Code Name Neanderthal - new prehistoric poop by Greg!

[Greg_L]

Knocked this out over the weekend. My first serious recording with a new amp. Still haven't figured it all out yet, but I think I like the way this came out so far. Check it and let me know what you think. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever.

Code Name Neanderthal



Code Name Neanderthal

I am caveman
I've got my club firmly in hand
I'm dragging women by the hair across the sand
I'm gonna populate this earth yeah that's my plan
I am the ruler of the land
I am caveman

I can't be stopped
I bodyslammed a triceratops
I ride my hot rod T Rex up and down my block
I'll bash your fucking head in with a rock
I'm always coming out on top
I can't be stopped

Code name Neanderthal
I do my paintings on my walls
Code name Neanderthal
I am the man that started it all

Up in the sky
A blinding light and everything will die
But I will evolve I will survive!
I'll make a new society and it will thrive
The father of the humans
I'm alive

Code name Neanderthal
I do my paintings on my walls
Code name Neanderthal
I am the father of you all

 

[cropleyb]

I like the lyrics. (I'm not into metal, but it sounds good for that
)
I had to look up wikipedia to check on whether Neanderthals are our ancestors:
"Genetic evidence published in 2010 suggests that Neanderthals contributed to the DNA of anatomically modern humans, probably through interbreeding between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago with the population of anatomically modern humans who had recently migrated from Africa. According to the study, by the time that population began dispersing across Eurasia, Neanderthals genes constituted as much as 1–4% of its genome."

HTH,
Bruce

 

[Mr Clean]

Very nice. Nice tight playing, great drums and the guitar sound is great. I'd like a little more volume on the vocal personally so they cut a little more above the backing, but despite that I can still hear them OK so it's no big deal. Great song, I really enjoyed it. On my 3rd listen and treating the neighbours to this

 

[propman]

Judging by the boorish way that waveform was slammed into submission, I'd say this song is likely autobiographical.
Oh, Greg . . . You never cease.

Seriously, though, good job! Although, Some of the lyrics seem a bit . . . forced,
like you thought up the name and hurried to pen the rest of it. Everything else of yours
that I've heard had a cleverness to it that made me laugh in an uninterrupted stream until the outro.
(Or, was your drumming the cause of that? . . . Nudge, nudge!) Other than that, it's classic Greg!

 

[Greg_L]

I like the lyrics. (I'm not into metal, but it sounds good for that
)
I had to look up wikipedia to check on whether Neanderthals are our ancestors:
"Genetic evidence published in 2010 suggests that Neanderthals contributed to the DNA of anatomically modern humans, probably through interbreeding between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago with the population of anatomically modern humans who had recently migrated from Africa. According to the study, by the time that population began dispersing across Eurasia, Neanderthals genes constituted as much as 1–4% of its genome."

HTH,
Bruce

Cool, so it's at least partially historically accurate. Punk rock that educates! Although I don't think Neanderthal man and dinosaurs coexisted. It's just a funny image to me.

Very nice. Nice tight playing, great drums and the guitar sound is great. I'd like a little more volume on the vocal personally so they cut a little more above the backing, but despite that I can still hear them OK so it's no big deal. Great song, I really enjoyed it. On my 3rd listen and treating the neighbours to this

Thanks man. Vocal level is always a fine line to me. I don't treat the vocals as anything other than another instrument, so I generally mix them that way. They're no more important than the snare or a guitar track to me. I typically don't want them to sit on top of the mix. I like them in the mix like everything else. But since that's where the stupid words are, and that's what people tend to focus on, the vocals have to be up enough to be understood. So I try to walk the line between not giving the vocals any special attention in the mix, but have them be up enough to be intelligible.

Judging by the boorish way that waveform was slammed into submission, I'd say this song is likely autobiographical.
Oh, Greg . . . You never cease.

Seriously, though, good job! Although, Some of the lyrics seem a bit . . . forced,
like you thought up the name and hurried to pen the rest of it. Everything else of yours
that I've heard had a cleverness to it that made me laugh in an uninterrupted stream until the outro.
(Or, was your drumming the cause of that? . . . Nudge, nudge!) Other than that, it's classic Greg!

