RIVER This is another song I deemed not worthy of recording when I wrote it and consequently filed away in the vault. I recently (Dec 2014) reappraised it and decided to do it. Its become a strong pop song and one of my favourites. I think the main challenge with pop music, or any art meant to be understood by the masses, is to make it accessible and familiar without being boring and predictable. I think this song does that insofar as it has a familiar structure with some subtle, interesting deviations from the usual tired, predictable phrases. When I wrote it I sang semi-gibberish song cliches into the mike to get the rough melody recorded. There was enough good content there, though, to form the basis of the final lyrics. Im glad it has a positive, pro-human message. I used to be part of a very good support community and a lot of the attitude of this song derives from being in that culture. The droning guitar arpeggios in the intro and outro form a pleasant contrast to the chords playing underneath. The voices droning underneath them were a lucky late idea. I used to call things like these audio washes, based on the term used by watercolour painters. I now use the music term, pad. There are some tasty little double-stop guitar licks in the spaces between the verse lines. I love double-stop lead guitar because it adds body and emotion to phrasing, something similar to what backing vocals do.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 06:57:00 +0000
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