Entry tags:
Downside, an upside
The first real installment in my new song podcast series: inspiration strikes, finally.
(This song is in its very early stages and will sound janky!)
(This song is in its very early stages and will sound janky!)
Entry tags:
[none]
Holly's incredibly sick, and i'm starting to lean in that direction myself.
Lisa's last day at work was yesterday. i will never see her face again for the rest of my life, and this gives me a very bittersweet feeling. Bitter, because, y'know, and sweet, because, y'know: it'll just be so much nicer and fresher to be in a space that doesn't contain her foul airs. So long! And that's that. I feel like the book is finally closed, the Bookmark That Wouldn't Go Away having finally gone away.
Been researching beat machines. I think i might like MadTracker, but what's i'd really like is something physical, with buttons and knobs. I really need something versatile. It's hard to believe, after all these years, that my old TR-707 still has the balls to rock, has independent outputs for 8 instruments, MIDI, and can do odd time signatures, while nothing else i've been playing with in the virtual domain can do any of those things. Unfortunately, i'm limited to the otherwise strong samples that came with it, and only 3 levels of dynamics. I need space for a drum kit, but i just don't have that luxury.
I still hate work. I just noticed on my stats that i've been outperforming everyone else this week. By a long shot. Including the blowhards who think they're "Bob"'s gift of SLACK. And unlike many of them, i'm not getting replies from customers that start off with "Did you even read my email?"
Lisa's last day at work was yesterday. i will never see her face again for the rest of my life, and this gives me a very bittersweet feeling. Bitter, because, y'know, and sweet, because, y'know: it'll just be so much nicer and fresher to be in a space that doesn't contain her foul airs. So long! And that's that. I feel like the book is finally closed, the Bookmark That Wouldn't Go Away having finally gone away.
Been researching beat machines. I think i might like MadTracker, but what's i'd really like is something physical, with buttons and knobs. I really need something versatile. It's hard to believe, after all these years, that my old TR-707 still has the balls to rock, has independent outputs for 8 instruments, MIDI, and can do odd time signatures, while nothing else i've been playing with in the virtual domain can do any of those things. Unfortunately, i'm limited to the otherwise strong samples that came with it, and only 3 levels of dynamics. I need space for a drum kit, but i just don't have that luxury.
I still hate work. I just noticed on my stats that i've been outperforming everyone else this week. By a long shot. Including the blowhards who think they're "Bob"'s gift of SLACK. And unlike many of them, i'm not getting replies from customers that start off with "Did you even read my email?"
Entry tags:
kids and pianos
OMG i'm totally friends on MySpace with my friends Travis' and Krista's lil' ten(?) year old son! That's kooky. i haven't seen him or her or their kid in forever. G's a totally cool kid. Last time i saw him he was wearing a towel-cape and killing invisible dinosaurs as Batman. Fucking awesome!
Really weirded me out when he friended me, but his momma say iss alright so that's cool. I gotta try to be somewhat of a non-asshole on MySpace though. So i'll just save my freaking out and ranting for this place.
So weird, man. I've been pally-wals with several cool little kids (all friendspawn, don't get any sick ideas you freaks), but good gawd they're making e-mails now - that's just crazy.
So tell me... should i buy this? My Juno has a bad chip in it, and i need 88 piano keys for a couple things anyway.
...or should i drop a couple extra on this one?
Really weirded me out when he friended me, but his momma say iss alright so that's cool. I gotta try to be somewhat of a non-asshole on MySpace though. So i'll just save my freaking out and ranting for this place.
So weird, man. I've been pally-wals with several cool little kids (all friendspawn, don't get any sick ideas you freaks), but good gawd they're making e-mails now - that's just crazy.
So tell me... should i buy this? My Juno has a bad chip in it, and i need 88 piano keys for a couple things anyway.
...or should i drop a couple extra on this one?
Entry tags:
recording
Dusted off the old multitrack tonight, have renewed energy for recording... just want to get that stupid ballad polished enough to move the hell on. It's been almost a year now since i first started recording it, and i haven't touched it in several months now.
