"Whimsical, Retro-Sounding Songs & Instrumentals"?

[remmet]

NEW LISTING -- A-LIST Hollywood Music Supervisor needs WHIMSICAL, RETRO-SOUNDING SONGS and INSTRUMENTALS with an almost CHILD-LIKE and/or HAUNTING nursery rhyme vibe for a successful, Quirky TV series. Ideal songs would be in the vein of "Puppy Love" by Harry Nilsson to "Won't Let You Leave" by Jenny O. As ALWAYS, DO NOT rip-off or copy the referenced songs or artists in any way, shape or form. Use them ONLY as a guide for general texture, feel, and vibe. The producers of the series are looking for both MALE and FEMALE vocals as well as Instrumental music. QUOTED BY THE SUPERVISOR: "Songs should have an Indie Singer/Songwriter sensibility with emotional depth and sincerity. A 'no-frills' production--organic instrumentation with simple arrangements--will work."

I've struggled with this one; the 2 songs they referenced are very different. Trying to combine childlike/haunting, whimsical, retro, and Indie is a real challenge. I've made about 10 revisions to my instrumental attempt, but I still don't think I've come close to nailing it. Anyone else give this one a try?

Richard

[SuzanneSchnite]

Yeah, I'm working on this one right now; just about done laying down the rhythm tracks.

You're right about the two reference songs being quite different. I tried combining elements of both and the retro-style bass of the Nilsson song combined with the Jenny O singer-songwriter acoustic guitar just sounded plain weird.

I'm not done with this yet and don't have any music to share with you, but I'm going to push ahead and see what happens.

Good luck to you should you decide to take a shot ot this too!

Suzanne

[burpo]

I'm taking a shot at this listing, too.

Since I don't have the voice to pull off a Jenny O. or Nilsson
I'm going for less of a sound alike quality and just going for a very
child-friendly vibe.

So many of the kid-friendly songs I hear used in TV placements sound
like they very well could have been recorded in 1974.

(Remember... This is coming from a guy who never gets forwards. Ha!)

[Len911]

Just reading the listing, I'd say they're not looking for children's songs per se, just something simple, no orchestras, no jazz chords, perhaps pentatonic scales that are I believe I read somewhere, the most natural for children and singing,lol! Because it says Nilsson TO Jenny O., it implies anything between, and not so much that the two examples are similar, imo.

[RogerG]

Hey,

I may go for this one too. And I agree with Len. When I listened to the Jenny O. a la, it was her and acoustic guitar. Very straight, no build, any other instrumentation or anything. And a pretty much live, lo-fi, recording. What my dad probably would have called folk way back in the early 60's, though without the social commentary involved.

Just my thoughts/two cents as usual and I'm absolutely no expert in interpreting Taxi listings. - Roger