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Description:
Ledebutant: About two months ago, illuminati offered to let me write a song to go
with an amazing piece of music he called Bringing Down the Satellites.
I thought the title was very cool and suited the song because the
music made me think of outer-space, night, the desert (I found out
later he lives in New Mexico) so I really wanted to keep it.
When I sat down to write, I thought of the line, "We're intertwined,
but the planets misaligned," from there it was a short hop to the
concept of star-crossed lovers, especially people who meet online and
fall in love without really knowing one another.
My handy, dandy Complete Works of Shakespeare was sitting on the
coffee table, so I blatantly ripped off two phrases from the prologue
to Romeo and Juliet. This may or may not have had something to do with
the fact that Pie had just had me read some of R+J on his song,
Kaleidoscope (he wants 15%). All the spoken word portions may also
have been influenced by Kaleidoscope, but I need to ask my lawyer,
first.
Illuminati was a dream to work with, contributed so many great ideas
to the vocals and song structure and slaved over the final production.
I am so happy with the end result. I hope you guys like it, too.
illuminati: I would like to thank Ledebutant for being a lyrical and vocal star (and a really great person to work with. Don’t be fooled by the melancholy in the song, she’s one of the funniest people I know.). The music for this one was completed in about two days right around the heart of the summer. It is about the desert and the stars. I just didn’t know it until Ledeb added the words. I guess we’re all intertwined. May all your satellites be brought down.
Lyrics:
Bringing Down the Satellites
There are swarms of stars
in every constellation.
We name and number them
to try to constrain them.
Sometimes two stars, both alike in dignity,
deny our claim and break to new mutiny.
I don't know you (but I dream that I do)
We're intertwined, but the planets misaligned,
put us in the right place at the wrong time.
What do space or time have to do with love?
What do space or time have to do with love?
What do space or time have to do with us?
If I could constrain what I feel,
beam it into the sky,
Orion would fall upon his bow,
the satellites would break the ground,
churn tunnels to the core,
explode out the other side
The Earth would burn, yet
somehow still turn.
We're intertwined, but the planets misaligned,
gave us other lives at the wrong time.
This is what space and time have to do with love,
This is what space and time have to do with love,
This is what space and time has to do with us.
There are swarms of stars in every constellation,
Universal laws that always constrain them.
We chase deep-sky objects
but can't ever obtain them.
Gravity locks us on the ground,
but there's something new in the Universe,
that I'm not sure
I can reverse.
(I love you)
We're intertwined, but the planets misaligned X4
What do space and time have to do with love?
What do space and time have to do with us?
I don't know you, but I dream that I do .
Hardware:
Various Macintosh computers, including my now deceased iBook, M-Audio Keystation 49e
Software:
Garageband, various software synths
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Wow. &mdash 08/30/05 - 05:24:38 PM
I love it. It keeps sticking in my head and I come back to
hear it again. Nice work. [ Reply to This ]
Wow. &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:11:56 PM
Thanks, monstermama. Head stickiness is always a good thing. I'm so glad
you came back to hear it again.
[ Reply to This ]
Wow. &mdash 08/31/05 - 01:52:47 PM
Ledebutant and I, as well as our legal advisors, wish to convey our apologies for anything that our product may have caused to stick in your head. This is not an admission of liability or an admission of guilt. Even though we caused it to happen. On purpose. Just kidding. No, really we did. [ Reply to This ]
Worldy, other-worldy, excellence &mdash 08/30/05 - 05:25:10 PM
I'm a sucker for intelligent life forms. This piece was put
together by two of those types: humans. Such a very fine
concept. Brilliant lyrics. Delivered with a great deal of
earthiness by ledebutant. I'll stop now and vote, because I
know more praise will follow. Great job you two.
10-10-10-10 [ Reply to This ]
Worldy, other-worldy, excellence &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:17:18 PM
Thanks for the comment! Ledeb did do otherworldly work on the song. And if
you listen closely, you can hear the All-Galaxy choir backing her up. How she
convinced those little alien fellas to sing on our humble little song I'll never
know. [ Reply to This ]
Worldy, other-worldy, excellence &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:24:07 PM
I think the way I got the little alien fellas to sing on this song might be illegal
in New Mexico, so I'll keep it to myself.
