52:44 by ChristianLeBlanc
I usually have no trouble coming up with melodies for songs; this week, I just let myself go crazy coming up with new lines, to the point where I already had more than enough but just kept adding more and more. The Moog solo at the end is one of my favourite lines I've written (although that could change by tomorrow morning, who knows).
My problem with this song: it still follows my old habit of just writing a chorus, and extending it into a full song. Yes, you can tell there are different sections to this tune, but I'd still like to write sections that are a little more distinct from each other. Although I wonder - if I put more time into the drums, would I have the same complaint? What do you think?
Guitars are either too loud for the rest of the track, or need the high end rolled off. I had already put too much time into it to mess around much further.
The last two lines of lyrics: pun fully intended, I think I was digging around too much for an important-sounding metaphor. In my opinion, I came up short, although with the background vocals, I feel as though there's enough there that the music helps make the words seem more significant than they actually are.
Despite the impression I'm giving, I'm actually quite pleased with how this one turned out!
"And I know things have to change
And I know things have to end
Why can't it be the rain that disappears?
Why does it have to mean we can't still be friends?
I think I have to really push this time
'Cuz if I don't, I'm pulled in again
When the ground's full of so much rain
We must allow for saturated clay"
Friday, October 30, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
43
52:43 by ChristianLeBlanc
It's getting pretty close to Halloween, and I felt like youtubing Mad Monster Party, a children's stop-motion special made decades ago that I've heard lots of good things about, just to preview it a bit to see if I wanted to spend $10 and get it on dvd.
The very first comment on the video that I read started talking about "the idiot liberal agenda that says such characters are too violent" for kids today to be familiar with, suggesting that children today would be unfamiliar with such mainstays as The Mummy, Dracula, the Wolfman, etc.
People today are way too willing to fight. News media sources play a huge role in this; people like Glenn Beck exist strictly to piss people off. Because when people are happy, they don't say much. When people have an axe to grind - especially in today's internet age where everyone has a loud, anonymous voice - they talk about it: at work, at school, on message boards, and, yes, even in the comments section of clips from children's videos.
So as I say, the media has figured out that the easiest way to get people talking is to piss them off. Hopefully, all this talk takes place on said media's message boards, or the media source is mentioned during these angry conversations. Links are freely passed back and forth and advertised, so everyone else can read the article that got their friend so angry. The media gets ratings, page hits, etc, all good things they can show their advertisers.
The huge drawback to all this, of course, is that people are so riled up by this 'us vs. them' (left vs. right) dynamic that the media promotes, that noone is willing to work together towards the greater good. Noone is willing to compromise, or relent their position.
A common right-wing complaint is that the left has become far more intolerant of the ideas of the right, than the right is of the left. I can understand. Let's say someone tells you that segregation could maybe use another try; hopefully, that idea is offensive to you, and you would be intolerant of it. I think that's a natural reaction, and I think that's what's behind a lot of indignant reaction from any angry lefties.
The thing is, is that the right is not necessarily the bogeyman that wants segregation, racism, intolerance etc.
Take the issue of gay marriage, for example. The common generalization is that lefties are for it, righties are against it. Both sides feel quite strongly that their position is the right one. It doesn't take very much for a shouting match to happen over the issue.
The thing is, is that if people would stop yelling long enough, they might find that their positions on the issue are startlingly close. The problem that some people have is the idea of the government forcing churches to go against their beliefs and perform ceremonies they don't believe in. Seen from this angle, many lefties and righties could compromise, say, and only have gay marriages performed outside of the church, as well as by churches who are ok with it.
Obviously, this is an oversimplification of things. Still, hopefully it illustrates what I mean, and shows the idea that there are many other contentious issues that have a lot of potential middle ground.
Vegetarianism is another such issue, in my opinion. For something so simple as what a person decides to have for supper - a decision which affects only themselves - there has been a tremendous amount of anger, hatred, bad feelings and circular arguments generated out there. I find it extremely difficult to find a neutral voice on the internet about it; as a friend of mine put it recently, either you burn in hell for eating meat, or you're crazy for not eating it.
Now, as for my stance: I believe very strongly in not eating meat, that the nutrition I lose can be made up by eating a variety of certain foods, and that, simply put, if I can have a meal without something having to have died for it, then I'll have that meal. No big deal. However, screaming my righteous beliefs isn't going to change anyone's mind about it. And telling people who are curious about it propaganda-style exaggerations about how easy it is to start, also doesn't help (this is partly why I only lasted 6 months with it the first time I tried it out). Having a rational conversation about it, just might change an opinion. One patch of middle ground out there that's a good starting point for rational, non-accusatory discussion: free-range, as opposed to factory, farming.
