SSG10-Week44 Los Angeles

James,

I would like to tear the song down and point out all the problems
but I can't find any. Excellent.

I like the way you contrast the dark side of LA with the belief
in angels.

WE all need an angel sometimes.

John

Another 5 star effort. That was fast and fantastic.

It doesn't sound at all like what I've been working on, but I like it. :)

One of my current favorite songs is "Five Angels" by Michael Smith. Musically it steps out of the box a bit.

Thanks John, MrEWorm, and Renee for the listen and feedback :D
One of my current favorite songs is "Five Angels" by Michael Smith.
Thanks for the info. I hadn't heard the song, so I'll check it out.

I found the lyrics but couldn't find a link to hear the song.

James,
As always, nice tune. Not to rain on the lovefest, and perhaps this will be a minority opinion :roll: but I'm not getting pulled in to the song. Since the recording clocks at about 2:30, I am wondering if adding a descriptive intro/interlude of a dramatic incident would help grab attention and paint the feeling of fear. Maybe even spoken words over the suggested arpeggio, (a soundbyte/audioclip from the news?) or something like that :?: Just my two cents, take what helps and toss the rest :D

Not to rain on the lovefest, and perhaps this will be a minority opinion :roll:
No worries.....Rain away :wink: Not everyone is going to like everything.
Maybe even spoken words over the suggested arpeggio, (a soundbyte/audioclip from the news?) or something like that
That could be interesting :idea:

Since my wife is finally back after 2 weeks away in the Philippines, most of the rest of this week will be spent on quality family time....BTW her mother died last Friday of stage 4 liver cancer, so they have had a rough 2 weeks trying to help the mother, watching her suffer and having her die and preparing the funeral etc....

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. :D

James

James, that is a difficult time for family and friends, sorry for the loss :(

:(
Thank you for the condolences.

James, sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. The fact that it was expected doesn't make it any easier on the family.

Obviously, people are not all going to like the same music. It's often a tough decision for me whether or not to make a song longer. Deciding how many times to repeat the chorus, adding an instrumental interlude or making the introduction longer. Worse, though, is having a lot of verses flow out and then realizing that the song is too long. If I have a story to tell, I hate to leave part of it out.

Renee,

Thank you for the condolences and feedback.

James

I often like the "behind the scenes" of how something came together so......

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11879023

If interested, I uploaded my scratch recordings to show how this song came about. I don't tend to like starting with the music, because I feel like I'm floating around until I hook on to the idea.

It towards the end of the noodling around that I thought of angels......I was going to change the topic of the song from "Glass Houses" to "Angels" but as I went to type the word "Angels", I typed "Angeles" (most likely for living in Los Angeles for years and typing it out of habit....Once I saw the word "Angeles" it clicked that it might be an interesting angle for a song; which John (Celt) pointed out right a way in his post......which led to relief that the idea came across :wink:

.....but having played around with the different tempos on the arpeggio, once I had the idea of "Los Angeles", I knew I liked the faster transition chord version.

Development of lyrics:

Y10W44 Glass House………beginnings of “Los Angeles”

I'm falling
falling
falling to pieces
the shards of yesterday
bleed in my brain; I'm going insane

I'm losing
losing
losing you
I watch you in slow motion walking away

You're only a stone's thow away
They've taken all my stones away
I'm in a glass house on display
Your fool forever and a day

I'm breaking
breaking
breaking every piece of me
stuck inside a glass menagerie

I'm breaking
breaking
pieces of a glass menagerie

……… I do believe I see angels
Cuz I need, I need, I need to believe

And they walk with me
And they talk with me
And we laugh and joke

And they pray with me
And they stay with me
And they give me hope

I do believe there are angels
Cuz I need, I need, I need, I need to believe
I do believe there are angels
Sent here to watch over me

[Typed] Y10W44 Angeles :idea:

scratched lyrics

Stage frights
Street lights
Cold drinks
Hot nights
What have we here?

Lost souls
Flag poles
Rolex
New Roles

Stage fights
Long Flights
We pay with our lives

LA
We play
We can't
Get away
There's plenty to fear

Stage frights
Street lights
Cold drinks
Hot nights
What have we here?

Lost souls
Flag poles
Rolex
New Roles

Stage fights
Long Flights
We pay with our lives

Hi James

Nice work and thank you for the construction / deconstruction / reconstruction play-by-play. It's a fascinating process and I think you ended up with a fairly powerful piece. If you should ever get around to doing a "fuller" version, I'd like to suggest adding some harmonics on the chorus, particularly at the end. Using just the top two string will work with the chords you currently have, although you could also go with placing a capo on the second fret to move your harmonics into the key of A. That might give it a bit of continuity with the the song's intro.

And please allow me add my wishes and condolences, as well, in your family's time of loss. May you and your wife and the entire family find the love and strength you need in each other, as well as in the thoughts and hearts of your friends.

Looking forward to more.

Peace

David,

Thank you for the feedback and condolences.

James