The Only Joy - New Mix

[pitterpatter]

Good song. I thought you sounded a bit like Dylan too.

[Mark Kaufman]

Mojo, will you be my publicist? Gotta run so I'll come back and respond properly. Thanks Kitz. Mojobones and pitterpatter!

[Mark Kaufman]

Jan 12, 2009, 7:52pm, kitz wrote:Mark - real nice tune wow - harmony sounds like Todd Rundgren (one of my heroes) for an instant "on Your beauty overwhelms me" - really nice!I really like the way you build the harmony and backup vocal parts. Very effective IMO. The bagpipes are a little weird sounding - they don't sound real enough to me but then your probably using real BPs and I'm just not getting it. I might be tempted to bring out the mandolin and drop back the pipes in that spot but - you know it's all just experimenting until it knocks you off your seat.This almost sounds like a folk song in the beginning and then broadens out with more complex harmonies and such. I think maybe it could stand a little percussion as it builds. Nice interesting melody and lyrics!!I like it!!KitzGreat suggestions, Kitz. And thanks for all the props. The bagpipes suck...they hurt. I'm laying back for now trying to let some other songs obsess me for a bit, then come back and change that.And yes, percussion...right now it's just a droning beat. Thank you!

[Mark Kaufman]

Jan 15, 2009, 1:06pm, mojobone wrote:That is the single most deeply affecting song I've heard on this site. The melody is beyond awesome, and the first verse is a perfectly polished gem. As a songwriter, I stand in gaping awe. But you asked for suggestions, so as a producer, (most of my job is turd polishing, but my calling is to make good things better) I have a few notes. For starters, tighten up the vocal doubles in the chorus, (and anywhere else you have harmonies, the public is so used to perfection, these days) the delay is a bit too long and sounds sloppy, particularly on the word "joy". The instrument used for the solo sounds more than a tad harsh, I think the sound that's called for might be Irish or Breton lap-pipes, the true name of which I can neither spell nor pronounce-I happen to know of an internationally acclaimed player of same, if you're interested. If not, some churchier pipe organ or even B3 might do nearly as well. (tremolando mandolin would work, too)As the solo is ending, there's a background vocal that should maybe be done by a female singer with slightly stricter attention to pitch. Occasionally, despite the totally bitchin' and appropriate bass tone, the instrument is playin' two or three notes where one would do, and do better.(there's a terrific bass run near the beginning that should have been saved for the moment when it would have the most impact) Simplify.A few lines feel as though there's an extra syllable, which ain't too tough to deal with:Listen to the squawking of the winners and the lostOn the all night party lineTrue love's hard to come by, can a boy like me be savedFrom the boredom or the wine?Comfort's for the comfortable and money's for the richAnd the violence is freeWisdom's for the elderly and pain is for the poorAnd the lonely voice for meAnd maybe I'm just reacting to the side effects of timeOr believing that I'm just another nameBut when I cannot pluck another note or stand another rhymeYour beauty overwhelms me once againWhen telephones are blasting, when the television screamsWhen the last best friend leaves townWhen man is on the (three syllable word) while God is on His throneWhen the walls come tumbling downMaybe some fiddle would be appropriate for the intro, as well. Would you mind terribly if I download this and play it for everyone I encounter for a month or so? I'm kind of enthused about this one.Mark, you're about 2% away from the sort of tune that could outlive us all, are you sure you don't have any Irish in you? [lifts lit Bic, continues listening]*ADDENDUM: Pitch this to Alison Krauss.Mojo, this post blew my mind and caused me to walk through the darkened restaurant to cadge a beer, sit down and re-read it to see if I had really just imagined it. Thanks for the lift, truly.Well, when I wrote it, I was pretty deeply affected already, and this just wrapped some words around it...the theme had been blasting through my head for days before I sat down to write something. Hence the bagpipes--that's how I heard it. And it's just about feeling alone in a continual stream of losses. Glad those days improved.Well...while you polish a lot of turds, I tend to cover whatever good stuff I write with a turd-based polish, due to technical deficiency.I'm absolutely enthralled by your suggestions for a different instrument than a bagpipe. You're right, some sort of Irish pipes would work wonders. I can't pay for any session players at this point, but you've put me on the right path. I have an excellent Irish connection in a friend who used to play for Boiled in Lead...he'll know every Irish musician in town and might be able to swing someone my way for the price of stout.But that VST bagpipe is indeed a painful thing.I have to respectfully disagree about taking those extra notes off the melody...I don't like the feel of it. My lyrics still need work, but I'm happy with the melody.How about Plant and Krauss? Man, could they nail this one...Thanks for a most humbling post, Mojobone. Check's in the mail.

[Mark Kaufman]

Jan 15, 2009, 1:26pm, pitterpatter wrote:Good song. I thought you sounded a bit like Dylan too. Thanks pitterpatter! Good thing I'm a great admirer of Dylan...others might have taken your comment as some kind of insult. Not me. Thank you!

[heinsite]

hello mark--thought i heard, this, so kept jumping over it--but DIDN'T--GEEZE-US MAN--your 2nd verse IMHO is one of the best verses i've ever heard, either here, there or anywhere. the simplicity and exactness we as songwriters, no matter how good, rarely come by--i will say it--genius. and the rest is just the MK "standard" great tune. that's it.all the best,warrenps: being compared in the same sentence as Dylan, is well, you know...

[Mark Kaufman]

Yikes Warren, my head's gonna bust apart. Okay I think I mixed the harsh out of this one...maybe too much going on in the middle, but it beats that piercing noise I had before.http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... tent=music

[heinsite]

yikes indeed mark!damn do i love this tune--when you get "down there" with the "only joy" i really dig that harrrison-est vibe, almost to the point of a small tear forming man...and of course the minor dylan style, but not quite--more KAUFFMAN.yes a real joy, as it streams again that low "only joy" IS a bit reminiscent of one of the tunes on harrison's last album...hell it's been a couple years, so don't remember the title...but do remember the feeling, and this tune gives me the bumps man. now tell me man, honestly, with this tune, can you truthfully say you aint ready???? job indeed, ok damn it, i will stop gushing this crap now...!!the best,wh

[Mark Kaufman]

Yes, I can truly say: I ain't ready.I mean, I feel okay about songwriting...and there are listings that I think I could probably write what they're looking for...but my ability to produce a broadcast quality recording? Closer now, but still no cigar. Judging by what I've observed this past year, my route to success through TAXI is going to depend on my ability to create the very tracks they use...can't just do a demo and hope someone else records it.

[heinsite]

wow--if that's the case, i can hear my own musical death knell ringing in the wind...wh