Lately, whenever I see Stephen Harper's name brought up anywhere, there's such an immediate hostile and mean-spirited reaction from the left that it just makes me cringe. This is the same man who, I could be wrong about, was the first prime minister in Canada to finally issue an apology to Canada's First Nations: Click here
This actually details a little more reaction on the apology, and shows a touch of suspicion towards Harper still, just in case I'm appearing too biased here :)
At any rate, no matter the justification, I've never seen fighting and shouting change the way anyone thinks. And that long-winded, full-of-holes nonsense up there is what this week's lyrics (a mere 5 lines) are about :)
I am no kind of expert on politics, and am woefully underqualified to even write the above blog entry. I do feel, however, that we could get a lot further as a country if we could stop yelling at each other so much, and start working together. The current state of the two-party system seems like a tug-of-war, not the well-implemented three-legged race that it should be :)
If any of the above pisses you off: I'd like to think I'm still too young to get in real-life arguments over politics. And I don't think there's anything too outrageous in the basic message I'm trying to promote:
Don't be a dick.
Ok, so music this week: not my best Dave Gahan impression, but that's still what I was going for. Also trying out tremolo picking (finger, I don't use picks) and hammer-ons. Whee. 9 more songs to go!!!!!!!!!
"We're opposition only in name
What we both want is roughly the same
So hold on tonight
Hold on tonight
We've been your enemy since you were a youth
We've pissed you off so long that you won't listen to truth
But hold on tonight
Hold on tonight"
It's getting pretty close to Halloween, and I felt like youtubing Mad Monster Party, a children's stop-motion special made decades ago that I've heard lots of good things about, just to preview it a bit to see if I wanted to spend $10 and get it on dvd.
The very first comment on the video that I read started talking about "the idiot liberal agenda that says such characters are too violent" for kids today to be familiar with, suggesting that children today would be unfamiliar with such mainstays as The Mummy, Dracula, the Wolfman, etc.
People today are way too willing to fight. News media sources play a huge role in this; people like Glenn Beck exist strictly to piss people off. Because when people are happy, they don't say much. When people have an axe to grind - especially in today's internet age where everyone has a loud, anonymous voice - they talk about it: at work, at school, on message boards, and, yes, even in the comments section of clips from children's videos.
So as I say, the media has figured out that the easiest way to get people talking is to piss them off. Hopefully, all this talk takes place on said media's message boards, or the media source is mentioned during these angry conversations. Links are freely passed back and forth and advertised, so everyone else can read the article that got their friend so angry. The media gets ratings, page hits, etc, all good things they can show their advertisers.
The huge drawback to all this, of course, is that people are so riled up by this 'us vs. them' (left vs. right) dynamic that the media promotes, that noone is willing to work together towards the greater good. Noone is willing to compromise, or relent their position.
A common right-wing complaint is that the left has become far more intolerant of the ideas of the right, than the right is of the left. I can understand. Let's say someone tells you that segregation could maybe use another try; hopefully, that idea is offensive to you, and you would be intolerant of it. I think that's a natural reaction, and I think that's what's behind a lot of indignant reaction from any angry lefties.
The thing is, is that the right is not necessarily the bogeyman that wants segregation, racism, intolerance etc.
Take the issue of gay marriage, for example. The common generalization is that lefties are for it, righties are against it. Both sides feel quite strongly that their position is the right one. It doesn't take very much for a shouting match to happen over the issue.
The thing is, is that if people would stop yelling long enough, they might find that their positions on the issue are startlingly close. The problem that some people have is the idea of the government forcing churches to go against their beliefs and perform ceremonies they don't believe in. Seen from this angle, many lefties and righties could compromise, say, and only have gay marriages performed outside of the church, as well as by churches who are ok with it.
Obviously, this is an oversimplification of things. Still, hopefully it illustrates what I mean, and shows the idea that there are many other contentious issues that have a lot of potential middle ground.
Vegetarianism is another such issue, in my opinion. For something so simple as what a person decides to have for supper - a decision which affects only themselves - there has been a tremendous amount of anger, hatred, bad feelings and circular arguments generated out there. I find it extremely difficult to find a neutral voice on the internet about it; as a friend of mine put it recently, either you burn in hell for eating meat, or you're crazy for not eating it.
Now, as for my stance: I believe very strongly in not eating meat, that the nutrition I lose can be made up by eating a variety of certain foods, and that, simply put, if I can have a meal without something having to have died for it, then I'll have that meal. No big deal. However, screaming my righteous beliefs isn't going to change anyone's mind about it. And telling people who are curious about it propaganda-style exaggerations about how easy it is to start, also doesn't help (this is partly why I only lasted 6 months with it the first time I tried it out). Having a rational conversation about it, just might change an opinion. One patch of middle ground out there that's a good starting point for rational, non-accusatory discussion: free-range, as opposed to factory, farming.
