PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Down down down - (Andrew Dee)

Soundcloud - Down down down
Youtube - Down down down

The idea for this song is encouragement to avoid negativity - both from within and outside - and have belief in the course of action you have chosen for yourself. Naturally, I can be a pessimistic person, and I remember having a good, hard talk to myself in my thirties about cultivating a more positive outlook, and that has been my life’s work. For those watching the video, the idea for the text messaging came about upon realising that the lyrics were 'preachy', and the back and forth of the messages - as though two people are sharing wisdom by SMS - was an attempt to diffuse this.

The song was written in September 2022 using BIAB and recorded in March 2023 using Cakewalk to record, arrange and mix. I am fairly new to DAW work, and learning as I go, so some of my 'areas of improvement' are evident in older works but still in my DAW work today. I am an impatient recorder/arranger/producer and can't stand fiddling and tweaking to get a perfect sound. (Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear) so I usually aim just to illustrate what I was thinking creatively.

Musically, I like the guitar backing on the repeat of the bridge (in between the reverse cymbals). This was inspired by the style of the bridge to ‘Don’t let me down’ by The Beatles (I’m in love for the first time …’).

****** BIAB Song Summary *************
Style is _DREAMYP.STY (Dreamy Pop Quintet)
RealTracks in style: ~684:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesSync Ev 120 – replaced with my own bass, plugged directly into my Focusrite Scarlett interface
RealTracks in style: ~686:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 120
RealTracks in style: ~405:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 120 – replaced with my own guitars
RealTracks in style: ~543:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120 – replaced with my own guitars
RealDrums in style:NashvilleEven8^8-a:Snare, HiHat Open , b:Snare, Ride
*******************
LYRICS
INTRO

VERSE 1
Some people might be jealous of the things you have
These people might want to see you go down, down, down
Enjoy your time while you’re on this earth
Make it count for all it’s worth
And may you use your time quite wisely before it’s frittered away

VERSE 2
Some people might criticise the way you live
Be careful these people don’t drag you down, down, down
Rise above it before you speak
As they say in the classics ‘turn the other cheek’
Unless that person’s your partner, in which case, listen to what they heed

BRIDGE
Rise to the level of your own aspiration – don’t let your guard down
Surprise yourself with your determination – get what you’re going for
See yourself shine through – know what to do

VERSE 3
Some people want to know what’s going wrong
They don’t feel good until others go down, down, down
Disingenuous beyond belief, beware the company of those we speak
Keep your mind upbeat and focussed on small things that are good

BRIDGE
Don’t give negativity consideration – don’t give it any room
Fill your mind with thoughts of regeneration – learn to be grateful
See yourself shine through – know what to do

Rise to the level of your own aspiration – don’t let your guard down
Surprise yourself with your determination – get what you’re going for
See yourself shine through – know what to do

OUTRO

Hi Andrew,
Love that back and forth treatment on the chorus, whatever that's called...sort of call and response. It works really well. I've known my share of 'downers'. I had to laugh at the "unless that person's your partner" bit.

Hi Beth! My wife knows me better than I know myself sometimes (blind spots and all that). If you haven’t already picked it up in my lyric writing in my songs, I like a bit of quirkiness and a decent dollop of vulnerability.
Andrew

Andrew, loved that call and response in the chorus.
The groove reminded me of a 50's song while the lyrics are more contemporary - brilliant work on that blend.
Great vocal and mix
A super song

Andrew,

Good song. Very nicely produced. Great mix and I like your choice of tracks. And a very cool bridge.

Good stuff!

Bob

Andrew,

Nice use of BIAB.
Good mix. Nice vocals and BGVs.
Bass sounds great.

fj

Thanks Mario - I didn't intend that blend nor a 50s style, but I can see how it sounds that way. I remember recording it and deciding it was time to use a clean strumming style. This is a good thing about this forum - listeners hear things that we ourselves are deaf to.

