Hey PunkGuy, You like Infectious Grooves?!?! You just made a friend Maybe we should work on some stuff together. I'll be calling my project Hot Rod Freak, and even though my current fav is CoC, my stuff comes out sounding like Sabbath/Beatles/Grunge/Wolf Mother. I did an intro post on the forums, and there's a sound sample of a song I *just* started working on, if you want to gauge my style. Cheers dood!
I think the do-everything-yourself-thing is a sexy enterprise that's probably never been done before with any real success. Maybe not. Just give me a couple years, maybe sooner. I will keep giving it my best shot. Although this is also dependent on the situation. I'm sure there are people who sing and do acoustic guitar who have flat out nailed recording themselves. Also with electronic music where everything is pulled from a file or quantized and processed to death, that only takes one person. Trying to compete with a Bad Brains or Infectious Grooves record on your own is a recipe for disaster though.
Ruprect has an awesome article due in a week or two that illustrates the power of outsourcing in music/recording situations. I think the do-everything-yourself-thing is a sexy enterprise that's probably never been done before with any real success. Maybe not. Brandon
Originally Posted by dudermn obviously you've never drank with an Irish man So the devil is Irish ?
spoken like a true Dave Grohl. This blog was just as entertaining the first time I read it. You have a great "newspaper/novelist" cynicism about you. I love it ! The guys with the power/money are the ones that are taking the money right out of your hand before you even get the money, and the money that you do get , you happily give them too, because they know how to ask for it from you. Like capitalizing on your dreams "just like major labels used to". If you pay us this much, we can do this for you. Example : ascap, bmi, cdbaby, all the labels , etc. they make more off of us than we can recoup. So if you don't buy into it, you won't be part of the club and your dreams will never come true, that's what they're feeding us. And the hamburgers are poisonous, but they describe them so well.
Originally Posted by brandondrury it seems that some people get caught in the trap of inventing new hurdles....most of that is done by magazines and marketing companies, however.) A person that has something musically to say (we could call it a sound in their head or simply a goal) has the ability to get right up there if they have the perseverance to overcome the hurdles or are just willing to ask a few buddies for help. I really like this perspective. When you get into the magazines and see page after page of new gear , then read an article on someone using that gear, by the time you're done reading, you're looking for your wallet and keys, and trying to get to the music store like a rabid dog. It's all the constant "you need this" type talk that convinces you when it's probably best to stay away from the magazine in the first place. They lure you in with neat subtitles on the cover.
obviously you've never drank with an Irish man
Thanks. Recently I decided to take a stroll out of la-la land at least once a week. You dont wanna know what I think about when Im not out on stroll But yes. Ascap has been throwing out propaganda out the wing wang, with the main key-notes being. 1. The guys who have all the money at the moment happen to be the same people that make your android, your iphone, and your facepoop. 2. Web 2.0 is old and the only possibility for musicians is to stick a google fiber connection straight to the brain. 3. It might be a good time to opt out and stay quite (think the hunt for red October when the submarine gets red)...Streaming radio only gets people 10000 bucks for 17 million plays, digital protection of arts can not protect anyone and...ahm ?? Right . I also am wondering how musicians today get along with a frontal loud-speaker system. When the technology is available to create an actual land-scape of sound that an audience can walk around. Ill get into that more later, but not now. The other very disturbing mention of musicians ship...lack of any-way. Is the countless twats out on stage that look at their frikking fret-boards! Btw? When is a forum that uses videos to discuss instead of written words be the norm of society ?
One thing I did notice about you is the ability to hit the like button on every-thing...usually. If I were a no0b to the forum you would probably imagined as a bouncy curly headed 16 year old happily busting out tunes in a land of tech savvy and ego pumped musicians. Nice little literate about the dark, grim, tortured past of yours. Really...Abbey Roads is pure torture ! Well watching Star Trek into the darkness atm (Romania rulez!)... just wanted to blab a bit about voice activation in the suite of a daw....Than I noticed you posted a blog ! Cant wait to check out the Celtic composition on a pair of shitty yellow ear-buds. I left my monitors scattered through-out America .
Hey PunkGuy, One way to go would be to form or join a recording project, where each member sticks to the instruments they want to focus on. That's what I am doing and I need drums and vocals. It's hippie/stoner rock so its slow at ~ 75 - 100 bpm. And if you find someone but your music doesn't match, you can each work on the other's songs. Sometimes people start that way and then find common ground and end up writing together. In any case, you wouldn't be overwhelmed by all the fantastic tools that we now have to create music. I used to attach my ego to my guitar playing ability, but now my overall musicianship and ability to write music are most important to me, and I try to be the best guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist I can be.
