Hard On Yourself by Vic Holman
Genre: Indie Rock
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Description:
not much to say, really. Just one of those songs that happened.
Lyrics:
Hard On Yourselfyou try real hard to get ahead
sometimes the ends don't meet
it's a cycle day after day
you pedal yourself to an early grave
now you slow down
and you gain some ground
chorus:
you try to be your best
but that's not good enough
you don't need to be so hard on yourself
world on you back and responsibilities
care for the mouths you have to feed
you won't accept second rate
because that's the mortgage you have to pay
now you slow down
and you gain some ground
chorus:
you try to be your best
but that's not good enough
you don't need to be so hard on yourself
you push yourself to the edge
just to survive
but you realize
I'm still alive...alive
buried yourself in that hole
someone kicks the dirt in on your head
wrap a tourniquet on the pressure point
don't let the vampire suck you dry
now you slow down
and you gain some ground
chorus:
you try to be your best
but that's not good enough
you don't need to be so hard on yourself
Hardware:
the usual stuffSoftware:
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Lennon714
That's a great chorus. I like your solo (per usual). After each phrase it cuts off quite abruptly. Was this an added effect or seomething you pulled off live?
Vic Holman
the middle part of the solo are some short phrases that i played. and them I reversed each section. so the end of each section was actually the beginning creating the end that reverse solos are known for.
mccannmp1
Hey Vic,
What a great pop song! I love the jangly guitars and your singing is wonderful - you sound like Spider Stacy from The Pogues (Tuesday Morning) and I mean that as a compliment. Great production too.
Mike
Vic Holman
I don't know why it is, i talk real smoothly, but when i sing it is grainy, no matter if it's quite or loud.
thanks for the listen, i appreciate it a lot!
five_extra_arms
Poor Vic - songs just happen all the time for you.
I like how the strings work with this song. You're guitars sound good and I hear some different treatments on your back up harmonies. A little higher range than usual.
Thanks Vic
Vic Holman
At ten thirty at night is when i kick back and play around on the acoustic, that's when i come up with all my songs, really, I'm not kidding.
I did higher back up vocals on my last song as well as this one. I didn't realize I could actually do it and be in tune. no special effects where harmed in attempting it.
MarkHolbrook
You know I love your songs that "just happen"... Why can't a few of them "just happen" for me!? I have to work hard at songs...
I like off of this except to me the strings are a wee bit loud for my personal taste. The guitars are so good I want to hear them over the strings.
Great song though my friend!
Vic Holman
I find that it's easiest to just play around on the acoustic and not try to set something up right away. you might come across a few cool chord changes, remember those then work the same process to fill in for the rest of the song.
setting the violin and cello up in the mix was deliberate on my part. after doing so many guitar driven songs I needed a change and set the levels as more as of a support.
if you want a copy with them low or off, let me know and i can send you mp3
lavalamp
...just hooked me in. Then, a great Vic Holman song. Awesome guitar work. Soulful lyrics. I really liked this one a lot, Vic. (will give more listens.)
Dave
Vic Holman
i had two acoustic track recored about 3 thee weeks ago. and there it sat. it came pretty close to not being finished off. last weekend i had a fresh perspective where to go with this. sound familiar?
Thanks again Dave
Feter
MAN !!! ...this is totally a new flav of your significant
sound ..wow ...love it ...the acoustic sphere with all
the echos and vocals all just gorgeous ...this is
impressive ...another gem ...thnx alot for sharin !!!!
Vic Holman
originally it was going to be just acoustics. I let it sit for a few weeks then decided to take it in a little bit of a different direction. the violin and cello worked very nicely together, I thought.
magnatone
vic, you're just amazing - what terrific indie rock. I love this kind of music - I will enjoy this over and over for a long time to come - THANKS!
Vic Holman
after i recorded the initial acoustics I set this aside for a few weeks. it wasn't pushing my button, so to speak. after i started adding in the strings and some electric guitars, I felt I was starting to get somewhere.
Macaudion
...you get em out quick.
This is likely, a soundtrack or at least, a narrative for any life that's ever consciously lived. Again, great writing and stuff, Vic. (stuff..., you know..., singing/playing/mixing and overall production)
Another solid piece of work. Yeah, yeah..., I know... you've heard it all before.
Thanks, Sir.
Dion
Vic Holman
not as quick as it seems. sometimes I'm overlapping songs that I'm working on. I started about 3 or 4 weeks ago. and it sat for a bit. then i would add a track here and there over time. I'm just lucky that I was able to finish this off.
TG
Im sure a lot of people in these tuff economic times can relate, timely stuff!
Vic Holman
I think everyone is going to be affected in some way, small or big. who hasn't had a tough go at sometime in their life
egobandit
the lyrics are everything mortgages to pay come on I feel this! excellent!!!!!!!!!! this is why Im a Vic Fan
Vic Holman
I know I've done a few hard times songs. But it's a reality thing and ya just got to say it now and then. why aren't the greedy people who put us in this mes going to court?
dajama
I think the strings work very well - gives a slightly different sound - and of course I also love the guitars. I really like the lyrics - universally applicable, I think, and very well expressed. Lovely singing, and really nice sound. The solo is excellent too. Nicely done. Kudos. Peace.
Vic Holman
i didn't want it to sound to much like a guitar tune. i thought the strings would be cool and send the guitars as more as a support role. part of the guitar solo has been reversed ( for the fun of it)
michael2
you're a madman, it's weird, the first thing i noticed was how much louder this song was compared to the last one i listened to. those strings are perfect for this, really like the chorus. i love how you always do the "band stops while the guitar wails" thing you do. another awesome vic holman original.
Vic Holman
madman in a crazy kind of way. it may sound loud and it doesn't even leave go out of the green on the level meter. I think it's all about placement and EQ tat helped define and tighten it up.
