PhonoBrainer

Well, I added the video. Let me know if you like it or hate it? Thanks! @Lynn - yes it is a bit toe tappin' dystopian! I appreciate your mix comments and many thanks! @freddy j - excellent history lesson, sir! I pulled that vid about four years ago, and since then, have been too lost in the editing of sheep to remember what exactly the original political point was. I think it was Wilke. It was very baaaaaaaad of me to not remember. Many thanks for your observations! @thegaltieribrothers - glad the funk found you and thanks so much for the listen! @bjornpdx - yes a bit of LBJ and maybe also some of that current Senator from Kentucky? I dunno. Thanks for the mix comments, it was a four year project!

Write a song about it.

Looks like he knew when to die. ... Sorry, that was pretty dark.

Another great song and I think you have a "sing the phone book" voice. You are getting some good mix tips so I will only generally add there might be just a hair leess of the bass guitar. People are hearing a tuning issue but I don't think it's the vocals, I think it's the bass, which as we know the lower pitches are the hardest to tell the tuning. But the bass, if that's what it is, is not super far off, and I;ve started to think that part of your work's excellent vibe is owing to the fact that tuning is not in unison. Most of the live recorded work is not pitch perfect and I think you are making this work for you, not against you. If that makes sense. It's adding to the vibe that the song already brings. OK, at 2:10 your bass plays a note that suggests a minor scale, whilt the keyboard above it is clearly playing a major chord. Just noticing! I assume that's intentional. Really cool tune. Another really cool tune! cheers, -Tom

Alzheimers?

I think it's just supposed to be a static picture. ? The music is a bit of a macabre circus. And is inventive. I'd say keep throwing those pics up there , the one you chose I'm not sure if it really fits the tune you wrote. The music is elegant and the pic is, well, not super elegant. I dunno.

the bass is in much better shape now! With the extra energy that gives the track, it seems to have maybe left room for the hihat groove to be a little up front and pokey in the mix. That's just a matter of taste and yours may vary. Have you given it a loud listen? It's no problem at lower volumes. Lyrics are great, it has an excellent pulse to it, and the vocals are a trip.

smooth chord progression, nice melody, good voice! That's a great foundation. I liked the pizzicato strings as well. That string swell at the very end is great, it has a sense of urgency! The kick drum choice is flabby of course, and demands the listener's attention - is that what you want? If this was a conventional band, I believe the rest of the players would convene an official Band Meeting, and prolly kick the drummer out, because the guitarist knows a guy. 'twas a good listen allrighty! -Tom

@Douglas Kirby - yes, lounge, it has a bit of that, thanks. The brass I fiddled with, it's Hollywood Pop Brass but using Zynaptique Unveil to suck the room rvb off of it. I think I took too much away perhaps. Thanks for the comment! @DeeringAmps - glad you liked the groove in there! It's a speech by an Indiana Senator in 1940 I culled from an old movie. He was speaking in opposition to America's paarticipation in the Lend Lease program, and the dictator he was warning us against was in fact FDR! So it was partisan as hell, just like our own wonderful times . . . thanks for the comment! @geeare1- cool, glad you liked it, and thanks for the comment! @Wookiee - yes, classic DX7! This time from the Canterbury EP, a very cool chorusy yet clear patch. Thanks, glad the furry paws were tapping!

@noynekker - wow thanks, just trying to have a little fun straight outta 2016. The video I'm also reworking will maybe shed light. HEY! I had a DX7 in the golden beyond and played the crap out of it, so perhaps it's there in spirit if not in reality . . . sure appreciate the comments, many thanks! @garybrun - thanks! and the voice over guy is an Indiana senator giving a speech in maybe 1940 warning against America's involvement in the lend-lease program . . . from a really old movie, so I have fair scrubbed most of the scratch off of it!!! Good idea though . . . many thanks! @bjornpdx - yes there absolutely is more room for delays and such, and I thought about taking it full dubstep, but just never got it there. I might sneak back and slather a little more effectery in there. thanks for the idea and the listen!

Now added a video. Comments are most welcome! . . . Soundcloud link is below . . . thanks, y'all!

Well we got on the train, and we are wondering where it's going! Not a bad groove and Dan's mix advice is pretty quality. cheers, -Tom

Well, super collab! Ideas for the mix? I'd drop the violin that is playing underneath Doug's singing. Doug's voice is more than strong enough to capture the interest, and the violin noodle underneath is for me more distracting than enhancing. By all means keep the violin in the breaks! Just my .02 haystacks. Keep it going, gents! cheers, -Tom

I thought I responded to this already, but, cool tune! Yes for me I agree that synthbass is pretty durn thick loud and gooey, and it sucks up the energy that should be going to the upper range, like I bet the vocals pop if you drop the synthbass 1.5db or more, across the board. I like your voice and the tricks sounded fun, so I'll check back if you tame the monster in the basement!!! cheers, -Tom

It's honestly not bad! OK, three months, actually, is not that long. Take a breath, take a breather, set it aside if you need to. Come back to it in three years if you need to. And that's why I have half-finished songs that are 25 years old . . . Ideas? Sure! 1) Those piano stabs, do they also have a string pad playing in unison, underneath? If so you might drop the string pad, see if it helps the clarity. 2) Drums seem to have their own reverb thing going on, more stairwelly than the other instruments, and if Bandlab can't help you, then . . . 3)I liked the lead vocal a lot and the bgvs are very well placed and thought out! 4)Is there a bass guitar on its own, or is it mimicking the piano stabs? The bass guitar is not very present and it could add some slight differences or little fills or something. mixing is a dark art that we are all trying to learn. What you have here is pretty decent so far, keep at it! cheers, -Tom

It sounds like they deep sampled an OTS guitar strum.

Uh, actually I was reading too fast, I have and like the s73 as well. This 1973 is unknown to me.

Oooh crap, I was a fool fooled. My happy remarks applied to the s73 . . . I don't have this 1973 which is more full featured.

Do you really have free will if you want to respond, but it's late and you are just too damned tired???

Did I just read "Mongolian Horsehead fiddle" or do I need more coffee??

He really fills the lane

These things may or may not work. Buy better, more shielded cords? With pure silver cores? Or https://www.amazon.com/Ferrite-Core-Cord-Noise-Suppressor/dp/B01JMTCC5 Or Move those noisy pickups around the room a little, there's probably a spot where the rf is cancelled. Hit record and then move over into the bookcase by the ficus Or Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Barbecued Iguana

Pianos are very very subjective, but I ran with ivory II as my main piano for a few years. It lacks a depth to the samples, and doesn't play super well from a touch standpoint. For 249? Pearl or Noire would be considerably better imho but that's on the yamaha side.

It shouldn't take them 18 months to reverse engineer Reaper.