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#510014 12/16/18 04:28 AM
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This is an homage to one of my all-time favorite late-60's TV series, Mission Impossible.

For anyone of my age, the first few trilling notes of Lalo Shiffrin's theme immediately perk up your ears, and maybe hair stand up on the back of your neck!

Peter Graves, the star of the show, once said that "well, each mission was all just a big head game.."

I used a 9/8 time sig, to pay tribute to Shiffrin's 5/4 scheme, and then tried to use both music and lyric to create a mysterioso, covert, espionage feel.

Head Game

----------------------------------------

We're true to a genius blueprint plan;
We launch by the dark of midnight skies
Blending in where we can;
Our accents fly, get us by--'cause we're spies in disguise.

The gist is a twist in train of thought;
That forms the nature of our scheme--
Teasing them out till they're caught.
And if the HEAD GAME's good--let it play--we recede, slip away.

 With a little bit of know-how
And a modicum of chance;
Everything we've done they'll disavow;
As we paralyze their plants;
It's a lovey kind of HEAD GAME,
When they think the choice is theirs;
We control the way the story ends
When they waltz into our snares.

If we come through, if it works out,
Then the bad guys fall. 
But if we screw up and they catch us
They'll deny it all.

It's played to a tee, with clockwork skill,
And one-by-one we capture pawns,
Then we plot the kill.
The HEAD GAME's done, we've withdrawn--
They catch on, but we're gone. 

With our cagey little hustle
We've been turning trust to doubt;
Sure, we gotta use some muscle but
It's the brains that pull it out.
It's a lovey kind of HEAD GAME,
When they think the choice is theirs;
We control the way the story ends
When they waltz into our snares.

If we come through, if it works out,
Then the bad guys fall. 
But if we screw up and they catch us
They'll deny it all.

=====================
Style = TURK.STY (9/8 Turkish - World Styles 2)
Midi Elements: Fretless Bass, Celesta, Shamisen, Sitar, kalimba, Piano, Pad, Muted Trumpet, Udu Drum, Conga, Triangle
Audio Live: Shaker
RT: 1286 Guitar Solo, Country Waltz Brent

Tano Music #510028 12/16/18 05:21 AM
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Hi Tom,
I think this is a great tribute to this TV serie.
9/8 time is not so easy to use !
I like the obssesive and mysterious fretless bass.
The variation is very interesting too with its metallic and magical sounds.
You've done a really good job on it. Christian

Tano Music #510043 12/16/18 06:42 AM
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Tom,
Super tune. Very adventurous. I loved how you laid out your lyrics on it. Very interesting usage of instruments and sound FX. Fun stuff. This is probably #2 song that I really liked of yours. #1 still Day of The Dead for me.

Best regards,
Misha.

Tano Music #510104 12/16/18 09:30 AM
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A clever write - as all of your songs are. Marvelous word play!

Very cool music - very well put together (I would not know 9/8 if it came up and bit my behind...). Good mix.

Ear-engaging. Enjoyable.

fj

Tano Music #510131 12/16/18 11:22 AM
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Christian, Misha, Fj.. Thanks all.. Appreciate your time to listen in..

Tano Music #510156 12/16/18 12:38 PM
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Hi Tano,

This is so cool! Loved it. As previously mentioned, great, catchy lyric. And I love the chord progression. Nice vocal, too!

I've written one song on 9/8 song. It's based on the Mission Impossible theme song - this one has hints of it here and there. I've never posted mine - might do that someday.

Still smiling after listening. Very creative. Best to you.

Alan


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Tano Music #510170 12/16/18 01:05 PM
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Lots of fun!! Very creative stuff here! I used to watch that show a lot. I like the whistling synths with the MI groove. Nicely done!! Take care. Greg

Tano Music #510198 12/16/18 02:00 PM
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You conveyed the "mysterioso" mood quite successfully. The rhythm, the chord progression the musical snippets, all convey a feeling like you are walking through one of those trap-laden tombs in an Indiana Jones movie or walking through a fun-house with the moving floors---you don't know where your next step will land and the apprehension gnaws at the back your mind. Great stuff!

Tano Music #510212 12/16/18 03:07 PM
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Alan, Greg, ES...thanks so much for your kind words...Alan, love to hear that MI-influenced track one of these days!

