Stan brought up a great topic about protest music and politics, and I’ve been working on a song that kind of fits the category. Hopefully it is evident enough.
It’s a rough mix with EX Drummer 2, since my hit factory with Aaron, my human drummer, still hasn’t gotten back into production.
It’s also an excuse to use the 12 string Strat kit I got for Xmas.
I guess the main question is whether it keeps your interest long enough, or if I need to pare it down a bit. To me it floats along pretty well, and will improve with a real drum track, but your thoughts are appreciated.
I took some time today to add a bit more to the mix. Couple of pieces of ear candy, some mixes to add a little interest. Hopefully this will eventually go somewhere.
Excellent! I’m trying to push myself to lay down some tracks as well.
That guitar tone right away sounded like Robin Trower a bit. The emotion in your voice is really powerful. It sounds like you’re pushing your voice a bit but the emotion makes it compelling. Vocals have a little Joe Walsh quality to them IMO. Tasty guitar soloing. Yes the song may be a bit longish time-wise, but it kept my interest. Of course, the protest theme is important so that drew my interest as well. It starts fading out early, so it’s not as long as the 5:18 it says on the player. About 5 minutes, and it’s long because of the extended soloing. I really like that phrasing when the solo comes back in at 3:50, what gear are you using for your guitar tone?
Thanks, Stan.
Yes, I refer to my singing style as yelling in tune. I can’t really hold a clean note, so I always push it.
On this one I’m using a Tele kit I built for the intro, and the solo. The outro guitar is a Les Paul. They’re all going through various presets I’ve developed in Scuffham Amps S-Gear. I like using my Marshall DSL-40, but for this one it was more convenient to stay in the box.
Thanks for the comments, and I hope we are better informed about the real COVID story soon.
The amp sims have gotten so good it’s hard not to just stick with them. Thanks for the info, those guitar parts have their distinct tones, so it’s nice to know where they are coming from.
I’d say it’s happening right now. The veil is lifting and I think some people are going to be shocked. You can find out yourself with some intense Alt Media research, but I suspect so many people are swayed by well-funded MSM and their propaganda agendas. With Alt Media, you do have to be skeptical and discerning. It’s far from perfect, but they lose their audience if they’re not sincere and as truthful as they can be, and I’d guess it’s a financial shoestring lifestyle. When people do something for principal rather than money, you tend to get better results.
Fantastic that you are “at it” again. So needed in this forum.
Great intro. Guitar tones excellent. Love your voice. Your fills really keep this going nicely with this slower bpm’s. I like the way you almost break down that vox on the high notes.
As I put my headphones on my ears are ringing so loud and can’t fully appreciate your work.
Like to hear a couple more bgv’s at the “our world” Hey don’t you worry at 2 min could use a few more words there because of the our world is a hanger as it is. The only other thing I could think of is could be some of that tasty fill could be chopped cuz I drags a bit before I hear that great voice and I feel myelf waiting a bit. At 2:23 ish I think you need those guitars not to be shut off there. You didn’t thru the chorus and it felt very full there. The our world really works for me.
So much to talk about here. ha ha I might also experiment with a slightly faster pace. Say maybe 4 bpm’s. Ok enough already. This track everything need for a dandy. feaker out
Thanks, Feaks. The BPM suggestion is a good one. There’s a real sweet spot for the chunky rhythm playing against the straight chords, and speeding it up a hair might help. I could also cut the little guitar break in half, but saving a few seconds on a five minute ramble might not help too much.
I came up with an orchestration idea last night for the bridge part that might fill it in a touch better.
I have some bgvs in the chorus that I turned down too much, so you’re right about that too.
Still time to spiff it up, thanks for your help.
I added a few parts for you and got the background vocals back in a bit. This is getting tough for my feeble ears to mix, may need to go to the big guns when it is all done.
Oh yeah, this is comin along nicely. Now to nitpick a little more somewhere. Right now I think this is very powerful, but not powerful enough to get a boner over. woops. There are a few words throughout that you cut short on the tails. Not in the chorus, but in the verse. Sorta chokes off the vibe (to me) Let me find a few…28 window /side/good bye. while smile. I hate singing things over tho. never seems to work. ha ha
Ok, I have listened to this a bunch of times and like it a lot. I can tell you what i think, but it is hardly fair in that you did this in your own “style” and format. The song is good as it sits. If and only if was to mess with this, I would cut out those longer fills between lyric lines. They are entertaining but can not compete with your vocal delivery and story. I don’t want to wait that long. ha ha Plus the song is too long anyway.
