Why must my mono songs become converted to "stereo" on cd

[JordanD]

Every person on the planet is "one album away from changing the world," but no one's done it yet although a handful may have made an impact.

But here's a question you might answer: how is your music going to change the world if you purposely make it so hideous that very few people will even listen to it all the way through one time?

It seems to me that you're creating music with a built-in excuse for failure. I think you know how bad it is but you'd rather make bad music that you know is bad than attempt to make good music that others might say is bad. The former you can laugh off as a gag but the latter might be emotionally devastatingm, especially to one as self-obsessed as you. And don't tell me you don't care what others think; you wouldn't be posting here if that were true. So I think that's it in a nutshell: you're afraid to attempt making good music and what you're doing isn't clever, insightful, or even original as there are way more bad musicians than good; in fact, it's probably cowardly more than anything.

So I'll ask again, how is your music going to change the world if you purposely make it so hideous that very few people will even listen to it all the way through one time?

who ever said i was trying to make bad music? all i've said is i've laid my soul all out on this album, and wanted to make something very human and real, just like me. you got me all wrong. out of the 13 albums i made, this one is my favorite because it was all me! but thanks for being respectable, some people i cant believe just yell and scream and attack me, and then they say i have an ego or what have you, but i dont at all. thats what i like about the album,i've been broken down and stripped of all my ego a long time ago, and how can someone hear the album(though i doubt a lot of these people have), and then claim im some self absorbed pompous guy, i dont care if i die right now, i'd love to.

 

[JordanD]

i will say that you guys have fired me up to make a pretty perfect pop album! and i'll thank you when its done. the more i get told im bad(and you arent the fist people to criticize my work) the more i may get sad and depressed, but i channel it and work harder and harder to prove myself. i've been listening to a lot of pavorotti and working on my voice and writing timeless songs.

 

[RAMI]

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............................

 

[XLR]

Haven't seen a thread like this in a while.

I listented to a couple of the OP's tracks. Familiar kind of sound. When I was a kid my brother used to record himself singing... making up lyrics to go along with instrumentals on the radio and recording it with a cassette and toy mic. These sound kind of like that.

...if you replace a single mono speaker with dual mono speakers...

Yep, a mono recording sounds different on a single speaker than on two. But this thread is the wrong place to be serious.

 

[Dogman]

 

[RAMI]

Ok, this is worth the risk of getting laughed at. And maybe I'm being played, but when someone says this...

i dont care if i die right now, i'd love to.

...because of something I said, I can't help but feel like shit and apologize. JORDAN, you seem to have a good heart, if you're for real. I'm sorry if what you said is really how I made you feel.


Just a hint....more on a professional, rather than personal level: Let others say how great you are. Saying it yourself only increases expectations, which in turn increases other people's disappointment if it doesn't live up to the hype YOU created. Let the music speak for itself.If it's that good, it will find an audience.

 

[JTC111]

who ever said i was trying to make bad music?

I did. You're going out of your way to make BAD... no, REALLY BAD music. Your goal isn't to be a musician; your goal is to be a misunderstood musician. You trying to create a persona whereby you can claim to be some kind of musical genius who (and read this next part in the whiniest voice you can muster) goes unrecognized in his talent because his abilities are so far above what passes for music amongst the plebs these days that the ordinary citizenry cannot comprehend it.

all i've said is i've laid my soul all out on this album,

As thousands before you have. So what makes your soul any more valuable than anyone else's? Laying your soul out on an album isn't a new idea and it's no guarantee that the music will be better than the album of someone who didn't lay their soul out.

some people i cant believe just yell and scream and attack me,

That's because you come here and waste people's time. You should try to express your soul in some other way ...housepainting perhaps.

how can someone hear the album(though i doubt a lot of these people have), and then claim im some self absorbed pompous guy

Get used to people not hearing it. I got through about 20 bars of one song before I clicked "stop." Then, to give you a fair shake, I listened to the beginnings of a few others. It never got any better. Unless you limit your audience to people who have some emotional attachment to you, you're not going to get many people to listen to that noise. There goes your revolution.

 

[reklus]

I did. You're going out of your way to make BAD... no, REALLY BAD music.

