52:01 by ChristianLeBlanc
First official song of the project, in by noon on Sunday. I think it's only in just under the wire because the new year started off in the middle of the week.
Played around with background vocals a bit. Learned that the closer they match the main vocals in tempo and length, the better they work. I should go relisten to a bunch of Cure songs from "Wish" with that in mind.
01:
"Well I had to see
if you knew
Where the monsters breed
and you do
You said what do I worry for
What I fear is nothing more
Than echoes of pain long ago
I just have trouble letting go
I told you thanks but that's not right
The monsters find me every night
The key to killing off my dread
Must be locked in someone else's head"
I'm honestly not that fond of the music in this one, but I felt it was more important to just get it done regardless.
Another thought: normally I like when the lyrics conflict with the music a little, but I think this may be overdoing it :)
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Hi Christian,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how this one opened, and it still sounded good when the lyrics first came in. Once that other synth (horn-ish sound) came it though, I found it really distracting. It fought with the vocals, and I found it hard to tell what you were saying sometimes. The vocals could use some EQ, compression, and reverb, and would probably do better to be more towards the centre of your mix. I think I'd probably ditch that horn/synth, and go with something softer sounding.
Keep it up!
Josh/theVoid
http://initialize.ca
Hi Christian. Okay, well, I listened to the track, and this is only my opinion, so you can totally disregard what I say if you wish. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think the lyrics are top-notch. They manage to be just poetic enough, without being too ornamental. The music is very good too. In terms of your vocals, I like how you kept your lead vocals in the middle and the backing vocal off to the right a bit. Perhaps, just in terms of texture, you could also make the backing vocals a bit more mid range, just to give the overall vocals a bit more crispness.
I think I agree with Josh about the horn sound. But I wouldn't ditch it entirely. I think maybe it's just in the wrong place. Rather than countering the vocals, perhaps it could stand by itself, and serve as the chorus. I think a counter melody is always good (and sometimes essential), but as Josh said perhaps it should be a bit more in the background and subtle.
Anyway, great work!
-Gary
Just wanted to thank you guys a lot for the helpful comments, and for actually taking the time to listen. When I originally said that the lyrics conflicted with the music, I was just thinking 'dark lyrics vs happy sounds,' but you're right, that's not the only way they conflict. As objective as I'm trying to be with these songs, having a truly objective, separate set of ears listen in and comment is extremely helpful.
ReplyDeleteC.S. Graves
ReplyDeleteOnce the other instruments kick in, the droning, low organ-like sounds seem dissonant, probably just because of the overtones rather than the actual note in the chords, I'm not sure. Sounds fine on its own though, and the timbre is compelling when not clashing with the other elements. The horn could maybe be raised an octave, get it further away from your vocal range. Also, early into the song as is, you may want them to play either every other bar, or every second bar, then fully as the song progesses and intensifies. Vocal harmonies could use a bit of tightening so they don't drift apart.