PhonoBrainer

. . . and we still have most of the world convinced that $6 for a coffee drink is stylish, not stupid .

Looks like some californiyums saw through that one! And fingers crossed for Bill!

After listening to your excellent mix, the things held in memory were the falsetto vocals (a treat!) and those slinky guitars. Very nice job! Where did you pick up the video? first class job. -Tom

Well, I was on the fence, too. I forged ahead and got it, even though I already have Adagietto - the Albion stuff sounds exactly like I'm sitting in a big movie theater. Too cool. I reasoned: if I don't get it, Spielberg calls and offers me a job. SOL there. If I do get it, no one ever calls me for a job. But I have a lot of fun. WIN. cheers, -Tom

I like the track a lot. I keep expecting the Terminator to bust through the wall. You song title I think is too cliche and needlessly vulgar. The system called - they really don't care. Because, system. Meanwhile, maybe a little more high eq could shine, just a little lift at the master bus? definitely a cool track, though. cheers, -Tom

This thread is like being trapped in The Never-ending Zorie.

I like how you brought in that lyric "It's time to set free" around 3:18, neat effect! Mix is nice, song is nice, too. Maybe her excellent voice is just a bit too clean and clear for a tune like this? I dunno. Nice guitars throughout. welcome to the forum! Lots of nice helpful folks here. cheers, -Tom

#3 Perchance to Dream I like the overall sense of optimism this music conveys, particularly the third piece here. Just super cool tunesmithery! Really missing the lower bass frequencies on this one, in fact even guitar and piano and kick seem light. If I stand back, it gives the impression of a 70's AM radio experience, on a car stereo. It's a really good mix otherwise. Totally dig the avant garde experimentation breakdown. That was just excellent. cheers, -Tom

#2 YMMV! I like the swagger and the parts I think all just compliment each other. For me, this is driving music, and I'll pick the drive down from Pacifica, through Half Moon Bay, south to Santa Cruz. In this song, I would put a lot more of the low bass guitar frequencies back in. It sounds like you cut everything below 400hz clean away. ? I'm hearing some cool digital track distortions as the ending fade out - hope they were planned, 'cause I dig it! This is a toe tapping head bobber. Kudos! -Tom

Well, thanks John, you state your case and I accept that's where you are coming from. I checked the Youtube links and I got Joe Rogan (who can be very funny!) and a Youtuber wannabe. I'm sure I could research and find other pro-man, anti-feminist sources and opinions. Which would mean that those opinions are out there . . . but I for one would respectfully disagree in the particulars. I don't view men as an "endangered species" nor am I likely to have my chain jerked by a marketing decision made by a razor company. Don Lemon is one voice out of many, a voice one can simply turn off with the click of a button. And I was actually a former counsellor in the Boy Scouts of America, and I think it's just fine that it's being blended in with the girls. What women and men open themselves up to, legally, when drunk together, isn't the sort of thing that's even on my radar. Perhaps I'm just super naive about the horrors and trapdoors that you describe. These are just my opinions, and you are more than entitled to yours. John, my respected friend in music, you actually sent me a Youtube link of Glenn Beck, dressed as Colonel Sanders, giving his take on the Don Lemon "controversy" . . . too surreal for me to really deal with now! But do you think that Don Lemon was referring to the Timothy McVeigh-type white men terrorists, the Charlottesville tiki-torch crowd, or was he really suggesting that "all white men are terrorists"? I dunno. It's an important distinction to make. I agree there should be equity in family courts. 100% I agree that there are some uber-feminists that are blind, reasonless "man haters" - I'd count them as less than 1%. The day they take Father's Day off the calendar, I'll eat my hat. cheers, bro. I don't have a problem with your song or your expression, but mainly was surprised that theme came out from you so strongly. If you listen to your other songs, as I have, they are mostly extolling the virtues of women, of relationships with women . . . correct? I guess I was just surprised, and maybe that's not really a bad thing at all. -Tom

KILLER PIANO LINE!!! and kudos to whomever was on lead crow. Nice job! Love this composition, it is truly a composition. those syncopated strings fit perfectly. nice one! -Tom

