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Description:
When I first went to SmokeyVW's page, I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music, artwork and ideas on display there. (I urge any stragglers who haven't found their way there yet to go there immediately!) In addition to having an admirably wide breadth of interests, Bill is a very game fellow; and he graciously allowed me to cover his song "Horizon". The original"Horizon" is here.
Big thanks to Michael for inventing this challenge.
Big thanks to Michael for inventing this challenge.
Lyrics:
horizoni'm lookin down
from this tower
i see our town
i hear the power
the wind is singing
through the wires
electric humming
that never tires
the sky is very clear
it's hypnotizin'
why did i climb up here?
to see the horizon
it's getting dark
the red light is flashin'
i've left my mark
in my own fashion
it's time to climb back down
descend the rungs
again to touch the ground
to complete what i've begun
the sky is very clear
it's hypnotizin'
why did i climb up here?
to see my horizon
(c) 2008 Bill Grundmann
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Rebsie
The intro freaked my cat out. :)
And the most creative use of an aerosol can I've ever heard.
sonnyjim
So sorry to hear about the cat! I guess it won't be much comfort to know that I actually toned that part way down before posting it....
Thank you for your kind attention to my little offering.
Feter
this is unique ..what an idea to sing with
loved it though ...very cool experimental
vocal ..spacey and imagenary ..thnx alot
for sharin !!!!
sonnyjim
Thank you Feter! I'm glad you stopped by.
sloparts
and some very creative use of psycho-imagery. I could almost here the High line wires singing this to itself.
What a trip my friend. Very cool vibe going on here.
Thanks for sharing
Ed
sonnyjim
I also hear that "singing wires" thing as the voltage ripping through them....
Glad you stopped by for a listen.
dajama
Out of left field, and constantly intriguing. I love the effect on the vocal, and brilliantly appropriate for the theme of the song. The aerosol sound is great. Mesmerizing stuff. A very interesting take on the track. Very cool. Nicely done. Peace.
sonnyjim
A very complimentary comment; thank you very much!
sonnyjim
A very complimentary comment; thank you very much!
SmokeyVW
love it!
the literal take on "i've left my mark" is perfect - as graffiti - and it makes perfect sense. that recasts the meaning of the "red light" to police as well. nice.
the sounds you created remind me of the wind blowing through wires. that's ingenious.
thanks
sonnyjim
Well, I was a little reluctant to go all the way with that grafitti thing because I really preferred your (funnier) more subtle take on it; but in the end I decided to go with it.
I'm very glad you like it, Bill. It means a lot to me to see your avatar (and your approval) here.
HenriROGERsoloandbands
Very cool mood created with all your sounds .
sonnyjim
I'm glad you stopped by, and very glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
five_extra_arms
Way, way over the horizon.
Very inventive work. I'd love to hear more about how you did everything.
Thanks for the post!
sonnyjim
First, I played an improv thingy through a distorted-amp-feedback setting. Then I did another one to go with that, but it sounded a little too pat, so I put the Diatonic Shifter plug-in on the second track to make it all unpredictable-like. That turned out to be impossible to mix because it did different stuff every time I played it back, so I bounced it to audio, and then added the organ drone and the two vocoders (one with extra reverb). I hunted down some spraycan sounds for the "left my mark" line, and did that madcap 'guitar' line to go with it because the whole thing was threatening to become a major downer (with all that droning organ and turgid vocoder stuff). After that, it seemed plain to me that a tuba solo on the outro was called for, so I did that.
The final mix is always a real chore for me, and this was tougher than most; I'm still not all that happy with it: I really wanted that organ to hover thinly in the background with the vocals not-too-much in front, maybe like a 1970-era Soft Machine track. The final mix was really low, so I added a little compression to beef it up a bit.
And that is pretty much how it was!
Thank you for stopping by to listen and comment; it means a lot.
five_extra_arms
You're amazing.
Thanks for the insight into your process.
Bob
michael2
this is excellent. i actually think that Bill is one of the more genius people here at MJ, and I really love what you've done to his tune. that feedback is great. i really enjoyed the little keyboard part after the aerosol can too. great track, you should be proud.
sonnyjim
As I said in my description, kudos to you, Michael, for having thought this challenge up.
Thank you very much for the kind words.
Vic Holman
a vocoder! excellent!
an excellent trip of a tune! you really are a master of filtered effects. this was a really cool and different take.
Skean
Love the dark sounds and the dreaming voice nice work, cool take on Bill's, song... Cheers
racerat
Hey Man,
This is an incredible journey. The vocoder is genius and decidedly morose. Shades of Laurie Anderson's 'Oh Superman", but that might be a pat comment I think, but certainly a more inventive usage. The pycho guitar twangy-ing and spray can sounds are an excellent punctuation and break from the sadness. The outro tuba solo, is, in true Sonny Jim fashion, completely unexpected (what in your songs is ever really expected though?) and gorgeous. Thanks for the description of how you did it all. Very cool. Lots of ideas....
P
Epileptic Gibbon
awesome, SJ! I'm ashamed to say that this is the first thing I've heard of yours since your return to MJ, but it is a welcome return, like seeing a hero riding in majestically following a mighty victory, or something along those lines anyway. I don't know the original version so I can't discuss comparisons but this is an experience all of its own. Racerat's reference to Laurie Anderson and yours to Soft Machine give it some context but just don't do it full justice. An epic and eclectic triumph, all on its own terms, and a must for my podcast music show, though it might have to wait for the New Year! I can't wait to hear what you're going to do for the Christmas challenge.
sonnyjim
Ian, I hardly know what to say; I've never gotten such a compliment before.
Thank you for the very kind words!
It's always an honor to be on your show, and your support here is greatly appreciated, I assure you.
Now, if I can only figure out what I'm going to do for that Christmas song.......
egobandit
your not a musical scientist in hiding i have got to admit I have never heard the VW version but this kicks again greatness!!!!!!!!
Eclipse
I really liked the song! Great sound! Really cool! Awesome!
love from your son,
Aubrey
sonnyjim
You're quite a fella, Eclipse.
Now, if I can get you to sit up straight at the dinner table, my work here will be done.