---
http://www.macjams.com/song/13046
(collab with illuminati) [ Reply to This ]
wrong place, wrong time.. &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:15:39 PM
story of my life for sure. really beautiful softness whirling
about on a bed of stars. love the vocals, wish the guitars
were a little louder in spots. nice goin, you two [ Reply to This ]
wrong place, wrong time.. &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:14:13 PM
Oh, I'm so happy you like it. Thank you so much for being so nice about the
song. I'm sorry to hear you've been star-crossed at times. Always cool to get
a comment from you though, Mr. Score. [ Reply to This ]
SLARBLE TOM HUMPERDINK! &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:23:59 PM
SLARBLE TOM HUMPERDINK! &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:17:55 PM
Speaking of little space alien fellas...If you listen closely, you can hear bizarre
banging his helmet on his space pod, during the chorus. [ Reply to This ]
A plague on both your mouses! &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:37:22 PM
THERE'S...SO...MUCH...TO...LIKE...HERE...!
The lyrics are great, great, great... The melody moves
smoothly from the conversational/declamatory to the
sung...
Ledebutant, your singing is really good here... I have to
listen again (easy to do, as I'm downloading it)... but
there's a bit there in the middle where you dip into your
lower register and it's JUST RIGHT... The doubling is your
best yet... Doubling the spoken vocal and then also having
following melodic vocal(s)... It's really the piece, for me,
where you show the rest of us what you can do when
turned loose vocally... I'm stunned and amazed and just
plain pleased... 'Cause it's so good and so fresh and
imaginative, but so accessible, too,... it's got its arty,
proggish bit but it's also pop...
There's no melodrama to the vocal delivery, no vocal
pyrotechnics, but a wistful emotion comes through
beautifully...
My wife sitting behind me has also chimed in, saying,
"What's that?... This one's good..."
thepeep is getting ready for bed, but will weigh in
shortly... Since he continues to speak, at least, of his
magnum opuses, "Like Rockets to Go" and "Clouds of
Love", you may have to reserve a couple percentage points
for HIS lawyers...
In the instrumental bed, I love the varying use of the
texture of what sounds like a real acoustic guitar (but is
it?) in among the synths... I agree with whoever wrote that
there are bits where I'd like to hear that guitar a little
more forward in the mix, but that's not a good/bad, that's
a matter of taste and inclination, I think... I do love when
it comes forward at the end of the song...
The abrupt ending really works in this song...
And I can't hear a betraying fault in the production...
Instantly a favorite...
'Tis enough... 'twill serve...
Ed
[ Reply to This ]
A plague on both your mouses! &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:50:23 PM
Thank you Mr. Witty Title-writer. Bless you for saying that you liked the lower
register portions of the song, because that's a troublesome area for me. I'm
much happier with the way my voice sounds on things that are nice and high,
like the ooh-hoo-ooh's in the background.
Illuminati practically had to whip me to get me to sing with any confidence in
the lower register and then he did all sorts of fancy production things
(techincal term, I hope I didn't lose you) to make the vocal sound richer.
Doubling the spoken vocal and the melodic vocal was also illuminati's idea.
My early versions had bits that were sung and bits that were spoken and it
was his idea to layer both parts through the whole song. He really did a lot of
very cool things in the production.
I'll set aside some of the proceeds for thepeep, thanks for the heads up! [ Reply to This ]
A plague on both your mouses! &mdash 08/31/05 - 01:56:21 PM
Actually, a trackpad was used for much of the composition process. I think you can hear the influence of the trackpad throughout. Thanks so much for your detailed critique and kind words. [ Reply to This ]
Dear ledebutant... &mdash 08/30/05 - 07:07:24 PM
...I thought the song was really great. Seriously. I don't know
what I like about it, but I just do in some way. I like the
singing best.
Sincerely,
thepeep [ Reply to This ]
Dear ledebutant... &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:52:37 PM
Edge, I'm so happy that you like the song, you know I'm a big fan of yours, so
it makes me happy that you like this. [ Reply to This ]
did your iBook sacrifice its life for this? &mdash 08/30/05 - 07:11:20 PM
The sheer creativity of this must have blown out your poor
iBook.
The music is hypnotic with the insistent recurrent beat
and chords...the lyrics are very provocative (the stars &
love, aligned or otherwise, is a universal theme) and your
vocals, ledebutant, are excellent. I like the way you speak
the words and combine it with the singing.
