Need Feedback, A Band Divided

So, we wanted to do a song that sounded like Joy Division was hired to do the sound track for a more gothic version of Pulp Fiction. This song was the result. I, personally, vacillate between distain and mediocre acceptance of this song. We are actually in the process of recording another version of this tune that is COMPLETELY different. Since you folks know what you are talking about, I figured I would get some critical advice to be the tie breaker. Of course, we are under no illusions that any of our songs are going to be break-away chart toppers, but we are concerned about listen-ability and accessibility.

http://www.theverrazanonarrows.com/music/just_trust_me.mp3

This song very simple compared to our other offerings. It was written in E Minor and the chords are:

i(Em), VII©, ii

FYI C is VI in E minor.

Kind of ok. By Pulp Fiction, are you thinking of the Urge Overkill "Girl, you're a Woman Now" cover?

The vocals definitely have that Ian Curtis bored bass quality to them. I don't like the combination of the subtractive synth lead the the (rhodes/harpsicord/acoustic guitar?) pizzicato backing - pick one or the other.

To be honest I don't think we can handle basic rock. The song was originally cut with just two guitars and we added all the other stuff because we though it sounded a little too sparse. I think we went past art rock, past plaid, and straight into suck.

I think we are going to move forward with the plan to retool this song. It is being changed into a dark funk song.

Thank you, very very much for your input.

It really raises and interesting question for me... how can you take one 4 chord progression and make a "good" song out of it... with no other changes. It has been done successfully (although I cant think of one example right now).

I think for this to work you're really going to have to make a conscious effort to develop dynamics and have some thoughtful production of the recording. One chord progression banged out at one level doesn't work for me.

You might think about a whole other melody that is different to what you have now... just for some juxtaposition and to keep it interesting. You've got quarter, half, and whole notes now. How about another melody... a verse... dotted quarter/eighth... one and two-e-and-a... gimme something different.

I dunno. Just thoughts.

A band? What's that? Oh yeah, I remember now! It's been awhile... There's a great joke, you know what strippers do with their AH's before they go to work? They drop them off at band practice...

This song wasn't doing it for me (like the strippers), WAY too much reverb, I couldn't really understand the words, and the music sounded like the Munster's theme song. Sorry if that's harsh, it was my initial impression.

Show up to band practice with a drill, show them you care.

i totally thought this thread was called "Nickelback Feeds: A Band Divided"

i was hoping for cannibal content.

i knew girls in college who would have slobbered all over this music, though i think this crowd would be less enthusiastic. i like the synth, not in the way that i'd listen to it of my own accord, but in a way (again) that i think i know people who might. it does fill the song out.

speed it up? i find that the songs i write that i hate the most, when played at 60 seconds or less, are much better. ok not better, but much more fun.

Luckily, I have yet to have any goth girls throw their panties at us. 'Cause who needs another large pair of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac branded underwear.

Good feedback folks, and thank you for taking the time to listen and give comments. I know it is at least five minutes of your time, and I can't say thank you enough.

I think this job you must really try mechanics of development best consciously hard and have production of some deep thinking recording. External step is not working for me for a string of progression fiercely attacked.

Right. That is why I have decided to abandon this version of the song.

Also, keep in mind, we are an Experimental Art Rock band. Sometimes, we choose not to obey the rules intentionally. It is part of our greyWave charm.

greyWave, eh? i read the manifesto, can you explain the origins of the term and how your group dynamic flows?

my googlings reveal a self styled french pop/dub/experimental band and literature about the coming onslaught of elderly.

If you are referring to the experimental group out of Oxford, we are not in any way associated with those folks. Although, we do know of them, and we really enjoy their musical styling.

Judging by your music and notes on your myspace page, easilyspooked, you already seem to get these ideas, but I will explain, to the best of my ability, the culture around greyWave and how it started.

Amongst people I have known for a long time, greyWave is not as much of a movement as it is a collection of ongoing discussions that were started quite some time ago. This collection really only recently was given a name.

Like new wave was based on many different art movements and schools of thought so is greyWave. But unlike new wave, we do not suspect that our movement is all that new. In fact, we suspect that our internal and external exploration is a continuation of what mankind has done for centuries and we are just the most modern collection of old grey memes and recent temes. Post-modernity, futurism, nihilism, realism, relativism, positivism, logical positivism, humanism, post-humanism, socialism, anarchism, centrism, information theory, neuroscience, cognitive theory, and flagrant drunkenness can all be clearly sited as influences to this movement. On the shoulders of giants we grow ourselves and reach for the stars.

We study art but avoid zealotry or pretentions about it. It is usually a starting point for personal or group exploration.

We don't take anything, especially ourselves very seriously.

We tend to focus on exploration of the world and the logical and physical structures in and of the mind that influence our perception of that world.

We tend to read a lot. Oscar Wilde, Aldus Huxley, Dorothy Parker, Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Joan Roughgarden, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Noam Chomsky, Alan Turing, Greg Eagan, Roger Penrose, Ray Kurtzweil, Jeff Hawkins, Seth Godin, Robert Wright, Douglas Hofstadter, Marvin Minsky, John Brockman, and Cris Evatt tend to be on our reading lists often.

We tend to have been students of the sciences who have grown to endlessly and recursively question the world and ourselves.

We tend to realize that everyone perceives the world differently because everything is channeled through our different hardware and vastly different history of experiences. Because we cannot make copies of peoples

Continued....

The greyWavers are definitely a group of people that hold each and themselves accountable for their beliefs. Why do you think what you think? Is that a theory, a decision based on rational analysis, or is it a belief? Did you pick this up from somewhere, or is it truly yours?