See, for some reason, i can't back up that one song, and i want to free up some disk space to make the noise i need to make to get my engines revved up again... so i got to take this mountain down, piece by piece, until the valley is in view and i can move forward again.
So right now i'm re-tracking the bass part. It clipped so badly before, and i think i was drunk when i recorded it the first time.
It's hard to get a good performance when you're too lazy to punch in, but it sure feels better knowing it'll be a one-take track.
Latest musical problem: there's a $400 digital piano i NEEEEEED so badly but it's being discontinued and i won't have the money for it for another two weeks; after that, i'll have to pay $600-800 for a decent machine. I need 88 keys, and i've been having weird oscillator problems with the old 61-key Juno 106, which doesn't have expressive dynamics anyway and the sounds aren't really all that. Of course, i'll still need a synth. And a better drum machine. Sigh.
See, for some reason, i can't back up that one song, and i want to free up some disk space to make the noise i need to make to get my engines revved up again... so i got to take this mountain down, piece by piece, until the valley is in view and i can move forward again.
So right now i'm re-tracking the bass part. It clipped so badly before, and i think i was drunk when i recorded it the first time.
It's hard to get a good performance when you're too lazy to punch in, but it sure feels better knowing it'll be a one-take track.
Latest musical problem: there's a $400 digital piano i NEEEEEED so badly but it's being discontinued and i won't have the money for it for another two weeks; after that, i'll have to pay $600-800 for a decent machine. I need 88 keys, and i've been having weird oscillator problems with the old 61-key Juno 106, which doesn't have expressive dynamics anyway and the sounds aren't really all that. Of course, i'll still need a synth. And a better drum machine. Sigh.
Entry tags:
Today in pluses and minuses
PRO:
- I got my Digitech DF7 Distortion Factory and Digidelay today!
Entry tags:
There goes that... but all for good
I just took a small plunge i can't very well afford in order to notch the music-creation thing up a little. All i bought were good distortion and digital delay pedals, plus some wall-juice and signal cables. But that's a pretty big $200 right now. I'm kind of stressing it, but the sale on Digitech gear at MF ends this weekend. I only have a week until payday, but even then, i have to pay rent and utilities out of that.
I need this like air to breathe.
Music is absolutely everything to me, and i can NOT just keep fucking around anymore: i'm getting old, and my body aches, and i haven't really had much creative output in years. Much worse: i have not yet left my mark, and so am unfit to die, having done nothing remotely profound with my life. If nobody comes to my funeral, or if there is no crying and no dancing, then i don't even want to die at all. Not until i get it right.
And... i have an ulterior motive: i want to make a rock record that my grandpa can be proud of, before he leaves this world forever. I hate the thought of him dying with nothing going on at the last leaf on the family tree. It's like letting him down in the worst possible way ever. So i am even more desperate to get started as soon as possible.
Someday, you will be able to hear the music that i hear in my head, and you will rejoice and/or despair. Possibly both at once.
I need this like air to breathe.
Music is absolutely everything to me, and i can NOT just keep fucking around anymore: i'm getting old, and my body aches, and i haven't really had much creative output in years. Much worse: i have not yet left my mark, and so am unfit to die, having done nothing remotely profound with my life. If nobody comes to my funeral, or if there is no crying and no dancing, then i don't even want to die at all. Not until i get it right.
And... i have an ulterior motive: i want to make a rock record that my grandpa can be proud of, before he leaves this world forever. I hate the thought of him dying with nothing going on at the last leaf on the family tree. It's like letting him down in the worst possible way ever. So i am even more desperate to get started as soon as possible.
Someday, you will be able to hear the music that i hear in my head, and you will rejoice and/or despair. Possibly both at once.
