Chris's turn...

R

RAMI

Guest
to polish my turd. :)

After Llarion took my song and brought it to a new level with his production genius, Mr. Chris Shaeffer did his take on it. I have no idea what possessed these guys to play with my little ditty considering all the incredible talent in this place, but I won't argue. I think you'll all agree that Chris's approach is different, and just as professional, improving on what I was able to do with my limited mixing skills. I'll put them side by side here in the order they were done. This isn't a PMC, so it's not about "better" or "worse". If anything, this can be very educational for everyone to see how the same song can be tackled so many different way. I'm just honored it's my baby that they chose to play with.
RAMI's MIX
LLARION'S MIX
Chris's MIX
 
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They each have thier own charm that is for sure. I like Chris's mix because it is a bit more in your face, and Rami's all around was nice. But Llarion's mix of the vocals was sweet, and that really did it for me. Very cool mixes.
 
This is what I'd said to Chris about his mix:
Ooh, Rami is gonna LIKE this one... Works perfectly. I don't see "aggression" in this mix [note: Chris had comment that his mix is more aggresive, I don't know if that's the term I'd use - LL]. It's like Rami's, but more balanced in tone control. You do favor the 2nd guitar in the mix more than I did. Nice punch on the drums! You stayed a lot drier too... The lead vox is a click lower than I did, I think.

Rami, I think you'll mix just like this when you have more reps under your belt, this sounds like the choices you'll make as you progress.

This is buttery, man. WELL DONE!!!
 
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*Really* fun to mix.

And I'll repeat (paraphrase) what I told RAMI and Llarion when I delievered the mix:

Its not about making a better mix, but a different one. RAMI's arrangement is so strong that the tune practically mixes itself and leaves you sitting there thinking "OK, what can I do to make this better." Its a mixing dream, really- good arrangements make for fun mixes.

They're both great guys, if you haven't noticed already. This has been an extremely positive experience for me all the way around.

Thanks for the oppoortunty, RAMI, and the good words. :D

-Chris
 
Another great mix !

RAMI said:
...this can be very educational for everyone to see how the same song can be tackled so many different ways. QUOTE]

You've got it right - these are two great and yet different mixes, both with their own sounds and textures. I like the way Chris has worked with the guitars on this new mix. It's almost like they've been re-amped (sp?). It makes the song rock a bit more......
 
An interesting idea... to make the raw tracks of a posted tune available for remixes to compare mixing approaches. When the Rumbles started they created a new dynamic in the clinic. Rami, maybe you'll start a new trend of posters not just adding their comments but their own mixes of the original tracks. It'd be interesting... posts to a thread with comments and a mix demonstrating the ideas.

Tim
 
Hey, I'll tell you what Tim. That's such a good idea that I'll go on record now saying that if anyone ever wants to have a shot at one of my tunes, they're welcome to it. Whether it's any future tune I post, or any past tune someone wants to try their hand at. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "anyone" because that might not turn out to be true. But I'm definitely open to providing my tracks to anyone that wants to practice mixing or for whatever other reason. I have no ulterior motive othe than getting another version of my song through someone else's ears.
And I wouldn't be so open to that if Llarion and Chris didn't make it such a positive experience.
 
Chris, truly a very nice mix. I agree with all posters that all 3 people mixing did a good job but took the song in interestingly different directions.

I personally like all 3 versions.

-----

About the Lyrics: (first the cons)
I don't care for at all for demons being friends and all that. I understand it's not literally spoken but metaphorically used to convey a certain meaning, I just still don't care for those.

(now the pros)
I really like the line that says:
If I could walk on water you'd laugh at me that I never learned to swim. I like the tune on this line as well.

