Recording The Muppets

Back to work. Been veeeeery busy with far more interesting things and haven't felt like writing in a while. I have been working, but the sessions have gone smoothly and there really hasn't been anything interesting to tell. But today I am recording the Muppets. I know... that is quite a rude thing to say about an inexperienced band. And it is not a very fair comparison to the Muppets either. The band kicked ass and Animal is one of my alltime favourite drummers. Along with Keith Moon and Meg White. I wonder who played Animals drumparts in real life.
I wish the drummer today would play like him but all I got was this lousy lookalike.
This guy is all over the place. And he barely hits the drumskins. He keeps hitting his sticks, the rims and above all. My microphones that I have so carefully placed in order to capture his ungodly cacophony that is supposed to remind you of a musical performance. Let me tell you... it does not.
But it did not come as a surprise. You know why? Because I can usully say that I am not going to win a Grammy from a session where the drumskin are taped with large and very THICK foam pads from underneath. Yes. And the bassdrum was filled, sorry I mean packed tightly with pillows.
I realized that there are two reasons for this wierd behaviour.
#1 The drummer has been asked by his bandmembers NOT TO PLAY SO FUCKING LOUD!
2# He has no idea that it is possible to tune the drums.

On the other hand. The drum skins on his kit are probably the ones that came from the factory back in 1986 and it is a miracle that they dont have holes in them. So they didnt sound that much better when I tried to tune them. No. Maybe I will tape the paddings back on when we are done. Just for fun. But he made me think of Animal and that was the most fun I had all day. Thank you man!
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Wall Of Sound

Still can't get sleep. Found this fantastic clip on Phil Spector.
Ok. Now I am too tired to stay awake. I'll have to do some more research on Spector som other time.

Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound

In The Studio

Great day in the studio today. Nice young guys that were really into and interested in recording. We finished early and spend some time just talking and listening to music. This was one of the rare sessions where we only recorded drums to one song. It feels so luxurious when you can concentrate on just one thing at a time and have the session run smoothly. Usually I am recording drums, bass and guitars to 3 or 4 songs in one day and that includes setting up the studio. So it feels nice and relaxed when you don't have to hurry.

I thought about mentioning that I once again had great results with the Beyer Dynamics Opus 99 on the kick but that is such a nerdy comment that I'd better leave it out ;-)
I got off early and had time to drop by the book store. I found a book on John Lennon written by his first wife Cynthia which seems very interesting. I also bought a book on Black Sabbath called Rat Salad. Great title. Has to be good.
Also had time to hunt down some more interesting You Tube clips during the evening.
These clips form the sequel to my post Recording Silence last week.
More interesting footage from and about studio work. Again I have to say it is amazing how realistic these videos are and closely I can relate to sessions that goes just like this.


Spinal Tap in the studio


And this is how they do it in Jamaica...

The Gladiators recording session


Here are some fantastic clips on The Rolling Stones in the studio. Great shots of an old studio and interesting how the song evolves from the first clip which is more like a jam session, into the second one where they are recording vocals and backing vocals in one go. It is also fun to hear how terrible the band sounds in the first clip...
just goes to show that you have to work on those masterpieces.

The Rolling Stones - working in the studio

Great performances

No studio work today. But I spend the day listening to inspiring music. ...and the night. I am happy I got that great sensation that you should get when listening to music. The feeling that nothing else in the world matters. It feels very valuable to find out that my passion for music got me into my line of work, and that the same passion is still there. I often have a hard time enjoying music. Maybe it is beacuse I am always recording or mixing or working or with music. Or playing . Often recoring bands or artists that aren't very good and often working long hours. I always put on music when I come home after a long working day but I am afraid I seldom pay any attention to it. I do know that there is something really special about a piece of music or performance if it can grab my attention after a three day thrash metal session. Today I've been spending my day off, enjoying my favourite performances and I found a few I hadn't heard before. This first one is a fantastic performance by Country legend Hank Snow. This is country music. Real country music. How it should be done.


Hank Snow - I Don't Hurt Anymore


If I Can Dream is a gospel song that Elvis performed on the 68 comeback special show.
This one leaves me speachless every time.

Elvis - If I Can Dream


Few can take the stage after that performance but I now this guys can. He is great every time. But especially in this sweaty close up. Just fantastic!

Jacques Brel - Ne me quitte pas

Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas
Uploaded by djoik

Etta James has me in tears every time I hear this performance. And the band is equally great. I think it is the sessions musicians from Muscle Shoals but I might be wrong.

Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind


Speaking of great performances by great women. Margie Hendricks totally steals the show from Ray Charles in this clip. She is screaming from the top of her lungs all through the end of this song. This must have been around the time where the had had an afair and she was apparently really angry with him. It sounds almost scary. But a classic performance.

Margie Hendricks (and Ray Charles) - The Night Time is The Right Time


Who better to finish off this collection of magic moments than the amazing James Brown.
Again, the band is giving a top notch performance as well. It doesn't get better than this.

James Brown - It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World

John McCain vs. Jackson Brown

Well this is interesting:
Jackson Browne sued John McCain in August for using his song "Running on Empty" in a negative campaign ad against Barack Obama. Now John McCain is fighting back and suing Jackson Brown for suing him. You can read about the details here:John McCain fights back vs. Jackson Brown

Jackson Browne - Running On Empty

The healing power of good music

I spend the beginning of this week recording thrash metal.
Very young band. Not very tight. Or... not tight at all but the vibe was there. It was great fun. The lyrics were just hilarious. Very appropriate for a bunch of 17 year olds playing thrash metal. Lots of blood drinking and so on...
Usually I am not very keen on sessions like this but for some reason the songwriting was just so in tune with what the whole genre is about, I just found myself really digging it.

The Beyer Dynamics Opus 99 worked really well on this kids assdrum, oops, I meant to write bass drum, but was just about to say that it sounded like ...ass. A convenient and very appropriate typo. But the opus 99 and some aggressive EQing really put the B back in his assdrum. No sound replacing or samples required.
It was fun but sessions like that can really wear you out. The music is ok but it just isn't your brand of music. Ofcourse every engineer have to be able to put his personal taste in music aside whenever he is working on something he wouldn't normally listen to. I am actually quite good at that and can find enjoyable elements in pretty much every session I work on. But still... badly played metal can wear you out.

So now I've spent the rest of the weak healing myself with soothing sounds and pretty songs. Just to get back on track. These are songs that I turn to when I feel down, or optimistic, or when I have too much on my mind or when I am trying to forget the metal session I just recorded. I've got some more metal sessions in the next weeks so I think I will be needing some of this stuff to calm myself down.
I am not even going to explain these at all. Just make sure that your browser allows you to check out embedded youtube material and enjoy.


Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why


Midlake - Roscoe


Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Strange Form Of Life


Holly Golightly & The Greenhornes - There Is An End


Goldfrapp - Clowns

Recording Silence,

Another sleepless night. I am still up and awake, thinking about working and thinking about recording. How difficult it can be when you have a terrible artist and easy it is when you are working with a talented artist. I am also tinking about how all the bands I work with actually think that they can sound like their idols. And how I always feel like I am to blame if they don't. A usual dilemma is that the band show up with the worst sounding equipment possible, unpracticed and with halfwritten songs and then quite casually announce that they want their two day demo of four songs to sound like (-------------write your favourite multimillion album selling artist here).
I sometimes feel that my clients think I'm an alchemist. Ofcourse I am not an alchemist
and do not know how to turn mediocre demos into gold records.

It's also fun that people without any knowledge of music seem to think that I work with big stars just because I am in the music "business". Many of the people I meet think it is somehow exotic to work in a recording studio but they don't have a clue of what it is I do, even though I make an effort explaining it every time.
I wish it would be like this when I go to work:

Serge Gainsbourg - Composing and Recording Initials BB



part 2


That was the talented and wierd Serge Gainsbourg working on the track Initials B.B.
sometime during the 60's. Such a cool big production abd everyone is wearing suits and smoking inside. He even smoked in the vocal booth. Probably very good for the vocal style he was going for. I guess that is how recording sessions where done in the 60's.
This is a lot closer to what it looks like today.

Recording Silence - clip from 24 Hour Party People


OK, this is obviously where I got the title for this blog. There is something so off the wall about Martin Hannet standing on top of a hill, with a mic, a taperecorder and a set of headphones, recording silence. The idea just leaves me speechless.
And the lovely sarcastic comments like "Play it faster but slower" and"You wear it well!". I have actually found myself using both of those on a few occasions.
He really seems like a true asshole... but the songs sounds great.
Here's the real Martin Hannet and the real Tony Wilson talking about recording in 1980.

Martin Hannett and Tony Wilson at Strawberry Studios in July 1980


This last one is about as close to reality as you can come. You may be lauging but a lot of the aspiring musicians that frequent recording studios how much more in common with this guy than they have with Serge up there. And that is why I need to keep this blog.

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