I could help whack up the solo even if it's really short. the ufo guys taught it to me!
DWL
really interesting melodic twists and turns and the strings really works.
Great sound on the guitars as usual and great work on the lyrics as usual.
Cheers
Dick
Vic Holman
I worked on this through stages. I had to set it aside for days at times to think of where it was going. it hurt my brain. I was going to develop into a full orchestra by the end but I ended up settling on just a violin and cello, they seemed to work together pretty well.
Dadai.2
... in this Beatles' (circa 1966) reminiscent sounding tune. The intro just sets the mood and tone for this one... excellent cello/guitar lead into your choice vocal setup. Then the body of the song... beautiful flowing lyrical melody. Coming back to the same setup slowdown in the middle... nicely structured Vicar. You got a masterpiece here... OK, maybe a bit of hyperbole, but this ain't no quickly put together flight of mere raw inspiration. And that I admire, especially when your tendency is to be too "Hard On Yourself."
D
Vic Holman
it may sound simple on the outside. but quite a bit of work went into this.
I originally had started writing lyrics in a story ala elanor rigby / lady madonna. But, I just couldn't quite get it to work right.
Dadai.2
what I hoped I communicated, that this song had a lot of thought, work, and inspiration go into it (unlike so many of mine ;). And Lady M... that was the song that came to mind as I listened to the intro... great stuff.
D
lengold
Started off by really loving the lyrics - they tell on old story very,very well. Then the music drew me in, this is a bit of a change from you Vic and it works beautifully. Extremely enjoyable listen.
Cheers
Len
Vic Holman
once in a while I need to mix it up a bit on approach. and do what the song or voices in my head dictate. I use to do more along this line some years back.
tempie
man first, the title is great. just sounds like its going to be a classic tune. To me, the thing that really carries this song is unresolved tension...the rock opera nature of the verse makes you think the chorus will blow wide open but it never does...it's like a Queen concept song that never makes it past the first cycle, and so the whole song I was EXACTLY like your graphic - looking up, waiting, expecting....which I then realized matched your lyrics perfectly - gaining ground, slowing down...cool concept execution!
Vic Holman
i always liked how Queen would, on some songs go into something interesting. their song innuendo is a perfect example. that kind of thing is a big influence on me. I restrained from a massive chorus this time around, I wanted to keep it a bit low key, so to speak.
HolleyHall
I hear a little Bob Dylan in the this style! Nice acoustics, vocals and synth work!
Holley :)
Vic Holman
I appreciate the listen, a bit Dylan, very well could be. Thanks again.
craft
Your song sounds really well... The melody grabs me and your lyrics makes me think... I really like it... Great playing..
Vic Holman
I appreciate the listen. I was listening to your new song earlier. that is very cool and heavy!
dolby
...an amazingly pumped up sound you get Vic. Great acoustic sound - always surprising what's gonna happen next - your songs never go in the direction I think they will -
Another classic journey into one mans imagination -
Phil
Vic Holman
pumped up. placement EQ and some compression and it doesn't even leave the green on the level meters. Logic seems to be a bit inherently louder in it's own right as well.
I need to mix some things up to avoid boredom. :-)
davisamerica
great tune ...
Vic Holman
thanks for the support Jack, you are one of the greats
Bob Rodgers
song Vic with a wonderful intro. I love the way you combine the string sounds with your guitars.
Wonderful lyrics and a really great vocal, this has a slightly different sound to your other songs and is one of my favs from you.
Excellent production, loved it!
Bob
Vic Holman
once in a while I mellow out and do something a bit tamer. On this I really wanted the guitars to be present but act more as a supporting role. I had planned on adding more synth string tracks, but found that the cello & violin pretty well fit the bill
thoddi
The chorus reminds me of something REM could have done. Very good. Cool use of acoustic guitar to widen the sound with the way it's are panned. You are good with those guitars:)
Vic Holman
I usually pan two acoustics pretty wide. maybe 1 or 2 also at 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock, if it's acoustic driven. then it's easier to place everything else into the mix.
it didn't occur to about the REM chorus style until you mentioned it. cool.
Thanks again Thor
jiguma
Ahhhhh, the glory of Logic Pro! What a rich and lush sound you have here Vic. I'm really impressed with this production.
The song, performance etc are also as good as we have all come to expect.
Bloody fantastic sound! I'm a little amazed. Seriously pro, and I suspect one of your very best.
:)
Neil
Vic Holman
it did come off a little better then i was expecting. Before I added the strings I was about to set this aside for a while. When I played with the synth string tracks it got me back on it. I had intended to build in even my and different string tracks, but just the two seemed to work out just fine.
Thanks again Neil
guitapick
...great tune, Vic...
Vic Holman
I'm glad that i actually finished this song. I almost shelved it several times. But i got motivated at the eleventh hour, so to speak, to finish it.
bud
really well developed and voiced. I especially like the freeness of the verses - unrestricted by conventional rhyme or meter. Very nice strings and 12 string combo.
SmokeyVW
love the strings -- very beatles-esque at times
but with your way-cool guitar work
thanks
"kill the vampires" 47905
Trillian
instills fear and can drown out the simplicity of love, compassion and good common sense if we let it. I rented the documentary film, "Ten Questions For The Dali Lama" and watched it Christmas night. It is amazing that the people who truly have something meaningful to say in this life never have to shout. "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46) "In family life, be completely present." (Tao Te Ching) If something seems too good to be true, then it most likely is, and the greedy people who buy into it reap what they sow. And something about "the lilies of the field..." : )
Vic Holman
to many times everyone feels they have to far exceed everyone else by who knows what means. I wish a lot of people would take a breather and realize things get done in a simple manner. stop and smell the roses kind of a thing........ and a nap in the afternoon :-)