13. "Get into the Groove – ‘Madonna’ remix by DJ AD”

The Adrian Song of the Week  

On You Tube - https://youtu.be/S3_Uf2j06rs

One of the things the internet has opened up for many of us home recording fanatics is access to original recordings of classic pop songs. Various sites offer an opportunity to download ‘stems,’ which are basically the untreated tracks of original recordings, or partially mixed versions of songs repackaged for use in computer games or videos.

It is a whole lot of fun to load them into whatever music program you have on your computer and be able to hear the constituent parts, rearrange them and even add to them if you wish. It’s also a great learning tool, in that sometimes there are parts of songs you just can’t figure out how exactly they’ve been done… and suddenly, you get it!

I’m sharing this one because, much to my surprise, it has gained some traction on YouTube. Usually when I upload any of my music, I think it is doing well if I hit double figures in the viewing statistics and if anybody at all ever hits the ‘like’ button.

I don’t have a problem with that! I’d continue making music if everybody wanted to listen or nobody wanted to listen. Some folks play computer games, some folks do jigsaws. My passion is playing, creating, and doodling with musical ideas. Sometimes they end up as instrumentals. Sometimes as songs. And in this case… as a remix.

I also spend way too much time just figuring out how different music programs work, how to program different sounds on synthesizer programs I’ve purchased and all that nerdy stuff.

So, when something I have done receives more attention than I had expected it is a pleasant surprise.

I’d played around with this Madonna track, added some instrumentation (such as a guitar solo), added a few effects, and restructured it slightly. It didn’t sound terrible, so I uploaded it with the name “DJ AD” to distinguish it from other musical projects.

Much to my surprise it has, at the time of writing,  received over 25,000 views and received 350 ‘likes.’ It seems folks all around the world have been giving it a listen and adding it to their playlists. When you are used to your music only being listened to by a small number of family and friends… such is wonderfully unanticipated.

By contrast, a self-penned communion song, (which one lady described as 'extremely meaningful' after I had sang it in a worship service) has only attracted 12 views and had zero 'Likes'. Half of those views were probably by myself!  

I kind of wish it were my own songs that  gained as much attention as a hastily created Madonna remix, but that’s not the way it works. Folks really like hearing stuff they are familiar with.

But I will say, my remix is great for a 5 minute dance workout. Try it!

So, maybe there’s a future for DJ AD. 

And that Madonna lady probably won't do so badly either. Lol.

12. Marshmallow

 The Adrian Song of the Week
12. Marshmallow

A song about the beauty of chocolate marshmellows :-)
https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14180899

Recently we went shopping at Schiavoni's Market in Sag Harbor, NY. They seem to be the only place that sells English crumpets in the immediate area. Sadly, we were out of luck. While browsing the shelves we did come across one of my childhood favorites... Marshmallow's. How could I resist.

Not just any old marshmallows, but a brand called 'Dare' that claimed they were 'Pure Chocolate Whippet' A heavenly cloud-like marshmallow cookie coated in pure dark chocolate . Quebec's favorite since 1927.'

Growing up I always called them 'Mellows' rather than 'Mallows'... but never recall describing them as 'Whippets. 'Whippet's were greyhound like dogs owned by Yorkshiremen. Apparently our marshmallows got their name from the mallow plant (Athaea officinalis) which is native to salty marshes in Asia and Europe. The root of the mallow is used to make the mushy white bit.

The environment in which the plant grows led to them being called marsh-mallow's.  Whoever came up with the idea of mounting the mallow on a base of crunchy biscuit and then dousing it in chocolate was pure genius.

I recall on a songwriting retreat, being told that you could find inspiration in anything, and how somebody had had a big hit writing a song about a coffee cup. I had to smile inwardly as... long before I discovered there were rules about how songs should be written (and the topics they could include), I had already composed many a ditty to inanimate objects. In particular food  - one of the great loves of my life.

