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[muso] Let's get some kind of music-making challenges going (Challenge now underway! Submit your own "Louie, Louie" cover.)

Started by Neil, November 28, 2005, 03:15:26 AM

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Neil

Just going through the latest stuff in the 'post your own songs' thread, and it made me think we really should get back to doing some more audio-based challenges on here.  Also, I've been fiddling around again with digital music making of late, and I still don't really know what I'm doing.  I think this would be a great way to get motivated and actually do stuff.  So who's up for it then?  Also, any suggestions on how these things should be done?  We had Audio Tennis before which was quite popular, but here's the basic lines I was thinking along:  You get a theme for the tune, and then go and have to make one.  Well, that's it really.  Although another idea I had is that there can be challenges where you're limited to a certain number of instruments.  I think it'd be interesting seeing what people come up with using just a handful of instruments and little to no effects.

Labian Quest

I'm going to be doing some recording over the next few days, so I'm definitely into the idea; a couple of other ways you could do it is for everyone to cover a specific song (assuming you could reach a consensus about which one) or one person provides a basic backing track which everyone has to add to in whatever way they say fit.

Is this like the audio version of Monging battles/worms? I like the idea of that.
Obviously it would have to be simplified a little.

I.e. someone posts a track, someone else takes (samples, replays) elements of it and creates something new enough for someone to take something different from it etc.

It's a cracking idea in fact. A hundred different versions of the same 2 bar bass loop! Arf.

Let's get it kicking.

Neil

Quote from: "The Boston Crab"I.e. someone posts a track, someone else takes (samples, replays) elements of it and creates something new enough for someone to take something different from it etc.

It's a cracking idea in fact. A hundred different versions of the same 2 bar bass loop! Arf.

Yeah, I think that's kind of how the Audio Tennis things worked.  I think Labian Quest has a great idea about us all doing different covers of one track, too.  I've been trying to do Silicon Teens-style covers for ages now, so I'd be totally up for that.  It'd be a great learning process for the novices like myself, I'm sure I'd learn a lot by seeing how other people approach their remakes.  We could get one of those up and running today perhaps, all we need to do is decide on a song, then post a new thread with links to tabs, and off we go!  EDIT:  I'm thinking maybe "Louie, Louie" might be a good one to start with, as it's one of the most covered and ripped off songs ever.  Any objections, or should I start a new thread?

Any other suggestions?  Perhaps the people who did the Audio Tennis before have some ideas on changing it this time round?

9

:-)

Yeah, I'm well up for this. Everyone doing a version of the same song sounds appealing to me. And Louie, Louie sounds like it could be great fun!

Labian Quest

Yeah, Louie Louie sounds good too, here's a roughish version I found of The Clash doing it for anyone that doesn't know the song:

http://www.louielouie.net/strummer/Clash-LOUIE.mp3

Neil

Great site that, they've got a whole section on Zappa and "Louie, Louie".  I keep meaning to start a thread about that song actually, it's a really fascinating story.  I do hope that movie/documentary finally comes out!  Anyway, it's a fairly easy song to work with, it's just three chords, A D Em and back to D.  I'll start that thread later on then, but in the meantime let's make up some ground rules for this.  Are we going to have voting at the end?  I think we'd definitely need to have some kind of a time limit for these challenges as it will help motivate lazy fuckers like me.  Anything else?

Morrisfan82

I've been meaning to do some more music lately, so I'd be up for some sort of challenge. And the Louie, Louie thing sounds good too. Though I'd need someone to post the original for reference.

eric claptop

Liking the sound of this.
Only thing is, aren't the words to Louie, Louie a load of garbled nonsense?
We'd need a linky to the lyrics is what I'm getting at i suppose...

CHORUS:

Louie Louie, oh no
Me gotta go
Aye-yi-yi-yi, I said
Louie Louie, oh baby
Me gotta go

Fine little girl waits for me
Catch a ship across the sea
Sail that ship about, all alone
Never know if I make it home

CHORUS

Three nights and days I sail the sea
Think of girl, constantly
On that ship, I dream she's there
I smell the rose in her hair.

CHORUS

Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!

GUITAR SOLO

See Jamaica, the moon above
It won't be long, me see me love
Take her in my arms again
Tell her I'll never leave again

CHORUS

Let's take it on outa here now
Let's go!!

^^there we go^^

Neil

I'll post the lyrics in the thread then, good thinking.  I'll stick up the cover by the Kingsmen too as that's the definitive version.  I'll put up the Richard Berry original too then, Muteki.  It's very different but might be useful.

Morrisfan82

Err, well, when I said the original, I meant the Kingsmen version. Sorry, ignorance on my part. :)

But yeh, put both up if you like.

9

He he, that was fun.

I tried to lay down a totally rocking version but it sounded too similar to all the other covers so I went in the opposite direction.

9 - Louie, Louie

Never let it be said that I lack the ability to suck the fun out of a song.

Labian Quest

Quote from: "9"He he, that was fun.

I tried to lay down a totally rocking version but it sounded too similar to all the other covers so I went in the opposite direction.

9 - Louie, Louie

Never let it be said that I lack the ability to suck the fun out of a song.

9: I don't know what you did to the chords or the melody (A,D,??? - I play Emajor there) but it sounds great, you've really changed the mood of the song, reverb sounds great too (what is it?) I even like the dripping tap sound.

Neil: I'd still like to hear both the versions you mentioned, to get a better idea of the song. I'll mike my amp up and have a go at it sometime this week. One thing I noticed when I was trying to add bass is that is quite easy to mutate the song into 'Wild Thing or even " The one that I want" from Grease.