This imaginative mix did sound just a little "tinny" through
my headphones. Was this an intentional effect? It sounded
good, but I would have liked more "lows" in the spectrum.
I agree that the guitar could have been more in the
forefront here. It's a nice touch.
Very nice combination of sounds and the pacing on this
song is very good; various layers come in and out in an
interesting way.
Good job!
[ Reply to This ]
We passed the Cameron test! &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:57:34 PM
Wow! How exciting that you like this Cameron, you know I bow down before
your ears, although now I'm racked with guilt over illuminati's computer! :-)
[ Reply to This ]
We passed the Cameron test! &mdash 08/31/05 - 10:07:21 AM
Cameron, yes I think that laptop gave it's life for this song. And from here on, this song will wear a black arm-band, and is dedicated to fallen portable computing devices everywhere. Thanks for checking our song out, and thanks for all the kind words as well as for the helpful critique.. [ Reply to This ]
Your best to date. &mdash 08/30/05 - 08:59:05 PM
Kudos to both of you. This is one of the best songs I've
heard on Macjams. I can feel the time spent on this piece.
The lyrics are beautiful and reach out to so many people
dealing with love. And you managed to stray away from
cliches!
Illum. did a fantastic job on production. A lot of great
tricks and spin moves. The ending is as precious and
telling as the song itself. I wish you had a better
microphone. My only minor crit. Didn't hurt the strength
of the song though.
Downloaded, and replayed many times.
Thanks,
Brandonp [ Reply to This ]
Your best to date. &mdash 08/30/05 - 09:13:55 PM
Thank you, thank you, Brandon. You know I have so much respect for your
music, so your kudos are meaningful.
I'd love to get a mic upgrade suggestion from you (or anyone). I used an
MXL-990 on this, but Christmas is coming and I plan to ask for tons of
equipment.
I wonder if the issue is my mic or the amount of compression that was
needed to smooth out my vocal. I had a lot of trouble controlling volume
between the verse and chorus, so Matt had to walk a line between fidelity
and smoothness when he was producing. Maybe he'll have more to say about
it, having heard the unproduced vocal.
Also, really pleased you didn't find the lyrics cliched. That was a big concern
of mine. [ Reply to This ]
Beautiful &mdash 08/30/05 - 09:52:41 PM
Yeah, wow, overflowing with great creativity. I love the music, writing and that astonishing lovely voice... who is that again? Oh yeah, Lisa you've outdone yourself again. Don't know how you come up with lyrics so good--interesting, ringing of truth and thematically unified. And the music and production are just brilliant, always engaging and spacy like the words. Just incredible work illuminati and ledebutant. [ Reply to This ]
Multiple personalities?! &mdash 08/31/05 - 01:19:20 AM
I really like this one - Lisa your doubled vocals are
fantastic - very original and so spot on. I'm struggling to
place the voices they remind me of, but it's two distinctly
different people. Maybe the sung voice is Liz Phair,
Madonna, Edie Brickell (???) ... the spoken one I'm not sure
of even more. Whatever, they sound great together.
Love the background too, it really suits. I'm with Cameron
though, and would love to hear this with some serious
bass happening - that would lift it to another level
altogether.
Damn fine piece of work!
Neil [ Reply to This ]
ethereal &mdash 08/31/05 - 11:51:31 AM
Nice, I like the spoken/sung lyrics intertwined... well-
written & well-sung & harmonized. I definitely enjoy the
music, it continued to move and morph with Ledeb's
singing/speaking, creating sort of a hypnotizing feel.
Very fresh and intriguing song! I've been in the
staracrossed twilight zone and soooo glad to be out of
there!
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
Outer space, inner space &mdash 08/31/05 - 01:45:56 PM
Just a great groove. The music is very cool. Lot%u2019s of interesting sounds. I really like the beat. Very well composed. Carries the vocals very well. Top notch production.
As the vocals come in, a very sci-fi feel is created. Excellent blend of vocals and music. Interesting story. Very intimate lyrically, Facinating conscept, singing a love song to an individual of a different time and place. Very romantic.
%u201CI don't know you, but I dream that I do .%u201D
Someone out there is lucky [ Reply to This ]
it's that voice again... &mdash 08/31/05 - 04:22:18 PM
...oh - shut up!!!!!
:-)
Great stuff guys. Hypnotic.
