Loving EZ-Drummer...

[eagle1]

even more.

 

I believe this is the most "pumped" up song I have ever made.

It was recorded at 120bpms and I think that's the fastest I've gone.

The song is also about ambiguity and uncertainty and the desire to know the unknown hehehe Lyrics came unconsciously (i.e. I wasn't even thinking of this at the time, I was chatting with a friend).

I had so much fun creating it that I didn't even wanted to re-touch them lyrics!

 

This is the third song I have recorded with an electric guitar.

I few people have liked it but all of them are friends so that doesn't count! hehehe

 

You can download it from this page:

 

http://gelocks.topcities.com/Music/At_last.mp3

 

Right click + Save as.

 

or streamed:

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=639185&songID=5455973

 

Any comments welcomed.

Thanks.

[blue2blue]

120 bpm?!?

 

You ain't lived 'til you're trying to sing your country/old school R&B type lyrics (updating a sort of teen angel kind of thing) over 142 bpm British acid...

 

 

A lot of things I like about this song. I was wondering how the shoulders verse would come off as performed and I think your execution of the line brings just the right touch to the internal 1/2 rhyme and the surprise 1/4 rhyme at the end (golden against the burden/hurting thing... and it picks up the half-rhyme with shoulders... nicely complex but the lack of a full rhyme seems to allow the extra compexity while still feeling natural... a little lesson in half and internal rhyming)...

 

That said, I was a little iffy about how it fit in, tonewise... but, that said, I still liked it... I just wondered if maybe a divergence from tone in one or two other places might make more room for it, motif-wise, you know?

 

It's like you slip into a slightly different metaphoric approach and your tone changes to a sort of casual thing, almost like gym banter... "How's that shoulder today?" "Oh... it was hurting for a couple days but it's golden, now."

 

Still, I like the flow and sound of the verse... maybe build a song around it? (I wouldn't belabor the body metaphor, though... just as a song can be rhyme-bound, it can be metaphor-bound, too, like one of those country parody songs, "My love is a big ol steam-roller and it's gonna...")

 

Anyhow, sorry I'm kind of rambling, I stopped in at my favorite coffee house this am and, while I probably drank less coffee than I normally do at home (and make it stronger at home, as well), being around my fellow humans in realtime has a distinctly different affect on me than breakfast on the 'net.

 

(Lunch on the 'net... dinner on the 'net... and -- natch -- I work on web applications, among other things, so it's just odd not having a computer screen in front of me -- which I usually do have at the coffeehouse... but I'd forgot to plug in my lappy and it was sleeping the little death when I got there.)

 

 

You know, I just went back and re-read your lyrics (and reading a song is like smelling a movie, right? But I'd already listened to it a few times) and I think I'm having a hard time leaving the second verse (shoulders verse) behind because it is somehow the most involving to me...

In the other verses, you're telling me about your feelings in a fairly straightforward fashion and without much wordplay (mind you, it all sounds ok because of what you bring with your singing and deliver)... but in the second verse, while you're still basically on message, there's some internal structure and a sort of hint into the protagonist's everyday mindset (or maybe I'm just reading that in).

 

 

Now... about the drums. I enjoyed them and I absolutely think you should continue down this road... but you know how it is when you have a new hammer... everything starts looking a little nailish...

 

I'm not that conversant in today's subgenres in rock -- and none too sympathetic to the idea that everything should fit the genre and commercial expectations... all the same, I couldn't help but wonder if that fun, rockin', hyperactive beat was really the best fit for the basic style or, really, the tone of the song, either. (That said, I like the sad words/happy music vice/versa trick a lot.)

 

I couldn't help feel that a more conventional backbeat arrangement would probably serve the song and other instruments better.

 

That said, you have a new (virtual) drum machine (or virtual drummer if you want to stretch a point) and who can really resist opening up the stops?

 

There's plenty of time for honing and polishing later.

 

Anyhow, an enjoyable song that ought to teach you a lot about your new tools and give you a good foundation for the next exploration.

 

Oh... one last thing... the drums sounded a bit bright and seemed to peak out a bit in the 2-4 k range (although I'm working from memory, now... and, at my age, 15 minutes is like a whole new... um... what were we talking about? Oh yeah, senior health plans... I find the whole Medicare thing so...)

 

Keep up the good work and push forward with your drums, I think you've got an overall good thing going there.

[eeglug]

It seems like a song worth honing and refining. I too thought the drumming to be distracting and would've preferred a more consistent drum beat...as it is the song has a very start/stop jerkiness which makes it hard to appreciate. Keep at it dude.

[eagle1]

You ain't lived 'til you're trying to sing your country/old school R&B type lyrics (updating a sort of teen angel kind of thing) over 142 bpm British acid...

 

It doesn't sound bad!

 

I think I'm having a hard time leaving the second verse (shoulders verse) behind because it is somehow the most involving to me...

hehehehehe

That was actually on purpose to show the duality of my feelings.

I'm saying that I'm "good", that I'm "over" her but the use of the

word SEEM is deliberate to pinpoint that not everything is as it seems.

They seem to be golden... after all this weight has been lifted from my

shoulders everything "is alright"... but ...

I really want to know what she feels or felt kind of to have proper

closure... and that's why I still feel discomfort and why I believe

that I really didn't meant anything, etc.

 

So in the end, the song's first verse is really B.S. because

I felt everything and I'm not really over her, etc.

 

BTW, this is not a true story... just in case! lol

 

Now... about the drums. I enjoyed them and I absolutely think you should continue down this road... but you know how it is when you have a new hammer... everything starts looking a little nailish...

 

Yeah I know what you mean.

I actually got kind of the same comments from one

of the guys at work (he is a much better musician than I'll

ever be! hehehe). We started talking about simplifying things

after that which is what I'll probably do. An eeglug put it better,

distracting is a good word to use for this. Now after listening

for like the 100th time I agree. ;-)

 

Thanks for the comments so far guys!

[Micahb]

is EZ-drummer a pc based drummer program? If so, where can I get a copy? The high hat sounds allot better than what I have been using - LeafDrums.

[eagle1]

EZ Drummer is a VSTi. It's like the dumbed-out version of dfh SUPERIOR.

You can purchase it for like $150 or less in the internet.

Is well worth it.

You can also try Jamstix (which is like $100).

I tried the demo and it is pretty good but the sound is not as good as EZ Drummer. The good thing with Jamstix is that you can actually use the sound modules from EZ Drummer so you can get the functionality of Jamstix with the sound of EZ Drummer. I think it's a good combo... I'm still pondering on whether to buy Jamstix now or wait for version 2.0.

 

Thanks for listening.