Stuff and Potatoes

This is a test

2011-04-18T16:29:00.007-05:00

Gimme some mooooooooney!

Don't really give me money, this is a test for a friend...

SaW #6: Mike is gaaaa... Lame

2011-03-18T11:24:00.008-05:00

Song For: Thursday March 17, 2011

Background: Some years back, Mike my brother Pete and I were visiting a friend who has a professional grade music studio in his house. While we were figuring out what to play next, I started strumming the chord progression you can hear in this song, and singing "Mike is gay". I have since tried hard to remove using "gay" as a pejorative, so when rerecording I've changed it to be less offensive.

This is the first song I've recorded with my new Pro Tools / MBox setup. I couldn't find my studio headphones, and I don't have any monitor speakers setup, so I had to mix using a 20 pair of Sony Headphones. For what it is, it turned out ok.

Chords:

Verse Am, E

Chorus: Dm, Am, E, Am

Lyrics:

Mike is lame... (ad nauseam)

The Papi Project

2011-03-01T10:09:00.006-06:00

I purchased a new computer, so I was going through my old computer and backing up files. I found an old Cubase scratch folder (scratch is where Cubase keeps the countless backups of your audio files), and I found a treasure trove of fun recordings long forgotten. One of those recordings is my dad singing an old Spanish gospel song. I decided that a great way to teach myself pro tools would be to try and turn this singing into a fully fledged song.

This will be quite challenging as there are numerous problems with the recording.

1) This was in my old recording setup, which had the guitar and vocals coming in on one line, so I'll have to work around that.
2) My dad's singing fluctuates wildly in volume, and clips quite a bit during certain sections.
3) This was not recorded to a metronome, so the beat fluctuates.

At first glance, here is what I want to do.

1) Add a vocal compressor to even out the peaks and valleys.
2) Map out the tempo in Pro Tools, so that I can add some sort of percussion.
3) Record a guitar track to accompany the song.
4) Use a VST Bass to add a bassline
5) Either transpose my dad's voice, or record myself singing background vocals (5th, 7th or both).
6) Add musical accouterments as needed.

Here is the original, untouched file:

So...

2011-03-01T09:47:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been 3 years since my last post. I had a ton of ambition when starting the song a week project, but did not forsee the changes my life were about to take. Well, here we are. Almost married, and 1 and a half kids later (an 18 month old, and a bun in the oven).

I've had to come to terms with my free time being drastically reduced. I come home and spend a couple hours with my son, some time with the girlfriend, and when I look at the clock, it's 10pm.

So what does all this meandering mean? I have a blog here that tens of thous... no one visits, but it's a nice momento of things gone by. I'm going to start updating again. I picked up Pro Tools and an MBox3, so I'm hoping to start recording some stuff again. There are a ton of projects that I'd like to get to (including a secret musical that I've been promising my friend Mike we'd work on for ages now).

I don't promise any timeline, but I want to become proficient with Pro Tools, so I would imagine some songs and interesting experiments will come of it. And you, my non existent reader, will be along for the ride.

SaW #5: Game Over

2008-07-28T15:23:00.007-05:00

Song For: Sunday May 11th, 2008

Background: This was recording in the Amish Astronaut studios. Mike was playing "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cabria, and I started doing a terrible freestyle rap. As with many things we record at Mike's house, this screwing around turned into a song. I grabbed a pen and wrote out the lyrics while Mike laid down the music. I thought that tetris was a wildly misrepresented subject in a rap song, so I decided to tackle the issue. I really dig the end, with the tetris theme song played against the the welcome home guitar riff.

Lyrics:

Here I am, too mad to toke,
screaming at god, like it's some kind of joke.
Staring at the screen, don't know where my head is,
I've waited so long for one goddamn tetris.

The screen fills up, the blocks are getting higher
my palms start to itch, and eyes are getting tired
What the fuck do I do, this game is cheatin',
if I met that russian designer, I'd give him a beatin'.

