PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase NEW. "PUNK CITY"/"HEAR THOSE BELLS"/demo

SONG TITLE : "PUNKCITY"(demo)
(a daft fast raw cockney punk song with real punk vocs not fake ones..indicateing where i was born...lmao)
ARTIST : moi..ALF-L..(a lad from london (c) 2018/19/20)
****BEFORE PLAYING THE SONG PLEASE NOTE.****

1. due to the variety of playback systems out there. watch your levels till comfortable with song.
2. feel free to critique the song. apologies if the listener hates the song.
the song was mixed for earbuds. sounds better on buds.. use them if possible for best effect of the guitars in each ear.
might have to boost volume depending on phones/earbuds used.
**i KNOW the song has flaws**. the rhythm gtrs each side particularly i could never get the sound picture
i heard in my head after many tries at it. ideally the song needs to be remixed by an ace mixdown//
mastering engineer. i'm more a songwriter who has picked up tricks in my travels in recording studios.
3. as per all my songs , i used the biab/rb/reaper combo to create this one.
(ive done about 90 original songs useing this combo over many years.)
4. people have asked me for more production details in past songs ive posted.
let me explain why i'm unable to do that, much as i like to share info.....
awhile back i had very serious surgery i wont bore people with, which i came through thankfully.
(i'm fit as a fiddle now and hope to stay that way.)
as a result (due to this darn world covid situation) my doctors want to protect me /the surgery success and have me isolate wiith just my wife. but all my darn song production details are backed up in other locations, which i cant get to right now. i only have final song stereo mixes here. so please understand.
5. i like to sing in many different vocal styles. this is what i call my "home vocal style".
ive also included in the song fun little clues to figure out (dont use google and cheat lol.)
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE SONG>>>>>

https://soundcloud.com/user-302791555/punkcitycalf-l201920

STORY : aim of the song is to show a small slice of life in a certain part of london england. a part of my family heritage.
an area of london i was born and raised in for a time, while my parents were away doing good deeds in other countries.
its an area of london i know very very well and spent my formative years in till i left the uk to live in other countries early in life.

OBJECTIVE : i wanted a very raw fast punk song reflecting my birth heritage. it was a very very difficult song to do.
ton of work. ive got a lot of self doubt whether i did the idea justice from a production standpoint.
lots of challenges. but i enjoyed doing it. and i like cranking it in my earbuds. lol.
i'm hoping headbangers like it.

SALIENT DETAILS :
1. the "ding" at start is like the dings on the old red london buses (ie the bus conductor bell/ding ).
2. i'm doing the vocs. blame me. fwiw i also sing opera lol.
3. at 2m14 secs i wanted it to "pound away" headbanger style. i like it, hopefully others will too.
4. at 2m26secs a CHOIR starts up. this was a REALLY BIG CHALLENGE, as i had to sing all traks to sound like a combo of a school /church choir mixed in. ideally i would have liked to use a proper live choir.
5. the church bells were another challenge. i tried putting in more, but they drowned out the song.
so i left it simple as at 2m55secs for example.
does the reader know what "born within the sound of bow bells" means ? lol.
6. i should explain the repeated bashed metal type sound that carries on from the 3min mark to song end.
this is once again linked to heritage/london history.
ie. the football (or in usa soccer) team i support started off as ironworkers in the 1800's. so the metal sound is a big homage to those ironworkers.
and the teams soccer uniform reflects this heritage.
their football ground (moved in the last few years.) is in this area of london typified by the vocs.
lets see if you can figure out my soccer team from the clues in the song, and where i'm from originally. lol.
7. in the wind down to end of song, do you know what a "corker" is ? or a "roller" ? or earlier in the song what
a "toff" is ?.
9. per the outtro, i also wanted some humour in the lyrics. yes the song is what is called a "wind up" where i come from.
what is a "wind up" ?...lol.

in conclusion, its one of those songs i just had to get out of my system. warts and all...in some respects a very
personal song i'm shareing and its an area of london very dear to my heart, as several members of my family
(and friends) lived there for many years. truly wonderfull people who helped many people in their day.
frankly , often tears came to my eyes doing the song, because i really really miss them all.
but they all lived very good long lives.
i'll leave it up for a week or two for people to comment.
above all, everyone have a great year. whether you like it or hate it.
best.
oldmuso.

That's pretty good JAOM,
At the time punk seemed like it was a 33 at 45 but, in truth, it was just a little faster than usual.
My 1st acquisition of that era was New Rose.
WH United - not a fan sorry...of the game that is.
The fizz is gone but the top end seems just a little blunted on the rhythm guitars as a result.The added accent guitars bring some top end back which is good.
Was it a Rolls Canard-ley? Rolls down one hill can hardly get up the other!
Beanz meanz yes, move in.

The lyrics were pretty clear, a lyric wouldn't have hurt though.
The 1st "solo" made me laugh.

Nice one.

Rayc.
g'day.
thanks for the comments/listening.

this comment i dont understand. please go into more detail ?
you said >>>"The lyrics were pretty clear, a lyric wouldn't have hurt though."
please gimme more detail.
best to you
oldmuso.

om,

ray was saying that including a lyric sheet would allow those of us who do not speak your English could follow along more easily.

A fun Punk rocker.

