Manhattan Skyline
September 28, 2019 10:56 PM
Some recent discussion on MeFi about the band a-ha reminded me that I'd recorded this acoustic cover of one of their songs a long time ago. This is actually based on an arrangement by Kings of Convenience, who made some interesting changes to the original song structure. Me on vocals and guitars (nylon-string and steel-string).
As I said on MeFi, I like both the original and KoC's cover. For me they achieve different things with their different approaches.
Some of the changes I made:
- A bit faster tempo -- I remember wanting this to be mellow, but not super sad. The pace was also to get more emphasis of the 3/4 time, which I tend to find comforting.
- Along the same lines of feeling more consoling/comforting, this leans towards major chord sounds.
- Added an instrumental outro because I personally needed more time to process after the last verse, darn it.
Recorded over two days in 2003 (!), back when I was getting more acquainted with recording and mixing directly onto my computer at home, instead of using a four-track tape recorder. Also recorded a few other songs around then for fun -- I think I like this one the most.
(Didn't release this publicly before now for various reasons, mostly because I've had a bit of a weird personal policy about sharing covers. I'm okay with relaxing that policy now.)
As I said on MeFi, I like both the original and KoC's cover. For me they achieve different things with their different approaches.
Some of the changes I made:
- A bit faster tempo -- I remember wanting this to be mellow, but not super sad. The pace was also to get more emphasis of the 3/4 time, which I tend to find comforting.
- Along the same lines of feeling more consoling/comforting, this leans towards major chord sounds.
- Added an instrumental outro because I personally needed more time to process after the last verse, darn it.
Recorded over two days in 2003 (!), back when I was getting more acquainted with recording and mixing directly onto my computer at home, instead of using a four-track tape recorder. Also recorded a few other songs around then for fun -- I think I like this one the most.
(Didn't release this publicly before now for various reasons, mostly because I've had a bit of a weird personal policy about sharing covers. I'm okay with relaxing that policy now.)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 (6 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
Used a bit of this in this month's podcast!
posted by cortex at 12:38 PM on October 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex at 12:38 PM on October 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Both my 2019 self and my inner 2003 self are delighted by your kind reactions. Thank you!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 11:45 AM on October 5, 2019
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 11:45 AM on October 5, 2019
Amazing for your first stabs at compu-recording. And it's a damn good rendition too. I like when people turn others' songs into their own, just with a few twists here and there. This is very intimate—you can almost feel the still air in the room.
posted by not_on_display at 9:37 PM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by not_on_display at 9:37 PM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Lovely. I had no idea the Kings of Convenience song was a cover, one of my favorites.
posted by Corduroy at 12:50 AM on January 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Corduroy at 12:50 AM on January 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thanks, n_o_d and Corduroy! It's always cool to know that something I worked on turned out okay and resonated in some way with other people, and friends in particular.
I haven't picked up my guitar yet in 2020 so I guess I should do that again soon.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:15 AM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I haven't picked up my guitar yet in 2020 so I guess I should do that again soon.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:15 AM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 1:14 PM on October 1, 2019 [1 favorite]