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Description:
Tongue in cheek phonetics experiment with an under-lying theme of contrasts giving opportunities.
First time recorded vocals with Garageband.
First time mastered anything with Garageband -
so mixing suggestions/tips appreciated in comments and with 'Notes'.
Dedicated to the original '93 performers and friends:
APB - vocals, acoustic guitar
Muffy - drums,
Chris - mandolin,
Barney - violin,
Chops - bass,
Anya - backing vocals.
Lyrics:
Hej!
Ra!
Sarah's got an ear infection-
Never hears a word I say,
And Billy says she'll use protection-
But she's the world's worse lying bitch.
And Bob collects his old age pension,
Tina finds it hard to lie,
Bill worries about inflation,
No-one else really cares
Where there's a will, there's a way
(There's an open door) an' I'll go through it
Where there's a will, there's a way
(There's an open door) an' I'll go through
Ra!
Dave has no direction,
Cathy takes the shortest cut,
Jo hates her own reflection,
Gary's God's greatest gift
So I say ...
Fiona follows father's footsteps,
Lisa likes her own ideals,
Morris in perpetual motion,
Charlottes mind is all at home!
So I say ...
Pete paints a pretty picture,
Jo hates her own reflection,
Trudy tries to win affection,
Mike's method's tried and tested
Sidney smokes his Capstan Full Strength,
Sarah's still got an ear infection,
Bob collects his old age pension,
Karin does things I don't dare to mention
Hey !
Na na na na na na-ow
Fiona follows father's footsteps,
Lisa likes her own ideals,
Morris in perpetual motion,
Charlottes mind is all at home!
So I say ...
Hardware:
Yamaha APX-8A Acoustic guitar,
Sigma mandolin,
Shure SM58 mic,
MOTU Traveler firewire audio interface,
Intel Mac Mini, 1.66 GHz, 512MB RAM
Software:
Garageband v3
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Great tune! &mdash 04/29/06 - 03:56:17 PM
I love the mandolin and all the jangly elements of this piece! the lyrics are funny and your voice sounds good! The production also sounds very good to me. Good song! [ Reply to This ]
I liked the original... &mdash 04/29/06 - 04:10:46 PM
The instrumental was great bouncy fun, but needed vocals, now here are
some! I think the vocals could be brought up a little in this, and a little
harmony added in the chorus instead of mostly-unison singing, but you
have a good singing voice, go for it. If you want other voices for
harmony, I bet if you ask, people will line up to do that on this one.
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
Hey man this is great! &mdash 04/29/06 - 06:01:56 PM
Very very catchy! I agree with Drak up the vocals just a bit and more
harmony on the aprts with multiple vox.... a further suggestion get a
female to sing the harmony with you, with all the female names in it, it'd
be great.
Really though this good stuff, loved that penny whistle sounding flute part
as well as the mandolin.
Great job! [ Reply to This ]
Hey man this is great! &mdash 04/29/06 - 07:20:09 PM
Thanks alot ! I agree totally (I mean with your comments - of course I think
it's great too!).. in fact, this is for me, a very old song ('93)
and ... guess what?
The 'sparse' harmony parts are written for female voice .. I just mucked about
and discovered I could 'get away with it' in the verses with a Male-2-Female
effect .. alot of what I thought were the best elements of that version, way
back then is what I've tried to capture here ...
My plans are: real female B VOX to replace my efforts ...
harmony for chorus and last but not least ..
try replacing the organ sound with a real violin .. that's what that
part should be played on IMO .. the organ was fine, it had the correct attack
etc but ... I want to try violin - it's more in keeping with the other intruments.
It warrants a female vocal, as it full of contradictions eg. Billy and Joe being
female in context .. and this song needs a female voice to be complete.
Version 3 after I have dabbled with some other pending songs ..;oD
[ Reply to This ]
Fun, Fun, Fun! &mdash 04/29/06 - 08:37:19 PM
Nice and bouncy. Love the lyrics. Has kind of a They Might Be Giants feel
to it. Good mix for your first time with GB. Enjoyed it. [ Reply to This ]
Fun, Fun, Fun! &mdash 04/30/06 - 04:37:00 PM
yeah, your right - now you mention it .. I did always like 'Birdhouse in
your soul' by TMBG.