Entry tags:
stuff and things
going out to the old apartment tonight to finish up. all i've got there now is a chair and a dresser, and the rest is going in the trash.
anyone got any good ideas for a podcast show? i don't have a portable recorder, so i can't do wacky man-in-the-street interviews.
how ya like my new (old) userpic? i actually SAW that thing in the sky once, when i was younger, so much younger than today. my friend Tony saw a smaller one in his house a few years back. same thing.
thanks to those of ya who gave my tune a listen and gave me your feedback. i really do appreciate it. here's some replies to your comments:
Shelly- thanks... the bass is there, and kinda loud i think, but i don't think it came out in the mp3. it's clipped all to hell though, so that's one thing i'll have to redo. i used a lot of compression, especially on my voice, and on the stereo mix, because my voice is pretty wild dynamically. i'm going to redo the off parts. screw it. if others can punch in, so can i. at least i'll know i almost nailed it for about nine seconds.
Doug- thanks... the song is about an ending relationship. i wrote it about 8 years ago for the girl i went to Europe with. we were destined to be together... just not for very long. it's still a great song, though, which is why i kept it around. i think those are the original lyrics.
Sean- thanks... my voice cracks all to hell when i try to squeeze out the high notes. i have to go falsetto, and i just won't do that, unless i'm trying to be Mick Jagger trying to be Prince.
anyone got any good ideas for a podcast show? i don't have a portable recorder, so i can't do wacky man-in-the-street interviews.
how ya like my new (old) userpic? i actually SAW that thing in the sky once, when i was younger, so much younger than today. my friend Tony saw a smaller one in his house a few years back. same thing.
thanks to those of ya who gave my tune a listen and gave me your feedback. i really do appreciate it. here's some replies to your comments:
Shelly- thanks... the bass is there, and kinda loud i think, but i don't think it came out in the mp3. it's clipped all to hell though, so that's one thing i'll have to redo. i used a lot of compression, especially on my voice, and on the stereo mix, because my voice is pretty wild dynamically. i'm going to redo the off parts. screw it. if others can punch in, so can i. at least i'll know i almost nailed it for about nine seconds.
Doug- thanks... the song is about an ending relationship. i wrote it about 8 years ago for the girl i went to Europe with. we were destined to be together... just not for very long. it's still a great song, though, which is why i kept it around. i think those are the original lyrics.
Sean- thanks... my voice cracks all to hell when i try to squeeze out the high notes. i have to go falsetto, and i just won't do that, unless i'm trying to be Mick Jagger trying to be Prince.
audio
here's a link to download my song "Ten Silver Needles" - this post is also my first podcast (this one's just the one song). more to come when i get a proper show together.
Entry tags:
Ten Silver Needles
i put my first rough mix of "Ten Silver Needles" up at MySpace: www.myspace.com/jeremyjarratt
comments and suggestions always appreciated!
don't worry, after i'm finished with this and the next song, it'll get heavier and rockier.
comments and suggestions always appreciated!
don't worry, after i'm finished with this and the next song, it'll get heavier and rockier.
Entry tags:
there is [no] art
mixing down "10SN" - i'm getting to the part where i have to make semi-permanent but lasting commitments.
my problem is that i really want to pull down ALL the instruments except for the stereo harmony acoustic guitar arpeggio where i sing "one lonely guitar, one lonely string/one lonely singer..." but it really really shows off my weaknesses as a singer. truth be told, it really does sound terrible.
and that means that either i have to
a) go back on my "no punching in" rule, for the sake of Steve Albini-esque Total Recording Honesty
or
b) embarrass myself.
which would you do?
my problem is that i really want to pull down ALL the instruments except for the stereo harmony acoustic guitar arpeggio where i sing "one lonely guitar, one lonely string/one lonely singer..." but it really really shows off my weaknesses as a singer. truth be told, it really does sound terrible.
and that means that either i have to
a) go back on my "no punching in" rule, for the sake of Steve Albini-esque Total Recording Honesty
or
b) embarrass myself.
which would you do?