Originally Posted by fretbone Hi Emma, thank you so much for sharing this stuff. It's a lot to take in on the first read, but now at least I'm aware of your blogs, and find them quite intriguing. It's great that you're bold enough to put controversial writings on here, as I love a good controversy. hehe thanks... I must admit to being somewhat dichotomous (?) courting controversy one minute and stealthily retreating behind a rock the next... I've decided that one gift of getting-old, is the sudden realisation that if you don't do stuff now.. well... you won't do it This voice stuff has always really worked for me... so much more than the 'tra la la' theories... it's a different concept... I love stuff like that
Hi Emma, thank you so much for sharing this stuff. It's a lot to take in on the first read, but now at least I'm aware of your blogs, and find them quite intriguing. It's great that you're bold enough to put controversial writings on here, as I love a good controversy. Some will always dispute what others say, I don't understand why someone that seeks knowledge is also resistant to hearing it. I will benefit greatly from this alternative point of view, and I will put to practice what you have presented. Thanks for being brave and not giving a **** what others think. Some of us on here are really here to learn something new
Yeah, this damn thing works every once in a while. It's a shame that there are so many hurdles between each person and the dream. (As modern tools bypass some of these hurdles, it seems that some people get caught in the trap of inventing new hurdles....most of that is done by magazines and marketing companies, however.) A person that has something musically to say (we could call it a sound in their head or simply a goal) has the ability to get right up there if they have the perseverance to overcome the hurdles or are just willing to ask a few buddies for help.
It's a strange thing - waay back then... being 'discovered' was the realisation of a dream... It's when you realise it's the wrong dream. I'll be learning this stuff forever now.. I'm just so rapt that finally, I feel like I'm making progress. I have no agenda, just a journey, which is a vastly different way of working, for me. Ta for listening
A lot of progress has definitely been made. I'm really liking your take on how bg vox should work. The stuff in Marriette isn't bad, but that bg vox you've been doing recently are fantastic. Man, listening to your latest song again, and I still think it's fantastic. And having read the comments there, it's clear that this song has resonated with a lot of use. The melody really works well with the feel you've given the performance and instruments, and it find it much more interesting musically than Marriette.
Great story and very inspiring, so many think a record deal is the shiz and so many others ruin their lives because of it. DIY is control over the art. The business part, now that's a whole different ball of wax.
Idk if awesome drums can really carry a song Blink-182 before and after Travis... Alkaline Trio always had some pretty good drumming and their songs are pretty simple. But its not about the drums carrying the songs, its about the combined effort of a band and the little intricacies that make a song better than another. Take any Alkaline song and remove their drums and put in a simple beat, it would not be that great, but the song is still there. Theres usually one instrument that stands out in a band that's usually just how it is. Bill Stevenson has been my favorite drummer from the second I heard the Descendents for the first time, and I remember reading an article about him I think in drummer magazine years ago. It was something about hes always worried about overplaying things and he uses the ride or high hat to convey different emotions into the song. He says something about the song She's My Ex (ALL), where he wrote it and was so worried about overplaying that he did quite the opposite and probably didn't do enough, but the song came out great. This song is one of my favorites and just shows that technical ability doesn't have to be in a song to produce a great result. I guess though it really comes down to what you are trying to accomplish, but in my eyes the drumming in punk bands is what has always got my attention. The same with modern metal, I can hear the same chords shredded to bits and even though I can never do that it doesn't have the impact for me what a solid drummer can do to a song.
Originally Posted by the evil spoken like a true punk! I was in the same boat as you until I found a band, so im not longer trying to do it all by myself, which is really awesome when you can sit back and track other people. You sound a lot like myself in that I feel a bit of perfectionism in your tone, but I don't see it as a bad thing. It keeps you motivated. Maybe instead of trying to be so technical you can start writing songs that are easier to play. There are a lot of great punk bands out there that are still pretty awesome with out doing crazy solos, and the ones that are doing it are bands. Its not one guy trying to out play himself. I will have to say I have seen a serious decline in my speed over the last few years just based on the music im playing, im down to 165-180 bpms these days and would have tough time back up around the 200... I think this is a great point here, If you simplify , you are not selling out, you are probably going to make better music. Everyone at first seems to feel they need to show great musicianship by being flashy when in fact great musicianship is keeping it simple. There's only a small genre of technoheads like Dream theatre or Fates warning, for example that really push the musicianship. If you listen to popular music, you may notice how all the parts make the whole. Not one part awesome, the rest filler. It's probably your mindset to be in the top 10% but that is a subjective thing that is in your head. Too many musicians out there think playing flashy is a crowd pleaser. The crowds have no idea what you're playing. Play solid and practice more, you'll see, just try it on one song if you doubt yourself. Do a 120 bpm song for ex. Play simple chords , simple bass line. Simple melody, and bam, you'll have a song. Being the best is just an illusion. Some people hate Eddie Van Halen but love Eric Clapton. Try this and then see what you don't like and fix it, but starting a marathon without being able to run for 2 minutes is just crazy (IMO).
