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#750313 01/22/23 10:35 AM
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Title: Isolation Grows

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRHaY_ei6uI

The idea for this song came to me when I was at a local ice cream parlor with my wife. At the table next to us sat a bunch of
teenagers, and all but one girl were staring at their cell phones.
The girl was staring at one of the guys.
This is that girl's song smile

The usual unsolicited information:
  • The girl singing in the video is/was actually 8 famous pop/rock singers (the first to guess all 8 correctly gets a box of extra kudos) quickly morph into each other, realized with Stable Diffusion AI. Of course, the lip sync isn't as good as in a real 3D video, but I kind of like the effect.
    And it never hurts to try something new.
  • In his feedback on my last song, David Cuny asked for "even more contrast" between the parts.
    I decided to use volume as my weapon of choice.
  • There are (according to the spell checker on this forum) 2 explicit words in the lyrics.
    If that's a problem for you, just close your ears grin
  • Unlike the usual "normal verse, loud chorus" I did the opposite because, well, why not?

Special thanks (again) to Marty for proofreading the lyrics and encouraging words.
And to David Cuny for the help during the early stages of writing the lyrics.
You guys are great!

Some technical information:
Style: _FLIPSID.STY

The band:
Drums: PopRock8ths + SkaSlow70sWesPerc
Bass: 1255 PopShiningA-B (re-amped)
Guitars: too many whistle (most re-amped)
  2x 3931 AltRockFastChugMute
  2x 3307 Metal 12-key
  2x 3731 GrungeChugSyncArp
  3642 DublinPopSlowLowSteady
  3635 DublinPop2noteHiConstant
  634 PopAmericanMuted
  4100 ModernPopFastRock1
  3634 DublinPop2noteHi
  3640 DublinPopSlowMedArp
Synths: yours truly
Vocals: Natalie with BG vocals from Eleanor and Solaria.

You can find the lyrics in the next post.

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Lyrics: Isolation Grows

Intro:
I am sitting with friends
at a table in a restaurant
but no one looks up from their phone
I'm alone

Chorus 1:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
is something that I just can't get
from a social media app

Verse 1:
Texting is your world
you share your life with everyone but me
it makes you blind for those around you

You're afraid that you're missing the world
but what you miss is life
as it happens around you

Chorus 2:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
a feeling that I just can't get
from a boring internet chat

Verse 2:
You think you' re so cool
when you take selfies with your friends
and get drunk and show off your junk
(your little thing)

Embarrassment is your middle name
you never feel ashamed
but one day it might come back
and bite you in your precious *ss

Chorus 3:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
is something that I just can't get
from a social media app

Chorus 4:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
a feeling that I just can't get
from a social media chat

Chorus 5:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
a feeling that I just can't get
from a f*cking internet chat

Chorus 6:
Looking into those blue eyes
seeing the smile around your lips
a feeling that I never will get
from a boring internet chat
no no

Last edited by B.D.Thomas; 01/22/23 10:39 AM.
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Not my usual kind of thing, but I enjoyed this one ... so well produced and realised! Excellent job. The variation in volume is one of the things that keeps the interest of the listener, I find. Well done!

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Nice poppy new wave sound and arrangement.
Good vocals - the BVox really lift things too.
Lyrically I completely get/understand the narrative but often the word choices are those of someone not from that generation.
The vid, I only looked at it a couple of times as I was focusing on the song, seemed solid..not the background described in the song but it is, after all, a vehicle not the ride.
Well done.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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I read the lyrics first and thought some of the words wouldn't sing well. But upon listening, they sounded fine. You used a lot of RTs but it was a nice clear mix to my ears. I couldn't recognize one singer in the video, much less eight. But it looked great. Good work.


Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Hi B.D.,

I listened to this very nice song and saw a lot more of your songs with Natalie Lennox.
I listened to some more after this: Increased insanity, Raccoon in a dumpster and The fragile little sparrow.
I loved them all. There were more to listen to, but I had other plans for the rest of my day. So I I subscribed to your YouTube channel!

I like the music a lot, the videos a little less.
The sound of the instruments, especially the percussion, is very, very good.
And I love the vocals.

Hans


Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130
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Hi B.D.
Really cool song
Very good melody and background track
The vocals are amazingly good
But I would like to see more emotions in the voice in some places
A real singer would get a lot more out of this great song.
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

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Great vocals and great mix! Definitely going to check out your other tracks as well!


