Overall this one seems okay to me. The performance is pretty awful, but this song is all right. I don't like the transition from the first hook into the first verse. It feels awkward, but the second time seems better. Weird. Is it just a…
Cool chorus on this one... but you're right there's something... It really shines later on after the bridge- I like the interaction between the vocal, bass and guitar - really bounces. But earlier it doesn't have the same effect and I can't really spot the difference - except the later one is surrounded by instrumental and maybe feels looser? The earlier ones feel a bit "held back" and "correct", and they don't draw attention to themselves like the later one. They also leads straight into and out of a verse section that doesn't sound a lot different - maybe you're right, maybe volume? Maybe take the drums down on the sung verses? Something to make the chorus stick out more? But yeah, this is a cool one.
Another song that doesn't really stand out to me. This one is a little embarrassing though. The tempo is set at 85 beats per minute. Originailly it was 95 beats per minute. Why did I change it? Because I couldn't pick the guitar part in the…
2013 was a decent year, song wise. I came up with a few good ones during the RPM Challenge in February, and one good one during NaSoAlMo in November.
This version is faster, shorter, has a bunch of new key changes, and has a little bit of…
Oh yeah. Nice. Love the guitars, as usual. The sound effect is cool, glad you left it in. AND, it was always a cool song, but it REALLY improves for just a little increase in tempo. There's more of a bounce to it... and it suits the vocals a lot more at this speed. That breakdown at 3.40 with the slide is mighty cool too (makes me think Jimmy Page 1969 lol) - it would be interesting to hear a whammy bar version... but I SUSPECT that the slides are the better effect.
Another song from my 2013 RPM Challenge album. I always like this one, but I'm not sure I did it justice this time. There is a lot of really sloppy guitar playing, even if the Klon KTR overdrive pedal sounds EPIC. Sorry, gear nerd.
This…
Yep, like it. I recognised the chorus - and I probably only heard it once back in 2013 - it's quite memorable. I checked the original out earlier (I was typing when a windows update crashing my machine got in the way!! That's an hour of my life I'll never get back again ... I thought my laptop was dying!) ... Anyways, I found that this one, for me, is an improvement on the original...
Love those guitar harmonies, by the way.
This song scares me. This song stresses me out. This song confuses me. I could write a song about how messed up this song makes me feel.
Is it the best song I've ever written? Not even close. Why then do I insist to myself that it's the…
This song scares me. This song stresses me out. This song confuses me. I could write a song about how messed up this song makes me feel.
Is it the best song I've ever written? Not even close. Why then do I insist to myself that it's the…
This song scares me. This song stresses me out. This song confuses me. I could write a song about how messed up this song makes me feel.
Is it the best song I've ever written? Not even close. Why then do I insist to myself that it's the…
I struggle with the same sort of thing over songs... it's why I tend to take so long with some - I can't tell whether a song of mine's any good, never can. But often I have a suspicion it might be "WOW" and so I want to give it the best chance of receiving a WOW or two... and so I worry and stress about it until I can't do any better, then I say it's done and post it (or file it, or sometimes bin it). I'm always proud of them, every single one of them, but I never know whether any of them are any good until other people say so. Somehow, when I was young, I set myself up with "if it's popular, it's good pop music", and I'm kinda stuck with that now... too late to change!!
This song scares me. This song stresses me out. This song confuses me. I could write a song about how messed up this song makes me feel.
Is it the best song I've ever written? Not even close. Why then do I insist to myself that it's the…
This song scares me. This song stresses me out. This song confuses me. I could write a song about how messed up this song makes me feel.
Is it the best song I've ever written? Not even close. Why then do I insist to myself that it's the…
Who says 3/4 time can't rock? This was originally from my 2013 RPM Challenge when, for some strange reason, pretty much everything I did just worked. Even the crappy songs from that album are less crappy than usual.
This song is as close…
Rocks! .... in 3s! I tend to use 3s for folksie/balladie things (one coming soon I suspect, the way things are panning out here) ... but I've never really tried to rock in 3s... this proves it can be done!! :) As ever, mighty cool guitars.
Another re-recorded 2014 50/90 song. This one was written on or about July 4th as New England was about to get spanked by Hurricane Arthur. I tend to write about hurricanes a lot. Weird.
The guitars here are all Gibson ES-335. The amps…
You can take the red head out of the 80's, but you can't take the 80's out of the red head... I guess. I didn't like anything current when I was growing up during the 80's. Well, almost anything.
This one was originally written during the…
The June Music album in a month thingie has two sort of musical themes. One is sloooooow tempos. The other is a lot of the songs have very sparse guitar parts. Neither thing was planned, they both just happened.
I kinda like this one…
Five songs finished (there will be 11, I think) and as of right now this kid is the single... if I were actually releasing this and needed to release a single... which I'm not.
