DEVELOPMENT Most of my songs posted to the User Showcase Forum have been middle-of-the-road and not intense. For some time, I’ve been wanting to record something heavier. This song is in a genre I will call ‘Tinnitus Rock’.
I wrote the riff over the top of the 4-chord progression for this song back in 2016 ... and it sat there until late 2025. Originally, it had the title 'Sweet thing' but that was just a placeholder. Given the heavy rock style, I thought it would be a good opportunity to outwork my views on the super-rich and wealth inequality, so the title and theme Billionaire was used. The angsty feel of the lyrics suited grunge.
As I started off with just the riff and chord progression from 2016, I had to choose a style, write melodies, add a chorus and write all the lyrics. I had in mind I wanted the riff to have a guitar sound like that found on ‘Come as you are’ by Nirvana, so I added distortion, chorus and reverb. In BIAB, I changed from the original RealStyle of _ELECTAM (Uplifting rock with tambourine) to _IMPURE (Guitar solo grunge rock).
RECORDING INFORMATION Style is _IMPURE.STY (Impure Guitar Solo Grunge Rock) RealDrums in style:RockHardLA^5-a:Snare, Loose HiHat , b:Snare, Open HiHat RealTracks in style: ~684:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesSync Ev 120 – with distortion added RealTracks in style: 3729:Guitar, Electric, Soloist GrungePopGritty Ev 110 RealTracks in style: 3727:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm GrungePopDist8ths Ev 110 RealTracks in style: 3728:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm GrungePopGritty2-note Ev 110 Additional RealTracks used: RealTracks in song: 648:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopRockBritHeavy Ev 120 - only in verse 3 RealTracks in song: 697:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120 - only in verse 3
Me: Main vocal doubled – with 2nd -12dB and slightly right 18% Backing vocals x 3 with low shelf pulled all the way down at 300hz + reverb Riff played on my Ibanez AMV10A with EQ, distortion, chorus and reverb Mixed in Reaper 7.59
LYRICS VERSE 1 We pay through the nose for the things we don’t own And we’re led by our noses by the screen on our phone No-one new can buy their own home You’re hidden in darkness so you remain unknown
Play INTRO
VERSE 2 Millions strive to make it week to week Maximizing profits for the shareholders for whom you speak I pay monthly but with nothing of mine I feel like just a number to you – one in a line
CHORUS It takes a billion Aussie dollar coins to fill over fifteen hundred swimming pools Allowing you to do this, we’ve become the biggest of fools Your wealth is greater than the GDP of many a small nation And you move it around the globe to avoid the taxation
VERSE 3 The one percent grow at exponential rates And the rest of us eat with no food on our plates You sow the seeds of our discontent You divide and conquer through our growing dissent
VERSE 4 One against the other shaking fists in the air If you push us too far, you’re going to poke the bear You grew rich on the back of our taxes And you’ll meet your doom on the end of our axes
CHORUS You accumulate your wealth just because you want more You don’t know what it’s like to have the wolf at your door Who will buy your stuff when there’s no-one left to buy But I bet your gold purse will catch the tears you cry
Sounds great overall, Andrew, I like the attitude. Love the intro. Cool riff! Good write.
For me I find the lead playing at the same time as the vocal a little busy, I'm more a fan of the lead guitar answering the vocal than competing with it. But! That's just my personal taste
Musically I love what you did in verse 3, followed by the build, very effective.
‘Tinnitus Rock’. Ha! I love that. Guitar players standing under cymbals. Yep, this is a cool and heavy song, Andrew. Good mix. Also, Ilike the screenshot of the music. The break down really adds a huge gulp of dynamics. You caould sidechain-duck the guitar behind the vocal. I really like the harmony too, and sometimes the guitar overtakes it. Otherwise a brilliant mix.
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
…..second attempt at a review! Lost the first one after accidentally closing the browser! ….hate doing things twice!!
Another strong lyric driven song with great subject matter. The opening riff sets the tone and we know we’re in for an angst filled ride. The IMPURE style really suits that angry vibe you’re going for. It has the feel of rebellion that a Green Day song has, I can hear Billie Joe giving it his all. I have to agree with one comment, that the lead guitar over the vocals is distracting at times, perhaps you could lower it at those times. The video was excellent as well, you’re getting a professional quality to those these days.
As always a good write, well played song from you Andrew. Kind regards
This is a super sound. I love the topic, and the lyrics fit really well with the style and the arrangement. As Bob said, this is "edgy". In addition, your vocals and mix are great. I enjoyed listening.
Sounds great overall, Andrew, I like the attitude. Love the intro. Cool riff! Good write. For me I find the lead playing at the same time as the vocal a little busy, I'm more a fan of the lead guitar answering the vocal than competing with it. But! That's just my personal taste wink Musically I love what you did in verse 3, followed by the build, very effective. Good song, listened both on YT and SC.
Hi Dave - this 'busyness' was deliberate on my part because to my ears, grunge is like a wall of sound, so I tried to be true to the genre - or at least what I interpreted as the genre. e.g. I loathe this and heavy metal that are constantly using crash cymbals that drown out high end. But like you, I prefer space so I think in a few days I will do a little remix to lower the 3729 RT (or splice and dice around the vocal) and replace the track in SC. Re verse 3, I always think about variation in my recordings so it's not 3-4 minutes of the same. Thanks for listening twice!
Originally Posted by rsdean
That's a great sound. Love the edgy feel of this one. Your vocal is perfect for the arrangement. Excellent mix as well. Nicely done!