"Tubes" is very nice, cool instrumentation, pretty decent drum (programming?) guitar tones fit really well. Mix of it all is nice and clean. I believe this is absolutely screaming out for lyrics and vocals! My only crit might be bass guitar up a little, it has a great tone and could support things a little better by being louder, just a bit. YMMV. Joe Walsh's instrumental stuff was always a favorite of mine, and this is in that lane. Spectacular! I will check out pt 2 and 3 when I get more time . . . very cool start! cheers, -Tom

You can really string some tasty chords together. Kudos for the personal expression - which in my opinion begs the question, why did you really feel compelled to express it? The overall affect, for me, was a pretty amazing musical track, that was reduced to being a mere bed for some insular manifesto. You get to say whatever your heart tells you to say! My question would be, what compelled you to put it to music - yes, you are an unapologetic American man, check. Do you by any chance criticize others who proclaim their definitions in the same manner in which you do here? and do you want to live in a world where we all trumpet the distinction of our identities? Or would that be the kind of world you would criticize? that bass performance is cool, and when you modulate it, that's very clever stuff. I am a fan of your tunes, and I consider you to be the absolute winner of the "most improved" award. You are killing it lately! Just found myself asking why you find it necessary to announce this - and frankly, your awesome steely danesque jazz sensibilities in my opinion really don't match the manifesto - or am I just too used to hearing Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith use anthems to bring out this message? Interesting stuff, John, and again, the music was really tastefully done. cheers, -Tom

Mannheim Steamrollarian! This is a cool track, nice dynamics with the intro leading us in. Maybe the string lines have a bit much reverb? I dunno. Bass could come up in volume just a hair? Maybe. Probably where you would gain the most bang-for-the-buck improvement is investing in better drums, maybe SD3 would kill on this. I found your track extremely listenable, and I for one appreciated the different timbres popping up and taking over. Good compositional chops. cheers, -Tom

Good sign when the first thing I do is turn it up. Apparently the mix is all done, correct? It excels at panning, and at separation! really awesome mix. Personal taste would be a little more reverb on the main guitar - I think I hear a bit of delay on it, but a touch more reverb with a short tail would smear it into the other instruments a bit more comfortably, for me. By no means were your lead guitar mixing choices bad or incorrect - it works well as it is. It's a killer track. Chuck Loeb would I think dig this very much!!! thanks for the listen, great job. -Tom

"Taxpro" is a weird, irregular portmanteau. What crossword would have that for an answer?

She was just trying to get you . . . to play her wedding for free. ?

TBH I only watch TMZ on a DVD in the DMZ. Yes I know, BFD.

Perhaps ruby is therefore the one you should really want?

Several species of small, mostly furry animals gathered together on a beach grooving with some picks.

That one probably made more sense than his/her regular essays

I'd just like to offer up comment #2, I've had this one into the rotation of late. It's very well done, and funny as hell. Great job!

Well holy cranoli, that was a show. Nice trip, and an obvious major project with all those contributors. The music was pretty cool from the point of view of composition. I was hearing some timing issues with drum hits not syncing, but did you intend it to be a little off? Kind of fits the "journey" you take us on, actually. Dug the melodies and lyrics, but with all the visuals going on, the music kind of takes a back seat on this one, for me anyways. cheers, -Tom

What a great presentation, from the early archives to the modern version. Neat to hear the evolution. Was it meant to be kind of a smooth rnb 80's parody? I The breakdown section is an absolutely fantastic mix. I have shared these type of parental frustrations (to an extent) and I found myself laughing out loud. Super great and creative work! This is a true friggin' '80's homage! For a tiny nit, maybe drop the volume on the snare while you are singing, just a smidge? cheers, -Tom

more reverb on the horn stabs? I like the arpeggiations you have chosen - the panned right guitar one might be a bit loud when you are singing. I dig the guiro!! Vocals sure do work, and the ghostly, poltergeistish bgv's are a very cool, supporting add. It's a memorable and yes quirky song! For me your sung melody is integral to understanding the arrangement of the other voices - which means, for me, the intro section was kind of the low point. When the song starts, I was having a really hard time figuring out what it was doing.If this were my tune A) I'd be quite proud indeed! and B) I'd whack the entire intro right off, and start it with one go 'round of the chorus. Your vocals I think would be a much better early hook. Just my .02 brain cells on that one . . . call it a win, Lynn. cheers, -Tom