Sqrlmog tries her hand at songwriting!
Jun. 17th, 2019 01:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xyzzysqrlI've been listening to a lot of ridiculous metal lately, thank you Spotify and Gloryhammer and etc etc.
In the shower tonight, I started humming a bit, and thinking back about E3 I decided to put a few words to the tune.
Din-o-saurs.
Din-o-saurs-with!
Dino-o-saurs-with-LASER-BEAMS...
The thought stuck with me as I got out of the shower, and I finally decided... what the heck, let's write it down.
The police arrived ten minutes late
the scientist threw wide the gate
And through it stomped the giant feet of history
His plot was diabolical
the cost was astronomical
The details of his scheme forever fogged in mystery
But in the streets there came loud screams
Something that they had never dreamed
Shoulder cannons charged and teeth bared to the sky!
Dinosaurs with laser beams, their claws tear up the asphalt
Dinosaurs with laser beams, photons light the night
Stimulated emission focused to a gleaming laser blade assault
Ancient cyborg beasts of shining chrome, an impossible sight!
The terror-cyber-doom-brigade
Cross a bridge, break down a gate
Bite at the grass with teeth kinetic
These beasts of feather and technology
Pacifistic herbivores, lost in modern day
Their battle gear is purely aesthetic
[guitar]
They're very sorry
about
the asphalt
[keyboard and also guitar]
Dinosaurs with laser beams, they respond to our queries
Dinosaurs with laser beams, dignified and commanding
Paleontologists are working with them to confirm some theories
Our prehistoric cyborg friends open new paths to understanding
Each other's minds
I think the scansion is all over the place because I wasn't working to an actual tune. Probably I would have to mangle and rewrite that if I were trying to formalize it. But it's good off the cuff.
I dunno. A few dozen more and maybe I've got concept album material.
[EDIT: If you want this concept played totally 100% straight with songs about dinosaurs fighting to protect the holy land, an actual metal band has you covered.]
[RETURN OF EDIT: A single minute of singing and my voice has gone all squeedlie. I think I tense my throat too much and put my uvula between my vocal cords or something. I know I do SOMETHING with my uvula that isn't supposed to be done with the poor fleshbag. It tickles.]
In the shower tonight, I started humming a bit, and thinking back about E3 I decided to put a few words to the tune.
Din-o-saurs.
Din-o-saurs-with!
Dino-o-saurs-with-LASER-BEAMS...
The thought stuck with me as I got out of the shower, and I finally decided... what the heck, let's write it down.
The police arrived ten minutes late
the scientist threw wide the gate
And through it stomped the giant feet of history
His plot was diabolical
the cost was astronomical
The details of his scheme forever fogged in mystery
But in the streets there came loud screams
Something that they had never dreamed
Shoulder cannons charged and teeth bared to the sky!
Dinosaurs with laser beams, their claws tear up the asphalt
Dinosaurs with laser beams, photons light the night
Stimulated emission focused to a gleaming laser blade assault
Ancient cyborg beasts of shining chrome, an impossible sight!
The terror-cyber-doom-brigade
Cross a bridge, break down a gate
Bite at the grass with teeth kinetic
These beasts of feather and technology
Pacifistic herbivores, lost in modern day
Their battle gear is purely aesthetic
[guitar]
They're very sorry
about
the asphalt
[keyboard and also guitar]
Dinosaurs with laser beams, they respond to our queries
Dinosaurs with laser beams, dignified and commanding
Paleontologists are working with them to confirm some theories
Our prehistoric cyborg friends open new paths to understanding
Each other's minds
I think the scansion is all over the place because I wasn't working to an actual tune. Probably I would have to mangle and rewrite that if I were trying to formalize it. But it's good off the cuff.
I dunno. A few dozen more and maybe I've got concept album material.
[EDIT: If you want this concept played totally 100% straight with songs about dinosaurs fighting to protect the holy land, an actual metal band has you covered.]
[RETURN OF EDIT: A single minute of singing and my voice has gone all squeedlie. I think I tense my throat too much and put my uvula between my vocal cords or something. I know I do SOMETHING with my uvula that isn't supposed to be done with the poor fleshbag. It tickles.]
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 12:10 pm (UTC)β This sounds Decemberists-y in my head.
Aaa I want to chomp on it until it scans now. And get out the manuscript paper. *itchy refinement brain*
… what kind of tune were you thinking of?
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 12:17 pm (UTC)It's difficult to pin down. I'm afraid it really breaks down towards the end. I may try to figure out how chip music works and blurp out a tune for it later.
Probably I will not. Apologies for putting crumbs in your brain.
[EDIT] Please do not blackmail me with this shitty phone recording of my actual extremely unskilled voice I made hunkered in my closet. here.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 12:56 pm (UTC)β That's not far from what I was imagining! There's sort of an “intended meter” which shows pretty clearly, just some of the words don't match up.
… now I want to quantize the melody you sang to something conventional and write that out too.
*conductor bird eyes you*
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 12:58 pm (UTC)I don't know what a quantizing is but you're welcome to do it if you think it will help.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 04:24 pm (UTC)This is incredibly easier said than done to fix I know but the biggest thing I can hear affecting your voice is shyness/lack of confidence. From there, if shyness weren't an issue and scenery-chewing voice acting were easier for you, it turns out getting from where I was to where I am now was mostly just a matter of practice. (Playing Dr. Rosalene for two games will do that to you.)
The trick is to go for softness rather than pitch, so instead of Monty Python falsettos you get that conversation we had once about why all the trans YouTubers you watch sound so breathy and wispy and ethereal. How to speak up and project so you don't sound shy without canceling out the softness is the tricky part, of course, and is where I'm currently struggling.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 04:27 pm (UTC)[EDIT 3: THE UNRELATED SEQUEL] Also, the biggest Thing Affecting My Voice is that I have this lisp that afflicts me with Snakeitis.
once wasssss a maaaaan
no subject
Date: 2019-06-17 04:36 pm (UTC)It's really hard to explain what I mean in text. I know you're normally allergic to my voice posts on Telegram, but I could put together some before-and-after examples just to more clearly illustrate what I'm talking about here sometime if you're interested. Otherwise, that's fine--no pressure. Basically the TL;DR is that's why YouTubers sound like that.
[Edit: Clearly the answer to that issue is to get FaceRig and be a snake on the internet.]
no subject
Date: 2019-06-18 10:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-18 10:17 am (UTC)boop beep
(KAY ELL EFF uh huh)
no subject
Date: 2019-06-18 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-19 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 02:32 am (UTC)