A Major Achievement

I've been going to classes offered at Unity Studio in the lovely Ithaca, NY since senior year started-- classes in Group Voice, Lyric Writing, and Pro Tools-- and they have all been amazing. I absolutely love travelling to I-Town three days a week to hang out at the studio. I mean, who really gets that opportunity? Who has access to free classes at a free recording studio? I love it. And though I am sad that the semester has ended, which means that there won't be any more classes until mid-January, I want to share a piece of awesomeness I worked on this past month.


In the Group Voice class, we decided that our final project would be to cover a song and use our equipment to record it. Because I was also in the Pro Tools class, there was a bit of cross-over, which was cool. I enjoyed mixing separate aspects of music together in this way. And I got to play both the roles of the producer and of the musician.


I decided to cover a Fleet Foxes song (surprise, surprise), my favorite song, titled "Drops in the River." Luckily my favorite song is also in a comfortable range, so I didn't need to do any transposing. Since I am very limited when it comes to playing guitar, we had to find someone more proficient to step in. Thankfully, Dani's (who is the Unity Studio Coordinator) boyfriend Evan stepped in to do the job. For a few of the Group Voice classes, we rehearsed, and then we were ready to record.


In the next Pro Tools class, we first laid down the guitar track. I'll admit there was some trouble-shooting-- this was only the second time we had recorded a musician in class. Some of the M Boxes act up because they're older models. We couldn't figure out how to put a click track on in order for Evan to keep time. And even though we put our "Recording" sign up over the door window, without fail, a group of kids WILL come screaming down the Community Center hallway and pound on the door, looking for Dani. But we got going and made it all go as smoothly as possible.


I didn't really know how long the recording process was going to take, so I was under the illusion that we would have it all complete in our 1.5 hr class-- this was not so. Whenever Evan played an error, we had to cut it out or record over it or create a new track. The guitar recording process took about an hour and fifteen minutes, leaving me only around fifteen minutes to mumble out one shaky take. But it was alright: I just scheduled some time to come into the studio and keep working on it. 


I believe that I worked on the vocals for about 4 or 5 days. First, we had to get the main melody just right. Then we decided to add some harmonies, and this took forever. To get my pitches to line up was pretty difficult at times, especially because there are some tricky rhythms in the song. We also doubled my voice in places. Plus, I was a little over critical of my voice, though I suppose this was expected. Dani was encouraging, but she obviously didn't hear the mistakes I heard, regardless of whether there were actually any mistakes or not. As a result, I sang a lot of takes. A LOT of takes.


But then it was done, finished, completed, and I felt satisfied with all I had done... until the effects drew me in. I spent around an hour and a half just putting reverb and flanger and other effects (that I was forced to experimented with because I didn't even know what they did) on every single track to see how it sounded. This experiment was fruitless. I didn't like what any of the effects did to my voice. The reverb made my voice too quiet and muffled, while the flanger made my voice sound spacey (an effect I didn't want on such a folky tune). The other effects just overwhelmed me, so I decided to scrap the effects altogether. And it actually sounds pretty good for my first recorded piece ever. 


I'm looking forward to creating other recorded works-- maybe some covers, maybe an original or two...


But for now, please enjoy my cover of "Drops in the River" by Fleet Foxes!

Track Five- Trani

Allow me to resume my Kings of Leon fandom, for I have grown away from them in the past few months. Alas, this happens with all bands I become rabidly obsessed with. It's difficult to consistently foam at the mouth over the same group forever: breaks are needed once in awhile. Luckily, these breaks don't detract any of the love I have for the band. After a month or two, I pop the CD back into my car and cruise around with the tunes positively blaring, and I am in love again. So, drumroll *ba-dum-pshhhhhhhhh* ...Trani!


This video is actually one of the more amazing Kings of Leon performances I have witnessed on the great world of YouTube. Have you ever wanted to see the Kings of Leon completely lose their shit? Watch this video-- now!










This song is not only beautiful, but also exhilarating. And this performance holds up the recorded version's atmosphere, and probably even adds to it. Caleb's voice always sounds so smooth and achy, in that low drawl of his, and the opening is pretty loyal to the album version. But the boys grow increasingly excited throughout the entire live performance, and completely freak out at the end, which makes it awesome to watch. I'm not sure whether to laugh at them. applaud them, or stand up and freak out in accordance. I would have to make sure I'm the only one in the house if I feel compelled to act on that last impulse, however.