Thanks Bob - and for the comment about my vocals. I was concerned that my voice is not build for grunge - I kept thinking it's a bit like Chris de Burgh trying to sing heavy metal. I thought I got the BVs right in the mix - they were initially a bit boomy but my mix got them more towards the back I hope.
Originally Posted by BabuMusic
‘Tinnitus Rock’. Ha! I love that. Guitar players standing under cymbals. Yep, this is a cool and heavy song, Andrew. Good mix. Also, Ilike the screenshot of the music. The break down really adds a huge gulp of dynamics. You caould sidechain-duck the guitar behind the vocal. I really like the harmony too, and sometimes the guitar overtakes it. Otherwise a brilliant mix.
Thanks Marty - see comment above about the guitar in the mix. I think I know what you mean about 'sidechain-duck the guitar' but could you elaborate a bit more about this technique - or point me to a resource that will explain it? Re the screenshot, I'm going to do this in future with my new releases. The break in verse 3 enabled me to see how much ringing in the ears I actually had!
Originally Posted by Knee Wobbler
…..second attempt at a review! Lost the first one after accidentally closing the browser! ….hate doing things twice!! Another strong lyric driven song with great subject matter. The opening riff sets the tone and we know we’re in for an angst filled ride. The IMPURE style really suits that angry vibe you’re going for. It has the feel of rebellion that a Green Day song has, I can hear Billie Joe giving it his all. I have to agree with one comment, that the lead guitar over the vocals is distracting at times, perhaps you could lower it at those times. The video was excellent as well, you’re getting a professional quality to those these days. As always a good write, well played song from you Andrew. Kind regards
Yes Lee - I've done that a few times as well. I can never write as well the second time around. Yes, I am getting into a rhythm with the video production - most of my time goes into searching for relevant content - glad you liked it.
Originally Posted by Noel96
This is a super sound. I love the topic, and the lyrics fit really well with the style and the arrangement. As Bob said, this is "edgy". In addition, your vocals and mix are great. I enjoyed listening.
Thanks Noel! I'm not an edgy or angsty person by nature, so I can only listen to this type of music in small doses. However, the riff I had from 2016 required me to do something out of the norm to do it justice. I have to admit I have been doing a lot of reading and pod listening on the topic in recent months, so it does get me riled up a bit.
I read the comments before listening, which made me think I might not like this. But everything about it worked fine for me. I think you mixed it well and that is why it works. Your song had a lot of energy and attitude and that was very appealing to me. Whenever a songwriter chooses a political topic, there are bound to be some prosody issues. But you did a good job and there were only a few awkward phrases.
Of course I am in alliance with the subject matter, I feel so badly for young people struggling in this new world economy. If you don't have the kind of skills that command a high salary, you are screwed. If the economic disparity gets any worse, there will be major protests in the streets, I think. We'll see.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
G'day Andrew I really like the way you have assembled the tracks for maximum dramatic effect. Sounds great. The panned guitars are very effective in adding tension to a serious subject but as others have suggested I also think they could use some ducking, but no biggie. This song has a Midnight Oil vibe IMO (a good thing) which is "code" for a song which makes a strong statement. So good to hear you exploring other musical territory and you (and I, the listener) have been rewarded with a great song.
just quickly because I think you asked another poster and I wanted to add my dodgy 2c's worth. "ducking" is most commonly used with bass and kick drum but is also relevent in preventing tracks stealing energy from the main player - usually vocals. Some use plugins like "trackspacer" but I prefer to use a tracks automation (in this case the guitars) and manually adjust the volume down while the singer is active. The automation can be copied and pasted to other tracks where required so you only have to do this once. IMO manual automation is a fantastic and fun way to rid one's self of some CPU sucking plug ins.
sorry for jumping in, I didn't mean to distract from your very good song and it's important message.
G'day Andrew I really like the way you have assembled the tracks for maximum dramatic effect. Sounds great. The panned guitars are very effective in adding tension to a serious subject but as others have suggested I also think they could use some ducking, but no biggie. This song has a Midnight Oil vibe IMO (a good thing) which is "code" for a song which makes a strong statement. So good to hear you exploring other musical territory and you (and I, the listener) have been rewarded with a great song.
just quickly because I think you asked another poster and I wanted to add my dodgy 2c's worth. "ducking" is most commonly used with bass and kick drum but is also relevent in preventing tracks stealing energy from the main player - usually vocals. Some use plugins like "trackspacer" but I prefer to use a tracks automation (in this case the guitars) and manually adjust the volume down while the singer is active. The automation can be copied and pasted to other tracks where required so you only have to do this once. IMO manual automation is a fantastic and fun way to rid one's self of some CPU sucking plug ins.
sorry for jumping in, I didn't mean to distract from your very good song and it's important message.
Keep making your great music Izzy
Thanks Izzy - I used volume automation on the guitar (I didn't know this was called 'ducking') but obviously not enough! I was worried that the guitar might be up and down and this might be disorientating for the listener - anyway, I'll be a bit more bullish with my automation and see how it goes. I just need to have a breather so I have some fresh ears.
Regarding the Midnight Oil vibe (BTW - RIP Rob Hirst), this *is* a protest song but maybe not 'staccato' enough to be Midnight Oil proper? I also missed my opportunity for a bit of crazy dancing and hand waving on the video!
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I thought I got the BVs right in the mix - they were initially a bit boomy but my mix got them more towards the back I hope.
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