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Attribution-NoDerivs
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Keywords:
murder (24), holocaust (2), don't (16), run (22), moive (1), dark (288), emtional (1), pathos (5)
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Description:
This song is inspired by Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist'. This very powerful, profound and moving film had an intense effect on me. Not only is it an exquisitely made film, but one of the most personal experiences of the holocaust that I've ever seen.
There's a scene where the character that Adrien Brody portrays is in line to get on the train that ultimately will take him and his family to one of the death camps, and one of the Jewish guards that is a friend of some degree, tells him to get out of the line and to not get on the train. He tells Brody to leave, go back into the city, but act naturally, and don't run...
It was a very powerful scene...
Later on when I was watching the dvd extra's, there was an interview with Roman Polanski where he talked about his personal experience and how he used his specific memories in parts of film. One of them was this scene in the train line. In the interview he kept repeating the words "Don't run..." that the guard had stressed to him to adamantly obey. He said these words so many times, that you could tell he had made it into some kind of a mantra to keep from completely losing it, and over the years these words had taken on a disturbing, almost obsessive quality.
Needless to say I was very moved by this interview and the movie he so artfully made.
This is my song in reaction...
Lyrics:
Don't Run
don’t run
even though the train is leaving soon
don’t run
you don’t wanna ride to where it’s going to
don’t run
swallow hard and push up from the ground
don’t run
all the noise is murdering the sound
can I wish it all away
don’t run
don’t run
don’t run
look like you fit into this place
don’t run
hide the torture dripping down your face
don’t run
even though you fear that it’s the end
don’t run
even if you die at least you won’t come back here again
can I wish it all away
don’t run
don’t run
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Very nice! &mdash 04/21/07 - 08:06:50 AM
What a beautiful piece. I like the comnination of your vocals, the piano and the synth behind you. Nice use of background vocals as well. I would have liked to hear a little more from the "drummer" just to mix up the loop a little bit. NIce mix throughout the song. I like how your vocals cut through the mix, and a nice bit of verb on the voice -not too much, but enough to give it a very airy feeling. Your voice has a Steve Lukather quality that I like.
Very nice indeed - Thanks for posting. [ Reply to This ]
Right on. &mdash 04/21/07 - 11:09:31 AM
Thanks for the comments kc -
The synth in the background is actually a guitar... it's a really wild patch I have on my effects unit, a blast to play.
The choice was intentional on the drums - I wanted them to be very pedantic and repetitive.
[ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 04/21/07 - 09:08:33 AM
Intense. Pefect mood with lyrics. I think the perc is ok. You captured the moment. [ Reply to This ]
Is that moon made of cheese? &mdash 04/21/07 - 11:10:56 AM
there's a reason &mdash 04/21/07 - 09:53:19 AM
that you are probably my fav artist at MJ... and there are several excellent artists... you are so intuitive with the mood and atmosphere... you deliver such a nuanced performance... and even if the way you framed this wasn't perfect... and it is... your voice sells me right out of the box...
sincere admiration here... I want to grow up to be like you [ Reply to This ]
Head expanding.... &mdash 04/21/07 - 11:17:19 AM
Scott you are way too kind. Thank you my friend.
Mood and atmosphere are to me what helps to drive a song. Most songs play out like little movies in my head, and all I have to do is look around through my characters eyes and tell about what I see. Then internalize what it is I'm seeing, and see how that effects the emotional composition of the character. After awhile you have enough information to start putting together a "thing"...
In this instant I already had an actual brilliant movie to work from.
That movie really killed me...
[ Reply to This ]
Great beauty here &mdash 04/21/07 - 01:15:23 PM
What you said here in reply to Scott, these are the words of a true artist.
Your music is that of a true artist.
[ Reply to This ]
Big words... &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:33:45 PM
Thank you FP!
That is one of those compliments that I will not soon forget.
[ Reply to This ]
I bow.... &mdash 04/21/07 - 11:27:47 AM
Outstanding song &mdash 04/21/07 - 02:03:53 PM
Nice sentiment, well put together. Great production, and excellent playing. The piano and guitar in the background work really well together. Your vocal performance is outstanding. Atmospheric and evocative, this is a great song. Nice work. [ Reply to This ]
In the details... &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:48:59 PM
Excellent! &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:04:38 PM
From start to finish this is just superb. Your vocals are amazing and they grabbed my attention from the first note. I Can't wait to listen to more of your work.
Best Regards
Steve [ Reply to This ]
Don't Run &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:11:18 PM
Wonderful harmonies. Mellow like Phil Collins. SImple construct but nice chord progression. The only thing I would have liked to see is a build up section into something with more power. It kept a quiet intensity through the whole piece, which was intriguing, but it didn't seem to reach any sort of conclusion. I do like the lyrics though. Professional Work.