It's like Edie Brickell meets Enigma - love it
[ Reply to This ]
Hawt &mdash 08/31/05 - 07:44:30 PM
Very sexy tune...and one of my favorite of ol' Bill's lines, as
well. Nicely done. [ Reply to This ]
Hawt &mdash 08/31/05 - 07:45:52 PM
Very sexy tune...and one of my favorite of ol' Bill's lines, as
well. Nicely done. [ Reply to This ]
Cool! &mdash 09/01/05 - 08:58:31 AM
Great collaboration... overall, the lyrics and singing
work well with the music. The stummed guitar part
was a nice touch. My only criticism is with the actual
sound of the vocals.... I don't know if this is because
of a cheap mic, but sometimes they sound like they
are in a tin can... was this intenional? Also, the
music was too quiet in areas and could be brought
up. [ Reply to This ]
Great! &mdash 09/01/05 - 10:52:27 AM
Very spacious and epic.
Great vocals above very cool sounds.
It's almost hypnotic...
Great job!
[ Reply to This ]
Beguiling soundscapes and vocals &mdash 09/01/05 - 12:54:57 PM
Really nice track guys. Kind of reminds me a bit of Lemon
Jelly or that Orb track with Ricki Lee Jones (fluffy clouds?)..
Lisa your vocals are great as usual...do I detect remnants
of the Bedfordshire accent there? Its cooler than a popsicle
in shades!
Steve [ Reply to This ]
Brurlliant Stuff &mdash 09/01/05 - 01:03:14 PM
Wow, this is stunning stuff, love the mix, love the voices,
love the idea and the feel and the sounds swirling around the
stars, Thanks for lifting my spirits up today. [ Reply to This ]
oooh &mdash 09/01/05 - 04:51:45 PM
bit late in catching this wonderful track,
Fabulous vocals and harmonies Ledeb.
I really like the lyrics and the whole arrangement of the
music,
a fine collab from the two of you.
D/L
Slimmie [ Reply to This ]
Did someone say 'space'....? &mdash 09/02/05 - 11:51:18 PM
oops! I thought I had commented on this track, but no!
Excellent collaboration, you two!
Your voice is perfect for this, Lisa, and illuminati, great
backing track.
It just all fits so perfectly. Really, really nice work on this
one. Do another collab already! ;)
[ Reply to This ]
Did someone say 'space'....? &mdash 09/03/05 - 09:16:24 AM
We're space sisters this week, Mysti!
Don't worry, illuminati is working on the BDTS dance mix, as we speak. [ Reply to This ]
amazing &mdash 09/03/05 - 01:48:14 PM
great vocals, great lyrics, great sound, great music. What
else can we ask for? Keep it coming. [ Reply to This ]
Starcrossedness... &mdash 09/04/05 - 03:17:55 PM
I'm a sucker for lyrical conceits like this... I really like the
way this is done. There is something very sad and strange
about this song of misplaced love set in the big big
emptiness. And illuminati's backing is so rich and lush. It's
a great piece of teamwork.
I love the cut off ending too. Beautiful.
[ Reply to This ]
I love it! &mdash 09/05/05 - 09:46:44 AM
nice mood &mdash 09/05/05 - 09:43:08 PM
back to the 80`s.
it has a strange kinda feeling.
i like it, it`s fun to listen. [ Reply to This ]
stellar &mdash 09/15/05 - 09:18:48 AM
This is great work - such a wonderful collaboration! I think what I like most about it, beyond the celestial singing and the stellar musical performance, is that the complexity of the lyrical content and the musical production beautifully reinforces the cosmic theme of swarming space and its confusing implications for earthbound star-crossed lovers. [ Reply to This ]
stellar &mdash 10/04/05 - 08:42:35 AM
Whoa! &mdash 02/03/06 - 10:36:03 PM
Kick Ass! The lyrics and vocals are sexy, but the music is equally sexy!
Cool! [ Reply to This ]
seductive &mdash 05/01/06 - 02:41:36 AM
Firstly, I'm always attracted by great titles, and I love the title. They are complimented by smart, thoughtful lyrics. The production is crisp as a new tenner, and the instruments support the lovely vox - I really like it when the acoustic comes in.
Bottom line is, I'd buy this if I heard it on the radio.
Great work, guys. [ Reply to This ]
* &mdash 04/14/07 - 02:29:08 PM
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hear it again. Nice work.
[ Reply to This ]