Cape 6 reveal: Team Cosmic Pig

[Cosmic Pig]

We have a note:

To The Womb at large,

Please excuse Team Cosmic Pig for their tardy submission. The dog ate their last adat tape.

Dr. P. Innacup & Ass.

Global Drug Testing Services inc.

The tune; The Way It Sounds, by Anna B.

Players were:

Drums; Bleen

Bass; Jeff_C

Keys; B3Nut

Guitar; Cosmic Pig

Vocals; Goes211

Mixed by Otek.

Produced by Cosmic Pig.

Excellent work from all you guys. We lost a few players due to busy, and I threw a few curves at you guys via barely literate ramblings with no musical terminology whatsoever, but you all pulled it off like pros. Special thanks to Anna B. for an awesome tune and an open palette.

I should also add I did the editing, so its my fault if you're occasionally catapulted from the groove by an oncoming train wreck.

Cos.

[Immanuel]

I like the song. Well played/performed.:) Apart from that, the detail, that really stands out to me is the pulled down fader as choruses starts - especially the second and the third chorus. It really creates a beautiful emotional effect of surprice and puts the "whisper" from the third sentence into the very first sentence "listen the way it sounds". Brilliant move. Thanks to everyone involved. I enjoyed listening to it - and will enjoy it again more times in the future.:)

[bbkong]

Seems ok, but the meowing vocal gets a bit annoying toward the end.

The mix is excellent considering what there was to work with so I'm not surprised it took so long.

The attempt to 'translate' this into some kind of 'Americanized' southern version falls a little short on definition. It kinda tastes like a salty paste substitute for real gravy..... Maybe the prodoosah should have gone for a tastier plank spanker. Someone with real flava who doesn't stay so close to the box.

Still, good work around the table.

I really kinda like the demo better.

[Dr. Bob]

The B-Tree is smokin' tasty... I likey much the big swirly!! Pretty work Nutterz!! The percussive attack is one of those things that trip my trigger.

Bass is drivin' the grove nicely.

Good kit work Bleen.

Tone and structure of the vox are about as good as it gets Goes. Nice harmonies all around. Now, to make bubba happy, and if'n you wanna' lern sum real southern drawl Msr Goes... ya'll c'mon down here to the south, an' we'll school ya'll the raht way to use two syllables for one syllable words.

The lead could stand up a bit harder. Seems a bit weak in the tone and grit, but not butt ugly.

To the cupped crusader; As always... Good job in the mix dept!!

[Fulcrum]

Wicked impressed with the musicianship all around. I knew what to expect from Otek and Jeff and Goes.. and they delivered big time.

The other musicians with whose work and sensibility I was not as familiar made my ears perk up too. B3Nut, color me schooled-- excellent Hammond work. I'd have liked to have heard you tear it up too but I guess that's why CAPE 7 is coming innit?

Held my attention for the full length. You've written another winner Anna..

[Moonrider]

First listen, first impression . . . overall kinda pedestrian. and much as I hate to say it about MY instrument. It's 'cause the guitar's just WRONG for the groove the rest of the people are laying down.

Piggie, you GOTTA be able hear the bass and B3 screamin for a little down 'n dirty N'Awlins style funk to round things out. And you gave it "Toy Caldwell pentawankery?"

Your guitar part HURT the production man, and you couldn't get past the stone, or couldn't get past the ego and couldn't cut your own part to do your job as producer.

I expected you to be able to do that, and you weren't.

Instead all you heard was your little box of "tone" and you simply refused to come outside of it.

It's disappointing. Sorry I'm so harsh, but I don't know a nice way to say these things I'm feeling and remain honest.

[Cosmic Pig]

Y'all will have to try and ignore the grievously injured dragging their baggage to this thread. Apparently I'm still being chased around the forums by a blues shredder and a never was. I'll see you guys in the JB thread.

Anyways, yup there are some weak points. It originally had two solos but b3nut never put one up. The rhythm is too loud and supposed to be almost a pre-echo, but I'm not about to ask Otek for another mix, its close enough.

Thanks Immanuel and Fulcrum for the kind words.

Cos.

[Brendo]

moon, the organ and guitar parts actually started out the opposite way round, and then swapped halfway through. maybe thats partly why? it was a reaction to a bass part which had a couple of major second clashes in there.

[bbkong]

Apparently I'm still being chased around the forums by a blues shredder and a never was.

Oh the comedy never stops.

A little honest criticism and the shit starts to flow again!