And I really like the pronunciation/accent. They way you sing "everybody's high, I'm oh so mundane". Actually I noticed that on Lightning in a bottle first. I think it adds another dimension to the personality of the song (don't mean to sound cheesy but talking about presentation). I don't know if it sounds offensive me talking about accents, but this is really really meant as a compliment. :)

I give you an honest opinion 'coz for one person that doesn't like something about your work, there's two that don't even notice that part. I would also rather be told what people don't like in my stuff so I can fix_it/address_it/justify_it and so on. I hope you won't mind me being candid about your lyrics. :)
 
Cool stuff. No problem, you can't like everything. Do you not like the reference to "demons" because of religious or spiritual reasons, or do you just not like the line because of the the image it presents or the simply the sound of it? Just curious. Personally, I think everyone has their "demons", it's not neccassarilly a "diabolic" reference. Not trying to convince you to like it, just making an observarion on your observation. I appreciate the comments though, intersting perspective in everything you said.
And hey, I don't have an accent....The rest of the world does. Us Canadians speak totally normal, eh? :)
 
RAMI said:
Cool stuff. No problem, you can't like everything. Do you not like the reference to "demons" because of religious or spiritual reasons, or do you just not like the line because of the the image it presents or the simply the sound of it? Just curious. Personally, I think everyone has their "demons", it's not neccassarilly a "diabolic" reference. Not trying to convince you to like it, just making an observarion on your observation.
For faith based reasons. I used to listen to a lot of dark heavy metal and goth music at one time. Then I became a born-again Christian. Since that time, I've been paying a lot of attention to what influences us in everyday life. Rock music in general has gotten really depressing and dark lately. Sometimes it's even fashionable to be extra evil. Kinda of like extra 10 pts for being extra evil. Like the cover of 3 doors down album with babies and dogs and what not. Once I noticed this, it became a really pointless and annoying trend to involve "evil" images/things/impressions in songs just to be cool. Sometimes, it's not a being "evil" sounding thing, it's just an expression. There's one Christian song too where the singer talks about the demons chasing him. But that's not fashion just a statement. But I still didn't like it. :)

The problem snowballs as one compromises in small doses. First it's just a cartoon character saying something offensive. Then it's some guy at the office repeating the same line. Before long you're one of them. What was taboo once is just another phrase now. And so we compromise more and more. </end_rant>

Poetically speaking for a minute tho, making friends with the demons chasing a person would also mean that one has given up running away from their problems and has finally decided to just live with them. That way also I get an image that I don't like.</end_artist-sounding_babble>

Let's not get bogged down with putting meaning to poetry. What are we, some kind of english lit. professors?</end_funny_babble>

RAMI said:
I appreciate the comments though, intersting perspective in everything you said.
And hey, I don't have an accent....The rest of the world does. Us Canadians speak totally normal, eh? :)
Actually, I really like it! Although, originally an accent was just a particular accent. Now in English saying one has "an accent" seems to imply as if that person speaks like a non-native. When I go to Noo Yoak [NY] (or Jaisey [NJ]) for business, they definitely have an accent. :)

I'm a sucker for foriegn accents. It works even better when they're girls. :)

Thanks for listening. :)
 
No problem, I knew it was faith based. That's why I asked, just to confirm it. I remember you getting offended when I mentioned "tits" in one of your threads. (as if God didn't create those, too) No problem. Puritans aren't my target audience anyway...hehe. :D
As long as we're on the subject, I have to say that I think the whole "evil" and "devil" aspect of rock and roll is way more tame now than it's ever been, in my opinion. Without even going back to the 50's and how Evangilists would tell their congregation that rock and roll IS the Devil's music, plain simple. (Not to mention the racism that went along with it when they'd claim that it will bring the white man down to the "level of the n***er"). In the 80's, every heavy metal band was singing about "Shouting at the Devil" or "Barking at the Devil" or "Farting to the Devil" or whatever...At least that trend has died.
 
