On My Own - Greg_L original clusterfuck

[Greg_L]

Wrote this one while I was on vacation in July. It was kind of cool because I spent so much time alone fishing that I literally wrote and arranged the whole thing in my head while sitting on the beach waiting for the fish to bite. I just scribbled it all in my fishing log. Chords, words, changes, everything. When I got back home all I had to do was play it and record it. It was almost like doing a cover song.

On My Own
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8124429

Any mix comments/critiques are welcome and appreciated.

I might redo some vocal stuff. I don't know.

Thanks,
Greg


Dumb lyrics:

Why do you wanna talk to me
When you know that I just wanna be - on my own
Why do you wanna look at me
When you know you don't like what you see - on my own
I don't wanna hear your voice
I don't wanna see your face
No one gets through to me
I'm staring off into space
I don't wanna know you
My heart is made of solid stone
I don't wanna play your game
Why don't you just leave me alone

I'm sitting here, wondering what you want from me
It's calm inside, I'm doing fine, I'm a thousand light years away
In my own world, it's always light outside
I'm fine in here just living my own life - on my own

Why do you wanna bring me down
When you know that I just wanna be - on my own
Why do you even make a sound
When you know that there's no good in me - on my own
I don't wanna see your smile
I don't wanna know your name
You're running off at the mouth
I don't ever feel no shame
I'm not your dumping ground
I'm a man who's in the zone
You're wasting all my time
Why don't you just leave me alone

I'm sitting here, wondering what you want from me
It's calm inside, I'm doing fine, I'm a thousand light years away
In my own world, it's always light outside
I'm fine in here just living my own life - on my own

 

[Atom Bomb]

tight.

I likes it. I can find little wrong with it. Except maybe the bass. and it could very well be my speakers at work (which im sure it is) But i think the bass needs a bit of fattening up. But i need to check it agian from home.

Did you do all the multi backing vocals too?

Are those drums you or programmed stuff. They sound too perfect for a punk rock song? haha. I really like this Greg. Good job.

 

[Greg_L]

tight.

I likes it. I can find little wrong with it. Except maybe the bass. and it could very well be my speakers at work (which im sure it is) But i think the bass needs a bit of fattening up. But i need to check it agian from home.

Did you do all the multi backing vocals too?

Are those drums you or programmed stuff. They sound too perfect for a punk rock song? haha. I really like this Greg. Good job.

Thanks. Yeah the bass might be a little low. Check again please when you get on real speakers.

I did all the backing vocals. I did everything. And them drums are real drums really played by me.

 

[darrin_h2000]

You keep a fishing log?
Anyhow I guess it is pretty good for what it is...the Ramones meets Nirvana is the kind of thing I used to like I guess...if I had to say something Id say it seems a little over compressed compared the sex pistols...but it works for that sort of thing.

 

[Greg_L]

You keep a fishing log?
Anyhow I guess it is pretty good for what it is...the Ramones meets Nirvana is the kind of thing I used to like I guess...if I had to say something Id say it seems a little over compressed compared the sex pistols...but it works for that sort of thing.

Yeah I keep a fishing log. Most people that are good at fishing do. Tides, wind, water temp/clarity are all important if you wanna catch good fish.

Thanks for checking it out.

 

[WhiteStrat]

This made me laugh out loud! Not out of humor, but because it's so good! It's big and very tight! (Hmmm...)

Great arrangement with lots of interest and motion among the different parts. I'm only listening on headphones at work, but they're bass heavy, and the bass wasn't heavy on this one, so maybe it's a bit lacking. I'll check it again on monitors tonight at home.

 

[darrin_h2000]

No problem...

 

[jeffmaher]

Jeez you're good at this stuff.

 

[mattdee1]

Well done, very tight. That main riff makes the song.

Matt

 

[VomitHatSteve]

The drums sound really good. I was gonna assume they were a machine if you didn't say otherwise.

The lead vocals could probably stand to come up a bit towards the end. They sound like they fade a lot faster than everything else.
Otherwise, I've got no complaints.

 

[propman]

Good lord. Very good! Nothing at all wrong with this. Well I do agree that the bass does need to come up, but other than that it is just fine. No need to redo the vocals on this. They are great as they are. Nice job.