I was hoping to hear what the other guys feel here. You know who I am talking about. I am at the low end of the totem pole when it comes to analysis. You have mucho talent and should keep this up man. The best…Paul
Just to be clear, on the words I’m cutting short, are you saying I should be holding on to them longer with extra phrasing? Lengthen the tails of those words melodically?
I could do that.
Ha…just hold them a little longer. I would yodel them out for you, but the four dogs here would go bonkers.
Bob…I am an old bumbling man who is not very checked out.
Now please listen and see what I am talking about. If you don’t hear it then tell me I am losing it. My wife will then agree with you 100%
I listened to the new version, but am not able to make comparisons with the original at the moment. I did want to ask about the story, and was able to get a bit more of the lyrics on this listen. I’m presuming as the songwriter, this is either observational (outside looking in) or something very personal to you (inside looking in), so if it’s a little too close to home I understand. But if there’s anything you can share for insight into the story and meaning I would really enjoy that.
Cool! I remember this one! Listening to the latest version… I like what you’ve done with the bridge. This is coming along really nicely…
The groove is maybe a little stiff at the moment, but once Aaron beats things into shape, I’m sure it will have that inimitable Cameron/Hawks Continuum feel.
Here are the lyrics:
My hand’s up against your window
With yours on the other side
I’m praying you’re going to get better
This is no way to say goodbye
Our world is coming off the rails
My love is hidden behind a veil
Your eyes try to give me comfort
If only just for a while
I’m counting the days ‘til I take you home
And unmask that perfect smile
Our world….
Hey, don’t you worry, I’m going to be with you night and day
Just keep your hand on the window, I’m going to pull you through
Don’t give your breath away.
Just think about tomorrow, and the dreams we still need to share
Keep your hand on the window, if you need me, you know that I’ll be there
Our world was coming off the rails
Our love was coming off the rails
Sometimes, you just let go, and pray that your faith won’t fail
My love is free from behind the veil.
Our next door neighbor’s husband died from the virus last year, and although we aren’t close friends, it was hard to watch someone go through the shock of the whole thing. I don’t know all the details, but he was on a ventilator for a few weeks prior to passing. I couldn’t imagine going through that, so it gave me some images to flesh out; isolation, masks, uncertainty etc.
At Andrew’s suggestion I changed the last chorus to add a glimmer of hope, since the story was pretty dark.
We’ve all been dealing with this abstractly for a while, and for some of us it has hit dead on or too close to home for comfort. I can’t help but think there’s more going on that we aren’t allowed to know. Maybe I’m naive, but the terms virus, lab, and gain of function are totally foreign to my way of thinking. At the very least, my grandkids are now part of the Covid generation, and I hope it doesn’t have any long term negative effect on their lives. This has been a global problem, and it’s disappointing that at least on the surface there hasn’t been much of a global unification to eradicate it.
That’s our world, as it exists to me.
Thanks for the lyrics and info! I could tell the story was very touching from the lyrics, so that really helps me understand it.
It does give a light at the end of the tunnel, so that seems like an excellent choice.
I’d say it’s more a case of “selective reporting” than we aren’t allowed. Though in terms of the shocking amount of censorship going on, that supports your statement. As I mentioned before, the information is out there, but you may have to navigate “the road less traveled” to find it. For instance, the Sen. Ron Johnson “Second Opinion Panel” on Monday was given a “media blackout” by MSM. What are they afraid of? I see that the video link is posted on his Senate webpage though. I believe the truth will come out to the general public eventually. I hope they are ready for it. Buckle your seat-belts.
It’s been an education for sure. There are dozens of high level pathogen research labs around the world, with little public oversight or regulation. Which is why I’m so passionate about getting people to ask questions. Evil likes to lurk in the shadows.
As indeed it should be. The whole system is corrupt and is collapsing, by many indications. As trust in institutions declines - institutions like government, media, the medical system (including and perhaps
especially Big Pharma), economy, education, the justice system - those institutions double down on their rhetoric to the level of absurdity. People are waking up to it, and good for them.
If the people can manage to find the common denominator behind it all, they may have unlocked the solution to it.
It’s being seen very clearly with the Freedom Trucker Convoy in Canada. At first, MSM ignored it, suppressed it. Then they came out and demonized it, much as they have in the U.S. The Convoy is headed to Justin Trudictator’s doorstep in Ottawa. He conveniently got Covid and is taking a 5-day ‘quarantine’. You can run Justin, but you can’t hide.
