Hi Folks.
Had not posted anything new for a while as my "brand new" daughter
kept me quite entertained and occupied past few weeks. Things are settling, giving me a little time for my music hobby. Finally, here is my new tune. Lyrics are a bit hairy, and definitely need a haircut. I will probably re-record vocals at some point. Critical comments are always welcomed!!! Thank you for listening! Misha.

Naked Mermaids


Lyrics:

Sweet surrender to night
Yesterday's coffee slept on the table
There's no time for regrets or cries
my wooden boat set for long sailing.
Rocky shore disappears from sight,
Only lonely seagull soaring in air
Taste of salt on the tip of the tongue,
Dying sun's blinding flare.

Thoughts are naked mermaids driving me mad.
Poseidon shaking heavy grey head.

Waves are tumbling ancient basalt,
yesterdays photos fading in albums
There's no strength to pick the fights
or stand still like heraldic totems.
Names and places disappear with time,
only lonely star keep on shinning.
Orphan words froze on the tongue,
seagull still flying.


Thoughts are naked mermaids driving me mad.
Poseidon shaking heavy grey head.

Like a mother with prodigal sons,
water embraces bearded sailors.
Singing gently sad lullabies-
sad lullabies rocking the cradle.
And new morning was born
as a creature roaring and crying.
Taste of salt on the tip of the tongue,
seagull still flying

Thoughts are naked mermaids driving me mad.
Poseidon shaking heavy grey head.

tech stuff:
BIAB:
700: Bass, electric
2692: Organ, Rhythm
RealDrums = BossaBrazilAlex
2933: Guitar, Acoustic, Rhytm
2763:Piano, Acoustic,Rhytm
3081: Guitar, Resonator
3048: Accordion, Rhythm TangoMusette

Kontakt: I played some background keys / programmed some hand drums. Mixed in Cakewalk.

Misha,

This works SO well!!

Nice RT choices. The slap acoustic - perfect. The accordion - perfect!

Cool write.
"Thoughts are naked mermaids driving me mad.
Poseidon shaking heavy grey head."

The melody is wonderful. The cadence of the lyric is delightful.
I have mentioned before - and this reminded me again - a lot of your songs remind me of Danny O'Keefe's "Breezy Stories" album (an all-time favorite, an overlooked gem)...

Your mix on this is excellent. Crisp, clear instruments (that retain their warmth) and the vocal sits perfectly.

I really enjoyed this.

fj

Critical feedback welcomed ... ok then. Well this song is completely mixing me up! I mean I don't know what's coming next - the organ, the accordion, the random percussion, naked mermaids (what??). But seriously, it's a total blast - you've really taken a lot of different musical elements here and braided them together into a lovely tapestry. I suppose the vocals could be tweaked a bit - they tended to dominate in a few places, but the vocal performance and the style suited the song very well. There's one aspect that was very interesting - I could hear bits and pieces of disparate styles in there, like a bit of Portishead in a couple places and other things I could not quite put my finger on.

Wonderful production, daring and clever!

Hi Misha.

Beautiful lyrics I can relate to.

'Like a mother with prodigal sons,
water embraces bearded sailors.'
and 'Orphan words froze on the tongue'

are a couple of my favourites.

I find the backing perhaps a bit busy.
Maybe competing with the lyrics.

Much enjoyed overall. Cheers.

Hi Misha. Enjoyed this one. Trying to come up with one adjective to describe how it hits me...the word "mysterious" came to mind. I'm a lyric guy so I really appreciate your interesting and creative prose. On my second pass through the song, I felt the romantic dance/tango feel (that beat and accordion maybe) conflicted somewhat with the sea/ocean theme of the song. Not sure if a more sea-faring style (if one exists in BiaB) would have improved the song though. Like I said earlier, there's a mysterious air in Naked Mermaids and it just works in its own wonderful way. I thought it would be cool to have seagull sounds in the track when you sing about them. Maybe some other ocean/sailing sounds effects would add some glue. Bravo!

Misha,
I have nothing to say - I was interested in your hair cut crit but, seriously, I wouldn't change a word - it WORKS as a complete/whole/finished piece.
Fun, spooky, beguiling and an adventure too.
THANKS

Misha

Some seriously impressive work - loved the style you evoked.

Unique, interesting and a damn good listen.

Peter

The title had me curious :-)

Thanks for sharing with the group.

It's like you took freeform poetry and magically mixed it into a spooky dance.

Love it.

One word summary: Brilliant!

Your best yet, Misha, just a great listen! Wouldn't change a thing, loved everything about this.

Best to you and yours for the holiday season!

And the bar of creativity gets raised again.

That was cool stuff. The title had my curiosity held hostage until I listened....

Way to go. That was good.

The poet of the Showcase User Forum rises again...
To show how it can be done...
Reminded me of the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"...
Fortunately not quite as long

I've missed not seeing your music posted...
But take good care of your new little one...
Some things are more important than music!

Misha,
Excellent! Everything works so well together on this- "fun, spooky, beguiling"-RayC put it perfectly.
The tango accordion is especially cool, but the whole creation is a dont-change-a-thing standout.
Your songs are a wild, seductive musical dream and this might be your best yet.