As to the mix - I'm not sure .. I need a course in that AUCompressor thing
for mastering - it takes me ages muckin about with that ... I'll get
better hopefully at mastering - I always end up losing volume eg.
compare the instrumental to the version with VOX and you'll see what I
mean.
Thanks! [ Reply to This ]
ohhh - another pink and fluffy song!!! &mdash 04/30/06 - 11:35:44 AM
fabulous! bouncing around the room - love the lyrics - first time with gb- pffft!!! thank you and welcome to mj - and thank you for the copy that i am taking away with me [ Reply to This ]
ohhh - another pink and fluffy song!!! &mdash 04/30/06 - 02:50:50 PM
don't drop it ... and thx .. it needs some tiddly pom poms somewhere ;oD [ Reply to This ]
when theres awill theres a way &mdash 04/30/06 - 12:43:58 PM
when theres awill theres a way &mdash 04/30/06 - 04:44:56 PM
Thx Russel ...I'm really pleased, in fact overwhelmed with the response to
this pretty quirky song .. and from such diverse musical tastes too.
I surely intend to keep on jamming here. [ Reply to This ]
quite a funky &mdash 05/02/06 - 08:21:44 AM
set of lyrics and not at all what I was expecting. But a pleasant surprise
just the same.
from a technical standpoint, I think the vocals could come up a little bit
in the mix and might benefit from doubling and panning l-r. Maybe,
we'd have to hear the difference to know I guess.
Perhaps the best thing about this one tho is that it is unique. I've really
never heard anything like it before. [ Reply to This ]
quite a funky &mdash 05/02/06 - 11:55:04 AM
thanks alot - yep, I know the vocals are a bit cautious/shy in the mix .. on
playbacks I get sick of hearing my own voice and keep nudging it down ;oD
Glad it was a pleasant surprise- I will get round to addressing all these nice
useful vocal suggestions, as I agree with all of 'em!
As you've probably noticed, I've been playing with panning - and used it on
the vocals in "Letting go" - so I can give that a try on a chorus vocal harmony
part ...to distract away from my voice.
PS. I noticed I said 'syllable' experiment now, when I meant 'phonetics'
experiment .. I'm such a nonce and really have no idea what I'm doin' ... [ Reply to This ]
Very Nice &mdash 05/06/06 - 03:19:05 PM
Mr. apb you have me dancing around the room with this one. There's a
way with this song my man. Great job for your first GB mix.
mvh: ) [ Reply to This ]
Very Nice &mdash 05/12/06 - 03:56:01 AM
Thanks!
---
"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Really, really polished. &mdash 05/06/06 - 05:06:37 PM
It's great! Really polished. I think the production is good. Maybe, as
others have suggested, the vocals could be brought up a little, either that
or the acoustic guitar could be toned down some. And I like the idea of a
female voice harmonizing in the chorus. But you could leave it as is,
really, because it's very well done.
jgurner hears a "They Might Be Giants" feel here; I can hear that to some
degree too, but strangely enough, I also hear shades of Men Without Hats
(I don't remember anything they did except for Safety Dance)! Thanks for
posting this. [ Reply to This ]
Really, really polished. &mdash 05/12/06 - 04:05:22 AM
Thanks. It's really very simple little tune with about 4 chords.
I have a 3rd version with improved or at least focused attention on the vocals - but I'm not yet happy with it (as sometimes I feel it's a bit too much). Vocal level should be addressed in the new version at least and new harmony parts + numerous other fixes. I'll be posting it soon - hopefully with some other stuff too. I'll have another go
at mastering, trying to not lose so much overall volume
whilst not having any peaks.
I also remember Men Without Hats's "Safety Dance" is it in the vocals that this is heard? or is it in the tune as well?
I wonder if the song has an overall 80's sound or if it is just in
the vocal style employed for this song?
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Really, really polished. &mdash 05/14/06 - 03:12:40 PM
.. er, 5 chords .. I can't even count ... :o(
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Really, really polished. &mdash 05/16/06 - 06:07:04 AM
Eh, 5 chords - 4 chords ... who's counting?!