Tano Music #510320 12/17/18 03:52 AM
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What a cool tune! You nailed the feel/emotion you were going for without doubt! I felt like I was sneaking right along with every bar.

Quote:
spies in disguise.

The gist is a twist


These little internal rhymes thrown in are brilliant. I love the level of lyric writing; and you made it sound effortless.

Lyrically, overall, you have some really well written ideas. You express yourself in such a great way that seems to serve your songs so well.

I was curious if you meant "plants" or "plans" though. Either could work; but was curious if what you have is what you meant. I couldn't exactly tell from the vocal either. The more I listened, the more I was convinced it was whatever I thought it was at the time. lol.

Now the music...wow! I love the total change of feel for the sections. I hear that so rarely. Typically it seems like "set and forget." I'm curious what you all did to accomplish this. I know what I do; but am always looking to see what others do to seem where I can improve. Consider me VERY impressed!

9/8...why not? lol You vocal line was so smooth over it, I think the common listener would not be aware of how complicated what you did was.

Great song. You said what you wanted to do; then showed us that that is exactly what you did. Great job!


Chad (Hope that makes it easier)

TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
Tano Music #510401 12/17/18 09:50 AM
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Thanks H2L!!

Those little interior rhymes really help out when you feel that your end-of-the-line rhyming scheme isn't that strong. I find that if I'm dealing with a very specific idea (like, in this song, espionage-spy ideas), my tunes might be really weak, or false rhymes. So then I try to use those interior rhymes to make up for it, and get the listening ear in rhyme mode. As for "plants", that is what I meant, meaning factories - - the spy team is often involved in screwing up manufacturing of chemicals, weapons, etc.

As far as making the song, once I found that weird time signature style, I simply put a m9 cord out there and started making a melody. Both melody and chord changes in the main part are really pretty simple. I honestly don't remember how I came up with the bridge, since I started this several years ago, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it works. Serindepity, I'd call it!
Thanks for listening and your kind feedback!

Tano Music #510422 12/17/18 10:51 AM
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Really nice song.
Very original melody.

Excellent real tracks used.

Sergio



Sergio
Tano Music #510501 12/17/18 01:54 PM
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I don't how you accomplished this tune, pulling all the pieces together...
I in awe & yet you make it look so easy...
All the parts fit together very well just like the IMF team did in each episode.
Good writing!


Jim
†=☮&♥
Tano Music #510518 12/17/18 03:18 PM
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Jim..thanks...I guess I've binge-watched MI so many times, it must be in my musical DNA!

Tano Music #510576 12/17/18 09:17 PM
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Fun song, and a nice homage - you slipped in some nice references! 9/8 is an interesting choice.

Speaking of interesting, some of your word choices - modicum and disavow give the feel for a sophisticated narrator. So the phrase "if we screw up" made me laugh because it was such a contrast! laugh

Nice to see your picture!


-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?
Tano Music #510586 12/17/18 10:27 PM
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I like this, it's daring in scope... forcing you to listen, or possibly get nailed by the game... The arrangement could have used some real life burglar thinking stops ... still a very interesting piece.

Tano Music #510600 12/18/18 12:50 AM
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David, LPman... Thanks for the very nice comments.. And thanks for taking the time to listen in!

Tano Music #510657 12/18/18 05:44 AM
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Those interior rhymes really work well. Wish I had that in my limited lyric arsenal smile

Like floyd we know ZERO about 9/8 but, of course, Dave Brubeck did come to mind!

We've listened three times, read the lyric twice and are still hearing and feeling new things.

There is SO much going on but it never sounds patchwork. Amazing.

Wow!

J&B

Tano Music #510703 12/18/18 08:22 AM
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J&B.. You are too kind in your comments and listening charity!

Tano Music #510801 12/18/18 03:29 PM
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Tom, there is some real creativity going on in this! That time signature you made use of here is addictive! Very interesting and enjoyable tune! Thanks Torrey




Tano Music #510905 12/19/18 02:50 AM
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Thanks very much Torrey..I really appreciate your feedback.

Tano Music #511101 12/19/18 02:48 PM
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Back for more!

Janice pointed out the difficulty of singing to this timing and how well you did it.

