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Makes You Wonder
by jiguma

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Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Guest views: 1110
Member views: 2
Song comments: 46
Tokens: 0
Plays: 163
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Downloads: 35
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Submitted on: Aug 04, 2008 - 01:21:00 AM
Last Updated: Aug 04 2008 - 01:48:20 AM
Keywords Iraq (38)Leaving School (1)fear (39)Irak (1) ()
Description There were two inspirations for this – firstly, a TV show looking at four 18 year old Iraqi school students trying to pass their final exams in the middle of an ongoing nightmare made me think about MacJams’ Yeman (Birdman Wayne) who had to leave school in Baghdad and move to another country as a refugee. That was the lyrical inspiration.

The musical inspiration came from my new-found very best friends – Logic Studio and my new 24” G5 iMac. So much to play with and so little time!

I play one track each of Seagull S6 acoustic, Telecaster and bass. Drums and percussion are midi, strings are EXS24 synth based midi. There are 8 vocal tracks in the aaaaaaaah sections.

Thanks to Anne Cozean for her guidance on the vocals.

Hope you enjoy it,
Neil
Lyrics MAkes You Wonder
© 2008 Neil Porter

You lock the door and dim the light
You won’t be going out tonight
You wonder what it’s coming to
It seems the world’s forgotten you

All the time you’re waiting
Past anticipating
Another day
All the time you’re praying
All the time you’re hoping
To get away

You walk the street, you go with care
There’s danger hiding everywhere
You wonder why this came to you
You wonder what you’re going to do

All the time you’re waiting
Past anticipating
Another day
All the time you’re praying
All the time you’re hoping
To get away

Day and night in a danger zone
You’re not safe out there
You’re not safe at home
Wasted coins in a wishing well
You’ve got so much to learn
You’ve got so much to tell

You’re out of mind you’re out of sight
It’s hard to tell who’s wrong who’s right
You try to live a normal life
You’re lucky just to stay alive

All the time you’re waiting
Past anticipating
Another day
All the time you’re praying
All the time you’re hoping
To get away

Day and night in a danger zone
You’re not safe out there
You’re not safe at home
Wasted coins in a wishing well
You’ve got so much to learn
You’ve got so much to tell

You lock the door and dim the light
You won’t be going out tonight
You wonder what you’re going to do
It seems the world’s forgotten you

All the time you’re waiting
Past anticipating
Another day
All the time you’re praying
All the time you’re hoping
To get away

Hardware Rode NT3 mic
Fender Telecaster
Fender Precision Bass
Seagull S6 acoustic
Yamaha PSR300 midi keyboard
Behringer UB802 mixer/preamp
iMac G5
Software: Logic Studio
Ozone 3
Fan List

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Vic Holman said 157 days ago
alright
I'm firsty's I think
Neil, I am totally stunned. This is beyond blowing sunshine outrageous.

I really like this and the mix and production is fantastic. the ooohs are to cool.

Vic Holman said 157 days ago
2nd listen
& remembered to vote

jiguma said 157 days ago
Thanks for the listen Vic
I've been sitting on this for a month or two while the GOOC and EKNM festivals were on, and while I tried some more synthy stuff with Retro Plien ;)

I finally got Ozone across to the new iMac last night, and liked the sound it gave this so much I thought I'd post.

The "aaaah"s and/or "ooooh"s are my fav bits.

Cheers,
Neil

magnatone said 157 days ago
Makes You Wonder
Neil, this is incredible. I will feel eternally guilty for blowing sunshine, and yet, I MUST! What an accomplishment this is - makes me wistful for SISTERS too, so glad to know Anne was a little part of this. Can't believe you've been SITTING on this, holding out on us. Great work, congratulations (from Ms. Sunshine)

jiguma said 157 days ago
Hi Karen
Thanks for the positive response, I'm glad you liked it. This was kind of like the child I didn't want to leave home at the moment, but I took a deep breath and shoved it out the door. I think Anne's advice on the original vocals I did made a real improvement to the song - next best thing to having her sing on it I suppose.

