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The lighthouse keeper
by apb

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Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Guest views: 591
Member views: 0
Song comments: 44
Tokens: 0
Plays: 177
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Downloads: 18
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Submitted on: Sep 28, 2008 - 07:54:16 AM
Last Updated: Sep 29 2008 - 03:39:28 PM
Keywords catchy (28)fun (164)romp (3)lighthouse (2)keeper (4)chewing the fat (1)pootle (1)flumps (1)wall of sound (5)
Description Something infinitely sad about lighthouse keepers: a harsh and lonely existence; a breed destined to die out and be replaced by automation .. but exquisitely funny.. if you consider two of them, with one playing constant practical jokes on the other to relieve the boredom:

Fun romp featuring the lighthouse keeper characters by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill. Those spoken samples from http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/chewinthefat/downloads/sounds.shtml

Influences: Compulsion, Green day, early Faster Pussycat, Foo fighters, the Who.

I only just noticed there was a song by Peter Hamill and Van Der Graaf Generator called "plague of lighthouse keepers" - spooky that.

Why 'Pootle' from "The Flumps"? Well .. he just looked like the cutest little lighthouse keeper ever.

Samples used from Freesound, license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/

By pcaeldries (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=97826)
Tide.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=23454)
By genghis attenborough (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=205108)
Herring & Great Black backed Gulls 2 edited.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=27942)

Background: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5vXjwznaJU (6 clips on youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1mMQtk3IUE
Lyrics Gonna nae dae that [Please don't do that]
How? [Why?]
Just, gonna no. [Just don't.]

You've taken that too far.

Gonna nae dae that [Please don't do that]
How? [Why?]
Just, gonna no. [Just don't.]
Hardware Intel Mac mini 1.66GHz, 2GB RAM
MOTU Traveler firewire audio interface
Kawai K1 (master keyboard)
Gibson Les Paul Studio (EMG-ZW pickups)
Yamaha APX-8A acoustic guitar
USA made Fender precision bass
Rode NT1-A mic (with pop-shield) for vocals and acoustic recording
Software: GBv3,
Drums on demand,
JP4,
Ampeg SVX,
Ozone 3.
Fan List

steck

Rocha Malhada

davisamerica

Skean

Feter

blaky smith

egobandit

lavalamp

sonnyjim

lengold

Cori Ander

EZamor

RazorsKiss

TEXASFEEL

saymme

tempie

Joe Brady

jiguma

ManateeChili

Char

DWL

regulus

haribo
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davisamerica said 102 days ago
alan!
Wonderful as always man !

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Jack!

Shucks- glad you liked it.

Skean said 102 days ago
As always
You've done a nice pop tune and as always you have one of the best mixing to your songs... Cheers

apb said 39 days ago
Skol

.. fun to try that popular style of guitar playing these days. Always trying to improve my production: quality in less time is my aim .. shh ... ;o)

Feter said 102 days ago
The lighthouse keeper
Nice pop rockin song ...I m enjoyin he guitars
with the keys ...Good rockin there for sure !
thnx alot for sure !!!!

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Feter ...
.. not much in the way of keys .. just for the strings .. the melody is in fact 2 tracks: one GB el. guitar .. the other (harmony) is in fact my vocals, heavily effected/vocoded kinda etc.

steck said 102 days ago
For sure
Nice one ALan. Loved the vocoder melodies and overall richness.

Treble bonus points for using CC samples. I must check oot dem links.

apb said 39 days ago
It's a great site that Freesound ..

.. I'm surprised more don't use it. Was going for that rich, lush guitar 'wall of sound'... and 10 out of 10 for spotting me vocal part :o)

Enrique Gil said 102 days ago
Very nice
I really enjoyed it

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks
glad you stopped in for a listen and left your kind words of appreciation- it's the only rewards that really count.

egobandit said 102 days ago
this is kickin
Some parts are like goin mobile by the who. Excellent all around!!!!!!!!!!

apb said 39 days ago
Oh yeah ..
.. I hear what you mean. Cheers Tim.

craft said 101 days ago
Nice one Alan
Love the guitar.. great arrangement and groove...

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Antonio
.. it's nice to pretend your guitar is slung round your ankles and just go for it .. from time to time .. lol. :o)

lavalamp said 101 days ago
zound
Excellent production. Pure energy.

LL

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Dave
.. I find a good sound inspiring... so I try my best.

sonnyjim said 101 days ago
Wow!
Very fine! I like these weirdo ones you do the best of all. They just kind of take the gas out of rock/pop music without sacrificing any of the really important stuff.......

apb said 39 days ago
Weird?
.. what was odd about this one? lol ;o) Yup, I do like to poke the occassional finger in the eye of something or other from time to time .. I'm not into sacrificing much .. :o) Cheers SJ. I was genuinely surprised to find there was a VGG song with similar inspiration...I only noticed when it appeared along side this in my iTunes.

Cori Ander said 101 days ago
Hiha
HiHo,

was that Swedish? Sounded fun anyway :)

Nice rocky go in this one .. good production.

