Not dead - just busy.
Let's see now - miserable bastard songs. This is a great song from The Smithereens. Click on the title to hear my version.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Life gets Better...again
This is more what I had in mind. GPs original is great but it is very jaunty.
This is just guitar (no BIAB at all this time) and vocal.
This is just guitar (no BIAB at all this time) and vocal.
Life gets better
New idea...
A lot of uptempo songs are really sad bastard singer songwriter fodder. I'm going to recover the misery from some songs. First cab off the rank is Graham Parker's Life Gets Better.
This try is almost all BIAB with just a little guitar riff on a real guitar. I've taken an axe to my voice with doubling and compression. I don't think it works but it's an attempt.
A lot of uptempo songs are really sad bastard singer songwriter fodder. I'm going to recover the misery from some songs. First cab off the rank is Graham Parker's Life Gets Better.
This try is almost all BIAB with just a little guitar riff on a real guitar. I've taken an axe to my voice with doubling and compression. I don't think it works but it's an attempt.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Just Another Nervous Breakdown
This is getting silly now. It seems when approaching sophisticated muscianship I resort to Gumby style music. This another attempt at a song from Breakfast in America that wasn't finished before the deadline for Coverville.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Take the Long Way Home
This is a bit of a joke, too. I was trying to see how noisy I could get BIAB and then added brainless grungy guitar and keyboards. Supertramp minus subtlety and a singing voice. However, my fourteen year old son who hates everything I record on principle, thought it was better than usual because it didn't sound much like me. Bonus points for picking that the different mixes of the backing rack are recorded twice slightly out of sync rather than just tweaked later. I used to do this with two reel to reels in the old days - the horror.
Lord is it Mine
Well that didn't work.
I tried to do this properly. There's no BIAB here just 6 string, 12 string, bass and ukelele. Unfortunately I couldn't stay even close to in tune this time so I gave up. My wife Robyn had a go with a different arrangement for Coverville. The only thing that survived in her version was the little uke riff.
I tried to do this properly. There's no BIAB here just 6 string, 12 string, bass and ukelele. Unfortunately I couldn't stay even close to in tune this time so I gave up. My wife Robyn had a go with a different arrangement for Coverville. The only thing that survived in her version was the little uke riff.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Logical Song
Ok this is really a terrific song from "Breakfast in America."
My only beef is that the instrumental at the end suggests that the singer has escaped from the restricted world he describes. My version suggests he did not. I wanted it mechanical and stripped back for the most part, but there is a tubular bells alert on this track.
I was trying for Gary Numan synths at one point but wound them back to a much smaller part. I'm trying to talk the song which means I probably do a bit of a Shatner.
Click the title to hear the result.
My only beef is that the instrumental at the end suggests that the singer has escaped from the restricted world he describes. My version suggests he did not. I wanted it mechanical and stripped back for the most part, but there is a tubular bells alert on this track.
I was trying for Gary Numan synths at one point but wound them back to a much smaller part. I'm trying to talk the song which means I probably do a bit of a Shatner.
Click the title to hear the result.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Casual Conversations
Brian at Coverville (http://coverville.com/) has invited contributions for virtual tribute album to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp.
This is no easy task as the hits are so well known that they are hard to approach and the album tracks are either all over the place or seriously pretentious and in some cases very lame. I don't know what I'll submit but I'll have a go at a few in the hope one is at least presentable.
I'm starting with a song that is hard to like. It is wimpy and whingy and Supertramp's version manages to sound like it was recorded in MIDI before MIDI was invented.
Such pomposity begs for a cuzzoo solo and ukelele backing and I couldn't resist. Click on the title above to hear my version which is so much more fun but much less appropriate than Supertramp's.
This is no easy task as the hits are so well known that they are hard to approach and the album tracks are either all over the place or seriously pretentious and in some cases very lame. I don't know what I'll submit but I'll have a go at a few in the hope one is at least presentable.
I'm starting with a song that is hard to like. It is wimpy and whingy and Supertramp's version manages to sound like it was recorded in MIDI before MIDI was invented.
Such pomposity begs for a cuzzoo solo and ukelele backing and I couldn't resist. Click on the title above to hear my version which is so much more fun but much less appropriate than Supertramp's.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Play that Funky Music
Since I've run out of BIAB recordings that I'm happy to post - unless I get very drunk - this is something very strange. I must have recorded this in the 1980s and it is basically using various applications on a Commodore 64 multitacked to a 4 track cassette recorder. It is far too long and very silly but am not exactly sure how it was possible.
Monday Monday
Hmm - an unremarkable cover. If you've just come across this blog listen to the first ones I posted - I think they are better. Otherwise, click on the title to hear this one.
The Mamas and the Papas made their very basic song into something wonderful.
The Mamas and the Papas made their very basic song into something wonderful.
I'm a Believer
A fun song to play. I'm clearing a backlog of songs to encourage myself to do some more recording.
The Monkees version is great but Neil Diamond's original still is the best.
The Monkees version is great but Neil Diamond's original still is the best.
April After All
This is a cheat because I don't use Band in a Box at all on it.
My daughter was cajoled into adding cello with no practice to make it less obvious I couldn't hit the low note!
I couldn't find Ron Sexsmith's original but I did find a really good cover.
My daughter was cajoled into adding cello with no practice to make it less obvious I couldn't hit the low note!
I couldn't find Ron Sexsmith's original but I did find a really good cover.
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