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The full set of lyrics and melody appeared, and I added a Ska Lead Guitar . . . :)

THOUGHTS

This song is mostly complete, but I might add some Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--and do a bit more producing and audio engineering . . .

"I'm so fabulous in my mind
My watch tells Versace time

I do the Magic Teepee Dance
Wearing ladies underpants

I called the police and reported myself
For having fabulous thoughts

I'm so woke I canceled myself
Now I live in a metal cage

On Monday I'm a boy
On Tuesday I'm a girl
On Wednesday I'm a squirrel
And I'm looking for some nut

I'm one of them
I'm one of those
I'm not so natural
But nobody knows

I'm so fabulous
My monkey wears a suit

I'm so woke I canceled myself
Myself and nobody else"

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.


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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:18 am
I did a bit of producing and audio engineering . . . :)

THOUGHTS

Earlier I adjusted the starting times for a few of the phrases, but the timing was wrong; so I corrected it in this version and adjusted the volume levels of a few instruments . . .

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It's not only a Stupid song, but also a Silly song . . . :P

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:44 pm
Now I'm focusing on keeping songs Simple and Stupid, which makes everything easier . . . :)

THOUGHTS

If necessary, I can revisit songs and add more stuff; but I like the idea of keeping songs as simple as possible, which fits nicely with the "garage band" concept . . .

The practical consequence is that I think the most recent song "I'm So Woke (I Canceled Myself)" can be considered complete--unless something additional appears to be logical . . .

With this in mind, I have been pondering a few sets of lyrics for the next song--and there are several of them--but nothing appeared to be what I envisioned as the next song; so I continued thinking about it . . .

As I do every once in a while, I slept for about 12 hours and upon awakening the lyrics for the next song appeared in a matter of minutes, which is nice when it happens . . .

The background on this is that over the past week or so, the Department of Defense has released video footage of what they claim are verified instances of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO), which in this case are verified by the U.S. Navy . . .

It's one thing when such visual evidence is described as "It could be a UFO, but who knows"; but it's another thing when the U. S. Navy officially verifies it . . .

Bouncing this around in my unconscious mind ("id" in Freudian terminology) and needing the idea for the new song led to the following lyrics and ideas for the new song:

"[VERSE]
The Aliens From Outer Space
Have visited us in the air
They came here from above
To steal our women
And to deny us love

[CHORUS]
Triangles in the sky
Triangles in the sky
Flying around
8 miles above the ground

[VERSE]
They use their technology
To steal our dreams and visions
Our Country Western music
Local control of our bowling leagues
And to deny us love

[VERSE]
Aliens From Outer Space
Have won the space race
They are here to steal
Our women, why not,
To steal our love

[VERSE]
The Aliens From Outer Space
Refuse to negotiate
They deny our protestations
And questions, you know
They steal our love

[VERSE]
Aliens From Outer Space
Are flying through the air
Aliens From Outer Space
Are definitely there
And they don't care"

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.


It's totally current, and the so-called "Youth of Today" need to hear it, over-and-over, until it's imprinted in their minds; because in the grand scheme of everything, they are the first line of resistance to the verified invasion . . . :+1

As I nearly always do when starting to work on a new song, I like to find a hit song or two by which to be inspired,, which in this instance (a) is easy and (b) generally avoids the necessity to have original ideas . . . :P

[NOTE: I like Latin percussion instruments--castanets, maracas, guiros, wood blocks, cowbells, and scratchers . . . ]

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[NOTE: Approximately 20 years later, this version features Robert Gordon on vocals and the fabulous Link Wray on lead guitar . . . ]

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[NOTE: This rendition of Conway Twitty;s hit song provides a few clues to arranging and producing strategies . . . ]

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And then there's this one . . .

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Curiously, it appears that I prepared for this song perhaps 20 years ago . . .

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Fender Custom Shop Dual Professional Amplifier (shown next to outer and inner sound isolation studio doors)

I don't have a Fender Jazzmaster, but I have a custom-modded Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster and a Fender Custom Shop Telecaster; so depending on whether I decide to do some whammying, everything is covered here in the sound isolation studio, including the option to do some of the lead guitar with music notation and a virtual electric guitar for the phrases that are easy to do with music notation . . .

