So Easy To Read by michael2
Genre: Alternative Rock
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Keywords:
a glam rock ode to my daughter (1)
Description:
I wrote this on piano originally. It's about my little girl Sophie (see pic above). Usually I sit at the piano and play it for her while she bangs along and laughs at me. Not sure what happened, but when I started recording, it started reminding me of T. Tex so I just went with it. Funny how much Bowie ripped off Marc Bolan (and now I'm ripping them both off). One day I'll play this for her and she'll no doubt get embarrassed and make fun of me.
Lyrics:
my little girlshe's so easy to read
when she don't have the words
she still gets what she need
and she'll cry and cry and cry
until she gets what she wants
then she'll laugh and dance and sing
until it's time for bed
she don't want what I can't give
all she wants is her toys and a crib
in return there's a love that shines from her eyes
my little girl
she got a favorite toy
my little girl
she got two teeth in her mouth
and she'll cry and cry and cry
until she gets what she wants
then she'll laugh and dance and sing
until it's time for bed
she don't want what she don't need
she don't need what i can't give
all she wants is her toys and a crib
in return there's a love that shines from her eyes
la da da da da da da da da da da
(repeat ad nauseum)
Hardware:
intel mini mac, m-audio 49e keyboard, ibanez artcore electric, cheap ibanez bass, Harmony Broadway Acoustic (recorded with an SM57), MXL USB condenser micSoftware:
GB4, GB amp models: British High Gain (with the gain turned way down) and the 60's bass ampYou must be registered and logged-in to comment.
Fantastic melody... the guitar strums along nicely, the leads at the chorus elevate the song nicely, cool organs too!
michael2
Tom Wounded. Glad you like this one. The GB models actually worked pretty well on this one. Thanks for stopping by.
davisamerica
lol.. man... too cool
michael2
DavisAmerica. any praise from you is high praise indeed. thanks for listening.
davisamerica
kidding right.. wow michael u r the best here... thanks and 2 hats off man
Feter
WO cool Michael ..T Rex ...hmm maybe ..but I m
listening to Harrison taste here ..inredible
singing here ...the subject itself just awesome
and sure thank you for sharin this angelic pic
of sweet Sophie .just a groove my friend .hats off !
michael2
this one was fun for me. came really quickly and easy even though I changed the feel of it. that's her favorite hat she's wearing (or is it my favorite hat). anyways thanks for stopping by.
dajama
I love the sentiment ("a love that shines from her eyes") and the imagery is great. The beat is nice, and the guitar is excellent - love that tone. Nice melodic hook, and lovely mix. Best part is the vocal, though. Nice, expressive singing - love it. You have a great voice and it suits this song perfectly. Nice song, and beautiful picture. Peace.
michael2
glad you liked. there really is a love that shines from her eyes. it's the most palpable expression of love i've ever felt. i was surprised that the GB amp sounded that good. pretty much the tone that i would have dialed up on a real amp. thanks for listening.
My little girl is just almost 3 months but I know there has to be song coming. Thanks for sharing this excellent!
michael2
3 months is awesome. they just start acting like little kids at that point (instaed of cute little lumps). thanks man.
Alannah
.. a long long time ago ... I can say ... that no matter what bad things their daddy's do ... they are still daddy ... and they love them ... and I'm sure yours will be honoured to know you wrote tunes about her ... lucky girl! Nice tune too by the way .... soon she will be singing it along with you ...
michael2
only hope that she is always as sweet as she is now. can't wait till she is really vocal and I can record a song with her. thanks so much for listening.
ktb
like this!! what a fantastic track. The way the guitars mimic the vocal, is really crushing for me. Your vocal just glides over the strumming. You write from love and passion. what a treat
michael2
glad you liked/ the guitars mimicking the vocal is probably my favorite part (it's also the most Bowie/T Rex part of the song, but what the heck). Thanks so much for listening.
Vic Holman
great tune. Really does take on some ziggy a t-rex.
I nice laugh on the two teeth line. Killer chorus, nice harmonized geetar lines. thats a good mick ronson style.
Now, you know you will be able to keep her in line when she is old enough to start dating. just say "I'll play that song when you date arrives".
michael2
good to hear from you. i was going to use a pedal i have that doubles your guitar line with one an octave below (like marc bolan), but i couldn't find my box of pedals; so i just played it twice and it ended up sounding like mick ronson. glad you liked it. BTW we need to do another song one of these days.
