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Past the Sky by michael2 [Email]
Genre: Indie Rock

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1157
Comments: 36
Votes: 9
Plays: 165
Last Played: Nov 20, 2008 - 12:27:00 AM
Downloads: 49
Fans: 13
Uploaded: Jun 08, 2007 - 08:30:29 PM
Last Updated: Jun 08, 2007 - 08:30:29 PM
Fan List
Keywords:
indie rock (28), lo-fi (34), i heart cat power (1), melancholy (57)
Description:
This song was based on a 4 track that Scott and I made. I was playing chords on the piano, and he played a snare with brushes. Sounded okay so we recorded it on the Tascam. I bounced that onto the digital 8 track at some point and added vocals, synth and percussion.

It's possible I should have put this under lo-fi because the sound quality could be better, but i like the song and I have a lot of indie records that sound pretty bad but i love them anyways. All of the warts are left intact, but I never claimed to be a perfectionist. This is inspired by Lennon, Pink Floyd and Cat Power.

Lyrics:
one of these days
i'll be along
one of these days
i'll be okay
one of these days
the trees will rise
way up past the wires and past the sky
past the sky
past the sky

one of these days
i'll wear a crown
i can wear it well
and leave my mark
way out west in some old town
way up past the wires and past the sky
past the sky
past the sky

who am i to to think i know?
who am i to let you go?
who am i to to think i know?
who am i to let you go?




Hardware:
my crappy wurlitzer upright piano, a snare and some brushes, Casio CZ-1 for the synth and percussion parts, SM57 mic,

Software:
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OH.......SO NICE:D)* &mdash 06/08/07 - 09:01:36 PM
Fun to sing with.......great sound....kind of reminds me of the Beatles :D)

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thanks &mdash 06/08/07 - 09:16:19 PM
i'm glad you like, as i feel like we have pretty similar taste a lot of the time. thanks for stopping by.

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sweet moments! &mdash 06/08/07 - 09:22:28 PM
Good job putting heart into a pleasant song, digging that piano playing and those nice moments!

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thanks &mdash 06/08/07 - 10:13:27 PM
i'm thankful for folks listening. thanks for th epiano playing comment as well, i am trying to get better.

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Laid back &mdash 06/08/07 - 09:56:20 PM
in production and mood. Sweet melody and well sung. I hear the influences you mention. A bit of Travis and Suede too maybe. Great use of echo on the vocal early on in the track. Sound quality was fine
and the piano(a couple of hammerings short of honky tonk) sounded great. Excellent track!
I have a few similar sounding tracks from the early 90's on 8 track cassette. You've inspired me to bounce them down and post them here.
Thanks for posting.

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thank you &mdash 06/08/07 - 10:18:05 PM
for giving this a listen. not famiiar with travis at all, but i do like suede. the echo was actually just me singing (couldn't be bothered to set the thing up). my piano is pretty much a piece of garbage (piano tuners always get bummed when they come over), and it's really thunky; but it's my first and i love it. i try and work with the idiosyncrasies (hold down the sustain pedal, add some reverb and a splash of chorus - good to go). thanks for listening.

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i've seen clouds past the sky &mdash 06/08/07 - 11:11:08 PM
Thought of taking this to next step? or are you the type that likes to move on? Always a strong songwriter you have in you.

I like this as well as others of course. But, really..... you have some great songs that should go to the next step. Theres a great chord progression here and i dug that backup vocal ahhs. a little lennon meets radiohead.

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hey vic &mdash 06/08/07 - 11:47:21 PM
i think about re-recording stuff from time to time, but it seems like i always just end up recording something new. maybe i'll try this one again, but i have a book here next to the computer with like 30 songs in it that are in various stages that i'd like to record. but you are right; sometimes lo-fi can be off putting to some. thanks for listening and giving your input.

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actually i like hearing &mdash 06/09/07 - 12:19:45 AM
all various stages. i have a load of various stage songs that i never got back around to finishing either. I hear ya. I've played some of you stuff at work and the other designer there really digs your songs as well.

---
now where's those car keys?

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hey vic &mdash 06/09/07 - 01:04:58 AM
check out my MJ covers wish list.

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Beatles-ish &mdash 06/09/07 - 08:54:31 AM
This sounds a bit like an unreleased Lennon track - I love the quality of this, it has a really live, gritty feel, and the piano sounds wonderful. Great moody feel - teay, i hear a bit of Brett in this.

Lovely work - -jeez man, don't you have a day job?!

Steve

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aah &mdash 06/10/07 - 11:28:02 AM
i remember those unreleased lennon LPs that were on every street corner of every metropolitan city. that's what I think of when i decide to keep rough sounding tracks: "if it's okay with lennon, then it's fine with me." thanks for stopping by.

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I'm Going to Cut You Into Tiny Pieces &mdash 06/09/07 - 04:14:18 PM
...one of these days. I can hear the Floyd influence. Especially in the vocals. But the good thing is it's not entirely derivative of Pink Floyd. It's a perfect mix of your mentioned influences, and some more I can hear too. Good work.

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thanks &mdash 06/10/07 - 11:32:28 AM
nice of you to stop by.

