Comments on: Song-A-Week 7: I Always Wanted

By: nick prignano

nick prignano — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:58:54 +0000

totally dude

By: dan costalis

dan costalis — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:23:37 +0000

Well, as you say the lack of production isn’t necessarily the reason for a song being incomplete or not having a feel or whatever… but when you are forcing yourself to write something as opposed to having a great idea pop into your head… it takes the song writing process into a different zone.
Ya know?

By: Chase

Chase — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:13:29 +0000

But at the same time, both Red Raindrop and Bad Dreams felt quite a bit different just as an acoustic and melody…
A lot of producers I’ve read interviews of often say a bad song is still a bad song no matter how much production it has, which is true, but sometimes good songs just need some direction.
Blarg.
Oh, guess who I ran into the yesterday (while watching Caitlin play some songs at Joe’s Java)? Deloy Cole. He was hanging out while his wife was working and he sparked up a conversation with me about coffee. He says that he’s a “lightweight” when it comes to coffee, has to have something sweet and can’t handle it too strong. I thought you might find that amusing…

By: matty

matty — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 07:53:18 +0000

Yeah. The “feel” thing. Yeah… I hear you on that. Its super-important, and I’m not really consistently getting it. I think there may be two reasons for this.
I used to write when I was in a mood or felt inspired or had an idea. Which was great because that was actually fairly often. But for a number of reasons I decided it would be good to force myself to write regularly – so I’m not always in the “mood” to write when I’m doing it. And they’re not always gold ideas. Also, these days I’m not a depressed college kid longing for love, uncertain about the future, with a life full of poetic friends. I feel like i have personally become more mundane. Well………..
I don’t think its the (lack of) production either. “you know where i’ll be” would still be one of my best songs if i’m just playing it acoustically. Even if the arrangement is boring sorta and the melody never changes. Its just a better song with more to say. So thanks for that comment. Now I have something to work on.

By: katie knows best

katie knows best — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 07:29:41 +0000

This song made me feel like I was at a 1950s sock-hop, wearing a pink poodle skirt and some saddle shoes. It’s so very much full of CHEESE… but I like it.
I don’t really have any advice for you, but I do agree with Chase in that last comment of his… the part about the songs having a “feel”. I think that’s why “You know where I’ll be” is so freakin’ good. It’s memorable, catchy… and I think this song touches on that.
That’s….. it.

By: Chase

Chase — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:39:22 +0000

Man,
not too many comments… lame.
Anyway, I was thinking, it may be cool to mess with the accompaniment, just for a songwriting experiment if nothing else. Make it the relative minor but keep the melody the same. See if anything cool pops out.
I was also thinking, and this may have been the case with the Shortest Distance and Falling’s song in there demo versions, the songs (with the exception of Worlds Unknown, and maybe last weeks song) lack a “feel” like Bad Dreams, A Red Raindrop, or You Know Where I’ll Be, etc.
It’s probably just that they’re demos, and more production and actually letting the song dictate how it should feel, may just take more time and production, but it’s something to think about.
I miss you
Love

By: Chase

Chase — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 03:39:36 +0000

Needs bgvs pretty bad. So high floaty ones that fill in the space would be nice. Especially since everything rhythmic-wise is so “da-DA, de-da-DA, da-DA, de-da-DA.” The chord progression is pretty simple and repetitive so I think there needs to be some other sporadic stuff to help the song continue to feel fresh.
I agree with Dan on maybe playing around with some more lyrics if possible. I don’t mind the repetition there so much, but you don’t want anyone to get bored.
I like that this song has BASS, bring out some more of the lows so my sub crackles… Matt Good + bass = death to all kitties
Ethan would rock (or swing in this case) this song so well…
…also, try to get in touch with Nard. He has a great sounding kit, and can do the recording of his drums himself (http://www.myspace.com/nardcoremusic)

By: Kristina

Kristina — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:51:12 +0000

I like the intro too.
Cute song. I have no advise for you, nothing constructive to say, I think this one is adorable.

By: Dan Costalis

Dan Costalis — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:16:52 +0000

Diggin the intro, as always.
Cute is the right word! Is that valentines day themed, heh?
I’m totally grooving to the interlude with the “do do do”.
“Until i found youuuu” instead of “un-til i found you” might work better?
maybe more rapid timeing on the “i know, i know” for the last two or so?
Now, maybe i’m imposing too much here, and maybe i’m missing the point of the song, but what about switching up the “i always wanted” part in the same way margaritaville does? “it ain’t my fault, it could be my fault, its my own damn fault”. maybe something like “i don’t want a girl named heather to love me, because i found a girl thats twice as lovely?” or something like that…
Only because I’m overly critical.
I fucking love this song. A lot. Please make a final recording of this instead of a song of the week next week.
You could start a new tradition, 3 songs of the week, pick the best one, make a final recording… lather rinse repeat?
Thanks for doing these, man.