Burning December

A song I recorded outside today, except for the vocals which I will explain inside. This is another one I would especially appreciate thoughts on.

I meant to record an album for the RPM thing, but it didn't work out. I'm revisiting it now, though. I called myself Sauna Sounds during it, because the first place I started recording was at my parents house, which has this separate sauna building. I'm trying to utilize the natural reverb and other cool sounds from that room in the songs I'm recording now.

I don't want us to wake up cold, ever.
I could chop wood for you, forever.

I promise there is enough, I promise there will be enough.

We're surrounded by our old forest,
I would chop it all down just for us

I promise there is enough, I promise there will be enough.

By the light of our burning embers,
I will know my very own December.
By the light of our burning embers,
I will know my very own December.

I promise there is enough, I promise there will be enough.

By the light of our burning embers,
I will know my very own December,
We're surrounded by our forest,
I would chop all of it down just for us.

It's okay, darling, don't get up.
Someones gotta check on the fire.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by Corduroy (9 comments total)

We're surrounded by our old forest,
I would chop it all down just for us

It's okay, darling, don't get up.
Someones gotta check on the fire.

Beautiful lines, just beautiful.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:46 PM on May 2

I have a couple things I would recommend for the recording. I like the idea of recording outside but here it's mostly just that wind noise overdriving the mic which is kind of distracting as opposed to like, crickets chirping and babbling brooks stuff. Maybe instead record the instrumental parts inside and then record a specific layer in the field where you can shield the mic more/focus on getting more texture? Another thing is that I like the reverb of the room, but I feel like your vocal kind of gets lost in it sometimes, especially when the other instruments come in. One thing I would try would be to double the vocal either really close-miked or in a drier space. You could turn the volume on it down way low -- it would be less about really hearing it and more about giving your voice more presence in the center of the recording field, while still keeping the verb on the other sides. I don't know, just some ideas.
posted by raisindebt at 8:55 PM on May 2

Recorded outside should be a challenge.

I like this a lot. It could stand on its own with just the guitar, vox, and saw(?). The percussion is really fun though and adds a lot to the song.
posted by dagosto at 2:38 AM on May 3

I really dig the swells and the chaos in the big sections, they're really neat. (I do agree with raisindebt that the vocal space isn't quite right... I'd record fairly close with a condenser so you can compress to bring up the tails if you want to preserve the room tone; that way you can keep some vocal detail.)
posted by uncleozzy at 8:18 PM on May 3

I guess I'm torn on whether I like how muddy it gets, or if I'd like it cleaner. I'm also not sure if I kinda like the random wind noises. Of course, the only way to find out is to rerecord, and I'm going to try and get that done today and post that. Thanks a ton for all the suggestions, raisindebt and uncleozzy!

Thanks flapjax. I spent more time than usual on the lyrics, so that means a lot to me. And dagosto, it's whistling (but your mistake means the world to me).
posted by Corduroy at 4:32 AM on May 4

I did some rerecording. I decided to stick with all the original instrumentation, but redo the vocals. If you're curious about the final product it's on my space.

Thanks again for listening and all the criticism!
posted by Corduroy at 11:46 AM on May 4

You really should get a guitarron. It would be the perfect bass for your songs and it doesn't need amplification, so it shouldn't involve major expenses. If you wanna hear guitarrones in action, check out the guitarron tag. Not many, I know, but they will give you an idea.

As for the song: great one, again. a) I like how this belting out works with your voice. b) The whistling is supernatural. and c) the one pseudo-complain: the percussion could be a little bit tidier (hope you don't mind my saying it, and I know I'm not known for tidy recordings myself). But I really like the song.
posted by micayetoca at 1:20 PM on May 4

It has the quality of a field recording (which I guess it is, really) and I've always liked the vibe of those. The lyrics are really good, too. I don't mind the untidy percussion, myself - just sort of adds to the informal charm of the piece for me.
posted by metagnathous at 9:24 AM on May 6

Great song, Corduroy. I just listened to both the myspace version and the one posted here. The sounds and textures you're getting out of those multitracked banjoleles are terrific, and the whistling works well.

Your new belted-out voice works well in the loud, more layered sections. It almost has a David Byrne quality to it, which isn't a bad thing at all. Even from the metafilter version to the myspace version of the song, there is a difference in how relaxed your throat and breathing are. Keep working on that, to make it even more relaxed (not that I have any right to make this comment. I think the fact that I struggle with keeping my voice relaxed makes me aware of it). Also, before the extra tracked parts come in and the song feels more 'band-like', I felt like you were projecting too much, like you were using your 'outside' voice inside a room. Then when the rest of the parts came in, your projection felt appropriate. So switching gears vocally could be another thing to think about.

All of this should be taken with a grain of salt, of course. I like the song a lot.
posted by umbú at 3:00 PM on May 6