It sounds to me like you are mad because you aren't awesome at everything. Pretty much. I think you are on similar ground with actually expecting to be the best at bass, guitar, drums, vocals, cooking, running, water polo, and everything else you may be competitive with. I have a disease where if I'm going to get serious about something I have to be in the top 10% or so (the top 10% of my immediate competition at the very least.) Maybe instead of trying to be so technical you can start writing songs that are easier to play. True, but simple songs usually rely on at least one of the parts being pants-crappingly awesome. Even Rancid has amazing vocals. Even the Graves Misfits had awesome vocals to go with the simple music. Idk if awesome drums can really carry a song. But I do get what you're saying and it's good advice (but still a cop out lol.)
think what keeps me going more than anything at this point is that I feel the need to prove people wrong. There isn't anything much more satisfying than rubbing your success in the person's face who didn't think you could do it. spoken like a true punk! I was in the same boat as you until I found a band, so im not longer trying to do it all by myself, which is really awesome when you can sit back and track other people. You sound a lot like myself in that I feel a bit of perfectionism in your tone, but I don't see it as a bad thing. It keeps you motivated. Maybe instead of trying to be so technical you can start writing songs that are easier to play. There are a lot of great punk bands out there that are still pretty awesome with out doing crazy solos, and the ones that are doing it are bands. Its not one guy trying to out play himself. I will have to say I have seen a serious decline in my speed over the last few years just based on the music im playing, im down to 165-180 bpms these days and would have tough time back up around the 200...
I see other DIY recordists taking routes that make more sense, like a solo artist with an acoustic and maybe backup bongos, or some weird electronic stuff where everything is quantized and processed to death and musicianship means nothing. Those people are smart. It sounds to me like you are mad because you aren't awesome at everything. No shit! Join the crowd. Come on over. Punkguy, Hitler, and brandondrury can all get drunk on the porch and talk about how we just couldn't quite conquer our version of Russia. I see no precedent for what you are attempting to do. If you can name a guy who has an Olympic medal, a Nobel prize, and has 3 HBO comedy specials under his belt, I may be able to see where you are coming from. Granted, I did see a clip of Hulk Hogan playing bass the other night. I applaud your testicles. You had/have the balls to attempt to sound like a bad son of a bitch on all rock instruments and you are approaching them from a competitive/there-is-an-objective-best perspective. I saw a documentary recently calling Michael Jordan an MF for even attempting the baseball thing. I think you are on similar ground with actually expecting to be the best at bass, guitar, drums, vocals, cooking, running, water polo, and everything else you may be competitive with. Brandon
I think most people on this forum could've written your blog word for word, minus the music references. Perhaps, you've lost sight of some of the success stories and how hard they worked to get there. For example, Eddie Kramer is a hero in most people's eyes, but has anyone heard his stuff before he became famous ? It's kind of hard to screw up when you have great material to work with (IMO), He's admitted that you could put any mic in front of Jimi Hendrix and it will sound awesome. Hendrix was so shy about his vocals, EK had to turn the lights off and put a packing blanket around the mic area so no one would look at him. Anthrax was a super tight band, all he had to do was make them produce good takes. Led Zeppelin songs are full of looseness and questionable recording spots, but they were able to pull it off. Was all of this Eddie Kramer ? I don't think so. A lot of the new producers like Matt Serletic (matchbox 20) do a hybrid recording style where there is some prefab stuff mixed in with the live takes. This can help with the weak spots. Little things too, like adding a keyboard track in the background help smooth out some of that raw feel you don't seem to like. If you accept the homegrown feel and attitude, just do it and be proud of it. All professionals make mistakes, it's part of the deal, some can be fixed, some can't. An average commercial record can take 2 years to finish, this is with 10 guys working on it. So if you put that against one guy, that would take you 20 years to do one album to perfection. My math might be off, but you get my point.. If you enjoy making music, then Screw it, do it and just be happy that you do enjoy it. I've heard a lot of people in real studios that bitch about having to do voiceovers, commercials and mindless editing. That doesn't sound as fun as pounding the drums to me. We're all in the same boat here, none of us seem satisfied with our work all the time, I'm not for sure.
