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WeeklyBeats.com / Music / jwh's music / in the aftermath

in the aftermath

By jwh on June 16, 2024 6:38 pm

› lyrics

i've got a lot of recording & mixing going on so i wanted to keep this one simple & more 4 track style. and yes, i've been listening to a lot of "Either/Or" don't @ me  tongue
i did borrow this 16" Ludwig Mod Orange floor tom from my buddy Doty and it has such a nice kaboom i had to add it in for some accents.

take care & stay cool, Friends.

XO

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The stripped back arrangement works really well, especially since the acoustic guitar and vocals sound so great.  A really nice cozy and intimate feel.  Long live 4-tracks.

Simple and beautiful. Floor tom accents are ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ

Your livingroomstudio looks cozy and bright with the white carpet and the two windows. A nice place to make cozy music.
Your new song is fantastic, listened intensely several times, to catch every floor Tom beat. So well hidden..
What do you mean with โ€šEither/Orโ€˜ ?

beautiful!

Love the chord progression from the start.  It has a familiarity to it that makes ya cling to it like it's an old friend.  Either/Or is one of my fav from Elliott and an awesome album to be inspired from.  The subtle use of the tom is perfect and just adds to the depth of this beautiful track.  So many dang good feels in your songs smile

Orange Tommy bringing the ghostbumps. Just beautiful. The mix, the vocals, the guitar, such a fleeting, haunting little moment. Thank you for spiriting me away for a few precious minutes of aftermath heart

Gorgeous work--melody, guitar, vocal harmony...and that floor tom! It's like a flower opening for the sun. Thank you.

Wow... Such high quality in a weekly beat heart
I can't tell whether that's Emily or not on some of those harmonies, but the harmonies do feel warmer, fuller, and more comforting than Elliott Smith's though I do see the comparison. Thank you!

Damn, that tom does have some boom to it doesn't it.  Very well placed both in the mix and in the arrangement too... adds a really nice accent for the transitions and key lyrical moments.  I really like the simplicity of this track, really makes the little ear candy moments shine... I love the vocal harmonies, and the little backing "aahh"s  are ( ห˜ ยณห˜)แ•—

well, either/or is amazing so nothing wrong with that! lovely as always, really like the bridge/chorus, and the ending is very satisfying.

Another beautiful gentle melody. I also recognize those fish, swimming around heart

emily wrote:

_beautiful gif from the gifboss_

heart

Cosmic Cairns wrote:

The stripped back arrangement works really well, especially since the acoustic guitar and vocals sound so great.  A really nice cozy and intimate feel.  Long live 4-tracks.

thank you, Cosmic Cairns! i do miss recording to tape, although i do NOT miss trying to find the tape i want in a pile of cassettes  smile
it does help me to keep things simple sometimes to pretend i have those limitations though, even when i'm recording digitally. i was excited recently when i discovered that the DAW i use (Reaper) has a speed function that works much like the speed knob on the 4-tracks. have gotten a lot of use out of that function!

SQF wrote:

Simple and beautiful. Floor tom accents are ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ

thanks so much! this has definitely made me want to invest in a nice floor tom at some point. i really enjoy having a simple drum setup, ala Mimi Parker (may she rest in peace).

Q-Rosh wrote:

Your livingroomstudio looks cozy and bright with the white carpet and the two windows. A nice place to make cozy music.
Your new song is fantastic, listened intensely several times, to catch every floor Tom beat. So well hidden..
What do you mean with โ€šEither/Orโ€˜ ?

thank you, Q-Rosh! and thank you for the repeat intense listens, that means a lot to me.
oh, i was referring to Elliott Smith's beautiful album from '97 titled "Either/Or."
Elliott is an endless source of inspiration for me, may he also rest in peace.

snoopy over the hills wrote:

beautiful!

heart

Tone Matrix wrote:

Love the chord progression from the start.  It has a familiarity to it that makes ya cling to it like it's an old friend.  Either/Or is one of my fav from Elliott and an awesome album to be inspired from.  The subtle use of the tom is perfect and just adds to the depth of this beautiful track.  So many dang good feels in your songs smile

thanks so much, Wizard! (may i call you Wizard?)
these are definitely chords i return to often, but since my acoustic was tuned down to C standard i think it gave me some fresh feelings. i love the idea of a progression feeling like an old friend. heart

neon liminal wrote:

Orange Tommy bringing the ghostbumps. Just beautiful. The mix, the vocals, the guitar, such a fleeting, haunting little moment. Thank you for spiriting me away for a few precious minutes of aftermath heart

oh wow, thank you for that generous feedback.

onezero wrote:

Gorgeous work--melody, guitar, vocal harmony...and that floor tom! It's like a flower opening for the sun. Thank you.

a flower opening for the sun, love that! thank you, Friend

fetalface wrote:

Wow... Such high quality in a weekly beat heart
I can't tell whether that's Emily or not on some of those harmonies, but the harmonies do feel warmer, fuller, and more comforting than Elliott Smith's though I do see the comparison. Thank you!

thank you, fetalface! missed you this week, but just went back to listen to 'Doin the weirdo' for a little pick-me-up!  smile
those harmonies were me. but i do this thing sometimes (i did it for this song) where i will use this "speed" function in Reaper... i slow the speed/pitch of the track down, record my harmony in the lower key, then return the speed back to zero. it gives my harmony a little bit of a different tone. emily and i have both laughed that i sound like her when i do that!