Get used to people not hearing it. I got through about 20 bars of one song before I clicked "stop." Then, to give you a fair shake, I listened to the beginnings of a few others. It never got any better. Unless you limit your audience to people who have some emotional attachment to you, you're not going to get many people to listen to that noise. There goes your revolution.

http://reklus.nfshost.com/audio/Reklus (2002)/19 Track 19.wma

This is my most unlistenable song. It is painful at even low volumes. I've given at least one person a mild stroke with this piece. I hate that I'm so attached to it, but I know that my attempts at alienation of my potential audience were deliberate, rather than lacking an understanding of what pop was or worse yet that understanding and desire coupled with a complete lack of ability.

So it is safe to say I appreciate fully "noise" and experimental music. I can't make it through one of Jordan's songs without thinking "this is the most uninspired shit I've ever heard" of course, until the next track comes on.

If you really want to alienate your audience, there is a better way to piss people off than seeming to be 6.

You could, for example make a mostly noise album and include tracks that are inspired by the muppets

http://reklus.nfshost.com/audio/Reklus (2002)/03 Track 3.wma

or even include on a mostly experimental electronic noise album a techno track that happily references cheesy pop culture

http://reklus.nfshost.com/audio/Reklus (2002)/02 Track 2.wma

(in this case - sling blade, bing crosby, david bowie, ron jeremy, cello work from that datejesus.com guy and dirty sex with hermaphrodites)

See, that's what I call crap with a function.

What Jordan's done is to crap paintballs on a canvas because he saw some exhibition in some art show and thinks if he repeats the steps then he's made the same statement and the same art.

This is weak. Why I am involved?

Huh, maybe his intention was this the whole time.

If that is the case, then well frigging done.

 

[Bguzaldo]

I find it real sad that i've posted over 3 threads looking for some real answers to some of the question i have about recording and i get 2 good replies from people that care, but everyone else would rather people bitch at each other for 9 pages on some random thread. That's not what this is about guys.

 

[WhiteStrat]

I find it real sad that i've posted over 3 threads looking for some real answers to some of the question i have about recording and i get 2 good replies from people that care, but everyone else would rather people bitch at each other for 9 pages on some random thread. That's not what this is about guys.

Don't take it personally, but for the sake of diversion, yeah this is what's is about. The interstate's supposed to be about getting me to work on time. But throw in one little accident and you'd think it was a demolition derby and all the other suckers in their cars are stuck being the audience.

This thread's just our equivalent of a traffic jam that forms to see the wreckage.

 

[superspit]

Don't take it personally, but for the sake of diversion, yeah this is what's is about. The interstate's supposed to be about getting me to work on time. But throw in one little accident and you'd think it was a demolition derby and all the other suckers in their cars are stuck being the audience.

This thread's just our equivalent of a traffic jam that forms to see the wreckage.

you're a good man WS.

 

[Bguzaldo]

Don't take it personally, but for the sake of diversion, yeah this is what's is about. The interstate's supposed to be about getting me to work on time. But throw in one little accident and you'd think it was a demolition derby and all the other suckers in their cars are stuck being the audience.

This thread's just our equivalent of a traffic jam that forms to see the wreckage.

Hahaha, thank you for restoring my faith in this forum sir.

 

[WhiteStrat]

Hahaha, thank you for restoring my faith in this forum sir.

No problem. Welcome! There's tons to learn here so hang in there. In the meantime, watch the wrecks but try not to become one!

 

[superspit]

the golden queen was in the place
a blade of grass against the suns rays
the queen will speak her dreams
clouds will come to the sea
have a parade
boys on the stage
drink lemonade
wings on a snake
the ruling world will crash to the ground
people die wont be making a sound
who can save our dreams
i depend on the queen
have a parade
play on the stage
creating our games
love the snake

its actually c,um to the sea, but *** is edited

actually whatever...I still like this very much.....

