the initial recording has been drastically sped up.įor months, high-BPM (that’s beats per minute) versions like this have dominated social media, with everyone from Lana Del Rey to Yeat getting the quick-tempo treatment. If you’ve opened TikTok recently, you’ve likely scrolled past a video soundtracked by a fresh take on Miguel’s 2010 single “Sure Thing” - the defining moodiness of the original replaced by a jaunty bounce, and Miguel’s voice, once sultry, turned infantile. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photos: 20th Century Fox, Charlotte Wales, Getty

Vulture shift knob