I also think 90 beats per minute is as fast as any of the songs…
Are all of my songs this month funeral dirges?
I like playing over a 6/8 groove, but I don't know if this one is holding up for me. I don't dislike it entirely, but it seems lacking somehow. I almost like the lyrics but I think I should have…
This one is long. Much longer than it needs to be, but at the time it seemed like the right move. The chorus to this one came to me while I was watching TV with the family. I fear (hopefully wrongly) that I stole it from the background score…
Loving the groove of this one. And another really cool chorus. Don't worry about the length - I was expecting a cool guitar solo for that long... and I got it :)
Not sure how I feel about this one. It’s not as bad as some of my crap, but it’s not that great either. I kinda like how the bass does some strumming, but damn if that intro isn’t way too long.
The rhythm guitars are an ES-335 Pro to a RYRA…
I see what you mean about the lentgh of the intro... But you'd lose the tension it creates if you shortened it? Loving the sound of the guitars on these tracks.
February, March, April, May, all have completed album in a month projects. Here comes the first song from June.
I broke my album-in-a-month challenge rule that says once you get a take you don't redo it. I did all of the rhythm guitars twice…
Not sure how I feel about this one. It’s not as bad as some of my crap, but it’s not that great either. I kinda like how the bass does some strumming, but damn if that intro isn’t way too long.
The rhythm guitars are an ES-335 Pro to a RYRA…
Not sure how I feel about this one. It’s not as bad as some of my crap, but it’s not that great either. I kinda like how the bass does some strumming, but damn if that intro isn’t way too long.
The rhythm guitars are an ES-335 Pro to a RYRA…
So, what do you think... could it use more wah-wah?
This was written for the 2014 RPM Challenge. The chromatic thing at the beginning had been rattling around in my head for years and years but had never found a home.
The lyrics here…
That plinky little sound in the verses is an organ with some distortion on it. I wanted Jon Lord to play the part but he wasn't available. It's playing eighth notes in the verses and a sustained pad in the chorus. If I remix this I might bring it up. I haven't decided yet.
The sound at the end is actually a grunt of frustration. This is the easiest song every written in all of the history of music and it took me 700 takes to get the rhythm guitars right. I was going to cut it out but when the time came I thought it was funny so I left it there.
The first song completed for the second round of re-recorded Quarantine Tunes. This one was written on the last day of the 2016 RPM Challenge. I had written a bunch of songs saying that people who think the Earth is flat are somehow defective…
It's not a cocked wah, all of those mids are coming from the Klon pedal. I was a scooped mids guy for 30 years before I finally figured out that if I just boost the mids a little the rest of the band can hear me without me cranking my amp until it hurts. Now I overdo it in the other direction. heh
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
And here we go - Edith FINALLY gets it...
Actually, she's been getting it ever since I wrote it on the 29th May. I thought it would take a week or so, but it proved to be more of a fight than I was expecting.
On…
RPM 2k15
vocal by Gregg Todt
is it the medication
that makes her stare off into space?
those little pills in the bottle
grab your collar
smack you in the face
i want to make an appointment to see
that drug, so he will give her back to…
I thought going into 50/90 that I would need to do some quick recordings of really simple arrangements. Maybe just acoustic guitar and voice. Nope, not really.
This isn't meant as filler. This idea is something I noodle on almost every…
So 50/90 is an unnatural forcing of a crap ton of songs in a relatively short period of time. We're half way though and I've learned one thing. I've learned how easy it is to repeat something you've already done. This one sounds a LOT like…
I appreciate wanting to bring the vocals out in the mix more but that would mean someone might hear my awful voice and nonono we can't have that. Not to mention the terrible lyrics. Urgh. Bury those vocals!
I also like having the excuse that as I am a guitar player first and foremost, I naturally want the guitars to overpower everything else.
In all seriousness, I agree the vocals need to come up... I just can't bring myself to do it.
Opening song by Kent Good. We played pretty good in Feb. We are not "chops" players, but i think we rocked this one pretty good.This song will evolve a bit as we break it in live.
Apologies to Peter and the rest of Genesis - from back when they were good - 1974
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Early morning Manhattan,
Ocean winds blow on the land.
The Movie-Palace is now undone,
The all-night watchmen have had their…
"Stupid Punk Song" is... well... stupid. I woke up one morning and the entire song, lyrics and all, was stuck in my head. I let it rattle around for a few days before putting it down on my new 8-track. I played it for Break Even once but they…
This is a pre-release of a song from my new album. The song still needs some polish and rubbing. I will change it out once i get done with the final version. The lyric was written a long time ago, of what could or couldn't have been:) Thats the…
Comments on Robert James's stuff
Cool chorus on this one... but you're right there's something... It really shines later on after the bridge- I like the interaction between the vocal, bass and guitar - really bounces. But earlier it doesn't have the same effect and I can't really spot the difference - except the later one is surrounded by instrumental and maybe feels looser? The earlier ones feel a bit "held back" and "correct", and they don't draw attention to themselves like the later one. They also leads straight into and out of a verse section that doesn't sound a lot different - maybe you're right, maybe volume? Maybe take the drums down on the sung verses? Something to make the chorus stick out more? But yeah, this is a cool one.