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The Fabulous Fifty Million Dollar Trinaural Stratocaster

[NOTE: I think this was ordered by a Country Western guitar player, based on the volume and tone controls being reversed, which makes it easy to do volume swells and to mimic a bowed violin and a pedal steel guitar. It has two Stratocaster-style pickups and a custom Telecaster-style bridge pickup, as well as a 5-position selector switch. There are some cosmetic flaws on the fingerboard, which probably led to the guitar being rejected by the original guitar player who ordered it. Fender then sent it to a Guitar Center with instructions to sell it quickly at a super discount, which is the way I got it for less than $1,000 with a very nice, Fender Custom Shop guitar case. I call it "Sweet Sixteen", because it's psychic and by design has only good notes. It's a superb composing guitar, because it makes it easy to creates songs automagically . . . ]

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Fender Custom Shop Telecaster ~ "Sweet Sixteen"

I already have Instrumental Surf songs from 15 or so years ago when I was doing everything with real instruments, which makes it even easier to compose this song . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. For those folks who think composing a "popular" or any other type of song is difficult and is something only a handful of people can do, use the composing strategy of this song as an indisputable example of the fact that it's not difficult to do if you are ready, willing, and able to do a tiny bit of work, which includes doing some research on "popular" songs over the past hundred of so years . . .

Certainly by the start of the 1960s, one can argue credibly that every "popular" song already had been composed, with only a handful of exceptions . . .

Consider this set of hit songs {"James Bond 007 Theme" [Monty Norman], "Born To Be Wild [Mars Bonfire, Stepenwolf], "Billie Jean" [Michael Jackson], "Like A Virgin" [Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, sung by Madona]}, all of which I suggest are the same song . . .

And then if you rollback the clock 150 or so years, there is this set, where the two songs are nearly exactly 100 years apart {"Hall of the Mountain King" [Edvard Grieg] and "Purple Haze" [The Jimi Hendrix Experiment]}, appearing in 1867 and 1967, respectively . . .

It's not difficult when you establish a few rules, perhaps the most important of which is that it only needs to be at the level of a junior high school "garage band", at least initially, which sets the bar at the submutant level and is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :reading:

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by Surf.Whammy on Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:48 am
The prototypes for the Intro and Verses appeared as if in a dream . . . :)

THOUGHTS

It's not exactly Instrumental Surf, but the pattern is there . . .

The Chorus will be different, and for the Intro I am pondering the idea of doing a radio announcement type of thing, probably with one of my Pretend Radio Announcers, Warfel the Potato, but more ominous, serious, and so forth . . .

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"We interrupt this broadcast with a special announcement.

Today at 19:19 Pacific Time, triangle-shaped flying saucers
were observed and verified by sailors on the United States Navy
nuclear submarine, "USS California", somewhere between
the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island off the coast of Alaska.

Authorities from the Department of Defense assure us there is
no cause for alarm, but all civilians are encouraged to seek
shelter and to cover their heads with aluminum foil, as a precaution.

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.



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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:04 am
I added a few more instruments to the prototype Intro and Verse(s) . . . :)

THOUGHTS

In this version, the primary addition is a Surf Lead Guitar, but there are other new instruments . . .

This is the prototype for the Intro and Verse(s), so there is no Chorus, yet . . .

My thinking at present is that the Chorus will be more Surfy and might have a tempo change . . .

I plan to add some Latin percussion instruments and a flying saucer sound, probably something one might hear in a 1950s flying saucer movie--something Silly and Stupid, perhaps during the Chorus sections . . .

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There are 22 or so Instrument Tracks, which is a bit much for the Mac Pro (Early 2008) here in the sound isolation studio; so once I have the Chorus sections and the overall structure is defined, I will record some of the Instrument Tracks to Audio Tracks and then remove those Instrument Tracks to provide more headroom in Studio One Professional . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Apr 21, 2021 8:14 am
I updated the lead guitar and electric sitar phrases and added choruses and did the preliminary vocals . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I also added guiros and a second track of chimes, so there now are left and right tracks for these instruments . . .