Originally Posted by PunkGuy Exactly. I don't have time to give 100% on: drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and mixing. My progress has seemed slow since it has been spread out over those areas. Then it isn't reasonable to expect to be at a top level on ALL facets. As long as you keep that in mind, then it becomes fun and you can be quite productive. Idk if it is so much fun as it is an obsession now, but if I ever get to a point where I have all the right gear and for a couple years straight I am not able to get where I want to be I might just stop recording. But I'm making progress now and have been since I started so I keep going. What exactly is the right gear?
Look at any sport or successful person in business. They spend 90% (or 100%)of their time on their craft. Exactly. I don't have time to give 100% on: drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and mixing. My progress has seemed slow since it has been spread out over those areas. If you are happy with just blasting this stuff for friends then it sounds like you are on a just for fun level, and that is cool, until it becomes not so much fun anymore. That's what you gotta figure out. Idk if it is so much fun as it is an obsession now, but if I ever get to a point where I have all the right gear and for a couple years straight I am not able to get where I want to be I might just stop recording. But I'm making progress now and have been since I started so I keep going.
I forget if it was you who made a similar rant earlier, but I'm super encouraged by this album: Dawn Breaks, The Monster Wakes... | Felix Hagan & The Family Look at the credits. On guy did it all (except a shout of several people yelling "hip hip hurray") at his band's mobile recording studio. EDIT: it was your previous similar rant that I posted this on, I was right.
I hear where you are coming from. But all you have to do is look outside your situation for your answer. Look at any sport or successful person in business. They spend 90% (or 100%)of their time on their craft. They train specifically for their sport to excel at what they want to do. So apply that to your drumming for instance. you were probably better a while back because that was your focus and you played and practiced more like you said. Now your attention is scattered among many things and your drumming suffers, but you have expanded your horizons by learning new things. I think this is the main reason musicians who record have a real hard time because the amount of time it takes to get your instrument playing to a top level takes away from the recording, yet the amount of time it takes to get to the top level or close in recording land is equally as time consuming if not more. It is quite normal to want to shift to something new. It is trying to learn multiple things at the same time that is counter productive. Some people can do it, I am not one of them. When I get motivated everything else falls to the wayside. But I usually improve really fast. But of course whatever it was I was soooo into before switching now suffers. It is part of being human. If you are happy with just blasting this stuff for friends then it sounds like you are on a just for fun level, and that is cool, until it becomes not so much fun anymore. That's what you gotta figure out.
Wow, great!! Great thoughts and thanks to share them By the way, I felt exactly the same and you summed up my feelings more than I could do myself. Thanks again to write all that down. I wish you the best in the recording and audio world
You've entered the Devil's den! I've seen it destroy many lives, bands, relationships, and recordings. Liquid courage is a substitute for the real thing. If you can be cool and Not indulge but still have the mindset and attitude that you're with the band and not judging them , you may last a bit longer. I know plenty of musicians out there who play 4 sets a night, 4 nights a week and drink all night long just to keep it fun for them. End result, I'm sure the picture ain't pretty. Liver problems, just the beginning, Phsycological problems, even worse, Self inflated ego because of the substance fooling you.. priceless. In the end, the lights come on, the crowd goes home, and the musician is an addicted mess. When you're 18-25 or so, this might not make sense, but when you're 40-50 , it becomes a joke. If you do your best work when your'e fucked up,then so be it. It takes a while to break the habit and a lot of tough inner strength. Look at some actors who just are ridiculous and impossible to work with, same thing. Eventually, the Devil will take you..and getting out is too late Nice story, I'm glad I made it to the end, that was a long read.