Vic Holman
your right, i think it's my turn to come up with the music.
gail60
Love this song. Being a "daddy's girl" is the absolute greatest thing ever! Wonderful job here Michael. Always enjoy hearing you sing and I know that precious baby will always be honored by her daddys pride in her. What a sweet gift of love for her. Thanks for sharing.
michael2
for your kind words, glad you stopped bby.
Axgrinder
What a beautiful little one you have there! My dad never wrote a song about me... This is really sweet my friend, great production as well. It will be cool as she listens to it when she gets a wee older (};-P) Kudos brother!
Ax
michael2
my dad never wrote a song for me either, although he did teach me to bait a hook so it all works out in the end. thanks for stopping by axgrinder.
rsorensen
very cool song. I really like the Japanese flavor of the hook. nicely done!
michael2
i didn't even notice the japanese thing while putting down the guitars, wasn't until i was doing the backups. i ended up doing octaves on the backups to play it down a bit (reached comical heights at one point). thanks for coming by.
Ibstrat
tell that you were really inspired on this.Great vocals and guitar work.Recording sounds amazing.
michael2
this was pretty easy. it's actually pretty sparse so there wasn't much to mix ( i tried to get the levels where i wanted them as i recorded). thanks so much for listening.
johnny d
Love everything i have herd you on.
This is a cool tune.
You have a way with creating great sounding music. The vocal thing at the end is so cool.
new fan
michael2
glad you liked what you heard. MJ is really fun for me, cuz I can try on all sorts of musical hats. thanks so much for stopping by.
michael2
glad you liked this song. I love how you can just try on all sorts of musical hats at MJ. i have a lot of fun. thanks for stopping by.
michael2
makes me happy that you like what you heard. i love how we can all try on different musical hats here at MJ. makes for a fun time. plus there is so much talent flying around, it inspires me to keep at it. thanks for stopping by.
Nick_Flash
This makes me want to go and write a song about my daughter now. It probably wouldn't sound as nice though. Good job.
michael2
every kid needs a song written about them. thanks for stopping by.
Heightened
Would write a song about our little boy but it would probably end up sounding anti-christ goth sort of thing.
michael2
appreciate the kind words. maybe if i write another song about Sophie in 12 years it'll be an anti-christ goth sort of thing.
echoroom
Hey Mile -does she look like you? Hopefully not!
I get the T Rex thing, but this is a work of its own. Nice drum sound (what did you use) and I love the panned guitars - really nice sound. Really strong melody with a nice laid back vocal - sung like you meant it.
I'm off to dl some Marc now!
steve
michael2
thanks for checking this out. i did the drums before anything else (even deciding what song i was going to do). they are a few different loops from GB (from the jazz section). when i listen to the song though, they don't sound jazzy at all. must be the acoustic over the top of them. thanks a bunch for listening to this one (and commenting).
echoroom
Forgot to fav this - rectified!
buckhorn
a precious one. Mine is an angel also (when she's asleep). You've captured an escense of something Im familiar with. Charming tune , and a nice lush sounding production. Cheers
michael2
i was just thinking about you yesterday. hadn't seen you around in a bit. thanks for listening to my song, i know you can relate.
ajnorth
I really like this, nice playing and vocals, mix is good too. I can hear a lot of influences here but you still have a very original piece. A fine tribute to your daughter.
Well done
Adam
michael2
yeah the influences are definitely there. the weird thing is it's the production that brings them out. when i play it on piano, it sounds nothing like this. thanks so much for your kind words and for giving this one a chance.
You emulated the Visconti sound pretty nicely here (perhaps a few more trilling violins)
Great stuff
michael2
don't think i didn't mull over putting the strings in. the only thing that keeps it from being a complete rip off is the drums; i didn't use that glam rock big beat. thanks for checking this out.
Mcboy
great source for song lyric material.....love the melody ...works for me....hehhehhe...did i mention witty......
michael2
women are always a good source of inspiration regardless of their age (hope that didn't sound creepy). as far as witty goes: it's daddies job to make the little munchkin laugh. thanks for stopping by, much appreciated.
lavalamp
Sweet song, Michael. Great stuff. Rich and full. Guitars are very nice, dude.
Well-done.
Your pal,
Dave
michael2
nice of you to stop by and give this one a listen. thanks for the kind words.
Reinholt56
The style brings back memories of Tyrannosaurus Rex as opposed to the later, T Rex.
It's a great song and one I immediately felt at home with.
