- Jan 2022
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dogtrax.edublogs.org dogtrax.edublogs.org
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I’m always anxious about my singing voice, which is one reason why I always am ready to call anything I record a “demo” and cover myself from criticism (that I can’t sing as well as I should be able to, given how many years I’ve been at this).
I find the idea of a 'demo' interesting. With technology as it is these days, it feels like a mindset more than anything else. I was interested in listening to The Story of 1999 podcast series and the way in which Prince recorded everything with a thought that it might be the take. He then covered up the bits that he did not want with explosions.
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dogtrax.edublogs.org dogtrax.edublogs.org
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My next step will be to record some lead vocals, which I will do as another track in Soundtrap. I may add some more live keyboards (myself, playing, as opposed to loops) at the end, to give the second half of the song more texture. In regards to vocals, I aim to do my best, but in my mind, I keep wondering: Who else could I ask to sing this? Or help me sing this? A backing track might make all the difference in the world.
One of the things that intrigues me about taking a song from its core elements and building it out as the different journeys it can take. For example, in a documentary on U2's Joshua Tree, Brian Eno threw around the faders and demonstrated how the track (might have been Street with No Name, can't quite remember) could have been a Depeche Mode song. This is one of the things that always interests me with the Song Exploder podcast. I wonder then if you ever scrap a take and build a song up again with a whole different vibe.
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docs.google.com docs.google.com
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I invite you to annotate my lyrics -- ask questions, post comments, add media ...
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- Mar 2020
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www.ilpost.it www.ilpost.it
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L’unico grande cantautore italiano che se la tiri più di De Gregori
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- Apr 2017
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www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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One of the advantages of being a songwriter instead of a performer is that, while artists have a hard time recovering their reputation when a record bombs, the only time the public pays attention to who wrote a song is when it's a hit. Most people don't realise that, even for successful writers, the good-v-great ratio is low: Chambers has written more than 1,000 songs in the last 15 years, of which 21 ranked in the top 10 – that's one hit for every 47 songs. That may sound like a frustrating process, but most writers would agree it's necessary to write non-hits to get to the nuggets. As with athletes, it's important to exercise the writing muscle.
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If anyone was hoping to stumble on a secret formula, that hope was quickly shattered. As Motown legend Lamont Dozier once said: "I've written about 78 top 10 songs, and I still don't know what a hit is. I can only go by what I feel.
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