Feel free to check out my music: https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderpaulmusic
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The subject is bit sad about drawbacks of the modern technology, I have written one handling the same subject but with darker content.
Reminds me of Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now (maybe rhytmically), also Natalie sounds bit like Natalie Imbruglia. That just shows how you have written professional sounding solid pop song.
Very good rocking sound, mixed well, nice selection of different guitars, not too many smile. I like how there's now clear dynamic difference between verses and the chorus.
Excellent work with the vocals, I really like the sound of Natalie and the backing vocals are also well done.

Janne


Hear My Music:

Soundcloud
YouTube

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B.D.

A good write. Interesting observations.
Good Pop-ish BAND.
Well mixed.

fj

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I liked the song. smile

Nothing really to add here - it sounds good.

The sitar solo was sort of out place, but where does it fit into a pop song, anyway? wink

But I actually quite liked it as a backing instrument.

Glad to hear you're doing better.


-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?
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Hey B.D.

I really like the arrangement, and your use of dynamics.

Guitars sound great, drums too, and the vocal is amazingly good!

Good stuff, enjoyed.

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Originally Posted By: musician17
Not my usual kind of thing, but I enjoyed this one ... so well produced and realised! Excellent job. The variation in volume is one of the things that keeps the interest of the listener, I find. Well done!

Thanks, James, for listening and your kind feedback.

Like you, this forum confronts me with music I wouldn't normally listen to, and more often than not I like what I hear.
That's one of the reasons I like this place so much smile

rayc #750589 01/24/23 02:25 AM
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Originally Posted By: rayc
Nice poppy new wave sound and arrangement.
Good vocals - the BVox really lift things too.
Lyrically I completely get/understand the narrative but often the word choices are those of someone not from that generation.

Thank you for listening and your always constructive feedback, Ray.
I actually intended to use the words of this generation, but when we old farts do it, it's still not the same and quickly becomes outdated.
That's also why I intentionally avoided product names like WhatsApp or Zoom, in a few years no one will remember them.

Quote:

The vid, I only looked at it a couple of times as I was focusing on the song, seemed solid..not the background described in the song but it is, after all, a vehicle not the ride.
Well done.

Actually, I had already created images to describe the story, but when I hear the lyrics "I'm sitting with friends at a table in a restaurant" and read the automatically generated lyrics from YouTube stating the same, an image with people sitting at a table in a restaurant would somehow be doubly redundant, so I did what came to mind first.

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Ah, Spellcheck is a prude programed by the same folks that promoted Everyone Gets A Trophy. This is a terrific song, BD. You really do a good job with your singers, and the whole band. Excellent choices and the perfect arrangement and mix. The song is surely catchy enough to grab the attention of even the most ardent catatonic cell addict.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub
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Another potential hit under your belt, B.D.
I thought the vocal was strangely refreshing but I'd like to hear what a real vocalist
could do with it.
Love the song and mix and in some places it reminded me of Fleetwood Mac.

Vic

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Originally Posted By: TuneMonger
I read the lyrics first and thought some of the words wouldn't sing well. But upon listening, they sounded fine. You used a lot of RTs but it was a nice clear mix to my ears.

Thanks Rob for listening and your feedback!

Originally Posted By: TuneMonger
I couldn't recognize one singer in the video, much less eight. But it looked great. Good work.

That's the reason why I did it that way. I could have just done the video with, say, Whitney Houston singing my song, but that would probably break some law.

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Originally Posted By: Birchwood
Hi B.D.,

I listened to this very nice song and saw a lot more of your songs with Natalie Lennox.
I listened to some more after this: Increased insanity, Raccoon in a dumpster and The fragile little sparrow.
I loved them all. There were more to listen to, but I had other plans for the rest of my day. So I I subscribed to your YouTube channel!

I like the music a lot, the videos a little less.
The sound of the instruments, especially the percussion, is very, very good.
And I love the vocals.

Hans

Thank you, Hans, for listing not only to this song, but several others as well. I really appreciate that.
And thanks also for subscribing to my YouTube channel, I feel a little less lonely there now smile

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B.D.Thomas

You are right about Marty and David! You can't go wrong with their help on a project! This track sounds super! What a great use of the realtracks! Excellent instrument choices and the mixing and production are top shelf! The use of the AI vocals is beautiful work!

Take care, T

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B.D.,

Excellent production value on this . . . just some wonderful touches throughout. And that vocaloid shines . . . you really nail those. Thematically, very relevant . . . though I tend to agree with rayc on the lyrical tone. But it resonates notwithstanding, carried by a first rate and very professional production. Good stuff!

All my best to you,

Deej

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