Now back, to the matter at hand,
it was all setup and going to plan.
Not a hole to be found, not even a gap,
mother fucking game has drove me to rap.

Getting all the wrong blocks, shit is getting tight.
I can barely rotate, no room at this height.
The writings on the wall, it's time to give up,
no rocket for me but I just don't give a fuck.

Off to New York

2008-05-12T09:55:00.003-05:00

I'll be out of town for 2 weeks, meaning I'll be behind by three songs by the time I get back. I have no idea what I'll do, but I will make them up. Maybe one original and a couple covers?

SaW #4 - Might as Well

2008-05-11T19:48:00.006-05:00

Edit for 3/1/2011: So while I really like the words to this, my recording was just a hot mess. To the point that I can't even listen to it all the way though. One of slated projects will be to rerecord this song. I'll put a link to that here once it's done.

Song For: Sunday May 4th, 2008

Background: The idea of this song really struck me as funny. As nerdy as this is, it was inspired by Battle Star Galactica. In one of the recent episodes, one of the characters laments that no one ended up with who they really loved, since humanity was almost obliterated. They just picked from what was left. I decided to build a love song around that idea.

Lyrics / Tab:
Verse and Chorus - C G F G
Bridge: Dm G

V1
you keep telling me, I'm stuck in the past
you're afraid that what we have will never last

Well, since you're asking, my affection's not a race
but if it was, you'd come in second place

I see the way that you look at me,
with eyes so bright but not as green.

but I'm here now, and I'll see it through
from what was left, I'm glad I got you

chorus
well here's the truth, no need to be sad
you were plan b, but that's not half bad

you're not my soulmate, that much is true
but I can't be with her, so I might as well love you.

V2
I won't lie and say I think about you at night,
you're not my dreamgirl, but baby that's alright

I hoped it wouldn't turn out this way
but we're together now, and that's okay

cause when I'm with you, I can almost forget
that everyday I'm filled with regret

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
You're not the queen, but the princess to my soul
you're the buffalo bills, to my super bowl
you're like the 90's knicks, in the nba
you're like having ruduced fair, on the subway
all of this, I say from the heart
please take what I give, even if it's only a part

V3
I hope I can lay your fears to rest,
I assure, I love you second best

just cause I think of her, everytime that you laugh
you can't throw away, what we have

True love is only once in life time,
I should know, I've missed out on mine

SaW #3: Lonely Day

2008-05-06T23:10:00.003-05:00

Song For: Sunday April 27, 2008

Background: This week I decided to do a cover of a System of the Down tune for a couple reasons. One is I've had big sound card issues (turns out the new one I bought is not Vista compatible), so I needed to keep things simple. Secondly, it's kind of apropos of the mood I've been in lately, after having a really close friend move away in search of bigger and better things. Next week will be an original song, I promise! I also plan on sticking to the schedule a little better as well.

Lyrics / Tab:
Verse and Chorus - Am F C E7
Bridge: F E G Am X2 F E Am

Such a lonely day
And it's mine
The most loneliest day in my life

Such a lonely day
Should be banned
It's a day that I can't stand

The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life

Such a lonely day
Shouldn't exist
It's a day that I'll never miss

Such a lonely day
And it's mine
The most loneliest day of my life

And if you go,
I wanna go with you
And if you die,I wanna die with you
Take your hand and walk away

Such a lonely day
And it's mine
It's a day that I'm glad I survived

SaW #2: I Believe

2008-04-20T22:43:00.005-05:00

Song For: Sunday April 20, 2008

Background: I wrote this song in Febuary of last year. I'm still not sure if it's a happy or a sad song, I guess it depends on your mood. It's about someone who's had a crappy go of it, but still feels like things are bound to turn around.

This song turned out to be a nightmare to record. I spent 3 hours working on it, only to have my Sequel crap out on me and lose all of the changes.I don't like how the chorus turned out, but I really do like the way the verse and prechorus sound. I plan on going back and fixing the chorus and some of the jarring transitions for verse to chorus.

