This is really nice, dobie. I'm kind of a sucker for half hearted 'da da da' noises, so the end was great.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:15 AM on July 11, 2008

Also, I did not catch all the words. Could you post the lyrics?
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 11:25 AM on July 11, 2008

Hahah, the megaphone effect. This made me laugh.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:21 AM on July 11, 2008

Wow, yeah that is clean. Are you using an effect of some sort? My songs are done with the Macbook internal mic and definitely don't sound like that, especially with multiple tracks.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:18 AM on July 11, 2008

Hey, Jay Gatsby went to St. Olaf, where I'm attending next year. I like this, you definitely have a real style. I like the sound of your strumming, it's very crunchy, for lack of a better word.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 11:35 PM on July 8, 2008

Glad you all like the banjo-uke as much as me.

tmcw: Yeah, I just got Grizzly Bear's Horn of Plenty and Yellow House . I can see how, as you said, the atmosphere and tone are similar. I think I'll have to one day buy a banjo, but this one fit my plans for this next year in being light enough to just carry around. And man! banjos are expensive!
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 2:04 PM on July 7, 2008

I admit to being rhythmically challenged, so when I don't totally rely on 1, 2, 3, 4 it can get pretty shaky. So that's something I'm definitely going to get some more experienced bongo drum playing friends to help me out with this summer so I can get more adventurous with my percussion.

I will certainly go back and work on the drumming. The first version had no percussion (though it does have kind of a base thing going on), and I wasn't really ever satisfied with the... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 5:38 PM on July 4, 2008

So I've gone back into GarageBand and totally gotten rid of the bongo drum. The only percussion is some foot tapping (which I think works? You can't really hear it in this version, 'cause of the bongo.) and a very light 1, 2, 3, thing in the last part, which I think is okay. I may post the new one, though I feel kind of strange posting three versions of the same song. It's an important song to me though, so I think I will in a few days.

Thank you all.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:20 PM on July 4, 2008

Karlos, that sound is me accidentally hitting the table with the part of the string that comes out of the tuner stuff. I didn't mean to either time, but they kind of sync up so I just left it as is.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:45 AM on July 6, 2008

That beginning is super ominous, and it really keeps holding that tension. Nice job!
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:44 AM on July 6, 2008

I think the fire noises are really, quite cool. I've never noticed the hookah coal making any noises... did you put a mic really close it or something?

Really interesting.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:11 PM on July 5, 2008

Wow, I somehow missed this getting posted. I love it, especially when it gets to 'and we'll dance each day'. I really like the higher double tracked vocals. Congratulations on the new album release! Do you actually tour at all? I'd love to hear some live stuff, or (more likely, unfortunately) hear a recording of some live stuff posted here.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 3:39 PM on July 5, 2008

The other 5% I deal with by just not caring, which I've found is a surprisingly liberating approach. A good recording with a whiff of noise is still a good recording.

I like to tell myself that perfection doesn't allow for happy accidents.

I use a MacBook, it's built in mic and GarageBand. Someday I will try to pick up a nicer mic, but for now I'm fine. I just got this MacBook though, so all my uploaded recordings are from the... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:49 AM on July 3, 2008

And by pack around, I mean able to bring hiking mostly, as well as on planes.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:51 AM on July 3, 2008

Karlos, your Chartola Grand description on your website made me laugh.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:23 PM on July 4, 2008

Today, as my birthday present a month late, my parents and I went out and bought a wonderful banjouke, very similar to this one. Light as a feather. I asked the old man who owned the instrument store about how common these were and he said that mostly they are used by clown on stilts, because they apparently are just a little bit sturdier than a normal ukulele. So, I have a future.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 1:54 PM on July 5, 2008

Hahahah, that's basically all I have to say. The "what do you mean what do I mean?" part is great, and I agree about the awesome Boston-esque chorus.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:27 PM on July 4, 2008

I haven't been here too long, but this place has been really great for a newbie like me. I've learned a lot of terms and a few tricks, and people have always been constructive. The MuFi covers this past month were really great for the community, and I would suggest having the cover challenge as a constant, month to month.

I hope more people start coming to the music page.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 12:30 PM on July 2, 2008

If I had to give a complaint, it would be about those who only post their songs and never comment. Or if they do comment, it is only on their songs.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 2:32 PM on July 2, 2008

I don't know if I'm for or against a once a week posting rule, but I'm definitely intrigued. I'd like to hear more discussion on it.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 7:12 PM on July 2, 2008

You mentioned being sort of ticked off (for lack of a better way of saying it) by "unsolicited advice" somewhere else, I think in a comment for someone else's song. I remember it because it made me think "oops, gotta be more careful with that in the future".

I remember having that exact same reaction, micayetoca. I do worry that sometimes I post advice in an unearned pompous manner. I definitely don't mean to, if anyone who has been... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:12 PM on July 4, 2008

Thank you all for the compliments! No one has ever given me a blinking heart. And I like the found sound idea that danb and dobie allude to. I hadn't realized that as I recorded it, but it makes sense and adds more meaning.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 4:04 PM on July 4, 2008

I really like the chorus. I think it's the second voice. The chorus is the best part.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:45 AM on July 4, 2008

Wow. That is a great rendition. Very clean, but it also has that spur-of-the-moment-hey-look-at-what-we-came-up-with effect. I also thought the percussion that comes in briefly was sweet.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 11:34 AM on July 3, 2008

Hey, looks like ibfrog has some company!

