My Steve McQueen Song

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TripleM

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So I guess Sheryl Crow has a Steve McQueen song. I wrote this one 2-3 years ago as the band I was in was breaking up. We rehearsed it a few times but that was it.

A former bandmate emailed me a while back with a link to Sheryl Crow's web site saying only, "At least you and I know you wrote a Steve McQueen song first." So I thought I'd record it. It's called I'm No Steve McQueen:

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/?aid=1436/singles

It's a song about the well cultivated myth that when it comes to women, all men care about is T&A. Women on the other hand care about "more substantial things" in a relationship. What a bunch of horsecrap. Ever see Cameron Diaz dating a Melvin? Did Jennifer Anniston marry Brad Pitt for "more substantial" reasons? Doubtful.

In high school the hottest girls usually dated the quarterback types. Either that or they dated the science nerd because they wanted a good grade on their project. I was always the guy stuck in the middle. That's what the song is about.

I don't know what Sheryl Crow's is about. But it will probably get more airplay. :)
 
nice vox, and I like the subject matter.. I don't know who 'Steve McQueen' is though..

it sounds like a bad mp3 conversion or something, because the drums have that screwed up sound..

I like the guitar!

the mix sounds pretty good for the most part, except the drums sound weird.. I usually always like your harmonies, and these were great..

seemed hard to make out the words for some reason.. maybe the vocal could be crisper or something? not sure..

overall, a strong pop song..


-------------



I was pretty cool in high school and always got a lot of girls..

It wasn't until later on that I turned into a crumb bumb! :D
 
Thanks Sam. It's not a bad MP3 conversion, the drums are really like that. It's a weird pattern on the kick that I liked for a while, but now I'm not so sure. I don't know if I want to change them at this point or not.

Glad you liked the harmonies and guits (I got a new amp).

Steve McQueen was an actor that died about 25 years ago. I always thought he was cool and had a great combination of looks, "tough guy-ness", and brains. And he was married for a while to Ali McGraw, who was a very hot chick... and an actress.
 
interesting coincidence w/ the song subject matter............good song......nice job
 
very upbeat easy feel to this..

my head is bouncing!....man u can fit a ton of words in every verse...im pretty sure you use about 5 songs worth of phrases in each one of these!..harmonies yeah you know...no need..lol
not that im one of those guys who narrows down the song to certain frequencies im not that at all...but i love the ride cymbal sound on this...there i said it. the little guitar hook in the begining is very catchy. nice job on that.You need to post the lyrics to this so i can fully enjoy it...stings like .."lysterine".?...is that right..lol...nice.



very cool my man.
jamal
 
Hey man... what was your recording set up, again? Then I could put comments in context.... (i.e. extreme right-wing drum comments :D)

Bass seems to get in and out of the groove a bit... good harmonies... you must stick the ol crotch in a vise, apply pressure, and then ya can hit that 8th octave stuff ;)

I'd love to help ya kick this up a notch or two... maybe some recording chain specifics/cables (lengths) / mixers/ pres/ instruments... etc. Hook us up (with info) :)


Chad
 
your singing is getting better each time. a lot of your harmonies are very tight in here. and high! between this and your christmas tune, you got some solid vocal work done.

guitar sounds better too.

drums sound real rough. the bass drum sounds like a sample playing in reverse or something.

I'm echoing participant's request for a gear breakdown. I think you could get a much better sound overall but i'm guessing you're going to need to spend some money to get there.
 
Toki - thank you. Bouncy is good.

Powderfinger - thank you as well.

Bucket-head - sorry Mr. Bucket-head. Yeah I was kind of calling out those words like an auctioneer. I should stop using so many words and then I can come up with 5 times as many songs right? :) Thanks for the guitar hook comment. I sort of like it too, but I'm not crazy about the tone. It's Listerine - the mouthwash. I'll post lyrics as a followup post (when the thread needs bumping again :D).

AxeMan - thank you for listening.

participant - always insightful comments. See below for the chain... Let me know if I've left anything out. I'd love your help.

eric - I'd love your help too. Maybe if the crowd thinks the song is worth it, you would be my session drummer? Also see below for the recording chain...

Guitar mic - SM57
Vocal mic - Oktava MK-319
XLR cable length - about 20 ft
Mixer - Mackie 1202 vlz
Soundcard - soundblaster (can't remember the model and I'm at work so I can't look it up)
Cakewalk HomeStudio

Am I missing something?

Another big thanks to everyone for your thoughts, time, and help.
 
Lyrics

Here are the words...

Nod your head if you've heard this, but I can't figure women out
You say the wrong word and you're through
Tough guy, nice guy, in between, yeah they don't make 'em like Steve McQueen.
So what's a guy like me supposed to do?
Trouble is with women, least as far as I can see it, is nothing seems to be what it seems
My baby wants a guy who can read you esoteric poetry then tell you just exactly what it means
The kind of Poindexter who... got A's in every course
The kind of guy who'll die and leave behind a genius corpse
In and out and through the seams, why couldn't I be Steve McQueen?
I think I'm gonna die if I have to be the guy she needs. Because...

