Charles, Am I ready for the Big Time?

[jerdude]

I thought maybe I'd get people's attention with that subject line...

But seriously... I would like to know what everyone's thoughts are on this tune i produced and mixed.
It's kinda John Mayer/Michael Tait/Incubus.... Pop/Rock.

This is a more professional group than many around and any feedback would be valuable.

This forum with Charles is very cool and since it is encouraging of mp3's, i thought i'd post one for castigation.

whatcha think?

Jeremy

[Jose Mrochek]

I am not Charles either But my thought is yes, you as a mixer are ready for the Big Time. It sounds very good congratulations. Super arrangements.. loved them. But then again, since you asked for critique on the song.. probably not you, but the songwriter in this case, I think the lyrics are way to poor compared to the greatness of arrangement and seriousness I sense in the music. I took it as "ok, I COULD want to be a big hollywood star but your love is all I want" . And I will write and produce a super song to say something stupid that was said a million times before.that I don't even mean!
I am not in favor of looking down on a song because of lyrics, I actually rarely even listen to them. But this time I was impressed with the music and very turned off by the lyrics. I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT THE SINGER IS SAYING. I would believe Madonna, or Ricky Martin if they talked about the meaning of love, and fame or money is not everything. I sense the singer is talking about a subject he has no idea about. But that's just me, this song has the word HIT written all over the place. So congratulations to you, please advice the songwriter to get his heart broken, and start again

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by jerdude


whatcha think?

Jeremy

thumbsup


The only thing i would tell you is that the labels don't think about what's in right now, they are always looking for what will be in a year from now(about the time it takes to release an album).

If a label has an Incubus/John Mayer on their roster already, than there is no way they will sign another.

Aside from that, i like the song.

Good luck.

[djui5]

yep..that's one of the best sounding mixes I've heard on this forum in a while....

I like it. Great production too.....

Congrats!

[jerdude]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments!!

acoustic guitar clipeticlop

Are you talking about the loop and filter synth thing that happens at the end of the first chorus??

The only thing i would tell you is that the labels don't think about what's in right now, they are always looking for what will be in a year from now(about the time it takes to release an album).

dfegadLabels.

I get you though!!

Jer

[jerdude]

I getcha!

the sustain on the acoustic really does get lost. But doesn't everything that comes out of Nashvull have to have acoustic guitar in the chorus?

Maybe it adds subliminally !

Thanks for the nice comments!!

Jer

[jerdude]

Oh yeah...

Who says you can't afford me

Can you tell i love smilies...

Jer

[Jmess]

This sounds good. I think the vocal needs to come down a little bit, it sits to high on the mixs for a rock tune. The vocal sounds a bit boxy you might scoop out some mids with a wide Q. You could compress drum and bass on a separate track/s, add some high freq and blend it together. This might glue it together a bit more. Nice going.

[stealthbalance]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by thethrillfactor
[B]thumbsup

The only thing i would tell you is that the labels don't think about what's in right now, they are always looking for what will be in a year from now(about the time it takes to release an album).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
thethrillfactor,
i cant say i agree with you on this generality , at least from my experience.
to me , record label a&r cats are the biggest sheep on the planet. many times even when i meet with MAJOR presidents of a&r , they play stuff to me and literally tell me to just copy that chorus or to copy that riff and basically rip off whatever is current and a hit. except for the gifted and visionary few , the 60's and 70's are over. i specifically remember back around the nirvana craze , an a&r guy saying that he thought he'd found the last great band left out of seatle.
unreal. sheep of the highest order.
mho
s

[5down1up]

i like it ... a LOT

on my 1$ pc speakers the vocals are a little " low " ...
waiting on some chord changes in the chorus ( i love minor chords )
are the backing vox in the last chorus auto tuned ?

i am just throwing something in ...
its really GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD !

[jbuntz]

I agree this is probably one of the best sounding songs I've heard on this forum. I think the weakest point is the drums. They would work for a poppy tune put they don't rock too much on the chorus and the bridge/breakdown and sound a bit dry/small. Could be a limitation of the room they were in though. I like the size the synth stuff adds to the mix even though it's not usually my cup of tea.

