Are You Listening?

Armistice

Son of Yoda
No, that's the title of the tune, not a teaser about the Clinic, really... :)

Are You Listening?

Continuing my latest theme of simpler instrumentation and song structure, shorter length etc. Blame the Telecaster. :eek:

Any and all comments welcome. Thanks in advance...


Are You Listening?

You sad little fucker, alone in your room
Internet connection meets prophet of doom
You creep, you slink, you stay out of sight
You may not like it but you know that I’m right, aha

Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Can you hear me? Are you listening?

The rattle of the keyboard, the buzz in your head
People reacting to what you just said
Spitting the dummy, spitting abuse
Not one word is of the slightest use, yeah

Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Can you hear me? Are you listening?

You used to think you were breathing fire but it didn’t do a thing
Now it’s not about the thought, it’s all about the sting
You’re always happy to assist with your trolling and your rage
So long as somebody bangs their fist as they’re scrolling down the page
Unable to resist, you keep rattling their cage

All of that anger, all of that spite
It’s your favourite thing, you can eat it all night
Like a little kid who’s lost his toys
With a trembling lip you give us more of your noise

Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Can you hear me? Are you listening?
 
I like the sounds of all your instruments. What are you using for drums?

As for song structure, I think you could invest another 30 seconds in a bridge - you're just a hair over 3:00 so it wouldn't hurt. Just to break it up a bit.
 
I like the sounds of all your instruments. What are you using for drums?

As for song structure, I think you could invest another 30 seconds in a bridge - you're just a hair over 3:00 so it wouldn't hurt. Just to break it up a bit.

Thanks for the listen - the drums are Steven Slate Platinum 4. As far as the structure goes, this and a couple of other shorter tunes will be counterpoint for some of the other, longer tunes which will make their way eventually onto the planned album - trust me, there's no shortage of musical interludes and bridges in most of my other stuff... ;)
 
Thanks for the tip on drums ;)

...As far as the structure goes, this and a couple of other shorter tunes will be counterpoint for some of the other, longer tunes which will make their way eventually onto the planned album... ;)

Yes.. in the context of an album I can see it's place.
 
I like the guitars. I They sound nice. So do the drums. Especially nice snare sound. Guitars are really wide. I might nudge them a little bit toward the center.

Vocal is OK. But words are the ends of phrases get lost here and there. Maybe do a bit of fader riding. I think it's a mic technique thing.

Bass sound is pretty good. I might roll off some of the low-lows and then nudge up the level of the track. I think it would give the mix a little more low end overall without being rumbly.

Yeah them little internet rugrats get annoying.
 
Nice job, Armi. Guitars sound great, thats the tele and a Les Paul, correct?

Drums sound great, too. It's cool hearing the Slate drums, I use Superior and it's nice to hear the differences between the two, which doesn't sound like there's much. I got all of Slate's plugins and they're fantastic.

Overall, seems like the mix is a little mid-heavy, like 600-1.2k-ish, I think you could open the mix up a little more if you pulled a little of that out of the guitars. Taste thing though, still sounds really good. I heard few words or phrases here and there on the vocal that could maybe come up a tad, but nothing too serious. Sounds really good, nice job.
 
I like the guitars. I They sound nice. So do the drums. Especially nice snare sound. Guitars are really wide. I might nudge them a little bit toward the center.

Vocal is OK. But words are the ends of phrases get lost here and there. Maybe do a bit of fader riding. I think it's a mic technique thing.

Bass sound is pretty good. I might roll off some of the low-lows and then nudge up the level of the track. I think it would give the mix a little more low end overall without being rumbly.

Yeah them little internet rugrats get annoying.

Thanks Trip - I've moved the bass a bit as suggested - and definitely a mic technique problem - I have none! - although it could have been way worse - I was very aware of trying to keep the levels constant-ish and this one and was weaving at the mic like a punch drunk boxer in the end. So it's better than it could have been. I've gone back and done a little editing to push various syllables up. I may need to try compressing on the way in - my delivery just seems to be too dynamic - which, given it's not really dynamic at all, seems to be a problem I have yet to solve.
 
Nice job, Armi. Guitars sound great, thats the tele and a Les Paul, correct?

Drums sound great, too. It's cool hearing the Slate drums, I use Superior and it's nice to hear the differences between the two, which doesn't sound like there's much. I got all of Slate's plugins and they're fantastic.

Overall, seems like the mix is a little mid-heavy, like 600-1.2k-ish, I think you could open the mix up a little more if you pulled a little of that out of the guitars. Taste thing though, still sounds really good. I heard few words or phrases here and there on the vocal that could maybe come up a tad, but nothing too serious. Sounds really good, nice job.

Yeah - tele on one side and LP on the other - I'm sure you can tell which is which. I've done a bit of nudging on various words and some vocal envelope riding as well. And a bit more EQ carving on the guitars. Thanks for the ears! ;)
 
Love the song - IMO the snare can come forward a touch in the verses, along with the lead vocals. I'd even bring the backing vox forward a touch more. Great guitar sound, reminds me of the Byrds. Great bass sound.

Timbo
 
Love the song - IMO the snare can come forward a touch in the verses, along with the lead vocals. I'd even bring the backing vox forward a touch more. Great guitar sound, reminds me of the Byrds. Great bass sound.