Although I've been sitting on it, I've also been tweaking it - a bit of a lab experiment to see what I could do with Logic Pro.

Thanks again for the kind comment Karen, always appreciated.

Cheers,
Neil

dirigent said 157 days ago
Makes You Wonder
Wow this brandnew song is excellently written and most expertly performed. Fantastic playing, great and intense vox. A superb work!! bravo!!!

jiguma said 157 days ago
Danke Andreas
Es fret mir sehr, dass es Ihnen gefällt.

Alles gute,
Neil

jiguma said 157 days ago
Hmmmmm
Tut mir leid ....... "freut"!
Neil

lavalamp said 157 days ago
New best friend
Glad you could get to know your new best friend a bit. What I like about this are the production, lyrics and vocals. Very heartfelt. Any criticism might be that it's not extremely catchy.........you see?, now I feel bad. But, I think this song is a good accomplishment.
We all miss Yeman here.

Dave

jiguma said 157 days ago
Cheers Dave
Don't feel bad - honesty is the best policy :)

I guess "catchy" wasn't one of the things I was trying for, so I succeeded (lol), although I've found that this one "sticks" in my head more than most of the songs I've done.

Thanks for stopping by for a listen and for taking the time to comment - always appreciated.

Cheers,
Neil

lavalamp said 157 days ago
Yeah
I sort of figured you weren't going for catchy or poppy. Just wanted to keep down on earth. HA HA

Brilliant song, mate.

Dave

Skean said 157 days ago
Your best ever man
You always impress on me with the quality of you songs.. WOW what a lyrics and the music is fantastic you can say what you want this should only have 10's from every one who vote... oooh's yes SIr.

Take care
---
Kenta

jiguma said 157 days ago
Thanks Kenta
Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for the compliment.

Hi to Linda!

Neil

Kenta_and_Linda_Rocks_together said 154 days ago
Linda says Hi back
And we both love what you've done here my friend.
I say it again the best song you done with out offending you.
I hope you are working on a new CD with this and many more candy's like this... Cheers :D) From two LOVE Bird's

tokai said 157 days ago
Well put togehter
tune with a great arrangement. i like the sound of the guitars on this. I like where the inspiration comes from and the subject matter.

jiguma said 156 days ago
THanks Steve
Glad you enjoyed it - the TV program I saw made me reflect on how hard it normally is for 18 year olds to graduate from high school and how much harder it must be for kids in a war torn city like Baghdad.
Peace,
Neil

mowguy3 said 157 days ago
Just A
fantastic tune in every fashon. Your vocals with the hush kind of delivery is right on. Just awsome.
Thanks, Russ

jiguma said 156 days ago
Russ
Thanks for having a listen. The "hush" vocals are what I do - I have no other options ;) Glad you enjoyed the tune, and thanks for commenting.

Neil

MarkHolbrook said 157 days ago
Stunning...
So clean, so perfectly mixed. Great sounds and more important a great message. 8 tracks of ahs... They sound like one! One very tight amazing track.

Thoroughly enjoyed this to the dual core! :)

I just got the logic studio upgrade installed and wow... ya too much to play with too little time.

M

jiguma said 156 days ago
Mark
You're going to just love Studio! It's like being let loose in a lolly shop.

Thanks for the listen and comment. the aaahs were such a lot of fun to do.

Cheers,
Neil

TobinMueller said 157 days ago
Subject bullseye
Another fab song. All around great writing. Two critiques: I don't mind you imprecise vocal pitch except on a few first words of stanzas. I really want to hear you start on the right pitch on chord changes in the chorus, for example. Also, there are a few times you use the exact same finger-picking that you've used on many other songs (all the time you're waiting, for example), and if this song is in a collection of others, you might want to figure out an alternative voicing.

Great song. Great subject choice, again.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Tobin
Thanks for listening and commenting - I'm especially pleased when I see you've left a comment on one of my songs.

You've picked two nits that were also in my mind. The imprecise vocals were something that made me doubtful about posting this, but I've tried a lot of re-takes, and, as usual, they never sound quite as good as the first one or two. I'll definitely re-record the lead vocal if this ever makes it to a CD.

