At college, in the early '70's the boys and I wasted most weekend afternoons in summer walking down Oxford Street or Kings Road, London, trying to be cool and connect with chicks *peace and love sign". One had remarkable, and impressive success, of a second date. Then nearly 40 years later I saw the old toerag being interviewed on TV for some reason, which reminded me of those days. Then soon after I was watching a medical documentary TV program when the professor, mentioned in the song, said what he said and this developed from there, poem first.

rockstar_not, Scott, gave the heads up for the free VSTi PLEX2. and this appeared. Thanks Scott!

1953

there's nothing so sweet as when you're walking down a city street and you see that girl walk by,
the girl that somehow someway caught your eye
the smell of her perfume fills your mind and takes over every living thought in that day
and you don't know why.
well a professor on the TV said that there are smell receptors in the front of our brain that govern our actions when we fall in love
err?
ha! so its got nothing to do with her big brown eyes and that to you she is the prettiest, prettiest girl you've ever seen
*sigh*

tonight i'll sit alone and wait for you
tonight we both should go to sleep, to dream
our minds as one should make some sense of it all, maybe
and then we could change who's happening in our lives.

you got that look baby looking at your face, you got something that I want it, it's a funky little boat race
time's bin kind to you, more than I can say for me but that's another story cos I'm talking about you
you take my breath away in more ways than one ooh and if you talked to me well I'd have a number too many people running out my life in this day and age and its making me so mad
something gotta go right
cos something's happened tonight
I can't be alone in thinking that this at last may be right
maybe I'm outa my mind but we should be together, always be together insane in our natural serotonin dreams.

so next day you are there at the same time, gotta be the same place, and you hope that she will turn up and look for you just as you are looking for her
if it was in black and white it would be like an old movie in your mind and you are Burt Lancaster she is Deborah Kerr in "From here to eternity"
on THAT beach in 1953

no matter what you are thinking its a marvelous thing
when its tripping away out of control
and running on steam, just running on empty running on the smells in the air that you can breathe and she can breathe
just the two of you
ahh there she is
"Hi"
"My name is Al"


****** Song Summary *************
Style MIDI Instruments are : Acoustic Guitar (26), Strings (49),
RealTracks in song: ~713:Bass, Acoustic, Bossa Ev 085 (B:energetic)
RealTracks in song: 921:Bass, Acoustic, Bossa Ev 110
RealTracks in song: 1175:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm PopCalypso Ev 100
RealTracks in song: 1903:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm Bolero Ev 090
RealTracks in song: 2334:String Quartet, Rhythm PopChamber Ev 085
RealDrums in Song: NashPopBallad^01-a:SideStick, Partially Closed HiHat , b:Snare, Partially Closed HiHat
*******************

I used the BIAB Chord track and the arpeggiator in Cubase for the synths. Using PLEX2, EMU Proteus and FM7.
A bit of me on keyboard and guitar
and a bongo loop from ACID.

enjoy

Alyn

Hi Alyn (semi-detached, suburban?)
Loved it.
Very Richard Burton vocal tone to the prose - perfect delivery.
And a neat little hooky chorus.
Twas just the same in the 60's - the present Mrs Sixchannel was just a Saturday Dance "pick up" some 48 years ago.
Well done
Ian

WOW, Alyn! This one totally blew me away! There is so much that I like about it!

First of all, I'm curious to know if you listen to any K-POP (Korean pop music) because this song is a perfect match for that genre (except your lyrics are in English). Todays Korean TV shows are full of songs very much like this, with orchestral backings but spoken rap-like lyrics. (CLICK FOR AN EXAMPLE) I really LIKE that presentation style.

Anyway, I thought your setup to the song was very interesting... until I heard the song I didn't quite get the full impact of what you were saying, but afterwards I thought I would have missed a lot about the song if you hadn't set it up first.

Regarding your delivery: Man, I thought it was absolutely AWESOME the way you drew me in with the short banter-like notes, including the sighs and almost subliminal comments.

In songs like this (with spoken lyrics) the cadence of the words becomes very important... that makes word selection critical because you can't have a two syllable word where you have one syllable of cadence remaining. In my opinion, your lyrics worked VERY well cadence-wise. And they worked equally well in terms of saying what you had to say. Its not easy to pull off both goals at the same time, but you did.

I have more to say, but my memory is short, so I'll have to save this reply, and go back to listen some more before I edit the reply with new thoughts.... but GOOD JOB! This one really got my attention, and I like it a lot!



here is a better example of a K-pop CLICK ME
The point I'm trying to make is the interesting combination of rapped lyrics and a highly orchestrated backing track... which is exactly what you did in this song

Alyn. I think this is a brilliant write and production! My favorite of yours so far. You've done a really good job in blending the music, narrative and singing. Love the choice of instruments. I think the Richard Burton comparison is a nice fit for this song because I can easily imagine him performing this very tune. Very, very much enjoyed.

Charlie

Ian,

Semi- detached and suburban...definitely. a Brilliant song by the Manfreds.