-Adam.

 

[LemonTree]

Tight as a nun's chuff!

I had so much to say about this but got sidetracked checking out your soundclick back catalog, some great versions of the pistols, iggy pop, the romones, the kinks and hank williams to name a few.

I think your no woman no cry was the last thing I had a good listen to a while back.

This one sounds a lot more polished! The drums as usual are a bit spectacular, lots of changes that keep the song interesting to the very end. I constantly find myself (with bottom lip out in the wind) wondering why I never get drummers anywhere near your calibre of playing to work with in my shitty little recording space.

The bass I agree with another poster is a little low till around 1:48ish where it starts poking through a bit more but even then I feel it could sound a little fatter if you could manage to do that and keep the midrange grunt it has you'd have a winning combination of great sounding drums and bass which, for me is the bread and butter of any recording.

Guitar tone sounds like a polished up combination of a lot your influences and totaly fits the song and sits well in the mix although they could be louder IMO.

As a bass player I say turn it up more to balance it with the energy from the drums. I've got a hunch that you push your drums to the front of your mixes because you consider them what you do best but to be honest, everything in this song sounds like it was played with an equal amount tallent.

Are your songs in order of how they were recorded on soundclick? Because I hear a definate improvement with the last hlaf dozen or more songs in the clarity of your mixes.

I had a question for you... post #90 in your sticky drum thread regarding the drums on a song I have floating around here in the clinic someplace.

Top marks!

 

[heatmiser]

Another fine weinerdog production!

So this is what you think about while fishing? Wow...I am never that productive. I love the wah craziness around 2:05 leading up to a little led zep-ish break a 2:15. Tons of tempo shifts and breaks and stuff. Sounds great...not sure what you think needs improving on the vocals...good job!

I always kept a detailed fishing log throughout the '90's...date, location, air temp, water temp, water clarity, wind direction and speed...whew! I built up quite a database. It really helped me to see patterns in fish behavior and locations and helped me to approach fishing more methodically and not just casting randomly hoping to hook up. Now I'm too lazy and just rely on my internal data base...as flawed as it is .

 

[Greg_L]

This made me laugh out loud! Not out of humor, but because it's so good! It's big and very tight! (Hmmm...)

Great arrangement with lots of interest and motion among the different parts. I'm only listening on headphones at work, but they're bass heavy, and the bass wasn't heavy on this one, so maybe it's a bit lacking. I'll check it again on monitors tonight at home.

Thanks dude. I appreciate the listen. New mix up top with better bass.

Jeez you're good at this stuff.

Haha, maybe this stuff, but not much else. Thanks.

Well done, very tight. That main riff makes the song.

Matt

Thanks dude.

 

[antichef]

Great! I have to listen with headphones, because Mrs. Chef wouldn't go for loud uptempo stuff right now (I used all my credits this weekend).

On the drums, do you do any punch-ins or anything? Mostly one take?

Where did you go fishing? -- If you wade out too far at San Luis Pass, you can wind up seriously on your own (way out at sea somewhere, that is), I've heard.

 

[Greg_L]

The drums sound really good. I was gonna assume they were a machine if you didn't say otherwise.

The lead vocals could probably stand to come up a bit towards the end. They sound like they fade a lot faster than everything else.
Otherwise, I've got no complaints.

Thanks for checking it out. I hear ya on the end vocals. They're subdued intentionally. Those "leave me alone" lines at the very end are a Johnny Thunders rip-off anyway.

Good lord. Very good! Nothing at all wrong with this. Well I do agree that the bass does need to come up, but other than that it is just fine. No need to redo the vocals on this. They are great as they are. Nice job.

-Adam.

Thanks Adam. I appreciate it. More bass up top.

Tight as a nun's chuff!

I had so much to say about this but got sidetracked checking out your soundclick back catalog, some great versions of the pistols, iggy pop, the romones, the kinks and hank williams to name a few.

I think your no woman no cry was the last thing I had a good listen to a while back.

This one sounds a lot more polished! The drums as usual are a bit spectacular, lots of changes that keep the song interesting to the very end. I constantly find myself (with bottom lip out in the wind) wondering why I never get drummers anywhere near your calibre of playing to work with in my shitty little recording space.

