Gandolf the White has struck! Apparently the Weather Channel decided to start naming winter snow storms. The humor is, this one hasn’t been all that insane and yet it has a name, Gandolf. I didn’t even get to see the start of the snowing as I was holed up in the den working so I could write this: the fourteenth song finalized is “Things We Left Unsaid”. That’s right, another song into the fire from the frying pan.
This song is one of those songs that underwent a rather strong amount of changes, comparatively speaking. It got a major facelift on the lyrics so that the words were more focused. Especially the Verses. The tone of it changed from a protagonist and antagonist switch in the Verses to simply a one point of view – that really helped the focus. The Pre Chorus then got a rewrite to make that transition work going into the slightly tweaked Chorus. Mostly because the Chorus had to reflect the change coming from the verse. The other change in the Chorus came from a slight rewrite of the title. Coming from “Things Left Unsaid” going to “Things We Left Unsaid”.
Musically speaking, I decided to down-step the song a full two semitones. What brought this part of the rewrite? Well… The Verses stayed the same melodically. The Pre Chorus stayed nearly the same, there was a slight adjustment to the melody and rhythm based on the new words and wanted a better swing into the Chorus. The Chorus ended up getting an entire facelift melodically. The main reason for it was two fold. One, I wanted a way for it to stand out more from the Verses. The original version had some interesting lines but they didn’t stand too far apart from the Verses rhythmically. Now, the melody is fashioned to have a much much stronger hook. Not only rhythmically but also melodically. This is where the key change had to happen for the song. Where I took the Chorus melodically was becoming a tad to straining to sound powerful in a full voice fashion. Thus stepping the song down two semitones put it back into a range that gives the Chorus full power.
The added bonus of bringing the key down of the song is that now the guitar parts sound beefier! That helps the vibe of the groove too. I can’t explain why, but it feels way better now. Thus the fact that people liked it enough before to vote the song into the final round, now it’s become a real contender to make the final cut and be a bonafide hit.
I’m much happier with the overall state of the song. Arrangement-wise the song a way more traditional in it’s situation. However, I think once in the studio it will get a little extra window dressing. Though that comes down to how it’s reflecting once it’s finally re-recorded.
To close out for this update, I’d like to happily send you on a merry way – hopefully you’ll be one of the people to enjoy the snow, especially if you’re headed to Sundance! Until the next update (coming soon) be in-the-know that the fourteenth song to get finalized is “Things We Left Unsaid”.
If you were keeping tabs on the song order, you might have noticed that I started alphabetically. However, today I’ve already broken ranks. The second song finalized is Femke. No rhyme or reason why on that, it is what it is.
In this song I made lyrical tweaks to the second verse. I also made a lyrical change to the first line of the chorus. It now makes a bit more sense to an outsider view about someone you might know and the changes all recorded on the demo. Musically I didn’t find a need to tweak any of the melody. I will be adding a few elements in the studio that are beyond what is in the demo. I keep the arrangement fairly sparse. But instead of drum and orchestral samples, I’ll be bringing in the real thing. More human that way.
What song will come next and when will it get finalized? Only the shadow knows. For now, you are in the know knowing that the second song finalized is Femke.
Stay tuned.
— Jody
The tweaks are beginning to flow. My first song finalized is American Mayhem. So far I’m going in alphabetical order. No rhyme or reason it was the first on the list.
I got the verses tightened up and made some changes to the lyrics in the chorus as well. I recut the vocals on the demo to closer represent my final goal and to have the new lyrical version around for practice. I’ve added some elements to the music part of the mix as well. I’m looking forward to getting into the studio to cut the final vocal and get the mix completed. It’s gonna be a nice slammin track.
Stay tuned as more songs are getting tweaked. Which one will be next on the list? Check back and find out. For now, you know the first song finalized is American Mayhem.
— Jody