Vocals were good (but I do have trouble understanding - my wife often suggests - mocking me - I should turn on the subtitles when we watch English/Irish/Australian shows on TV).
Mix is good, but I think the drums need to be louder/punchier - it's Punk, after all...

fj

Cool tune. Loved the groove to the song. Excellent vocal. Guitar was excellent as well.

oldmuso,

I really like your work...everything is always very entertaining. Lots of clever little stuff happening all around! Great track! Thanks, Torrey

Scott and Torrey.
it was a ton of work.
thanks for listening. v nice of you.
i'm a happy go lucky guy and enjoy it lots when people have fun with my crazy songs.lol
Floyd.
gee i'm stupid sometimes..lol.
ok i'll post the full lyrics in this thread asap.
its all a big plot to get everyone speaking punk cockney...lmao.
best
oldmuso

Rayc. and Floyd...as requested...
....."PUNKCITY LYRICS"......
1. Start.
welcome to punk city. 'ome of the real cockneys. not yer blinkin posers.
yeah 'ere we go. thats more like it. lets smash it.
2. V1.
i'm cool, i'm brash, ...i'm makin' lots of cash...
i drive a jag, me life aint so bad.
if you ever get up in my face, i'll get me gran she's a real 'ard case.
(Kazoo break...lol)
3. V2.
i fight , i know i'm always bl**dy right, i rob those toffs, i do it late a night...
if you ever get up in my face, i'll get me bruvver 'es a real 'ard case.
(LEAD BREAK)
4. Refrain.
if you ever get up in my face, i'll get me bruvver 'es a real 'ard case.
5. pounding rhythm time.FULL BORE...lmao.
Real Cockneys are born within the sound of bow bells ya know.
6. CHOIR.
can you hear those bells ? can you hear bow bells ? (twice)
7. pounding rhythm time again. plus bell.
8. Outtro/fade.
i'm seein' this new "bird" right now. wot a "corker" she is. rich too, runs a nice little "roller".
wants me to move right in she does , be a "toyboy".
an' 'eres me eatin' baked beans every day. wot would you do ?
we're gonna watch the 'ammers play chelsea this saturday...
.........................................................

some interesting aspects of cockney life.
1. on my grans street you knew when a family had "arrived". they got a used jag often.
2. lots of fighting between rival teams supporters at "footie games" often.
3. but loads of kindness in the cockney fraternity also. one of many examples was , when i was a kid...
if a family had lost their income thru' job loss, the hat would be handed around to help them get back on their feet. amazeing acts of kindness i saw when i was a kid growing up.

best
oldmuso (with also a uni degree lmao.)

Thanks for the lyric.
I enjoyed the read and the confirmation that I heard it correctly in the 1st instance.

"Toy Boy"lol You are off the chain. I think I owe you a pig’s ear.

I did not look for the warts, just enjoyed the song first thing this morning.

This damn pandemic...keeps me locked up, away from London, Paris, Rome, and a hundred places I want to be. Seeing and playing this sort of thing live.

I want to play in the tubes at least once before I die even if the Blue Meanies put me in the can.lol


Cheers,

M8

Well, I'm glad you got that out of your system, om. Sounds great on my system here. You're right, there's a alot of work in there and it all works very well. Thanks for the lyrics and I'm glad Ray was right. hehe

Now that's entertainment. Big fun. I don't have buds, but it sounds pretty crunchy on these monitors.

No bud listening here but the mix sounded good on the KRK's.

Although not well schooled in the genre I would think the drums could cut a bit more.

Cool lyric and well delivered.

Reminded us a bit of some of the music we heard on Peaky Blinders.

Kudos,

J&B

Wow, those were some liner notes. TBH, I didn't read word one of them. I just listened, which is the way I like to do it. I listened twice. The song had a lot of energy, which of course is part of the genre. Guitar solo was good, lyrics fit just right. (I do read lyric sheets). Good job.

justanoldmuso,
Cool punk themed tune and a nice background story. Fun and rich production musically and vocally. Liked it.
Thank you for sharing.
Misha.

Hi om,

It's great to hear a cockney accent. (Well, that is what it sounded like to me from an Australian perspective. So please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I love the fast an furious sound of the backing. It's incredibly catchy and had my toes tapping in next to no time.

This is such a great listen! I enjoyed it (and I'm still smiling).

All the best,
Noel

Billy, Tangmo, Marty, Janice & Bud, Tunemonger, Misha, and Noel.

thanks for listening and comments.

as you have probably figured out, i like to do the occasional piece of song craziness...lmao.

even better it makes my day if people have lots of fun and a good laugh listening.
(the more fun and laughter in the world..the better.)

you are all wonderfull kind and talented people. and i highly appreciate your comments/feedback.

Noel..yes the song is cockney all the way.
fyi i'm a cockney lad. its my heritage.
then i went off to a "posh ooh la la " uni..lol. and after that worked/lived all over the world.

regarding the song... some more details...
1. i reinforced some of the manipulated RT gtr traks with my own subtle gtr overdubs..then spent time (lots) trying to improve sound picture useing reaps built in gtr amp plug ins, as well as various other little editing tricks etc.
2. the outtro often actually happens in real life. ie hookups occur between the wealthy and poor classes.
ie between the wealthy london west end and the east end.
best and thank you all once again.
om

That was a lot of fun. Lots of nice touches both vocally and musically. Definitely worth all rhe effort, well done.
Regards,
Leon

leon.
sorry for thanking you late.
had a checkup.
i hate getting older...lol.
as i'm writing this my team 'ammers is beating man u
so me happy lad.
best regards n thanks for listening to my crazyness.
oldmuso.
final hammers 1 man u 0 wowser

" raw fast punk song reflecting my birth heritage"
Done!
Nice one!