 

[TerraMortim]

so i finished my album(its a 20 track album i did in two in weeks on the 4 track that sounds like my white album). so im excited for people to hear it, but whenever i try to burn it onto cd, it takes my beautiful mono mixes and the songs get split up into two channels. i think it hurts the sound. Is there anything i can do? is it really affecting the sound, or is it in my head.


jameson - brain castbloodheavenwarloverocker.zip - 69.16MB

that is a link to download the whole album!

here is the tracklisting

1. 01.Jameson - Soul Strut(dont knock) (3:15)
2. 02.Jameson - Gold Queen (2:53)
3. 03.Jameson - Fanny Lee (3:13)
4. 04.Jameson - Devil Man (6:47)
5. 05.Jameson - Who Will Listen (3:51)
6. 06.Jameson - I Want a Love (5:57)
7. 07.Jameson - Sleep Little Angel (4:58)
8. 08.Jameson - Sunset (2:13)
9. 09.Jameson - Moonlight Traveler (4:20)
10. 10.Jameson - Red White and Blue (3:58)
11. 11.Jameson - The War is Over(helicopter fighter) (4:21)
12. 12.Jameson - Freeway of your Life (4:04)
13. 13.Jameson - Rocker (4:14)
14. 14.Jameson - Never Gonna be a Star (3:40)
15. 15.Jameson - It was Always you (4:37)
16. 16.Jameson - China Girl (2:28)
17. 17.Jameson - Telly (3:15)
18. 18.Jameson - Its not Easy (4:07)
19. 19.Jameson - River Mountain (3:40)
20. 20.Jameson - Know Everything (Who Will Listen Reprise) (3:54)

give it a chance!

Because it says so in the bible. Thou shalt not be mono, for the penalty of mono is death.

 

[JordanD]

Huh, maybe his intention was this the whole time.

If that is the case, then well frigging done.

we are definitely cut from different clothes. although, i've made albums in many different styles and genres, and your tracks remind me(just because they sound like fruityloops beats) of my one off electronic space opera album "the travels of 542"(although, i used to be known as a beat master when i was a kid(actually, before bromo-dragonfly changed my brain pathways, its pretty much all i did, and i thought it was something, but its nothing at all, and listening to your beats, im a bit upset you'd call me uninspired because im a whole other level than you, so to think i'd want to be you makes me twisty. you seem to be driven by pop culture, which i make absolutely no thought of and dont think it belongs in soul music whatsoever. and your music is just queer. not only am i not you, i seriously dislike you more than anyone whos sent words my way(i dont dislike any of them except you, the others seem wise and think what they are saying is for the best, their hearts are in the right place), just because of your attitude. you need to take bromo-dragonfly everyday for 3 months, then work three years on music in a broad shapeless way. the pieces you are attatched to, sound like what my girlfriends make when they want to play around on fruity loops and just randomly drag in drums. you are disgusting

here are some tracks from the travels of 542, every song is a part of the story, and im sure you'd all like it!


11.travels of 542 - fixing the world.mp3 - 2.24MB

1.travels of 542 - voyage.mp3 - 12.68MB

2.travels of 542 - crash landing.mp3 - 15.71MB

12.travels of 542 - 542 theme.mp3 - 3.44MB

8.travels of 542 - death daywar.mp3 - 6.86MB

5.travels of 542 - thought reading rebel.mp3 - 2.05MB




if you guys want, i'll post this whole album. the story would make a good movie, so i've been working on a screenplay.

 

[JTC111]

This is my most unlistenable song. It is painful at even low volumes. I've given at least one person a mild stroke with this piece.

And there, Jordan, lies the difference. Every songwriter has written some really bad songs, myself included. The key is to recognize when something is really bad and shelve it quickly. Any audience that might be interested in hearing your music is going to be quickly diminished if you start forcing bad music down their ear canals.

This notion that some sizable audience is going to be interested because you've "laid your soul out," is platitudinal nonsense. Have anyone make a list of their favorite songs and you're going to find that the majority of them are favorites because the listener can relate the song to their own lives in some way. Sure, some songs will make the list because the melody is striking or there's something admirable in the performance or the song was playing at some significant time, but most will be there because the listener makes some connection between the song and their own lives.

Another important aspect of songwriting is to look at your lyrics with a critical eye. Sometimes, we're so impressed with something we write that we fail to see the contradictions we've created. I'll use your song, "Gold Queen," as an example since someone conveniently posted the lyrics for me.

the golden queen was in the place
a blade of grass against the suns rays
the queen will speak her dreams
clouds will come to the sea
have a parade
boys on the stage
drink lemonade
wings on a snake
the ruling world will crash to the ground
people die wont be making a sound
who can save our dreams
i depend on the queen
have a parade
play on the stage
creating our games
love the snake

You say "the ruling world will crash to the ground," but then three lines later you say. "I depend on the queen." Wouldn't a queen be part of a ruling class? It certainly sounds conflicted. Of course, it could just be poor choices of metaphor...

