Harvesters & Drive-Bys by robthegirl

robgreen

robgreen

no face
I had a flash of inspiration when dobro made his post of the same title on here, and wrote this tune within about a day of the discussion starting. I usually agonise over writing songs for weeks, so it was quite refreshing to get something down so quickly (for me).

Heat beat me to the song title, but I figured there's room in the world for two songs with this name - especially as thematically they're pretty different :D

I sent a pretty dreary demo to Fritsthegirl who kindly agreed work on the song with me and contributed some damn nice vocals.

Here it is - thoughts as ever much appreciated :)

Updated Mix 20th July
 
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I love a dreary tune as much as life itself, so I'd never pass up an opportunity to sing on one. Sounds great, I really love the song and what you've done with it since the very first version I heard.

I only just got the chance to listen to this on my speakers at home. What changes did you make to the vocals between v.20130712 and this one? I think my voice seems too loud, and yours not loud enough in this latest version?
 
Oooo! For an old hippy this is just gold!
The voices go well together, & it has a great haunting laid back feel!
skin up man!
I love it, :listeningmusic:
 
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This is wonderful. Really.

Your two voices go together like bangers and mash...uh, or whatever. Seriously, the accents, the delivery and even the way you each capture your own voices all really compliment each other well.

The music is really minimalistic, but there are great subtle textural things happening that I really dug. I mean, it's super, super mellow and that's kind of tough to pull off actually, but I think you did it.

I think the girl may be right on the levels though...maybe when your voices are together hers could be brought down just a touch? Her part is great on this, but I'm hearing it more as a complimentary thing than a lead (the way it's mixed). I really enjoyed this and plan to again. Sounds a little too much like my version though.
 
fritsthegirl said:
I love a dreary tune as much as life itself, so I'd never pass up an opportunity to sing on one. Sounds great, I really love the song and what you've done with it since the very first version I heard.

I only just got the chance to listen to this on my speakers at home. What changes did you make to the vocals between v.20130712 and this one? I think my voice seems too loud, and yours not loud enough in this latest version?
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Yeah, it's changed a bit since the first version hasn't it. Decidedly less dreary! I completely re-recorded my vocal since the last version I sent you, so there's probably quite a lot of changes. That's the one thing I've really agonised over on the mix - trying to get the right balance. I must have done about five or six mixdown's from Ableton and a few uploads to soundcloud, only to listen back and be unhappy with some aspect of their level and go back and tweak.

I wanted to get a strong blend with the two of them panned close together and neither particularly dominant in the mix. As both you and Pete have picked up on it, I'll go back and have another listen. Thanks Trish :)

jiff 41 said:
Oooo! For an old hippy this is just gold!
The voices go well together, & it has a great haunting laid back feel!
skin up man!
I love it, :listeningmusic:
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Cool, thanks a lot Jiff - haunting and laid back are definitely two qualities I aspire to so I'll take that as a real compliment.

It's also perfect weather for being outdoors and skinning up too, so timely! Really glad you like man! :D

CrowsofFritz said:
This is GREAT!
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Ace, thanks for listening in and glad you enjoyed Fritz :D

Happy belated birthday by the way (I know you've been keeping it quiet ;) )
 
jimmys69 said:
Wow, I just play a hippie on tv, but I really liked it! Good stuff you two!

:)
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...and it's a role you play perfectly :D

Thanks a lot Jimmy, that's kind of you to say.

heatmiser said:
This is wonderful. Really.

Your two voices go together like bangers and mash...uh, or whatever. Seriously, the accents, the delivery and even the way you each capture your own voices all really compliment each other well.

The music is really minimalistic, but there are great subtle textural things happening that I really dug. I mean, it's super, super mellow and that's kind of tough to pull off actually, but I think you did it.

I think the girl may be right on the levels though...maybe when your voices are together hers could be brought down just a touch? Her part is great on this, but I'm hearing it more as a complimentary thing than a lead (the way it's mixed). I really enjoyed this and plan to again.
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Ace, thanks Pete - I'm really happy with it and the reaction so far. As I think you said in the post for your own song of the same name, it's amazing how almost spontaneously written songs can come out better than those you spend weeks/months writing.

