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Lightfingers [with Rebsie] by mandolinquent [Email]
Genre: Folk-Rock

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1974
Comments: 20
Votes: 23
Plays: 227
Last Played: Mar 08, 2008 - 04:50:04 AM
Downloads: 98
Fans: 6
Uploaded: Oct 10, 2005 - 02:51:19 AM
Last Updated: Jan 24, 2006 - 03:49:07 PM



Keywords:
shoplifting (3)shoplifters (1)black eyed peas (1)mandolin (37)rebsie (46)alambama 3 (1)bloc party (1)alt.folk (1)revolving doris (11)
Description:
Re-worked version of a song submitted last month by Rebsie... New vocal; new mix; a few minor changes. Thanks for suggestions to those who made them.

- Rebsie: vocals
- William: vocals, mandolin, violin, tin whistle, PETI harmonium, GB bass and drums.
- Doris: revolving

Lyrics:
Despite her second class degree
In English and philosophy
She works the till at HMV
And dreams that some day she could be
Something better
Something wonderful

She spots this guy who casually
Flicks through the racks at A to B
He winks at her and smiles as he
grabs an Alabama 3
Off the shelf
Slips it in his shirt


La la la la la la lightfingers
La la lal la la light fing-ers
La la la la la la lightfingers
La la lal la la light fing-ers


So after work she leaves the store
And he is waiting by the door
Like he knows that he's going to score
She walks past and tries to ignore
that cocksure look
But he calls after

The club is empty; the dj
Plays This Year's Love by David Gray
You want to dance; he says no way
He doesn't have that much to say
But in the dark
His arm slips round her

Chorus

She works the till at HMV
And dreams of petty larceny
The way he was lightfingeredly
As she sells the next cd
Black Eyed Peas
14.99

She works the till at HMV
And sometimes, just occasionally
When she's sure that no one can see
She takes a disc by Bloc Party
off the shelf
Slips it in her bag

Chorus

Easy come easy go x 4


Hardware:
Mandolin, violin, whistle, an iBook and a G5

Software:
GB: PETI software instruments
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The summer hit of 2006! &mdash 10/10/05 - 03:47:02 AM
This is still a great song (indeed all your songs are). I've just had a
quick listen to the first version and the main difference I can pick up is
that Mando's vocals are more up front (and a bit stronger - have you
done another take?) On the first take they were a bit weedy so this has
addressed my main production concern. I was still skipping around
the house to this so it definitely hasn't lost anything by being
reworked.

You should try and release this on a single - it's very radio friendly
without being at all bland. It's the sort of thing brickies up and down
the country would be whistling within a week of its release!

And you've got a track you can constantly update to include mention of
the bands of the day (if there are any that rhyme of course)!

[ Reply to This ]
The summer hit of 2006! &mdash 10/14/05 - 04:53:49 AM
Thanks KK! Crack out the fiddle...


[ Reply to This ]
nice one . . . &mdash 10/10/05 - 05:38:39 AM
good re-working guys . . .

cleaner production throughout . . .

. . . where's my duffle coat ?

talulah gosh lives on !

safe

cj

[ Reply to This ]
nice one . . . &mdash 10/14/05 - 04:59:25 AM
You won't be needing your duffle coat where you're heading... Leave it here
so I can use it.


[ Reply to This ]
It's Even Better! &mdash 10/10/05 - 09:42:28 AM
I really liked this song in its original format

This re-work /tweak is even better

I agree with the post re: get this on the radio!

[ Reply to This ]
It's Even Better! &mdash 10/14/05 - 08:05:01 AM
dw... thanks.

My kids tell me to shut up all the time, so it's kind of nice to come here and
be told we should be on the radio.

[ Reply to This ]
terrifc violin, singin . . . &mdash 10/10/05 - 09:43:48 AM
This seems like it has a finer edge.
Like that theme where you sing and the mandolin kicks it. Very nice
theme there.
Cool lyrics
Nice control of the instrumentation.

[ Reply to This ]
terrifc violin, singin . . . &mdash 10/14/05 - 07:59:55 AM
thetiler... thanks a huge amount for that. One of the things that makes MJ for
me is comments like yours from someone who really CAN play.

[ Reply to This ]
I agree with country john.. &mdash 10/10/05 - 11:11:39 AM
except I don't have a duffle coat! I just love this song.. as a matter of fact on a few occasions it was stuck in my head. As I was singing 'la la la la la la lightfingers' I thought.. where do I know this song from?? Oh yes, mando and rebsie!! haha. Thanks again for this song. The both of you are very talented. ~l

[ Reply to This ]
love it! &mdash 10/10/05 - 11:46:09 AM
I agree of course with the radio comments, this is very readio friendly. I
love the progression of your verses, very awesome, my one comment
would be that I'm not sure the chorus works as well as it could, not being
one with a great amount of technical/musical know how couldn't say what
it needed, but from a first listen standpoint (which is often good) it struck
me a tad abruptly. But great job guys as always.