You asked: I also remember Men Without Hats's "Safety Dance" is it
in the vocals that this is heard? or is it in the tune as well?
I wonder if the song has an overall 80's sound or if it is just in
the vocal style employed for this song?
Well, I had to have another listen, and I'd say it's partly the vocal style
(including text pronunciation), but you clearly have your own distinct style, so
that's not entirely it. Maybe it's also the mood (up and bouncy, but with
attitude!), possibly chords too, but I'm not sure about that.
BTW, I listened though my iBook built-in speakers, so take this with
several grains of salt, but the rhythm guitar seems REALLY bright and edgy in
the mix. Probably it doesn't sound that way through good speakers.
I enjoy it just as much every time I play it, though! --- New work for live orchestra. [ Reply to This ]
Really, really polished. &mdash 05/16/06 - 02:27:54 PM
1,2,3 and ..
.. thanks for clarification-I'm a bit relieved, as long as it's subtle shades of
and not 80's throw-back ..oh, I might have aquired a classically trained violin
player to do the violin (that'll learn 'em, heh heh heh - there's just sooo many
of them lying around street corners ..) ...
you know, the fiddle part (that is currently
a tone-wheel organ masquerading as something most people hear as penny-
whistle ish ...
.. and thanks for the tip about iBook built-in speaker sound - it should just
sound 'jangly' as most say and er .. what's the technical term .. (quick he's
a classical composer for crying out loud...) .. er .. chi-chingy! That's the one ..
;oD
I'd love 'Face' to be done by a real orchestra or strings- it's that or the Simon
& Garfunkel re-mix - you've been warned! I don't have JP4 and frankly I'm
not impressed with the standard sounds and just don't believe they can
fit a whole orchestra into that box anyway ...
If you need a drunk triangle player - I'm your man!
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 05/16/06 - 12:02:01 PM
Really nice bouncy song with a great tune, and your voice certainly
sounds good enough to take pride of place in the mix. The mando is
lovely and combines well with the jangly guitar. Very nice! [ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 05/16/06 - 02:53:12 PM
Thanks alot! True credit for the mandolin part should go to my old flatmate
Chris that wrote it and played it originally in '93 on me mandolin. I just played it
on this GB recording more or less as it was. I do love the mandolin as an
instrument and it's not too heavy to carry either ...
I literally took it out, tuned it up - blew the dust of it (hadn't played it
in 6 years) - as a 'proper' mandolin player you'll know, it's fairly obvious it's
guitar player-esque mandolin playing and not the genuine stuff. Aw heck ..
no one would have noticed, I've gone and done it now ...
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 05/23/06 - 03:01:40 PM
I'm flattered that you think I'm a 'proper' mandolin player but I confess I'm a
dabbling guitarist and my mando playing is nowhere near as good as yours. I
even resort to faking mandolin parts by playing them on the guitar with the
capo on a high fret to make it sound plinky.
But yes, they are lovely instruments and it's nice to have something light
enough to plonk in your lap and put your feet up while you're playing it. : )
And I hope now you've dusted yours off you'll play a bit more of it.
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<a href="http://thelostrecords.com/revolving-doris-artist.html">Revolving Doris: Imber</a> [ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 05/23/06 - 05:24:53 PM
ah, plinky .. you speak my language! Now YOU'VE gone and done it ..I
just get everyone to divulge their musical secrets ;oD
I am working on.. er, 4 new things at the same time .. one has mandolin in it ..
it it'll take the longest to arrive here I expect as I have arranged some special
collabing .. intriguing, huh?
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 07/13/06 - 08:37:50 AM
The more I hear this song the more I love it. Keep plinking.
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<a href="http://thelostrecords.com/revolving-doris-artist.html">Revolving Doris: Imber</a> [ Reply to This ]
Mentioned by Rebsie &mdash 05/23/06 - 02:14:03 PM
and listened to by Eppy. I have a love/hate relationship with folk-rock but this does the business. Nicely jangly and a great tune and performance, but what I really rather like is that stop-start thing this track does. I think that's partly what gives it that They Might Be Giants quality. Something a little unexpected always goes down well with this gibbon. And I was surprised how American sounding this is, even though I don't believe you have an American bone in your body (unless I've been misinformed). Good stuff! [ Reply to This ]
Mentioned by Rebsie &mdash 05/23/06 - 04:40:54 PM
Thanks for stopping by and your comment Eppy .. I will check out your
uploads too ...
