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Andy Broad
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1/11/2008 3:46:13 AM
What makes you choose a song to listen too? (on IAC [or else where])
Just looked at todays updated charts for my songs and I'm intrigued by which songs have got most listens and which have hardly any.
Top of the range is my intrumental Jitterbug Madras which is "racing" up the charts with 140+ plays,
at the bottom is Sweeter Than Honeysuckle which is malingering at the bottom with only two plays :-(.
So the question is what makes you pick a song to listen to, when browesing someones play list? Is it the description? The Title? The Genre / Sub Genre? Position in the list?
As an aside I notice that very few (perhaps only a third) of plays seem to appear in the daily play logs, so it's hard to analyse using that method.
Thanks to all of you who have listend so far.
Andy
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the kozy king
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1/11/2008 3:59:42 AM
Most artists on this site have open minds and broad tastes.
TIME is the most crucial factor for me. I always feel like I should be playing if I'm not working so it's hard to take time to listen to everything.
I have tried to keep up with NEW RELEASES but can't do it consistently.
So if I become interested in someone's work I do try to check out all their stuff, if they have less than a dozen songs. I'm more likely to sample everything if there's only a few.
What keeps me listening? In this order: rhythm, vocal, ambiance, timbre, melody, arrangement, meaning, proficiency.
Now I'm going to check out your toonz...
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 4:14:57 AM
What attracts me to listening to any songs listed on IAC is firstly the stated genre but this can be easily overruled by simple curiosity about what the artist is all about, and that in turn can be leading me to them by the name they use. The song title and any de_scription is always helpful.
After that stage, I will know within seconds whether I'm likely to be going to like the rest of the song. But sometimes a nasty surprise can happen part way in and I'm suddenly put off.
Rhythm, melody, arrangement, and production all play major parts. Unless lt's actually from a live gig, if the production isn't toa certain standard I tend to think that the artist doesn't care enough or isn't sensitive enough. Before anyone points out that not everyone, and especially independents perhaps, can afford high standards of production, I would say that current software technology is not so expensive and can be within reach of anyone who is serious about recording their music.
Live and jamming is of course a different matter.
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Duane Flock
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1/11/2008 6:47:23 AM
There are so many different genres as well as styles to choose from. We all have our favorites, but I try to be fair with everyone. My biggest determining factor is the production, final mixing, and mastering. If you can't hear everything or anything clearly, the whole point of your hard work is lost! There are so many really great tunes that just don't sound right.
I myself am guilty of that by getting in a big hurry to put a song out. I wind up re-mixing more often than not.
I guess it's one of the raw qualities of original Indie music though and shouldn't actually be looked down upon. It just happens to be one of my song choosing factors.
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Hop On Pop
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1/11/2008 7:44:51 AM
If I'm in the mood to hear it.
Other than that, it's random.
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 7:46:16 AM
As OFLOCKIT says, production/mixing/mastering is what gives the final sound and there are lots of truly great songs that would benefit so much from the process though you can't polish a turd. I don't see any point in consciously making a recorded song sound raw unless it's of a live gig. We have given our production input free for other people but we'll only work with them if we get on with them as people and they allow us to have the final say (and also do whatever we want with the result). It's worked well so far and "Smile Like A Child" is a good example and was included in our final album.
Choosing anything - cars, clothes, you name it - can be such an irrational process and just one tiny unconscious thing can prompt our choice.
Can I eat it? Can I fuck it? Can it eat me? is what most animals ask themselves :).
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 8:16:05 AM
Oh, I just wanted to clarify that we're not offering a production service to anyone we don't already know in real flesh and blood. IAC already offers a mastering service remember.
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The Man With No Band
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1/11/2008 8:20:54 AM
Personally I like most music and production has little to do with it ... Mostly I listen for heart ... if someone has all the best equipment and all the best production it don't mean squat to me ... Give me someone who is putting their all into it, if they only have a jug and a cardboard box it's fine with me....
I do like some genres better than others but find I really like some artist in all genres ...
As far as choosing which songs to listen to when I get to their pages ...