Thanks for the Richard Burton mention, amazingly he was born 3 miles from where I live now. He had a wonderful speaking voice, and singing!! cos I strolled in my local pub round about that time in the 70's and there he was in full swing, beers a flowing and in the corner was Elizabeth Taylor in a similar state apparently. I was then thrown out LOL

Thanks for listening
SO glad you like it

Alyn
ps "Broadsword calling Danny boy"

Alyn, I love this. The narrative sits perfectly in the rhythm . Really creative putting a Rap on top of those Bossa real tracks. Very cool. One of my recent favorites. Great Stuff! Tom

Pat,

I haven't listened to K-POP, but am as I type this bit!! wow he speaks fast.I shall listen to more later.

I had to setup the song as otherwise it makes no sense to anyone but me.
I did not change the initial words a lot as they just flowed, I threw a lot out but when the rhythm of the VSTi (PLEX2) appeared via the chord track it suddenly all gelled together. And the last verse suddenly appeared to end the song.

Thanks for listening. Your comments to songs are ALWAYS worth a good read as you show something special in your remarks.
Your knowledge and intelligence shines through

Alyn

Charlie,

As I said to Ian (sixchannel) I come from the same part of Wales as he did and am humbled by the comparison, I enjoyed his films and narrative (War of the Worlds") immensely.

So glad you enjoyed

Alyn

Hi Tom,

It took a while to find the bossa rhythm as it started with a 6 string strum RT and that overpowered the words.
The thing, I think, that helped the flow was the rhythm of the VSTi Plex2, it seemed to give my voice wings LOL

Thanks for listening

Alyn

Very creative and interesting, as is always the case with you Alyn!! There's an element of rap but softer and more poetic, and more vulnerable. There's a vibe created where the listener is sharing in the character's fantasy, almost as would occur with watching a film. There's a stream of consciousness element that's quite hypnotizing. A very enjoyable listen. Your creativity is boundless!! Take care. Greg

Wow I never thought of that and in my last post, Damn me, I even wrote "I paint a picture with words in my mind again"

I have always wanted to rap ever since I heard Rapper's Delight by The Sugar Hill gang in 1979. But there was always a consonant in front making it more descriptive.

I keep re-reading your post and go "me???"

Thank you so much listening and more so for your wonderful post.

So glad you dropped in !!

Alyn

Alyn,

Spectacular!

Awesome!

Creative!

Ear worm. Captivating. Visual. Olfactory. Thoughtful. Thought-provoking.

Deligthful.

I am a fan.

floyd

Hi Alyn,

very nice. Great arrangement.
I like your rapping style.
Very enjoyable listen.

Guenter

Greg nailed it. Very creative, and the variations in your delivery of the story, the timing, the singing, the reading, really make this interesting. The musical tracks complement very well, a superb production all around:)

I really enjoyed this. The totally unrelated thought it brought to the foreground...we are all on the same path but at different times.

And...Bill Gates' greatest claim to fame in college was his uncanny ability to jump out of a big galvanized trashcan without touching the sides nor knocking it over. More news you can't use.

floyd,

Thank you. A man of few words and each one a delight to read!

Thank you so much, I am humbled by your praise.

Alyn

Guenter,

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the rap!

Alyn

Scott,

Thanks for listening and your nice comments. I am glad you enjoyed my old man rap and my memories of some good times.

I look forward to your next song.

Alyn

Don


How true!

What a wonderful forum this is as most of us would never have met, not because of the distances but because our music is so varied. What a great programme BIAB is!!!

Thanks for commenting!!!

ALl the best for your album!

Alyn

Sheesh, man, is this forum ever on a creative streak!

The spoken word in music has never particularly captivated
us but, wow, you nailed it. The timbre of your voice,
the accent, the "island backing," all work together
wonderfully to capture the mood.

PG Music oughta be tremendously pleased with
efforts like this -- ones that so well showcase the
power of their products.

Congrats!!

J&B

Janice and Bud,

My friends think my spoken word songs, I have quite a few, are weird and are generally not liked.
I have put a lot of my poems to music meaning many songs/musical pieces are "not conventional".
But then I am not conventional according to many I meet

BUT I am so glad you were "caught in the mood".

Yeh BIAB is an incredible program,I found it years ago, when on the Atari 1040, and ALL my songs are produced using it in some way or other.

thanks for listening and commenting


Alyn

Alyn,

This was involving and drew me in. The cadence with your speaking voice was very effective. I also liked that you broke it up with some singing which I had hoped would be repeated once again before the song ended but it's cool just as it is. The music arrangement underscored it really well and like that synth too.

Much enjoyed.

Josie

I looked at this post whilst at work ... couldn't listen, now I can (right before bedtime LOL).

You really set the story well with your introduction to this song. There are only a few of those that I could possibly make, but those tunes were not generated with a BIAB product.

At any rate: this really has me involved in the story you are telling. Mesmerizing, really! SO many emotions in this one....

You do well at the 'rap' style, btw

Congrats on a song well done!!!

Hi Alyn,

Yes, this is so very original!!!
Really like that 'talked' part followed by the sung chorus.
The arrangement has a nice and warm atmosphere, also very much liked the intro.
The strings through the entire song are beautiful!

