This one has a different snare. I'd appreciate any feedback on whether you like the snare from version 6 or version 7 better. :)
The *real* final version of this song? I'm not sure. I may still make a few small changes.
This may be the final version of the song... the only thing I want to do is have a real bass player come in and do the bass track. I welcome any input on levels, etc. as I feel pretty good about this being pretty much finished. :)
I remixed it some and added background vocals. It's getting closer... I'll probably call in a real bass player at some point.
-sang scratch vocal track into better microphone
-added cool delay effect to the vocal track (not sure if I'll keep it)
-compressed/edited drum track
-added synth pad
-added bass track
-changed piano sound and played a new piano track
This is one of my favorite songs. I wrote the lyrics as a poem, then put music to them later. I thought this would be a great song to let you follow along with as the various stages of recording are completed. I'm calling this one "version 1," and the only thing that is actually finished here is the drum track (special thanks to Sam Kallaos for playing some awesome drums on this). The piano and vocals are certainly not finished, particularly because I sang this with a sinus infection into a Shure 58 mic (it's a great live mic, but not a recording mic).
Anyway, you can hear the bare bones of a track, and I'll post successive versions as they are ready until the whole thing comes together. Along the way, I welcome your comments and ideas. Hope you enjoy being part of the process. :)
(this song will be part of the "Here I Am" album when finished)
Preconceptions
© 2000 Ben Travis
(verse 1)
We are all fed our beliefs from the womb
like mashed carrots on a spoon
Though we defend them valiantly
sometimes they fall like scales
around us and lie useless at our feet
Still we find our preconceptions
grinning at us from dark corners
Clawing at our hearts
Envying our freedom
(chorus)
And we learn to dance
to the rhythm we hear
as the wind shakes the trees
and our shadows grow longer
We tip our hats
to the past that has shaped us
and poke our canes into
the blackness ahead
(verse 2)
Though we are satisfied with questions
the voices around us cry for certainty
Strangely enough, they often find it
yet we remain unconvinced
and this is unacceptable
There are times when we'd trade
our souls for some black and white
But we trudge on silently
Through the endless sea of grays
[to chorus]
Like pieces of a puzzle
that has no solution
the fragments of truth that we see
wink at us knowingly
[to chorus]