Lately, whenever I see Stephen Harper's name brought up anywhere, there's such an immediate hostile and mean-spirited reaction from the left that it just makes me cringe. This is the same man who, I could be wrong about, was the first prime minister in Canada to finally issue an apology to Canada's First Nations: Click here
This actually details a little more reaction on the apology, and shows a touch of suspicion towards Harper still, just in case I'm appearing too biased here :)
At any rate, no matter the justification, I've never seen fighting and shouting change the way anyone thinks. And that long-winded, full-of-holes nonsense up there is what this week's lyrics (a mere 5 lines) are about :)
I am no kind of expert on politics, and am woefully underqualified to even write the above blog entry. I do feel, however, that we could get a lot further as a country if we could stop yelling at each other so much, and start working together. The current state of the two-party system seems like a tug-of-war, not the well-implemented three-legged race that it should be :)
If any of the above pisses you off: I'd like to think I'm still too young to get in real-life arguments over politics. And I don't think there's anything too outrageous in the basic message I'm trying to promote:
Don't be a dick.
Ok, so music this week: not my best Dave Gahan impression, but that's still what I was going for. Also trying out tremolo picking (finger, I don't use picks) and hammer-ons. Whee. 9 more songs to go!!!!!!!!!
"We're opposition only in name
What we both want is roughly the same
So hold on tonight
Hold on tonight
We've been your enemy since you were a youth
We've pissed you off so long that you won't listen to truth
But hold on tonight
Hold on tonight"
Saturday, October 17, 2009
42
52:42 by ChristianLeBlanc
I meant to start writing this week's song using the guitar, like I did for last week's song. However, I got my third keyboard stand back from some friends this week, who I wish the best of luck to in Toronto and in the future, as they're some of the most talented and creative (and plain friggin' nice!) people I've had the good fortune to play with. iSonic FTW!!!
Anyway, this all meant I could set up my Roland EG-101, which has a really fun arpeggiator on it. I think you can see where this went from there (you still don't hear the Roland this week, as I simply programmed the arpeggio pattern it helped me come up with into the QY-70, and then had that play the Moog for me).
I kept discovering fun noises on the Moog during the recording process, which is all that garble you hear at the start and end of the song.
"I lie awake at night
Remembering such good times
I'm planning more to come
Hope I don't fuck things up
The red is all I know
Once more you overflow
I like the way you fight
Teach me your moves so bright"
I meant to start writing this week's song using the guitar, like I did for last week's song. However, I got my third keyboard stand back from some friends this week, who I wish the best of luck to in Toronto and in the future, as they're some of the most talented and creative (and plain friggin' nice!) people I've had the good fortune to play with. iSonic FTW!!!
Anyway, this all meant I could set up my Roland EG-101, which has a really fun arpeggiator on it. I think you can see where this went from there (you still don't hear the Roland this week, as I simply programmed the arpeggio pattern it helped me come up with into the QY-70, and then had that play the Moog for me).
I kept discovering fun noises on the Moog during the recording process, which is all that garble you hear at the start and end of the song.
"I lie awake at night
Remembering such good times
I'm planning more to come
Hope I don't fuck things up
The red is all I know
Once more you overflow
I like the way you fight
Teach me your moves so bright"
Sunday, October 11, 2009
41
52:41 by ChristianLeBlanc
Click here for "41(synth)"
With proper production, I really believe this could be a good song! As it is, I'd like to think that it at least hints at its potential :)
The main motivation this week was to do something along the lines of Silversun Pickups and their 90's-revival loud/quiet/loud formula. Sure it's cliche, but, so is everything else I write; looked at in this way, this is a serious step up for me in terms of writing! I'd like to try more songs like this; it just feels a lot less flat than most of my other tunes.
What I still need to work on: creating different lines for different parts of the song. Despite the differences in volume, this one is still basically the same lines over and over again.
What the hell is going on with my voice this week? Well, since I was attempting to rip off Silversun Pickups so closely, I figured I might as well try ripping off their vocal style, too! I like the results, but I sure understand if noone else does :) (I even do a good scream like them, but it was pretty late when I did the vocals, so...bad idea!)
The synth was a last-minute addition, and it made the mix even muddier than the guitar-and-bass-only version, so I count the official '41' to be the one without any Moog on it. The organ-sounding line is repeating the actual bass line, just to try and help it stand out better. The lead synth line was just sooooo much fun to play! I got to use my pitch wheel and my mod wheel!
