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Soundcloud - Running out of options
Youtube - Running out of options A mock video of me trying to write a song in my 'music cave'.

I set out to write a reggae-style song inspired by ‘Rude’ by Magic!. I wondered if BIAB had a style like this, and of course, it did. As a writer, I usually start with music, so the lyrics came later. Over the years, I’ve kept a book of song ideas—phrases or titles that might inspire. The phrase ‘running out of options’ was in my book. I often write chords and melody simultaneously in BIAB, then sing and play it on guitar humanise the song—as I did here. The lyrics follow the familiar theme of writing about songwriting and creative scarcity, and to be transparent, I was assisted by ideas from Copilot (AI) as described below.

Instead of backing vocals, I experimented with doubling the main vocal on certain chorus lines, which I think worked well. I used a general MIDI tuba to lead into each bar of the chorus. The percussion RealDrums tracks added nice effects I’ll call ‘industrial reggae’—not sure if that’s a thing, but that’s how it sounds to me. The ‘interlude’ section was a happy accident: in BIAB, I let a chord play out for several bars after the chorus, and it inspired a new progression. The spoken words over the interlude and outro were the final addition. I like the idea of using my natural speaking voice to reinforce the song’s concept and let listeners hear the real me—normally hidden behind the singing. There’s more of me and my music cave in the Youtube video.

****** SONG SUMMARY *************
Style is _RUDE.STY (Rude Electro Reggae)

RealTracks in style: 3571:Bass, Electric, Reggae16thsAB Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 4012:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModPopDistortedSwellsHeld 65
RealTracks in style: 3607:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ReggaeSlow16thsChop Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 2703:Synth, Rhythm CloudRapHighOrgan Ev16 075
RealDrums in Song: ElecClickPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecCrashPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatPinkRoomBusy
RealDrums in Song: ElecKickPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecSnarePinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatRolls
RealDrums in Song: ElecSnareRollBar2End
RealDrums in style:ReggaeQuarterKickWesPerc^1-a:Sidestick, Hihat , b:Snare, Hihat
GMI 59 Tuba
Recorded, arranged and mixed in Reaper.
I didn’t play any instruments!
*******************

LYRICS
I asked Copilot AI to provide me ideas for ‘running out of options’, and I have marked those ideas I used verbatim (*) or those I word-smithed (+) i.e. much of it. All music composition is by me.

INTRO

VERSE 1
I’m screaming in the silence, and I don’t hear a sound (+)
Every road I tried just led me here (+)
If there’s nothing left to try, (+) have I exhausted all ideas?
Maybe some storms weren’t meant to clear (*)

CHORUS
I was running out options. One breath, one strum, I’m still moving on (+)
Even ashes hold the memory of the flame (*)
It wasn’t the answer, but it led me to one (*)
Learning to give each note a name (+)

VERSE 2
A stranger, no memory, no chord or word becomes the life- line (+)
I stopped singing when the reverb mix was dry (+)
The outro was the start of the end (+) - it was going nowhere and so was I
My guitar became my most despised

CHORUS
I was running out options. Guitar tuned; I stood up; that’s enough to-day
I found a heartbeat in the quiet (+)
Still here, still trying, still me; (*) the dead end gave me time to turn around (+)
The sound of my voice was a welcome friend

INTERLUDE
I’ve got nothing
This isn’t working
That’s no good
Right. Where to next?

CHORUS
I was running out options. Nothing left to lose meant I found life (+)
I’ve been bent, not buried – made it through the night (+)
The lack made me softer not smaller, but I learned to dance in the fog (+)
A crack in the wall - see the morning light (+)

OUTRO

Andrew, very cool "industrial reggae" (great name!) tune and nicely arranged. Super vocals, and the spoken parts are very effective. Like how you use experimentation to push your musical boundaries. In the end, it all sounds like really well crafted music, so...well done!

Ya know, I almost went to Soundcloud to listen and I'm so glad I went to youtube instead. The video was everything! I mean, the song is witty and fun and cool, but the video... First, I love actually seeing a forum buddy. And two, funny as all heck.

Andrew,

You put together some of the fun and creative music around here. Great vocals, great band and a great mix.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Bob

Andrew,
excellent lyric/narrative.
Music is cool too.
The vocal seems a little weak in spots. Are you tuning it & if Y with what?
The ending - interesting...my 1st inclination was that the final chord should have been under STOP but defying expectations is a very good thing to do.

Thank you Bob! I like a reasonably wide variety of styles and write with diverse chord changes and melodies. It helps that I am on the 'quirkiness spectrum' as well - if there is such a thing.