Robert

FJ,
Thank you for warm welcome!
Thank you for mentioning Danny O'Keefe, I listened to a few of his tracks per your post, he is very interesting word man. There are a few nice "live" concert snips on youtube.
--
Ed Z,
Thank you for listening your excellent feedback and being straight. This song mixed me up too as I wrote during a state of deep sleep deprivation It needs some sort of grooming, so it is not all over the place.
--
RichMac,
Thank you for kind words! Reading feedback further it seems you are right about busyness of backing. I get greedy with all the cool tracks... Also, now that people spoke, I am thinking it also has to do with mix. Lowering some volumes could possibly make it sound less busy.
--
Marc,
Thank you for listening and your awesome feedback. You are so right! Why I did not think of seaguls and waves FX? Very cool idea! Thank you! I think I know what you mean about the "beat" conflict. It might have to do with slap guitar hit and drums resonating that create some of this. I will try to see if softer drums, that avoid slap guitar hit can work on this.
--
Ray, 
Thank you for listening and your support! You are too gentle with me. I am sure there is at least a dozen ridiculous writing  mistakes that I either missed or simply goofed :) 
--
Peter,
Thank you for kind words! I am glad you found it interesting!
--
Jim M,
Thank you for listening!
--
David C.,
Thank you for your fun and supportive feedback!
--
David B.,
Thank you for your time & kind words! Happy and safe holidays to you!
--
Herb,
Thank you for taking time on this and your great feedback! Had to name it something for Sc, so it was pretty much random. Seems, randomness works
--
Jim,
Thank you for listening and your positive and fun feedback!
Interesting, I must admit it is a gap in my education. I never read "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" I read a few paragraphs, seems very deep. I have to give it a try.
"take good care of your new little one...
Some things are more important than music" - I do not agree with that. It is also music, just a different scale
--
Robert,
Thank you for listening and your kind words! Actually accordion was the magnet that pulled me into this tune

Very cool!! This has such an infectious vibe, and the lyrics really add to that!! Congrats on the addition to your family! Really enjoyed this!! Take care. Greg

I have been waiting for your next composition, and my patience has been rewarded. Your lyrics are always masterful and carefully sculpted. I could give my students a good lesson about crafting effective images using your lyrics. What is even more amazing is that English isn't your native language!

Your melody is captivating and exotic (as usual).

I wouldn't change anything.

Scott

Hi, Misha !

A wonderful tune I´d say !
my favorite of yours absolutely !
I do wish you a Merry X-mas and
a most Musically filled New Year too !

Cheers
Dani

We rarely quote others but, man, do we ever agree with the above.

Lyric wise we were hooked very early on with:
"Yesterday's coffee slept on the table"

Amazing imagery there and though out.

You may hear needed tweaks but it has a polished "stick a fork in it" sound to us.

Everything is hittin' the note...the write, vocals, the band, the arrangement and the mix.

Powerful!

J&B

Awesome tune Misha. Love the backtrack . Very cool mix. Super vocal and very creative lyric. Well done

Greg,
Thank you for tuning in and your positive feedback!
---
Scott,
Thank you for listening and your kind words!
--
Dani,
Thank you for listening and your fun feedback here and on SC!
--
Janice & Bud, Thank you for your time and your excellent feedback. It means a lot to me!
--
Scott C,
Thank you for listening and your kind words here and on SC!


Misha.

Dear Misha,

what a wonderful song to end the year with - like usually amazing lyrics embedded in a marvellous song. Great Backing track, super vocals and a very good mix.

You really never disappoint - it's always a treat to listen to your songs.

Happy holidays and all the best,

Stefan

Thanks Misha...

For taking time to listen to “There Won't Be No Christmas This Year” ...
You will find my response to your comments there...

Also I’d like to mention...
You really add to the success of this User Showcase forum!
Thanks again...

Stefan,
Thank you for listening and your kind words! Mix is far from where it needs to be. I am sure as with most of us here, idea of the mix shapes later, after tune settles for couple of weeks or more

----

Jim,
thank you for giving this second round and your support!

Misha.

WOW, this is fantastic!

Outstanding use of RTs. The mix you have has set a new high bar here. Your vocal is very strong and your lyrics are great.

IMHO this is your best to date.

PS - What is a haircut

Hi Misha,

I wasn't able to listen sooner, it were busy days. But gee, what a nice song you made! And cristalclear! (tell me how...)
So I fully agree with my forummembers you made (another) great song.
To say that in one line from your own lyrics: only lonely star keep on shinning. And that's what you did, Misha.

Although the title was intriguing, I will not ask how you got to the idea of these nice lyrics. You always have beautiful perspectives in your songs!

And congratulations with your brandnew daughter. Now I understand why it was so quiet around you lately.

Hans

Mario,
Thank you for listening and your support!

-----

Hans,
Your comments are always interesting to read! Thank you for listening and kind words!
P.S. I tried to use very basic effects on this. Some EQ and reverb, but not extensively and my magical Alctron pop filter

Hi Misha,

I've just been scanning back over posts and I see that I missed this one. I'm glad it didn't sail out of sight into the antipodean reaches of this forum.



After listening, I'm sitting here feeling quite inadequate as a songwriter. Everything about this works S-O-O-O-O well! You're a talented man!

Your lyrics and music remind me of really good, first class abstract works of art.... such masterpieces abound with mystery and all the components weave together to create an overall that mesmerises and tantalises. You do this with songs.

I really enjoyed listening.
Noel

Noel,
Thank you for listening & your support!
You are way too kind

Misha.