Regards,
Rob

1953…
Rumba with 21 century feel
Spirit of the old Floyd somewhere
I mean Pink Floyd of course
F

Hi Alyn. I think this is marvelous. I hear a touch of the old pink floyd and roger waters in there somewhere also. Great rap and lyrics. Would like to have heard the singing again at the end. Cheers.

Wow, this is really cool and well done. Brilliant touch using an English accent on it! It isn't exactly rap and it isn't exactly Rex Harrison speak-singing ("I'm an ordinary man..."), but it really works. It strangely reminds me of a humorous song from Flight of the Conchords, "Inner City Pressure."

Thanks,
Bruce

Hi Alyn ...

Well, we of Welsh origin are a somewhat talented group, eh? And Tom Jones has always been one of my favorites for many years.

Your spoken voice is perfect for this. The musical arrangement is fabulous! This is a great melding of words and music. i think people sometimes confuse "weird" and "different". We're programmed to expect what is the usual. When something other than that expectation arrives, it's often referred to, incorrectly, as "weird". Ain't nothin' weird about this ... it's simply lovely! best to you ...

Alan & Di

Hi, Alyn !:))


This is one of your
absolute best if not
the best ! I like
everything about this
lovely tune !:))


Cheers
Dani

Josie,

I didn't repeat the singing bit because it would have ruined the story!!!
I didn't think of that at the time, I just thought of that now.
At the time each bit just seemed to be right.

Glad you enjoyed.

Alyn

Cheers Mike,

I am glad I hooked you into the vision.
I never thought, when I had finished it,that it would portray such a thought process because I wrote it! and my memories were already there.

Yeh rap without the c

Thanks for listening

Alyn

Rob,

Glad you enjoyed.

The strings were from Cakewalk Studio Instruments: strings. And EMU Proteus free. Nice aren't they!

Thanks for listening

Alyn

Fred,

Rhumba with a 21st century feel is a nice description, if you don't mind I shall borrow it!!!
Yeh I LOVE Floyd (floyd is a good guy too )

I keep trying to do a Pink FLoyd style piece in BIAB but not there yet

Thanks for listening

Alyn

Rich,

Good to hear from mate.

As I said to Josie (Sundance)to repeat the singing would have spoiled my story but I do see a need, now. I shall work on a re-mix but don't hold your breath!

ALyn

Bruce,

I have no choice with an English accent as apparently I sound like a watered down Prince Charles *shudder*

Don't remember that song from Flight of the Conchords so I shall hit google later.

Really glad you enjoyed.

Alyn

Al,
Welsh eh! Men with either a beer in their hands or a song on their lips.
That's why we live in the Land of Song. Tom Jones has always been a favourite of mine and Delilah was always a good encore when I was in a band.

So glad you enjoyed the song.

Take Care both,

Alyn

Thanks Dani,

The next part of this story is a candlelit meal for two with your love songs playing in the background!!!

SO glad you like it!

Alyn

Alyn ...

Yep, Welsh, Swiss and German.... mostly Welsh. The family originated mostly in Cardiganshire. Left Wales for the States, then the British Colonies, in the very early 1700's. David was a relatively common surname in Wales. Also, it is said that Welsh is the most difficult, major western language to learn. I tend to agree!

The original spelling of our name was Daffyd.

Just thought I'd bring that to your attention. And yes, Sir Thomas Jones is a wonderful entertainer with a powerful voice!

Wishing you well ...

Alan

What a great track and excellent lyrics! Congratulations gibson.

This really inspires me to write something myself.

Thanks for sharing.

Rec

Alyn,

I don't know how I missed this one! I love it! This is my favorite of everything that I have heard from you so far... It's kind of like Bob Dylan meets Lou Reed, meets Tom Petty. Outstanding!

Bob

BUMP!
No way I'm letting this one scroll off the front page so soon!

Thanks for the praise!!

I look forward to hear the song this inspired

All the best

Alyn

Bob,

To be mentioned in the same sentence as those 3 greats is humbling!

Thanks for listening and commenting

take care over Christmas

All the best

Alyn

Pat,

Thank you for the bump.

Too many good songs appearing at this time of year

Have a good Christmas

Alyn

Loved this Alyn, having lives in London myself I can see where you are coming from.

Loved the intro too, it reminded me of the kind of music that the BBC would use at the start of one of their radio programs, and suited perfectly.

Musiclover

Musiclover,

London is great for the young!!

That is an interesting comment about the Beeb, I take that as a compliment.

Thanks for listening and all the best for the festive period

Alyn

I'm really late to hear this and everything that I wanted to say has already been said!

But I think this is the best you have ever done! Great rhythm through out complimented by spoken word and song.

Loved it!

Hey there Alyn!

Every time I get to thinking that I know what you're about, you surprise me again.

I know I'm a bit late to this one (just back from Centre Parcs) and it's all been said, but this really is outstanding in so many ways.

It's always tempting to make comparisons, but in the final analysis it's pure Alyn through and through. I can't think of anyone I've met during forty years at this game who was more daring and creative in their musical output. I think it's about time we had a downloadable CD of your work this year.

How will you ever keep up this standard next year?

ROG.