The Studio One Professional ".song" had 22 Instrument Tracks, which is too many for the Mac Pro (Early 2008) to handle and run Screenflow (Telestream) to make the music video; so this requited defining the overall structure; doing the radio announcing; composing and instrumenting the choruses; and doing the singing, after which I made copies of the Studio One Professional ".song" and NOTION score, followed by recording the audio generated by the drumkit Instrument Tracks to corresponding Audio Tracks and then deleting and removing the drumkit Instrument Tracks to provide more headroom, all of which took about 12 hours . . .

The vocal work is prototyped, which here in the sound isolation studio maps to composing the vocal melodies in real-time on the fly on the first or second take, although I practiced a few of the verses a time or two . . .

I might keep some of it if I do a bit of producing and audio engineering to refine the vocal effects . . .

Approximately half of the time was focused on refining the phrases played by the lead guitars and electric sitar, which is something I do "by ear" until every note sounds good . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Apr 21, 2021 6:42 pm
The prototype singing was embarrassingly bad, but so what . . . :oops:

THOUGHTS

It doesn't matter, because the goal at the time was to define the structure of the song sufficiently well to be able to record the audio generated by the drumkit Instrument Tracks to a set of matching Audio Tracks, so I could remove the drumkit Instrument Tracks to provide more headroom for Studio One Professional, which with 22 Instrument Tracks was overloaded, at least to the extent that Screenflow (Telestream) put it over the edge . . .

The prototype vocal work was "ballpark", and it was a big ballpark . . . :P

Nevertheless, there were a few good bits; so after practicing and focusing on determining the actual melody, I think it will be good . . .

This is the current instrumental version, and it's provided so the Instrumental Surf lead guitars can be heard as a reference for the theme of the song . . .

[NOTE: The choruses have "S.O.S" Morse Code phrases, which curiously are reminiscent of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Supremes). There are a few more historical references, including the "Eight Miles High" and "James Bond 007 Theme" bits, but all within bounds. YouTube now checks songs for copyright violations, which (a) is very helpful and (b) is a mind-boggling instance of superb artificial intelligence (AI) software engineering. YouTube says it's all good on this one . . . :ugeek: ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. If this were a course in songwriting, then the key bit of information is that it's OK to "ballpark" things badly, even though initially it might be so bad that it's embarrassing, because the fact of the matter is that nobody--including the songwriter--has heard the song before; so you start with a blurry telescope and then switch to focusing on everything with a magnifying glass . . .

"Nothing to get hung about", and all that, which is fabulous . . .

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Fabulous! :+1

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by Surf.Whammy on Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:25 pm
I decided the song needs to end with verses and a fade . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I like the chorus, but the verse rocks . . .

The song needs two choruses, so I added verses after the second chorus . . .

The drumkit was recorded to Audio Tracks, after which I removed the respective drumkit Instrument Tracks; so adding a few more verses required copying and pasting the relevant sections of the drumkit Audio Tracks, which is easy to do in Studio One Professional . . .

In the NOTION score, I copied and pasted the relevant ReWire MIDI and Realivox Blue (RealiTone) staves, which provide music notation for the current Instrument Tracks and is easy to do . . .

I added an Automation Track for the Main stereo output in Studio One Professional and used it to do a gradual fade, which also is easy to do . . .

After listening to the Radio Announcer Audio Track a few times, I noticed that the word "assure" sounded like "ensure" or "insure", which either (a) was an inadvertent mistake or (b) was a matter of enunciation and what was happening with the instruments; but regardless of the reason, I recorded a new version of the relevant Radio Announcer spoken words and spliced it into the existing, already recorded audio, replacing the incorrect phrase, which was easy to do in Studio One Professional . . .

Along the way, I made a few changes and additions to the Surf Lead Guitar phrases and did a bit of arranging, producing, and audio engineering . . .

