"Enquiring Minds" - new Honey Hunters

[Armistice]

That thing I said about ditching the 20 part harmonies and going for something simpler... I was just messing with you.



Somehow this one, as a sort of power-poppy anthemy thing, needed the Armi Army on BVs. Next time... I mean I really have to, as they just take so.... much... time....

I was going to sit on this another day and do some more work tomorrow, but I figure it's at a good start. I'm completely lost in it now and have no perspective after working on it all day, so fresh ears from any of you overnight, and me in the morning would be a good thing.

And my song writing process has gotten really weird - I do all the music, completely, and then have to think about something to sing about. And I seem to have just started, again, with something that came into my head as a chorus, without any idea of what the actual song would be about, and then have to dream up verses that sort of support it. No wonder it takes me ages.

"Enquiring minds need to know...." going around in my head was how this baby started. I have no idea why, or where it came from. Enough! Any and all comments appreciated, as always, good fellows...





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I just did a bit of tidying up, adjusted a few syllables, bit of high pass filtering of things which I hadn't yet high pass filtered... not much - probably largely inaudible... most importantly it's now 87kB smaller...

[vomitHatSteve]

That's the slogan from the National Enquirer, right?

No nits from me on a first listen.

[Alison]

Love this! Good basis for a song. I'd love to see your lyrics (I could discern most of them). You have such a gentle voice, it really shines in this!

Sorry, no input to the mix as I just really enjoyed the song!

[Armistice]

That's the slogan from the National Enquirer, right?

No nits from me on a first listen.

I was not aware of that! It's a national, not international publication to the best of my knowledge - but I had heard of it somehow - googling confirms, almost - I think they say "Enquiring minds want to know" and apparently they've trademarked the phrase. So American.

As far as I'm concerned that phrase has been a part of the popular vernacular for yonks... no idea where it came from or who invented it.

Don't tell me I'm almost getting the hang of this mixing caper after only a few decades.

Cheers

[Armistice]

Love this! Good basis for a song. I'd love to see your lyrics (I could discern most of them). You have such a gentle voice, it really shines in this!

Sorry, no input to the mix as I just really enjoyed the song!

Thanks Alison.

I can't stand my voice and every time I track something and listen to it afterwards I'm like "OMG that is aaaawwwful" but I plough on and by the end of the mix, I'm sort of OK with it. I think we're all like that to some extent.

Lyrics... I can do lyrics. I used to post them with the song - these days not so much. With this one... even on the day of tracking I was still rewriting them. Originally I had "Tarantino" at the end of a line, rhyming with "what would we know" which I though was clever, but in the context as it was it was just being too cute so I changed it.

I also originally had the word "cognoscenti" as a rhyme (with "laughs aplenty"), which may have been a world first, but again, I decided I was being too much of a clever dick, so I went for simplicity.

Here's what remains:


Enquiring Minds

It was funny at the time, were you a fool, were you brave?
Feel the rush, feel the danger, in the moment it’s the thrill you crave
We all gave up trying to stop you, who doesn’t love a good lost cause?
Take a bow maestro, feel the love, hear the applause

What have you done? Some stupid thing, enquiring minds need to know
What have you done? Some foolish thing, enquiring minds need to know

I don’t know that there was logic involved, just a need for adrenaline
None of this stuff about pacing yourself, charge into battle, die for the win
You had an excess of confidence, a wink of the eye, and off you’d go
You weren’t friends with common sense, ‘cause common sense drives much too slow

What have you done? Some stupid thing, enquiring minds need to know
What have you done? Some foolish thing, enquiring minds need to know

Were you scared that people wouldn’t remember you?
That was never going to be the case
I think that now, all things considered
You’re a notable member of the human race

Will it be Taranatino or Jackson, making the movie of your life
I know you’ll keep cheating on your leading Lady Luck, but she’ll still be your wife
Your body is a fractured wreck, the shattered poetry of injuries and scars
A maimed and mangled thing of beauty, written in the dirt and in the stars

What have you done? Some stupid thing, enquiring minds need to know
What have you done? Some foolish thing, enquiring minds need to know
What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? What have you done?
What have you done? What have you done? What have you done?
Enquiring minds need to know

Enquiring minds need to know

[rayc]

Nice growling bass.
My only thought is that the snare is quite up front and a little to the right - the last bit may be my hearing though.
This has a very YOU sound as well as a very Australian sound as well.

I like your alternate, but rejected, rhymes.
Squeeze used quintessence, Teenage Fan Club used verisimilitude, Oasis used acquiesce and you could've raised the bar with cognoscenti.

[Armistice]

Nice growling bass.
My only thought is that the snare is quite up front and a little to the right - the last bit may be my hearing though.
This has a very YOU sound as well as a very Australian sound as well.

I like your alternate, but rejected, rhymes.
Squeeze used quintessence, Teenage Fan Club used verisimilitude, Oasis used acquiesce and you could've raised the bar with cognoscenti.

thanks ray - I had the snare at 2, which would hardly be noticeable, and which I often do, but somehow the room "mic" which I don't normally use, but had turned up this time was panned way to one side, so that could account for what you're hearing.

The "cognoscenti" line also had the word "proletariat" in it... It was a bit much.

I've recentred the room mic and put the snare in the middle too, but won't repost another version just for that at this stage. On the car stereo on the way to the beach all these recent tunes sounded a bit kick and bass heavy at volume, so I've also just pushed them down a smidge, and I do mean a smidge. I'll check them again tomorrow on the drive to the gig.

