Weeklybeats is a 52 week long music project in which artists compose and publicly release 1 song a week for the entire year.
Starting January 1st 2024 GMT each participant will have one week to upload one finished composition. Any style of music or selection of instruments are welcomed and encouraged. Sign up or Login to get started or check our FAQ for any help or questions you may have.

Orange Soda

By Sodabelly on October 19, 2024 6:34 am

I'm reading the book Trouble Boys which is a fantastic biography of The Replacements, and apart from being fired up about all the punk and rock and roll there was a line that struck me. Paul Westerberg said, "In general, music that's flawless is usually uninspired." So while my girlfriend was at the gym for an hour, I quickly recorded some guitar and vocals and spent another couple of hours putting some more stuff over it. I only have an acoustic guitar and a midi keyboard right now so I did my best. I mixed down a version and then started trying to mix it and clean it up but I was quickly sucking the life out of it -- so this is that first mixdown. It's probably the most energetic thing I've made since my high school days. Enjoy!

› The lyrics are vaguely about some clown I keep seeing on the tv.

Solid vocal performance with beautiful harmonies, fun rock chords. Nice choice of drums.

This is a great "indy" rock song.

And yeah a little dirt works good for all what is rock. smile

I love the indie rock feel. The instrumentals are so nicely gritty

Oha. This is a new side of you, I did not expect at all. You were the more quiet and well dosed music type for me. Here you are almost exploding in a rock n roll manner. And your singing is working very well. So your output is very versatile as far I remember. So how will our next collaborative project look like? What support can I still deliver? Or maybe you can sing on a track of mine? Whatever you like, sir.

Sodabelly!! this is outstanding!!
just casually dropping this gem
love yr vox and the melody (and the lyrics - i'm ready for the clowns to get in their clown car and GTFO!)
seriously, SO GOOD

This has a great rock and roll energy and the rawness definitely works in its favor.  There's no doubt too much polish can sometimes suck the soul right out of a track.  Vocals sound great, too!

So awesome, on every level! big_smile

This sort of "I had the place to myself for an hour so I went for it" moments end up producing the most successful tracks. That's how I made "The Greatest Day Available", which people seem to really like.

Your song's raw feel is indeed expertly walking the fine line of "too clean" and "too sloppy". I can point out details that are theoretically "off", but taken together it sounds fantastic. Killer track!

I love powerpop and garage rock and this track hits all my favourite sweet spots. Solid through composition and performance, with just enough indie grit. *chef's kiss*

This is awesome love the raw nature of this and the vocal treatment is perfect!

Damn... this is awesome... and like "I only have an acoustic guitar and a midi keyboard right now so I did my best."...

... turns out your best is pretty damn amazing. 

Oh my god this is great. Love that  Westerberg quote, and you nailed it  - capturing the aesthetic of music that is raw and vibrant, but by no means sloppy.

Instrumentation is fantastic - never would have guessed that this was just an acoustic and a keyboard, has an amazing full band feel. Vocals are also stellar - love the “imperfect” doubling. Love love love.  Favorited!

I really f***ing love this song. Extra kudos to find another Replacements fan. I closed my eyes and went back to being 12 and discovering R.E.M's "Murmur" and snippets of "Zen Arcade" on a random rainy afternoon in 1989, by myself, way back when MTV actually played cool music.

Total respect to you, Sir. I started in electronic music because MIDI and drum machines, I could understand, but jangling guitars was (and still is) like mysterious magic for me. I still secretly want to be Peter Buck or Johnny Marr.

Please delight us with some more indie wizardry smile

heart love it

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