Thanks for listening. That's pretty much how I write everything. It's certainly not forced though. I typically keep whatever lyrics fall out of my head and go with it. I don't care if it's good or stupid. I'm more concerned with just making the song on the whole rock the fuck out. Lyrics are a necessary evil. Having said that, I actually like what I came up with for this one. I know my stuff isn't palatable for everyone.

 

[Lt. Bob]

more gergicity!

Nice!

I too found the vox a little back in the mix. I get where you're coming from but they do seem like they could be ever so slightly louder ..... not much though.
Also (can't believe I'm commenting on this) mix seems a little heavy towards the right side.

Sounds great ...... which is normal in gergopolis!

 

[queepy]

Yep...awesome as always.....like the dynamic at around 1:45...guitars sound great...are you using that Mosirite type guitar you picked up recently? Great job man!

 

[propman]

Thanks for listening. That's pretty much how I write everything. It's certainly not forced though. I typically keep whatever lyrics fall out of my head and go with it. I don't care if it's good or stupid. I'm more concerned with just making the song on the whole rock the fuck out. Lyrics are a necessary evil. Having said that, I actually like what I came up with for this one. I know my stuff isn't palatable for everyone.

I don't know . . . Maybe it's just my snob-ish nature surfacing against my will but the rhyming of land/sand/hand/man/etc. just seemed a bit too obvious to me. That wasn't a big deal, though, but then came "I'll bash your fucking head in with a rock." For some reason, that line struck me as particularly . . . simplistic and a bit juvenile. Of course, the guy you're writing from the perspective of is the first human being running on basic animal instincts so maybe that's actually perfect. Eh, it'll probably grow on me. Until then, just call me a pompous dictionary fucker who doesn't know how to rock.

P.S. I really do hope I'm not coming off like a dick. I mean, you did invite me to tell you "what [I thought]. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever."

 

[Greg_L]

more gergicity!

Nice!

I too found the vox a little back in the mix. I get where you're coming from but they do seem like they could be ever so slightly louder ..... not much though.
Also (can't believe I'm commenting on this) mix seems a little heavy towards the right side.

Sounds great ...... which is normal in gergopolis!

Thanks Boob! I'm not getting any imbalance. There shouldn't be any at all really, but I'm also very used to hearing this thing by now, so maybe there is. One way I check for stuff like that is to do everything like normal and listen on headphones, but I put them on backwards so left is right, and vice versa. If it still sounds pretty even, then I'm good with it. With the exception of little things that are deliberately panned a certain way, this one seems to pass the test to me. If anything, it seems to me that the left rhythm guitar "cuts" a little better than the right rhythm, which seems to make sense since that track was done through the Vintage 30s, and those fuckers cut like crazy. As for the vocals, there's certainly room to bring em up, and I'll probably do that later today with a new mix. Thanks again!

Yep...awesome as always.....like the dynamic at around 1:45...guitars sound great...are you using that Mosirite type guitar you picked up recently? Great job man!

Thanks queepy. No, the Hallmark Mosrite clone didn't make it's way onto this one. This is all Les Paul and the Marshall JVM410.

I don't know . . . Maybe it's just my snob-ish nature surfacing against my will but the rhyming of land/sand/hand/man/etc. just seemed a bit too obvious to me. That wasn't a big deal, though, but then came "I'll bash your fucking head in with a rock." For some reason, that line struck me as particularly . . . simplistic and a bit juvenile. Of course, the guy you're writing from the perspective of is the first human being running on basic animal instincts so maybe that's actually perfect. Eh, it'll probably grow on me. Until then, just call me a pompous dictionary fucker who doesn't know how to rock.

P.S. I really do hope I'm not coming off like a dick. I mean, you did invite me to tell you "what [I thought]. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever."