I agree about my picking style too - I'm aware that on "jiguma dreaming" there was a sameness about some songs, due mainly to my picking style, and I don't want that to happen again. That's one of the reasons I've started messing about on synths (see MJer "Retro Plien"). The picking is a pattern I've always used, and it's probably time I tried to develop some alternatives.

I really appreciate you taking the time to leave constructive suggestions Tobin.

Cheers from Oz,
Neil

davajonah said 157 days ago
Stunner...
Neil, this is gorgeous. I've taken a DL, thanks. Terrific song, terrific mix. Kudos.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Thanks Dave
I appreciate you having a listen.

Cheers from Oz,
Neil

thoddi said 156 days ago
cool lead guitar
You have made some nice textures with your telecaster in here. I dig it when you rip up an otherwise pretty smooth groove with some distorted guitar notes. Very tasty:)

And the groove is smooth and flows with good help from your finger picking on that seagull. I read Tobins comment about the guitar picking, and I think he has a point worth looking into especially if you have an album in mind, where such patterns could be recognizable from song to song... But looking at any song isolated, it works very well:)

Your production skills have become very good. You've made a perfect mix to my ears.

Thanks for your comment on my latest... I chose to pull it down, 'cause I noticed that the kick drum was way too loud and started to annoy me:)

jiguma said 156 days ago
Thor
Thanks for the kind comments about the Tele part - I'm fine as long as I don't have to reproduce it ;)

The picking style thing is definitely something I'll start working on - I'm playing a fair bit of electric rhythm guitar with some local guys, so hopefully something might come of that.

Hope you get that song up again with a tamed kick.

Cheers,
Neil

peacepiano said 156 days ago
Song
Well sung song about a grim reality for too many young people in the world today. Sounds great.

Thanks
Bill

jiguma said 156 days ago
Cheers Bill
It sometimes seems we've forgotten a lot about what a mess that part of the world has become.

I must admit that I don't get how situations like this are allowed to happen. Very sad!

Peace,
Neil

Ibstrat said 156 days ago
I love
the way the bass line locks in with the drums.That bass line sounds like something Chris Squire of Yes would have done.Some of the vocals are maybe slightly not on pitch- doesn't bother me much being a fan of Dylan,Mark Knopler and the Dead.It's the feel that matters to me.I'm going to have to listen to this a bunch of times.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Chris Squire
One of my fav bassists Mark - very chuffed you mention him in this way. I usually tie the bass and kick as much as I can - it was always how I tried to play live.

I'm never going to have perfect vocals, in fact if it wasn't for MJ, I'd never have had vocals at all. Best discovery I made here was that you can still sing without a perfect voice.

Thanks for dropping by for a listen Mark - it's really appreciated.

Neil

lengold said 156 days ago
I really
wish I could find something to criticise. But this just sounds perfect to me. Great song, playing, singing and fantastic production.
Cheers
Len



jiguma said 156 days ago
Len
Not finding anything to criticise is a good thing from my point of view ;)

I'm pleased that you listened and left a note.

Cheers from Oz,
Neil

michael2 said 156 days ago
neil
this is cool, almost reminds me of later era Floyd. You say it's not catchy, but i find it's definitely engaging and holds your interest. wish there was a little more bass (if I am to find something constructive to say), but man the stereo imaging is great, and so are those guitar sounds. what do you use to create your drum tracks? i'm always looking for new ideas. thanks for posting.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Michael
Thanks for dropping by for a listen. In retrospect, maybe the bass could have been up a bit - in the aif it was almost too loud, so something seems to have happened in the transition to mp3.

The secret of drum tracks ....... it's pretty simple really. I usually start with a set of midi drum loops (there are heaps in Logic Studio and elsewhere). Then I set out the loops in a vague sort of way so they fit the changes (verse/chorus, soft/loud etc) in the tune. Then I start working on modifying the midi by adding emphasis where needed and tailoring the kick to my bass. This involves removing midi "events" as much as adding them. I usually then split it into 5 sub-tracks with each one having one instrument (eg kick, snare, hihat etc) so I can get the sound just right for each of them.