For example, you introduce the queen with a grass metaphor that's ambiguous. I don't know if calling her "a blade of grass against the sun's rays" is positive or negative. I don't know what it's supposed to represent because you leave the metaphor behind as quickly as you introduce it. Your metaphors lack the details that give a listener insight into what you're trying to say. In truth, the lyrics to that song read like a string of unconnected, undeveloped metaphors. There's no theme; there's no sensible construct.

If you're going to use metaphors, try not to jump around so much. Connect the metaphors together in some way that brings cohesion and understanding. I'll use one of my own songs as an example:

Show Me a Path

Chorus:
Make me a hole, show me a path
Give me a place to start
I’ll walk this maze through the hurt that has passed
And somehow I’ll find your heart

I’ve got a compass, a map, and desire
And moonlight enough to see
I’ve got one bright star to guide me
Through the thicket, through the trees

I’ve got boots, good for walking
On this ground softened by tears
This wood has known some heartache
And my heart has known some fear

Chorus

Sometimes the road lay hidden
The undergrowth fools my eyes
Getting darker as I go deeper
But I have to believe this is right

And if it’s right my faith will guide me
And my hope will calm my fear
And my love will push me onward
Until I find you near

Bridge:
And when the light comes through the trees
And the man in the moon, he smiles
He knows no one can rescue me
Not after all these miles

Someday there’ll be time for reflecting
But not while there’s road ahead
If I rest right here that star might disappear
So I push on instead

Chorus

Although it may seem like there are more, the song really only has two metaphors: the forest and the moon. All the other things ...the maze, the light, the soft ground, etc... all are part of the forest metaphor, therefore connected.

Songwriting is a craft. It's no different than learning to paint, to sculpt, to design houses, etc. It's something that needs to be developed over time. Mistakes will be made and must be made and recognized if the artist is going to progress and become better at it.

I'll end this with an appropriate metaphor: just because a painter has 50 tubes of color in his box, it doesn't mean he should be using 50 colors in every painting.

 

[JordanD]

jtc, i appreciate your criticism and helpful words. but i think your songs words sound too much like those acoustic christian worship guys who play on the religon channel, unless one of those guys are you! in the gold queen, the ruling world doesnt crash to the ground til the instrumental part that illustrates war and then it crashes! but its actually something else, i think the best songs are ones that could mean many things!

what do you think of this new song i wrote? wait til you hear the album, its coming out in 7 days!

oh princess sleep in the willows where the air doesn't care
and your room was old like the ghost that lives in the stairs
the wind used to blow when the birds would sing your name
the sun would glow as the gods beamed with pain, to take from your veins
blood pools in the secrets that your smile wont hide
only a kiss from a prince could flow through a stream
on a wooden boat in the stars, where angels fly in our dreams
lucifer is lost in the woods of the earth, so why don't we try
i kept a journal of thoughts I've hid from the world
but i'll show them to you because i know you are true
untainted by the ill of the peoples will, your heart is new
with no scar tissue to wound the pride, that lives in your eyes
you see clear as the watery tears that fall by my side
because you never wondered or wandered far from your soul
a light will glow the brightest when everything is quiet
and nothing is stirring inside your home of silence
If you died I swear to god I would come up and rip you from the clutches of heaven
you can't hide once your name comes up on the loom of fate

 

[JordanD]

i thinkwe all have too much ego. what would a flower sound like singing? how would it compose a song and what would it be about. were humans. i wonder if there are animals that sing in the deepest part of the ocean, or even what would god sing!

 

[JTC111]

jtc, i appreciate your criticism and helpful words. but i think your songs words sound too much like those acoustic christian worship guys who play on the religon channel, unless one of those guys are you!

Thus you reinforce my point. I'm an athiest and that song had no religious context nor connotation. However, the fact that someone might read that into it isn't a bad thing, in fact, just the opposite. If I've left enough wiggle room for others to connect to a song on a totally different plane than I intended, that's the mark of a good song.

Words have many meanings and as a songwriter, it's imperative that you are open to that concept. If you're going to narrowly define the tools of your craft, you'll never get better at it.

As for your new lyrics, they're just more unconnected metaphoric ramblings. I wouldn't be surprised if you invented them as you were typing that post. At this point in your songwriting journey, your ego is miles ahead of your ability.