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Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method #622007 11/06/20 12:02 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	YouTube: Pay it Down the Line - Cut-Up Method Song Sketch SoundCloud: Pay it Down the Line - Cut-up Method Song Sketch November 6 2020 - Pay it Down the Line - July 2020 Cut-Up Method song sketch ========================================= TITLE: Pay it Down the Line ========================================= TRACK & SONG INFO Bass: 2741:Bass, Synth, AltHipHopA-B Ev16 085 Piano: 1997:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm SmoothJazzCool Sw 16 100 Loop: Loop:Loops PAK2\HipHop\Drums, Hybrid HipHopGlitchA-B Sw Guitar1: 28:19:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RnBSouldSw16BrentSw16 085 sw16 4/4 F#m 85 bpm I imported the tracks into Studio One v4, augmented the bass with Toontracks EZbass, added additional piano parts, used TR5 plugins to alter sound of loop. Used Lurssen Mastering Console for mastering. =========================================== I wrote this song in July for a Facebook Cut-Up Method group I was in. I had started several other songs that month, and with 2 days to go before I submitted my project, I read a political article that bothered me, and I ended up writing this song sketch. It's still very rough, but it's a good place holder, I think. And it was fun and cathartic to write. UPDATE 2020 Nov 7: I forgot to mention that in the video, I have the Inkspots playing at the end. This was for my Cut-Up Method group. I wanted to assure them that I wasn't advocating violence, rather love. This Inkspots clip is not on the Soundcloud version and obviously wouldn't be on an album. Last edited by TexasFrets; 11/07/20 09:35 AM. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #622083 11/07/20 01:48 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 420 G Gary Weder Journeyman
Gary Weder Journeyman G Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 420	Hi Todd. I'm a fan . Your songcraft is excellent.

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #622106 11/07/20 04:08 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2019 Posts: 5,059 Dallas, PA, USA BabuMusic Veteran
BabuMusic Veteran Joined: May 2019 Posts: 5,059 Dallas, PA, USA	Excellent vocal on this groovy feel, Todd! Loved the lyrics; wonderfully written song. Good production. Man, you got the voice for anything. If you can write something this good because of a political comment, you came to the right world. Now about that ending... Enjoy whatever happens! marty YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method Gary Weder #622137 11/07/20 10:10 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: Gary Weder Hi Todd. I'm a fan . Your songcraft is excellent. Thanks so much, Gary. I really appreciate your kind words and support. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #622242 11/08/20 06:42 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020 Posts: 1,749 Illinois CaptainMoto Expert
CaptainMoto Expert Joined: Jan 2020 Posts: 1,749 Illinois	I like the message, some thought provoking lyrics. Band songs good, vocals bring it home. Video production was interesting. An Old Man Make'n Music https://sites.google.com/view/captainmoto-com/home?authuser=0

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #622289 11/08/20 12:58 PM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2018 Posts: 3,662 Virginia USA Ezekiel's Storm Veteran
Ezekiel's Storm Veteran Joined: Sep 2018 Posts: 3,662 Virginia USA	This sounds like a winner to me! Great melody and lyrics that hold my attention through the song. Great vocal too!

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #622291 11/08/20 01:17 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 155 Czech republic, Praha Gause Zdenek Apprentice
Gause Zdenek Apprentice Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 155 Czech republic, Praha	Beautiful ... BIAB 2025,RB 2025,PTA 2024,Windows 11,Studio One PRO 5.5.2,Melodyne Studio 5.4.2.006,Sibelius 8.4.1,Acoustica 7.4.14,Notion 6,Progression 3,Harmony Assistant 9.9.5c,RX9,Ripx DeepAudio 7.5.1,Kontakt 7.10.7,DeCoda 1.3.2,Synthesizer V Studio Pro 1.12.2

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method BabuMusic #623581 11/17/20 11:18 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: BabuMusic Excellent vocal on this groovy feel, Todd! Loved the lyrics; wonderfully written song. Good production. Man, you got the voice for anything. If you can write something this good because of a political comment, you came to the right world. Now about that ending... Thanks so much, Marty, for watching and commenting. I really appreciate your kind words. That's a beautiful thing you've written: "you came to the right world". That means a lot to me. Thank you! SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #623865 11/19/20 05:14 AM User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2012 Posts: 12,919 Florida floyd jane Veteran
floyd jane Veteran Joined: Aug 2012 Posts: 12,919 Florida	Todd, OUTSTANDING! If you are calling this "very rough" I can't WAIT to hear your "smooth"!! Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly. Man! you've got talent. Bucket loads... Can you expanded on the "Cut-Up Method"? And where do you come up with such terms and "groups"???.... Great stuff. fj 150+ Songs produced using BIAB RealTracks And 50 more... and some more...

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #623870 11/19/20 05:36 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2020 Posts: 1,572 Belgium Derochette Expert
Derochette Expert Joined: May 2020 Posts: 1,572 Belgium	Hello TexasFrets, Beautiful melody, beautiful voice and very professional arrangement. I appreciated. Kindly regard Dero13 alias JaniJackFlash Kindly regards Derochette alias JaniJackFlash