[NOTE: This is an instrumental version but wth the corrected Radio Announcer audio. There are several reasons for doing this as an instrumental version, primary of which is that I need to listen to it over and over as part of determining how to do the singing, vocal melody,, and all that stuff. There are clues in the vocal melodies I did in real-time on the fly, so it's mostly a matter of practicing the singing, phrasing, and making it a bit more melodic; hence the reason to listen to the instruments, which I am doing with singing focus provided by Pretend George Martin as the virtual choirmaster here in the sound isolation studio. The combination of Pretend George Martin as choirmaster and the Melodyne Editor (Celemony), my singing sounds better with a bit of work . . . ]

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I'm going to work on the singing and then record the new version of the singing . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. I use the Saturn (FabFilter Software Instruments) mastering plug-in and T-RackS Brickwall Limiter (IK Multimedia) on the Main stereo output channel in the Studio One Professional ".song", which on the MOTU 828mk3 Hybrid external digital audio and MIDI processor registers at -6 dB . . .

Then I upload the mix to YouTube; and YouTube processes the audio so it's what I presume is broadcast standard . . .

When it's published, the volume level shown on the MOTU 828mk3 is -24 dB, and it's more balanced and melodic; and for reference, I listen to it played through studio quality headphones (SONY MDR-7506 headphones, a personal favorite) at maximum volume on the Mac Pro (Early 2008) with the audio handled by the MOTU 828mk3, where the headphones are plugged into the MOTU 828mk3 . . .

YouTube now checks for copyright issues, which always is good--no issues--with the only exception being from a few years ago (2016) before YouTube added the new copyright check algorithm when a stupid supercomputer in France though I was a Russian orchestra doing a copyrighted version of Chinese dance "Tea" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), which I protested and won, because (a) it was the version that comes with NOTION and (b) I have licenses for NOTION and all the virtual instruments and effects plug-ins I use, which is fabulous . . .

Image

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Fabulous! :ugeek:

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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:01 am
I redid most of the verses and made a few changes to the vocal effects . . . :)

THOUGHTS

The vocal melodies for the verses are mostly the same, but the phrasing is smoother . . .

I kept the original choruses, since they were good the first time . . .

I revised the lyrics for the verses to make them simpler and easier to sing, as well to as tailor them for echo effects . . .

"[VERSE 1]
The Aliens From Outer Space
Buzzed us in the air
They came here from above
To steal our women
And our love

[VERSE 2]
They use their technology
To steal our dreams and our visions
Our Country Western music
And local control of our
bowling leagues

[VERSE 3]
The Aliens From Outer Space
Control space and time
They are here up above
To steal our women
And our love

[CHORUS]
Triangles in the sky
Triangles in the sky
Flying around, Flying around
Triangles in the sky
Triangles in the sky
Eight miles above the ground

[VERSE 4]
The Aliens From Outer Space
Refuse to negotiate
They deny our protests
To steal our women
And our love

[VERSE 5]
Aliens From Outer Space
Are flying through the air
Aliens From Outer Space
Are definitely there
And they don't care"

©2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.


There are more things to do, but it's coming along nicely . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sat Apr 24, 2021 3:49 am
The Surf Lead Guitar was too busy during the verses, so I revised it and made it simpler . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I like the original Surf Lead Guitar, but it was too busy during the verses; so I revised it and made it simpler . . .

The original Surf Lead Guitar is heard during the Radio Announcer section and at the end of the song during the Outro (fade) section . . .

I revised the Lead Guitar during the choruses to track the singing, but in a subtle way; and I did a bit of producing and audio engineering . . .

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Among other things, I plan to add castanets and maracas . . .

I'm thinking about what Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--will sing . . .

And I need to find some Silly and Stupid flying saucer sounds . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:41 am
I added castanets and maracas . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I also homogenized the tails of the Surf Lead Guitar during the verses--mostly, but there are a few variations here and there . . .

[NOTE: In this instance, "tails" refers to what the Surf Lead Guitar is playing in the verses after the singing ends, which runs for several measures. It is not referring to the note ends of reverberations or echoes . . . :reading: ]

I want to add Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--but I need to decide what she will sing . . .

And I need to find some Silly and Stupid flying saucer sounds to add occasionally in primarily random locations . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Tue Apr 27, 2021 6:00 am
I added sirens, flying saucers, and Realivox Blue singing "Oh no, no, no, Oh no" . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I like this song, and it's coming along nicely . . .

The sirens, flying saucers, and Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--are subtle but effective . . .