Joel [ Reply to This ]
Considering... &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:43:46 PM
The Phil Collins analogy I think is right on.
Interesting idea about the build section.... hmmmm... that would change the feel a bit, but it might give it even more dimension. I'm considering this... I like that suggestion Joel, thanks...
[ Reply to This ]
I love it - great spin on your experiencee &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:25:57 PM
with the film. Coincidentally it's sitting here for me to watch tonight. Beautiful chording throughout the song - very engaging. Thanks. [ Reply to This ]
...intense experience... &mdash 04/21/07 - 05:47:10 PM
Thanks Bud.
I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did. It's a very well crafted piece of art. It is often brutal and hard, but the words that were picked, the scenes that were shot, and the music that embellishes the images, make for an intense experience. [ Reply to This ]
Twisted &mdash 04/22/07 - 06:40:46 AM
This is a wierd one Spikey - a song about the holocuast put to a lovely, seventies sounds piano ballad. The production this is great (and very authentic), and as usual your voice sonds wonderful. You are a talented genre-hopper, and this is another fantastic track - it just seems really odd, given the subject matter. The whole thing a Donald Fagen feel to it.
What i love about your work is on the surface it seems just well done, and professional, but there's a lot of ice underneath that 'berg.
Steve [ Reply to This ]
Many Masks &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:38:04 AM
I'd like to think it's okay to try on different masks now and again...
I am puzzled by the Donald Fagen comment... I don't quite hear that, but then again, I'm not you. That's the beauty of art, it all strikes us in different ways.
Ciao!
Mr. Berg
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
Lovely &mdash 04/26/07 - 05:17:53 PM
I love this film, too. It's one of my favorites ever made and I think that scene is a wonderful choice for you to build a song around and your vocal and musicianship on this are just stellar. The source material is an inspired choice on your part.
I think I do understand what Steve is saying in that the style of music doesn't seem to relate to the underlying inspiration. I think part of that is the guitar playing that synthy sound in the background, that rips the song way out of the late 30's, early 40's, but it's also the style of the music, as well. The production is also very contemporary and glossy.
I'm not really sure that's a very big deal because the lyrics could really be about any time when it's a really very not good idea to show fear. I do like the extra emotional oomph that comes from having it relate to the Holocaust, but it's not as though you can go around with the song and explain the inspiration to every listener. I don't know that people hearing this cold will have Nazi Germany jump to mind, but I know that they'll enjoy the song as it is, all on its own.
I like the fact that it doesn't have a chorus or a big build, because that really does play into the experience of the character, and your voice is really just flawless. It's an excellent piece of writing and the piano playing is, appropriately, very good.
I'd love to hear an alternate version of this that is mostly piano and voice, with maybe a few period instruments in the background that would tie it back to the time and place of the film. It wouldn't be better than this one, just another take and something I'd really enjoy hearing. Any excuse to make you do more music. :-) [ Reply to This ]
Forgot &mdash 04/26/07 - 05:20:12 PM
I forgot to mention that I felt that some of the piano parts really evoked a train car rocking over railroad tracks. Whether that was intentional or not, it's brilliant. (I suspect it was intended.) [ Reply to This ]
elemental &mdash 04/22/07 - 09:41:52 AM
You create the soundcapes that move the mind. Whew, this is simply powerful stuff. Particularly impressive to me that you create this rich ambience with just a few instrumental tracks. It leaves your voice (which is always captivating) the central thread and draws the listener in to focus on the lyrical content, which is superb. Outstanding track [ Reply to This ]
Deep end of the pool... help! &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:42:32 AM
Once again you got it!
One of things I've learned over time is that if you are doing vocal music, then the vocal should be the featured item.
Build a sonic stage, dress is with harmonic lights, and then invite the voice to come in a and be the giant floating head in the middle of the undulating landscape.
Ciao!
Mr. Extremely Esoteric
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
ispike &mdash 04/22/07 - 09:50:46 AM
I don't know what to say, your voice is beautiful as always, and those two words are very powerful - especially with the line, 'look like you fit in' wow. Song is well-crafted in my humble opinion.
I've been reading a lot of amazing poetry by the great masters of poetry who survived or died in the holocaust. It's heart-breaking and beautiful all at once.
Saw a documentary of the famous Miklos Radnoti, who wrote poems on a forced march, when he was emaciated and too weak to do much else. he wrote right into death and the mass grave he was dumped into. His notebook was discovered in his coat pocket later when his wife unearthed him - the notebook was wet. It had to be dried, and the front page said, in several languages - thank you for finding my poems- geez. And to read those poems in particular, gives you the chills. To think we lost so many other brilliant artists, many undiscovered. How many undiscovered notebooks must there be underground?
