Grey Matter

[Bigduggieface]

Here is a cover of an Oingo Boingo song composed by Danny Elfman.

I've always liked this tune with its tight staccato ska rhythms combined with the large instrumentation. I decided to write out charts for each of the many instruments and do a cover version.

I performed and engineered all of the instruments and vocals. 52 audio tracks! It was a lot of obsessive work, and I'd be interested in any objective criticisms to help me improve it.

I decided to cover this song strictly as an educational process. I knew it would be a bugger to complete, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot from doing it.

For those not familiar with the song, you can check out the original studio version HERE and I found a great live version HERE.

I welcome any suggestions on how to improve this monster!

[cptfiasco]

great song,I wish I could put my choas together like this,really good job with the instruments and vocals from where I sit.

[garageband]

Works great. Very authentic, probably better than the Guitar Hero "Only a Lad" cover I saw on YouTube.
Couple small things I'd adjust.
Lower on the finger snaps at first (and at the end, also). The stereo delay on the "They say" seems like it should be wider. Better, ballsier sax sample. Lead vocal is like 0.5-1.0 dB too low. Same with the chorus singing on the outro. There's no reverb here. Seems like there should be tiniest amount for atmospheric purposes. The guitars all seem self-consciously rolled off and neutered a bit.

[fHumble fHingaz]

That's amazing! Vocals are killer - Really slick sounding piece - I can't pick on anything; it's very cohesive & polished - so much detail, interest & variation in the mix - very creative... Yeah, I know, not very helpful, am I? (Except perhaps at fertilizing your ego!)
Well done.

[Tony Ramone]

you're insane

[paul999]

Hey Duggie

I think GB hit valid points that I would attend to. Further to this my first impression was that it sounded great. As the song progressed the lack of ambience really started to bother me though but it could easily be over done in this song as well. I also felt a lack of bass in the important 75hzish range. The vox are awesome. It takes some big stones to pull this one off and you did. In fact that is my favorite part of the recording. The other "issue" is that the samples started to feel cheaper the more I listened to them. Sometimes micing a keyboard through a guitar amp or bass amp and layering it in can be useful to liven up a stale sample. More reverb isn't going to help this. When I listened to the original the bass is big and pillowy. You can almost feel it bouncing off the speakers. Yours sounds good but it feels flat behind the speaker(I know bad description). Snare was the other one. I don't mind your snare sound but it started to feel uninteresting after a while.

Over all this is very cool and well done I am being picky because I think that it is more useful to you.

Cheers
trip 9's

[garageband]

Sometimes miking a keyboard through a guitar amp or bass amp and layering it in can be useful to liven up a stale sample.

This the only way I do an electric piano track anymore: Kurzweil into a Fender Twin with a mic on it.

EDIT: The weird distorted "There's nothing inside your head" probably could stand to squished harder. I still sounds like someone singing into a microphone, when it should be headed for "Vocalish Noise Land".

[Bigduggieface]

Garage Band and paul999,

How DARE you criticize ME??? You two unsophisticated philistines wouldn't know a perfect mix if it bent down and gnawed your face off!

When you see ol' Bigduggieface up there on stage accepting that Grammy for Best Mix In The Universe, remember the foolish day when you had the unmitigated audacity to question one of MY mixes!

I would not accept any of your suggestions if you got down on your lousy stinking knees and begged me!

Perhaps I'm being sarcastic in an attempt at humor. Perhaps not. That's for YOU TWO "musical geniuses" to decipher for yourselves.

[paul999]

Cool let me know how the re-amping thing works on the keys and as well how the other suggestions worked out. I can't wait to hear the remix.

[paul999]

Originally Posted by Bigduggieface

Garage Band and paul999,

How DARE you criticize ME??? You two unsophisticated philistines wouldn't know a perfect mix if it bent down and gnawed your face off!

When you see ol' Bigduggieface up there on stage accepting that Grammy for Best Mix In The Universe, remember the foolish day when you had the unmitigated audacity to question one of MY mixes!

I would not accept any of your suggestions if you got down on your lousy stinking knees and begged me!

Perhaps I'm being sarcastic in an attempt at humor. Perhaps not. That's for YOU TWO "musical geniuses" to decipher for yourselves.

So ah wut up wit dis bigdugg? I thought for sure you where being sarcastic. After a few days though it started gnawing on my brain. Have I insulted the BIG "D". Not little ole' me. (batting of eye lashes. I'm sure TonyB has an appropriate smiley)

Wut up dugg?