Today instead of the usual post I’m going to just write the timeline of what happens in the ICS experiment. It’s noon right now, which means I have until noon tomorrow to finish songs.
I’m going to start with some instrumental Eureka Room ideas to minimize the complications (no lyrics, no stringed instruments).
Song 1 12:01- 12:58 (57 min)
Thoughts: Well that took longer than I’d hoped. But it sounds pretty alright and I’m glad I took the time to play with it and get some things straight.
Next: Going to attempt a 30 minute song next.
Song 2 13:01-13:51. (50 min)
Thoughts: Well that was faster by 10 minutes. The issue seems to be I have things to say and I’m not done until 50.
Next: Let’s try one where I record really really fast tempo, Intro-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Outro. 2 instrument tracks of keyboards. 1 instrument track of a pad. 1 drummer track. Tempo at 200, then slow down to 120 when done. Let’s shoot for 30 or better on this one. Perhaps a minimalist approach would be best?
Song 3 14:00-14:38 (38 min)
Thoughts: Well, I dropped another 10 minutes. But this is not going to get me to the finish line. What happened here was I spent a lot of time dinking individual notes to get them to land the way I want. I tried some vocals but axed them.
Next: I think I’ll go with the same plan as before. I learned a few things about GB operation which I think will help.
Song 4 14:41-15:12 (31 min)
Thoughts: Well I if I hadn’t have messed with the out of the box drummers then I would have hit under 30. 31 isn’t bad. But still, at this rate it’s going to be a looong way to 40. Or even 20.
Next: I’m going to aim for 20 on the next one after this short break.
Song 5 15:26-15:52 (26 min)
Thoughts: Man, I keep getting hung up on making the notes hit just right.
Next: This next time I’m doing very little cleanup so I can hit the 20 min mark. Let it be shit.
Song 6 15:54-16:09 (15 min)
Thoughts: This one I did at 200 BPM, then slowed down. It sounds like a song that was slowed down.
Next: I’m going to try this method again but it’s hard to think of a melody that will be played at half speed and sound well. Or conversely, to think of a melody that is good and speed it up 2x to record it. This next one I want to get down to 10 minutes. Same deal as before.
Song 7 1618-1637 (19 min)
Thoughts: Ugh. Going backwards. Had some tech difficulties at the beginning.
Next: Another shot coming up…
Song 8 1640-1650 (10 min)
Thoughts: Wow 10 minutes goes by quickly. But I got it in. Let’s try to beat 10 minutes. Yikes. Some things that helped: pick a simple drum beat. I only had 2 tracks of music and the drum track. When I slow these down it sounds really lethargic.
Next: Try playing everything fast at 200 and seeing where it goes.
Song 9 1655-1705 (10 min)
Thoughts: Well there’s another 10 minute one. And it’s the most shit yet.
Next: I think I need to try once more on the slow down thing and we can see how that goes. But I think I will have to do it in real-time. Which means that cut and paste is my friend.
Song 10 1717-1727 (10 min)
Thoughts: Oof. They are getting worse. Ok, so I think the whole slow it dow thing is not going to work. Let’s see if I can do one in 5 minute before I give up on the idea, though.
Next: One last attempt at the tempo trick.
Song 11 1732-1737 (5 min)
Thoughts: Well this is a messy mess but I got it done in 5 minutes. Could I possibly do faster? Sure lets go for 3 minutes.
Next: Ok, one last least attempt at the tempo trick.
Song 12 1742-1746 (4 min)
Thoughts: Ok, I have hit the limit here. This is absolute shit. (Editor note: I’m not sure what tempo this was originally recorded at. I had to create it from the slow version. Bummer. Haste makes waste.)
Next: I’m going to do some guitar stuff or something next. Short break…
Song 13 1753-1854 (61 min)
Thoughts: Switched to guitar and bass and vocals. I’m not a fan of this song. It’s pretty generic. But it’s done. Well except the lyrics. Which is just me mumbling.
Next: Give up on rock. Try country.
Song 14 1910-1959 (50 min)
Thoughts: I do way better writing stuff without a drum track. Just me and the guitar winging it. That’s what I did here. Then I filled it out with a lead guitar, bass, and drums. Which meant I had to play drums using the keyboard.
Next: Officially giving up on lyrics. I’ll just mumble. So I need 6 more songs if I’m going to hit 20. It is 8pm now. So if I went to bed at 10 that would mean 3 an hour… that’s not going to happen I don’t think. Let’s see.
Song 15 2003-2100 (57 min)
Thoughts: Well that was a bit more tough. Added the organ track after I thought it was done.
Next: 5 songs and 3 hours left. I think I should start with the experimental stuff.
Song 16 2109-2136 (27 min)
Thoughts: This is weird. Done.
Next: See what happens.
Song 17 2140-2211 (31 min)
Thoughts: I like that one. I probably messed with it too much at the end and messed it up a bit. But still good.
Next: Ok, if I’m going to go to bed before midnight, I have to do each of these in under 30 min. Let’s see what I can do…
Song 18 2214-2255 (41 min)
Thoughts: Well I spent a lot of time on that one. But it sounds good. It’s a slower one done slowly (not slowed down from a faster recording like earlier). I just have to crank out 2 more and I hit 20…
Next: Short break. Then see what happens.
Song 19 2307-2342 (35 min)
Thoughts: Well that was pretty cliche.
Next: I have 17 minutes to do the last one. Let’s make it a mess!
Song 20 2344-0008 (24 min)
Thoughts: Well it ain’t pretty but it’s done. Didn’t get as crazy as I thought it could have but I guess I just write catchy stuff.