awesome and introspective ! In the beginning, we're so naive to what it takes and once we learn, the enchantment has dwindled. The secret revealed. I want to see an alien before I die. Will this ever happen ? Are they real ? Once I see one, will my imagination be crushed from the reality before me. Like, damn, that's all it is, geez, I thought they were way cooler than that. I recently got in a conversation with a 70+ year old guitar enthusiast, I reluctantly played his martin guitar, as I hate to be a monkey for anyone. I was bewildered by the fact that when I just freelanced a blues passage, he smiled real big, like I was performing magic.. I said, "I can teach you this in five minutes" He was more caught up in the mystery rather than the steps to take to be able to play the blues off the cuff. It was like a refusal to crossover to the learning side. He was much happier as a listener and collector of guitars. When I started recording, and still to this day, some mixes are just a mystery to me. How did they do that ?? Some has revealed itself through practice and the magic has disappeared. It's like turning the lights on at Disney's space mountain. Oh , that's all it is, I thought there was so much more. The internet has screwed us up too, I thought maybe only a handful of people could possibly own the rare comic book or be into recording. I used to think , Damn, If I just put my songs on itunes, I'll sell a thousand a month and be set.. That dream has since been crushed too. We as producers, have to embrace someone that comes in with that wide eyed enthusiasm and absorb it from them, this is what keeps me wanting to help others, I love the result when they are satisfied. I used to go to concerts when I was younger and be so In Awe. Like, that's really that guy right in front of me, wow ! Now , if I go to a concert, I'm analyzing the sound of the arena and recording mindset stuff.. I can't help but look at the gear and wonder how Pink Floyd got away with running their P.A. in stereo. It's called growing up I think, that's what makes Neverland so intriguing, I'd like to go there, not the Michael Jackson one Great blog here !
The overall theme here is similar to my Sound Designer title I now take. Gear Prostitutes, Tape Op, Mix Magazine, and virtually every audio recording media form imply a way of doing things. It's almost all entirely inconsequential in the big picture. Ruprect did a shootout for the Golden Age 73. He got frustrated mixing the vocals. No biggie. That happens to all of us. I came in later that night and played. For the mix at hand, I had OUTRAGEOUS amounts of EQ and possibly even more compression. It's what the fixed parameters of the song dictated and I was quite happy with it, actually. I had low shelves cutting 15dB up to 600Hz and high shelves cutting everything down to 8Khz by 12dB before wrecking the thing with compression. It doesn't sound like I wrecked anything. It sounds about right for the genre to my ears. The difference between mic pres in that case couldn't have been more inconsequential. The problem is few people can quantify how much processing they are doing. Maybe a guy doing an old Johnny Cash album says, "You shouldn't need vocal EQ". He isn't talking about a "huge guitar" band. Not in my room and circumstances. Being able to break free of all idiotic confines and implications is the fastest way to the goal. I put Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and Neve preamp magic all in the same category. They are fun for kids to believe in and that's what I'm going to believe until I see empirical evidence for any of the three. This isn't to say that I can't hear the thing my Vintech 1272 does. The problem is it took an experienced dude with some chops to get that vocal where it needed to be. It took 1% adjustment to get the vocal to where it needed to be with the different preamps (Golden Age 73, Vintech 1272, API). I can only speculate that a person who really finds value in one of those three is in some kind of situation where he sounds like a big boy production with no processing. That's not going on here. Ruprect conducted the preamp shootout on 3 different mics (ADK Thor, SM7b, and SM58). The two dynamic mic tracks kinda lead me in one direction and the results were fairly similar (with that 5k-8k thing that's easy to hear in the SM58 being a pain in the ass as usual). The ADK Thor was decidedly brighter and it took me in a different direction. I ran with it. So I do think there is something to the notion that a mic can lead you to a certain place. That's worth something. The preamps did not do that. Brandon
Great discussion here. I really enjoyed your blog Michael. You have jumped right in and plowed forward on the forum. The discussion of Confidence made me think about this thread from awhile back that you might get a kick out of: The Illusion Of Power And Confidence http://forum.recordingreview.com/f8/...fidence-47911/
8. The q's on analog eqs tend to be FAR wider then we select when using a daw eq and they boost or cut less then we are inclined to go. I've always wondered about this. I think seeing the eq curve when you are adjusting it tends to make people work in more of a narrow band than they would if they were doing it by ear.
thanks dudermn, To make it perfectly crystal clear, I, in No way support scientology or even care and would "NOT" put them in a philosophy category. That reference was in response to something Brandon said on an earlier post, nothing more. I would say time is about being present and in the moment as often as possible, there's not much else you can do unless you want to dwell in the past, or try and predict the future. If money is what you desire, you have to make that happen by doing, that's my advice. Philosophy isn't based on possessions which includes money or material things, so a gear head would be at a disadvantage to begin with. Thanks for the positivity.
Great vibes, though I suggest the philosophy that time is money as the most important one And lets not mention Elroy Paccard (or whomever founded scientology).
oh man... i tried to clean up de audio off one of these frikkin Androids thinking I found de holy grail of portable recorders and shit..... it really didn't work. I tried parallel notcb filters, with phase, without, about 40 of um. 1.24 khz than one at 1.27 khz than one at 1.29 khz and went up.and down the whole audio spectrum hoping more or less and praying that the sound could get cleaned up. Well....once the digital slaughterhouse packages your recordings it seems there is no return. If horrid compressed and distorted comes out of the .mpg that recording is a goonnneeerrr. Luckily, some nice condenser mics are coming out soon for Android Yay!