PS.

My dad played some Randy Newman (of Toy Story fame-- "I will go saillllling... no more") in the car when we went on a road trip over Thanksgiving break. Maybe I was still in my Kings of Leon withdrawal period... but Caleb sounds quite like him, in my opinion. Their tonal qualities are similar. Check it out: I'm not crazy.

And for the fellow kids born in '92 and on, who will only associate Randy Newman with Buzz Lightyear's realization that he is, in fact, a toy: he's got a larger repertoire than what appears in Disney Pixar works. And this repertoire is kind of groovy.

Sub Pop steals my heart

Blitzen Trapper is a spectacular band from Portland, Oregon. They are another folky group signed to Sub Pop, and I can already tell that they will be my next obsession. So Fleet Foxes, I am passing on the torch from one folky Sub Pop band to another. I realize that there are just a few similarities between the two bands (they even performed a few shows together earlier this year), and there is no denying that I'm going through a new-folk phase. But it's a phase I'm loving and I'll ride it 'til the end.


The local college radio station, Ithaca College's WICB, first introduced me to Blitzen Trapper by playing a few of their songs off their new album, Furr, over and over again (namely "Fire and Fast Bullets"). A few days ago, I heard "Furr," the title track, and couldn't get it out of my head. The song is amazing. I looked it up on YouTube, of course, and ended up listening to it about 15 times between yesterday and today. And that kind of dedication is surely love-- or at least fanaticism.


I don't know what it is about "Furr" that pulls me in headfirst, but I do know that the song is completely gorgeous. When I play the song, I feel like a wild creature, half-kid, half-animal, out on a romp through the wilderness. I feel like I should run past trees, up a mountain, and on the shore of a lake all while howling into a ghostly moon. Listening to the lyrics helps this vision, for the song is about an who's compelled to join a wolf pack out in the forest and subsequently turns into a wolf man. Then he ends up leaving it all behind to settle down on a farm with a phenomenal beauty and presumably becomes human again. It's a great story to interpret or just to escape in, and this is escapism is echoed in the incredible and relatable line "I still dream of running careless through the snow." Unless you are a snow-hater *narrows eyes* I don't know who wouldn't want to live this song, even only for a day.


It's not all incredibly folky; "Love You" starts off with the angriest power-scream (think a scream of aching desperation, not death metal). You can hear how much suffering is being caused from loving whatever cold individual the singer is trying to love, and this feeling is even emulated in the sorrowful, droopy groove that's playing behind the singer. Oh, and the vocal harmonies are dope, too.


This album just has so much to offer. You've got an easy-going piano ballad on "Not Your Lover" as well as on "Echo/Always On/Easy Con," which turns into this electronic, jazzy breakdown. Upbeat poppy songs are featured on "Gold For Bread" and "Fire and Fast Bullets" while country peeks through in "Stolen Shoes & a Rifle." It's incredible.



Oh, and did I forget to mention that "Lady On the Water" reminds me of Bob Dylan? Actually, I saved this tidbit of information for last because it is what makes me the most happy. (Yeah, I said I'm going through a phase. Will Folk music ever release me from it's stronghold? Not anytime soon, I reckon.)


I was just a bit disappointed to find out that these guys have been making music since 2003-- they have released three albums on the label Lidkercow, Ltd.-- because it makes me feel as though I've missed part of the journey. I always seem to discover great music after the group has been a well-established band for a number of years. But the two, more popular releases they've done under Sub Pop are fairly recent: Furr in 2008 and Black River Killer EP in 2009. Hopefully I'm not too far behind; indeed, whenever I stumble upon a band already with several releases under their belt, I feel the obsessive need to obtain ALL the material they have ever made RIGHT AWAY. This crazy urge I get made me quite poor when I began to love Bob Dylan. Damn you, Mr. Dylan, and your thirty-something studio albums. And damn you, also, Border's, for selling me over-priced CDs.


For now, I will contently listen to Blitzen Trapper's two Sub Pop releases on their Myspace until my internet browser breaks. Or until I feel the need to return to my true loves, Fleet Foxes. <3



Furr-

JOE'S HEAD

I'll lie and say I waited so long to make my next post because I was preparing to talk about this EPIC Kings of Leon song. EPIC.

