A New, Old Song Done Differently
Here’s a new, old song done differently: Down on Weighted Knees. It’s based on a poem that I wrote back in the ’90’s. I want to release it under Creative Commons in such a way that it promotes collaboration. We’ll see how that goes. Here’s the first mix. No reverb. It may even be mono. But there’s an idea there. Partly inspired by the tempo of a Leonard Cohen song that I was reminded of by the folks at NPR’s All Songs Considered, partly inspired by the music of Beach House. Partly inspired by the lyrics. Hope you like it!
Todd said,
September 6, 2008 @ 9:13 am
John, this recording brings you in a new and interesting direction. I like it. There are some really great things going on here.
1) The solemn and somewhat morose feeling (slow tempo, changing tempo, descending chord progression, minor key) is a sound that I very often listen to and like.
2) The morose feeling applied to this lyrical subject is interesting because it implies that you have been let down by your religion. I am not sure if you wanted this, but it’s a great point of view even if you had not set out to do this.
3) I love the guitar sound, the Hammond, bass, and piano sounds are perfect.
4) Doubled voice tracks liven up the vocal track.
5) The wavering vocal trail-offs sound really good.
Although the slow and unsteady tempo adds to the feeling of the song, there are some spots where the instrument attacks are far off. This kills the pulse some.
I have some ideas for this if you’re interested in hearing them.
Sonicsiblings.net » Down on Weighted Knees - Todd’s Mix said,
December 14, 2008 @ 11:37 am
[...] handed off the song, Down on Weighted Knees (from my last post “A New, Old Song Done Differently“) to Todd. I was so amazed at the beauty that he coaxed out of the song and the celebratory tone [...]