Hi everyone,

Normally I can alter some things in a song, but never a whole song.
That's exactly what I did now!: https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/it-is-what-it-is

I altered the melody completely and a bit of the lyrics.
The reason was I was not satisfied with the original song. My foot didn't tap. With this version it did!
And I liked the kind of singing in this version more. A little tension at the beginning and then 'loosen up'.
I do hope you will give it a listen. And be very honest about your feet (or foot); was it tapping or not?

The changing of the lyrics was because of what Robbert said about all the words I use. some of them could be left out. I did that and changed some more, but the message stayed the same. It is brought only a bit more punchy. And I changed some instruments and used a special effect on my keyboard at -nearly- the end of the song.

Let me know what you think of it,
Hans


It is what it is
(c) HWBerkhout, 09092020

The world in trouble, we can't sleep
Democracy erodes, we weep
A president more freakish everyday
Praising dictators. Thinks it's ok

Chorus
Mayhem and madness cause this world to decline
It is what it is while he feels fine
He's indifferent as cities burn
Call it nasty, but it's not his concern  

Black lives matter, MeToo
Pandemics and Truth ends under his shoe
No empathy, calls all a hoax
Lies on everything, Shatters hope

Economy a loss, environment in despair
Millions without work, he doesn't care
This leader proved he cannot reign
He can't admit it. He's so vain

Chorus
Mayhem and madness cause this world to decline
It is what it is while he feels fine
He's indifferent as cities burn
Call it nasty, but it's not his concern

Solo

Chorus2
Let's prevent voting to be toyed
It is what it is, Democracy can be destroyed
We'll be indifferent as his empire burns
Call it nasty but it's not our concern

Mayhem and madness makes his world decline
If it is what it is, we feel fine
Call this a dream? Then dream it all your time!
It is what it is, we feel fine!

Ohh
Is it what it is? Do we feel fine?
Come on, man. Wake up !

My toe was tapping as well. Loved the rasp of the guitar. Excellent vocal. loved the backtrack

Sounds great, Hans.

It does groove better than the original I think, although I liked that one also.

Oh, the Guitar is sitting right where it should be too

Hans,

New version sounds great.

Good vocals. Good instrument levels. Good mix. Nice guitar.

Very cool stuff happening towards the end.

Well done.

fj

You go !

Hans,
Thumbs up on the redo- definitely foot tapping here ( also patting that guy Robertkc on the back for his suggestion- the lyrics are nice and snappy now!).
I think the ending is different- its loose and fun anyway.
Excellent raspy vocals as usual.
Joe might want to use this as a warmup at rallies.

Robert

Hello Hans ...

Sounding really, really good! It has strong drive and has a terrific mix. The guitar track was perfect. And you vocal is excellent on this. Thanks for a great listen ... love the song and your delivery of it.

Wishing you the best. Be safe ...

Alan

The New Berkhout is a toe workout.

Hi Scott, I'm glad the toes worked well! Thanks for the nice comment on this version.




Hello Dave. I knew that comment on the guitar had to come! ;-)
And thanks for your judgement. I am more happy with this one.



Nice comment, Floyd! I discovered how I can turn down that sibilance. I work more with Melodyne now and it's more easy to control it.
I found Melodyne a very complicated piece of software, but step by step I am getting closer to better sounding songs. Do you use it?
And what I did at the end was because it was in my head all the time and I thought the song was too short...



Well thanks, Captain! and also for your comment on the first version (or in that post).



Robert, you really deserve that pat on the back! The lyrics are better/punchier after skipping al those 'in between' words. but I like talking...
And I hope Joe is a member of this forum!




Wow Alan, that is said very nicely! Thanks! And stay safe as well, both of you.



Ah, Ray! I am so glad your toes had their exercise while listening to my song. I do everything to keep you in good shape!

Have a nice day, everyone,
Hans

Hello Birchwood,

I really enjoyed the lyrics. The tone of voice lends itself well with the words. The arrangement is very pleasant. The lead guitar is well balanced. Very good work.

Kindly regard
alias JaniJackFlash

Hans,
I listened to this couple of days ago, and I thought it was a VERY good remix / redo.
I re-listened this morning and seems my ears did not lie to me. One of the best of your tunes for sure. No point of dissecting it, it is whole. Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Hi Dero and Misha,

Thanks for the compliments on the song.

Hi Dero, Beside the compliments I am very pleased you liked the lyrics too. Not everyone does...

Hello Misha, I was surprised to receive this second post from you. Now I have to take your opinion really serious! (joke, Misha, I always take your opinion serious). I am more convinced than you yourself that your ears don't lie to you on songs from me.
They are always good, except if they don't ;-)
But with the help from people like you I get more handles to improve them. Like with the EQ.

And, in this case, I learned how to use Melodyne on this issue too: I select every vocaltrack separately and lower the amount of sibilance. This works fine in combination with the EQ-settings. I'd notice in a mixing proces, sometimes the sibilance suddenly rise. I learned on YouTube this can occur. But it does not, when I do it like I just described. To my relief.

Have a very nice day, both of you,
Hans

We much liked the first version so it took a few plays to get in the groove with this one.

Yep, it does induce more foot tapping. And we like it!

Regarding the much discussed sibilance we don't use Melodyne (received a free copy from Izotope but have never opened it) however we do have a de-esser that is part of Nectar and also another one from Waves. It seems to me that simply using a de-esser would be simpler than whatever you are doing with Melodyne since they are designed specifically to eliminate sibilance. But not being familiar with Melodyne I may be wrong. FWIW!!!

J&B