There's usually very little similarities between the loops I start with and what ends up on a track. Playing bass for years with some very good drummers helps a lot, and I've always played "air drums" since I was a kid. Put me in front of a real kit though and I'm completely useless.

Cheers,
Neil

dajama said 156 days ago
Very cool
A haunting track, with lovely performances, both instrumentally and vocally. The story behind the song is powerful, and you express the tragedy of that life so well. Excellent lyrics. The singing is superb (lead as well as backing) and I too love the oohs and aahs. The guitar sounds lovely, and the drums are perfect for the song; love that snare sound. A couple of minor nits spring to mind: At the end, I felt the fadeout didn't feel right ("I felt it didn't feel right"? What?) and I think it would have been better to end on that keyboard sound from the beginning in isolation, or accompanied by your backing vocal (the oohs and aahs). The other minor thing is the instrumental section, which I felt was a tad too long. But these are nits. A magnificent song, brilliantly played. You've got the touch, brother. Nicely done. Peace.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Thanks for dropping in,
and apologies for being late to your song - I'll get there soon.

First, thanks for the very positive comments about the tune - I think it's probably my best for a while. Re the nits, I mostly agree about the ending - maybe it was a little slack of me not to go the whole hog and tidy the end up - I can hear the beginning oooohs and the rain tree ending it really nicely. I'll look at that for the inevitable re-record if I do another CD. I know what you mean about the "instrumental", although I was thinking of it as a sort of "interlude" - had to make room for another few sets of ooohs!

Always appreciate your viits to my songs Dave.

Peace,
Neil

Moviz said 156 days ago
Great sounds
and production Neil. Love all the instruments; the drums and slightly menacing sounding string synths especially, but the vocals are really tops. As always these are great lyrics with a lot of thought going into them. Just a great sound and song, cheers M

jiguma said 156 days ago
Cheers Maurice
Thanks for listening - I had this "finished" in Logic Pro, but it just didn't have the sparkle of what I like to produce, so I reverted to Ozone 3 as a final plugin for the final master. Ozone is just such a gem of a plugin to play with for getting that "gloss".

Neil

Moviz said 155 days ago
AND....
it worked LOL, great stuff, M

TEXASFEEL said 156 days ago
Fine Mix
Solid song with a lot of meaning... I hope Yeman is doing ok. Sounds like you got that Ozone down, the mix sounds nice. Thanks for sharing.

jiguma said 156 days ago
John
Thanks for the listen. I sent the link to Yeman yesterday, and he's been back to me this morning after having a listen. He sounds well, although how that translates into our understanding of wellness and safety I'm not sure.
Glad you enjoyed the tune John,
Cheers,
Neil

guygrooves said 156 days ago
This is moving..
Thank you for the post, download, and the reminder to keep Yeman, as well as all others who live with this daily, in mind.
This is one of the few that is actually worthy of the sunshine blown in it's direction. Outside of what has already been mentioned, I have only one thing that I don't like about this piece. That little crash cymbal that stands out like a sore thumb ha ha. It might be because of a drummer I once played with, who wouldn't spend a dime on improving his kit and he had these awful cymbals, and it reminded me of it.... so it's probably just me lol. Outstanding Neil

jiguma said 156 days ago
Guy ..
.. that cymbal is my favourite part ......... ;) Just joking. Maybe it could have been a little softer, although I don't find it distracting. Like all of us, I'm very happy to have sunshine blown in my general direction - thanks very much.

Glad you enjoyed it Guy,
Cheers from Oz,
Neil




sloparts said 156 days ago
Oh man, this is great Neil
The concept, the execution, the playing, the mixing, the production, are all wonderful. An outstanding piece in all respect my friend, you should be very proud of this one.

Thanks you for sharing this Neil, it's to good for words to express.

Ed

jiguma said 156 days ago
What can I say Ed!
Thank you for the lovely comment. Yes I'm pretty happy with this.

Cheers,
Neil

SmokeyVW said 156 days ago
multiwow
There's so many great features to this tune! Great song. It all meshes together very very well.