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Oef! &mdash 06/10/07 - 04:24:59 AM
I love the fragility of this track. Awesome job to keep it so simple and touching. It really did make me emotional, through the simplicity of it (perhaps minimalistic in my post-rock genre). The sound of the piano is SO cool, rather nicely accompanied by that weird ly pitched synth sound. Because I wasn't expecting this song from you, I am flabber gasted quite a bit, beautiful. Hidden depths lurk inside you!

Bravo,

Jb

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justbase &mdash 06/10/07 - 07:11:38 PM
that's very nice of you to say. the piano is badly recorded and kind of trashy, but I liked the effect (1 cheap mic in the middle). i am really glad that you like the song, there's parts that could be better, but overall. i think this got the emotional content I wanted if not necessarily the sonic perfection. thanks again for listening.

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Sweet &mdash 06/10/07 - 06:24:54 AM
Very sweet voice and full of heartfelt sincerity. You're right, the vibe of the song comes shining through any minor technical imperfections. It has a fragile honesty which carries the song nicely.

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thanks &mdash 06/10/07 - 07:32:49 PM
for listening. i do like this song, and i'm glad you do too. now i need to go listen to your stuff. thanks for stopping by.

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nice balloon trip &mdash 06/10/07 - 08:17:46 AM
the sound of the piano,like it's been recently uncovered in a dusty cellar, gives some extra frailty to the song. The keyboards arrangement seem first to belong to totally another kind of song, but as they turn to spectorian glockenspiels against the thick echoing piano texture, they become really convincing.

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i &mdash 06/10/07 - 07:36:56 PM
wish that the piano was found in a dusty old cellar, because that would mean a better one would be sitting in my living room. actually, i'm very grateful to have a piano at all, i just work with it's weak points. thanks so much for listening, I always feel like we are kindred spirits (not to sound like a freaking hippy).

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Very good song! &mdash 06/10/07 - 08:42:30 PM
I love the song and your performance. A really great set of chords and the minimalist production works perfectly. Lots of Lennon (Julian rather than John) and some really tasty playing make this work so well. Lots of people have commented on "taking this to the next step", and to me that would involve nailing the production better but using the tracks you have. There are really good sounds here, and the performance is perfect for the song - you have some serious skills in the writing department also!
Neil

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jiguma &mdash 06/10/07 - 09:00:43 PM
thanks a bunch for listening and commenting. i think i will get better at recording eventually (just bought a better mic). the songwriting took awhile, so the production aspect should eventually follow. i figure I've go tall the time in the world to work that out.

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Very nice &mdash 06/11/07 - 07:11:09 AM
Kind of a yearning, melancholy vibe. The vocal is great, with nice touches throughout, and i love the backing vocals. I think the piano works very well, adding to the mood of the song just by virtue of its sound. I think the lo-fi approach works well. I would probably keep messing around with it, and probably end up messing it up! This could very easily lose its "magic". As always, good stuff. Nice work, man. Peace.

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Nice!!! &mdash 06/12/07 - 03:07:11 PM
Very nice melodies, well played piano, awesome sung, different mix. I love the bells and other little things. Very different, and very good!

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thanks &mdash 06/12/07 - 04:56:38 PM
man, i will be checking your stuff out promptly.

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Interesting sounds &mdash 06/13/07 - 12:14:28 AM
great voice,decent words,but id like to hear some of your upbeat stuff..

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thanks for listening &mdash 06/13/07 - 12:32:22 AM
and commenting. if you go to my MJ artists page, pretty much everything classified as alternative is more upbeat (i think there are still some slow songs - it's a phase i'm going through).

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thanks. &mdash 06/13/07 - 01:39:11 AM
Ill check it out...Im still kinda new to macjams.

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well &mdash 06/13/07 - 09:58:50 AM
then, let me say: welcome. it's been a good time for me here, and i look forward to hearing your music.

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bravo &mdash 06/14/07 - 02:19:12 PM
I think the mood you're trying to set was done perfectly. nice production.

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hey &mdash 06/14/07 - 07:46:23 PM
thanks a lot; sometimes i think my idea of lo-fi is different than everyone elses. thanks for stopping by.

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How? &mdash 06/14/07 - 07:22:52 PM
How do you do it, play so together as if it was the way it should be. great song writing skills. Ya know I realy never critique anyone bec I feel its all a great thing the way people post songs.. so imperfection mean nothing when put to the intent. I dont know what Im saying great song

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thanks &mdash 06/14/07 - 07:49:13 PM
egobandit, very nice of you to say. i like your sentiment about how imperfection means nothing when compared to intent. that's a pretty deep thought; i will start using that as my motto, and i suggest you put it in a song before someone else does.

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very chilled &mdash 07/03/07 - 01:24:02 PM
very well sung and felt. great harmonies. very floaty and surreal.
definately hear a bit of lennon.
i really like the little twirly, whistling sound that commes in in the second verse.
solid track.
-rain


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this tune creates &mdash 07/11/07 - 01:38:04 PM
a great little atmosphere with the lazy feel

i dig it!

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Past the Sky &mdash 12/04/07 - 08:21:43 PM
Another brilliant song. The only thing that keeps me from really enjoying making music is knowing it takes time away from visiting your site.

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