PhonoBrainer

I had a long standing gig at a restaurant on a grand piano with the lightest touch ever. A key would go down if you breathed on it. Exaggeration? Only slightly. But playing jazz on it was a minefield- the slightest unintended finger drag on the way to the next note would add a new color to a crap rainbow. Please forgive me for biting the hand that fed me, but every gig for 15 years I walked in there and wanted to burn that piano down.

I guess you didn't want to keep us abreast of the latest HORNet sale from your beach chair? And is my use of the word "abreast" kind of like a gift to all of y'all??? ? Welcome back, Larry!

Thanks for all those great responses! I was told that Intel is having trouble shipping things on time at the moment, some supply chain hitch? I'm not a dice roller. I've got my 2013 beast back up and limping with a windows restore, now I just have to go back and reinstall every friggin program. That's a first world problem. Cheers, -Tom

Because my killer rig from 2013 just decided it would cough up a toxic hairball filled with stopcode error 0xc000021a, cannot chkdsk because the disk is write protected, and other assorted blue screen gems. So while I await the harrowing results of a C drive windows 10 reset, . . . I fanticize and plan. Intel, AMD, or does it matter? Thanks y'all . . .

I 100% thought "those are Squeeze-like chord changes!" but all your own original style, natch. Squeeze was a great band I thought and I hope that's a compliment - I always appreciated their willingness to break conventions and rules in things like chord selections, melodies, and arrangements. That's what this song has going for it in spades - plus another excellent mix with clarity and separation. Loved it. cheers, -Tom

I like the riff, it's pleasant, it's a little ditty that has legs but you might be asking it to walk about 2 and a half minutes too far. I dunno. Perhaps it's a great start on something that might develop more of an arc. OR, it might be great as is in the background of a video game. I could totally see it being interesting for that. Either way, it's well put together and I can see you have a good thing here. cheers, -Tom

My brain was trying too hard to discern the lyrics because of the delay. Or is it a doubletracked vocal that just sits out of alignment? I dig the nod to history, and encourage you to wade a little deeper into some elements of your mix . . . the hard panned right tambourine (or hi hat?) got pretty static after a while. Some more drum fills in spots might be welcome as well. That said, it's super pleasant with the guitars and the cool organ that slips in and out. I'd be interested in hearing the next mix of it . . . cheers, -Tom

I listened to "Neighbors" and I liked the vocal performance, the song, the guitar tone, and especially the mix separation! All of those are such high quality, but as mentioned above I'd give the bass g and kick and snare a bit more low end oooooompf. But I hope it doesn't come at the expense of the upper eq of the entire mix, which just sparkles in its clarity. cheers, -Tom

My Dire Straits albums from the 80s are all noticeably quieter than other albums of the period. And arguably the best works conceived during that time.

That would be really awesome of you, and congrats on your son having an open college to go to!!! Our son gets an extra year of parenting with us at home - the bonus round!

Love this. Love the tweets which sound very authentic, monkeys and birds. That came from "Kinetic Metal" ? I listened on headphones and the bass was present yet not overwhelming, a very good foundation. I liked that the durations for each chord felt right, as opposed to a rhythm from the grid approach. cool stuff! cheers, -Tom

Could you roughly outline what specific plugs he had on his master bus? Of course how you use them is program dependent, but I'd be curious what exact plugs he sticks on there, in what order . . . ? Your post was very enlightening, as I have always made the same "mistake" by mixing into a limiter, the Fabfilter actually, and it's last on the bus just catching peaks, I don't add any gain back in. When it comes to mixing, I've always felt like a professional plumber asked to wire a house with electricity. Cheers, -Tom

It could be a rap artist "G - one" I hope Gone doesn't let bygones be bygones and has temporarily gone to bring the track back.

Nice one! I like the vocal and how it sits with the arrangement. Very calming. I think the mixing of the vocal could be looked at in context - the elec piano (excellent) is pretty dry, there's just a touch of reverb on the drums, there's a bit more on the guitar panned left - so overall, pretty dry and cleanly mixed. But the vocal by contrast seems very effected, and very retro with maybe some old dynamic mic? I dunno. I'd vote for less vocal reverb (or delay?) so it can match the mix. It's almost like you are one vocal processor removal away from having a clean, nicely matching vocal. If that makes sense. But please consider a de-esser on the vocal, although if you back off on a compressor, you might not need a de-esser. I have always really liked your mixes and I'm sure you know what you are doing . . . I think if I remember correctly you are from Norway? Apologies if I misremember. But you have a really excellent take here and a great feel for the "1970's Americana country western" vibe. Plus it kind of sounds like Elvis! Pretty cool pulling this off! cheers, -Tom

I see and agree, it would be a simultaneous honor and a bummer.

Sounds absolutely beautiful, the way you handled it. Well done.

Maybe both of you should get a barber

This might be the worst song ever written

Tea is the gateway drug to coffee, so let's not forget that slippery slope. Me? I just can't get the Kombucha monkey off my back.

This is one of my fav 80's songs so I will not let it slip off the page. Great job, so very listenable, and as usual, a stellar rundown of your weapons in your post. Killer! thanks so much! -Tom p.s. Blue Nile's "Tinseltown in the Rain" ???

Love the guitar, it's got a lot of transient plucked goodness! Be the plectrum! Great lead chops. I believe you have doubled the guitar part (except for the lead in the middle) - did you manually do the guitar lines twice, or is it a plugin doubler? Whichever, sounds really good. cheers, -Tom

I like the energy of your song, the holy honky tonk vibe. First question - have you taken an eq to every instrument, and lopped off the lower frequencies (except on the bass and the kick drum)? a.k.a "high pass filtering" . . . certainly the piano could be conflicting with the bass down there. After that you could pan some things wider, a lot of this sounds dead center. Keeping vocals and bass elements in the middle? The mal bgv's are almost as loud as the lady lead in spots, I'd bring her out more. You might also look at that bass recording, it doesnt have much of an attack transient, it's kind of a pillowy bass sound and you might want better recording of a more articulated bass tone. Just a few thoughts . . nice vibe, nice tune, and good luck! cheers, -Tom

As a fellow companion to two older dogs I wish you both the best.