-- around 4:09 there's some dissonance between the vocals and strings, perhaps on purpose, but it caught my ear.

thanks



jiguma said 156 days ago
Multiwow ;)
I appreciate your comment Bill.

That dissonance is all a part of having so much going on. I hadn't really noticed it until you mentioned it, and even then I had trouble hearing it when I listened. I'll keep my ears open for it. Needless to say it wasn't intentional, just a result of letting an amateur loose on some inspiring software.

Cheeras from Oz,
Neil

said 156 days ago
very well mixed
really good composition, the voice reminds me of roger waters -this IS A GREAT TUNE! on headphones its a pleasure

jiguma said 156 days ago
Mixed on phones
I used phones to do most of the mixing on this, and it probably does sound better on phones than speakers. Vielen Dank für Ihre positive Worte.
Neil

guitapick said 156 days ago
~
Serious tune...

jiguma said 156 days ago
Bob
Serious times.
Neil

E-Frame Wrecker said 156 days ago
First time hearing your stuff
Interesting progression in the bridge/chorus. I enjoyed the song. Nice job on the drums, nice blend of the acoustic with the rest of the music. Overall a well produced song that has relevance at this moment. Going with that Robbie Robertson whisper - fits the song and the subject matter.

jiguma said 156 days ago
Robbie Robertson
The Band are an all-time fav of mine, and RR a guitar hero, so thanks for mentioning him. My voice is what I'm stuck with - it's not really how I'd like to sing (I'd like more a Sting, Rick Danko, Jack Bruce kind of voice), but whispery it is.

Thanks for the positive words John.

Neil

said 156 days ago
Makes you wonder.
Neil it sounds gorgous as usual. You sure know your music.
Thanks for sharing.
My only qualm is it sqeaks a bit if you know what I mean. more than a few times. spoils it a bit for me.

Peace Dee.





said 156 days ago
Added info
The only way to describe it is that it sounds like to my ears like chalk screetching on a blackboard the guitar.
That is my honest opinion for what its worth.
I am happy that you are open and honest with myself on my work. And no offence meant.
And I have decided to be honest with other artist also from now on. this is actually the very first one I have heard from you that sounds like a chalk scratching across a backboard in some of your wonderful song. I hope you are not offended,

jiguma said 156 days ago
Dee
Thanks for dropping in and having a listen Dee - it's pretty difficult to offend me, so no probs in that direction. As you know I'm all for being honest and supportive as much as I can.

The sound you mentioned is something that used to really bug me too - it's caused by my fingers sliding on the lower, wound strings on my acoustic guitar, and once I realised that there wasn't much I could do about it (and someone told me it was OK and some people used it as a part of their playing) I decided to just let it happen. It's really hard to stop it happening when you play the way I do.

I think it's great that you're going to start being up front about music - listening hard to try to hear the details of a song (both the ones you like and don't like) is a really good way of learning more about how people write, play and record.

Thanks Dee for the visit and the comment - I'll take another look on my next tune at that string "squeak".

Cheers from Oz,
Neil

Dragonas said 156 days ago
Neil!
Wow!
Where to start?
(I'll try to limit my sunshine, even though I know you secretly love it. ;-))
The drums sound so real to me. Very big and full sounding drums.
You vocals are very Pink Floyd-ish to me, kinda haunting and thought provoking, yet melodic and pleasing to the ear at the same time.
Great bass work. (I'm a fellow bassist.)
The Tele seems to wonder melodically a bit, but I assume you are using it for ambience.
I know you could rerecord a better guitar solo, if you wanted to.
But that's my biggest nits.
I really like the mix. (I might make the jump up to Logic Pro just for the sound quality.)
Great song!
Cheers,
John

jiguma said 156 days ago
John
Thanks for the comments and for having a listen.

The Tele's role in this was, as you said, very much for ambience - I didn't really think of the instrumental section as a solo in the normal sense of the word - more an excuse to use some more multitracked vocals. The Tele tone was a new one I'd just found in Studio, and it seemed perfect to me - lots of harmonics in there.

