"♦+Noise"

UPDATED, 12/28: I can't remember exactly when I decided to finish the suite(s). I think the idea occurred to me sometime around finishing Spades, but I didn't actually know what they would sound like until this summer. I went with the laziest possible creative choice— basing what the song would sound like based on the title (it's a surprisingly effective strategy— see "Programming," "Insula," "AAAAAAAAA"). "Clubs" was obvious, but "Diamond" can describe a lot of things (one of my rejected ideas was to do a math-rock song). In the end I decided to go with a lush, string-and-horn heavy style, sort of like you might hear in a Bond movie (with a healthy dose of Phil Spector in there, too).

As it turns out, that's not an easy style to imitate. And it was especially difficult to reconcile a cool, slow ballad style with the chaotic nature of a "___ Noise" song.

The key was nailing down the drums. [Hint number 1: play slow. Play like you've never heard of Keith Moon. There are no such things as 8th notes. Hint number 2: use a tambourine. I played mine by sticking it on my right foot, which also why there's no bass drum in this song. Hint number 3: use brushes. this will also make hint number one easier. Oh, and hit the cymbal, not the hat]. I basically recorded a completely different song, then had to redo almost everything once I figured out the drums.

Other things:
-Expect a lot more synthesized instruments in these later songs. That's partly a consequence of the kind music I was writing, mostly due to having a decent MIDI controller now, and almost entirely due to the fact that I had to record almost 20 songs without anyone complaining about noise.
-The "deflating horn" sound is caused by hitting a chord and then hitting a blue note at lower volume.
-There are, actually, vocals in this song, though I never intended there to be words. I was never able to really get the sing style right, so it's mostly "ooh"s and "ah"s.
-Garageband 11 actually has a guitar setting called "Spy Movie." A heavily modified version of it appears here.
-This is the first song I've (successfully) written in 5:4 Time.


DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: I cloned the drum track to change the panning, and made the 2nd guitar louder.