1986

[heatmiser]

Hey. Just messing around and chopped up a couple of brief sections of Funkadelic's "Can You Get to That", looped them, added FX and then added a bunch of new instruments, lyrics and vocals - essentially creating a new song. Just trying some new things in the absence of a drum kit.

Probably not cool for fans of the original to hear it used this way, but not really too much worse than covering something without permission, is it? I dunno...I welcome opinions on that. How's the mix? Vocals might be too loud and/or too hot..?

It's about a particular night back in 1986 where I temporarily lost my mind for a few hours...

 

[Greg_L]

Haha pretty cool. I've had many many nights like that myself. It's been a while though. I'm a good boy now. I think it sounds great. I like all the layers of stuff and they don't knock each other around at all. Well done.

 

[dobro]

New Heat song up, yo.

'We both took one you told me I should take two'. Nice.

Pretty much close to in the bag, no? Nothing caught in my filter on the first listen through. Trying two now (ha ha, get it?)... no, I just notice the good things on a second listen. I think you're in on this one. It's very cool how this sounds like nothing other than a Heat song. Good work.

 

[fat_fleet]

Nice...big fan of all three Funkadelic albums with the original lineup. There's a Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy cover of this floating around that just came out. Perhaps you've heard it. Which wah pedal do you use? I like a lot of your wah work...it sounds, uh, different from mine. I guess they all have their distinctive sound. I like the disparity created by such a harrowing story being related over such a relaxed and languid musical backdrop. Is the bass all from the sample? I don't think the original goes up and has that little fill, does it? Not too much in the way of nits. Somehow all the components fit together nicely.

My first time was a couple years later in 1988. I was a counselor at a summer camp and they paid for all the guy counselors to have a "night out" at a Crosby Stills and Nash concert (not my choice and they were not good then at all). But anyways, my friend and I indulged and, while we were out, the girl counselors pranked the guys' dorm and moved all the bunks around and threw cooked spaghetti everywhere, forming a squishy maze we all had to crawl through to get inside. It was like they knew! Anyways, not the most exciting story, but I had a good time. Or rather time had me.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I duno how you do it man, but you do.
Loved this!

 

[heatmiser]

Haha pretty cool. I've had many many nights like that myself. It's been a while though. I'm a good boy now. I think it sounds great. I like all the layers of stuff and they don't knock each other around at all. Well done.

Thanks Greg. Yeah, I more or less behave myself these days, but was pretty out there as a teen.

I often had bad experiences with drugs when I first tried them, but I didn't give up! I probably should've exercised that same tenacity in other facets of my life, but oh well...

New Heat song up, yo.

'We both took one you told me I should take two'. Nice.

Pretty much close to in the bag, no? Nothing caught in my filter on the first listen through. Trying two now (ha ha, get it?)... no, I just notice the good things on a second listen. I think you're in on this one. It's very cool how this sounds like nothing other than a Heat song. Good work.

Thanks dobro. I liked that line too. I was at a dead show with this German exchange student friend, and after an hour or so, nothing seemed to be happening...he suggested I try another (I think there was a language barrier thing going on). "Really?"...I was scared, but if he was gonna do it...

So, I took a 2nd one and then asked him if he was going to, and he was like, "hell no!". The next 4 or 5 hours were incredibly strange and uncomfortable.

I duno how you do it man, but you do.
Loved this!

That's great Steen...glad you enjoyed it!

On an odd note - Last night, once I had the final mix, I tried to burn a "master" CD using the built in CD burner in my Roland, but I kept getting disc errors . So, I took two 1/4" -> RCA cables and ran the main outs from the Roland into the CDR inputs on an old Sony CD recorder and had to use the tiny little record level knob on the Sony to set the final master level, then record it in real time.

That kind of sucked...the VU meters on the CD recorder told me very little...I wound up trying to get it to Peak as close to the red as possible without ever hitting red, but I don't think that meter functions the same as the master volume within a digital multitracker (?)...I guess it worked ok though. Much easier burning the disc within the Roland!

