We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties -- Please Stand By

I did forget to mention in my last post or so that another contributing factor to the delay in completing the new Christmas song, "You Know It's Christmas Time," was that my recording studio, the BR1600, was no functioning properly.

While recording this song I allowed my free space to get to zero because I kept recording parts over and over and not erasing them and not optimizing the song. Optimizing is a feature that permanently erases everything you recorded over. The erase function only temporarily removes stuff you don't want anymore but it's all still there and all you have to do is use the "undo" button to bring it all back. Optimizing is the only thing that frees up space permanently. So when I got to 0 recording time I was forced to erase and optimize. That freed up a lot of space but it was too late by then. The BR1600 was not working smoothly after that point anymore. It would just stop recording while I was singing my lines or even playing some of the final instrument parts. There was a point I really thought the song was not going to be completed and in terms of making a final mix and then mastering it, I had to go through unconventional means to do so.

The good news is that it appears the hiccups are only on that song. I have not tried recording any brand new songs, though. But what I did have to do was play the final mix and record it into my computer, burn that onto a CD, import it into the BR1600 as a new song and then play it back through the mastering mode as I recorded it once again into my computer (which by the way is also on its last legs). This is the only way I was able to get the song mixed and mastered. Doing that normally would not work. The recorder would always stop recording at the very same point in the song. I was turning blue in the face.

I even started looking around to buy a new one of these. Surely, I thought, I've had this one for over 10 years and they must have made amazing upgrades and improvements to it. To my surprise, I found out they don't even make these things anymore. The only major company still making these non-computer based systems is Tascam which is the brand of the very first 4-track tape machine I ever had. This was really bad news for me. I have never used software and computers for making music. I still don't want to. I like having a standalone unit for music-making.

As I was looking at a 24-track Tascam recorder some of the reviews did not read so well. I recall multiple similar complaints about clicking noises that made it onto recorded songs. I don't want that!

So I'm really in trouble now. I'm hoping that the problem lies just with that song. After erasing and optimizing I relieved about 24 hours of recording time! From 0 to 24 hours. But I should have been doing this all along the way, after every new song.

The error message I get is "drive busy!" I looked all around the web for info on this and I found that Boss has 2 methods to temporarily fix this. One is to transfer all the songs in the BR1600 to CDs and then initialize the hard disk. That would take an inordinate amount of CDs to do. And initializing the disk erases everything that was on it.

The other method is to connect the BR1600 to a computer via USB and transfer everything that way. Again, you'd have to initialize the hard disk which erases everything. But it's all on the computer now so that's OK, right? Not really since my computer has been crashing scores of times since last summer.

I don't know what to do right now. I'm going to keep using the BR1600 for as long as it allows me to continuously record. Once it stops I will have to try one of the methods above. And those methods are not a cure by any means. Boss says you will have to repeat this process every several months. Why did they have to stop making this thing? This is similar to the iPod. I kept expecting that the iPod was going to perpetually increase in disk size as the last one I purchased was a 160GB and soon enough it was filled to the brim. But after the 160 there was no more. Then they came out with the iPod touch but only in smaller versions. Same thing with the Boss recording studio. I had the 16 track (which is technically not 16 tracks but actually 12) thinking someday I'd get me a 24 track. Perish the thought.

Even though I cannot get me a brand new Boss 24 track studio (which in reality would probably be only an 18 track), I can get a bigger iPod than my current 160GB. Although it's 256GB it is also still an iPod touch which I don't mind anymore. Actually I feel more comfortable now with the 'touch' technology so I'd prefer a touch iPod vs. the old wheel version.

OK. So this post was about my technological struggles of recording. I still plan to write about some of the goals for this year.

New Christmas Song Finished & Released

I find it mildly amusing that I had forecasted the completion of my new Christmas song within a few days of the end of November. I did not finish the final mix and mastering until December 11. And by the way, I'm still not thrilled with the final mix. I would have kept remixing and remixing until I got it just the way I wanted--were that possible considering it's an unattainable goal--but it's already so late to be releasing a Christmas song that I did the best I could under the circumstances. The good news is that it is now both at CD Baby and Bandcamp and also at iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and everywhere else. I just hope it gets to those places well before Christmas.

I started this new song well before Thanksgiving. Mind you the intention was just to create some background music for videos. But as I really liked how it was turning out I thought it would be a waste to just leave it as background music, though it could still well serve that purpose. However, once again the vocal part is what created such a delay. Not getting everything sounding up to par. And unfortunately the released version is still not perfect vocal-wise but it's the best I can do under the circumstances.

I must admit--I seriously considered giving up vocal music during my many takes for this song. It became so frustrating to record the same lines over and over and not get them just right or even just good enough. I honestly cannot understand how some people can sing and hit the right notes every time. I started thinking along the way of doing instrumental music exclusively. I would definitely get more music produced more frequently if I were to only do instrumentals. But I also enjoy writing lyrics even though it's hard for me to sing them. And I cannot ask anyone to sing for me due to legal reasons. Whatever I create musically has to be 100% mine. The last thing I want to deal with is legal issues.