Update: A wise man once told me, if you can't go deep, bang the hell out of the sides. I couldn't make the chorus work, so I made the prechorus the chorus and let it ride. I'm happier with the end results
Lyrics / Tab:
Verse and Prechorus - A Fm D G, A Fm Bm A

V1
There's nothing more that I can say,
I'm not surprised it went that way.
I've been waiting for it all to come undone

One plus one came out to three,
at lease that's now what I believe.
The clouds came out to blot away the sun

Prechorus
but I.... still believe

V2
I guess I'll just wait and see,
this can't be how it's meant to be.
I have to think things are bound to go my way

Until then I'll just laugh and joke,
and hope you can't see inside I'm broke.
It couldn't get worse than yesterday

Repeat Chorus

SaW #2 Diary

2008-04-14T18:13:00.002-05:00

4/14 - Monday: Just trying to figure out what's next. I've got 6 or 7 songs that have been rattling around my head, I'm just not sure which one to make this weeks song. I'm leaning towards a little hip hop number I never got around to recording called "Belly Dancer". I think it'll be a fun change of pace from the normal folksy sound my songs tend to have. I also think calling it a "hip hop number" really shows how truly uncool I am.

4/15 - Tuesday: Took the plunge and bought the full version of Sequel, I don't expect to see if for awhile, I took the free shipping. I think that means the box will hitchhike through the mountains and arrive much like teenage runaways. Older, wiser, and perhaps dead inside.

4/17 - Thursday: Played around a bit trying to find a good rhythm for this weeks song. I'm still not fully convinced I'll be doing Belly Dancer. I'm going to try and record it tomorrow, if I'm not happy with what's coming out, I'll call an audible and do one of the simpler songs.

4/18 - Friday: Sequel arrived today, much faster than I would have thought. The box of software came in a box that could have fit a cadaver. I'm no genius, but that may be the definition of dead space. Unless my presence is needed in partying circles, I'll be recording tonight, and laying white hot fire onto a track.

4/19 - Saturday: Stupid software... installing ended up taking an inordinate amount of time. Turns out the license program is not vista compatible (yay!), so I had to download a new one from their site. I should be getting the song up soon, I'm going to end up doing a song I wrote a year back. The hip hop song will have to wait, as I'm terrible with that style of music.

SaW #1: K.I.S.S.I.N.G

2008-04-13T21:05:00.006-05:00

Song For: Sunday, April 13, 2008

Song Background: This is a cover of a Flight of the Conchords song. With learning a new piece of software, I didn't want to pile working on an original song on top of it.

The FoC version song is a bit longer, I honestly forgot a section, and didn't realize it until I listened to the original again to see how close I got, but hey close enough for government work :)

Lyrics/Tab:

Verse: G, C, D
Chorus: Em, D, C, B7, C

A kiss is not a contract,
but it's very nice... very nice.
Just because you've been exploring my mouth,
doesn't mean you get to take an expedition further south, no.

A kiss is not a contract,
but it's very nice, very nice.
Just because we've been playing tonsil hockey,
doesn't mean you get to score the goal, that's in my jockeys.

Just because I'm in a rock band,
doesn't mean it's all about poontang.
I can't go around loving everyone,
I just wouldn't get anything done, because...

I'm only one man, baby... pretty baby.
I'm only one man, baby... pretty baby.

Song #1 Diary

2008-04-07T12:43:00.006-05:00

4/6 - Sunday: Technical difficulties kept me from recording anything. Mike swung by and figured out that my 1/4 to 1/8th inch adapter was wonky. When I was finally able to record, I had a horrible hissing sound. I'm hoping it's the adapter. I'll try to pick up a replacement on Monday.

4/7 - Monday: I have a pretty good idea what the song is going to sound like, and I have a verse and the chorus written out. We'll see how much of that stays in the final product.