This is the only place where my sick sense of humor is welcomed, or at least not totally frowned upon. As long as Brandon says things worse than I do I figure I am good to go.
I can't agree more or say it better myself, sound's like we'd get along if we were in the same band I just caught that Steve Vai joke, sick , but funny, Not the visual I was going for.. I've got the being ridiculed thing down I think, now If I can just last..
Originally Posted by fretbone Of course I want "tight" playing and productions compared to "train wrecks". That's not my point. Ohhh but sometimes train wrecks are delightfully painful to watch I think whoever creates the next big thing will not be following the masses, but looking for new and different ways to be different That has always been the case. The thing about this is when people are different initially they are mocked and ridiculed. If they persist, and it catches on then they are revered, and worshiped. Once they start to be copied and the moment has passed they are then unoriginal and sellouts for trying to do the same old thing. It's a funny thing.
Steve Vai is a "hard to digest" guitarist. I'm not sure if you were joking on that point. I can see now that "loose" being contrasted with "tight" like tight being a good quality of cohesion, some bands can't pull this off live, that's not the "loose" I am referring to. It's more of an attitude of not following the script too closely but not losing the meaning of the script by drawing attention to flaws. Of course I want "tight" playing and productions compared to "train wrecks". That's not my point. Maybe I should say "inventive" which would go along with your analogy of the first 3 could never happen again (because of being so inventive) dispite the "common story line" and "flash gordon-buck rogers" feel . Star wars stood out. To me, yeah , the latest 3 are breaking new technological ground, but something is lost in the process (IMO), just as much of todays music being pushed to it's limits in loudness. Everyone wants to be "LOUD". I almost dare to say, they would prefer loud perfection over creative uniqueness. How can the next new thing happen in such a sameness mentality ? I think whoever creates the next big thing will not be following the masses, but looking for new and different ways to be different
Originally Posted by fretbone personally I hate eggs too, I should've thought of something I actually like but it got attention, I think "loose" again is being taken too literally here, just like that other thread on the W A R -M word. My wife tells me I am too literal all the time. Maybe she is on to something. You're a drummer right ? I would expect precision from that point of view, I'm a guitarist so the opposite is true as my heroes are all what I consider "loose" players. Ex. Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Jack White, . If you hear solo isolated tracks (which I have heard on youtube) those guys spill all over the place, it add's character. Well loose to me means as a whole things are just a bit out of whack. I hate a loose playing band, it speaks of unprofessionalism But I love guys who know how to push pull the tempo, play behind or ahead of the groove to express emotion. Chad smith is one of my favorite for this. Steve Vai is an anal recordist, He records what?? In any production or medium, it would be considered a success if the production wasn't noticed. Agreed I think if I compare the original first 3 star wars movies to the newest 3, that would illustrate my point. The first 3 would be loose, homemade, analog, and the last 3 are flatscreen, lcd, digital. IMO - the first 3 kick the last 3's ass all day long. And a lot of those models and scenes were made with "homemade" tactics. I used to love hitting a telephone pole support cable with a screwdriver to get that "laser fire sound" and they used egg crates and spray painted hand-held models, you know ... The newer stuff is all green screen and computer effects, it has a style, but, not as much "character". Maybe the actors were more unique in the first 3 films, JUST MY PREFERENCE.. Although I don't disagree with this, it is a real apples to oranges comparison here. The first movies were just that, the first ones. A different era, it was just what people wanted but didn't know it yet. With the new ones, you have expectation bias, a used and abused story and characters, and characters that don't generate any real attachment from the viewer. You just can't recreate what happened when the first Star Wars was released, I mean think about it, who would buy an empty toy box from a store with a note inside saying your toy will be shipped to you when they are ready. (Not talking about pre orders of today) That can and will never happen again. Production definitely isn't everything, and it can't make up for a bad story line, or underdeveloped characters or bad writing, which I believe all 3 of those are in the last 3 Star Wars.