Anyway, here is the newly finished song found on my Bandcamp page:

You Know It's Christmas Time

Hope you like it. It's radically different from any Christmas song I've made before. But again, it wasn't initially planned to be such. The good thing is that not only is it a Christmas song but it also fulfilled the initial desire of being background music if I only remove the vocal.

Regarding the youtube issue--I tried to appeal the deconstruction of my Exit World channel but youtube only responded by saying that I need to get the Fred Rogers Company (FRC) to rescind their copyright strikes. Like that is going to happen. So as someone suggested I could move to Vimeo and carry on there, or I could just create a new email through Google and start my new youtube channel that way. (Actually I just found out I can create a new channel with my existing Google account).

I nearly forgot--this has also put a damper on my plans to release my old lo-fi recordings from many years ago. This makes me angry the more I think about it. I was not a multiple violator of their policies. I uploaded material that was not banned immediately. It was all up for quite some time before this happened. Had they taken all the FRC videos down initially I would not have uploaded more. All I received were copyright claim notices. Those are not bad. They serve to inform that someone has claimed the right to the video in question. But they gave me no chance. It was 1-2-3 and I was done. I blame both the FRC and youtube for this. I did not continue to upload claimed content after receiving any of the strikes. That's the part that is not fair. They make it seem as though I continued to upload videos after receiving the first 2 strikes. Why didn't they just take down all the Rogers' videos with the first strike? Why did they need 3 strikes to do it?

Anyway, I sent the FRC a few more emails with the final one giving them a piece of my mind. I stated that they handled this situation in a very unprofessional manner. I said a few more things as well. Surprisingly, I did get a response with an offer from them to talk to youtube about my Exit World channel. As I relayed this to youtube they refused to accept it and kept giving me the runaround. Like a broken record all they keep saying to me is that I need to resolve the copyright strikes on my Exit World channel when I don't have any on that one. Their reason for shutting it down was that it was linked to the channel with the strikes (JustGoodStuff). So I wrote them a not-so-pleasant email as well and I haven't heard from them anymore.

As far as I'm concerned that matter is done and I'm not going to hear from either party any further. So I'll just come up with another channel for my own personal music (which I will probably call "Millions of Me" as this is a possible new recording artist name for me). The other one I already made is called "AllTheBest". The only problem I'm having with the AllTheBest channel is that I cannot upload videos longer than 15 minutes since I'm not verified. My 2 most popular videos were just over 15 minutes each. Under 16 but over 15! I left the computer on all night long to upload one of them just to get a message that said it couldn't be processed since it was over 15 minutes. Couldn't they warn me ahead of time? So frustrating! And I'm hesitant to verify my account since that may lead to getting the new channel(s) shut down as well. I don't know what's involved in 'verifying' so I can't take any chances right now. I may just have to create a third channel with a brand new email.

Most importantly though is that I released a new Christmas song in 2019 and much earlier than in previous years. Also it's on my Exit World - Topic channel created by CD Baby.

In my next post I will discuss some goals for 2020, as is in keeping with tradition. If it weren't for "You Know It's Christmas Time" I would not have had a new song in 2019. I had a few background music recordings I made and I guess those should count especially if I am seriously considering working exclusively on instrumental music.

This post took way too long to write. It's pretty much after the fact now since it's been sitting here since mid-December.

Something's Wrong (lyrics)

Something's Wrong


Something's wrong
I can feel it in the air
I can hear it in the silence
I can see it in the troubled faces

Something's wrong
I can feel it in the wind
I can see it in the angry sky
I can hear it in the rolling thunder

Something's wrong
I can see it in the eyes
I can hear it in the voices
I can feel it in the heavy tension

And I can't make it right
No matter how I try
I can't make it right
No matter how I try

No I can't make it right
No matter how I try
I can't make it right
No matter how I try

Something's wrong
I can see it in the flame
I can hear it in the crashing waves
I can feel it in the ground below me

Something's wrong
I can feel it in my soul
I can see it with my mind's eye
I can hear it in the desperation

And I can't make it right
No matter how I try
I can't make it right
No matter how I try

No I can't make it right
No matter how I try
I can't make it right
No matter how I try


©2017 Ren D, Exit World Music, all rights reserved

Something's Wrong

I've been working on recording a new song called "Something's Wrong" the last couple of weeks. It's all written out. I just have to make a few changes. I am going for a 60's garage rock sound on this song. The simplicity and lo-fi of some of those 60's recordings beat the over-production of many later recordings hands down.

This is going to be my shortest complete recording that features lyrics so far. Just under 3 minutes. There is no specific song that serves as an influence for this one. It's more of a sound thing that is the inspiration. As of right now I've got an arpeggio electric guitar track with tremolo and the electric bass track completed. Today I did a piano track just for effect and I may add another just to fill out the sound. Not quite sure yet. I am also looking to add an organ track and/or a minimoog one. Of course there will be vocal tracks--at least 2. And I will play real drums for this song.