Andrew D

Thanks Floyd! I have to confess I don't like my vocals and often have feelings of imposter syndrome. Most times, the BVs are an attempt to fill out or cover up.
I remember I recorded the bass direct that day because my amp that I normally take a line out from was playing up. It's given it an interesting tone, which is also aided by half-wound strings on that bass - an Ibanez Artcore hollow body.
Andrew D

Thanks Bob! My favourite section of the song - bookended by the reverse cymbals! Given what inspired it musically, it came out sounding different to its inspiration, and I like how it transforms the second bridge into a different 'texture'.
Andrew D

Andrew, very cool tune. Like the instrument choices and the breezy arrangement. Your vocal arrangement is excellent. Quite a nice little pop gem you've crafted here.

Spent many years being an impatient maker of music. At the time I had a full time+ job, a backlog of lyrics to work on and a willing vocalist. So I had to just be good enough for the vocalist to run with it. Easy-peasy! Have since slid into retirement and worked off the lyric backlog. And while the vocalist is still very willing, I've found that I enjoy working on the vocals until they're semi-presentable. It's a newish thing, but I figured I owed it to my musical growth and whoever listens.

Which is a long way of saying I quite like your vocals and am 100% confident you could tweak whatever minor imperfections you left behind. Love your stuff!

Thanks Ron! Knowing some of the good music you put out, it’s very generous of you to say that about this song.

Also good to hear your back story, which has some similarities to my own - formerly a bedroom strummer, but when I got my hands on BIAB way back in 2002(?), my creativity exploded which I am only getting around to recording now I am retired. I am a late DAW bloomer.
Andrew D

That has a cool poppy kind of vibe to it.

A couple of observations.

You have a volume drop there at the end of V3 (2:25) that makes it sound like it's fading to the end.... then it jumps back in. I'd recommend no volume drop.

The bass part in the first bridge fit well. In the second bridge it wasn't the same and seemed to lack direction and support for the music. It came back to the groove on the next verse.

Good job overall.

Hi, Andrew.

Nice! There are a few rough spots, but getting a song completed is better than having a forever unfinished song. So impatience has some upsides.

As for the vocals, I wouldn't worry about that imposter syndrome. I have some minor quibbles with producer about some of the harmonies, but none at all with the singer.

Clever idea with the SMS lyrics. I find the lyrics more helpful than preachy. Harmony is so good and real. Man, I love these lyrics; like memo-to-self stuff. Cool hint of "Don't Let Me Down" too. Positively enjoyed this one, Andrew.

Thanks Herb! My logic was that as I had two bridges, I wanted to create some variation in the song, and so came up with the different bass lines. Once I had that, I needed to find some way into it, so faded and applied the reverse cymbals. While (for me) I felt it worked, I recognise I’d already been listening to it for X hours and needed something different. However, to take your point as a first time listener, the second bridge was too stark/different. Something to keep in mind for future - what will the listener expect? I do recognise that I am well along the ‘surprise spectrum’ and don’t mind something unexpected which is why I will often break out of the diatonic, but best not stray too far.

Thank you that in overall context you liked the song. I think I’ll settle with the notion that the song is a nice bit of imperfection.

Andrew D

Thanks David! I’ll probably never be a production perfectionist. To use a metaphor, my aim is to reveal a window, but not be too concerned if the window needs cleaning. However, if a window is too dirty, what’s the good if the view is obscured?

As a late DAW bloomer, I have listened back to some of my work from 3 years ago and gone “What was I thinking?”, so I think I’ve learned a few skills that has shown gradual improvement. Overall, for both composition and recording/production, I am loving the journey as the opportunity to learn is deep and ongoing, and feedback from members of this forum helps in that process.

Andrew D

Thanks Marty! The video idea (I am teaching myself video editing at the same time as learning DAW) came about a week after the song was finished, and ended up being a useful way to present a lyric video.
Andrew D