Drowning in Dispatch :)

[aubreyz]

Well, here we go again--- this one is more modern, but still has some psychedelic flavor. Here's the listing:New Listing The Director of an Independent Film about teenage bank robbers needs an INDIE ROCK SONG (with vocals) a la “SO HERE WE ARE” by BLOC PARTY (from their 2005 release “Silent Alarm”). He definitely needs a song similar in vibe and over-all sound. The ideal song would also have a similar lyrical theme, but it’s not necessary. They are offering a license fee of about $500 - $1500 for this song cue. Broadcast quality needed [excellent home recordings are OK]. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS ONLY - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI. For ground submissions, please enclose a S.A.S.E. if you would like a response. As always, we will notify everyone via e-mail, whether your submissions have been Forwarded or Returned. Submissions must be received no later than 2:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time (California time), Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. TAXI # D070828BPListens?-Comments?---- you know the drill. Thanks as always. Song is also available on www.taxi.com/aubdelaneDrowningDon't remember what you saidBut I can't forgetTime blows like a hurricaneDon't know where it wentWaves are crashing in my headPounding my regretHolding onAm I too far goneThink I'm drowningUnder every mask I wearTry to catch my breatheCan't find who I really amLost in someone else Made a promise to myselfI haven't kept it yetReaching outWords keep weighing me downThink I'm drowningI'm sinkingThink I'm drowningDon't let goI can see the lightI can finally see the lightAnd this timeI won't let goWords and Music Copyright 2007 by Aub Delane Robertson and Ponco Satrio

[hummingbird]

Hi Aub, I don't know the 'a la' but I liked this a lot. My only question is whether the vocals are far enough forward... I know you want them to blend, but when I turn it down low I can't hear them at all over the music. But perhaps that's this style. Music sounds great, harmonies are awesome and it's very atmospheric & well played, IMO. Lots of luck with it!

[Casey H]

Hi AubI went to amazon and listened to the Bloc Party clip from their song... Going back and forth a few times between yours and theirs, I think you have a great match here. If I was looking for this replacement track, I'd forward it in a heartbeat! My guess is you have a 90% shot that TAXI will forward this.I agree with Vikki that maybe the vocals need to be a touch higher in the mix.Good stuff! Casey

[aubreyz]

Quote:Hi AubI went to amazon and listened to the Bloc Party clip from their song... Going back and forth a few times between yours and theirs, I think you have a great match here. If I was looking for this replacement track, I'd forward it in a heartbeat! My guess is you have a 90% shot that TAXI will forward this.I agree with Vikki that maybe the vocals need to be a touch higher in the mix.Good stuff! CaseyThanks Casey and Vicki. I think we've got a decent shot with this one-- wish you were screeners Of course ours is better than the Bloc Party song because they only count to 4 and we are counting to 7--(like turning an amp up to 11). Actually, I'm very pleased that we were able to pull off 7/4 in a way that doesn't feel like it's in 7. Ponch is a genius in that department - and many others.It was either the discovery channel or the history channel that is using the end of the bloc party song for one of its promos. The thing that struck me is that you couldn't understand the words at all. although there probably needs to be some fader rides in places, I think overall for this genre the vocal level is ok (but I usually do a "vocal up" mix for any final master, just in case).We could have chosen some different production elements and have gotten closer to the "ala", but we're trying to kill two birds here and not get stoned. The question to be answered at some point is if this song "fits" in The Gypsy Van project or not.Aub

[liamkelly]

Quote:Hi AubI went to amazon and listened to the Bloc Party clip from their song... Going back and forth a few times between yours and theirs, I think you have a great match here. If I was looking for this replacement track, I'd forward it in a heartbeat! My guess is you have a 90% shot that TAXI will forward this.I agree with Vikki that maybe the vocals need to be a touch higher in the mix.Good stuff! CaseyDitto. This'll get forwarded for this lisiting Bloc Party aside, great atmosphere to this.Liam

[aubreyz]

Quote:Quote:Hi AubI went to amazon and listened to the Bloc Party clip from their song... Going back and forth a few times between yours and theirs, I think you have a great match here. If I was looking for this replacement track, I'd forward it in a heartbeat! My guess is you have a 90% shot that TAXI will forward this.I agree with Vikki that maybe the vocals need to be a touch higher in the mix.Good stuff! CaseyDitto. This'll get forwarded for this lisiting Bloc Party aside, great atmosphere to this.LiamOkay. I'm quite a bit disappointed in this. No forward. I don't get it. I've advised many others to pick up the phone when not satisfied with the results of a listing. This time I'm making a call myself.Aub

[Casey H]

Quote:Quote:Ditto. This'll get forwarded for this lisiting Bloc Party aside, great atmosphere to this.LiamOkay. I'm quite a bit disappointed in this. No forward. I don't get it. I've advised many others to pick up the phone when not satisfied with the results of a listing. This time I'm making a call myself.AubHi AubI'm disappointed for you. You might want to find out if the listing party was doing the selections themselves. I hear that is often the case with Dispatch. If it was the listing party that didn't take your song, well... that's the way it is. It doesn't hurt to make that call tomorrow... Of course, as much as many of us here thought it was a shoe-in forward, we are not the screener... Good luck!Casey

[andreh]

Hey Aub-I think you've done an amazing job nailing the right "sound" for this listing with "Drowning," but the screener may have felt your song's "feel" was off. As you note above, it's in 7/8 (or 4+3 / 3+4), and that's a risky proposition for any remotely pop piece of music.Not only was the "ala" example in 4/4, but its double-time/half-time contradiction gave it a simultaneously frantic yet dreamy vibe that would be hard to capture with the distraction of odd meter. In fact, when I first started listening to "Drowning," I found myself consciously trying to find the downbeat, and until I found it the tricky drum patterns sounded more lurchy than groovy.I still think the song should've been forwarded, but I can see why the screener may have been turned off by it fairly quickly.On the positive side, your production is outstanding, and your vocals are sounding current & edgy but still characteristic. I've noticed this in all your recent songs, and I think it's a much more marketable sound than the one you hit the boards with a year ago.Best,André

[aubreyz]

Thanks Andre'--- I appreciate the comments.I shouldn't really complain I guess. We're trying to kill two birds with one stone -- hitting listings AND fitting in our own project. We easily could have produced something even closer to the "ala" track, but it wouldn't have been "us". I really thought we still were on target. Still worth a call, but I'm not as ticked as I was at first.btw-- the real story behind this song, a teenager drowned not far from my house last week in a freak accident. We've had some flooding and he was running on a path by the lake with his cross country team and water had covered part of the path. Somehow he slipped into the water and got caught in the current. I have a son in the same school, same grade, and though I didn't know the victim, I just couldn't get the imagery out of my head and this song evolved from that feeling of helplessness.Aub

[johnnydean1]

Drowning in musical mush.We were thirty seconds in before the vox started and when they did they were a dissapointment.You've gone for atmosphere and ended up with a mess.HTH.