Chocolate Marshmallows held a wonderful attraction. So many ways you could eat them. And they were all messy.

You could start on the chocolate, gradually consuming the outer layer, piece by piece, before demolishing the biscuit and finishing up on the mallow itself.

Or you could gently taste it from different angles. A chocky/mallow bit here. Hmmm. Now a bit of biscuit.

Or you could go straight for the kill and just shove the whole thing in your mouth, greedily consuming it with your cheeks bulging like a hamster and a giveaway dribble from the side of your mouth.

The song is an old recording, made on my trusty 4 track Teac A3340, long before computers and digital came around.  The song itself, even older.  Like me.

Marshmallow
 © Adrian J Pratt 1973ish

Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.

How I like to taste
Your little mushy fill
You conjure up volumptous glee

Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.

Thick chocolate, Thick chocolate,
Is mellows integral part
Without chocolate marshy would be a flop
A mournfully floppy mallow

Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.

Plain biscuit, Plain biscuit,
Makes up your crunchy base
The part that makes you really think
And then flake off chocolate bit by bit

Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.
Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.
Marshmallow, Marshmallow,
My magnificent mushy marshmallow.

After note. The song uses the word "volumptous." Volumptous is a misspelling of "voluptuous" derived from Latin 'voluptas', which refers to sensual pleasure and not to shape.  A voluptuous body is a luxurious body.  However "volumptous." refers to volume. The volume of edible delight delivered to me by a magnificent mushy marshmallow was both sensual and intense in volume. So “volumptous” it is. 

11. The Mason's Armpit

 The Adrian Song of The Week

Well, it's St Paddy's day approaching so I had to post a jig.

The Mason's Armpit.
https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14214843

Back in the mid 1970's, when playing in 'Mr. Grumbold', we often used to finish our gigs by doing a cover version of 'East of Eden's' instrumental 'Jig-a-Jig.' 

 https://youtu.be/178LOntoB4A.

It was a wonderful piece to demonstrate violinist Paul Wynn's (aka Henri) amazing skills on his instrument of choice. A little different to his usual performances with the Merseyside Youth Orchestra, but versatility was his middle name.

The other band I was playing with back then, 'Pegasus', also played a piece (I think called 'Mount Captain Junga' or some such name) that ended with a frantic A minor jig played on my Roland SH1000. Seeing the way the punters danced like crazy beasts to a bit of Celtic music, was enough inspiration to try my hand at writing something in a similar vein.

I found among the music stored in the piano stool in my childhood home, at 20 Orchard Road, a little volume of Irish reels and jigs that included a piece called 'The Mason's Apron.'

That particular tune has been covered many times, part of the repertoire budding violinists learn https://youtu.be/ZSJ91BxYTYo 

... and the 'Dubliner's' do a cracking version https://youtu.be/JALYH61L3VM

So, the basis, in a tweaked form, was laid. I added an introduction, a second section featuring a riff I had written on the bass guitar and a third section that I'd had in my head for a while (but no idea where it came from.) A brief middle 8 (in straight 4/4 time) created a bridge back into the plagiarized apron tune.

I wanted to catch the feel of an inebriated Irish dancer recalling a piece of music, but not getting it right, and doing his best to get his dancing feet in step. With that in mind I originally titled the piece 'The Mason who Confused His Armpits', but after it became a tune performed by aforementioned 'Mr. Grumbold' it became redacted to 'The Masons Armpit.'

It lay forgotten for a while, but the advent of MIDI offered an opportunity to try and recreate a version on my digital keyboard, which back in the eighties had become a Roland D10, linked to an Atari ST 1040 computer running C-Labs Notator. If you are a fan of home recording gear and software history, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, but if not, then feel free to never read this paragraph again.

After moving stateside my recording set up progressed to owning a Korg D1600 digital recorder with the capacity to not only record to re-writable CD’s but capture actual instruments such as electric guitars! The MIDI file was given a new lease of life as actual lead and bass guitars were added. (My Hayman and Yamaha BB1200 to be exact.)