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RAMI said:
No problem, I knew it was faith based. That's why I asked, just to confirm it. I remember you getting offended when I mentioned "tits" in one of your threads. (as if God didn't create those, too) No problem. Puritans aren't my target audience anyway...hehe. :D
As long as we're on the subject, I have to say that I think the whole "evil" and "devil" aspect of rock and roll is way more tame now than it's ever been, in my opinion. Without even going back to the 50's and how Evangilists would tell their congregation that rock and roll IS the Devil's music, plain simple. (Not to mention the racism that went along with it when they'd claim that it will bring the white man down to the "level of the n***er"). In the 80's, every heavy metal band was singing about "Shouting at the Devil" or "Barking at the Devil" or "Farting to the Devil" or whatever...At least that trend has died.

Kiss is back in makeup though... ;)
 
RAMI said:
No problem, I knew it was faith based. That's why I asked, just to confirm it. I remember you getting offended when I mentioned "tits" in one of your threads. (as if God didn't create those, too) No problem. Puritans aren't my target audience anyway...hehe. :D
As long as we're on the subject, I have to say that I think the whole "evil" and "devil" aspect of rock and roll is way more tame now than it's ever been, in my opinion. Without even going back to the 50's and how Evangilists would tell their congregation that rock and roll IS the Devil's music, plain simple. (Not to mention the racism that went along with it when they'd claim that it will bring the white man down to the "level of the n***er"). In the 80's, every heavy metal band was singing about "Shouting at the Devil" or "Barking at the Devil" or "Farting to the Devil" or whatever...At least that trend has died.
Interesting how things change, eh? First all rock was bad. Now there's a lot of Christian rocks songs. I guess maybe the churches weren't used to singing openly with a little head bopping. All rock bands singing about "farting to the devil" and everything else only reinforced the idea that it was bad music.

About t*ts, it's not so much the mention, it's more the image of big ladies in leather jackets at some run down bar in a "sleazy" setting that sounds really wrong. I wasn't offended (maybe slightly), I was more just pointing out the fact that it's a hymn so further discussion didn't turn the track into a 2-bit honky-tonk flavor of the week piece. :D A hymn maintains a holy and pure mood as one reflects on God and all His works.

It's not that I don't like a gorgeous girl. I think as men, we can agree that it's impossible to find people that won't appreicate a gorgeous girl. :)
 
bigbubba said:
About t*ts, it's not so much the mention, it's more the image of big ladies in leather jackets at some run down bar in a "sleazy" setting

Hehe...All I did was mention the tits. The rest is all yours. :eek:

Reminds of the guys that goes to a psychiatrist. The Shrink gives him abstract drawings to look at and asks him to tell him what each one makes him think of. Every drawing that he looks at, he says, makes him think of dirty sex. The Psychiatrist says, "I think you have a problem"...The guy answers "Me? You're the one with all the dirty pictures".
 
RAMI said:
Hehe...All I did was mention the tits. The rest is all yours. :eek:
You're right. I just heard you say, "Tex/Mex feel all the way through that makes me think of big-titted women in denim shorts, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat" and I thought, uh-oh I remember this kind of setting from my experience of having closed enough bars during college days. Actually another reason is probably that's the only place I would those kinda girls. Oh also with high hair and enough bubble gum to seal a broken dam. Anyway, I thought I don't want this conversation to go that way.

I do however see your point that my preventative measure actually is what caused this conversation to go that way. So it's my fault in a way. Which in hindsight is just hilarious. Don't go there. Don't go where? Here! Don't go here. :) I'm actually laughing out loud at the moment because I think its just hilarious.

RAMI said:
"Me? You're the one with all the dirty pictures".
LOL. :)

All in all, I hope this doesn't take away the focus from the song that was mixed. I do apologize for sort of hijacking the conversation, RAMI. :)
 
Nah, I'm having a blast teasing you...I can almost see you blushing...hehe :)
 
RAMI said:
Nah, I'm having a blast teasing you...I can almost see you blushing...hehe :)
Good, I was hoping you didn't get too pissed. :p

Hey one thing I did mean to ask was what kind of distortion is on the guitars. What pedal or AMP is it. My Crate pretty much sounds like crap all the time.
 
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