Other than this song I have ideas for at least 3 other songs. I know musically what I want to do with them. I just have to write out the lyrics. At this point I am thinking they will all be relatively short songs at 3 minutes or less just to keep that 60's vibe going. Once I start to arrange the songs the times may change. I don't want to stray too much from that though because the longer the song the more time it takes to produce it. And if there's any chance I am to release another album this year I cannot spend a lot of time on long productions.

Ideally I think I can finish up this song in about another week or 2. There are 2 things which may not corroborate this. First, the vocals may take me a while to get right. Vocals are always a problem. Second, I'm not sure if I will record the drums as part of the sessions for this song or if I will wait until I have another song or 2 and then just record drums for all of them at the same time. I don't like keeping a song on the side that just needs one more component to it. If I could get a song done in a week or two then I wouldn't mind waiting to get drums recorded. But since I never have a certain timeline for getting a song done I could end up keeping an earlier one unreleased longer than I'd like.

Stayed tuned for updates.

'We're Gonna Make It' Video

I made a video for the song "We're Gonna Make It" from my new album "Milestone." This version is just slightly different from the album version in that I trimmed out the fade-in portion of the beginning. A fellow musician had suggested not having a fade-in at all but it was something I never used before and I wanted to extend the song a bit. But for the YouTube version I eliminated the fade-in which in turn shortened the overall length of the song.

Here is the video:

End of the Year Goals

Once again we are here in the final one-sixth of the year and I've got a plate stacked full of musical ambitions. Why do I do this? Not sure but I do know that there are some times throughout the year when I'm just not interested in working on my music. And it's not because it is some kind of a fleeting, semi-passion for me. It has more to do with a general malady of frustration and at times a quiet desperation at the thought that maybe--probably, in fact--this is not going to ever go anywhere. Those are hard sentiments to deal with and can be very paralyzing when it comes to creating or even forcing oneself to work on unfinished projects. In addition to that, I'm easily carried away by other interests I have and can easily devote hours to those things, which although not being bad things they are things nonetheless which will not necessarily take me where I want to go. Thus, another year almost over and quite the unproductive one at that.

So how do I make up for precious time lost? By creating a long laundry list of things to accomplish by Christmas. The list includes:

-Finish recording the new song I've been working on for release on the album
-Make final touches on some of the other songs for the album
-Release the album (by Thanksgiving)
-Record a cover of a traditional Christmas song
-Write & record a brand new Christmas song

What do you think? All this along with keeping my other interests/obsessions in check. I think everything but perhaps the brand new Christmas song is feasible. My top priority is doing whatever needs to be done in order to finally release my first full-length album by Thanksgiving. That means finishing up recording the song I'm currently working on which will be the 10th track on the album. I have just about 3 weeks to do that AND tweak some of the other songs. Once that is done I can devote the next few weeks to recording a Christmas song or two. I plan on doing my take on another traditional Christmas song. Something in the public domain of course so I don't have to concern myself with copyrights and licensing and all that holiday-spirit stuff. There most certainly are some contemporary ones I would love to do but many of my favorites are so definitive-sounding that I don't think I could add anything to them. And there's that issue of licensing. Public domain it is.

But getting back to the album.
I decided on a new, original tune to fill out the album. With that I don't mean to say that it's filler material. But I was severely lacking in terms of a solid 10th track. I tried going back and rewriting lyrics to some solid tracks I had; however those did not pan out well. If you keep going back trying to fix the old material you will never move forward and produce new material. I wrote that this new song is the 10th song but not referring to it in a way of significance. It is the last song I needed for a somewhat cohesive album, but it will also be featured as the last track on the album. It is a song of hope. Thus the project closes out on a high note.

Here is a tentative track listing. I am trying to pick the song order as if it were to be released on a vinyl LP:

Side 1
1. Another Morning (What a Drag)
2. Tomorrow
3. The Moment of Truth
4. Call On Me
5. Doesn't That Blow Your Mind

Side 2
1. You Are So Good
2. Where I Belong
3. The Rain
4. Erie's Song
5. We're Gonna Make It

In conclusion, as much as I would love to start tackling all those things at the same time, I need to first finish recording "We're Gonna Make It" in a manner which is quick yet as pleasing as possible to me. I do not plan to go all-out-production on this song so within several days it should be completed. Then, if at all constructive and possible, I want to go back and 'touch up' about 6 of the other songs. Some have very minor issues. Others have a bit more work. Some of those songs have been previously released on my EP a few years back so I would like for these to have a slightly different mix at the very least.

Well, it's time to get to work. And I don't mean wage-slavery-type work, LOL. I mean work that matters. The kind of work that each one of us was placed here to do. Mine is music. What's yours? I will provide more frequent updates on my progress. Thanks for reading!