personally I hate eggs too, I should've thought of something I actually like but it got attention, I think "loose" again is being taken too literally here, just like that other thread on the W A R -M word. You're a drummer right ? I would expect precision from that point of view, I'm a guitarist so the opposite is true as my heroes are all what I consider "loose" players. Ex. Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Jack White, . If you hear solo isolated tracks (which I have heard on youtube) those guys spill all over the place, it add's character. Steve Vai is an anal recordist, most of his recordings are very clinical, and tight in playing and production, his crossroads role forced him to "mess-up" and play sloppy. He said that he had a real hard time doing that.. I'm not a fan of the "DEMO SOUND", if I count demos, I've probably written and recorded about 2000 of them.. I guess if you say tight as you can make it , then I'd back off a touch somewhere to "loosen" it up , so to speak, if that makes sense.. In any production or medium, it would be considered a success if the production wasn't noticed. I think if I compare the original first 3 star wars movies to the newest 3, that would illustrate my point. The first 3 would be loose, homemade, analog, and the last 3 are flatscreen, lcd, digital. IMO - the first 3 kick the last 3's ass all day long. And a lot of those models and scenes were made with "homemade" tactics. I used to love hitting a telephone pole support cable with a screwdriver to get that "laser fire sound" and they used egg crates and spray painted hand-held models, you know ... The newer stuff is all green screen and computer effects, it has a style, but, not as much "character". Maybe the actors were more unique in the first 3 films, JUST MY PREFERENCE..
For the record, I hate eggs!!! But to your point, those moments you speak of I don't think qualify as "loose" moments. The were strategically placed to illustrate a point or to build up to a resolution. I get what you are saying though, as I enjoy both the spontaneity of the "mistakes" especially the impromptu stuff like different intros and endings or a different jam in the middle of a song in a live performance. But I also like super tight precision production probably more so. It is very hard for a movie to have an emotional impact without music, since essentially music is the language of emotion. the only movie I can think of in the last 20 years is Castaway which I didn't even notice there wasn't a word spoken for a LONG time until I read about it.
Brandon, I may have been caught up in the moment saying I agree with you 100%. I'll explain the Tom Cruise reference was based on his ties with scientology and their belief that the western culture has been brainwashed by big corporations and media to look for an easy fix for sickness. They don't believe in using pills, drugs, or any quick fix remedies that only mask the problem. To truly be healed, it must come from within, a spiritual place, this would take years for someone who first, doesn't believe it, or has had their whole life of thinking about asprin and cough syrup. Both are detrimental to your long term health, as is fast food, and most food really. I would have to consider Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck to be incredibly positive, good natured, intelligent, and would have to be somewhat close-minded to not consider what they have to say on any subject. I don't have to believe it, but they've had more experiences than me and seem to bring positivity to them by being positive. You bring up a good point about being close minded to other styles, which I guess on my part "was a stupid statement". I do like what I like but thought about it, and I like a lot of stuff I said I didn't like, so I contradicted myself there. It made me learn something though, and that's worth looking stupid over (IMO). I actually like stuff in all the genres, was generalizing too much. the humor statement is that you seem to come from a point of view that is much like that of a "Shock Jock". You tend to deal with borderline prejudice, sarcasm, and petifile type humor. That's not me, though sometimes I laugh, which is wrong of me. This style/humor may come from a negative place inside yourself revealing some hurt or anger. It also comes off a bit soldieristic, kind of like what's going on now in America with the gun control issues, etc. I come from more of a teacher/student, positive reinforcement, don't make fun of people that have different ethnicities or levels of experience place. I'm not trying to dig on you, just explain what I mean by "I can't say the things you say" statement. I am not into philosophy for the money, it's about personal growth, I'm not religious in the conventional sense. Finally on confidence, I doubt myself as much as anyone else, maybe even more, but I'm here to learn, and realize my work will never be "perfect". You can't please everyone, and I record music first and foremost, to document my originals. Secondary, would be to record others which come my way. The Metallica catalog is a great example of "personal growth". They could've probably kept making "master of puppets" style albums and probably would've been more accepted by staying that way. They would've gotten bored though. Part of the reason "load" was hated, was because they cut their hair. It's a strange world and change is considered "not good". I can't even listen to St. Anger, but I get their point of being RAW and that was a bold statement. Riff wise, I think their latest work is their best. Rick Rubin told them to pretend they were kids again and they had that attitude in the studio, dumb blind enthusiasm for music. I doubt many people have even heard the music, it didn't last long on the radio. The black album was their most successful, but that's where people say "they sold out" and made actual "SONGS". I can sing along to enter sandman though, which I think is a positive.