The super slow tempo you mention was one of the concerns I had when I was first demoing it. I recorded to a 130bpm click, but that was just to give me a bit of drive while playing - I was afraid 65bpm might drag. Glad it doesn't.

Really pleased that the textures came through too. I'm always a bit texture obsessed when it comes to music anyway, but with such a simple song where no instrument is ever out in front, I thought it even more important than usual.

I'd like to do some minor tweaks after a couple of days break from hearing it so that I can get a fresher perspective - I'm still concerned that the mix is a bit dark and some of the other levels could do with small adjustments, so I'll re-visit the girl's volume level then too.

Thanks for your nice words as ever Pete :D

heatmiser said:
Sounds a little too much like my version though.
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Oi, don't you be angling for a songwriting credit! I plan on keeping the whole 100% of my zero royalties :cursing:

Armistice said:
Why not FritsGreen? :confused:

I'll have a listen later...;)
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I did wonder whether anyone would make that observation :laughings:

Fritsgreen might suggest that I had less than honourable intentions on Miss Trish...
 
Hey, What a great thread it would make,to see/hear different takes on this title!

the two we already have (heat's version & now this!)are REALLY brilliant, what spin would others put on it? :guitar:
 
Wait... Fritsthegirl is a girl?! :D

Song sounds mostly pretty good. My two nits would be that Rob's voice is a little low relative to Frits', and the guitar seems a bit loud and close during the verses.
 
Yup, really nice. I echo whoever said that the fritsthegirl's voice is a little loud compared to the guy voice. It's all good, just reel her in a little. I found the song to drag on a little, but I'm a speed demon and generally want everything to be hyper. Overall it held my attention. Nice job you two. :)
 
jiff 41 said:
Hey, What a great thread it would make,to see/hear different takes on this title!

the two we already have (heat's version & now this!)are REALLY brilliant, what spin would others put on it? :guitar:
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Ha, yes. You tempted Jiff? :D

VomitHatSteve said:
Wait... Fritsthegirl is a girl?! :D

Song sounds mostly pretty good. My two nits would be that Rob's voice is a little low relative to Frits', and the guitar seems a bit loud and close during the verses.
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Thanks a lot for listening in Steve. I'll have a think about the guitar and I'm definitely working on less Frits :laughings:

Manslick said:
well now, i think this is simply lovely. nice composition.
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Ace, thanks a lot Manslick - really glad you liked. I'm used to making lengthy 'to do' lists after posting first mixes on here - getting it close first time is pretty alien to me :thumbs up:

Greg_L said:
Yup, really nice. I echo whoever said that the fritsthegirl's voice is a little loud compared to the guy voice. It's all good, just reel her in a little. I found the song to drag on a little, but I'm a speed demon and generally want everything to be hyper. Overall it held my attention. Nice job you two. :)
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Cool, thanks a lot Greg. I'm glad it worked for you and held your attention - it is very slow, so that's good to hear from a punk lover. Pretty much consensus on the vocal levels, so I'll get that sorted. Cheers man :thumbs up:
 
Right, I made some updates - a bit of work to improve the dynamics of my vocal a little, re-balancing of the relative vocal levels on the chorus and some other minor tweaks that probably aren't noticeable to anyone except me!

The original link also plays the updated version, but for the sake of convenience it's also here if anyone could let me know how it all knits together now:



Thanks for all your ears :thumbs up:
 
Tres Bonn,
Tres tr/hippy,
I was just listening to some Pearls before Swine - Tom Rapp & Co. could've done this.
FTG, now that's a voice you can duet with. Makes it clear why mine is muted.
Also reminds me of Nick Cave's occassional duets with women.
Simply lovely!
When you're done would you consider posting a link to a decent file to download?
 
Greg_L said:
I found the song to drag on a little, but I'm a speed demon and generally want everything to be hyper. Overall it held my attention. Nice job you two. :)
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Yeah, exactly. The payoff in this one is in the chorus harmony. When the first chorus returns to the second verse, the repetiveness of the chord structure and harmony are a little...repetitive. What would relieve it a bit would be an added instrument on the second verse - something kind of distinctive. I think the mellotron that you added to the second chorus would keep the chorus the high energy point of the song even if you added an instrument on the second verse.

Lovely gloomy tuneage. It doesn't sound hippy to me. It sounds newage stoner. :cool:
 
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