I still have the Korg, and while it is now viewed as vintage gear, the version of 'The Mason's Armpit' presented for your listening pleasure, emanates from those sessions on that machine... carefully downloaded onto CD... and uploaded, via computer to my music website.

What a complicated path we home recordists must tread! The crazy tune has made quite a journey since being plagiarized from a book of Irish jigs in the piano stool at my parents’ house.

Whatever... enjoy 😊.

And if you can a drink a pint of Guinness while tapping your feet and looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick's Day, then 'Top of the morning to you all."

10. Deep Down Inside (We Need Love)

 

Having previously posted one of the first songs I ever wrote, this weeks ditty is my most recent doodling. A poppy dance vibe titled 'Deep Down Inside (We Need Love)'

https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14400392

I didn't set out to write a pop song. The whole venture was inspired by a piece of free music software. 'Waves', (a music software company) released a free librarian program that catalogues samples into similar folders. (Samples are short musical events or sounds that form the bedrock of much modern dance and pop music.)

As I have thousands of little sound bytes on my hard drive, I was revisiting some of them and came across a loop titled 'xot-128-Ab-getrave-piano.' It was begging for a beat, so I added a percussion loop and then some extra drums. A couple of soulful vocal samples really fitted in... and suddenly I had a a song going on. Added some lyrics... and there it was. A bass line was added on my trusty Yamaha B1200 bass guitar.

Here's the songs very predictable story.

Boy sees girl and thinks she won't be interested
Boy asks girl for dance because he has nothing to lose.
They dance.
They are now together (forever)
Because deep down inside we all need love.
(Burning in our hearts  - yeah)

Romeo and Juliet it is not. But as a dance-able 3 minute slice of trivial pop, maybe it is a reasonable specimen.

One of the biggest songs of 2021, Dua Lipa's 'Levitating,' began life as a synth patch on a rare v1970's Roland vocoder keyboard, a VP-330. (You can find them on on the web usually priced around $3800!) It morphed into something that now may be facing a copyright injunction...  (a story you can pursue on YouTube if you wish https://youtu.be/XT3DghWbk2A.)

So... yes... this particular ditty may well sound like a thousand others... and is totally based on a keyboard sequence that no doubt appears in other songs...but that is the nature of the beast known as pop.

And there is a reason why pop is popular. It's fun. It's throwaway. It sounds like something you already know. It's not important. It doesn't try and change the world, just offer a brief respite from the bad news that threatens to engulf us.  And I don't know about you, but I need that right now! If it gives you a smile or has you dancing around the kitchen... my work is done.

At a time when Putin and his Kremlin cronies appear hell bent on violently building a new Russian empire, maybe the refrain... 'Deep down inside we need love' can be a cause for reflection and an unspoken but sung out loud prayer! 

Deep down inside (We need love)
Adrian J Pratt March 1 2022

I saw you there, sitting just across the room,
Shining with a light that pierced through my gloom
I thought to myself, well what do I say,
I didn't even think you would even turn my way

But deep down inside you need love
Need it burning in your soul
Yes deep down inside you need love
Burning in my soul (burning in my soul  yeh)

I thought to myself, well I'll just take the chance
I'm going over there. going to ask you to dance
Unless you make a move, nothing will ever start
I've got nothing to lose except my lonely heart

Because  deep down inside you need love
Need it burning in your soul
Yes deep down inside you need love
Burning in my soul (burning in my soul  yeh)

Hey, even now I am struggling to believe it,
I offered love and you were prepared to receive it!
I hope you understand, just how much you mean,
The longer we're together, the more it seems like a dream.