No, Weeds "Little Boxes".
alright, Brandon, you're either brainwashing me or you're one smart mofo.. Why am I agreeing with everything you say now ??? The strive part is funny, That's the problem with doing everything myself, like most of us, this outsiders point of view is fantastic. I can see why people stay on this site for years, I don't even know what I'm going to learn here, it will unravel nicely, I think. Maybe, what I'm trying to say is that I like listening to loose recordings and enjoy the accidentals that happen when recording my own. If I put songs up for bashing and everyone say's they're too loose, then I'll have to re-evaluate everything, I'm hoping it doesn't end up feeling like getting beat up be 250 people at once. Thanks for your straight up comments
Originally Posted by garageband OMG! I HATE that song! Ever since I was tiny. I thought it was mean-spirited and not nice. I may have refused to sing it in elementary school. Yes, I've always been this way. I haven't watched Weeds since the first season, but are you talking about the cover song, "White Houses"? The orginal Eric Burdon and The Animals version is awesome, I just can't imagine anyone hating that song; it has a great groove. I wouldn't exactly describe the lyrics as mean-spirited; I think "admonitory" is a more accurate description.
I'm not trying to sound like Tom Cruise here Well, that's the first sign of stupidity. (sarcasm) Maybe you should. Maybe we all should. (more sarcasm) If Tom Cruise said it, you KNOWWWWW it's true. (I'm intrigued by the culture's celebrity pedestal somehow spreads to issues of real life for no explained reason. "Ben Affleck, could you share with us your plan to counteract the shrinking middle class due to globalization without undoing the positive aspects of globalization." Can you imagine what he'd say?) I like what I like and that permeates to all my recordings. Maybe I wouldn't be the right person for a "rapper" or "modern pop artist" (I may be depriving myself of some new knowledge by doing so) The only knowledge one lacks by avoiding hip hop or modern pop is the skill of when to shut the brain off. It's very similar to my views on alcohol. I don't believe in moderation, but my brain only shuts off a few hours a month. No one thinking about it has ever found value in a Ke$ha song, which is why I've taught myself to unthink about it. O.K. Brandon, I just checked out your "sound designer rule #8 post". A fun read as are all your posts (your humor is what actually got me to sign up). I know because of my situation , I could never say the things you do (the one's in bad taste) but they are really freakin' funny.. I have no idea what you are talking about. I was initially expecting some bit of backlash and resistance to posting this blog, but found that this mentality of "believe in yourself" is not discussed much, compared to the latest rant about gear and such, which helps, it all helps.. I believe there's commonality in both but philosophy goes so much deeper and is more open to "universal thinking" than a "boxed in religion". There's a lot less money, power, and status involved with philosophy. You HAVE to be doing the philosophy gig for the right reasons. For religion, morality has always been optional, regardless of the implication. There's another side to confidence that's tricky. I think there is something to pushing life's limits that you know you are going to strike out a few times. I'm in a phase right now where I've worked SOOO hard to not strike out, that the notion of it sounds paralyzing....which is why I may just try to strike out on purpose. (Some thought Metallica did this on Load, then Reload, then St. Anger, then the last thing. ) I'm not sure if one can ever say they "failed". Brandon
I personally strive for "looseness" in my recordings, that's just my preference. While I get your point (and agree 51% of the time) , I think the "strive" part made me laugh a bit. I think of strive and I think of the Bataan death march or may be Arnold at the end of Terminator 2. I have this uncanny ability to make loose recordings with almost no striving. People always want to know how I do it with such ease. Yeah, movies without sound are just bad books. I SERIOUSLY want to start hearing music when I read fiction. This is one of the reasons I don't read fiction much. (That, and I work for a living.) For all practical purposes, the music is mind control. It's telling you what to do more than Dick Cheney (or insert-left-wing entity here). I always wanted them to redo Soul Plane (a bunch of black people kidnap a white guy...or something. I saw a trailer once) but take out the Snoop Dogg soundtrack and replace it with the Schlinder's List music. (Another John Williams, I do believe.) I imagine you could turn a playful movie from the ghetto into every farmer in Missisisippi in 1966's worst nightmare. I'd love to see it done just to know for sure. Ultimately all of us who jumped on this grenade of a career (or hobby) did it because music affected us on too deep of level to ignore. After I get done making really crappy music I think I may try to give back some day.
WKRP in Cincinatt Ugh. No. Awful. Bullet-through-the-brain awful. Kids in the Hal 'Saright. But it did remind me of one that kills: Rescue Me by the Von Bondies. Weeds OMG! I HATE that song! Ever since I was tiny. I thought it was mean-spirited and not nice. I may have refused to sing it in elementary school. Yes, I've always been this way.
Weeds "Little Boxes" Theme to "Kids in the Hall" The opening AND closing credits to "WKRP in Cincinatti"
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