But this would be a lie. I've just been incredibly busy. Between pneumonia, school, applying to higher level education, and going to Unity Studio, I've had my hands tied. But I am back and ready to gush about my favorite KOL song, the song that prompted me to find all these Youth and Young Manhood videos: Joe's Head.

Joe's Head is a tale, a journey, and a gnarly bar fight smooshed into one bouncingly energetic song. The bass line at the very beginning intrigues you and pulls you in, and then grooves underneath Caleb's wailing story for the whole song. Upon listening to the drums at the chorus, the listener is considering learning how to ho-down. The guitar lick following it definitely has them convinced, and they are already half way to buying that pair of cowboy boots. And all this is before you realize what Caleb's saying/singing/screaming in his Cartman voice.

This is not a happy song. Though I'm ecstatic every time I listen to it, I wouldn't want to be any of the characters in this song. Just listen to the chorus: "'This is just the way of the world,' Joe said/ 'I had to put a bullet into his head'/ And then lit up a cigarette/ Decided to call his fat friend, Fred/ Well he said 'Fred, I just killed a man/ Caught him layin' with my girlfriend/ And now they're both dead, people can be so cold, when they're dead.'"

Joe is obviously an unlucky fella with some anger issues that he unfortunately hasn't worked out. In his defense, he's been burned by his love and his best friend, and it sounds like whiskey leant his actions a helping hand. Yet he killed two people in cold blood, lit up a cigarette, and called his fat friend (I love that they feel the need to state he's fat) to chat about it. The story is morbidly hilarious when you finally figure out what Caleb, who has the tendency to mutter and mumble, is saying. On the first listen, one might think that a few lines into the song the lyrics go "Rain falls down a freezing/ Ass-kicking like a snow" which makes no sense. What ass-kicks like a snow? Then you have "Ring-a-ling suspicians, streaming in my hair/ Lies all mixed up with a bishop/ Oh welcome home again." The best part of the first few listens isn't even the mistaken lyrics; it's not even having remotely any idea, and just singing along on whatever vowel seems right. When I blasted this in my car shortly after I bought the CD, the chorus probably sounded something like "Ish a shumba wayotta whirl, Joe said, I otta pudding bullet into his head." Which is why it was good that I was driving alone, so no one had to hear my tragic sing-a-long.

I've included the real lyrics down below, and a few more I was mistaken on.

Blistered cracked and bleeding



Cold no one should know


Rain falls down a freezing


And sticking like a snow (Ass kicking like a snow)


Lingering suspicions (Ring-a-ling suspicians)


Screaming in my head (Streaming in my hair)


Lies all mixed up with omissions (Lies all mixed up with a bishop)


Aw welcome home again


It's too late for apologies they're falling at my feet






This is just the way of the world Joe said (I actually had no clue on the chorus-- yeah, I just really couldn't comprehend any words here the first few play-throughs)


I had to put a bullet into his head


Then lit up a cigarette


Decided to call his fat friend Fred


Well he said Fred I just killed a man


Caught him laying with my girlfriend


Now they're both dead, people can be so cold when they're dead






Calling all the neighbors (Calling all the babies)


Time to make amends (Time to make a man)


Whiskey floods the table


Aw good friends 'til the end


They're making silly faces and it's tasting bitter sweet






This is just the way of the world Joe said


I had to put a bullet into his head


Then lit up a cigarette


Decided to call his fat friend Fred


Well he said Fred I just killed a man


Caught him laying with my girlfriend


Now they're both dead, people can be so cold when they're dead

______________________________________________________________________________


Once you are aware of what's being said, the song is just so cool, especially as it progresses. The progression of the song is probably what I love most; the quiet and lazy beginning punches you in the face with the chorus so hard that you think "This can't get anymore exciting!" But you're wrong, because it gets much more exciting, indeed. By the last chorus, Caleb is absolutely shrieking, which only prompts you to do the same (and I do, even though I try to restrain myself every time) especially on the line "And lit up a CIGARETTE!!!" And by this time, you're dancing and doing air-punches and kicking walls and other inanimate objects and wishing you had a fat friend Fred of your own to call up and shriek to. Then the song ends-- at the height of all the hoop-la-- and you're left in awe of the greatness that just slapped you silly. Although you will feel compelled to listen to it three more times in a row, it's not any less awesome. In fact, it may even become your favorite song (says the unbiased critic on this side of the computer screen).

Have a listen and a watch.

