When we enter the studio Tuesday morning, we'll be recording the song "Aloud." As a matter of fact, that may be the only song recorded that day, depending on time. My inclination is to complete a single song to the furthest extent possible before moving forward. Here are some reasons why I think that's a good idea:
1. I like the idea of re-imagining things like the drum micing/tuning a bit for each song rather than simply leaving the whole set-up in place and banging out every tune on a given instrument. That's not to say we have to reinvent the wheel each time, but I think it's a good idea to consider each song and make an educated decision about what that song requires sound-wise from each instrument.
2. It will allow us to arrive more quickly at a finished product, giving us something to can share online with any interested parties online. Here are some sub-reasons why that's desirable:
a. I will feel as though I've made tangible progress towards my goals.
b. We will be able to better assess the quality of the work we're doing and determine whether to continue in the same fashion or adjust our methodology. We're feeling the process out essentially.
c. I wouldn't be so foolish as to think anyone's waiting with baited breath for our first release, but perhaps I can convince some folks to listen to a single, digestible track in finished form more readily than a whole slew of new tracks. If it's well received, perhaps folks will look forward to the next one.
3. Frankly I'm not sure I have the drumming stamina to do multiple hours straight of tracking. Gimme a break, I'm pulling a fair amount of weight on this stuff between drums, guitar and vox!
"Aloud" was completed before any of the other songs that came to comprise our repertoire (though there are others that have appropriated unused riffs devised even earlier). It can in that sense be credited with setting me down the path that led to our present style (which was more solidified by the composition of "Scared" and "Steal" not long after). When I first wrote it, I was alarmed to realize that it harkens back a bit to my writing style in early high school, though certainly reflects the modicum of maturity I've accrued since those days, both as a musician and lyricist. It rests on rhythmic patterns borrowed from pop/punk, with a verse employing muted bass notes accented by un-muted fifths and a chorus that leans on a simple riff in three power chords, moving on the and of 4. I referenced pop/punk in my writing with some regularity back in my halcyon days, though I much maligned its contemporary practitioners, which I suspect was more a reaction to the cloying affectations of their lead singers than a distaste for its propulsive catchiness. Certainly I would be loathe to deny the impact on any 9-year-old when Green Day hit big in 1994, yet unlike many of my peers, I declined to make their record my first CD purchase, put off by the broad "consensus" it was garnering. Aloud breaks the mold a bit with a slightly surprising angular riff that appears in the bridge, closed by a figure in 5. The song then ends on an understated repetition of the verse figure. I debated whether to crash back into the chorus here, which would have been a more conventional choice, but decided instead to air on the side of brevity, a lesson learned from my years arranging for a cappella. In a cappella, the novelty of hearing a well known song arranged for voices wears thin rather quickly and a song can degrade from charming and novel to drab rather quickly around the 3:30 mark. I also prefer the way an understated ending changes the tone of the song a bit, giving the lyrics more of a chance to tame the pop-ness a bit.
Here are the lyrics:
(verse)
Never gonna turn my fate around
Said I gotta pull the whole thing
Paid a price for words I spoke out of necessity, well
I don't know why they're aloud
Never gonna live this whole thing down
Built upon a shadow of a doubt
Dared to live for something more than petty frivolities, well
Who's to say that's not allowed?
(chorus)
Staring up at a wake of fire
Staring up at a wake of fire
Staring up at a wake of fire now
Now
(verse)
Screaming but I never hear the sound
Searching for the strength to cry out loud
Crucified for trying everything thing to make 'em see, well
I don't know why that's allowed
(chorus)
Staring up at a wake of fire
Staring up at a wake of fire
Staring up at a wake of fire now
Now
(bridge)
(verse)
Fool me left and right I hate to know the joke's on me, well
I don't know why that's allowed
I'm going to refrain from talking about meanings of lyrics and things like that on this blog as a feel like the lyrics say what I want them to say and everything needed to understand them is there on the page and in the music. I will point out that in this case they utilize one of my favorite devices, homophones (i.e. "aloud" and "allowed").
I've selected this song to record first for a couple reasons. For one, as the oldest song in the catalog, I feel it's very ripe for finalization: I'm ready to be done with it. Secondly I think it will be a good point of entry for our music. It's catchy and upbeat and seems like starting on the right foot.
That's all for now.
-T
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