Cos deep down inside you need love
Need it burning in my soul
Yes deep down inside you need love
Burning in my soul (burning in my soul  yeh)

Deep down inside you need love
Need it burning in your soul
Yes deep down inside you need love
Burning in my soul (burning in my soul  yeh)

9. Just Look at You

 The Adrian Song of the Week
"Just Look at You"

Recorded version     https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=12340162
Live version             https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=13772872

Looking at our big, beautiful blue and green planet it is tragic how she is abused. The devastating war in Ukraine continues, and it breaks your heart. Elsewhere there is much suffering. There are deep scars. It's messy. For sure there are places of tremendous beauty. There are also wastelands that humanity has created through greed and lust for power. I'm not convinced that creation cannot truly be healed unless a connection with the Creator is also restored.
 
This was one of the first songs I wrote after taking the Christian message on board my life. It in part reflects on my own sense of alienation and the foolishness I felt at having tried to live without reference to the 'other' for many years... not realizing the mess I was making. But it's mostly a prayer for our world... that our alienation from each other can be overcome. The New Testament speaks of "All creation straining" to see God's Kingdom come into being. Yet so often we seem to be pulling away, rather than towards.
 
Maybe it is arrogant to declare 'I know I have found the right road'. Yet all these years later I'm still feel that the driving force of my existence needs to be something other than me! That without the dynamic of God's Spirit, I'm up the creek without a paddle. And yet... so many times... I "Keep on, keep on, keep on, trying to go it alone.'
 
Consider it a prayer for our world addressed through a memo to myself. I know not everybody shares my perspective (or my religious beliefs) but most agree that we should protect and nourish our environment rather than exploit and destroy it. Likewise, the desire for peace is a universal hunger.

The "Live" version was recorded at a concert back in the eighties, with the wonderful Kevin Mercer on the second vocal and guitar. Kevin is not only a great musician but a wonderful restorer of musical instruments. He was a major source of support back in the day and such an inspiring person to play alongside.

I originally called the song "What a Miss World" then changed it to "Miss World" ... which was meant to indicate that the beautiful 'world' in which we live was 'missing' its connection to its Creator and hence becoming messed up. If you need to spend a whole lot of time explaining the title, before you get around to singing it... 'give it a better title!'

So, it became the first line of the chorus, which reflects the words my parents used to say if I came home from playing outside covered in mud... "Just look at You!"

Though an oldie, it's a song I've often used at open mics and retreats. This past November I was up at Bluestone Camp in West Virginia, and it fitted right in with one of the sessions I was leading. Strange how some songs manage to do that! They are never going to be huge hits, but they fit a slot that other songs fail to fill.

Let us continue to keep the Ukraine situation in our thoughts and prayers. "Lord, have mercy."

Just Look at You.

So you think you're heading down the right road
You're quite complacent going it alone
You say you don't need anybody, and you're happy as you are
I'm all right, I can manage, I don't need you anymore
That's what you're saying.

But just look at you, You're really in a state
You're crying and you’re hungry,
There's dirt all over your face
Do yourself a favor and think again
You can't manage without Him,
So why keep on, keep on, keep on, trying to go it alone.

You've tried so many times before to live without
I thought by now you would have realized that there' only one road
Instead, you say I'm all right and I can look after myself
You insist on having your own way, going it alone,
You must be blind.

Because just look at you, You're really in a state
You're crying and you’re hungry,
There's dirt all over your face
Do yourself a favor and think again
You can't manage without Him,
So why keep on, keep on, keep on, trying to go it alone.

(Guitar)

Well, I know that I have found the right road
Oh, Oh my driver He keeps proving that's so,
And what's more He's got room for, oh, so many more
If only, you'll come knocking on His door.

But just look at you, You're really in a state
You're crying and you’re hungry,
There's dirt all over your face
Do yourself a favor and think again
You can't manage without Him,
So why keep on, keep on, keep on, trying to go it alone.

Oh...just look at you, You're really in a state
You're crying and you’re hungry,
There's dirt all over your face
Do yourself a favor and think again
You can't manage without Him,
So why keep on, keep on, keep on, trying to go it alone.
Ah... Look at you.