The bass I agree with another poster is a little low till around 1:48ish where it starts poking through a bit more but even then I feel it could sound a little fatter if you could manage to do that and keep the midrange grunt it has you'd have a winning combination of great sounding drums and bass which, for me is the bread and butter of any recording.

Guitar tone sounds like a polished up combination of a lot your influences and totaly fits the song and sits well in the mix although they could be louder IMO.

As a bass player I say turn it up more to balance it with the energy from the drums. I've got a hunch that you push your drums to the front of your mixes because you consider them what you do best but to be honest, everything in this song sounds like it was played with an equal amount tallent.

Are your songs in order of how they were recorded on soundclick? Because I hear a definate improvement with the last hlaf dozen or more songs in the clarity of your mixes.

I had a question for you... post #90 in your sticky drum thread regarding the drums on a song I have floating around here in the clinic someplace.

Top marks!

Wow thanks. The bass is distorted and midrangey so maybe that's why it got lost. I boosted it a bit in the new version up top. My soundclick page is missing a bunch of stuff for a CD coming soon, but yeah, it's pretty chronological from newest to oldest. I think "Paint it Black" is my oldest song on there. The stuff done before that isn't even postable.

I'll check out that question in that other thread.

Another fine weinerdog production!

So this is what you think about while fishing? Wow...I am never that productive. I love the wah craziness around 2:05 leading up to a little led zep-ish break a 2:15. Tons of tempo shifts and breaks and stuff. Sounds great...not sure what you think needs improving on the vocals...good job!

I always kept a detailed fishing log throughout the '90's...date, location, air temp, water temp, water clarity, wind direction and speed...whew! I built up quite a database. It really helped me to see patterns in fish behavior and locations and helped me to approach fishing more methodically and not just casting randomly hoping to hook up. Now I'm too lazy and just rely on my internal data base...as flawed as it is .

Thanks a lot man. Yeah, when you've spent as many quiet hours as I have sitting on the sand all alone in a daze waiting for that big ol fish to bite, you think about a lot of stuff. I can't even tell you how many drum parts I've written just tapping on my legs in my beach chair. I like catching fish, so I try to do everything in my power to make that happen. My logbook is the difference between a wasted trip to catch nothing, and a half-day trip limiting out. Aren't you in Houston somewhere? We should go fishing some time. The Bull Reds are on fire right now at High Island.

edit - nevermind. Got you confused with antichef, who coincidentally posted right after you!

 

[Greg_L]

Great! I have to listen with headphones, because Mrs. Chef wouldn't go for loud uptempo stuff right now (I used all my credits this weekend).

On the drums, do you do any punch-ins or anything? Mostly one take?

Where did you go fishing? -- If you wade out too far at San Luis Pass, you can wind up seriously on your own (way out at sea somewhere, that is), I've heard.

Thanks a lot antichef.

I'll do punch-ins sometimes if it fits. I usually just run it the whole way through and might punch in one measure or a fill here or there. I've heard of guys tracking drums in sections, and that just sounds like hell to me. It might not be the first take or the 20th, but I do eventually get my drum tracks done in one solid take. I hear some stuff in this one that could be helped with a punch in or two, but fuck it. It's only rock and roll.

Yeah I know about SLP. I fish there pretty regularly - on the Galveston side. The Freeport side is a mess. Ike really did a number on the pass, but I caught a few nice sharks there this summer.

 

[Sirnothingness]

Cool shit man. It's good to see you getting out of the cave for once.

 

[joeym]

lol@ someone asking you of all people if the drums are programmed....!
But that's only because they sound killer and you're so damn tight.
Great song, Greg, love that guitar riff when you're repeating "on my own". Top performance, great recording, no nits, lots of fun. Well done!

Joey

 

[Greg_L]

Cool shit man. It's good to see you getting out of the cave for once.

Lol for real!

lol@ someone asking you of all people if the drums are programmed....!
But that's only because they sound killer and you're so damn tight.
Great song, Greg, love that guitar riff when you're repeating "on my own". Top performance, great recording, no nits, lots of fun. Well done!

Joey

Thanks Joey. I appreciate it.