[JD01]

Straight in on version 2.
This one is really good actually - very little to comment on.
Only thing I'd do differently is bring up the panned rhythm guitars a tiny bit 'cos they disappear now and again and maybe had a little bit of crunch on one of them to give it a bit more attitude. Or leave it as it is, 'cos its basically fine.

Is the song about anyone specific, or just generally about people that burn out early?

[vomitHatSteve]

That's the slogan from the National Enquirer, right?

No nits from me on a first listen.

I was not aware of that! It's a national, not international publication to the best of my knowledge - but I had heard of it somehow - googling confirms, almost - I think they say "Enquiring minds want to know" and apparently they've trademarked the phrase. So American.

As far as I'm concerned that phrase has been a part of the popular vernacular for yonks... no idea where it came from or who invented it.

Don't tell me I'm almost getting the hang of this mixing caper after only a few decades.

Cheers

To be fair, it's a defunct publication too. It's been out of print for something like a decade now.

Apparently, entirely made up stories about half human/half bat creatures and space aliens are a lot less popular at supermarket checkouts than entirely made up stories about actors and British royalty.

[WhiskeyJack]

I was more a Weekly World News aficnado. I was a diehard batboy fan.

[WhiskeyJack]

@Armi i got nothing really man.

I think you have your system down to a fine tuned science. The Armi army also sounds very convincing that it isn't just all you. What are your secrets here? this is a struggle of mine.


On a second listen I do think the snare is a bit more present than it could be in the quieter parts and verses. I like where it sits when things get busier in the choruses and stuff. Might not need any action really. Just 2nd listen nits so i have something to nit about.

[TripleM]

I went straight to mix #2.

No real issues from me. Things sound great.

Maybe turn the guitars down just a wee bit? They cover a word here and there. Minor thing.

Personal taste thing - I thought the reverb was a bit heavy. Maybe dry it up a small bit?

But really - nothing stuck out to me as needing attention.

[Armistice]

Straight in on version 2.
This one is really good actually - very little to comment on.
Only thing I'd do differently is bring up the panned rhythm guitars a tiny bit 'cos they disappear now and again and maybe had a little bit of crunch on one of them to give it a bit more attitude. Or leave it as it is, 'cos its basically fine.

Is the song about anyone specific, or just generally about people that burn out early?

No-one specific, although there are elements of some people I know in it... it arose from having the chorus worked out and then trying to find a song that fit, which is an odd way of going about it, but on this occasion that's how it happened.

I had turned them up a notch on the latest mix anyway before I read your response as it struck me I couldn't hear them particularly well - but haven't posted that mix - I may revisit how they sit with the vocals however. I have you saying turn them up and @TripleM saying turn them down, so perhaps it's not a volume thing but an EQ thing. Will look into it, however.

Cheers

[Armistice]

@Armi i got nothing really man.

I think you have your system down to a fine tuned science. The Armi army also sounds very convincing that it isn't just all you. What are your secrets here? this is a struggle of mine.


On a second listen I do think the snare is a bit more present than it could be in the quieter parts and verses. I like where it sits when things get busier in the choruses and stuff. Might not need any action really. Just 2nd listen nits so i have something to nit about.

I'll check the snare - I've done another mix and I had already turned it down a smidge, but perhaps I'll volume envelope it in the quieter sections - this is working well because I'm listening to things and pre-empting what you guys end up saying. Finally, finally, finally getting the hang of this stuff!

As for singing - for this tune I went back off the mic further than I normally do so it doesn't have that rich low proximity effect thing happening on the main vocal, and it's up high for me anyway. And the backing vocals are mainly even higher, right up the top of my range. Generally, with BVs I'm trying to get smoothness, as I use a lot of them, and so I'm singing in a more "breathy" fashion than the main vocal, and more softly, but some notes I have to pump a bit to hit at all. And in the alternating "What have you done" bits at the end I pushing it harder than the main vocal, so it's just a combination of singing styles...

This sort of leads me to a point - I was going to do a thread about it but we don't really do singing threads and what do I know anyway on the topic... but it was along the line that a huge % of pop / rock singers use an "affected" style - ie. it's not their natural singing voice - and they do it to be a point of difference. Possibly this is less obvious in punk styles which most people here are into, where it tends to be more of a all purpose shouty style.

And my point is, I don't like my voice - in the same way that no-one likes their voice much, but I do tend to try different styles and sometimes I'll track a tune and think, nup, too harsh, and then redo the entire thing in a softer, breathier style. For all the people here who are in the "I'm a crap singer" camp, perhaps try using, deliberately, a different type or tone of voice and see what happens. Perhaps nothing, but worth a try. I mean, everyone here obsesses about the exact position of a mic on a speaker cone, and will spend hours and hours perfecting guitar tones, but voice? Nope... I don't think people experiment enough with it, see if they can get a different result. IMO anyway. /sermon

[Armistice]

I went straight to mix #2.

No real issues from me. Things sound great.

Maybe turn the guitars down just a wee bit? They cover a word here and there. Minor thing.

Personal taste thing - I thought the reverb was a bit heavy. Maybe dry it up a small bit?

But really - nothing stuck out to me as needing attention.

Thanks Trip - I'll revisit the guitars, as per the comment above... something's not quite right, so I'll see what's to be done. Cheers.

[WhiskeyJack]

I was going to do a thread about it but we don't really do singing threads

Bud, we have an entire sub forum for you to pontificate in about singin' til you can no longer pontificate about it. We have everything ou need 'cept for a like button!


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