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The fascinating aspect of this song is that the government actually has released verified sightings of "unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP)", which colloquially are flying saucers, some of which are triangle-shaped . . . :shock:

Of course, for those of us who have been probed and have alien technology communication chips in our heads, this is no surprise and certainly is not the least bit shocking . . . :+1

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:09 pm
I did a bit of fine-tuning, producing, and audio engineering . . . :)

THOUGHTS

I increased the volume level of Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--and adjusted the volume levels of the Lead Guitar and Hi-Hats, as well as moving the Hi-Hats more to the right . . .

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Tue May 04, 2021 2:17 am
I was browsing some songs I did in 2009 and found one that is Simple, Stupid, and Silly . . . :P

THOUGHTS

It was recorded and mixed in Digital Performer (MOTU) when I was doing everything with real instruments--about a year before I discovered NOTION and virtual instruments . . .

I think it's on the second volume of my science fiction radio play, "Extreme Gravity", but it was done in 2009, and thats over a decade ago . . .

I did a remix in 2017, but the 2009 version was better, although not so great . . .

So I did a new mix and excluded a lot of the instrument tracks, which mostly were strange outer space noises . . .

The song is a parody of "Surfer Girl" (Beach Boys) and "This Boy" (Beatles); and the theme is from my science fiction radio play, where there are twin brothers, one of whom controls the spacetime tunnel . . .

The spacetime tunnel controlling brother, Ogly Nogly (Keeper of the Spacetime Tunnel), rides around in a spaceship that is a high-heel slipper with an ankle strap and open toes, which probably is one of the classic Manolo Blahnik ladies footwear designs . . .

Image

His twin brother is Ylgon Ylgo, whose spaceship also is a high-heel slipper with an ankle strap and open toe; but Ylgon Ylgo's high-heel slipper does not have a glove compartment and the user guide with the extra page, which to those folks who do not have the decoder reads "This page intentionally left blank" . . .

Ogly Nogly's high-heel slipper has a glove compartment and the user guide; and Ogly Nogly has the decoder, which all combined is what gives Ogly Nogly the ability to control spacetime and is a constant annoyance for Ylgon Ylgo, who wants to control spacetime but cannot control spacetime, since his high-heel spaceship doesn't have a glove compartment, user guide, and decoder . . .

It's complicated . . . :+1

This led to the song, "Slipper Girl" . . .

[NOTE: The verses parody "Surfer Girl" but instead is "Slipper Girl"; and the bridge parodies "This Boy", except that it's "Big Boy". The entire song is a bit risqué but in a mostly subtle way that only is obvious if you know the double-entendre aspects of certain words. There also are a few lyrics giving a shout-out to Elvis Presley, and there is another Beatles shout-out, as well, but in reverse order. For reference, "Surfer Girl" is "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", which makes both songs clones of one of Mozart's parodies ("Twelve Variations on 'Ah vous dirai-je, Maman', K. 265/300e", so it's all good with the YouTube copyright checker algorithm . . . ]

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"Slipper Girl"

Shiny slipper, high-heel fun
With your ankle strap undone
Do I love you
Do I slipper girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl

As you stand there by the door
Tapping softly on the floor
Do I love you
Do I slipper girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl

Oh, we could dance the night away
If our love was strong
On my woody, I could take you
Well into the dawn

Now I say from you to me
Treat me cruel your high-heel fool
Do I love you
Do I slipper girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl

Oh, With your ankle straps
And open toes
Grace and beauty boldly shows
That's right, yeah

On my woody, I'll take you there
If you really dare
Oh, oh, and Big Boy gets real happy
When it comes undone
And you girl with your slippers
Makes me want more fun

As you stand there on the floor
Tapping softly by the door
Do I love you
Do I? Yes I do!
Pretty girl, pretty girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl
Pretty girl, pretty girl

©2009-2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.


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Lots of FUN! :)

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Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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by Surf.Whammy on Wed May 05, 2021 1:31 pm
This is the complete Chapter 9 of the second volume of "Extreme Gravity", and it includes the 2009 version of "Slipper Girl" . . . :)

THOUGHTS

It's the version from the CD, and this version of "Slipper Girl" is better than the one I found the other day and then remixed . . .

