Music for the purpose of dancing

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chuckduffy

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This is a track I did a couple weeks ago, insprired in part by kcearl. I was trying to recapture the sound of the 80s new-wave style synth pop shit I used to do when it was both the 80s and new.... I realize I am pushing the living shit out of the bass on this - but interested to see if I can pull it off.

Dropbox 320 kbps mp3
Last Years Model Dropbox

Here's the vid with 320 kbps AAC. Let me say, pre-emptively that I don't give a rat's ass about views on my videos, I'm not click harvesting and I've been actively participating in the forum for a year :-). I'm adding the vid as food for thought that there is no reason a properly encoded lo-res youtube video has to sound any worse than my mp3s.....

 
Wow that's really pretty good. I like the trem guitar. Bass sounds fine to me. Good song too, not too long, got lots of stuff in it, well done. :)
 
Cool hybrid - the drum machine sounds and synth mixed with the bass & guitar really work.
the vox & voices off are cool too.
Speaking of evil clowns: where's ours?
I miss heard a lyric as "it's takes the skin of an artist". I quite like the misshear but the original lyric is quite well done too.
Congrats!
 
rayc said:
Cool hybrid - the drum machine sounds and synth mixed with the bass & guitar really work.
the vox & voices off are cool too.
Speaking of evil clowns: where's ours?
I miss heard a lyric as "it's takes the skin of an artist". I quite like the misshear but the original lyric is quite well done too.
Congrats!
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I've been wondering where he is...... I like his stuff and it kept reminding me that I used to do a lot of synth stuff when I was a teenager. I like your mishear too Ray, and thanks for checking it out :-)
 
Greg_L said:
Wow that's really pretty good. I like the trem guitar. Bass sounds fine to me. Good song too, not too long, got lots of stuff in it, well done. :)
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Thanks for checking it out Greg. The guitar is my Les through the Ampeg Jet with trem and verb on and miked with an AT4033. I love that combo. I've been playing the Gretsch way more this year, but still love my Les. I was getting a little scared cause I thought it was going to hit the 3 minute mark, but I managed to reign it in :-)
 
chuckduffy said:
Thanks for checking it out Greg. The guitar is my Les through the Ampeg Jet with trem and verb on and miked with an AT4033. I love that combo. I've been playing the Gretsch way more this year, but still love my Les. I was getting a little scared cause I thought it was going to hit the 3 minute mark, but I managed to reign it in :-)
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Real guitar, mindful of the song length. Double win in my book. :D
 
That was cool. I liked it.

I liked the bass right where it was myself. Guitar sounds great.

I really like the higher vocal parts that begin around 1:42. Reminded me of a talking heads kind of sound. I think that range right in there is where your voice really shines. You sing in lower registers a lot, but when you're up in that area there something happens to your voice that really works for me on this and other tracks.

Video is simple, but fun, and it fits the song well. Cool.
 
Hey Heat - how's it goin man! Thanks for the nice comments. I know what you mean about the upper range. It's a confidence thing. It's very rare that I actually feel comfortable belting in that range and I really wish I could do it more. I mean my lower register is basically just me 'talking'. Talking heads are always a good solid unit in my book. My favorite album of theirs is Fear Of Music. Don't know if you know it. I've listened to that approximately 1,000,000 times.
 
Oh yeah, I love that one. I have the CD and the cassette!

Everything up through Speaking in Tongues was big with me and my friends growing up.
 
They toured downunder between the 1st n 2nd albums so those two have a speial place with me. More Songs About Buildings & Food certainly upped the geek quotient but what a set of songs!
 
I think this mix works well. Very smooth but crisp and defined. I like the layered sounds between the verses and the plucky bass sound.
Definitely reminds me of the 80s. Good job! I'm fond of the first half of Remain In Light. :)
 
fat_fleet said:
I think this mix works well. Very smooth but crisp and defined. I like the layered sounds between the verses and the plucky bass sound.
Definitely reminds me of the 80s. Good job! I'm fond of the first half of Remain In Light. :)
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Thanks fat_fleet. I was gonna mention most of the layered sounds that sound like synths aren't really synths. They are a mix of audio clips from the 50s the sci fi movie Forbidden Planet and a kids toy. The bass is my mexi J-Bass through a peavey VMP2 tube pre. Yes I said peavey - for whatever reason they decided to make a relatively inexpensive dual channel tube/transformer pre back in the late 90s.
 
I always find it funny how the Talking Heads were lumped into the NY punk scene. Yeah they fit right in with the Ramones, NY Dolls, Dead Boys, The Dictators, and the Heartbreakers. :laughings:
 
Greg_L said:
I always find it funny how the Talking Heads were lumped into the NY punk scene. Yeah they fit right in with the Ramones, NY Dolls, Dead Boys, The Dictators, and the Heartbreakers. :laughings:
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Yeah but so was Blondie...and the five bands you listed don't sound much like each other either (though I don't know much about the Dictators). People just lump those CBGB bands together.
 
fat_fleet said:
Yeah but so was Blondie...and the five bands you listed don't sound much like each other either (though I don't know much about the Dictators). People just lump those CBGB bands together.
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Right, I agree, but those bands are rock and roll bands. Even Blondie started out as a rock band before they went soft and disco. I like the Talking Heads, but don't really consider them rock and roll. But that's why the NY punk scene lasted and was successful. It had diversity and it wasn't a cartoon like the brit scene.
 
chuckduffy said:
I was gonna mention most of the layered sounds that sound like synths aren't really synths. They are a mix of audio clips from the 50s the sci fi movie Forbidden Planet and a kids toy.
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Yeah I didn't really think they sounded like synths but wasn't sure what they were...Kids toys can make some awesome sounds and I've wanted to use them before, but now that we have an infant in the house I want to throw all of ours out the window.... especially the one that says "Let's shpin in the sea!!" over and over again and a kid's voice that sounds like he's having a stroke and half his face is numb. :)
 
Greg_L said:
Right, I agree, but those bands are rock and roll bands. Even Blondie started out as a rock band before they went soft and disco. I like the Talking Heads, but don't really consider them rock and roll. But that's why the NY punk scene lasted and was successful. It had diversity and it wasn't a cartoon like the brit scene.
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Yeah, rock and roll in general has always been an American art. Not to be nationalistic or whatever, but the British Invasion was mostly brits aping American blues guys, and NY did probably have the most varied early punk scene. I'd definitely call TH a R&R band though, for lack of a better term. At least they started out as one. Their first couple albums are pretty raw compared to other things that were happening at the time. I only like certain things by them, but whatever. It's funny, they met at RISD in my home state, so we're always laying claims to them. But so does NY, and I have a cousin from Maryland and I guess David Byrne was born there and a lot of True Stories was shot there too, and he says that Maryland is always claiming Byrne and TH as theirs too, so I know there are at least 3 states laying claims to Talking Heads. Kinda funny. They should go to war over it.
 
Greg_L said:
I always find it funny how the Talking Heads were lumped into the NY punk scene. Yeah they fit right in with the Ramones, NY Dolls, Dead Boys, The Dictators, and the Heartbreakers. :laughings:
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I love all those bands, and the Talking heads. I think they got lumped in because they were from NY and the time period. To me early talking heads were an 'art school' band, not even remotely punk. I know out of my friends, none of us had any shame in mixing an album like Fear of Music or Remain in the Light with our circle jerks or fear or kennedys or what have you. Back then it was pretty much Top 40/Hair Metal versus everything else. Shit we even listend to Depeche Mode and the Cure with straight faces :-)
 
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