THE SONG: This song is about the conditions of attempting unconditional love. This song is one of the most direct songs I've written, lyrically. Just plain speaking throughout a lot of it. There was something so thick and direct about this groove that I just felt like the lyrics should be direct too. There was this 5% Dr Dre/Jay Z hip hop thing happening in the groove and the sort of semi-orchestral riff. I don't know why or how... wait maybe I do. I think I may have seen the Jay Z "Classic Albums" documentary around this time. I love Jay Z's flow and the way his lyrics sort of wrap around themselves phrasing and rhyme wise. It tickles my drummer-bone. Did that sound wrong? Anyways, rap is so percussive and all about words, and being a drummer it was bound to happen someday. So I went for it.
Yes folks, I "rapped".
Well, sort of... it's in the bridge... It's sort of an in between rap/sing thing. It just felt right so I did it. I hope it doesn't hurt anybody or make anyone barf! It's honest though I promise. And frankly, it felt good! I'm clearly a little insecure about it... but not enough to delete it. Had to go with my gut on this one.
There's this blueprint I've had in my head for years now... like a recipe for songs that feels really authentic to me. Where there's something lyrically to really chew on... a certain amount of poetic depth and personal juiciness... something rhythmically interesting and ballsy... something in the harmonic structure that feels in some way connected to classical music with a tiny touch of blues... an emotional melody that brings out the lyric... and then a a timeless, earthiness in the recording. Something to feel, something to think about and something to stimulate the ears and the body (the groove). That to me is the ultimate... when all of that comes together in this certain way. It feels like "me".... for whatever that's worth.
If you peruse my back catalog you can hear this recipe in songs like "Critical Condition", "Come Around Again", "You Say"... and then a song that I'll release here soon, called "Back To You" which is one of my favorites.
I digress. As usual.
THE RECORDING: This song like so many others was written and recorded at the same time. I was building the track and writing everything all as one process. This for me is the best way to drench every element with the meaning of the song and it's inspiration. When the writing and recording is disconnected I feel there is a loss somewhere. The drums were built on a series of layers. I used single hits I'd recorded to build half of the first half of the song... then played over that lightly.... then when the second verse starts you can hear another drum track come in. This one is more of a normal full performance style groove, that's playing a long to the "loop" of real drums that I'd built. I like to feel the motor of the "designed" organic loop drums with the feel of a drum take. It's a cool energy. I'm not the first to think that! But, I like to try to find unique ways to do it, so I'm not just calling up a plugin and playing some loop designed by someone else... I must customize or it feels fake!
Then there's the riff, that's doubled with two different pianos and those marcatto strings, with bass hitting with the kick.
I toyed with adding guitars to this song and it just felt totally wrong. So... sorry guitars, maybe next time. I also avoided the urge to keep added stuff to the last chorus's. I feel like this chorus is more of a mantra than a "Chorus!!!!!" that needed to be self-consciously building to a mountain top peak... so I kept it pretty simple.
Vintage Telefunken U47 mic through the 1073 Neve into the Retro 176 compressor for the vocals. then in protools it's the Slate channel plguins (set to the Neve setting) then a Puigchild compressor, an SSL channel strip and Tapehead plugin for some pseudo analog action.
the mix went out my NEVE summing mixer through the Hammer EQ then to the Obsidian compressor and lastly through a Lavry Gold A/D convertor into Peak for mastering. Bam!
Send me a video of you rapping along to the bridge and... I'll be happy.
Bye!
Adam