 

[heatmiser]

Nice...big fan of all three Funkadelic albums with the original lineup. There's a Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy cover of this floating around that just came out. Perhaps you've heard it. Which wah pedal do you use? I like a lot of your wah work...it sounds, uh, different from mine. I guess they all have their distinctive sound. I like the disparity created by such a harrowing story being related over such a relaxed and languid musical backdrop. Is the bass all from the sample? I don't think the original goes up and has that little fill, does it? Not too much in the way of nits. Somehow all the components fit together nicely.

My first time was a couple years later in 1988. I was a counselor at a summer camp and they paid for all the guy counselors to have a "night out" at a Crosby Stills and Nash concert (not my choice and they were not good then at all). But anyways, my friend and I indulged and, while we were out, the girl counselors pranked the guys' dorm and moved all the bunks around and threw cooked spaghetti everywhere, forming a squishy maze we all had to crawl through to get inside. It was like they knew! Anyways, not the most exciting story, but I had a good time. Or rather time had me.

Cool - thanks ff! I haven't heard that cover and will have to check it out.

I use a standard cry baby wah from maybe the early '90's? I often pair it with a RAT pedal with very mild gain settings. It sounds like complete ass solo, but in a mix it works ok.

The bass is all me playing bass.The first 8 seconds of my track is the repeating basis for the whole thing and is lifted from the intro of their song. The bass is almost non-existent in their intro, but I heard ghost notes in there or something and played what I thought fit. The breaks are all one shorter sample from even earlier in their intro looped twice. I compressed the hell out of the sample and drenched it in verb plus some lo-fi bit-crushing processor.

I would think a squishy maze would be disturbing!

 

[fritsthegirl]

This is just another AWESOME tune Heat, I actually spotted it and listened to it first thing yesterday morning when I was uploading my own tune to soundcloud. Loved it, it's one of my favourites already. My heart rate drops immediately when I hear one of your tunes, they're always so languid and mellow. Love the guitar interludes, and is that Greg's favourite instrument (kazoo?) at the end? Great combo of sounds, playing and singing. Can't lay the praise on thick enough, I just really love your stuff.

The lyrics are great. I had a bad trip once, when I was taking magic mushrooms in Wales. When this nasty shit kicked in, the devil appeared in the campfire and gave me all the reasons why I would one day join him in his burning tunnel of hell. I did not find this particularly relaxing. He went on about it for AGES as well, I was like, come on already, I'm not THAT bad.

 

[rayc]

I shan't relate my excesses as I'm having a respectable 6 months!
The music - well, if you nicked some you disguised really well and added a heap of creativity on top.
The song is cool, the playing is cool, the mix is cool and, well, it's cool. I'm going back for more soon.

 

[jiff 41]

Sorry I'm late Heat, you done it again, although I've never heard the funkadelics so I don't know how far removed this is from the original,but I do know I think this is brilliant as has been said in all the other comments.
You're not far off an absolutely great album!,,, I think it's all got so much character, which is all you (all the heat songs are unmistakinly individual!) I don't understand why you think the vocals are too hot/loud, not that it matters but I think they are just fine!
I'm really enjoying my learning curve here, there's loads of great stuff to be heard, although I sometimes wish the standard was a little lower for those of us that can't yet turn out efforts like you boys do!

And Fritz was it the devil or a DRAGON you saw,coz we've still gottem here, although they are known as Rugby coaches nowadays!

Keep up the great work HEAT & can't wait for the next one! (you should think about an album!!) if only for me!

 

[robgreen]

Pete, this is a stormer, I love how you built what you did out of a short sample. I didn't know the original - in fact I don't think I know any Funkadelic - but I just found it on youtube and really enjoyed it, so I'll have to find more by them.

I really liked your melody, especially where it breaks out from the meter on the "I feel like I'm gonna die line"

One thing I picked up on though was that I felt the loop was too long in the breakdown sections - for me, if it was a bar shorter then it would punch into the next verse much better. As it is, I feel like it's stretching the loop a bit too far. I listened quite a few times to make sure this was what I thought and my opinion didn't change.

