Squeezed out a new song "Ruinous Times"

[Dean Roddey]

OK, so I finally managed to finish another song. I think that this is song #10 for me, or maybe it's #11, I'm not sure. This one is fairly short. I've decided to bite off smaller pieces that I can deal with better in the time I have to work on these things. That way also, if I've decided that I've learned a lot of lessons that would be applied to starting on a new one, I can dump them and move on without too much angst. That way I can learn more by getting more varied experience, instead of slaving away on a single song for months, which will end up having zero mojo probably because it took so long.

http://www.charmedquark.com/Web2/Tmp...inousTimes.mp3

As usual you probably can't miss the Pink Floyd influence that permeates my work, though it actually has a bit of an Irish lilt to it in a strange sort of way. In terms of a coherent composition it's way better than anything I've managed before. And, strangely, involved the least planning. I just sat down, threw up a mic, and in a single, unplanned, take did the acoustic guitar part that became the left side guitar part. And the whole thing just grew up out of that spontaneous take.

I was going to sing it an octave higher, which I think would have been very intersting and gave it a much different flavor. But, ultimately, it would have been difficult to hit the notes. Since I didn't plan it, I couldn't know ahead of time that the key would be beyond my reach. So I dropped it down. Ultimately, I think it kind of sounds nice that way.

There's about 18 tracks. No trickery other than the usual comp, EQ, and a little ambience, plus some automation. Comments are welcome about how it might be improved, though they'll be applied in the next round. This one is done. I couldn't go back to it now. This has become the final form in my head.

What's kind of funny is that, if you are listening in a quiet environment, you might hear a screaming match that I ended up catching on a vocal track. This is a very quiet apartment complex and I've only heard a couple raised voices in the decade I've lived here. But in this case, some girl and her boyfriend happened to be walking by the apartment screaming at each other. I didn't realize it at the time, but heard it later when I was listening back in the headphones to the recorded tracks. It ended up pretty subtle in the final mix, because the vocal is so low at the start. But it's still hearable.

[greatgreatriver]

Very nice tune Dean! I like your stuff. The soft part that kicks in around 01:40 is beautiful! I couldn't hear your neighbors...

[Dean Roddey]

I really tried to give this one a lot of ebb and flow, magic mountains and all that, and also not to stuff every second with featured tracks and whatnot. It's kind of hard to resist doing, but I think it worked out better that way.