Wow - those leads! Nice one
Oh yeah. Nice. Love the guitars, as usual. The sound effect is cool, glad you left it in. AND, it was always a cool song, but it REALLY improves for just a little increase in tempo. There's more of a bounce to it... and it suits the vocals a lot more at this speed. That breakdown at 3.40 with the slide is mighty cool too (makes me think Jimmy Page 1969 lol) - it would be interesting to hear a whammy bar version... but I SUSPECT that the slides are the better effect.
Yep, like it. I recognised the chorus - and I probably only heard it once back in 2013 - it's quite memorable. I checked the original out earlier (I was typing when a windows update crashing my machine got in the way!! That's an hour of my life I'll never get back again ... I thought my laptop was dying!) ... Anyways, I found that this one, for me, is an improvement on the original... Love those guitar harmonies, by the way.
Awesome road trip soundtrack. Leave it all behind, take only great music with you.
But this one of yours, it's a GOODIE
I struggle with the same sort of thing over songs... it's why I tend to take so long with some - I can't tell whether a song of mine's any good, never can. But often I have a suspicion it might be "WOW" and so I want to give it the best chance of receiving a WOW or two... and so I worry and stress about it until I can't do any better, then I say it's done and post it (or file it, or sometimes bin it). I'm always proud of them, every single one of them, but I never know whether any of them are any good until other people say so. Somehow, when I was young, I set myself up with "if it's popular, it's good pop music", and I'm kinda stuck with that now... too late to change!!
Oh yeah... this is a goodie.
This sounds great!!!
Rocks! .... in 3s! I tend to use 3s for folksie/balladie things (one coming soon I suspect, the way things are panning out here) ... but I've never really tried to rock in 3s... this proves it can be done!! :) As ever, mighty cool guitars.
Yep, that works. Digging the guitars.
Woo. That rocks. Some blistering guitar.
Good use of 335 tone my favorite blues thing I wish I had one .enjoyed Listening to yours
Cool groove. Loving those wah leads.
And another cool chorus! Yep... I think this could be my favourite of the four. Love the lyrics.
Loving the groove of this one. And another really cool chorus. Don't worry about the length - I was expecting a cool guitar solo for that long... and I got it :)
I see what you mean about the lentgh of the intro... But you'd lose the tension it creates if you shortened it? Loving the sound of the guitars on these tracks.
Loving the chorus - how those guitars, bass and vox mesh together. Cool lead break too.
Love the spare but powerful lyrics!!! Powerful all around. Great song!
That's a good song, kinda glam rock very 70's like it
Comments made by Robert James
That plinky little sound in the verses is an organ with some distortion on it. I wanted Jon Lord to play the part but he wasn't available. It's playing eighth notes in the verses and a sustained pad in the chorus. If I remix this I might bring it up. I haven't decided yet. The sound at the end is actually a grunt of frustration. This is the easiest song every written in all of the history of music and it took me 700 takes to get the rhythm guitars right. I was going to cut it out but when the time came I thought it was funny so I left it there.
It's not a cocked wah, all of those mids are coming from the Klon pedal. I was a scooped mids guy for 30 years before I finally figured out that if I just boost the mids a little the rest of the band can hear me without me cranking my amp until it hurts. Now I overdo it in the other direction. heh
Love the slide! What a great song. No one warns us that vowel sounds matter when writing lyrics, but you nailed it.
Damn it man, each song is better than the one that came before. Nice work. Really loving it.
The acoustic bass sound comes from GarageBand. I haven't been using it much lately, but every once in a while I feel the need.
I appreciate wanting to bring the vocals out in the mix more but that would mean someone might hear my awful voice and nonono we can't have that. Not to mention the terrible lyrics. Urgh. Bury those vocals! I also like having the excuse that as I am a guitar player first and foremost, I naturally want the guitars to overpower everything else. In all seriousness, I agree the vocals need to come up... I just can't bring myself to do it.
I love everything about this song.
Live music! Sounds great.
Have I mentioned that this is the BEST! SONG! EVER!!!!? Because it clearly is the BEST SONG EVER!!!
BEST! SONG! EVER!!!!!
Syd would be proud. Thanks!
Put on a fox head mask and channel Peter Gabriel. Nice!
Hey Steve, I don't think you were there that night. I know i played it for at least Jeff and Dave and they both sort of looked at me funny.
I like both of these songs a lot. Thanks!
Great song! Here's to hoping you add some more.
Some excellent guitar playing! Thanks
I'm so impressed that I can't think of anything complementary to say. Thanks!
Wow!