I actually went and listened to 'Birdhouse ..' recently and I can agree the
general bouncy feel and what I think people associate is as you say the stop/
starting and reverse the snare and bass drum bits (lead with the snare in the
chorus) ... also I added another similarity unwittingly in the VOX version by
fadding up from the start .. another thing done in 'Birdhouse ..'.
.. and it is true, word spreads fast.. I can verify I am not American .. in fact
a huvnae even bin there!
Cool to know I can sound a bit American though... good marketing info ! ha
ha ;oD
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Jealous &mdash 05/24/06 - 05:41:05 PM
jealous jealous jealous jealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealous. That
is a PROPER song... [ Reply to This ]
Jealous &mdash 05/24/06 - 06:48:47 PM
thx mate. Very kind words .. blushing ..
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"horrifically prolific or prolifically horrific - either way, it's hard to say"
"I went from A to B once, didn't like it much, so I went back to A" [ Reply to This ]
Rollicking &mdash 09/14/06 - 12:35:58 PM
The pace of this tune is extremely engaging and upbeat.
The choice, balance and performance of all the instruments is first-rate. The mandolin really makes this song come alive.
I agree that the vocals could be brought up a bit more in the mix, but overall, the balance - the end-result - is pleasing.
This is the third tune I've heard of yours today and it's definitely the best so far. To be quite honest with you, it is rare that I download these days, but this one is a keeper.
Thanks for entertaining me so nicely this morning! [ Reply to This ]
Wow - thanks again &mdash 09/14/06 - 01:36:40 PM
I knew I'd get you with 1 out of 3 .. :o)
Is this Folk-Rock? lol .. or Folk/Pop?? pfft .. who cares anyways ..it's my thang ..
I have a v3 in progress with some enhancements to the vocals - but this is
also a tune I want to add a solo violin too. (replacing the penny-whistlish organ)
- although I've grown to like that now .. might have them dueling instead ..
hmm .. we'll see - and I'm still wanting female backing vocals in it too ..
so much to do .. so little time.
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"In Swedish, there is a subtle difference between being ugly or drunk" [ Reply to This ]
.-) &mdash 09/16/06 - 04:45:49 PM
you got it &mdash 09/18/06 - 01:41:00 AM
i love this &mdash 12/05/06 - 11:36:04 AM
So happy I stumbled on this terrific tune. Well sung and well written--good, simple job on the production and it totally works for me!! Fine playing, thanks for sharing. --kelli [ Reply to This ]
Why .. &mdash 12/05/06 - 02:04:36 PM
.. thank you ma'am. I 'ain't had a comment on this'un in
an e'on .. *ahem* (why am I talking funny .. dunno).
Yup, the production is very suspect .. it was one of my
first GB productions and absolute first I did vocals on- I
do have a new version I was tweaking a bit based on
comments - but I'll post that later. For now I work on new to the rest of the world, back catalogue.
It could do with female vocals, would you be interested at
all at having a go- if I can drag you away from Jim and your Fritters? I have some ideas ..nothing too specific
(just whereabouts and what notes .. lol) but feel free to
do whatever ...). It's been mentioned it sounds
American - so what would be more fitting ..I'd be honored.. I just heard your latest "First Sight" live - wow).
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"In Swedish, there is a subtle difference between being ugly or drunk" [ Reply to This ]
PS. &mdash 12/05/06 - 02:08:20 PM
.. know any fiddle players .. hmmm, perhaps I should try
Komrade K .. I want to try this with the high pitched
tonewheel organ (people hear as penny whistle-ish) part
played on a solo violin, fiddled to heck.
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"In Swedish, there is a subtle difference between being ugly or drunk" [ Reply to This ]
This is awesome! &mdash 09/30/07 - 05:20:11 AM
So fun, this makes me having a big smile, i love it! (I'd have downloaded it if possible)
: )
[ Reply to This ]
Thanks very much .. &mdash 09/30/07 - 07:34:47 AM
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