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I just finished this original pop song using about 3 BiaB styles. Didn't play a note on it. Did the singing. Put it together in RealBand after using BiaB. I mixed it with Adobe Audition 3. This was originally a country song but Nashville didn't want it so I said what the heck I'll try another way. I would appreciate a listen and any feedback you have to offer. Song has been copyrighted since the 90s. URL to the song is below. Thanks. http://chasms.com/rock-ce.mp3
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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Charlie: The music is quite convincing, that was a really good job of putting that all together. I think the vocals were a hoot, but they don't really match that style for commercial purposes. Reminds me of Capt Hook and the Medicine Show doing current pop stuff. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun and showed a lot of production skill and vision.
Kevin
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Great job on the mix. The song is a lot of fun. A lot of work went into this you can tell. Perhaps you could experiment more with the vocal a little more in the way it is sung to make it even better. Overall a good tune though.
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Great track Charlie
I can tell you put in some effort on this. Tracks sound really good.
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Thanks, kemmrich, ed, and toucher for listening and your feedback. I guess the vocal doesn't please everyone but it's what I had in mind. I listened to Prince's "Kiss" song and his falsetto made me want to do it like that. Didn't want a clean vocal at all, wanted dirt and grit. My vocal's not quite falsetto (in parts), just on the border between it and normal voice. I also used a lot of compression (tube modeled) that comes with Audition 3. I enjoyed doing this song more than any I've done in awhile. Thanks again.
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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You know what Charlie, I think I had as much fun listening to this as you did making it! Very well written too. I want to see the video. 
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Charlie - the tracks sound quite late 80's/early 90's. The orchestra hits and the timbre of the synth drums, the record scratches, etc. place it about 1989 or so. Think Paula Abdul's hit records of that time frame, Opposites Attract, etc. With that said - I don't think you'll have much success marketing the song here North America by itself as audio...... However, in my travels in Europe, it never ceases to amaze me how much this sound pumps out of the radio. Particularly Sweden and Germany. This is quite Middle-of-the-road pop for Europe, with the humorous vocals thrown in. I think a song like this would do quite well in the Eurovision song contest. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_ContestUnfortunately, it is limited to residents of Europe. Now, what you need with this song is a video to go along with it. You could be a mega YouTube star with this song. I honestly and truly believe that. It would be a humorous video, so put on your kitschiest outfit you have and get your webcam warmed up! Be not afraid of doing funny songs. Look at it this way, even if you can't sell it - at least you know you made someone smile. I've been doing the February Album Writing Month challenge these past 3 Februarys (write and record 14 songs in the month of February). Each of the three years I've done the challenge - the songs that seems to take on a life of their own are the silly/funny songs that I thought were throwaway songs. Particularly in these times, people want a good laugh. It's great medicine. I know you know who Ray Stevens is. -Scott
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Sundance, I'm glad you enjoyed the song as much as I did. You had a good time. Thanks for the listen and comments.
Scott, thanks for the listen and your feedback. I've actually thought of a video but it would have to be on a small scale. Plus, being 64, I might be too old for the 'youtube' crowd. But I might try to think of something for that. I was hoping to pitch the song to someone but my only connections are country music publishers.
I thought the song was more contemporary than the 80s-90s, as you say. 2 of the styles I used were brty (meaning Britney). I really don't listen to this style of music. While recording the song I listened to a few just to try to get a few ideas and a feel for such songs.
Another thing, I think of the song as a feel good dance song and would never put it in the category of Ray Stevens. He's a great singer, on his more serious songs, but a little sillier than the genre I would want to be in. Maybe I'm wrong. If I selected a category for the song, I would probably say 'Puttin' on the Ritz.' To me, a fun, serious, soulful, dance song. The comments I'm getting seem to be completely different than what I'm feeling for the song. A close musician friend of mine said, 'I like it, it's different.'
Even in my prime I wouldn't be able to write 14 songs in a month. Much less record them. I like to spend at least a week on a song. Don't know how you do that? It would take more than 24/7 for a whole month for me. Scott, I appreciate your comments and will definitely keep them in mind.
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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Charlie, I didn't think I could do the 14 in a month either, until I gave it a try in 07 and did it. 2008 was even easier with a Kid's themed month. You could do it. I'm not talking finished product here, but rather writing and recording enough of the song to preserve it for future development. This year I did a few songs where I just put up one mic and sang/played simultaneously - 1 take. Here's the results of those two: http://rockstarnot.rekkerd.org/fawm2009/Scott%20Lake%20-%20Goldfinch.mp3http://rockstarnot.rekkerd.org/fawm2009/Scott%20Lake%20-%20Two%20Day's%20Drive.mp3I wrote those lyrics over the month and came up with some chords/melodies in my head. About 10 minutes practice for each before hitting record. You could totally do it with RealBand - easy.