No, I get what you're saying and I don't think you're coming off as a dick. I think maybe you expect too much from me, and cave men in general. Obviously, the majority of the lyrics in this song are juvenile and stupid. That's how I roll. I enjoy it. I'm not into deep thoughtful lyrical content. It's a song about being a Neanderthal. Lol. They were basically ape men. The dude bodyslammed a triceratops! Our hero in the song proudly swings a club, he drags women around by the hair, fights dinosaurs, cruises around his hood on a souped up version of one of the most fearsome predators ever, survives an extinction event, so it only makes sense that he'd bash someone's head in with a rock. What do you expect? He's a cave man.

 

[propman]

No, I get what you're saying and I don't think you're coming off as a dick. I think maybe you expect too much from me, and cave men in general. Obviously, the majority of the lyrics in this song are juvenile and stupid. That's how I roll. I enjoy it. I'm not into deep thoughtful lyrical content. It's a song about being a Neanderthal. Lol. They were basically ape men. The dude bodyslammed a triceratops! Our hero in the song proudly swings a club, he drags women around by the hair, fights dinosaurs, cruises around his hood on a souped up version of one of the most fearsome predators ever, survives an extinction event, so it only makes sense that he'd bash someone's head in with a rock. What do you expect? He's a cave man.

OK, cool. Fair enough but "Lol," Greg? Have you no shame? Oh well, as long as you don't put it in a lyric...

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Don't boost the vocals. That just makes the band sound quiet, and I know you don't want that. Sounded great to me. (Had to post when I saw the word "prehistoric".)

 

[PoeticIntensity]

Wow, dude... Sounds amazing, as always. Your cymbals don't sound washy at all now... Have you done anything to your treatment and / or kit to help that? They sound crisp, albeit a bit back in the mix, but definitely not washy.

The thing that impressed me most about this is your songwriting, and melodies. The "woah-oooh-oh!" and the notes you chose for those just popped. Loved em'. The musical (for lack of a better word) playfulness had me grinning. Guitars sounded awesome - even the weird effect on the one in the middle... and then entrance of the fast "chugga-chuggas" right after that... Yeah... As always, I'm impressed, dude.

I sometimes wonder if I could get your music to sound the way it does if I tracked it. (I've already tried mixing some of your stuff, and definitely sounded different)

I still have a long way to go, bro. Thanks for the music, dude. You've been at this quite a while now - and you're still rockin'. You inspire me.

 

[Greg_L]

Don't boost the vocals. That just makes the band sound quiet, and I know you don't want that. Sounded great to me. (Had to post when I saw the word "prehistoric".)

Cool, a vote for leave the vocals alone. Thanks.

Wow, dude... Sounds amazing, as always. Your cymbals don't sound washy at all now... Have you done anything to your treatment and / or kit to help that? They sound crisp, albeit a bit back in the mix, but definitely not washy.

The thing that impressed me most about this is your songwriting, and melodies. The "woah-oooh-oh!" and the notes you chose for those just popped. Loved em'. The musical (for lack of a better word) playfulness had me grinning. Guitars sounded awesome - even the weird effect on the one in the middle... and then entrance of the fast "chugga-chuggas" right after that... Yeah... As always, I'm impressed, dude.

I sometimes wonder if I could get your music to sound the way it does if I tracked it. (I've already tried mixing some of your stuff, and definitely sounded different)

I still have a long way to go, bro. Thanks for the music, dude. You've been at this quite a while now - and you're still rockin'. You inspire me.

Wow, thanks a lot. I've never inspired anyone before....that I know of or they'd admit to. I appreciate that, as I felt the same way when I first got here and started recording by myself digitally. I remember a few regulars back then, most are long gone, but Rami in particular was one that convinced me that I could get good results in my modest home studio.

The cymbals - I've been using a spaced pair OH setup for a while now. That washiness used to happen sometimes with the Recorderman setup. I lowered the cymbals a little and put the OH in a spaced pair config and all seems well. I drew an imaginary line through the center of the snare and the beater spot on the kick and that became my dividing line between left and right. I then trial-and-error'd my way through mic placement for L and R. What I'm going with now is the L OH pretty much dead above the hi-hat, and the R OH off to my right pointing down over my first floor tom. Both mics around 48" from the snare center. I get good stereo image, good sound, and no phasing. But I also got a new mic set (Audix DP7) that I haven't used yet, so that will probably all change. I'm finishing up 3 or 4 songs with the old mics for the next album.

