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 Hi y’all, some of you may know that silly game 'What does it take to be a real....' when everybody tries to make up the most absurd characterizations. When we played that game with some friends a couple of weeks ago my lovely wife Maha looked at me in an unusually merciless way and came up with 'What does it take to be a real rock musician?' Actually she didn’t even give us the chance to think of some funny answers - instead she had us immediately have a share in her suggestions: 1. A real rock musician's got to suffer from severe hearing loss! (Easy - I can even show off with a polyphonic killer tinnitus) 2. Unlike Bill Clinton he must have inhaled at least once! (C'mon...) 3. He must have written at least one 'protest song'! Oops - there she had got me: Almost 70 and no such song at all.... But a rock musician's got to do what a rock musician's got to do, so - before I'm running out of time - I decided to write my first ‘protest song’. But how the heck do you write a protest song? Like so often Tom Lehrer had given the answer already in 1965 when he published the song „The Folk Song Army“: „The tune don't have to be clever,
And it don't matter if you put a couple of extra syllables into a line.
It sounds more ethnic if it ain't good English
And it don't even gotta rhyme... excuse me: rhyne!“ That sounds pretty easy, don’t you think... And I might add: ‘It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that sting!’. So I already pictured myself sitting around a camp fire with my friends (maybe on chairs - the hip, y’know...), strumming my good old Ovation I hadn’t played on for decades. But that good old Ovation and me - we turned out to no lomger be buddies, because that beautifully rounded body of an Ovation simply doesn’t go together with a (admittedlly far less beautifully) rounded German beer belly - it simply kept slipping away. Obviously I wasn’t meant to write and perform a good old camp fire style protest song, so thinking of a solution I remembered my old motto: ‘Writing songs? When in doubt
make them fast and make them loud!
And if fast and loud is not enough,
you can still make them sound rough.“So - at 140 BPM, meant to be cranked up, performed by my alter ego band ‘Alternative Lies’ - here’s my first (and most likely last) protest song: JUST FOR THE RECORD. Video on my website (with lyrics) Video on YouTube Audio (on SoundCloud) Enjoy (if you can  ) Stefan These are the musical data: Key=Bb , Tempo 140, Length (m:s)=3:08 ReakStyle is _RRTWIST.STY (Rock n Roll Twist Band) using the following RealTracks RT 1731:Bass, Electric, TexasBluesRockNRoll Ev 165 RT 2353:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm RockabillyRockNRollKevin Ev 165 RT 882:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockHighOffbeat Ev 165 RT 2352:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockabillyRockNRollBrent Ev 165 RealDrums: RocknRoll^02-a: Swinging Ride, b: Two Beat Cymbal RT602:Harmonica, Soloist Train Ev 130 Vocals and that arthritic guitar solo: Me Maha had huge fun appearing in the video and most of all working on the sound and mix. Like usually she used Realband + the following plug-ins: PGMusic Dynamics, PGMusic Reverb, EasyQ Parametric EQ and modestly mastered the song in Ozone 8 advanced.
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Joined: Jun 2012
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I watched the video and that is one heck of a production. Great use of BIAB. Fun song. Great video. Well done all around.
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Hi Stefan,
That's a very good rock protest song and your guitarist fingers aren't so arthritic ! Your song is very well produced. Thanks for sharing. Christian
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Man, that's quite a write! Loved the lyrics.
"band" sounded great, as did your vocal and guitar solo (your fingers seem to be moving pretty good to me!)
Killer mix as usual, and I always really enjoy watching your videos! Nice to see Maha in there too.
Great stuff, Stefan!
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Stefan, Excellent write! Super BAND. Good vocals. Good mix. Terrific video. That must be SO much work...but, well worth it - for our entertainment!! Stay Angry!  fj
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Stefan
Amazing production your videos are always superb and the amount of work in them is incredible.
Enjoyed the band guitar solo and song.
Peter
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Journeyman
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Hi Stefan
I enjoyed this a lot (not least because I'm similarly angry). Love the lyrics. Amazing work on the video as usual. And that solo doesn't sound at all arthritic to me.
Regards,
Leon
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As an occasionally angry, old man and frequent curmudgeon I offer my thanks for a laugh and head bopping session.
That was a treat - well done Maha & your good self.
Most enjoyable.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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PG Music Staff
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What a tune! Got my foot tapping from the get go, and I love how light hearted it is. Not only that, but the tune is terrifically well put together. The production is right on the money, and it flows effortlessly. Thanks for sharing
Cheers,
Deryk
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This is BRILLIANT. One of the very best songs I've heard in a while on here, and the lyrics play no small part in that - but the whole concept and execution is incredible, from start to finish. That instrumental bridge with the guitar and the harmonica are as marvellous as your voice, both in quality and interpretative execution. Keep protesting - BRAVO!!!
and that's just me listening to the audio. The video made me smile (particularly the credits, haha). Well done - what a début in the genre!
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Stefan & Maha
Where is Bill with his saxophone? I was getting ready to see him play sax solo on the stage.
Fantastic, seriously positive stuff! I am both jealous and inspired. A+
Thank you for sharing!
Misha.
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Hi Stefan,
I was in the lucky position to hear this song couple of times while you were still busy making it and that super-swell video. Before you had the video I told you what good song it is. I really love the lyrics. But -of course- your video is the piece of the cake. Very strong, funny and to the point. Still don't think the orange one will like it much. but as long as we do, the better!
I also noticed your fingers look like they play gitar, drums, keyboard daily.
But in particulair I liked the end of your movies, the credits. All kinds of Stefans and Maha's were presented there with those funny names. So from start to finish a well cared for product!
And now Maha and you must enjoy your well-earned huge beer (the German one!)
Hans
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Another smash...
Really cool music & video...
BTW...
That Orange Amp looks mighty good!
Jim
†=☮&♥
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That is some very creative work Stefan! So many clever little changes in this! What a lyric (that had to take some time to construct)!! I love the instrumentation choices especially what you did with all the drum parts! Also those clever chord changes thrown into certain spots! Great vocal! You always bring it with every production! Thanks, Torrey
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I always am happy to see your latest song on the forum list. And you did not disappoint with this one. Wow, your anger produced a deluge of clever lyrics.
"Every now and then a little lie may save your day,
but are 12,000 lies within three years still okay?"
I couldn't have said it better.
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Wow! Bet you had some doing this.
Excellent work. Rob4580
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Great write! And, of course, fantastic production, and audio and visual treat, all the way to the end credits.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Stefan,
First off, an awesome write. Second, accompanies by an incredible, energetic, blitz of rocking music. Third, terrific vocal, killer harmonica. Wow, beyond impressed--totally appreciated the effort and talent it takes to pull something like this together. Do you play this live anywhere? It would absolutely slay the room. Great video to boot!
My beyond humble regards,
Deej
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Awesome job, vox are terrific, lyrics are a blast, the whole thing came together perfectly. Entertainment value is off the chart. Video a hoot! Enjoyed listening to this multiple times. Keep em coming.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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This is an outstanding creation. The musical parts are hitting on all cylinders and the lyrics are just a blast, and work perfectly with the tune and the style. As others have commented this is one of the best songs that I've heard on the showcase for a while.
Now, I'm going to shamelessly break it down and hopefully pick up a few tricks from your masterful use BIAB for myself!
Ed Z Soundcloud profile https://soundcloud.com/user-415064494BIAB user since 2019 iPad Mini, Garageband for iOS, BIAB for Windows 2020 UltraPAK, Xtra Styles packs 6-9, Windows 10 Lenovo PC, Kontakt Player, SpitFire LABS, SampleTank 4 CS, some Soundfonts
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