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Charlie, that's totally superb! I loved it. VERY professional, tons of energy and commitment, VERY commercial, chock full of hooks. It's all there. What more can I say. A hit.
John
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Charlie, I really like this one.
I especially like this arrangement and that outstanding vocal!
This has a variety of styles in it, both BiaB and instrumental, and you did an outstanding job of pulling all together.
Love is grand.
Divorce is twenty grand!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Ah man Charlie. This is the stuff. Dang I wished I could hit those high notes. It doesn't sound like you're actually doing falsetto on this. Sounds more like a natural voice. Some of them are in falsetto. But mostly head voice. Great job on this. The balance is about as perfect as it gets. Good on ya Mate. Loved it.
Russ Anyday above ground is a good day Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision 6 Ghz quad core AMD processor 8 Gig memory 1 TB hard drive 6 GB hard drive Windows 7 Premium Loose nut behind the keyboard 
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Hi Charlie - very brave experiment that worked. All I can do is just echo what the others have said. Almost like a reverse Conway Twitty . . .I'll never forget the first time I heard his version of the Pointer (sp?) Sisters "Slow Hand". It was then I became aware that songs can cross the genre line. But tell me - Do you have a country version of this one? Cuz I'd really like to hear it. Ian
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Scott, those demos sound very good. At my age I don't think I am up to the challenge of 14 songs in a month, even with RealBand and BiaB. Kudos to you for doing that.
John, thanks so much for listening and for your comments. Your words make my day.
Mario, thanks for listening and your comments. Your critique makes me want to record another.
Russ, it is appreciated very much for listening and your comments. As far as the balance, BiaB gets the credit for the instruments, didn't move a thing from what they had. And I only added some EQ to the bass and left the others alone. This genre of music is where BiaB really shines, IMO.
You're right, I wasn't doing falsetto on the voice. In parts, it was on the border of going there, though. I had trouble getting there at times. Lots of takes. Aren't computers wonderful? I even was able to resing and replace one word in the opening line. Also, as I get older, I find that turning down the music and singing softer than normal, the notes aren't as hard to hit as when going full tilt. And I always hope for the right amount of gravel and voice cracks that are on key. Thanks again to all.
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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That was fun! I liked the vocals big time. Real nice mix and arangement here. The song sounds typical mid-80's to me. Could've been a hit over here back then! Great job. @ Scott: the Eurovision song contest is a big joke nowadays. The winner is declared by popular votes (which is degraded to political motivations). The music and the acts are.........ehm.......I don't have polite nor descent words to describe them, so I'll restrain from it. The British even sent a singing (screaming) turkey-bird muppet to the contest as a form of protest (Rule Britannia  ) The contest has (at least here) a specific (small) audience. Musicians won't be found among them 
Last edited by Mike sings; 02/28/09 07:32 AM.
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Hello, Ian. Thanks for listening and your comments. I agree on the genre line. It's how the song is sung and the instruments are played.
I was recording a country version of this. But was never satisfied with it. I'll look at it again and if it's not too bad (ego :-) ) I'll post it for you. Thanks a lot.
Mike, I appreciate your listening and your comments. Always nice to hear.
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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Ian, here's the country version of the song. I was never satisfied with it so I rewrote it (a tad) and cut the other version listed above. Seems so slow to me now. http://www.chasms.com/ceP.mp3
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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I like this version better. Just my opinion. I think you have hit this one dead on with the vocal.
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Thanks, Ed for your comments. I never quite liked this version. Felt it was missing something. I like the POP version better. It was like playing with a new toy, I guess. Going to do another.
"The desire for fame is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise."
Cornelius Tacitus
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Charlie, Oh Charlie I am so happy you also did a country version. Now it looks like I may be the very small minority here but to me the first one seemed like a new pair of shoes for you that did not quite fit. Not that is wasn't a good effort, it's just that compared to what I have become acustomed to hearing from you it just wasn't the best fit your you. Please understand I am just talking about my personal taste here not the song nor the performance. But the second effort not only fit more nicely into my comfort zone, but also seemed to me anyway, a more natrual style for you.
Nice job!
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