The "weird effect" on the middle guitar in that break down section is actually the bass through a Tube Screamer and an EVH Phase 90.

If my stuff sounds a certain way, that's just because it's my way. My way is the right way because it's my music and my way is the only way, but I'm sure you or someone else could track me just fine. I don't do anything special. I just try to stay with the basics and start with good sounds. For example, the guitars have NO EQ whatsoever. No processing. It's just guitar/amp/cab/SM57. That's it. Could someone else do better? I'm sure, but I like the guitars for this song. I could probably track everything at your place and it won't sound the same. If I used different drums, bass, and guitars, it would sound different. I make things sound the way I want them to sound. If I just played and left everything up to someone else, I'm sure it would sound pretty different. I'd still play the same way, but it would naturally have to sound different.

 

[dainbramage]

This put a huge smile on my face, awesome stuff. Very solid performance and hilarious lyrics. Your new Marshall sounds fantastic.

 

[propman]

I've never inspired anyone before....that I know of or they'd admit to.

I doubt that's true. In fact, I know it isn't. You are an inspiration. You're great at what you do and you don't let anybody get in the way of your vision(s).
You're an inspiration to me and hopefully anybody on this board who has any semblance of artistic individuality!

 

[Greg_L]

This put a huge smile on my face, awesome stuff. Very solid performance and hilarious lyrics. Your new Marshall sounds fantastic.

Cool, thanks a lot!

I doubt that's true. In fact, I know it isn't. You are an inspiration. You're great at what you do and you don't let anybody get in the way of your vision(s).
You're an inspiration to me and hopefully anybody on this board who has any semblance of artistic individuality!

Well that's very nice, thank you.

 

[Mr Clean]

I'm just back for another listen. Got this and RAMI's new tune stuck in my brain today!

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Sounds pretty good.

I could hear that "imbalance" that Bob mentioned a bit near the beginning. The opening "chicka chicka" on the guitar is obviously panned pretty far, and once the rest came in, the right sounded a bit bassier (like your rhythm guitars leaned right and the leads leaned left). That being said, I think that's fine.

Solid mix. And it sounds like your songwriting is getting more complex (melodically)!

 

[Greg_L]

I'm just back for another listen. Got this and RAMI's new tune stuck in my brain today!

Cool, thanks. Be careful though, this shit will rot your brain.

Sounds pretty good.

I could hear that "imbalance" that Bob mentioned a bit near the beginning. The opening "chicka chicka" on the guitar is obviously panned pretty far, and once the rest came in, the right sounded a bit bassier (like your rhythm guitars leaned right and the leads leaned left). That being said, I think that's fine.

Solid mix. And it sounds like your songwriting is getting more complex (melodically)!

Awesome, thanks. The lead is panned about 25-30% left, as I typically do with lead tracks. Both rhythms are 100% to each side. The left rhythm is a bit brighter - I think partially by how I played that track and the speaker (Vintage 30) I used. That track has more actual open chords involving all of the strings, haha. Vintage 30's are a pretty upper-mid heavy speaker. It should and does sound brighter. The right rhythm is a warmer speaker (Greenback) and it's all powerchords midway up the neck, so it naturally should have a fatter sound. Volume wise, there should be no imbalance. I guess it's a tonal imbalance that yall are hearing. But shouldn't it lean left if that's the case? I dunno, whatever. I'm so used to it that I don't notice it much. I hear each track have it's moments popping in and out, but I can't hear any serious imbalance. I suppose I need to get away from it for a bit. I like the sound though, for now. I could make a breakthrough a month down the line and re-do all of this.

 

[Dogman]

I too found the vox a little back in the mix. I get where you're coming from but they do seem like they could be ever so slightly louder ..... not much though.

Yeah, personally, I could use a bit more of the vocal....not a ton, but it's a bit quieter than some of your tunes. But, whatevah....