Regarding the uncleared sample, I wouldn't worry too much - the internet's full of cover versions and youtube full of uploads of actual copyrighted individuals. Unless it goes viral, you're fine - I read recently about the Harlem Shake being a home recording with nothing serious intended for it, and as such the guy hadn't cleared the samples. The craze then spread and suddenly he had a lawsuit on his hands. Incredible

Love this song of yours though - always cool to hear people trying new things and working new ways

 

[heatmiser]

This is just another AWESOME tune Heat, I actually spotted it and listened to it first thing yesterday morning when I was uploading my own tune to soundcloud. Loved it, it's one of my favourites already. My heart rate drops immediately when I hear one of your tunes, they're always so languid and mellow. Love the guitar interludes, and is that Greg's favourite instrument (kazoo?) at the end? Great combo of sounds, playing and singing. Can't lay the praise on thick enough, I just really love your stuff.

The lyrics are great. I had a bad trip once, when I was taking magic mushrooms in Wales. When this nasty shit kicked in, the devil appeared in the campfire and gave me all the reasons why I would one day join him in his burning tunnel of hell. I did not find this particularly relaxing. He went on about it for AGES as well, I was like, come on already, I'm not THAT bad.

That's very nice...thank you!

Yes, there's a kazoo playing somewhat quietly at the end of each verse, plus the beginning and end of the track.

Wow. That sounds like a truly horrible experience...mine were never so specific, just a lot of general anxiety I guess.

There was this one time I was out late dosed with this odd dude who was kind of unstable...nice, but really odd, you know? Anyway, we were cutting through a graveyard, and he turns to me and all serious like says, "you ever think about the creepy people who hang out in cemeteries at night" - his dark face with a crazy-ass expression up close to me and silhouetted by moonlight.

I was like, "no, I haven't" - thinking to myself that I'm standing next to one right now.

I told him I was tired and was gonna go home and crash (which was absurd given the state we were in). He was all bummed out, but I split, went home and listened to music and stared at my hand for hours or whatever.

The next time I saw him he was like, "Dude, the other night...when you said you were going to bed...I went to your house and looked through the window and you kept hanging out...you didn't go to bed". Shit! I did my best never to speak with him again.

I shan't relate my excesses as I'm having a respectable 6 months!
The music - well, if you nicked some you disguised really well and added a heap of creativity on top.
The song is cool, the playing is cool, the mix is cool and, well, it's cool. I'm going back for more soon.

Yeah, I nicked some. I confess. It's a fun beat to play over though and I like to think that George Clinton wouldn't mind of it's just done in fun.

Thank you for listening ray and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[heatmiser]

Sorry I'm late Heat, you done it again, although I've never heard the funkadelics so I don't know how far removed this is from the original,but I do know I think this is brilliant as has been said in all the other comments.
You're not far off an absolutely great album!,,, I think it's all got so much character, which is all you (all the heat songs are unmistakinly individual!) I don't understand why you think the vocals are too hot/loud, not that it matters but I think they are just fine!
I'm really enjoying my learning curve here, there's loads of great stuff to be heard, although I sometimes wish the standard was a little lower for those of us that can't yet turn out efforts like you boys do!

And Fritz was it the devil or a DRAGON you saw,coz we've still gottem here, although they are known as Rugby coaches nowadays!

Keep up the great work HEAT & can't wait for the next one! (you should think about an album!!) if only for me!

You're not late at all dude - I practically just put the song up. Thanks for checking in and for the kind words. It's pretty far from the original which is kind of a lo-fi, gospel-tinged, slow, funky motown-ish number.

I don't see an album in my future. I did a little research and it sounded costly and like a lot of work. I you wanted just a CDR of some tunes you can PM your address and I'd gladly send you something. I've done it for a few other people. Thanks again!