Bass-wise, it's just such a fun groove to play - very simple, but lots of room for having a good time.

I described my kit track process further up the page - suffice to say that I think that the sound of the kit is usually directly related to the amount of time you put in on it.

I have to admit that I do enjoy a spot of sun every now and then ;)

Thanks,
Neil

rtcooper said 155 days ago
YEAH, I GUESS!
STUDIO 8, Eh?
Well, The Ideas Didn't come from STUDIO 8, Brother.

Great Groove, cleverly reinforced several different ways.
The Percussion is Cool, even with less polyrhythms than many of your pieces. Direct with a hint of hesitation, like, "what's next?"

There is a guitar that appears twice that sounds like a Gibson LP Jr., with a tricked out Fralin P90 through a Mesa Heartbreaker! Did you borrow some Gear?

Wish the last stanza was other than a refrain, because I know where that goes when you could have surprised me.

TOP SHELF Production Values.

Compliments and Regards,
Cooper



jiguma said 154 days ago
Coop
Thanks for dropping by this one. Yeah, the ending is probably the weak link. Maybe finishing on the verse and some aaaahs, strings and a little sustained Tele would do the trick.

One of the many joys of Logic Studio is the vast range of options for real and virtual instrument sounds/fx available. It's positively inspirational, as you've already heard on "Orcs", and as you'll hear again in a week or so. Even with lots of time on my hands, there's never going to be enough to get my head around LS - I plan to do my best though :)

Cheers from NSW,
Neil

Roxylee said 155 days ago
I agree
EVERYTHING about this is superb.

jiguma said 153 days ago
Thanks RoxyLee
Always appreciate you having a listen.
Neil

Karmatoburn said 155 days ago
stunning
Neil, what a monster track. A very new cool sound on the guitars, almost frippish. The mix is excellent. You keep the bar raising. Could very well be my new favorite Jiguma tune.

jiguma said 152 days ago
Thanks John
Fripp is good ;) Logic Studio is a monster set of tools -just scratching the surface at this stage.

Cheers,
Neil

J.A.Stewart said 155 days ago
Great Musical Atmosphere...
for a not-so-great Real-Life atmosphere.

This is truly an inspired piece, Neil and you've put it together exceptionally well. You've made some splendid choices for instrument textures in here, adding to the vibe. Nice work with the distorted Tele... it really complements this piece.

I never imagined I'd ever be saying this to a bass player, but... I thought the bass was a little TOO subtle in the mix. LOL

But that little nit aside, this is one very good song and arrangement. ;)


--- Joe

jiguma said 152 days ago
Joe
Thanks for the kind words. I get the message about the bass - it sounded so strong in the phones on the aif. On my next track - probably next week - I don't think anyone will be wanting more bass ;)
Glad you enjoyed listening - such a sad, sad set of circumstances.

Neil

Doadars Uncle said 155 days ago
Heavy
I pray for peace.

Good song.

SJB said 155 days ago
G'day
Ah Neil, another classic from you! As usual the real bass marks this one out for me, just so much better than a midi line. The Telecaster's sounding very moody underneath and gives a nice edge against the delicate sound of the Seagull. Lyrically very strong and making me thankful for the fortune I've had.
All the best
Steve
P.S. Not sure how you will ever avoid string squeaks as long as you're sticking with real guitars. Even midi as a string squeak sound to liven up a midi guitar track!

justatom said 155 days ago
Great performance and production.
Thanks Neil for the download. This is a very good song. Love the lyrics, vocals, mix, arrangement...
Thanks for sharing.
Tom

Miller-Schletty said 155 days ago
A real good one one Neil...
.. for the Yemans and the Feters of this all too often sad and seemingly senseless world.

real good one...

Jack

egobandit said 154 days ago
Bass!
The drums and bass are so tight and clear that thump thump you get is envious,besides that the subject matter and the way it is expressed through the lyrics really sets the listener up for some serious goosebumps. As allways for me this is an instant download another one in my Jiguma collection thanks!