This is the official version that I sell on CD Baby, and over the past decade it's sold about one copy per year, but so what . . . :roll:

[NOTE: It's copyrighted and registered with BMI, and I own the rights, hence I can do with it whatever I desire, which in this instance is to make it available at no charge. Over the years, my perspective on trying to protect everything has evolved, at least until something becomes a worldwide hit, and now I am more focused on making everything available for folks who cannot afford stuff like this. When I check the hits for the Surf Whammys website, there are views in a range of countries, including China, India, Russia, and the Middle East, which is good; and for all I know, I might be considered totally fabulous somewhere unbeknown to me. There might be folks in China or Russia who have personal Surf.Whammy shrines. I enjoy writing science fiction and composing music, which for me is a reward in and of itself . . . :+1 ]

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I have a few more chapters written, and since 2010 I have been focusing on expanding my digital music production skills with one of the goals being to have elaborate music for the new chapters, which I might compose and record this year . . .

I did the first volume of "Extreme Graviity" with music played in real-time on the fly with a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster and an Alesis ION Analog Music Synthesizer, which was good at the time but not so elaborate . . .

Then for the second volume of "Extreme Gravity", I added more real instruments--including a drumkit--and the music was more elaborate, also done in real-time on the fly . . .

The chapters for the upcoming third volume of "Extreme Gravity" have more themes, including Big Band and Country Western, so it will be more elaborate . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. When I was focusing on software engineering, which I continue to do but more as a secondary activity, I worked with folks from a lot of different countries--including China, India, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam--and I learned various accents. I continue to practice the accents, and I do this to have different characters for my science fiction radio plays . . .

Like most musicians, I do not mock people; so for me it's a matter of voice acting . . .

My favorite accent is Indian, and after studying this for a while I realized that one of the keys is understanding (a) that folks from India tend to be very smart and (b) that folks from India often describe themselves and what they are doing as if they were observing and explaining what they are doing, which basically maps to using gerunds, where for example instead of saying "I want a Big Mac", they say "I am wanting a Big Mac" . . .

This is the reason I love Realivox Blue (RealiTone)--my favorite virtual female soprano--because so long is there is music, I am licensed to use her in my science fiction radio plays and music, which is easy to do simply by getting the phonetic scripts composed and having her sing the phonemes to a melody, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :reading:

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by Surf.Whammy on Tue May 18, 2021 6:56 pm
The Aliens From Outer Space beamed me a new Big Band song . . . :)

THOUGHTS

These are the lyrics for the first verse:

"Tell me why you love me, baby
Tell me why and then maybe
I will fall in love with you"

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There are five verses and a chorus--perhaps an interlude with strings and a tempo change, as well--which appeared soon after the first verse--all within a few minutes of awakening from a dream while mostly half-asleep . . .

The lyrical and musical inspiration comes from two my favorite songs by the Beatles and Frank Sinatra . . .

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The drumkit phrases after each chord in the Into for "Tell Me Why" provide a clue to the way the song will start, since it's an exciting Big Band style syncopation, as is most of "Tell Me Why", which is one of the reasons I like this song, along with the stellar walking bass. . .

it's a Swing type of thing; and as you can see in the live version of "Can't Buy Me Love" (Beatles), the Beatles were more into Swing than most folks realize, at least in conscious was . . .

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And I plan to "borrow" a few ideas--and chimes--from this one, too . . .

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This is one the songs that essentially writes itself musically once you have the lyrics and theme . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

P. S. I need a Big Band song for Chapter 10 of my science fiction radio play ("Extreme Gravity"), so this has been a goal for several years and maps to a lot of thinking and pondering, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :+1

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by Surf.Whammy on Fri May 21, 2021 4:16 am
I composed and recorded the prototype arrangement and instrumentation for the verses . . . :)

THOUGHTS

It's not exactly the Beatles and Count Basie's Orchestra, but so what . . . :P

It might be Swing, but I want to add a Ska rhythm guitar . . .

The primary purpose of this prototype is to have accompaniment for singing practice to make sense of the vocal melody for the verses . . .

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This is the way it works here in the sound isolation studio, where I select a few songs I like and then use them as inspiration, "borrowing" a bit here, there, and everywhere . . . :reading:

With few exceptions, the actual song never sounds like the songs I select for inspiration . . .

