PhonoBrainer

Well, how perfectly boring. I can't tell you how many times I've heard of bands breaking up because of this. Even VH-1 "behind the music" wouldn't bother recycling this timeworn, threadbare trope of a narrative.

Friend of mine just shared this. I'm 8 years too late.

Sure hope they sampled it in 196k with ultra premium converters.

God those up front keyboards sound good! And the percolating bass!!! The vocals obviously have a different tambre but they work because of that. They are good. Hard for one guy to be Fagan, and Michael McDonald! So glad I listened. When the lead guitar comes in, it sits purrrrfectly in that excellent mix. Or, the song itself is just so well written, any deaf monkey could throw crap on the wall and it would still sound good. No, your mix is really really good and totally worthy. Very well done!!! Want a nit? The part at 1:19, and later in the song, that McDonald bgv note is a little loud for how abruptly it ends. cheers, -Tom

Dude I'd bring those Moonlight Sonata arpeggios up in the mix, they are fun!!! cheers, -Tom

1:27 the violin and the flute are competing pretty hard for mix space. It's undeniably a thoughtful composition, and not having ever heard the original, it's hard to compare your work to any original. But you do your usual job of equalling the thoughtfulness of the piece with the thoughtfulness of your mix. I'd give the violin a kudo, that was nicely brought out, very realistic. The ending was very nicely sustained and faded. Your Albinoni piece is forever in my playlist. cheers, -Tom

The Great Hi-Hat Controversy of 2020! The question is, if you hadn't mentioned it, would anyone have picked it out as an issue? I'd say probably yes. Good news, it's not sibilant, at least not that I can hear anyway. I'd drop them hi hats half a db during all vocal sections, and because it's just a bit too far panned right in my opinion, is it over 60%? . . .I dunno, just a guess there . . . it would stick out in the mix less if you swung it back to center a bit, maybe no more than 30% right. ??????? And you could always eq more low end off of them to make them less present. Put that in your hi hat and smoke it! ? Did I forget anything??? Oh yeah, it's a great song, I love the positivity and the groove. And your vocals were wonderfully delivered. cheers, -Tom

you had me at "spacey rock" love it when the organ comes in. awesome vocals, awesome mix. those vocal "ahhhs" towards the end, nice! cheers, -Tom

I liked it, a cool Rick Springfield vibe. On the lead vocal where it's not doubled, I'd be tempted to sing another nearly identical take, get it tuned nicely, and then mix it in compressed and at a lower volume. I can hear you do this sort of thing elsewhere in the song. Mixwise I think the bass guitar and kick drum could come up a bit. fun listen! cheers, -Tom

Love that guitar riff. And the other one with the phaser (flanger?) Vocals egg-sell-int!!! Another great one from you. Mix-wise I'd suck away a lot of the boom from those drums, and rein in the bass guitar as well. cheers, -Tom

Drums are sooooo good. Overall quite the creepy vibe. I think you are using bgv's as pads, which works to a point. I'm feeling these don't really hold the center of the tune. I dunno, is some more powerful element missing? The guitars are pretty understated in the mix, until that lead guitar comes in, and that is really really nicely done! I might boost it as well. Opinions are like a$h wholes. Keep them clean! Your Youtube video only allowed me a max of 780 p and you might want to go for the whole 1080 enchurrito. Overall a pleasure to listen to, and I agree it has a theatrical quality, I could see Meatloaf giving it a go. A while ago. cheers, -Tom

Very lively, and would dig hearing it live! Have you ever had any of your excellent compositions performed? I bet that would be cool. The panning really helps in the mix. It reminds me, mood-wise, of Bach's Sinfonia to Cantata No. 29 which is a very good thing. That's one of my favorites. cheers, -Tom

I hope you left that quickly arpeggiated part to an arpeggiator. Doctor's orders! ? It was very peaceful and kind of hypnotic. Is that beep beep beep towards the end some kind of hospital monitor? I'm glad you are back to the music, and keep 'em coming please! cheers, -Tom

