ONE and only ONE song

[clonsberry]

Huh.. I stop eating and sleeping in the forums and a topic like this comes up!This was kind of hard because there are songs I personally like better but I would want to fix them before I gave them to M. Big. It's kind of a nice exercise since I have to start thinking "okay.. I need to make a list of things to fix and get it done". Cause, who knows? M. Big could show up tomorrow for real.In all fairness, it would depend a lot on who Mr./Ms. Big was representing. If they were wearing big mouse ears, the answer would not be the same. If their clients were people like Motley Crue or Alice Cooper, the answer would be different still. As so many people on here have slammed home, you have to know your customer. (And avoid looking desperate no matter how much you are (I know what a Taxi screener has said about this song but different people zero in on different things and maybe Mr. Big won't notice or doesn't care. If I HAD to take the gamble right now without any other information, I'd put my money on this.)So.. to the generic and unknown yet prominent Mr. or Ms. Big, I present "Innocence"

[liamkelly]

Quote:I'd ask for a raincheck for several months Otherwise, I'd go with You Gave Me GoodbyeIn reality I would submit one of my cowrites, but I don't place those online.No need for the raincheck. This is a fine song (as you well know ). I loved the stripped down presentation - let's your voice float up there.As Bill said, funny that so many melancholy ones feature here. This is cetainly that.

[liamkelly]

Quote:Yeah, what Liam said. Only, like, twice. kg, girl, you got some serious chops. Beautiful song, beautiful voice. I'm pea green!I almost bawled on You Gave Me Goodbye and Bill, classic tune! All these songs made me wanna pull the .38 outta the pocket. Yay! I guess if I was gonna choose, it wouldn't be my fave song, it'd be the one that gets the most raves from the A&R guys, since I guess they know their stuff, right? (my fave is an instrumental, go figure).This would be my choice then, I guess (upbeat, someone said, upbeat!).....so this oughta be.....uh.......jarring. http://www.broadjam.com/player/player.as....ionI NDEX=20820SquidsterYour voice is obviously so very good and way versatile. But most of your production and mixes are very good too. Very good. Do you mix yourself?Very good tune. But some of your simpler tracks that showcase your voice better are also very good. Some may say better Of course, who listens to the 'some' Liam

[walter327]

Do I really need to say?!!!

[squidlips]

You guys are very nice to me, thanks. I really appreciate it. I know it's not easy to please people on these boards. Lord knows, they've heard it all by now (and then some). Liam, I use a pro studio and fight with my engineer constantly about mixing. We're good buddies and finicky as anything so there've been more than a few knock-down-drag-outs at his place. I'm STILL trying to eq my voice now that he's added some new equipment. We're not getting the full spectrum and it's really annoying the tar outta me. Some lucky, lucky guy from here, who shall remain nameless (until he comes out) eq'd a song for me to give me a betta idea of what I'm looking for and sure enough, it was just like in my old studio before this one. But that engineer was a singer and this one's a horn player. Very different ideas about what they think is right, those two. Natch, this one likes my voice to sound.......like a horn. Anyway, you caught me out......I tend to like to write instrumentals so I pull back the emotional stuff in my voice for the bigger tracks and then let them back out on the simpler things. Mostly because I sacrifice some emotion going full-blast, I guess. (or I'm busy critiquing the instruments in my head while I'm singing......sigh).I guess you guys like the simple stuff betta? Should I stop writing the more instrumented songs?? I'd hate to think I'm wasting my time (gasp! MONEY! Ack!). Good Intentions has been forwarded almost more than Razor's Edge and Sister's Solace. It costs a lot to get these bigger tunes out there, maybe I should stop? I lost my shirt on Get Up. Hmmmm.Boy, this is a dilemma, I'm going in on Saturday to do a huge swing tune, like back in the 40s. Whoa.

[squidlips]

Chris, I really liked Innocence, btw. The lyrics are poignant.Everyone submitted sad songs (but me anyway). Do we think ballads are the way to go when pitching to a biggie? Or is it just coincidence that so many think their ballads are their best work?

[allends]

Quote:Everyone submitted sad songs (but me anyway). Do we think ballads are the way to go when pitching to a biggie? Or is it just coincidence that so many think their ballads are their best work?Now that you mention it, I like ballads so much that most of my instrumentals turn out to be ballads (sans lyrics). I can't seem to escape the allure of a good tear-jerker. My 'ONE" song would be "Our Love, The Way It Is"http://www.broadjam.com/player/player.a ... 8303-Allen

[clonsberry]

I have a friend who plays metal guitar. He can probably play anything but he's at home peeling paint off the walls with his big honking Mesa cranked up to 11. He always settles into that place he's most himself.There are exceptions to everything but I think, for the most part, that songwriters seem to be storytellers and introspective by nature. That's lighter fuel for ballads. Of course, I've got my rebel songs and my party songs.. the fun, upbeat stuff. But, for me, my ballads are the ones that are most personal even if they're not about me. Perhaps it's just the love of a story.But this is an interesting thread for that reason as well. If most people tend to put their ballad foot forward, then maybe I need to pay more attention to my tendency to do that.I'll have to polish up some of those other songs for the next time Mr. Big calls.

[Casey H]

Quote:I have a friend who plays metal guitar. He can probably play anything but he's at home peeling paint off the walls with his big honking Mesa cranked up to 11. He always settles into that place he's most himself.There are exceptions to everything but I think, for the most part, that songwriters seem to be storytellers and introspective by nature. That's lighter fuel for ballads. Of course, I've got my rebel songs and my party songs.. the fun, upbeat stuff. But, for me, my ballads are the ones that are most personal even if they're not about me. Perhaps it's just the love of a story.But this is an interesting thread for that reason as well. If most people tend to put their ballad foot forward, then maybe I need to pay more attention to my tendency to do that.I'll have to polish up some of those other songs for the next time Mr. Big calls.Actually, I think I mentioned somewhere on this thread that if you can only pitch one song, upbeat/uptempo would probably be better. I broke that rule with the song I posted. Also, if you send out a demo CD, it is generally suggested that the first one be upbeat/uptempo.Just in case, Mr. or Ms. Big does call.... Casey

[squidlips]

Well, mine was upbeat and yet......okay, it didn't help that Tommy wanted to double my voice and whenever someone does that, I automatically go into cardboard mode, since I can't phrase an emotional line the same way twice, let alone over my own voice. I don't know......upbeat IS better, more showy, for a quick impression. Still, I could've done much better than this. I was more emotional in Get Up but it wouldn't fly if it was dragged behind the space shuttle. Time to redo and write some more upbeat songs for my catalog. I don't hear a lot of ballads on the radio so, for artist pitches, I don't think that's the way to go.