The long-awaited:
Download 22_Pimp_Armstrong_[060409].mp3
Download 22_Pimp_Armstrong_RADIO_[060409].mp3
I am being blogged:
My tedious crusade to get the internet to like me is picking up modest steam:
Little feature at boomboomchik
I'm on "the watch list" at orangealert.net
Electronic voice phenomenon digs thumbs up hooray.
Song details:
I asked for help on this song back in my post for Jacques Cousteau in Week 11, and I got a lot of good insight. I'm not entirely sure that I nailed it, but I am certain that it was time for this song to get done with and released. More on that below.
I wrote this song in late '07 during the dying days of The Indefinite Article with Rick (aka Richard James, listen here, here, and here for other 52pickup collabs) and Matt (aka Girrafterbirth - see his contributions to 52pickup here and here). Most of the sounds that we put down in the scratch session ended up in the song. Matt recorded the sax flutters live into my ASR-10 and Rick did most of the synth work on the spot, including the ridiculous two-voice synth line that follows each chorus. In fact, I never even bothered to re-track the chorus vocals. We did those through an SM57 into my mbox and they stubbornly refused to be replaced. I didn't mind. Less work.
My major additions to the song were the drum enhancements (808 kick+snare to augment the canned loop from Rick's Motif, plus some chopping/time correction on the original loop) and the synth bass from the first half of the second verse. I also spent some time hammering the rough verse-chorus arrangement into a viable song form, but that was pretty easy since most of the pieces were already in place. If only every song form came together like this one.
Re: the lyrics. Thank you to everyone who took a minute to help me figure this out. I took my main inspiration from Satchel Page's commentary (see post again) and from input I got from Jesse Andrews of the Young Dads. Jesse made the point that prior to the current trope of pimping-as-a-glamour-profession that we know today, pimping was considered a very low way to make one's living. He suggested that I use the phrase "the Merlin of merkins" (wiki: merkin) and re-contextualize pimps as the whiny scumbags that they were once thought to be. I also borrowed from Satchel Page's idea that the pimp-narrative is a form of escapism, although I don't think I was quite able to reach his level of incisiveness. It seems to hold true: one wonders how often rap pimps get into heavy shit. Not heavy shit like everyday living or even violent encounters; heavy shit like getting to the bottom of life, or addressing the institutionalized violence and oppression that creates space for such a profession.
Long story short, there is a lot to say on this topic, and I'm probably not well-versed enough to address it. I will work on the name-drops and call attention to them when they make it into a release.
On a lighter note, I was happy to be able to fit my friends from Law and Order: SVU into a song.
Links
Most of these are posted over at father-abraham.com, too. Check there if you need a fix mid-week. I attempt to post in real-time, or whatever.
Gawker caught SI trying to be all revolutionary.
Song details:
(A. Kinkopf, M. Lavigne, R. Umlah). Sax and chorus vocals by Giraffterbirth. Synths and chorus vocals by Richard James. Mixed by Phil Gorey. Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, Cambridge MA.
Download 22_Pimp_Armstrong_[060409].mp3
Download 22_Pimp_Armstrong_RADIO_[060409].mp3
I am being blogged:
My tedious crusade to get the internet to like me is picking up modest steam:
Little feature at boomboomchik
I'm on "the watch list" at orangealert.net
Electronic voice phenomenon digs thumbs up hooray.
Song details:
I asked for help on this song back in my post for Jacques Cousteau in Week 11, and I got a lot of good insight. I'm not entirely sure that I nailed it, but I am certain that it was time for this song to get done with and released. More on that below.
I wrote this song in late '07 during the dying days of The Indefinite Article with Rick (aka Richard James, listen here, here, and here for other 52pickup collabs) and Matt (aka Girrafterbirth - see his contributions to 52pickup here and here). Most of the sounds that we put down in the scratch session ended up in the song. Matt recorded the sax flutters live into my ASR-10 and Rick did most of the synth work on the spot, including the ridiculous two-voice synth line that follows each chorus. In fact, I never even bothered to re-track the chorus vocals. We did those through an SM57 into my mbox and they stubbornly refused to be replaced. I didn't mind. Less work.
My major additions to the song were the drum enhancements (808 kick+snare to augment the canned loop from Rick's Motif, plus some chopping/time correction on the original loop) and the synth bass from the first half of the second verse. I also spent some time hammering the rough verse-chorus arrangement into a viable song form, but that was pretty easy since most of the pieces were already in place. If only every song form came together like this one.
Re: the lyrics. Thank you to everyone who took a minute to help me figure this out. I took my main inspiration from Satchel Page's commentary (see post again) and from input I got from Jesse Andrews of the Young Dads. Jesse made the point that prior to the current trope of pimping-as-a-glamour-profession that we know today, pimping was considered a very low way to make one's living. He suggested that I use the phrase "the Merlin of merkins" (wiki: merkin) and re-contextualize pimps as the whiny scumbags that they were once thought to be. I also borrowed from Satchel Page's idea that the pimp-narrative is a form of escapism, although I don't think I was quite able to reach his level of incisiveness. It seems to hold true: one wonders how often rap pimps get into heavy shit. Not heavy shit like everyday living or even violent encounters; heavy shit like getting to the bottom of life, or addressing the institutionalized violence and oppression that creates space for such a profession.
Long story short, there is a lot to say on this topic, and I'm probably not well-versed enough to address it. I will work on the name-drops and call attention to them when they make it into a release.
On a lighter note, I was happy to be able to fit my friends from Law and Order: SVU into a song.
Links
Most of these are posted over at father-abraham.com, too. Check there if you need a fix mid-week. I attempt to post in real-time, or whatever.
Gawker caught SI trying to be all revolutionary.
Song details:
(A. Kinkopf, M. Lavigne, R. Umlah). Sax and chorus vocals by Giraffterbirth. Synths and chorus vocals by Richard James. Mixed by Phil Gorey. Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, Cambridge MA.
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1 Comment:
had to look up: mariska hargitay
did not have to look up: bo outlaw
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