Entry tags:
and in other music news...
i'm finally starting to mix down the songs that i have recorded so i can leave them behind for others and start on new things once more. it's going okay so far, but i really have some nasty clipping on my least awful bass take on "Ten Silver Needles". i might have to redo it. i think i probably either didn't route the signal through the compressor/limiter when i tracked it, or i didn't use enough limiter. you'd be surprised how out of control a bass can get without heaps of compression.
also, i found that i really do need to have 2 tracks of harmony acoustic guitar, which means i now have to have 9 tracks on an 8 track machine. and i hate bouncing when i hadn't intended to from the get-go. it leaves me less space to fool around. for instance, there's a part where the lyric goes "one lonely guitar, one lonely string..." and i wanted to pull down the rhythm guitars and just leave the harmony parts up (yes, i know it's neither one guitar nor less than 12 strings in total - at least it's apreggiated); now i'll have to print it with level changes - which means i'd be better off doing effects in one sweep, since this is the last time i'll be able to control them individually. still, i can do this.
also, i found that i really do need to have 2 tracks of harmony acoustic guitar, which means i now have to have 9 tracks on an 8 track machine. and i hate bouncing when i hadn't intended to from the get-go. it leaves me less space to fool around. for instance, there's a part where the lyric goes "one lonely guitar, one lonely string..." and i wanted to pull down the rhythm guitars and just leave the harmony parts up (yes, i know it's neither one guitar nor less than 12 strings in total - at least it's apreggiated); now i'll have to print it with level changes - which means i'd be better off doing effects in one sweep, since this is the last time i'll be able to control them individually. still, i can do this.
Entry tags:
(no subject)
Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 3 both totally rock!
Holly is sick :(
i got my new Roland DM10 digital studio monitors today!! now i can finally mix my music with accurate sound! and i got lots of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky and Earthwood strings! and lube! woo hoo!!
Holly is sick :(
i got my new Roland DM10 digital studio monitors today!! now i can finally mix my music with accurate sound! and i got lots of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky and Earthwood strings! and lube! woo hoo!!
Entry tags:
song
i don't know why i never put this on my site. i will soon. it's one of my better later songs. well, it was written five years ago. i never have recorded it, but someday i will. if you could hear it, you'd know it was a Good Thing, even with (and in spite of) my singing.
background: my friend Ria and i went to Europe together in Oct/Nov. '96. we became very, very close friends. the following spring we became lovers. it was extremely romantic at first. extremely so. but before that, she talked very seriously about moving back to her hometown of St. Louis. she was very serious, although she ended up not moving after all. i wrote this song for her. i didn't give it to her until after our love had run its course and we broke up. i'd modified the lyrics somewhat by then, but most of it remained intact. so here it is. it sounds very much like a Steven Stills song. i hope i didn't subconsciously rip off any of his lines.
in parentheses are alternate lyrics.
Ten Silver Needles (for lack of a better title)
background: my friend Ria and i went to Europe together in Oct/Nov. '96. we became very, very close friends. the following spring we became lovers. it was extremely romantic at first. extremely so. but before that, she talked very seriously about moving back to her hometown of St. Louis. she was very serious, although she ended up not moving after all. i wrote this song for her. i didn't give it to her until after our love had run its course and we broke up. i'd modified the lyrics somewhat by then, but most of it remained intact. so here it is. it sounds very much like a Steven Stills song. i hope i didn't subconsciously rip off any of his lines.
in parentheses are alternate lyrics.
Ten Silver Needles (for lack of a better title)
A D G A
Ten silver needles, ten lengths of thread
will sew us together over every (all the) mile(s) we tread
A G D A
i never knew it, but you were my friend
will i see you, dear (love), before The End?
G D E (D)
& i'd recommend that you stay here with me
but your heart's just not in it; i may be blind but i see
i'd make amends, if only i could
but i can't, so please (just) be good...
Fv Av Giii Av
yes, i knew you were leaving, before you even told
ya see the look on your face, well, it told me so
well i stole some of your paper, and wrote you a lil' note
i hope you leave before you read it...
five dreaming spacemen, all of them blue
dreaming (blue) because they never knew you
fancy that, well i'm dreaming, too
how about you?
& i, too, will end up blue
wishing that i had never hurt you
'coz your heart's made of gold, + if the truth be told,
i've always wanted that, too
yeah & each day that comes will probably go
knowing that i'm growing old
still, i suppose, there's always (a lil' thing called) Hope
besides, we'll always have Paris...
one lonely guitar, one lonely string
one lonely player (who just) wants to hear you sing
i would give up all of these things
to have you back (with me) again....