PSRSotwNotes04.12-08

Peter's Song of the Week Club!

12/08/04

Everybody Wants to Go to Paris

Peter's Comments:
I'm not exactly happy with this song, but I need to kick it out of the queue so that I can start in earnest on the Gift of Music project. Lots of friends have been moving out of Austin, and this one got written once the title occurred to me.

Good Things:

• The verse started out as a very square 4 lines x 4 measures / line = 16 measures. I yanked two measures out of the end of the second line, and liked the results.
• In the chorus, there's a short section that has a 7/8 (7/4 I guess) feel. I've tried using 7/8 several times before, but this is the first time I've succeeded.
• First time I've used phatic (that is, just "ooohs" and "aaahs" instead of real words) backing vocals in a while.
• I'm continuing to toy with single-tracking/double-tracking/harmonizing throughout.
• I worked in the flat-VII/IV/I 'double plagal' sequence that Alan Pollack keeps picking out of various Beatles songs. 1
• Still toying with bursts of static as percussion.
• The fake cello always makes me happy.

Bad Things:

• I didn't feel inspired on the lyrics

  • Several awkward clusters of consonants.
• Voice-leading is generally a great big mess -- and now I know enough theory to wince at the mistakes.
• The drums (bongos) feel off in several places

• The verse melody feels similar to other songs I've done.

  • The chorus melody reminds me of "Torn" (of all things) 2 in several places.

• The mix could benefit from additional tinkering. For example, the lead vocals are too low in several places.

  • I think I compressed the overall mix too heavily, so the whole mix is kinda loopy.

So, not my best work song-wise, but it has some important experiments, and I think my crude production skills are at least moving in the right direction.

Footnotes

1 The F-D-C under the phrase "Why do you stick around here?"

2 Natalie Imbruglia, not Toad the Wet Sprocket.