Pete, this is a stormer, I love how you built what you did out of a short sample. I didn't know the original - in fact I don't think I know any Funkadelic - but I just found it on youtube and really enjoyed it, so I'll have to find more by them.

I really liked your melody, especially where it breaks out from the meter on the "I feel like I'm gonna die line"

One thing I picked up on though was that I felt the loop was too long in the breakdown sections - for me, if it was a bar shorter then it would punch into the next verse much better. As it is, I feel like it's stretching the loop a bit too far. I listened quite a few times to make sure this was what I thought and my opinion didn't change.

Regarding the uncleared sample, I wouldn't worry too much - the internet's full of cover versions and youtube full of uploads of actual copyrighted individuals. Unless it goes viral, you're fine - I read recently about the Harlem Shake being a home recording with nothing serious intended for it, and as such the guy hadn't cleared the samples. The craze then spread and suddenly he had a lawsuit on his hands. Incredible

Love this song of yours though - always cool to hear people trying new things and working new ways

Yeah, I think you'd like some of their stuff. You should check it out.

Damn. I think you're right about the breaks. I can hear it now too damn you.

We went through this with inertia where you showed me what the chopped version sounded like. It was the right call arrangement-wise as I think this one is, but I still can't get past the idea of just cutting entire sections of a song. It always sounds like everything is misaligned for a micro second at the cut point. I may try it though because I'm pretty sure you're right that one loop is better than 2 there.

Thanks for listening rob.

 

[robgreen]

Damn. I think you're right about the breaks. I can hear it now too damn you.

We went through this with inertia where you showed me what the chopped version sounded like. It was the right call arrangement-wise as I think this one is, but I still can't get past the idea of just cutting entire sections of a song. It always sounds like everything is misaligned for a micro second at the cut point. I may try it though because I'm pretty sure you're right that one loop is better than 2 there.

Thanks for listening rob.

Yeah, sorry about that Pete

If you want me to give a 'slice and dice' a go on those sections, then just let me know.

 

[dobro]

Second listen: backing v's can come up. Right now, they're getting swallowed by everything else. Maybe some parallel comp on 'em too? Maybe some distortion? Maybe less space on 'em? I wanna hear 'em more. Whatcha think?

This observation should in no way be construed as constituting pressure on or manipulation of the artist in any sense of the word.

 

[heatmiser]

Yeah, sorry about that Pete

If you want me to give a 'slice and dice' a go on those sections, then just let me know.

Thanks rob. I read it back and it seemed like I was serious...I wasn't - just to be clear .

I can do it...I have some points still marked where the looping actually occurs, but that doesn't help the sudden change in the guitars, you know?

I could probably get it relatively transparent to the listener, but I would notice!

Second listen: backing v's can come up. Right now, they're getting swallowed by everything else. Maybe some parallel comp on 'em too? Maybe some distortion? Maybe less space on 'em? I wanna hear 'em more. Whatcha think?

This observation should in no way be construed as constituting pressure on or manipulation of the artist in any sense of the word.

You are correct. The BGVs are buried.

Frankly, they just aren't that good. I used to excel at ooohs and aaahs, but I seem to be getting progressively worse?

This was a delicate balance between making them just loud enough to be barely audible, but not loud enough that you could actually hear the performance. Lame, I know, but I was flying through this one. I'm trying to up the pace and increase production!

Good ideas from both of you though - thanks!!

 

[PDP]

Yup, great work, great groove, needs nothing.

Really enjoyable.

 

[dobro]

This was a delicate balance between making them just loud enough to be barely audible, but not loud enough that you could actually hear the performance.

Working hard not to be heard is not exactly the most positive production value you could aspire to.

Joshin'

 

[heatmiser]

Yup, great work, great groove, needs nothing.

Really enjoyable.

That's awesome. Thanks PDP!

Working hard not to be heard is not exactly the most positive production value you could aspire to.

Joshin'

Ca c'est vrai.

 

[Magnawolf]

Quality stuff like always man.