The song itself is very original, thoughtful, and well put together. The vocal treatments give it a lot of edge. The lyrics are quite good. I like that chromatic dropdown in the verse? towards the end. Really cool choice there! I too thought of the drums, but I think they punch OK - the issue might be a kind of flat 2D quality to the drum kit overall. I don't hear much 3D space of those drums in a room. It might be something as simple as adding back in some of the high eq on that drum kit? Did you have a black raven or similar sitting on your shoulder as you recorded this? I bet you did. Nice birdie!!! cheers. -Tom

Louder? Overall? I dunno, how do the levels sound relative to other tracks? Very smooth bass, and the synthy pads that come and go are very subtle yet effective. The vocals carry me into a hybrid 60's - 80's quality. 60's for simplicity in the chorus, but definitely 80's in how the vocals are mixed. That might be a ludicrous observation, but there you go. It's very catchy, that chorus, Stylistically Councilled and Depeche-Modular. cheers, -Tom

Hey it reminds me of the feel of some of Bruce Springsteen's songs, and I think your excellent drum programming helps that along. I could hear Clarence Clemons wanting in on this. I believe he's deceased, however. Got any other sax possibilities? I liked the fading outtro as well, a very cool touch. The lyrics actually I found quite depressing!? overall nice one Lee! cheers, -Tom

I've noticed that most of the PA threads rarely contain commentary on the uses and merits of the plugin itself, but always offer commentary on the discounts and voucher strategies. Or do I just imagine this? I have a few of theirs, like a Lindell multiband compressor, the maag eq4 and the spl eq rangers and transient shaper. I feel like I might be missing out on some "wow" PA plugin somewhere . . . feel free to recommend anything!?!

Mostly yes. You probably have a few other verbs but there's always that time when they fail and you look around for some verb with some spicy spacey hypermodulated clarity. That's Blackhole.

running England I believe?

So it's not about jaw pain? Massively creative mix. Unconventional, angular chords and lyrics that slide around, start and stop, quite nicely. The mixing curveballs on the vocals kept it all flowing. I'd say it evokes a certain Wang Chung vibe in spots. As in, "What the hell ever happened to Wang Chung?!?" That Wang Chung. Thanks for the peppy number and the mix was a treat for the ears. My only crit might be the ending, which just cuts off more or less, but hey it knida works. I was expecting a bit more somethingerother on the end there.

Dbl post, sorry

@InstrEd - thanks, the elements are kind of disparate, agreed! Glad u liked it. @David Sprouse - totally get the baboushka, agreed. In the video it's rabbits. Soooooo many rabbits. Yes it gets dark but hold the meds 'cause I'm far too amused as it is! @freddy j - correctamundo! The juxtaposition is the message. If there is a message to my madness. So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the listen. @Starise- thanks. I hope the rabbits don't mind being eaten, petted, chased, or for that matter, filmed. Once I started, I couldn't believe how many stock clips of rabbits are out there. Absurd! The music came first on this one, and then the rabbit clips, which apparently multiply like, oh I dunno, something. Thanks for the comment and the time! Cheers y'all, and thanks!

Dig those lyrics, and your vocals "carry" a ton of raw energy and emotion. After he is done carrying the cross, he might consider adding some bass elements into the mix and bringing the drums up. But as you said, you are at the scratchpad stage. It's a great start.

A super successful throwback. The drums have a nice live feel, but as I listened on headphones I wanted a little more of the kick, and the bass g too. It's got a nice booty shaking shuffle to it, just maybe punch up the low end a tad? I dug the vocals and their treatment. Effected yet clear. It's one of your best ones. For me. I also noticed that you have 140 songs on the Soundclick and holy moly that is a lot! A very respectable body of work! Cheers, -Tom

Thanks, what an uplift your video was. How cool of you to share it, and may many many happy years await you both.