12parsecs said 154 days ago
great production!
very liberating, isn't it? all the power of a new computer and program. but let's not detract from a well written and performed tune. the drums are perfect as with everything else. the sound you got on the lead vox is perfect! and the 8 bg tracks are very cool. (and your new G5 didn't even flinch, i'll bet.) i'm sure yeman would love this. i wonder how he's doing?

jiguma said 153 days ago
12
Thanks for the kind words. I heard from Yeman and he sounds fine - hopefully things will settle down for him soon. He liked the song.

The new gear and especially Logic Studio has been a real eye opener for me. On my old machine I was constantly waiting for LE7 to do things, and always had to minimise stress on the CPU by freezing tracks and trimming plugins.

Cheers,
Neil

aclarke said 153 days ago
This may sound odd....
and I know you won't take it the wrong way... but I really think this would be fantastic with Lisa (LeDebutant's) voice on it. It's totally your song and style, Neil... I just really think she would sound terrific on this. Not a knock on your voice... just sharing an idea!

Very strong subject matter. You really have developed your own way of saying things lyrically... songs tinged with sadness and subtle protest. Does that even make sense?

jiguma said 153 days ago
Adam
Thanks for dropping in. You have a good idea there regarding Lisa (on one of my tunes at least). If you wait a week or two you may well hear what that might sound like ;)

Cheers from Oz,
Neil

composerclark said 153 days ago
Fantastic!
Extremely powerful%u2026 haunting even, and the sound you have is amazing; so clean, crisp, and%u2026 full. It sounds completely professional to me. Fantastic.

rsorensen said 153 days ago
makes you wonder
wow. the first thing that stood out to me on this one was the production. really full mix. that low end really carries the song nicely. great vocal performances - the harmonizing is really well done. I like the changeup in the chorus but something caught me a little off guard in there and it didn't feel 'right' to me. I think it's the synths. Maybe they're just a little too 'dreamy' for the vibe you're going for. They kind of clash with the guitars to me and they're all I hear. It might be a matter of choosing a different synth sound or putting something else in their place. I think the synths work great everywhere else (esp. the instrumental break), just not in the chorus. Now all this is just my opinion and preference of course. Someone else may think the chorus synths are the best part of the song. The other thing (sorry) is the fade out at the end. I would've liked to hear 1-2 more rotations of the lyric 'All the time you%u2019re praying
All the time you%u2019re hoping To get away'. The fade out as is sounds a little too abrupt to me. If you sing those lyrics a couple more times and fade out on them it would really mark the 'end' of the song better in my opinion. Ok ok, done. I really really like this one Neil and I wouldn't spend time writing all this up if I didn't, so know I think this is one of your best. Great job. And congrats on your new setup. Jealous!

timothy devine said 152 days ago
Neil
this is fab
the sound you get with the guitars is real hip
the electric soloing is a real good spice adding lots of flavor. Anchored with that strong bass and the acoustic (is recordig real good with that mic)
its a go
nice classic jiguma
peace
tm



BossHook said 151 days ago
Sweet
mix and production. I love the way this builds the "all the time" hook throughout. Interesting departure in the bridge.



Ejh said 151 days ago
Okay, finally got here...
Here are some things I like:

I like the slower-than-jiguma-standard tempo, and the more delicate touch on the fingerpicked acoustic, especially at the intro. I like the way the bass is phrased very much, less four-to-the-bar than in the past, but more phrase-pause-phrase, and both phrases both melodic and rhythmic. I think the drums are nicely in the pocket, and some of the fills perfectly augment music or lyric. I like some of the "structured-noise-becomes-music" electric guitar bits very much... And the bass works very well against the drums.

I continue to like the stripped down jiguma vocal, and yet welcome the return of artfully sparse doubling or shadowing voices.

On its own I would have not a nit to pick with this song. I will give one sort of offshoot to Tobin's comment, which is not so much about the fingerpicking but about melody. Taken as part of the whole evolving collected works of Neil, I'd love to see you bust out a little as regards melody and phrasing, making some of the songs more songlike and less 'spoken' in the singing.

Also, I want to hear those power pop hooks and big choruses I know you have in you...

