mixing failure

So I just finished mixing one of the Ticky-Tak songs we'll be uploading tomorrow. It's an epic song, it took a long time to mix, and I was pretty happy with it...

And then I realised I hadn't even recorded the bass yet, let alone mixed it. And now I'm sad.

I know - how meticulous a craftsman, how skilled and attentive a musician must I be to finish this work of art only to later realise that one of the main elements of a popular music song was missing? The obvious answer is: not a very good one. But this answer is wrong; I am slightly above average, and in my defense this song has upward of 60 tracks hovering around (an indicator of my penchant for excess more than anything else). Still, this is quite the (isolated, not-reflective-of-me-as-a-whole) failure on my part - and more than that, has meant that I've literally pissed my entire day thus far against the wall.

I'm currently thinking that the track will be uploaded sans bass tomorrow, and the bass can then be an extra surprise in a few weeks. If nothing else it gives us another excuse to drum up some future anticipation/hype - marketing 101, guys. Or, in other words, it's laziness repackaged as a cunning attention-grabbing ploy amongst our handful of fans.

I'm about to go work on my Lost Valentinos review for The Vine before I continue mixing. I have a dream that one day I'll be able to pay someone to mix our stuff. Hopefully that day arrives before I strike my computer down and/or go deaf.

Also, the 'ghost organ' I referred to on Ticky-Tak's blog is still yet to be located. The mystery van is on its way.

aural exhaustion (+ normal exhaustion)

I've spent the last few hours with my Senheisser headphones on attempting to mix a few of my band's tracks, since I may have publicly promised to have them online by Friday. Not that anyone will be too devastated if I fail, it's more of a motivational technique designed to snap me out of idling perfectionism. And I wonder why I'm steadily going deaf...

Anyway, I've been sat here since six, slowly growing to hate my own tunes as cymbals, kick drums and all other array of sounds steadily disappear from the mix. Right now, all I'm hearing is a tambourine - which, jaunty as it is, is still largely unhelpful since a solitary tambourine hardly maketh a song. I'm told not to mix through headphones, but this way those fortunate enough to be near me escape the repetitive sonic battery. I know, I'm a martyr right?

My actual body is also fairly exhausted. I played squash for the first time since I got back from Europe today - turns out Europe and Boot Camp aren't the same thing.

Some rad things also happened today, like this rad, Cure-referencing track magically landing in my SoundCloud inbox. You should check it out. I love my SoundCloud account, it's like some sort of glorious, intangible stocking that fills up like it's Xmas every day. (And by 'my' SoundCloud account I mean 'whothehell.net's' SoundCloud account). I also did some work on Rahool's traitorous MySpace page; I'd like to have had the fortitude not to condone her back-stabbing side-project ways but I'm enjoying Photoshop way too much at the moment to pass it up. It's fairly basic, but you'd be surprised how easily I can be impressed with my own limited abilities. Money doesn't buy happiness, extremely small expectations do.

Having enjoyed this brief respite, I'm going to return to my tambourine solo of a song. I'll let you know when it's up, or you could just check Ticky-Tak's blog yourself.

(Yes, we are called Ticky-Tak. We literally drew it out of a hat after certain members of the band deemed 'Pink Tight Raptors' too lame).