Let's see, I'm not a blues shredder....I must be the 'never was' you refer to.

Hm. perhaps you're right.

I never was...a one trick pony.

I never was...someone who signs up claiming to be something I clearly am not.

I never was...the guy who drives my team nuts with my lack of communication skills.

I never was...living proof that trailer parks still exist in Canada.







I'll see you guys in the JB thread.

Nah, I couldn't possibly point out any more clearly what a shit talking ass you are better than you can.

Anyways, yup there are some weak points.

Mostly around the guitar amp...


It originally had two solos but b3nut never put one up.

No surprise there. I imagine he got tired of your shit long before a solo would have helped.


The rhythm is too loud and supposed to be almost a pre-echo,

Frankly I didn't even notice. I was too distracted by the guitar wankery.

but I'm not about to ask Otek for another mix, its close enough.

Good thing cause I got a box of donuts that says that'd never happen anyway.

One sign of a good producer is knowing when to step away from the track and get someone who can deliver some fire to it.

Another is being able to take some criticism without taking it personally.

Maybe next time you can pull that off.

[seagate]

Despite of all the shit fighting going on in this thread, I really like the track, was worth waiting for!!! Well done everyone!


It's a pity that we've lost the essence of Cape...

[dnafe]

I like this tune...it's makes my head bop to the beat so that's a good thing.

And the minor flaws just add character.

Good playing all around guys!

:Thumbsup:

[st robert]

first listen:

i like a couple of things aboot this...

the clarity of the mix.

the tastiness of the hammond work...






that's it.

the rest is forced, choked bullshit:

vox lacks drive, emotion etc. groove is stiff, wrong, tired all at the same time. gat work is cliche and the bass is along for the unfortunate ride into a pulpy vanilla pudding of an attempt at dressing up a poor song into boots when it would be better served dressed in high heels.


kudos for the professionalism of all involved: enduring the arrangement and lack of proper groove aesthetic must have been challenging.

especially for no pay.

now to the man responsible for this half-an-ass:

the tone vs scale debate has been beaten to death and revived sixty times already elsewhere. it applies to all of life. the soul, the head, the heart, drive, delicacy, tastiness, the mind: all these euphemisms for tone and scale, if you will. what's missing is the THIRD part of that duality: BALANCE.
this version of this song is yet another illustration of IMBALANCE between tone and scale. you clearly meant the song(tone), but didn't have the chops to play it(scale) as producer and serve it.

both are required.

i'm not saying it's the worst thing i've ever heard, but after all this time and all that's been said, i expected so much more from the cosmic penis-waving tone maven.

now repent and pose no more.


love,

rob

[bbkong]

It's a pity that we've lost the essence of Cape...


Oh, don't you worry your head for a second about the essence of Cape. That essence taps into a deep corner of the universal human need for acknowledgment among peers and the world at large and there's nothing that will make it go away except perhaps age and blatantly not giving a fuck. It's the well spring of all human accomplishment and construct. Everything we talking monkeys build with our hands serves that purpose.

In this scenario, the producer's job was to serve the song and in light of that not actually happening, one must question what purpose was really being served.

After Mr. Peccary's long running braggadocio (http://thewombforums.com/showpost.php?p=141245&postcount=1101), the only conclusion possible is that service has been paid to high comedy and for that, he deserves applause.

[EyreSpace]

Well, up here in Canuckustan we've a long history of improper guitar tones and scales. Guys like Randy Bachman, Colin James and the late Jeff Healey. And Cos' stuff is no worse.

I didn't read the Jeff Beck thread so I don't have the bias some have displayed. This isn't that thread though and so let me say that any cape tune deserves kudos for finishing. And any cape team deserves a shit load more respect that this one is getting.

Personal taste is what it is.

We have a wildly successful television series up here called "Trailer Park Boys"

In case you didn't know, it's satire. We're laughing at ourselves for trying to be more 'merican. We don't have a Jerry Springer show yet, but we're working on it.

[Cosmic Pig]

I appears my unrepentant stance has incensed a few enough to blow etiquette out of the water and drag an ancient pile of crap around.

So allow me to remind you idiots of the basics. Its an online collaboration of players with different genres and experience, but we try to blast off a few chops and have fun with it. Because of the weaknesses inherent in the online thing and the varied styles, people usually ignore the problems and focus on the strengths when posting.

I don't mind using my performance for more scrapping in the JB thread, but you guys are blasting tacky shots at players who were assigned to my team and should be left out of it. I suspect half of the team agrees the tune direction and groove as instructed by me was totally wrong, but they came through in spite of any misgivings in the spirit of collaboration and by the rules laid out for this Cape.