[ Reply to This ]
I missed the first version... &mdash 10/10/05 - 07:02:10 PM
of this wonderful song. It took me back to some of the early British
tunes that came over in the mid-sixties (Kinks-A Well Respected Man,
for one). This is such a fun, light-hearted song. The lyrics are so
pictorially descriptive. Mando, you do a fine job of singing the lead
here, you almost don't need the fantastic voice of Rebsie to join you.
But I am glad she does, 'cause it seals the deal! Instrumentation is
really enjoyable. So much ear-candy.

Infectious chorus, great hook. And I love the "out-take" at the end.

Jack

[ Reply to This ]
This really was &mdash 10/11/05 - 06:27:43 PM
an awful lot of fun to listen to! Excellent light-hearted song about petty
theft. I like the vocals so much on this...they are no more than they
should be. In my opinion, perfect for this song!

[ Reply to This ]
Fantastic!! &mdash 10/12/05 - 08:13:41 PM
Yip, I'm loving this one! Agree with all the comments previously said, and am now having a coughing fot after choking on my drink with laughter at that 'outtake'.... lol!

[ Reply to This ]
Big Smile &mdash 10/23/05 - 09:13:39 AM
What a lovely, breezy tune. I enjoyed listening to the reworking here very
much and I enjoyed the original a great deal.
If this were on the radio, I'd listen to the radio again.

[ Reply to This ]
Glad to find you thru "Mystery Macjammers" &mdash 11/02/05 - 12:13:08 PM
Wonderful songwriting. Don't change a thing.

The production needs work, however.

EQ and mix. This sounds like it was mixed thru headphones. When I
listen on my (admittedly not the greatest) powered speakers, there is
not enough low end or high end. The bass is not punchy.
Vocals. Wow, you and Rebsie sound absolutely great together. But
(you knew there'd be a but, no?) I noticed three things about the
performance. One, you can put both your vocals further in front. It's
amazing when you listen to a lot of music on the radio, just how far in
front the volcals are sometimes. This is less so in grunge and post
grunge, but quite evident on most other songs. Two. Vocal EQ and
mix. What I hear is your vocal sounding a little farther back than
Rebsie's and not as well defined. This is common between male and
female voices. The generally higher specturm of a woman's voice cuts
thru better. The effect is that Rebsie's voice sounds too loud relative to
yours. The cure is not more highs in yours or less in hers, but in
careful attention to midrange frequencies. Three. This is something I'm
guilty of because I am basically lazy. I don't know if that describes
you, but frankly, you're too good to get away with being lazy. The
issue is rehearsal. This is true to a lesser extent with the instruments,
but your big issue is Vocal rehearsal. Vocals grab the most attention,
so a laissez-faire vocal is very noticable, especially on the La-la chorus
of this particular song. You two have to strive to be totally in sync and
in tune. The song will be much the better for it.

The choice of instrumentation is wonderful and spot on.

Okay, now just a couple of totally subjective nitpicks. I think the song
would go over better if it was a little faster. When I hear it faster, it
slips into a very nice groove. Lastly, when you sing, it sounds as if you
are trying to sing with the tempo too strictly. The lyric is delightfully
conversational and you would (I think) have a more interesting
rhythmic interplay between the melody and the accompaniment if you
sang it that way. In other words, let the lyric phrase end before the
accompaniment, or drag it out after. Whatever sounds more natural.

Glad to have found you guys. I'm going to go back thru your earlier
stuff and get as much on my iPod as I can if it's as good as this. I
promise I won't be as long winded in my comments, though.


[ Reply to This ]
Nice tune! &mdash 12/16/05 - 07:47:56 AM
Fun, good energy and lyrics. Sounds great to me. The only thing is the last lines of the verses ("his arm slips round her" etc.) the harmony consistently was a little pitchy. Love the beginning and end, fun and effective. But if at all possible, fixing those (few) intonation trouble spots would make a load of difference. Really enjoyed it, thanks!

[ Reply to This ]
Petty theft, petty lives &mdash 12/21/05 - 11:07:16 AM
Nice job of storytelling. Nice job of singing.
And nice job of music playing - the theme of "light fingers" carries out to the deft touch of instrumentation, too!

[ Reply to This ]
la la la lovely &mdash 01/15/06 - 08:14:52 AM
Love the playing and singing on this, really lovely, but what i really like is the subject matter you've chosen for this type of song - a traditional style tune with really funny, contemporary lyrics.

A catchy tune about shoplifting - it brought back memories of my childhood!

[ Reply to This ]
Stopped by ... &mdash 05/24/06 - 06:46:23 PM
.. thought I'd say like this alot ..

I know it's a folk tune but still something in this says to me 'The Jam'
sound effects .. I do not know what ... and it's not dialect in vocals ..
it's not just loop/samples .. it might be the separation in the
harmonies ..

i'd bring the bass up a bit in the mix .. needs to be a bit more
prominent ..to balance the middy instruments .. the mand is so in the
mid ..

love the mandolin part in the chorus .. now that's real mandolin ! ;oD

(I still have to look up the chord book to play anything other than
single notes with the mandolin!)

Take care .. we meet again!



[ Reply to This ]
Lightfingers &mdash 11/11/07 - 03:09:10 PM
WO ..so tastey pickin here my friend ...
wonderfull colab with Rebsie harmonies
I m enjoyin this alot KUDOS !!

[ Reply to This ]
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