Timbo

Thanks Timbo - I'm going to do final tweaks on the weekend - I listened to it again yesterday via my phone as I was walking to work and I agree on the backing vocals, at least! :D
 
Sounds good to me. Funny, but the one thing I noticed straight away was that the guitars come in a half step before the rest of the rhythm in spots, like 1:08. On the last bar there, the kick matches them, but not before that. Odd thing to notice, I know, but that's where my ears went.

did you get some new equipment, and that's why your writing is a bit different now? What's with the "latest theme", as you put it?
 
Kind of has that Tom Petty feel. The version I heard sounded good. Not sure if you incorporated any of the comments.

There is something to be said for simple. I have nothing from my end.
 
Sounds good to me. Funny, but the one thing I noticed straight away was that the guitars come in a half step before the rest of the rhythm in spots, like 1:08. On the last bar there, the kick matches them, but not before that. Odd thing to notice, I know, but that's where my ears went.

did you get some new equipment, and that's why your writing is a bit different now? What's with the "latest theme", as you put it?

Hi andrush - the new equipment was a Telecaster - I just found myself playing a completely different way - simpler, more direct. New guitars will do that to you. It's why we should all buy them all the time... ;) I'm afraid I have no idea what you're referring to a 1:08 - I can hear anything different there from anywhere else, or anything out of time, and there's a kick on beat 1 of every bar there when the riff is being played, albeit what happens for the rest of the bar varies a little - but not weirdly so.

---------- Update ----------

Kind of has that Tom Petty feel. The version I heard sounded good. Not sure if you incorporated any of the comments.

There is something to be said for simple. I have nothing from my end.

Thanks for the listen DM.:D
 
I really dig the tune Armi! :)

Drums sound a bit distant. I myself feel the guitar is quite a bit out front, the kick is buried and the vocals are really dry.

Just some thoughts from my personal peanut gallery. lol!
 
I really dig the tune Armi! :)

Drums sound a bit distant. I myself feel the guitar is quite a bit out front, the kick is buried and the vocals are really dry.

Just some thoughts from my personal peanut gallery. lol!

Thanks Jimmy - I always appreciate your ears and viewpoint! I've done a few more tweaks along the lines you pointed out. I seem to have gone from overdoing reverb on vocals to underdoing it, these days. Who'd a thought?:eek:
 
I'm afraid I have no idea what you're referring to a 1:08 - I can hear anything different there from anywhere else, or anything out of time

Yeah, it's there. I listened again. Compare the drums, note for note, from the 1:08 to 1:17. I'd have to write it out in notation or something to tell you precisely where it is, but there's a kick that's not being hit the first few passes through, while the guitars play as if it is there. Then, at 1:17, you actually do the kick hit.

It's not on the 1... it's more toward the end of the bar, not beginning. The musical part right before "can you hear me". You hit the cymbal, suggesting there'd be a kick hit, but there isn't one. And the guitars aren't playing in the same beat as the cymbal (that's missing a kick). But, as I said, it's there at 1:17. The first time it happens is actually right as it hits 1:05.

Here's another way of saying it. The resolving chord, I think it's Em, is where the kick is missing, and a cymbal sometimes appears. Directly before the lyrics. You'll hear it.
 
Yeah, it's there. I listened again. Compare the drums, note for note, from the 1:08 to 1:17. I'd have to write it out in notation or something to tell you precisely where it is, but there's a kick that's not being hit the first few passes through, while the guitars play as if it is there. Then, at 1:17, you actually do the kick hit.

It's not on the 1... it's more toward the end of the bar, not beginning. The musical part right before "can you hear me". You hit the cymbal, suggesting there'd be a kick hit, but there isn't one. And the guitars aren't playing in the same beat as the cymbal (that's missing a kick). But, as I said, it's there at 1:17. The first time it happens is actually right as it hits 1:05.

Here's another way of saying it. The resolving chord, I think it's Em, is where the kick is missing, and a cymbal sometimes appears. Directly before the lyrics. You'll hear it.

By cymbal you mean crash, right? There are cymbals going on everywhere. There's one crash on the 1 before "can you..." and two, two bars later, the first on the 1, before "are you..." and the second of those two crashes does not have a kick underneath it first time through. Intentionally.

The crash is playing to the guitar, not the kick. And the kick is not playing to the guitar, but to the general rhythm of the song at that point.

Second time through there is a kick under the Em/crash. Which is a build from the first time through where there wasn't one. The second crash was a late add, so I don't remember particularly assessing the kick situation underneath at the time - I get what you're saying, and I could easily "fix" it, except I don't think it's broken. I think it works just fine. So I'm not going to.

Cheers.:drunk:
 
I think the guitars sound fantastic....really nice bright jangle that fits the song well. Vocal sounds good too. Drums are a little low in the mix for my taste...but others might think they are just right. Just a matter of personal preference there.
Nice tune man!
 
I think the guitars sound fantastic....really nice bright jangle that fits the song well. Vocal sounds good too. Drums are a little low in the mix for my taste...but others might think they are just right. Just a matter of personal preference there.
Nice tune man!

Thanks jimi - I'm happy with the drum level on this one. That'd make an interesting thread for discussion somewhere else, because people's preferences are so varied on drum level.
 
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