Wasted Time

Wasted Time-- I do waste a vast amount of time on the internet, but this is not what I am discussing today. 'Wasted Time' is indeed track number three of the one and only Youth and Young Manhood. I was reminded of my project upon hearing 'Notion' on the radio today. While I chortled a dry laugh of sadness for the Kings of the past, I was still able to thank whatever higher being that is out there for the existence of recorded music, and Youtube to boot, for I can revisit this far-off era whenever I please. For instance, whenever I go driving and feel like blasting my ears with what can only be unhealthy decibels of music.

Wasted Time is in the same vein as Red Morning Light and Happy Alone. The similar tempos and lyrical themes along with the beat Nathan pounds out in the background cause me to refer to these songs as "the opening trilogy." Regarding the lyrics, you may notice that the Kings have gone from being tucked in between the dirty sheets to prancing around in high, high heels and cherry red lipstick; now, they've moved on to the fruit innuendo ("shakin' your apple right in my face) and have followed in the footsteps established by Steve Miller Band ("I really like your peaches/Wanna shake your tree," yadda yadda). Classifying myself as a feminist, I wonder if I should be offended or appalled at the Kings' use of women as sex objects or the mention of women getting taken advantage of, comparing them to apples, etc. etc. But I am not outraged in any way, shape or form, for the the tunes make me dance, the energy gets me excited, and the lyrics make me laugh. Imagining Caleb in high heels let alone prancing in them is kind of hilarious. Plus the fruit thing is miles better than, say, lady-lumps, or anything of that ridiculousness... Fergie. If I ever met that woman... but that should be saved for another post althogether.

2006 Big Day Out (Australia) performance, likely sometime in between Aha Shake Heartbreak and Because of the Times, judging solely on Caleb's hair.




Yes, you are seeing real, live, unaltered video, as far as I can tell. I mean, at first, I was nearly convinced that the vid must have been sped up, but then I decided they just chose to play an already ridiculously uptempo song at double time. Really, this is breakneck speed here. I'm expecting little whirlwind tornadoes to just pop up in between all of them and float around the stage for awhile. If I were the guys, I would want to turn around and punch Nathan right in his rhythm-driving face, yet none seem to mind.


Listening to the studio version, the speed is actually a hair slower, but I suppose that seeing the live performance just makes you appreciate how hard it must be all the more. I get out of breath just singing along.


What's the most exciting about my search is how I stumbled across a music video I never knew existed: the Wasted Time video seems like its the first video KOL ever made, and it basically involves the guys outside, playing in the woods, accompanied by some women as well as some half- and three-quarters- naked women running through these woods at night. It may be just a party gone wild and awry, but it could also be a homicidal-rape chase; it's all up to the interpretation. I'll let you decide for yourself.

I have returned, in full(ish) health!

Finally over my nasty, disgusting flu-- yep, I caught flu, according to the doc, though she didn't specify whether I had caught regular or swine flu. This disappointed me for some reason. But anyways.

On to the project-- which I DO aim to continue. I need to get up all the tracks, seriously, I've just been so swamped what with coughing up phlegm and whatnot; BUT, I want to take a quick diversion from the project, because this can't wait. Really. It takes full importance at the moment, pushing all of my attention aside.

What I am talking about is Karen O and the soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are.

Ever since I learned about the movie Where the Wild Things Are, I was aware that Karen O was involved on the music side. I believe this excited me more than the movie itself (and I was one of those kids who read this book nightly, it seemed) because I love love love love LOVE Karen O. LOVE! Got it?

I saw Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform in August of this year, which was pretty rad. That's an understatement, as it was actually the best show I've ever seen. The energy of the performances was just so heightened, all the way through; the small venue (it was a tiny club that had been made out of renovating an old Rite Aid) probably helped the audience connect with the band even more. I completely love the band so when I found out about her new project, I couldn't wait.

Today I had begun my usual activity of browsing Youtube and stumbled across this wonderful "Making of the Soundtrack" vid featuring Where the Wild Things Are director Spike Jonze, along with the lovely Karen O herself and a few crazy kids who sing on the songs.