[NOTE: "Fly Me To The Moon" (Frank Sinatra) is the primary inspiration, and its tempo is 120 BPM, more or less. The tempo in the prototype is 200 BPM, so it's significantly faster than it should be. I will slow the tempo in a while, but it's easier to work with a peppy tempo. If it's too slow and syrupy, then it takes too long to compose the various phrases "by ear"; so a peppy tempo saves time and makes it easier to hear the way phrases need to be . . . ]

In this instance, the singing for the verses will define the song; and I have a prototype vocal melody for the verses that might work . . .

I have been practicing and refining it a cappella--mostly in my mind but a few times out loud--so perhaps it will work . . .

Lyrics for the chorus or perhaps the interlude appeared, and the plan is to have strings, flute, and perhaps another woodwind, (oboe or clarinet), along with a tempo change (slower and airy) and a concert harp . . .

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Realivox Blue (RealiTone) might sing some counterpoint . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sat May 22, 2021 7:29 am
I added a Mark70 electric piano and did some arranging and producing . . . :)

THOUGHTS

This continues to be the prototype version for the verses . . .

I lowered the tempo to 182 BPM; added a Mark79 electric piano (MachFive 3 [MOTU]); changed the Intro drumkit phrases; changed the snare drum rimshot pattern for the verses; copied and pasted the verse music to make the prototype longer; and did a fade ending . . .

[NOTE: Some of the instruments are louder than they will be later; and the reason is that there are certain instruments I need to hear when practicing and then recording the singing. Mostly this is the snare drum rimshots, Surf Lead Gtr, rhythm guitar chords, electric bass, and flute+trumpet. In other words, it's mixed for a specific purpose . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:13 pm
I did the first version of the prototype verses and added a Hammond B-3 organ and lead guitar solo . . . :)

THOUGHTS

The singing is rough, at best; but I might be able to do something with Melodyne (Celemony) . . .

I'm not so happy with the {baby, baby, lady} aspect of the lyrics, but there should be a way to fix it . . .

Maybe I will change {baby, baby, lady} to "sugar britches" or something equally obnoxious, which would be consistent, stupid, and silly . . .

"Darling", "Dear Darling", "Pretty Darling" or some consistent variation might work . . . :roll:

[NOTE: In the 1980s, I dated a girl from the Bronx for a while; and in a romantic moment when rational judgment temporarily was suspended, I called her "darling", which elicited the unexpected response, "eh, who you calling darling?" It's an Elvis thing, but apparently not up north . . . :P ]

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"Tell me why you love me baby
Tell me why and just maybe
I will fall in love with you

Tell me why you think I'm ready
Tell me why you think maybe
I will fall in love with you

Don't hold back pretty baby
Let me react and maybe
I will fall in love with you

Don't be shy lovely lady
Tell me why and then maybe
I will fall in love with you"

®2021 RAE Multimedia. All rights reserved.

I like the lead guitar solo, and I think when the side splits are fine-tuned it will be very big . . .

[NOTE: The singing sounds better the louder the overall volume level, mostly because loudness tends to hide bad singing. Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and my usual cherub-like voice left the building early, but this is why there are producers and audio engineers. For reference, I sang the first verse eight times and kept the last one I sang the other verses each two times and kept the second versions. I like the cadence of the third and fourth verses. Not a lot of practicing on this one. There are some good bits, but in this version there are more bad and garbled bits; so it's a work in progress; and I might remove the "baby/lady" stuff entirely, which is one way to solve the problem. And I need to add chimes and Realivox Blue (RealiTone), of course . . . ]

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Lots of FUN! :)

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by Surf.Whammy on Sat Jun 12, 2021 4:43 am
I pitch-corrected and edited the singing with Melodyne (Celemony) and added some bits to the lead guitar solo . . . :)

THOUGHTS

It sounds better, but I probably will redo the singing once the melody is refined and more obvious . . .

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In this version, it's just one track of singing with echoes . . .

I plan to double the singing and to add harmony to the tag, as well as add Realivox Blue (RealiTone) singing something . . .

There are spaces in the lead guitar solo for horns, which is another thing I plan to add . . .

So far, about the only Big Band influence is at the end of the first part of the lead guitar solo, although it's subtle--the triad echoes, specifically . . .

Lots of FUN! :)

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