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method CaptainMoto #624155 11/20/20 08:11 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: CaptainMoto I like the message, some thought provoking lyrics. Band songs good, vocals bring it home. Video production was interesting. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. The video was a last-minute thing before I submitted my song to my songwriting group on Facebook. It was during the protests and fires in the US, so I used news footage and then overlaid a bunch of photos related to current political issues. Thanks again. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method Ezekiel's Storm #624156 11/20/20 08:12 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: Ezekiel's Storm This sounds like a winner to me! Great melody and lyrics that hold my attention through the song. Great vocal too! Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it. I appreciate your kind comments. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method Gause Zdenek #624157 11/20/20 08:12 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: Gause Zdenek Beautiful ... Thanks so much! Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method floyd jane #624158 11/20/20 08:44 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: floyd jane Todd, OUTSTANDING! If you are calling this "very rough" I can't WAIT to hear your "smooth"!! Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly. Man! you've got talent. Bucket loads... Can you expanded on the "Cut-Up Method"? And where do you come up with such terms and "groups"???.... Great stuff. fj Hi, FJ. Thanks again for your kind words and the specificity of what you like about the song and for your questions. Makes me feel better about my songwriting. Thank you for that. You asked about the Cut-Up method. This technique started with the Dadaists in the 1920s when Tristan Tzara offered to create a poem on the spot by pulling words at random from a hat. The technique become popular in the 50s and 60s with William Burroughs. Bob Dylan used it a bit, as did David Bowie and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. When I do a cut-up, I like to get at least 2 texts. I often get a really bad science fiction book and a really bad romance novel. Then I flip through them and cut out words and phrases that I like. I arrange them until I find something interesting and then I glue them onto a piece of colored paper. Sometimes I'll recut them and paste them down again. From this poem-like object, I write a rough draft of a lyric. Then I continue to explore the images, sounds, and personas as I write subsequent drafts. Eventually I come up with some music and inevitably, as I'm trying to get the lines to fit the music, I make more rewrites. I usually get somewhere between 8 to 10 drafts, sometimes more. Most of the Facebook writing groups I'm in started from relationships formed at a songwriting retreat called Crooked Crow. A close friend of mine, Johann Wagner, started the retreat, and I've been both a participant and a teacher there. Lots of great artists have come through the retreat: Adrieanne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief, Gregory Alan Isakov, Pete & Crystal Damore of Ordinary Elephant. Johann Wagner and I were friends at college. I was a graduate student in poetry and he was an undergrad studying jazz guitar. Along with several other songwriters, we started a writing group called The Kitchen Sink Poets. We explored a lot of experimental and fun ways to "discover" a text. When I was a teacher at the university, I also taught these methods to my students: cut-up technique, translitic, ekphrasis, etc. Through the years, Johann and I (and others) have continued to use these methods to find fresh and new material. Thanks again for your kind words, and if you'd like to know more about any of these techniques and how to apply them to songwriting, I'd be happy to share what I know. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #624160 11/20/20 09:02 PM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 8,189 Sacramento, California dcuny Veteran
dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 8,189 Sacramento, California	Really enjoyed your singing. The alliteration works really well. Everything about this is super-musical: the phrasing, the melody, the arrangement. As floyd jane said, you've clearly got talent. -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing? BiaB 2025 \| Windows 11 \| Reaper \| Way too many VSTis.

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #624230 11/21/20 06:12 AM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011 Posts: 16,123 GA USA Janice & Bud Veteran
Janice & Bud Veteran Joined: Dec 2011 Posts: 16,123 GA USA	We rarely quote from other posts but man did fj ever nail it with, "Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly." Reading through your response to him regarding the technique was absolutely fascinating. And how it can come to such wonderful fruition is amazing. A gem on the showcase indeed. We'll only add to fj's comment by mentioning how cool the arrangement is. Most enjoyable! J&B Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method Derochette #624394 11/22/20 11:02 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: Dero13 Hello TexasFrets, Beautiful melody, beautiful voice and very professional arrangement. I appreciated. Kindly regard Dero13 alias JaniJackFlash Thanks so much. I'm glad you like it. I appreciate your kind words. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method TexasFrets #624935 11/25/20 12:57 AM User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2016 Posts: 7,263 Cooran Queensland Australia rayc Veteran
rayc Veteran Joined: Apr 2016 Posts: 7,263 Cooran Queensland Australia	Bowie spent some time in Cut Up land--- made it pretty popular in the early 70s - for a while. This is cool with a contemporary edge that matches the contemporary events. Needed a little Stevie Ray at some stage though. The ink's a nice touch. Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method dcuny #627030 12/02/20 10:31 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: dcuny Really enjoyed your singing. The alliteration works really well. Everything about this is super-musical: the phrasing, the melody, the arrangement. As floyd jane said, you've clearly got talent. Thanks so much, David. I'm happy you enjoyed it. I'm glad the alliteration works. I tend to be heavy on alliteration and other devices in my lyric writing. (I read a lot of Dylan Thomas.) I appreciate your kind words. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

Re: Pay It Down the Line - song sketch via the Cut-Up Method Janice & Bud #627031 12/02/20 10:35 AM User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States TexasFrets OP Apprentice
OP TexasFrets Apprentice Joined: Jun 2020 Posts: 181 Texas, United States	Originally Posted By: Janice & Bud We rarely quote from other posts but man did fj ever nail it with, "Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly." Reading through your response to him regarding the technique was absolutely fascinating. And how it can come to such wonderful fruition is amazing. A gem on the showcase indeed. We'll only add to fj's comment by mentioning how cool the arrangement is. Most enjoyable! J&B Hi, J&B. I like that quote. FJ is always so kind and generous with his feedback. I'm happy you read what I wrote FJ about the technique I used to write the lyrics. It helps to steer the lyrics away from the usual places I go (or at least gives me some fresh words & images to sing about those places I usually go in my songs). Really happy you liked the arrangement. Thanks so much. Cheers, Todd SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddrussellhall Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddrussellhall Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddRussellHall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ToddRussellHall/ Website: https://ToddRussellHall.com

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