[Inner Light]

excellent , i aspire to reach that level of production, engineering and mixing !

[RichT]

I like this a lot, good song, good production - what do they look like?

[juniorhifikit]

Originally posted by Jmess
This sounds good. I think the vocal needs to come down a little bit....

Sounds good to me.
thumbsup
I think the vocals could come UP just the slightest bit.

You probably don't need to be posting your mixes for advice. You know what you're doing. Everyone needs a little ego fluff every now and then though

[troubado]

It's too poppy sounding for how much it tries to rock closer to the end there.. sounds unnatural to me - otherwise, it sounds like Avril, or Clay, or those guys to me. Thumbs up if that's what you're going for!

I agree that the drums sounds weird when the song tries to get heavy.

[LaLaFaV]

I also agree about the drums. Everything is very nice, but the drums actually sound programmed to me. I believe the cymbals are the reason it sounds this way to me. The drums don't get aggressive enough in the choruses for me... its too smooth and even. As a drummer, I want to hear the air around drums so I feel the change from section to section. Other than those issues with the drums, I think you did a great job.

[jerdude]

yeah...

I was trying to get a balance between John Mayer/Avril and the Radio friendly aspects of Our Lady Peace (i.e."somewhere out there") and other Modern Rock radio tracks... like Trapt's "headstrong"... maybe its kinda Incubus in the bridge ... without the rawness.

Anyhow... its POP/Rock ... not intended to be as all out as those Rock tracks.

It's trying to be creative with the synths and loop stuff... Radio chorus melody... and rockin bridge... all fused together in one track. Keepin em guessin.

Maybe its too much for one track... but it seems pop stuff is trying to keep the track unpredictable.

What do I know?

Jer

[juniorhifikit]

Did you write it? Did you play any of the parts/programming? Were you the producer i.e.: did you make creative decisions about arrangement? Did you mix "in the box"? What's the whole story?

[thethrillfactor]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by stealthbalance
[B]

Originally posted by thethrillfactor
thumbsup

The only thing i would tell you is that the labels don't think about what's in right now, they are always looking for what will be in a year from now(about the time it takes to release an album).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
thethrillfactor,
i cant say i agree with you on this generality , at least from my experience.
to me , record label a&r cats are the biggest sheep on the planet. many times even when i meet with MAJOR presidents of a&r , they play stuff to me and literally tell me to just copy that chorus or to copy that riff and basically rip off whatever is current and a hit. except for the gifted and visionary few , the 60's and 70's are over. i specifically remember back around the nirvana craze , an a&r guy saying that he thought he'd found the last great band left out of seatle.
unreal. sheep of the highest order.
mho
s

Stealth,

When my band got out of its recording deal with Sony latin back in 91, i went to work for them as a talent scout. I did it for them, Arista and Motown for the next 9 years. I worked with every kind of A&R under the sun and learned that somethings still hold true.

They for the most part all think the same even though they think they don't.

They are never satisfied with the status quo.

They are always looking for the next big thing.

You have to think one year ahead to stay ahead of the curve.

That's where a lot of artist/songwriters would do themselves in. They would listen to the radio or watch MTV and copy some of the artist out there thinking that's what they wanted(and some of these people were incredibly talented). Problem was if the labels had people in their roster already that fit a certain genre or look, to have another would create internal conflicts(usually between the artists actually). Remember every artist wants to feel special and think that they are unique(yeah right) and to see someone else that is just like them on the same label its like "what's up"?

There are times that the labels sign the same kinda artist.

But i have only seen this after a bidding war. If a label gets beat out by another, than they will quickly sign someone similar and try to beat them to the punch(the market).

Again this happens at least a year in advance.

Its rare you get signed and get put out right away. Between the negotiations,album production,marketing,promotion, it takes about a year.

[Jose Mrochek]

When you say "The next big thing" you mean they know in their minds what they are looking for?, or they have no idea just waiting for something interesting to come along and grab it ? Thanks!

[stealthbalance]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by thethrillfactor

That's where a lot of artist/songwriters would do themselves in. They would listen to the radio or watch MTV and copy some of the artist out there thinking that's what they wanted(and some of these people were incredibly talented). Problem was if the labels had people in their roster already that fit a certain genre or look, to have another would create internal conflicts(usually between the artists actually). Remember every artist wants to feel special and think that they are unique(yeah right) and to see someone else that is just like them on the same label its like "what's up"?

