Magic Pill - Alternative/Grunge Song

jonlint

Member
Hi all,

Wrote this song today. Very much Alice in Chains influenced. Feedback most welcome:

Magic Pill by Jonathan Linton 4 | Free Listening on SoundCloud

MAGIC PILL
(Words by Jonathan Linton, Music by Jonathan Linton)

I feel your pain
Got a magic pill for you
It will sustain
Our obscene revenue
We followed all the rules
Paid off the drug mules
FDA gave approval
Time to unleash the evil

Magic pill
Unleash the demons deep inside
Can’t live with it
Can’t live without it
The magic pill

The murky world
Politics is where we play
When truth unfurls
Made a clean getaway
We’ll leave helpless
At end of your rope
No more magic pill
It’s street corner dope

Magic pill
Unleash the demons deep inside
Can’t live with it
Can’t live without it
The magic pill

SOLO

Magic pill
Unleash the demons deep inside
Can’t live with it
Can’t live without it
The magic pill
(Can’t live with it, Can’t live without it)
(Can’t live with it, Can’t live without it)
The magic pill
(Can’t live with it, Can’t live without it)
(Can’t live with it, Can’t live without it)
The magic pill
 
I can't really say much about the song since I have no alternative/grunge cred. I was well into my thirties by the time the style caught fire. I'm also a huge fan of underproduction or at least the loud-quiet-loud approach of 80's-90's bands like Slint, Hum, or the Pixies. So to me, it sounds like there is a lot going on here. Again, that's not really a criticism. Just my own musical bias. I like to think of it as a somewhat more mature version of what my father use to say: "Why do the kids have to play their music so loud.":D

I like the lyrics, though. They are relevant and political without being preachy. The opioid crisis is a big issue these days and it has it's roots in Big Pharma greed, physician ignorance (perhaps even malpractice), and our complete failure to invest in mental health and drug rehabilitation. It's ruined thousands of lives, killed a lot of people along the way, and created a new class of heroin addicts. Of course, the Republicans stand ready to step into the breach, and the industry and doctors have pulled back considerably from practices prevalent in the late 90's and early 2000's. So maybe there is hope. I doubt it, but maybe.

What's most intriguing, to me at least, is the concept of pain. That's really the main thing that gets lost in all the politics, the overdoses, and the addiction. How do we address pain. The new opioid crisis will undoubtedly be added to the old war on drugs while people go on suffering with chronic (often debilitating) pain. The new solution is simply to not treat people. We are so afraid of the ravages of addiction that people who actually need relief are shortchanged. And the best society can offer is a yoga ball and meditation.

END of RANT :D
 
On headphones the drums and vocals seem to have a hyped top end zinging around. Vocal harmonies are very AIC. Rythym guitar sounds great. Vocals are excellent too. I would back off some of the effects and focus on getting the bottom end heavier and more solid. Good jam, nice job
 
I can't really say much about the song since I have no alternative/grunge cred. I was well into my thirties by the time the style caught fire. I'm also a huge fan of underproduction or at least the loud-quiet-loud approach of 80's-90's bands like Slint, Hum, or the Pixies. So to me, it sounds like there is a lot going on here. Again, that's not really a criticism. Just my own musical bias. I like to think of it as a somewhat more mature version of what my father use to say: "Why do the kids have to play their music so loud.":D

I like the lyrics, though. They are relevant and political without being preachy. The opioid crisis is a big issue these days and it has it's roots in Big Pharma greed, physician ignorance (perhaps even malpractice), and our complete failure to invest in mental health and drug rehabilitation. It's ruined thousands of lives, killed a lot of people along the way, and created a new class of heroin addicts. Of course, the Republicans stand ready to step into the breach, and the industry and doctors have pulled back considerably from practices prevalent in the late 90's and early 2000's. So maybe there is hope. I doubt it, but maybe.

What's most intriguing, to me at least, is the concept of pain. That's really the main thing that gets lost in all the politics, the overdoses, and the addiction. How do we address pain. The new opioid crisis will undoubtedly be added to the old war on drugs while people go on suffering with chronic (often debilitating) pain. The new solution is simply to not treat people. We are so afraid of the ravages of addiction that people who actually need relief are shortchanged. And the best society can offer is a yoga ball and meditation.

END of RANT :D

Thanks for the feedback - sorry the song was not your creed, and of course this forum should stay a music forum, but your rant goes to the song meaning and I think is very relevant. I do not live in the USA now (I did when Opiates were flooded on the market in the early 2000s and so I saw the start of it). This graph tells it all. And not one company who pushed these drugs has been called to task while every day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.

https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/images/epidemic/3WavesOfTheRiseInOpioidOverdoseDeaths.png
 
On headphones the drums and vocals seem to have a hyped top end zinging around. Vocal harmonies are very AIC. Rythym guitar sounds great. Vocals are excellent too. I would back off some of the effects and focus on getting the bottom end heavier and more solid. Good jam, nice job

Hi there, many thanks for the feedback! I made a remix this morning to fix some things I thought could be improved also taking your feedback into account. There are so many frickin' tracks (a lot of layering) that I had to do some more automation and EQing so everything sits better. Interested in your impressions of the new mix:

Magic Pill V1 by Jonathan Linton 4 | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
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