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Johannes
..hehe .. some Scots slang does sound Swedish .. darn those Vikings! ;o)

drakonis said 101 days ago
poppin'
Where does all this great tuneage come from? You are always great to listen to... the only two things this is missing... are some kind of lead (singing?), and a little boost in the lows and highs (mix seems ever-so-slightly thin.) I love the wah. Do they have wah-pedals in a lighthouse?
ttfn,
Drakonis

apb said 39 days ago
Only when they are bored Eduard ;o)
.. do the wah-wah's come out. The vast majority .. well perhaps about 50% now .. are tunes I wrote years ago .. I manage about 1 new one every couple of months or so .. I dunno really where it comes from .. I get inspired from many different things. Vocals I'm always up for applicants .. or looking myself when I don't fit the bill .. which is often. EQing the master I'll re-look into as you suggest .. lows and highs.

caroline said 100 days ago
i hope that
no seagulls were harmed in the making of this song! everything that they all said - you do this stuff very well alan - we never know what you are going to surprise us with next - thank you - as ever - brunch xox

apb said 39 days ago
Hardly any ..
bread laced with baking soda was used. :o) I surprise myself too .. scares the bejesus out of me .. lol.

RazorsKiss said 100 days ago
great
everything. really nice drum programming. the production is stellar for GB, in any version... performance top shelf, and i liked the spoken word dropped in here and there... great post...
AD

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Allen
I did spend a bit more time on the drums .. taking soem comments from Einar on-board .. it's a kinda experimental production piece .. chosen to focus on certain things: bass, guitar .. headroom for melody .. and I wanted to try heavily effecting my voice/vocoding .. and singing a wahed harmony part .. why? just for fun ..

tempie said 100 days ago
good housekeeping!
this is GREAT. can't find the words to properly describe it, but it's a joyful tune dude, like the spray off the waves. seagulls are wonderful. thanks for the download. this will be on my ipod in 5,4,3,2...

apb said 39 days ago
The joy is real ..
.. it's fun vocoding and singing wah vocals .. :o) .. and I loved those characters from the "chewing the fat" show.

TEXASFEEL said 99 days ago
Some Fantastic Progressions
I enjoyed the vacation atmosphere. The guitar is right on especially when it doubles up.

apb said 39 days ago
Vacation
.. it's true. A brisk sea spray vacation in sunny Scotland ;o)

Joe Brady said 99 days ago
Fun bass and drums
That's a great set of vocal clips used effectively with some great music; my preference being the power chords from guitar. Great rhythm section put together there. Nice one, Alan.

Joe

apb said 39 days ago
Cheers Joe

.. you mean the Green Day-esque stabs? I kinda like the chunky bits beefed up with strings/cello... but I'm not going to argue ;o)

jiguma said 98 days ago
Lighthouse
Cool track Alan. Love the soundbites.

:)

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Neil
sorry for the late reply .. you should watch the video clips... makes more sense.

Char said 95 days ago
So much energy.
And so happy. Great, Alan. Thanks.

apb said 39 days ago
It all goes into my tunes ..
.. I walk around like I'm an extra in a Romero film rest of the day. ;o) Thanks for listening Char .. and I hope you have made a full recovery.

DWL said 86 days ago
Play it loud!
useful being in a lighthouse sometimes.

Very nicely done.

Cheers

Dick

apb said 39 days ago
Sure is ..
.. yup, this one should be played loud .. how are we going to get all the amps to MJ UK 2009? We can't sacrifice the guinness .. oh no .. ;o)

Cheers Dick.

Drew Kopr said 45 days ago
Great sound
Man, you're getting great sound from your guitar and bass...sweet.

apb said 39 days ago
Thanks Drew
glad you enjoyed this: yes, the 'sound' was the main thing I was chasing .. glad it's noticed.

apb said 39 days ago
Favers
..and thanks to Harold, Marc, EZamor, Lena, ManateeChili and regulus for the listens and faving .. your quieter sign of appreciation is noticed and welcome too.

haribo said 15 days ago
this freaking rocks
i like the seagulls honking about in the intro section
this scottish-infused rock is so witty in its lyrical content
the line with wah effect is so edgy

apb said 14 days ago
Honkin'

HONK! .. hehehe. Thanks man .. glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping in for a listen, been a while. Take care and seasons best to you.

SmokeyVW said 4 days ago
seagulls!
i missed this one when it came out...

this is GREAT. lots of fun - just plain euphoric!

i love the effects in there too.

thanks

Artist Profile
apb photo
apb

Artist Bio ...[more]
Artist Music
The Fallen Madonna (with the big boobies) by Van Clomp
The Picture of Dorian Gray
No rewards
The lighthouse keeper
Superlative day
Blasé
Rosie's glow (feat. Caroline)
The angels share
Fanfare
Proteus V
Storming heaven (w/echoroom/Ian Baird)
Heroes
Slipped my mind
Face
Her answer
Ember-assed (w/drakonis/custard)
Waxing lyrical
Carnival knowledge
Porcelain dolls
Would it be different (w/sonnyjim/jiguma)
Down and out
Let it all fade away
Takin' it all down (w/steck)
The minstrel boy (V4C01) w/Rebsie
Puski duski
Would it be different
Long way home (w/Allen Dean)
We can but dream
Dusty Rode
Where there's a will (w/Estellie)
Real World (apb vs iVor mix)
Spacehopper
Remember December (w/MJ choir)
Sit it out
Park Rd
Say you don't love me (edit)
Say you don't love me
Take me down easy
You make me feel
Minister's daughter (w/Didge-ache & 'The Winch')
Bayou
Phil Roman's Night Off
Letting go
Where there's a will (there's a way)
It'll come out (in the wash)
Face
Riff ´06