This video had me giggling like a fan-girl (which may or may not be contributed to the fact that it was 11:30, I'd just woken up, and was extremely giddy) over the Karen O interview; plus, seeing her work with those kids was hilarious, just because she is so child-like herself (she always dances around onstage like a 7-year-old and it's not out of place for her to break out into random laughter mid-song). Yet the short glimpses of the beautiful new songs were what really made me smile; tracks such as "Hideaway" and the peek at Max howling. It's just so cool what they encouraged those kids to do, and it almost made me wish I was 10 and lucky enough to be invited to Karen O's studio...........................*envious*

I'd heard "All is Love" a few days ago on another Youtube binge, but it hadn't hit me until watching this interview that the soundtrack had already been released on Tuesday of this past week. This led me to another search. And of course, thanks to my superior scouring skills, I easily found half of the soundtrack. Amazon tells me there are fourteen songs in all, but you can listen to the first seven which have been posted by some kind soul (although part of me HATES this kind soul, just a little bit, because he neglected to post songs 8-14...). But here's the first song; click on it and it should take you to a Youtube playlist of what's available.





It all sounds quite childlike, probably helped by the kids recruited to make the soundtrack so. Standout tracks include Capsize (don't let the handclaps fool you... this song is awesome and could be mistaken for a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song, perhaps if they made a concept album about going to outerspace or something). Worried Shoes is soft and mindblowing as well, and it's apparently a cover of Dan Johnston. Karen O's voice sounds beautiful and amazing as always, yet it's obvious that she's taking a different approach than anything she's ever done before for YYYs. For one, her voice emits a crystal clear innocence that emulates the message of this story; before I've only seen her as sexy, wailing about cold lights and hot nights and heaters and lovers and doing it to each other. Secondly, she's accompanied sounds I've never heard before. There's no Brian Chase banging drums behind her or Nick Zinner swinging with his guitar beside her (although I read somewhere that they were also recruited to help on the soundtrack). Instead, she's backed by vibes, windchimes, sounds of the sea, children's voices, and even some dialogue from the movie (Rumpus, for example). It's magical, to say the least, and I can't even imagine how magical it will make the movie.

Needless to say, I'll be purchasing this soundtrack SOON. I could listen to the seven currently available tracks all day, and seven more will likely do my head in. I now love Karen O even more, and I didn't know that was possible. CHECK OUT KAREN O AND THE KIDS. Out now. You'll love it.

Track #2

If it seems as though I've given up on my project, fear not! I've just had an incredibly busy/yucky week-- busy in that I started going to free classes at a local recording studio, and yucky in that I've been sick since Wednesday. It hasn't been one of those "skip school and screw around at home" types of illnesses. It's been more along the lines of me passed out on the couch, exhausting my DVR while coughing up both my lungs into a bowl. So yeah, this week's been a blast.

I am back now, giving my blog a hearty hello (although I don't get anything in return because nobody ever leaves me any pretty comments) and continuing what I said I'd do. So now, I post the second track off Youth and Young Manhood, titled Happy Alone, in Youtube form.






It's a swell video. Shot in a studio in London, in 2003, when the boys were still grungy, young and manic, this high quality video gives a glimpse of the boys when they were unknown nobodies, just starting out on the road. In fact this era of Kings of Leon is still relatively unknown to those individuals who only know them by "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody." Sure, now the boys are becoming megastars, and though anyone listening to the Top 40 could claim to be familiar with KOL, it doesn't mean they remember where it all started.

The Kings began in Nashville, with Caleb and Nathan, who had moved away from their preacher father and were trying to make it with music. They had to call up their sixteen year old brother Jared and the not-much-older cousin Matthew to help out, but in making it, they succeeded. And then the boys started making the nasty rebellious country-rock that dominated Youth and Young Manhood.

Happy Alone fits right in at spot number two. It's got that chugging groove and the sleazy lyrics and the rawness of a band that's just come together (they really just had; I believe a few instruments had to be studied and learned before the band really took off). It alerts the listener that the sexiness/borderline raunchiness isn't going to disappear and that a testosterone tsunami is going to be unleashed in the next nine tracks (if you count Caleb singing about dancing around in high heels and cherry-red lipstick as manly). Regardless, it sure brings on a load of excitement.

Give this track a listen. It embodies the spirit of KOL back when, before all the fans who originally purchased this album and listened to this song 806 times began whining about Only By the Night. We get it. They sound different now. But I dare you to listen to Revelry, Manhattan and especially Cold Desert, and argue with me that these aren't gorgeous, chilled-out southern-rock grooves Caleb wails to in that drawl of his (and I say especially Cold Desert, because that must be the saddest, chillest, wailing, lazy groove). What am I getting at, you ask? Shush and appreciate, please. I love these fellas.