At first I thought you said this was a cover of Outkast's new release, and I had a weird moment of knowing that I'd heard this song before many times for many years, and wondering if anyone else had.

I loved the ending, but I really wanted that solo high part to go on just one more bar.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 4:02 AM on July 3, 2008

And thanks for the youtube link; I'm so inspired to learn that version.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 4:06 AM on July 3, 2008

I don't know anything about My Morning Jacket, but this is really excellent. Like, really good.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 6:26 PM on July 1, 2008

I think the beginning is really great, with the drums and the guitar coming in. I don't think it really kept up that energy, though. Maybe the final demo does, I don't know. I felt like it was a little bit too long, which probably accentuates the dropping energy, so it's good to hear the final is a bit shorter. How do you plan on making it shorter? It definitely begins to pick up again at the end with the 'you start to feel like a stranger' and the solo. The piano at the end is a nice touch,... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 10:20 PM on June 25, 2008

On second thought, as I'm listening to this again several hours later and wiser, the vocals are really somewhat weak and I should probably have taken a little more time in figuring out the melody exactly. I also want to do something more with the beat, I just don't know what. Perhaps there really should be no vocals, and just some more work on the instrumentals.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 8:01 PM on June 19, 2008

And jeez, I just realized that the song after this one, Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone, uses the same trumpet line towards the end. Damn it, I give up.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 12:17 AM on June 20, 2008

Thanks for the comments. I have to keep in mind what sleepy pete said in his last line. It's very true.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 7:08 PM on June 23, 2008

Really well done, umbu. As others have said, it really completes the song, even without the other dozen instruments imagined. I like the sparseness of it myself, rather than adding anymore. Maybe some very light percussion.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 9:49 PM on June 19, 2008

I love the noises that filter in. Awesome harmonics and door knocking percussion. How did you make that ringing at about 1:50?

This feels much cleaner recording wise than your other stuff, not to put any of it down.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 2:23 PM on June 16, 2008

A new MacBook? Funny, mine came in the mail today and I have done nothing but play with the new Garageband. The recordings are so much cleaner than on my dads old laptop that I used before. I've sort of felt a kinship with your recordings because we seem to have the fuzziest laptop mic recordings on this site. And now we both 'updated' at the same time.

And yeah, it does have a Sigur Ros thing going on, and that ringing guitar is very nice.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 5:20 PM on June 16, 2008

Really great cover of a really great song. The only thing I really miss is the awesome drums in the original.

I'm sure everyone would prefer to hear it sung by you with mistakes than perfectly pronounced by me.

Hey now, I love your voice! Especially in this song.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 6:37 PM on June 12, 2008

Chococat, I'm listening to the original now, and perhaps it isn't drums, but there is some noise that comes in with the chorus and the 'oooooo's. It almost sounds like muted strumming, perhaps. I miss those.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 5:19 AM on June 13, 2008

I was prepared not to like this, but I actually liked it. After all, I listened to Linkin Park when I was in middle school.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 5:20 AM on June 11, 2008

Not sure if you're a fan or not, but this reminds me a lot of the newest Iron & Wine CD The Shepherd's Dog, which is somewhat different from his older stuff. I mean it as a compliment, though. I like the guitar that comes in at about 1:10, and you can't beat that "I stand in liiiiiiiiiiine". Nice.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 4:19 PM on June 10, 2008

I mean, the guitar that comes in with about 1:10 left.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 4:19 PM on June 10, 2008

This is so cool. This is my favorite cover so far. I had also never seen the original, which I'm also very glad to know of now.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 8:31 PM on June 9, 2008

Is this the 401?
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 2:27 PM on June 10, 2008

I like this a lot. No beat boxing?? I'm not positive, but I think you use the most verses out of all the versions on MefiMu.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 6:52 PM on June 8, 2008

And also, I love the guitar you play in your song 'Riff tide'. Why don't you ever sing and play guitar? I'd be really interested to hear what you come up with. It would be super if you recorded vocals to Riff tide.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 6:16 PM on June 9, 2008

It's just variations on C and G, with the capo on the 7th fret.

Thank you all for listening!
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 5:40 AM on June 9, 2008

Way to go Micayetoca, the cover songs so far have been ridiculously good. I'm awed by people who can figure out tunes simply by listening to them. Speaking of community, it's nice to see you back around, commenting and posting. I do hope this continues, and that cover songs continue as a sort of indefinite time period challenge.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 6:55 PM on June 8, 2008

Really pretty, thank you. Are those harmonics on the guitar or the banjo?

Is the flash player messed up on this song for anyone else? It gives the song one second of time to every several. Not a big deal, just wondering.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 3:06 AM on June 4, 2008

I didn't know immediately that this was on 69 Love Songs, but I thought of that album immediately. In fact, I wouldn't have minded some ukulele in here! Nice job.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 3:50 PM on May 27, 2008

This is great, man. Really great. I'm not sure what you're saying, but I love the woo's. I might even pump them up a little at some point. Oh, I just caught "a-sexual swingers", haha. I like "ba ba ba 'til we're dead" too. I'm listening to headphones, and it sounds like it might be a little weighted to the left. Maybe you could move something, like the bells, to the right.

Your voice sounds terrific in this one.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 1:10 PM on May 26, 2008

This is going on my playlist! iykwim, aityd.

Very pretty.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 8:12 PM on May 20, 2008

And I see this is your first posted song. I hope you have more of these gems to share, that'd be great.
posted to MeFi Music by Corduroy at 8:17 PM on May 20, 2008