Anyway, i haven't seen 'the pianist' but I plan to. Thanks for this great song. [ Reply to This ]
Humbled... &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:46:38 AM
Thank you very much for the crafting comment.
The story of Miklos Radnoti is heartbreaking...
I will search out his work and read.
Thanks for sharing that story.
See "The Pianist" - it is an extremely powerful film.
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
soundtrack &mdash 04/22/07 - 02:35:30 PM
I saw this movie quite a while ago, and it indeed one of the most emotionally powerful movies i have seen in recent years. I can't quite remember the part or scene which this song is based on, but the horror and suspense of that film as a whole is well encapsulated by the message of this poignant and plaintive song. It seems to lack a chorus as a dramatic center, but maybe that is the unique character of this song altogether. [ Reply to This ]
...just below the surface... &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:50:36 AM
I thought a big chorus to this song would be too much... and I guess if anything does serve as a chorus, it is the repeat of the "don't run" after the verses.
I thought a big chorus would wake up the sleeping damon Nazi and lead to the characters demise. Thus a slow pedantic piece with guitar whispers of insane panic held just below the surface.
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
I don't even know what to say .... &mdash 04/22/07 - 02:55:21 PM
... deep and intense delivery on a deep and intense subject matter ... this one struck a chord on my heartstrings .... well done! I think it conveyed the message! [ Reply to This ]
... heartstring... &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:53:08 AM
Thank you very much.
It's always such a satisfying feeling to know that your music was involved in the plucking of a heartstring....
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
:-) &mdash 04/22/07 - 04:00:25 PM
Yeeeeah Spike. I knew I could count on you while I take my break from school work. You're such a talented artist. :-) [ Reply to This ]
Smiling. &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:54:45 AM
Thank you world of sweetness!...
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
The inspiration... &mdash 04/23/07 - 11:10:03 AM
...definitely comes through in the music.
This definitely resonates with me, iSpike. Beautiful tune. Chord changes, instrumentation, playing, lyrics. It's all good, man... [ Reply to This ]
Danka... &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:56:54 AM
Thanks for the comments and being a repeat listener to my music. I appreciate that you come back for more, and that I haven't scared you away.... yet....
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
Weellll... &mdash 04/25/07 - 09:10:31 AM
...I don't scare easy, pardner...
...and I've always loved horror flicks, anyway....
...AND: you're music is great....
...So I'll keep comin'...
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I live between the notes [ Reply to This ]
So fine.... &mdash 04/23/07 - 08:02:37 PM
What a poignant and heartfelt performance here, Mr.Spike...Beautiful voice and accompanying track.
I actually listened to this the other day and decided to wait and listen again a few days later, because, upon first listen, I found the fuzzy synth a bit distracting and incongruous to the piano, voice and somber lyrics.
Listening again, it wasn't as distracting this time, though it still seems 'separated' from the rest of the track--though maybe that is an aural device you meant to employ?
thanks for sharing this track...
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Fuzzy... &mdash 04/24/07 - 09:34:10 AM
The fuzzy synth is actually a guitar, and it is very intentional.
The chord voicing on the piano are specifically in a lower register for a dark pallet - they act as a coat or skin.
The guitar (fuzzy synth) is the desperation, panic, the violence that runs just underneath, and is just waiting to explode... as long as the character doesn't run, it will be kept at bay...
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
I knew... &mdash 04/24/07 - 10:24:15 AM
...you'd have an answer for this, which is why I brought it up ;)
Thanks for taking the time to explain.
And thanks, again, for posting this. [ Reply to This ]
...where to run? &mdash 04/24/07 - 10:20:14 AM
I loved the movie too. Fingers moving in the air, needing absolute silence to keep from being discovered, needing to remain invisible, music made only inside the head, in memory. Such an awful time, starkly so. Nothing more to say, your lyrics repeat a single message (with so many convolutions), just as he would be. Would make a great soundtrack tune. Your voice is naturally compelling, one of my favs on this site or any other. So many more trains waiting for so many more people... [ Reply to This ]
Seriously good &mdash 04/26/07 - 08:59:32 PM
Beautiful vocals/lyrics and excellent music - your intro made me wonder how many similar mantras go through people's heads after experiencing such terror, and what those creating the terror feel retrospectively for the damage they cause. Just food for thought.
Really good sounding song - not much left for me to say. Your voice is one of the best here.