Lyrically, nothing is going on here, but I like that the music tricks me into thinking they're somehow significant :)
Also this week: zomgNylaissocuteandshessuchasweetkittyilovehersomuchzomg!!!<3<3<3
"We're not falling down
You can push
And you can bite
You can even kill
But we won't fight
In a parking lot
That you forgot
We fucked up a lot
But we won't fight
We're not falling down"
Click here for "41(synth)"
With proper production, I really believe this could be a good song! As it is, I'd like to think that it at least hints at its potential :)
The main motivation this week was to do something along the lines of Silversun Pickups and their 90's-revival loud/quiet/loud formula. Sure it's cliche, but, so is everything else I write; looked at in this way, this is a serious step up for me in terms of writing! I'd like to try more songs like this; it just feels a lot less flat than most of my other tunes.
What I still need to work on: creating different lines for different parts of the song. Despite the differences in volume, this one is still basically the same lines over and over again.
What the hell is going on with my voice this week? Well, since I was attempting to rip off Silversun Pickups so closely, I figured I might as well try ripping off their vocal style, too! I like the results, but I sure understand if noone else does :) (I even do a good scream like them, but it was pretty late when I did the vocals, so...bad idea!)
The synth was a last-minute addition, and it made the mix even muddier than the guitar-and-bass-only version, so I count the official '41' to be the one without any Moog on it. The organ-sounding line is repeating the actual bass line, just to try and help it stand out better. The lead synth line was just sooooo much fun to play! I got to use my pitch wheel and my mod wheel!
Lyrically, nothing is going on here, but I like that the music tricks me into thinking they're somehow significant :)
Also this week: zomgNylaissocuteandshessuchasweetkittyilovehersomuchzomg!!!<3<3<3
"We're not falling down
You can push
And you can bite
You can even kill
But we won't fight
In a parking lot
That you forgot
We fucked up a lot
But we won't fight
We're not falling down"
Saturday, October 3, 2009
40
52:40 by ChristianLeBlanc
Dear heavy metal,
Sorry for writing a song that I know you'll think is making fun of you. It's not. I had the best intentions - write a nice, ballsy metal song. The guitar fell into place easy enough, I thought.
The problem came when I used a preset pattern on the QY-70 as a placer for my rhythm track. All of a sudden, the song became industrial. I'd also been thinking about Trailer Park Boys a lot, especially Ricky always saying he wants to get drunk as fuck. That made me want to call the song "Metal As Fuck."
Things just kind of deteriorated from there.
Sincerely,
-Christian
P.S. Recording notes: I used a bunch of reverb on the guitar to try and thicken it up. Next time I try something like this, I think I'll try something I read about using delay, instead.
I normally would never use a pre-set pattern in any of my songs, but I just got used to how this one sounded. No big deal.
Also worth noting: the ColdPlay slag is fairly obvious, the U2 and Bono ones I maybe have to point out. "Morning comes too soon and from behind" is one of the weirdest double entendres I've ever written. "Fill your mouth with metal" = verrrry greasy!!!
"This handjob is for losers
It's just cold play in your trousers
You too must cast off wankers
And fuck the boner in your tangas
In the night we ride what you've been denied
We're metal as fuck!
Morning comes too soon and from behind
We're metal as fuck!
Cease your rapping, please shut up, my precious petal,
We're metal as fuck!
If you must sing, let's have you fill your mouth with metal
We're metal as fuck!"
Dear heavy metal,
Sorry for writing a song that I know you'll think is making fun of you. It's not. I had the best intentions - write a nice, ballsy metal song. The guitar fell into place easy enough, I thought.
The problem came when I used a preset pattern on the QY-70 as a placer for my rhythm track. All of a sudden, the song became industrial. I'd also been thinking about Trailer Park Boys a lot, especially Ricky always saying he wants to get drunk as fuck. That made me want to call the song "Metal As Fuck."
Things just kind of deteriorated from there.
Sincerely,
-Christian
P.S. Recording notes: I used a bunch of reverb on the guitar to try and thicken it up. Next time I try something like this, I think I'll try something I read about using delay, instead.
I normally would never use a pre-set pattern in any of my songs, but I just got used to how this one sounded. No big deal.
Also worth noting: the ColdPlay slag is fairly obvious, the U2 and Bono ones I maybe have to point out. "Morning comes too soon and from behind" is one of the weirdest double entendres I've ever written. "Fill your mouth with metal" = verrrry greasy!!!
"This handjob is for losers
It's just cold play in your trousers
You too must cast off wankers
And fuck the boner in your tangas
In the night we ride what you've been denied
We're metal as fuck!
Morning comes too soon and from behind
We're metal as fuck!
Cease your rapping, please shut up, my precious petal,
We're metal as fuck!
If you must sing, let's have you fill your mouth with metal
We're metal as fuck!"
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