August 15, 2003

Nailing the Clams

I'm still intending, as I mentioned before, to write a little essay on the bizarre superstitious habits and tics singers use to so as to avoid jinxing the vocal recording process. I've never met a singer who isn't at least a little obsessive-compulsive. Over the years, you acquire layer upon layer of such "lattice-work" (to borrow a term from Operators and Things.) Eventually, if you're not careful, you end up having to deck yourself out like some kind of Hills Have Eyes medicine man or orc shaman. I'm well aware that there are drugs you can take for this kind of thing.

Anyway, I've already mentioned my newest one, the "magic vocal glasses". From now on, I will have to wear them every time I try to do a vocal track.

I'm not up to writing the whole essay now, but here are a couple of other pieces of paraphernalia that, for some reason, have come to play a role in the vocal recording process: framed Robyn Hitchcock autograph, and weird green figurine of Chinese man.

vocaids.jpg

On another vocal-related note, here's the lyric "sheet" for one of the songs. I don't know how other folks do it, but I always provide Kevin with a typed, double-spaced lyric print-out that he uses as a kind of "score" so he can follow along, know where he is, and take notes on where to punch:
lyricsheet.jpg

The circled bits are candidates for punching, the crossed out ones are the ones I allegedly "nailed" (as they say-- when you get it, it's nailed; when you don't, for some reason, it's a "clam." You fix the clams by "picking them up," but somehow in the process they get "nailed" too. No idea why.) It looks like I screwed up quite a lot there, but actually that turned out to be one of the nicest-sounding tracks.

Posted by Dr. Frank at August 15, 2003 06:29 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Good luck on nailing those clams on the pickup, fo shizzle. Oh god did I really just write that?

Posted by: Mickie Rat at August 15, 2003 06:54 PM

I hate to get off topic here and refer to a previous thread, but "Magic Vocal Glasses" wouldn't be a bad album title.

Posted by: greg at August 15, 2003 08:32 PM


hey cool,interesting to see what kind autographs
that one who would normally be the autographer has
in his obssesion...i mean collection.

by the by...two more great titles,compilations
a friend of mine made and titled...

creamy nougat center
trust me,i'm a doctor

beth

Posted by: beth at August 15, 2003 08:44 PM

did you use logic or protools to record?

Posted by: tim at August 16, 2003 12:35 AM

personally as far as album titles go i think the best is
"Alpacalypse"

it combines the joy of a llama/camel/sheep/woman on a lonely argentinian night with the horror of the ensuing end of all in creation
...and it sounds neat!

Posted by: robert at August 18, 2003 04:49 AM