----------------------------------------------------------

i dont mean sign clones at the same label - i meant more that all other labels chase that sound and trend. i agree , its rare that a label will sign something really close stylistically as an artist they already have. but i am constantly asked to copy the sound of many hit bands. last time there was a huge amount of this is after the first linkin park album went big. everybody specifically wanted that and told me so. maybe this is just my experience and my circle of friends in the industry , or maybe more of an l.a. thing. posers and frauds extraordinaire.

s

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by Jose Mrochek
When you say "The next big thing" you mean they know in their minds what they are looking for?, or they have no idea just waiting for something interesting to come along and grab it ? Thanks!

I would say its more of the second.

In the old days it was more of the first.

But that takes balls and a vision, which many of todays A&R's have none.

[Renie]

I would like to hear the track but can only manage to access a text file of the mp3.

Could the track be uploaded onto the GS server?

or would someone send me it rene@novakinc.com?

Thanks

[jerdude]

Did you write it? Did you play any of the parts/programming? Were you the producer i.e.: did you make creative decisions about arrangement? Did you mix "in the box"? What's the whole story?

Actually... I wrote the melody and music and then collaborated with a friend on the lyrics.

I produced, arranged and mixed the song as well as played guitar and did the synth programming and loops... can't forget the BGV's .

The mix was done all in the box... except for compression on the lead Vox.


Thanks for the comments!

Jer

Oh one last thing... how do get the quotes to look like everyone else's? The bold... and the originally posted by.... Do you guys type it in that way or does it do it like that for you?

[jazzius II]

cool track/production.....one thing strikes me......there's a bit of a frequency "hole".....it's above the body of the bass and at the bottom of the guitars.....it's almost like you've left it (the hole)there for the vocals, but IMO it's too much....i think it would sound better if you rolled a bit off the top of the bass and filled it with some guitar energy.....

[burst]

Sent you the mp3.

[juniorhifikit]

Originally posted by jerdude
Actually... I wrote the melody and music and then collaborated with a friend on the lyrics.

I produced, arranged and mixed the song as well as played guitar and did the synth programming and loops... can't forget the BGV's .

The mix was done all in the box... except for compression on the lead Vox.


Thanks for the comments!

Jer

Oh one last thing... how do get the quotes to look like everyone else's? The bold... and the originally posted by.... Do you guys type it in that way or does it do it like that for you?

I really like the programming and guitar work. Nice job. The envelope of the filtery stuff is very cool. Care to elaborate?

[jazzius II]

i put the vocals up a bit, and made the chorus a bit more rockin'.....distortion is our friend!

[djui5]

vocals sound cool but the imaging goes away in the chorus...everything seem's to squish together..

[1nation]

Originally posted by Jose Mrochek
I am not Charles either But my thought is yes, you as a mixer are ready for the Big Time. It sounds very good congratulations. Super arrangements.. loved them. But then again, since you asked for critique on the song.. probably not you, but the songwriter in this case, I think the lyrics are way to poor compared to the greatness of arrangement and seriousness I sense in the music. I took it as "ok, I COULD want to be a big hollywood star but your love is all I want" . And I will write and produce a super song to say something stupid that was said a million times before.that I don't even mean!
I am not in favor of looking down on a song because of lyrics, I actually rarely even listen to them. But this time I was impressed with the music and very turned off by the lyrics. I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT THE SINGER IS SAYING. I would believe Madonna, or Ricky Martin if they talked about the meaning of love, and fame or money is not everything. I sense the singer is talking about a subject he has no idea about. But that's just me, this song has the word HIT written all over the place. So congratulations to you, please advice the songwriter to get his heart broken, and start again

I think you missed the point of that song. If I understand it correctly it's a prayer... Have another listen, it might be cooler with that understanding.

Jer, great song bro is there a cd in the works? This is one of the best cc productions I've heard.

I'm also interested in any production notes you feel led to share.

P.S. Hit quote at the bottom right corner of the post you wish to quote.