Quite remarkably clear mix, too...

Ed




caroline said 151 days ago
blimey jiggy....
... i'm late and i am gob-smacked - this is a very ouchie song and you know how much i hate having my chakras hurt but it is amazing - congratulations on producing something so professional and so moving - you have the gift my dear - big loves xoxo

Feter said 150 days ago
Makes You Wonder
Ye ... I ve been there ..thnx for your sharin your
honest emotions and thoughts !!

Scott Carmichael said 149 days ago
Neil
I love the textured bed this lands on... that guitar peddling under and left is perfect... your quite a master of the craft... in another life I might have had a chance to tag along with you... one can dream...

this slinks along wonderfully and paints the picture before a word is sung... I'm always looking for someone to use the full language like this....

so what's in that glass/snifter you are holding in your picture?

jiguma said 149 days ago
Cheers Scott
Thanks for the listen.

It's a cheeky South Australian Pinot Noir from memory.

:)

D-Day1944 said 148 days ago
Chalk
Wow your awsome LOL this is realy gorgous. Your a reaally talented musician. I especially love the bits that sound like chalk skreetching on a blackboard that's my favourite noise that is.

Peas. D-Day xxx

Artist Profile
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jiguma

Artist Bio The Jiguma Is Up - Blog by Tobin Mueller - click here Find this artist in drop-down: -- MY FAVORITES -- "Jiguma" (pronounced with a short "u" - as in "up", NOT jigOOOOma!) is the local Aboriginal name for where I live on the "Deep South Coast" of ...[more]
Artist Music
Sink Or Swim
Throw Your Shoes + MJ Pub Chorus
Throw Your Shoes
So Long To Goodbye
100 Days
BLOW OUT THE MOON by rtcooper
Manning The Barricades
The Crowded Years
Close Your Eyes w ledeb + Jim Bouchard
MINES OF MIRAK by davajonah
Makes You Wonder
Je Me Souviens
I Have Wandered (MJ GOOC)
Sea Of Dreams
On Reflection
Ripples in the Sand
Simplify
Wonderland w kevmikwa
Do For Love
Mixed Emotions
IF GOD IS LOVE (with alfalpha)
WALK AWAY
Crazy Moon
SOMEWHERE DEEP
The Golden Days
THINGS MUST CHANGE w thoddi, Anne Cozean, Alfalpha, Ms jig
WINDS OF CHANGE - w rtcooper
ACROSS THE WATER
FOLLOW THE BLACK LINE (w Alfalpha)
SAYING SO YOU'LL KNOW w kevmikwa
BLUE POOL (w Anne Cozean, kevmikwa, alfalpha and Ms jig)
ALL FALL DOWN
WELL ENOUGH ALONE
The Mist Comes Up The Valley by EJH
Gulaga Dreaming
WANNADO
If God Is Love w Alfalpha
RUSTY DUSTY NIGHTS
Clouds Across The Sky
Dark Nights
BIG DRY (w Ms jig)
Take All Night
Nashville Nights
Guantanamo Vacation w Cydniko
Blown Away (w ziti)
Coastal Daze
Angel Eyes
Gulaga Dreaming (version 1)
Northern Road
Avec Vous (version 1)
Jiguma Blues
Too Many Ghosts
Ship Of Fools (with stevel)
Nolan's Unobtainable Remedy
What If?
Make Me Smile!
Careful of the Undertow
Up To You
You Lied
Summertime Not Blue
People Beyond Blue
Doing The Eggshell Walk
Something About Her
Doing The Eggshell Walk (version 1)
Danger Signs
Coastal Daze (version 1)
Homeland Insecurity
Deep Bosphorus
Danger Signs (version 1)
Tadashi Said
Sydney Weekend
Careful Of The Undertow (version 1)
The Thin Man Dreams
The Thin Man Dreams (version 1)
I Was Happy Here
I Was Happy Here (version 1)
Stranger
Stranger (version 1)
Occidental Sun
A Certain Roundness
I Have Wandered
I Have Wandered (version 2)
Defenestration
I Have Wandered (version 1)
Avec Vous