CHORUS
I'm no Steve McQueen
But I certainly would have dated Ali McGraw
It's time that I come clean
Steve was always a little quicker on his draw
Her smile stings like Listerine
And I'll never be another Steve McQueen

Sorry Jack. No sale. Now she wants a big dumb muscle head. She's had enough of Frost and Keats
My baby wants a guy who can rip out fire-hydrants with his teeth and other sorts of strong-man feats
The kind of guy who just might... die from a heart attack
Yeah the kind of guy who has... cholesterol off the map
Somebody help me out 'cause all is fair in turnabout
And I think I'll probably die if I have to be who she needs. You see...

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I found no matter how I gather my thoughts up, I'll never have enough to hide
I found a thousand mile journey to nowhere begins with the very first stride
Everything I believe is designed to deceive
It's runnin' through me like a sieve and it's the only way I'm livin' because

CHORUS
 
Hi TripleM,

A really nice pop song. The melody is strong and late sixties inspired like the overall sound, which I'm sure is intentional since Steve McQueen was ruling in that period (yes, I'm old enough to remember the bloke :D).

A few short notes on the performance and production:

The guitar playing (both lead and rythm) is a bit un-even at times.

There is something about the lead vocal that makes the words difficult to distinguish. Maybe the rythm guitar is to dry or the vocal to wet - but it does seem as if there's some kind of disproportion here.

It's all a matter of taste of course, but I'd definitely put the vocal more up front - it's a great performance. The choir sounds much more well placed in the mix.

Your voice in general has a special carefree, happy Mike Mills-ish touch to it that I like a lot. I'm always in a good mood after listening to yuor stuff :) :).

Thanks for sharing...

Erik
 
TripleM said:
participant - always insightful comments. See below for the chain... Let me know if I've left anything out. I'd love your help.

Guitar mic - SM57
Vocal mic - Oktava MK-319
XLR cable length - about 20 ft
Mixer - Mackie 1202 vlz
Soundcard - soundblaster (can't remember the model and I'm at work so I can't look it up)
Cakewalk HomeStudio

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Are the drums a VST instrument? Where are those coming from? Can Cakewalk run VST drumsets? IMO this info would help :)
 
Eric O. - glad you liked the song. I'm working on the recording and mixing problems. But I think I'm getting better with each attempt. There was one small glitch with the rhy guit and bass. I thought I was going to get away without anyone commenting. :)

participant - I'm a bit lost on terminology (e.g., what's a VST instrument?). If it's ok, I'll PM you with questions so as to conceal my ignorance and not annoyingly bump the thread. Thanks.
 
Hey Trip....
Cool Homage..... Steve was a god to all of us aspiring manly men:D I agree w/ the drum comments above, they are the weakest link here, but it sounds like you know that. Nice harmonies and vocs. They sound a bit squeezed and cloudy, but the performance shines through brightly. Nicely written pop man. I like alot!


g


btw: nice lyrics!!

......yeah, Ali was hot!
:)
 
TripleM said:

eric - I'd love your help too. Maybe if the crowd thinks the song is worth it, you would be my session drummer? Also see below for the recording chain...
Click to expand...

sure i can help, as discussed in our pm's a while back. beware of my timeframes though. Just ask Lt. Bob. Life tends to get in the way a lot for me right now. my priorities are pretty much 1. everything else. 2. music. i'm pretty sure that when i win the lotto music can then slide closer to the top

seems like that soundblaster card might be a bit of a bottleneck if it's an older version.

and to answer participant's question, yes you can run VST's in Cakewalk (at least you can in Sonar), you just need a DX-VST wrapper. they cost about 50-60 bucks. but, there are plenty of drum sample options available in the DX world as well.

and there's always drum loops too!
 
Catchy tune. I like the tune a lot. The harmonies are a high spot and I like the guitar hook. The mix is kinda muddy and is that latency problems with the drums?
This is a song you should keep working on. I think it needs some more work but it's getting there and it has an awful lot of potential.
 
Wait a minute... DirectX??

erichenryus said:
and to answer participant's question, yes you can run VST's in Cakewalk (at least you can in Sonar), you just need a DX-VST wrapper. they cost about 50-60 bucks. but, there are plenty of drum sample options available in the DX world as well.
Click to expand...
http://www.drumagog.com/

If you're DirectX, Trip, give THAT a shot :)
 
TripleM said:
P.S., you're a drum nazi :D:D:D
Click to expand...



ooooo uncoooooooool




I'm listening on PC speakers at the moment. Hey I like this tune a lot...nice job. It is weird how the drums sounds sorta washed out though. There are also some timing issues with the guitar and drums. The guitar ideas are very strong and you should consider re-tracking...this song is well worth the effort!

The vocals and writing are excellent....what a fantastic vibe here!!!! Seriously... Nice job...

And I don't have a frigging clue who Steve is either, but I'm no Styeve McQueen either I guess... :)
 
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