Hi Ray - on the main vocal, I am using ReaComp then ReaTune - mainly to manually correct some of the high notes (I have no rights attempting to sing above D6, but I try as I only have 1 + 1/8th octave range). I also created another receive track (first time I have done this) for the main vocal that has ReaVerb [impulse response Medium Hall] and ReDelay on it.
Regarding the timing of the shot closing chord, you're being generous to say I defied expectations - I just plonked my voiceover *there* without thinking much about it.
Thanks always for your mixing input!
Andrew

Nice Madness/Ska vibe, which I really like.
The vocals could have a bit more energy in some places; I would record a second vocal take to double the parts where necessary.
Doubling the vocals is generally a good idea anyway.
But overall, it's really well done

Thanks BD! I triple track my main vocal and normally sit two of the tracks behind the lead track, so maybe I’ve been a bit heavy-handed in subduing these support tracks. I think I’ll give them a tweak over the weekend.
Andrew

Thanks Ron. Yeah, I liked the idea of spoken parts as something different. I’m always looking for subtle differences that fit a song, and conscious that I don’t become too repetitive or formulaic.
Andrew

Thank you Beth. I like the idea of seeing the person behind each song. We get glimpses through each person’s song catalogue, but are glimpses enough? I didn’t think I set out to make the video funny, but maybe I’ve been immersed in my own soup of silliness and quirkiness for so long that I can’t tell. Glad you enjoyed it!
Andrew

Nice introduction to your creative process. And what an interesting arrangement, haven't heard much reggae/ska on this forum. Reminding me of the early 80's Brit bands like UB40 and The Specials. Also your sympathetic vocals bring back memories, doubling fits well. Nice to hear also tuba Very good mix, enjoyed the reverb.

Interesting and unique lyrics, even though you used AI, the message still sounds yours, "the dead end gave me time to turn around" just one fun example.

And clever ending left the big smile on my face Catchy and original!

Janne

Thank you Janne! Ah yes - the 70s and 80s when reggae and ska were more prevalent. I remember ‘Message to you Rudy’ and ‘Ghost town’ by The Specials.

For the lyrics, I normally would shy away from such blatant use of AI for this, but given the theme, it legitimised it somewhat.

Thanks for listening!

Andrew

Great fun song! Last year I had an instrumental on YT, also posted here, titled "The Hectic Life of Orla Swoon", in which I couldn't find any solos which worked to finish it, so instead it did the opposite of how I handle intros: I took instruments out bit by bit until there was only manic harmonica playing and Orla Swoon's "Ohaho! Oaho!" vocals. I was surprised that it got a pretty good reception here, but I completely deleted it a few weeks ago so that I could use some of the chord structure in something new, which I've now already done.

Wow, this is especially fabulous, Andrew. What a wonderfully creative mind you have, and obviouls no need for Ai, which is just as obvioulsy no help. I really enjoyed the look at your writing style, and I can surely relate. I haven't even mentioned yet how I also enjoy the song --without any options, you sure made some great choices. Great choice of instruments, great choice of melody, great lyrics, and I know you had to make many many choices in the mix, and they all are great.

Thanks Marty! Yes, despite the tone of the song lyrics, like many instances of songwriting, this was a joyful process.
Andrew

Andrew, I almost missed this, I'm really glad I didn't miss it. I got a look at your creative style for this song via your video. Thanx for sharing that. I really liked your vocal. The backing band was spot on. Great mix also. Loved that ending and I just might borrow that from you!
A fantastic song.

PS - I see you pick up your guitars and play them right off of the rack. I assume they are always in tune

Andrew,

I Thoroughly Enjoyed this!!

A great use of BIAB.
And Thank You for that...
- there are elements/instruments in your production that made me think "I could use that..." and I haven't ever considered them because they are labelled "reggae".
And you used them well.
I didn't know that BIAB had a HiHatRoll RD (and nice use of that! - though, I thought it needed to be less loud/more subtle/tucked in.) Have not heard anyone use that....cool...
Loved the Bass sound!

Your vocals work perfectly.

Cool Stuff. Well Done.
(a true "Showcase" song. You Showed me bunches of new stuff! Thank you.)

fj

Thanks Mario! Oh, you caught me out! 😳 In one case, the guitar was pre-tuned prior to filming; in the other, I played it untuned as I just need enough rhythmic sound on the footage to align it with the audio track on the video. This Aussie winter really knocks around the tuning. Currently 16C (60F) here today.
Andrew
PS I always watch out for your humour on your signature - very funny!

Thank you Floyd! I have to admit that there wasn’t a lot of discretionary intelligence in instrument choice on my part. I simply searched in Style Picker for ‘rude’ (a song by Magic!) and up it popped, and used it right off the shelf, as is. I love real track 4012 with its held chords with a phaser(?) effect on it. All those percussive tracks worked wonders as well. Shout out to the PG Music person(s) who compiled this style - they deserve Employee of the Month. I agree that there are lots of cool styles and tracks lurking in obscure places on the StylePicker. In a recent post, I found the Tin Whistle style that has good acoustic strumming, and also found separately the U2 style 16th rhythm guitars - search ‘Dublin’.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

Andrew

Very creative tune. Excellent vocal and lyric. Loved the groove in the backtrack. Well done..