Napear wrote:

Damn, that tom does have some boom to it doesn't it.  Very well placed both in the mix and in the arrangement too... adds a really nice accent for the transitions and key lyrical moments.  I really like the simplicity of this track, really makes the little ear candy moments shine... I love the vocal harmonies, and the little backing "aahh"s  are ( ห˜ ยณห˜)แ•—

thanks, Napear! those ahhhhs felt really good to sing  big_smile
i always appreciate how you can pick out so much detail when you listen

ddmm64 wrote:

well, either/or is amazing so nothing wrong with that! lovely as always, really like the bridge/chorus, and the ending is very satisfying.

agreed re: "either/or," and thank you so much!!

Minnamari wrote:

Another beautiful gentle melody. I also recognize those fish, swimming around heart

thank you, Minnamari smile
and thank you for reminding me of your beautiful "Fishes" song, just went back to listen again. you really tapped into something special there.

take care and stay cool, all y'all!

This is the perfect song to soothe you on a peaceful day before a hectic week begins.

If I read the comments right, the backing vocals is also you? I was almost sure it was Emily, as they go quite high in pitch. Kudos for the range! Damn, wish I could sing half that well.

I super dig the track, too. Heartfelt and raw, but at the same time quite polished and with enough layers to feel like a complete song. Amazed you can pull this off as an extra with all the other recording keeping you busy big_smile Cheers!

This is lovely. It's funny because I am currently watching my brother's dog. The lyrics "lying in bed
my new best friend, attended by strangers the sun beams in" almost sounds like it's from the dog's point of view as he's staring out the window from my child hood bed room right now tongue

I actually quite like the stripped back production. It feels soft and gives weight to the lyrics. I get the Elliot smith influence aslo for some reason this Andrew Kenny song comes to mind: https://youtu.be/cTXpe1DEp0U?si=XHaE4bBEENBQ2Sp_

Beautiful! Perfectly sparse, gorgeous vocal harmonization, and well written/arranged/recorded as always. Love the weight added from the floor tom accents. heart

KAMI Lime wrote:

This is the perfect song to soothe you on a peaceful day before a hectic week begins.

thank you, KAMI Lime. i hope that our week is maybe not too hectic.   heart

rplktr wrote:

If I read the comments right, the backing vocals is also you? I was almost sure it was Emily, as they go quite high in pitch. Kudos for the range! Damn, wish I could sing half that well.

I super dig the track, too. Heartfelt and raw, but at the same time quite polished and with enough layers to feel like a complete song. Amazed you can pull this off as an extra with all the other recording keeping you busy big_smile Cheers!

thanks so much! and yes, i did all the vocals on this. smile to be fair though, for the backing harmonies i slowed the session down ~6% which lowered it a semi-tone. then i sped it back up to normal speed. so i wasn't singing in quite as high a pitch as it sounds. i appreciate your kind words.

ENC_ wrote:

This is lovely. It's funny because I am currently watching my brother's dog. The lyrics "lying in bed
my new best friend, attended by strangers the sun beams in" almost sounds like it's from the dog's point of view as he's staring out the window from my child hood bed room right now tongue

I actually quite like the stripped back production. It feels soft and gives weight to the lyrics. I get the Elliot smith influence aslo for some reason this Andrew Kenny song comes to mind: https://youtu.be/cTXpe1DEp0U?si=XHaE4bBEENBQ2Sp_

aww, that is so sweet. please tell your brother's dog i said hi!
and thanks re: production. wasn't familiar with Andrew Kenny, nice song.

v0 wrote:

Beautiful! Perfectly sparse, gorgeous vocal harmonization, and well written/arranged/recorded as always. Love the weight added from the floor tom accents. heart

thank you, v0!! happy sunday!

this is so good! favorited

nedsferatu wrote:

this is so good! favorited

oh, thank you for coming back to check this one out! that really means a lot to me, nedsferatu  heart

(oops forgot to respond) i aspire to be a wizard forevs! smile so yais

Tone Matrix wrote:

(oops forgot to respond) i aspire to be a wizard forevs! smile so yais

purrrrrrfect!

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