I went to Best Buy to buy a 4 dollar adapter... and ended up buying an electronic drum set. A smart person would have researched that sort of thing before buying one, but I never claimed to be very bright. I got caught up in the college bball championship, so I didn't much other than build the thing, and whack away at the drums for a couple minutes.

4/8 - Tuesday: Managed to figure out the cause of the hiss was a combination of microphone boost being turned on in the laptop, and some bad wiring. There is still a very subtle hiss that might be the mics picking up ambient noise. My stumputer room is not very quiet. With all these technical hiccups, this weeks song may end up being a cover. We'll see.

4/9 - Wednesday: Recorded a cover of "K.I.S.S.I.N.G" by Flight of the Conchords. Not bad, considering. If I can clean it up well enough, it just might be SAW #1. I'll need to redo the drums, and rerecord the backup voice for the chorus.

5/11 - Friday: I downloaded Steinberg's Sequel program, it's basically Cubase light, and works on Vista. So far it's exactly what I need. I'll try learning this program by rerecording the FoC song I recorded in Cubase.

5/12 - Saturday: Redid "Kissing", it's like night and day. Cubase was way more program than I need right now. Maybe in time I'll need the advanced features, but as of right now I'm ecstatic with Sequel. I'll be putting up the MP3 tomorrow. I'm really happy with the final mix of the song.

The countdown begins...

2008-04-06T17:10:00.002-05:00

...and off to a bad start. I can't get my laptop to recognize my sound source. I wanted to record a sample to test out the best way to get mp3s up here, but no dice. Stupid computers with their little hands and beady eyes.

Studio is back to functional

2008-04-03T10:03:00.003-05:00

I had a bit of an accident a month back, that caused my computer / studio (stumputer room?) to flood. This forced me to unplug all of my musical equipment, and it's been in disarray ever since. Well, I'm proud to say that situation has now been remedied.

Some of the things take care of:

My version of Cubase does not work in Vista, so I've installed it on my laptop. This has the unintended side effect of giving me the option of editing when on the train.
Mic is connected to the mixer. Guitar is going through a looping pedal, effects pedal, and finally to the amp. The amp is recorded via a directional mic. Mixer connects to the laptop.
General Stumputer room cleanup.

I'm considering adding some sort of cheap sound proofing. I'll be doing some research on that today, I reckon.

Well, Here I am

2008-04-01T22:19:00.002-05:00

So here I am, all blogged up and nothing to write. The purpose of this little corner of the web is to keep track of my "song a week" experiment. This is inspired by one of my favorite artist jonthan coulton, who decided to force himself to create a song every week for a full year.

I've found that I'm extremely lazy unless given the proper motivation, so I've challenged myself to try to keep a schedule, and record a song once a week. I don't expect these songs to be good, but I do hope that in 52 weeks I'll have at least a few that I can be proud of. I also don't expect anyone other than myself to visit this site, as I won't be linking to it from anywhere. This is more for me to keep track. If you happen to have stumbled here, have a listen to anything I have up, if you like it, stay awhile. If you don't, no hard feelings.

So, ground rules. Starting 12:01am on April 7, I will have exactly 7 days to record a song of some sort. I'm going to try to make original songs as often as possible, but it doesn't have to be. These songs may just be little ol' me and an acoustic guitar, but I hope to get better at producing and embellishing as I go along. My hope is that I'll see an upward trend in quality.

The home studio is little more than a couple mics and a couple guitars, but if I can stick with this I'll invest in making things a little better as I go along.

So I'll be taking this week to get the studio in recording shape (right now I've got a mass of wires, mikes, and mixers all jumbled up). I'll post my progress if I have anything interesting to share.

Edit:
A friend suggested I make a penalty for missing my song deadlines, and it makes a lot of sense. So as a penalty, I will not allow myself to watch any TV until I post the song for that week. TV includes video games as well as normal tv watching (even internet tv). So there you have it, a little more motivation to stay on the ball.