Street Sixteen

Strung out and stripped

Instrumentation: Martin D-28

street sixteen
heroin chic
he got you hooked
now you ain't so sweet

street sixteen
thousand yard stare
got a client in the bedroom
and one waiting on the stair
waiting on the stair
he's waiting on the stair
for you

sweet sixteen
should be running with your friends
should be checking out the movies
should be following the bands

street sixteen
momma didn't care
had a client in the bedroom
and one waiting on the stair
waiting on the stair
he was waiting on the stair
for you

you duck
you dive
you steal
you feel nothing

you lie
you cheat
you'll die
for want of loving

burying you soon
with a needle and a spoon
they're burying you soon
the needle and the spoon

street sixteen
future's pretty grim
you ain't gonna make it
the state you're in

street sixteen
poppies in you hair
got a client in the bedroom
and a killer on the stair
killer on the stair
there's a killer on the stair
for you.

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posted by MajorDundee (12 comments total)

This song was really sad and really good. I really loved it when you started in with the harmonies in the voice. The guitar riff is the kind of thing that roots itself in the heart and just keeps going, that kind of unshakable groove. Even after the song's stopped playing, I'm sitting with a feeling of it left in my hands and feet.
posted by MaiaMadness at 5:27 AM on June 18, 2010

When you sent me an early mix, I knew it was great. At first, I thought "Man, this is a tough range for him," but I realized that it fit the song better than it would have, had, say, I done the vox. Every time I thought "Boy, I'd like some extra harmonies right about here," you came in with them, too. You really captured a nice "less is more" feel. Sometimes, that's true.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 6:58 AM on June 18, 2010

love the killer twist at the end
posted by unSane at 12:31 PM on June 18, 2010

Thanks very much all. This went from nothing to a "finished" recording in 3 or 4 hours - I suppose it's really just a demo. It was written specifically for the charity project that AZ and cortex were/are trying to get off the ground. Although I sent it to them, their silence led me to conclude that they wouldn't use the track - so I've posted it anyway. I think it's a good song within a specific genre, and maybe there is a better version to be had with someone who can actually sing. But easy come, easy go and I'm more interested in the World Cup at the mo!
posted by MajorDundee at 2:33 PM on June 18, 2010

I must say man, for being such a dark song it's really great. And you're very right, that D-28 IS beautiful. (If I ever get a real recording gig, I'm calling you to produce it. Your recordings are ALWAYS spot on! Does the name George Martin ring a bell?)
posted by snsranch at 2:38 PM on June 18, 2010

Ha! That made me lol sns, you old flatterer you! All I have to do is listen to something like Dyan's "Time Out Of Mind" or his self-produced "Love and Theft" (under his pseudonym "Jack Frost" - probably my all-time-favourite record in terms of sound) to realise that I know sweet fuck all about production. Or, more accurately I suppose, engineering. How do they get those records to sound so damn good?? I love Daniel Lanois' recordings - the sense of space and power in them blows me away.

In terms of George Martin, I'd be more interested in picking the brains of Geoff Emerick or Ken Scott or Alan Parsons - the engineers who worked with him. "Dark Side Of The Moon", which Parsons worked on, is a wonderful record - never mind the quality of the songs or performances. Ken Scott's work with Bowie and, perhaps less celebrated, Supertramp is equally awe-inspiring. Just listen to "Crime Of The Century". Recorded in 1974 or thereabouts, it still makes my jaw drop as a recording - it's just...blissful perfection.

And then there's Steve Lillywhite's work with U2 and Simple MInds - if I could make a record that sounded like this I'd die a happy man (all those wonderful transients and overtones make me go weak at the knees). Oh I could go on and on.......
posted by MajorDundee at 3:27 PM on June 18, 2010

Thanks man, I'm going to have to listen to all of those things now to brush up my memory and get the feel of them.

You're absolutely right, I am a flatterer, but I'm not a faker. While you constantly change things up with instruments and song styles, your recordings are always top notch. That seems to be a constant with you and I really enjoy it.

While I'm at it, I WAS going to use the term "engineer" but for some reason it isn't quite as complimentary as "producer" even though in practical terms they are virtually interchangeable.
posted by snsranch at 4:36 PM on June 18, 2010

MajorDundee, I'm hearing you loud and clear with regards to Alan Parsons; such an amazing engineer, and producer, and song writer, for that matter. Have you listened much to The Alan Parsons Project, by any chance? I only have one record, the Edgar Allan Poe one, but I listen to it often.
posted by MaiaMadness at 6:52 PM on June 18, 2010

MajorDundee, how did you record this? Were the vocal and guitar tracked separately or together?
posted by unSane at 3:56 AM on June 24, 2010

I used to love the Alan Parsons Project. I had I ROBOT when I was about twelve. I fell out of love when punk happened but I still admire the guy as an engineer. Gearslutz has a fabulous Q&A with him. Their entire archive of Q&As with the most famous producers/engineers in the biz (eg Butch Vig, John Leckie, Daniel Lanois) is utterly fascinating reading, especially as now you can emulate a lot of their techniques using plug-ins, often the very same ones they are using.
posted by unSane at 4:01 AM on June 24, 2010

They were tracked separately, mainly out of habit than anything else. Thanks for the Gearsltz link - I'll be particularl interested in the John Leckie one.
posted by MajorDundee at 10:47 AM on June 24, 2010

It works really well -- they sound like they were tracked together, which is hard to do well, and why I asked. I find that both my singing and playing is different when I track separately, especially if I try to use a click. But even when I don't, you don't get that lovely lockstep interplay. I'm experimenting with ways of doing it, using an SM58 for the vocals and a condenser for the guitar.
posted by unSane at 8:20 PM on June 24, 2010