I'm an album fan ... don't much like hopping around ... Unfortunately, a lot of times when someone hears one song from an Artist they've already made up their mind... So I like to hit the stream button and let the songs play ... I'll usually listen to four songs or so on my first visit ... then I make a note and when I return I listen on down the line .... If someones page is very active ... with new songs being added regularly .. I just hop around on their page especially if I like the Artist ...
I have noticed on my own page that usually what's in the middle get's the worst neglect ... So I figure people have a tendency to mostly start at the top and some from the bottom... People are diverse though ... I know some here like good song de_scriptions ... Some Titles ... I think in the long run what people percieve as your best work will eventually show ... The charts are not a very good way for determining that though IMO ... Some stations are put all over the web and the whole station gets streamed a lot, if one of your songs is there it will show a lot of plays ... where as a better song of yours may be a on a few personal stations and won't recieve the plays ... IMO ..The best place to judge what folks think of your tunes is in the comments left on stations, your shout box and tag box ...
Your stuff will get heard here Andy ... You are quite talented...
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 8:32:27 AM
Sam, you are so right! Heart, or soul, is what's essential. When you get heart AND good production, it's perfect in my opinion. I'm no doubt influenced by how much time I've spent recording in recent months.
[How on earth could I have forgotten to mention 'heart' - It's exactly what my instrument is all about!]
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The Man With No Band
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1/11/2008 8:58:07 AM
BTW ...
Jitterbug_Madras ...
Loved the tune ... Nice beat and real nice slide ... I like the fact you are not afraid to go unconventional with the "leg slap" thumps...
Sweeter Than Honeysuckle....
Great Pickin' ! Vocal is Strong ... Real and Bluesy ... Nice Lyrics
It's a tie in my book ... and that rates your Jitterbug_Madras pretty high as I generally choose Vox over Instrumentals ...
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 9:05:13 AM
Larree's post has prompted me to check out some of your songs too, Andy.
"Sweet Jayne" tracks are the perfect example of how you can do two different versions of the same song but each one stands up on its own. It's (in my opinion only) also an example of what production can bring to a recording. For me (and I really hope you will only take this as just one person's opinion) in the electric version I kept wanting to hear the different parts more emphasised and mixed in a stronger balance - More production needed. But the acoustic version was much better balanced and your voice had great heart!
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Andy Broad
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1/11/2008 10:39:31 AM
Thanks for all the replies and also the positive feedback about my music.
It's interesting to hear different opinions on what keeps you listening, feel or "heart" is definetely important for me. Recording quality makes a lot of difference too. But in different way, on one habd a have a CD somewhere with Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrision playing their hearts out but the recording is so distorted I acn't listen to it, on the other I can easily hear through the crackles of an old 78 of some early delta bluesman, which many would find the more challenging.
What I was after though was more a feel for what makes people listen in the first place, that first click. I was intrigued by the different response to two songs I knew to be of comparable quality, so I ask myself maybe it's in the presentation? Such things are good to learn about as getting you music heard by those who've not heard it or even off you is the toughest and possibly most important part of prgressing your musical carrer. (Aside from the music itself that is).
Robin:
Yes I agree to an extent about the production on the electric version of Sweet Jayne, whilst I like it the whole album is a little less than it could have been mainly because after two powerful gigs at that club we (I) decided to get the third recorded, and the band promptly went all mike shy on me, worrying about what we were playing etc. It is also the quiet point in a fairly upfront album so possibly better in context. We haved moved on a lot since that CD and really should do a new one.
Sam:
Thanks for comparing those two tracks. The lyrics of 'honeysuckle' are a kind of pun on honeysuckle rose whichI was learning at the time, although the music is straight blues.
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RedRobin
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1/11/2008 10:49:48 AM
Andy - Re: Sweet Jayne electric version - Exactly! I didn't want to criticise too harshly but it's totally evident that some of them went all shy and I nearly wrote that they sounded very tentative and unexpectedly lacking in confidence. Yes, your clearly capable of doing a much better new version.
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