So now that I’ve been schooled I’m even more appreciative. smile

Bud

Tano Music #511103 12/19/18 02:54 PM
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Straight out of the 60's and I loved it. I have done a couple of 5/4 but never 9/8 so you have challenged me!

Everything about this I like. Your mix is super as are the backing tracks. I have no idea how you could sing this but you did an outstanding job.


Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up.
Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.

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Tano Music #511151 12/19/18 06:33 PM
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Thanks Mario, and JB...your feedback is really boss.

Regarding the singing to the 9/8 tempo...I never felt it was that challenging, probably because I just took it a phrase at a time and didn’t try to “feel” the 9/8, to sing the whole thing thru, if that makes sense. More difficult, I think was constructing a melody that fit the time sig. But, again, I just worked on it a line at a time. I think that if I were performing live, like improvising, it would be impossible. Somehow, this worked out ok.

Thanks for listening, friends!

Tano Music #511273 12/20/18 06:24 AM
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Hi Tom,

I've been one of those MI junkies and yes, my neck's hair stood up...

An extremely creative production, packed with very surprising changes and who else would dare to write a 9/8 thing (not me, at least...).

I was a bit afraid that my PC might destroy itself after the listen, but luckily it didn't,phew.

Happy Holidays and all the best for 2019.

Stefan

Tano Music #511420 12/20/18 03:08 PM
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Thanks, Stefan, for listening in!

Tano Music #512264 12/23/18 03:55 PM
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Dear "Tano Music"...

Concerning your latest, "Head Game", would you believe I'm at a loss for words??? To prove that to you, I'm gonna leave the next line after this paragraph blank:

Blankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblank.

Whew! Took me so long to format that all stuff that it gave me time to think about what I want to say to about "Head Game": it's simply one of the most original, creative and unexpected Band-in-a-Box productions I've ever listened to on this User's Forum. 9/8 time? The last, and only time I heard a musical composition set to that compound meter was Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo a la Turk from his "Time Out" album recorded wa-a-ay back in 1959.

"Tano Music", last week I used the word "brilliant" in reference to another Users' Forum song post for the first time in nine years of participating in the forum, but I must use it again regarding "Head Game". For the "typical" composer of music in the Western mode, the 9/8 time signature is difficult enough already to conceive and compose songs to, but to sing it...??? I've never heard anyone do that, ever. In. Life. So, "Head Game" has got to be some kind of a "first", within the forum and outside of it. I mean that. It should be noted, historically speaking. Think I'm kidding? I am not. I repeat: "Head Game" is a first, as a song with music composed by an American songwriter who sang his own lyrics in 9/8 time. It would make an excellent theme song for a Hollywood production that would parody the "Mission Impossible" franchise in the manner of Columbia Picture's 1967 spoof of Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale".

Your lyrics are simply i-n-g-e-n-i-o-u-s, got it? Good, 'cause they are. I've read them over and over, again, looking for something that I could single-out and quote to demonstrate what I mean by using the word, "ingenious", but I couldn't isolate anything that stood-out any better than the rest. The lyrics throughout the entire song are dazzlingly inventive (yes, dazzlingly. Ah-huh. I said it.)

Okay, okay, if I had to mention just one line, only, it would be:

"We launch by the dark of midnight skies..." Gorgeous. So visual that it sets the scene for the rest of the lyrics.

I've been a listener (not a collector) of film music since my pre-teens. Lalo Schfrin's "Mission Impossible" theme did indeed make me sit up and pay attention. Truth be told, it was the strongest reason for me to watch the T.V. show. I don't remember much about the plots of any of the episodes. The theme was riveting, explosively orchestrated and arranged, seemingly using all of the orchestra's instrumental resources to grand-slam the show's exciting premise straight into our ears and hearts.

If I were you, I'd be damned proud of what you've done with "Head Game". I have already e-mailed the link to your post in SoundClick to family members, so they can listen to, and marvel about "Head Game" over the holidays.

Utterly knocked-out and entertained by your musical creativity and imagination,

LOREN
[b][/b]

Last edited by bluage; 12/23/18 04:17 PM.

"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
Tano Music #512300 12/23/18 06:49 PM
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Loren, thanks for your kind and largely undeserved compliments.. Glad you enjoyed my work.

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