Blow your speakers up

[zingstone]

Here's something I had a bit to do with a while back:http://sugarstick.homestead.com/song1.htmlOkay, kick me.[Marilyn Manson emoticon]

[zoom]

hey Zing... nice track... did you have a question or a listing that you're submitting this for?

[zingstone]

Hadn't thought about a question.How about:- Do you like it?- Have there ever been any Taxi submissions this kinda thing would fit into?- Did it blow your speakers up?

[stephen1977]

Dec 2, 2008, 9:30am, zingstone wrote:Hadn't thought about a question.How about:- Do you like it?- Have there ever been any Taxi submissions this kinda thing would fit into?- Did it blow your speakers up?Did it blow my speakers up? No.Interesting. I haven't heard something like this in years. Very refreshing. It's got "Zing." First off, let me tell you, a lot of this is very, very well done. Unfortunately, this sound came and went faster than it came in the mainstream medium. What you have here is a dated song, BUT, it is done really, really well and with some reworking could have the potential to go somewhere. I'm instantly grabbed by your voice or whoever is singing. Is it you? If so, you have sold me, and I will even pay double! The singer has a sweet, sultry, and very trained voice. I'm not so sure how her voice would work over another style of music, i.e. Straight Rock for instance, unless of course the engineer used digital drums that sounded totally fake. THEN, her voice might work. But that's left to the executioner and I’m probably not explaining my point properly, so… …let’s move on.Back to the point at hand... ...very cool song. I listened to a lot of this style about a decade ago, and like I mentioned above, I haven't really heard anything even come close until this. Brings back a lot of memories from the stuff I use to listen too, back when this style was popular. But like I said, now, you would have a very difficult time marketing this, unless a film was looking for something particular. At the same time, all things come full circle and this style may resurface again. I certainly hope so, for both you and me because I like this and like the style. To be both positive AND negative here... ...at times her voice reminds me of Madonna. The singer in this band has that kind of "Ray of Light" sound Madonna was poorly doing way back when. To me, that's a negative because I really can't stand Madonna, her voice, her music, or her personality. But, luckily for you, I don't hear it throughout the whole thing, just little tid bits here and there. Not really your singers fault. Its actually Madonna's for attempting to have a british accent and poorly I might add.The production is about as good as it gets, although I think you could have pushed the envelope just a tad bit more with some proper compression, but really as is, freakin' top notch recording. My only complaint is some of the sounds you chose to use. But I will get into that later. I possibly would have brightened the overall sound a bit too. Of course, this is an MP3 and a lot can be lost in translation.This song has some hook. The chorus is screaming with energy and I felt the singer was right next to me, which is a plus in my book. There were a few occasions where I felt the singer could have put a little more effort into it, but it works as is.Personally, and I am only speaking for myself here, but this IS how a female voice should be applied in this genre. A really good job done here aside from the few little things I mentioned. In comparison to others of this style, this song really can hold its own against anything I have heard.The guitars, well, eh. They don't impress me, but really, for this style, should they? Digital. The gits get the job done and in this piece do what they are told, and that is push this singer along and let her shine, which she does. I'm sure the guitarist is credible and in many ways, I'm impressed he/she kept a low profile on this one. Good. That means they know and understand how to write a marketable song. I'd say if this sound does make a comeback into the commercial realm, you will have to record this song over. Not because of the production, although it could be pumped up some like I mentioned above, but that's just a spit and polish job. No sweat. Basically, I would recommend a redo simply due to some of the sounds used for the electronica element. Very, very dated. That's one thing I hate about getting too crazy with digital sounds. They become dated very quickly. That is something that can almost never happen to a guitar, or drums for that matter, or just a damn piano sound. I'd almost bet my life this isn't something you recorded and produced recently. If you did, fire your engineer and take the closet brick you have and destroy whatever machine you banked the sounds from. Then after you bash the last little bit of life out of the keyboard, throw the brick down, look up and say, "tell your friends." Cool one liners come in handy in situations like that. Other than that. Cool.I'm saying everything here, because frankly, I really like this song. A lot. So much potential here and I think if redone, updated, and slightly polished up, this song would be 100% killer for the style.From a sale standpoint... ...if this song were available to buy, I would buy it. I’ve only been a member of taxi since September but I have seen a few listings this could easily fall into. If I get time and can dig them back up, I will certainly share them with you. You don't win an originality award, but if your looking to join taxi, luckily you can leave originality at the door. Think cookie cutter, and that is what you have here. Not a bad thing. It would sell, like I said.Thanks for sharing and I look forward to hearing more from you. Excellent work.

[billg]

Hello Zing, this track sounds dated but good. There are Taxi listings that pop up for pretty much everything sooner or later & the quality is there with this so it's just a matter of keeping your eyes & ears peeled for the right submission opp.

[wrdsnmuzik]

Add my props. Good stuff! I love the feel.this is something I would listen to, like, on my ipod. not sure what kind of listing it might work for . . . a slightly retro-dance track? psychedelic techno?and it may not be totally retro . . i.e., I could almost hear brazilian girls doing this one if the kick drum were heavier and it was more bassy overall.

[zingstone]

Thanks to billg and wrdsnmuzik for participating. Funny you should bring up psychtech, wrds, because we had another track under the genre “Psychedelic Juggernaut”. Heh.The tune is nearly four years old so it does sort of belong to another era.Big shout as well to Goth…er…Stephen for the ponderous monologue – one of your finest. Good to see that you didn’t let your foreknowledge of the guitars all being done with mirrors affect your devotion of a whole paragraph to insinuating how you would’ve done it better. Perhaps before you throw the “D” word around again, I’d better just remind you that both bass and guitar parts were in fact created on real planks.Would’ve disappointed me if you hadn’t squeezed in the Madge thing too, so thumbs up there, but of course your true piece de resistance was the unimpeachably framed “Is it you?” To which I must now reply incredulously “well, it was the last time I checked”.Time for me to review something PMB, methinks.

[mojobone]

Yup, bit dated, but commercially viable, IMO. A pro mastering treatment would really make this pop (like the top off a carbonated beverage, I mean; not the , erm, genre) Shows like Cold Case often use songs with sounds that are very specific to a particular time period, the trick is knowing your genres and knowing your time periods.

[kitz]

Zing,Kicked my b out the door!! Dated? - take me back in time!! Can you post lyrics??Kitz

[zingstone]

Quote:Kicked my b out the door!! Dated? - take me back in time!! Can you post lyrics??Thanks, Kitz.Yeah, it's kind of surprised me that it's been called dated but there ya go - I'm not hearing it objectively.The foundations of this band lie in a Swiss Industrial band called The Young Gods, Nine Inch Nails, an 80s post-punk Brit band called Killing Joke, and the magnificent Kate Bush.Anyway, if you like the Sugarstick sound, thre's more here:http://www.myspace.com/sugarstickmusicOh, and here's my typically minimalist lyrics for Through The Void:How to tell now where you end and I beginWho can say what will remain?Falling, falling, falling through the voidFeed me, I’m empty And full on desireFeed me I’m emptyFeed meDown the blind suspending time dimensionisedWarming gorging synchroniseHard to sense outside as we internaliseYour narcotic perfume rideOverdrive