you can skip this, it’s just music stuff.
just completed tracking on “like we are” – the first attempt was a disaster. i just didn’t like the drum parts. or rather, i liked them very much, but they weren’t what i was hearing in my head. rectified that and now they’re just about as perfect as i could make them on a 20 year old analog drum machine*.
and then there’s the signal routing, which seems awfully complicated when you’re just getting to know your machine. i tried to do this:
guitar in (mono) >> stereo delay & overdrive >> output left-right result to disk
but you have to go into input, track, and send/return mode and fiddle with so much crap just to route the signal, and i couldn’t figure out how i was supposed to assign the input to the send/return effects loop, and then assign the output of that to the recorder. so i scratched it and started over. this time i only recorded the mono guitar signal with compression (which keeps the dynamic range in check so you don’t sound too amateur). so now i’ll just use the stereo effect for mixdown, i guess, or else figure out how to bounce it to two tracks later on when i need to make room for more tracks anyway.
so yeah, redid the drums and then nailed the rhythm guitar in 3 takes. it’s not perfect, but i don’t want it to be.
funny how i can’t play to a metronome, but give me drums and my timing is okay.
i can’t wait to record the vocals. that’s a fun song to do. but i never really figured out a good way to do the chorus part. rhythmically, it doesn’t really seem to fit all that well. i’ll figure something out, though.
i did change one word. i never liked the way “within you i fornicated” sounded (so very dumb). so now i think it’ll be “desecrated.” i think. i dunno. i like “within you,” but i’m not real sure what sounds right that rhymes with “celebrated.” and yes, it does have to rhyme.
thinking about doing an all-out rocka rolla next. something Pixie-esque. just some real bent post-punk art-rock sorta thing. i have nothing yet, but it’s so easy to make up an interestingly kooky song; you just skronk away and then polish it until it’s artful.
EDIT: i should point out that this song is coming together more or less exactly as i hear it in my head, only better, but with less drum fills.
* don’t worry – it sounds like a real drummer. the TR-707 is renowned for its realistic -if a bit uninspired and flat- drum samples. a touch of EQ and they’re great. the secret, by the way, to programming realistic drum patterns is to keep in mind how many arms and legs the average drummer has, and think about how easily a real person could hit, say, a ride cymbal, 2 different toms, hi-hat, and a snare within the span of a split second, while also working hi-hat and kick drum pedals with their feet. i got it covered, yo. if i had a real set i’d do it like that, but i don’t.