Excellent.
Take care.
Paul
michael2
tyrannosauraus rex as opposed to T Rex. theres no boogie in it, and those big drums with slapback arent there. i find myself listening to the original incarnation more than T Rex actually; now all i need is a handsome long haired man on the congas (whatever happened to that guy?). thanks for listening.
Reinholt56
The long haired bongo player was Micky Finn and he died sometime in the last year or two.
You'll be really up to date with soudalike TRex if you can fit a frog and walking and New York into the lyrics!!
Take care.
Paul
lengold
just a lovely song. Love the way you have played and sung it too. Very catchy. Could be a hit with exposure.
Cheers
Len
michael2
very kind of you. thanks so much for listening to this one.
thetiler
on good here, sounds like a very unique pop folk sound. Like the backround vocals. Nice fuzz, ala moody blues style in a way. At least when I heard that in brough back memories.
and the list goes on.
Nice!
michael2
i always think of the moody blues as more symphonic, but definitely a band i can appreciate. i grew up on punk rock, but can't escape my classic rock roots ( i try, believe me). thanks for listening.
caroline
she's a lucky young lady to be sure - how lovely to have a daddy to do this for her - thank you for sharing
michael2
i'm lucky to have her. she is a barrel of laughs (except when she makes the occasional foray into the nocturnal realm - a man needs to sleep). thanks for listening.
jiguma
.. one of my early heroes. Lovely song, beautiful photo.
Neil
michael2
is one of my early faves too. i used to have a book on how to play guitar and I remember it had "get it on" in there and I hadn't heard the song. i always liked his early stuff and acoustic stuff. thanks so much for listening.
cjdaley
I have this theory that the "starman" from the Bowie song is actually Bolan (the mention of boogie is typical.
You're really close to his way of singing (the little lamb-like/cat-like backing vox).
Very nice song, of course.
michael2
is one of my fave Bowie songs, and I think you're probably right about the Bolan thing. ziggy stardust is basically a really good T Rex record (Bowie fleshed it out and gave it more depth i think). thanks for listening.
wonderpus
that beautiful face - absolutely beautiful. You've made a great song here - worthy of the love that keeps us going and that shines from her eyes. Bolan wishes he were this good.
bud
but I get to fave this twice. Love it!
michael2
this was pretty fun to record. i actually had an idea for another Bolan tribute i was going to record today before work, but i didn't get the chance. going to see my dad this weekend, so i'll probably have forgotten it by then. oh well, you can always write another song. thanks for listening.
pablatone
that's a wonderful song. I bet she won't get too embarassed.
michael2
for the kind words. you know, my cats name is Pablo, and he;s a cool guy too. thanks for stopping by.
For me... I picture my girls, any one of them, and find a reflection of my dearest friend & wife....
what a cool song, thanks
. - Harold
michael2
Sophie looks like me, but she definitely has her mom's good nature. thanks for listening.
Joanna
Lovely tribute to your daughter. Great vocals.
michael2
so glad you liked this. easy to write about people you love huh?
Moviz
on this very fitting song, with that lovely pic (what a cutie) Got us all saying "Ahhh!" LOL. Great mix of instruments for this engaging song and sung of course with the warmth it deserves. Really Nice , Regards M
michael2
i kept this one pretty spare, so it was much easier to mix. glad you enjoyed.
jibba1320
I myself have a little one, who has two teeth. song makes me think of her very touching.
michael2
just kill me, you can see em when she smiles. thanks for stopping by.
Your vocals have a nice easy stride. The organs are great.
Solid song.
michael2
Sonny Jim. the vox were what i was initially worried about, but they turned out okay. thanks so much for stopping by.
... the to-be-expected fantastic singing, playing, and production... this is one very dear song, a father's heart of love expressed about his little daughter. Having posted a couple of songs to my daughters here at MJ, this strikes a chord in me. Kudos to you Dad.
Jack
michael2
it's funny, there are so many folks relate to the having kids thing here at MJ. don't know if that would be the case if I were to pull this one out at a club. thanks for listening.
Cameron
Everything fits together so nicely in this song.
The rhythmic underpinning and handling of the drums/percussion work really well here. They complement and enhance your vocals, which rise and fall with the phrases in a captivating way.
Same goes for the guitars. Great playing.
Sometimes it's hard to pin down exactly why a song works well. This one just seems to have all the right elements.