Neil

Nice one, 9!  Fast work.

Quote from: "Labian Quest"Neil: I'd still like to hear both the versions you mentioned, to get a better idea of the song. I'll mike my amp up and have a go at it sometime this week. One thing I noticed when I was trying to add bass is that is quite easy to mutate the song into 'Wild Thing or even " The one that I want" from Grease.

Yeah, a load of songs rip off "Louie, Louie", and Wild Thing is one of the most obvious.  I'll dig out the Richard Berry version too then, and try to start that challenge thread later on today.  Really looking forward to this!

Me too, but since I have no instruments, is this open to laptop wankers too? You know, some cut-and-paste remix shite? That's about all I can do, but I've got a few ideas.

Neil

Yes, totally!  That's much what I'll be doing.  One of the great things about this will be seeing how people approach the different songs.  Hopefully there will be a real mixture of styles.

9

Quote from: "Labian Quest"I don't know what you did to the chords or the melody (A,D,??? - I play Emajor there) but it sounds great, you've really changed the mood of the song, reverb sounds great too (what is it?) I even like the dripping tap sound.

ta mate, the chords were A,D, E minor. The reverby sound was made with the onboard digital delay on a Marshall AVT 100. That beat was thrown together in a few minutes after my laptop crashed after I'd spent about an hour sequencing a pummeling tribal beat. Funny how these things work out!

Might have another crack in a bit - something with a bit more vim.

Neil

Hey, what did you use for the tribal beat?  I spent ages trying to find tribal drum soundfonts just this week!  I couldn't really find any decent samples either, I want to get the same kind of sound that Animal Collective have at times.

9

I was mucking around on a demo of Ableton 5.0.1. There's some nice drum samples on there that are well worth messing around with. It's quite easy to get caught up in drum programming though - you could spend forever on it. I don't find it that satisfying, but for laying down ideas quick it's a lot less hassle than recoding live percussion!

Frinky


Neil

Quote from: "9"I was mucking around on a demo of Ableton 5.0.1. There's some nice drum samples on there that are well worth messing around with. It's quite easy to get caught up in drum programming though - you could spend forever on it. I don't find it that satisfying, but for laying down ideas quick it's a lot less hassle than recoding live percussion!

Ah, thanks!  I must have those then.  I usually use Ableton, but I've went back to Fruityloops as it's less demanding of my old PC.  I still don't really get drum programming though, I don't understand when you're meant to kick and when you're meant to snare, for instance.  I dug out my old drum machine, I should try learning to play that so I get a basic understanding of drumming.  It has midi too, could be handy.

Labian Quest

Heh. I've been through all that palaver of trying to program beats on a PC, it's bloody laborious, in the end I just gave up and bought one of these:

http://www.portlandmusiccompany.com/bitbox_pics/dr3.jpg

it sounds ace, you can even change patterns and so on with a footswitch. All I've got to do  now is work out how to program the effing thing. I'll probably have a go at Louie Louie on the weekend.

9

Yep, drum programming sucks balls and feels quite impersonal unless you've harvested the samples yourself. I've been experimenting with beatboxing recently - after extended periods listening to the new Cocorosie LP. DIY beats = cool.

Neil, I've found that an important part of drum programming is the velocity of the sample. I think i wasted a lot of time trying to create a propulsive rhythm track with slow, lengthy, plodding samples. If the sample is short enough then the illusion of velocity can be created with minimal means. Lots of drum and bass tracks use this concept to great effect.

Drum programming is a strange art. :-)

Morrisfan82

Odd, I find processing and programming drums to sound exactly the way I want them deeply satisfying.

Seriously, can someone post the Kingsmen track soon? I haven't heard it for years, I need a point of reference.



Labian Quest

Quote from: "Muteki"Odd, I find processing and programming drums to sound exactly the way I want them deeply satisfying.

I know what you mean, and if I could do it fast enough I could probably get  into it a lot more; I just don't have the patience for it I suppose.

9: Cheers for posting the track, that does sound like an  Em he's playing, I think I was thinking of the Joy Division version. I might even have a go at doing the solo.

boki

WARNING: THE following message contains awful guitar playing, and very badly recorded at that...

I started kicking around a couple of ideas because I want to start trying to make some sort of music again and I also ought to start trying to play guitar again after barely touching the fucker for so many years, but quickly found myself just playing this (hella liberties taken with the riff, natch) and bellowing "LouieLouie...FUCK YEAH! Stoner rock!" over and over again.  Good job my proper guitar lead's broke so I couldn't amp it (and also the extreme weediness of plugging a guitar straight into the onboard sound of a barebones unit seemed to lose the worst of the sloppiness or it would've come out even worse.

Ah well, at least I discovered that I need a new lead. Maybe if I practice enough then one day I can do my stoner-style mashup of Iron Maiden's 'Phantom of the Opera' and the Dr Who theme that sometimes swims around in my head

I really quite enjoyed both boki and 9's takes on it, even though their styles don't really match my usual tastes. I guess that's the fun, eh?

My version doesn't really suit my usual tastes either, it's pretty short and astonishingly cheesy. Some tactless thrudding beats over massive obvious Fatboy Slim-style sampling finished off with seriously rough cuts. I'm actually pretty pleased with it, although I would doubtless leave the dancefloor if it ever came on, for fear of derision. Still, it's fun enough if you like a good headache or if you're drunk.

Here you go


Also, excuse the levels and stuff, it might sound like a right old accident, but I've got no speakers so it's just some crap phones into the comping box.