Shooting the usual blanks at me in this thread is tacky, and shooting blanks at the team's performance is total bullshit, and a sign of the depths you'll plumb to take me down a notch. To which you haven't. Please take it upstairs, maybe you'll have better luck up there.

Cos.

[Brendo]

I suspect half of the team agrees the tune direction and groove as instructed by me was totally wrongAfter hearing the original demo, I was thinking more along the lines of Stevie Wonder than Stevie Ray.

For my part, I got busy as, but then I probably could've pitched in after that busy period, I pulled out without realizing we'd be revealing in July...

[myrtlebacker]

I find the harsh criticisms refreshing, considering that CAPE threads are usually a bit more of a dick sucking contest. Alas this tune is none better or worse than any of the others, so the personal attacks just make the critics look fairly petty.

Just IMO.

[dikledoux]

I find the harsh criticisms refreshing, considering that CAPE threads are usually a bit more of a dick sucking contest. Alas this tune is none better or worse than any of the others, so the personal attacks just make the critics look fairly petty.

That's just mean... This song is definitely better than some and worse than some others. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I got no problem with the guitar stuff except that it's a symptom of the song maybe wandering off without a clear definition or direction. If it was supposed to be funky, the bassline shouldn't include the eighth-note pump... that's a rock thing. This bassline is not funky. If the song was supposed to rock, it shoulda been MORE aggressive and had a less stereotypical modern blues guitar thing. If it was supposed to go southern drawl, it woulda been a train wreck because the lyrics don't support it. How you gonna sing those lyrics with a southern accent?

Good mix (not surprising - hehehe). Good playing all around except the groove has a bit of a slingshot thing going on (rush, fall back, drag, catch up). And that may be from any of the instruments - hard to tell where it comes from. It's slight, but that's all it takes to eliminate any funk. GoesToEleven as usual bringing a good solid energy and painting a pretty broad landscape with the vocals.

I think CAPE would be better served with some real criticism rather than nothing but back-slapping. But along with that we're gonna get some boo-boos that'll hurt so if we ain't ready to learn from the experience then maybe we should all just go back to thinking we all kick ass all the time.

I'll be off to the side waiting for real information, thank you. If that means I gotta have a side dish of shit-talk, then I'll take it as best I can.

dik

[bbkong]

Dik said:

I think CAPE would be better served with some real criticism rather than nothing but back-slapping.

Absolutely, and your deconstruction was informed and useful.

EyreSpace said:
In case you didn't know, it's satire.

And this is the crux if you've been following the plot.

You know, a lot of stuff written around here is done for entertainment purposes. Believing exactly what you read is an intellectual trap we all fall into so easily.

Can you really believe the horsepower on this team was frittered away so callously? It was like asking Paul Bunyon to man the weedeater, or Werner Von Braun to be in charge of the sparklers and firecrackers.

No, this was the punch line to a clever long running joke, maybe one of the best ever pulled here and for that I salute the Pig, even as he laughs into his hat.

He even fooled me until I figured it out.

Kudos for staying in character!!

Bravo!










Or....








He's the most comically self delusional character to ever wander these halls.

I refuse to believe that.

[Carlo]

This song, to me, melds all the styles of the players, and ain't that what it is ALL about, other than BEING one thing or another?

This is home cookin' and it fills the belly...so just say Grace, shut up and eat!


mmm...pass the potatoes!

[Zoesch]

Carlo, then that must be the reason why when people are faced with the chance of greatness and fun they end up doing DMB-esque alt-country pop-rock? :lol:

I kid, because I love... ah... screw it. :Wink:

Look, the tune is at best a good one to put in a mattress commercial in Virginia or Georgia (Sorry Compte), you know, the kind that are on TV after midnight and feature no direction whatsoever and the store owner's family as the lead actors? that kind of mattress commercial.

This is musical McDonalds and I'm NOT loving it.

[Moonrider]

Look, the tune is at best a good one to put in a mattress commercial in Virginia

:icon_eek: HEY! I resemble that retort! We've ENOUGH to contend with having the "Mattress King" rollin' his own! :lol:

[bunnerabb]

I'm having a little trouble tapping my toes to it, but it's a dandy bit of Canuckistan rock that could have been a B side on an old Three Dog Night record.

They probably would have modulated up to a huge hook, though.

I dug it, overall.