Very good work! I enjoyed listening to this.
michael2
thanks so much. the drums were an accident. i just threw a jazz loop (or 3) into GB and then thought about what I could do. ended up putting this song over it (which initially had a completely different feel to it). after that, everything just sort of fell into place. thanks a bunch for listening.
J.A.Stewart
Yep, I remember when my son was about your daughter's age and he'd come sit on my lap and *help* me play the piano. ;)
A few years later we'd sing some of his favorite tunes together. I recorded all these little sessions and they are treasures to me... and even to him at this point in life. I'm sure Sophie will feel the same about this song.
I must say I also sensed a bit of a Mott The Hoople feel in here --- which would certainly complete the Bolan -Bowie - Mott connection.
Nicely done, Michael. ;)
--- Joe
michael2
everything they do is pretty cool, love watching her do her thing. i can't wait to record with her. as fas as the Mott thing goes, I just can't escape all of that glam I listened to as a teen. thanks for coming by.
Lovely pic...lovely song. Very nice arrangement. Superb vocals! Bravo!
Bud was right. This kicks the crap outta everything on the radio right now.
You rule Michael!
Be well!
michael2
so glad you liked. i had a lot of fun with the guitars; used the organs to fill space and keep things simple. thanks for your kind words.
apb
brilliant! Thanks for sharing this gem. Top notch.
michael2
glad you stopped by.
Ed Hannifin
...caring for my ailing son... So this one hits me where I live...
"a love that shines from her eyes" is a great line, and I spent some time with the boy version of that look today...
Aside from relating to it as a parent, I really love the song as a song. The production is neat; I love the drum beat, I love the sustaining guitar line, and I think this is a great vocal...
Ed
Wow, and you did this with the GB amp sims... even cooler... I keep meaning to try the bass amp on my own cheap Ibanez bass...
michael2
i hope your son's ailment is temporary. i hate when she's sick, you feel so bad for them. they look at you like "please fix me daddy."
the GB amps did okay on this one, usually i don't use them, but i was lazy that day. i think they do better with distorted sounds and bass then with clean guitars. i'm getting ready to start recording with every plug in I have so that I can get a better working knowledge of them. been reading Computer Music magazine and it's inspiring (ought to be for $17). thanks for coming by.
Hi Michael,
I finally made it back. This song has an awesome melody, great heartfelt lyrics and a real cool arrangement!!!! To me, it's shines with a little influence of Tom Petty & John Lennon in the mix, but of course we all have our own perspectives on what we see & hear. All I know is that I love this tune!!!!! Very well written and broad ranging in it's appeal... extremely well performed, my friend. Thank you for giving me the chance to hear such a great song!!!!!!
Respectfully,
Wade
michael2
i've gotten TP and Lennon a lot. I'll admit I rip off John Lennon quite a bit, but maybe Tom Petty just comes from my half ass voice. Thanks so much for giving this one a listen.
MJG
Love the tune from the first note, nicely done.
michael2
so much for checking this one out.
Dj French Toast
Loved it !
michael2
glad you gave this one a chance. thanks for listening.
dolby
...neat. Love it.
michael2
thanks for your kind words; and thanks for coming by.
Lennon714
Great melody and the guitar work is right on. The drums also do a great job of making the song what it is. Wonderful song!
michael2
glad you liked. the drums were a complete fluke (they are "jazz" drums). i don't really think like a drummer, but sometimes I get lucky. thanks for listening.
aclarke
Forget the excellent performance- the love you show for your daughter shines through brightly... and isn't that all that matters?
Heightened
think she will be embarrassed as so much proud!
stacey
This may be the sweetest song I've ever heard. Hey, I don't have children, but even me, the confirmed non-parental-unit, can appreciate the love in this song.
She'll make fun of you and this song when she's between 13 - 15, but at around 21, 22, she'll accept it as a nice gesture, and around 30, it will have become one of her most treasured posessions, so be sure to save it on CD, digital, any way you can. She'll listen to it when she needs strength, and to remind herself of her parent's unconditional love.
"She's got two teeth in her mouth!" Shut UP! That is so damn CUTE! I wish I'd had a daddy like you! Luckily I had a great Mom, so I'm okay!
Congratulations on making this work of art. And thanks for sharing it here.
Stacey K. Black
bonnieprincejohnny
Great name for a band that. Aye Marc B would have been proud of this Michael you actually out rexed T. Rex and you're wee daughter looks lovely. You really are on top of the game. Like Tommy boy says -
Shhweet!