Ceiling Thoughts
By HoolieBrown on March 22, 2026 4:41 am
I love funk, soul, r&b, and almost anything with brass.
There's a Seattle cough right now, you lose your voice. I can only hit about 5 notes, I had to figure out how to get around that b/c I wanted to sing on this track. Ended up staying in baritone and choking my way through a cee-lo green inspired breakdown harmony part.
Built all tracks except for drums and horns in the M8. EPiano intro is a sampled Rhodes in 4 instrument patches - I do this with all keyboard samples: Chromatic scales of single note, maj/min 3rds and 5ths. I was having a blast using MTT to emulate slip notes. With this 4 chromatic scale combo I can hit almost every interval or chord I want to hit with 2 tracks and then bounce to one once I have the part worked out.
Guitar is an old Fender Mustang with P90s and 250k pots - strange dark sounding combo so I had to run the highs way up on the amp. Played through a Klon into a 70s super reverb with only 1 working speaker in the cab, mic'd with a 421.
Drums came first - cheated with a midipack from AD2 - did a ton of tweeking in the timing and fills to get it to work. NI Session Horns came last even though I kept hearing the call/answer part in my head. The outro lick was an automation in Session Horns Pro - I usually avoid that but it capped the track off too well to change it.
Most of the time was spent in the mix trying to get the baritone vocals to lay down properly. Took every trick I had to get it all to work b/c there was zero clarity while screeching through this awful cough. Eventually I added a fat slapback and got it to poke out. Most of my dirty little secrets are in this mix - not so secret though, light 1176 parallel comp on everything except the drums and bass - kind of like the rear bus thing Andy Scheps does. Also a short room reverb on everything but dialed way down for glue purposes.
Lyrics are a little dorky xD. I was just trying to land on good sounds and syllables.
Lyrics:
I got a plan where we all get together
I got a mind - we all can get along
I got a place where we all for the better
Everyone’s invited everyone belongs
Stop don’t think about it
It’s time to move your feet
I have a dream where we’ll have forgotten
What it’s like to never have to move
I have a way to find a brighter day
You dont have nothin left to prove
All them float around and wander in your head
mention the intention that you’d rather lay in bed
staring at the ceiling thinking of what could have been
Round the room I’m feeling gloom come on and take me
Stop don’t think about it
You’re right there starin’ at the street
Bop no time to doubt it
It’s time to move your feet
Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works (BY-NC-ND)
and amazing use of the m8!