[Cosmic Pig]

I tend to agree on the excessive gladhandling, and am personally open to critique, but some don't and aren't which is why it leans that direction around cape. Some are here for fun, and some aren't interested in the supposed growth that will surely follow the expert advice around here. We need a better sarcasm smiley than the one that looks like it's getting a bl... never mind.

Buuut anyways... it nice to see some honest critisicm instead of whining. I agree with a lot of it. It does hump a bit. It needs a solid 1 with bass and kick and the rhythm gat needs to come down a hair. however, most of the issues are derived from exactly the reason we don't usually critique cape. As I said before, online limited communication, different players of different experience and styles.

I don't think its really possible to produce properly online unless you have all slick players in the genre of the tune, and even then its a bitch. Ten minutes in the studio equals two weeks online. It might have been quicker and better if I'd have setup webcams with the players during all tracking, but that wouldn't work with all the time differences.

I got a lot out of it though, learned a bunch and met some cool people. Thats what cape is about.

Cos.

[Carlo]

I got a lot out of it though, learned a bunch and met some cool people. Thats what cape is about.

Cos.

We've gotten to the point of "the Emperor's new clothes". So what if the song ain't THE Grammy winner that some people think they always produce, shit or shine...

I could wrap it up in my terms...this "producer" concept produced, that's all. We're either behind each other or not, and I find it a shame that we ain't got the time to see the forest 'cause of the trees.

[qharley]

First impression made me listen to it again. Always a good sign in my book. After reading some of the other guys crits some of the issues that bothered them became apparent, but I like this track. AND for on-line collaboration I find it pretty damn good thank you very much.

[dwoz]

COngrats!!!!!!

Ok, here's the rundown: intro, great. There's this "clickyclicky" thing going on in the guitar...sounds actually like he's flicking his pickup selector! it's in time, so it is intentional, but it's VERY annoying.

The idea of coming into the chorus DOWN is interesting, but what was missed, is that the build and peak STILL HAS TO OCCUR...it should be on the 4 or 4and of the last measure going in, or it doesn't work.

That's the biggest gripe here...those chorus transitions didn't function.

This is a very well-written tune...another AnnaB classic. It's almost not wreckable.

I am somewhat reminded of that album that came out a few years ago, with Carlos Santana spewing a bunch of Carlos over top of a handful of tunes...it was nice in a carlos kind of way, but did it really result in great productions? This is like that.

the place that I think this production left money on the table, was in the overall arc. The feeling I got was that you could go in and edit out anything, anywhere, and not hurt it. Should it, therefore, have been a 3 minute song? I don't think so...I think that the idea of a 'hushed' entrance into the chorus should have been left by the wayside from the 3:00 mark onward, and the tune should have opened up and hit some open road.

The mix? great. Otek owns a whole rack of biggenators. He uses them to great effect. He keeps it from being busy or cluttered.

vox? The only thing I felt about them were that they had this, "what am I drawing on for motivation here?" thing...I have to lay at least some of this blame on the producer...the choruses needed some bgvox, and didn't get 'em. (yeah, I heard them I heard them...they weren't "in there") A big "woman who believes anything is edible if'n it has enough gravy and butter on it" doing some belting in there would have been fine.

The guitars. Well, here's where the chickens come home. Definitely, there was some competent playing in there. But was it SIGNATURE playing? Did it really have that STUFF? I felt that it was very.....safe. I was thinking, as I was listening...the really killer players, guys like trazan, play like a drunken sailor. As he moves from point A to point B, he plays himself sideways, and just HOW does he manage to keep his feet under him? he does. He gives you that sense of "danger" that keeps you interested. In trazan's case, most of the "danger" is manifested in note choices, and therein lies the rub, eh? I take and amplify the previous comment about BALANCE...you have to maintain coherence, but you have to have danger too.

THe drums and bass and hammond are tasty and fine...

Overall, another successful collaboration.

dwoz

[bbkong]

The idea of coming into the chorus DOWN is interesting, but what was missed, is that the build and peak STILL HAS TO OCCUR...it should be on the 4 or 4and of the last measure going in, or it doesn't work.


THe drums and bass and hammond are tasty and fine...

Overall, another successful collaboration.

dwoz

You know, this is an over amplification of duck butter. As I hear it, it's an overt exercise of onanism built on the backs of people who really should know better than to lend themselves to such group masturbation exercises. It lives in the red, not because of the mix but by the tonality.

The song defines itself not so much by what it is, but by what is missing.




Wow. I must have been pretty hammered. I don't even know what that means.