Neil [ Reply to This ]
Beautiful track &mdash 04/30/07 - 04:01:13 PM
And it's working for me on two different levels - without the exposition, it could be an approach to live on the edge in these modern times. With the backstory, it becomes an even more compelling and powerful slice of time. Though you've approached it with a contemporary sensibility, I can easily see this tune included with the aforementioned DVD as an extra. Nice production all around, and you've got one of the most expressive and pleasant voices here at MJ. I thank you for your passion and ability to capture it and beam it to the rest of us. [ Reply to This ]
Perfect sound track &mdash 05/08/07 - 06:43:34 PM
This would have been a perfect accompaniment to that scene. Well felt and well done!
God bless,
Rick
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Yes. &mdash 05/10/07 - 04:29:29 PM
Great movie - great song. I love your voice,use any specific recording technique? Nice one pal.
Aw the best.
Johnny [ Reply to This ]
band? &mdash 05/15/07 - 02:01:29 PM
Yes. &mdash 05/16/07 - 09:27:17 AM
I'm playing and singing all the tracks except for the simple drum loop I used.
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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..." [ Reply to This ]
thank you &mdash 05/16/07 - 11:59:23 AM
wow! &mdash 05/21/07 - 01:40:20 AM
i'm sort of at a loss for words right now. Without the story as a backdrop this would have been a great performance, but that added touch of history and your reaction pushes it up several notches.
This is the first thing of yours i've listened to, and i can't imagine finding anything here now that could soil the image you've carved for yourself.
absolutely fantastic. [ Reply to This ]
Glimmering... &mdash 05/22/07 - 06:57:03 PM
Thank you for you the glimmering compliment!
I appreciate it greatly.
Ciao!
(Hopefully I won't scare you away with some of my other tunes. I'm very much a "one of these things is never like the other...")
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"What matters, matters, and what doesn't matter, is antimatter." [ Reply to This ]
fear not &mdash 05/23/07 - 12:22:09 PM
Everything else I checked out here seems spot on. I am always hoping and searching for artists with a certain level of diversity. Some bands are so good at what they do, that you know what to expect, and then find nice surprises and grow within their niche, but often I like an album to take me from one extreme to another.
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signature remark [ Reply to This ]
Diversity. &mdash 05/23/07 - 12:29:05 PM
I couldn't agree more... Where would we be without bands like the Beatles and Queen!? I love being taken on the journey through their albums. The sad thing today is that the whole nature of the album is disintegrating - it's all just a bunch of singles slapped together in a collection, or at least it seems to me in a lot of cases that this is the way it is...
Ciao amico!
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"What matters, matters, and what doesn't matter, is antimatter." [ Reply to This ]
it's so humbling... &mdash 05/24/07 - 11:42:24 AM
to hear you perform. I never click "play" with the intention of finding anything wrong and I never prepare myself to give any sort of critique. It's always purely an entertaining experience to sit back and listen. A joy and an inspiration. I love this one -- it's got the pensive quality I always gravitate toward. [ Reply to This ]
Totally Have it &mdash 05/30/07 - 03:59:17 PM
Your phrasing, sound everything just sounds soooo good. I even hear bits of Gino Vannelli, but you got your own. On my favorites. [ Reply to This ]
what a lovely song &mdash 07/01/07 - 03:30:12 AM
sung from he heart and the music is perfect.. I love your voice you have a really nice soft tone.. there is an undeniable warmth to it! [ Reply to This ]
you are so good! &mdash 08/17/07 - 06:51:54 PM
I love your voice. I have listened to several of your songs and really enjoy all of them. You are very talented indeed. Your writing skills, your instrumentation, your voice.....goodness...what else could anyone want? Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more of your music. [ Reply to This ]
I. Spike &mdash 10/18/07 - 12:18:37 AM
Hmmm
What a great sounding piano.
You got a real good thing going here.
The chords and the piano playing remind me of something Joni Mitchel would do.
(Her new record has been playing in my car for a week or so now)
The vocals are beautifully performed with exquisite harmonies. Such a cool production with the synths perfectly placed accenting tune.
Love the whispers
nice touch!
Great song writing and superb performance.
You got a new fan.
Now I got to catch the Movie [ Reply to This ]
Slipped under my radar &mdash 01/29/08 - 02:48:10 PM
Just discovered this little gem. Great writing and the vox particularly shine - as usual. More please.
Pie
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Don't Run &mdash 03/14/08 - 01:12:57 PM
wow - this is the third piece of yours I've listened to in a row, and I'm HOOKED! You're an amazing musician on all levels - your vocals are wonderful, I'm not sure what instruments you might be actually playing and what is written in - doesn't matter - it all sounds great. You are a FIND! Thanks for making my morning [ Reply to This ]
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Very nice indeed - Thanks for posting.
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