The Vanishing Mind (Calexico)

Hi Brian, that was lovely. Poignant, evocative really emotional to watch and listen, thank you for sharing something so personal to you. Best wishes, Alan.
Have a great weekend slipping into ‘old age’ I hope you don’t break anything on the way :grinning:

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A very moving production Brian. The whole thing is worthy of a place in an art house cinema.
I think you’ve done a terrific job putting it all together. The instruments blended together so well and I thought your vocal recorded on the phone mic lent a rawness that combined really well with the old cine family film clips. You don’t need vocal enhancement plug-ins (sorry David😉).

Im glad you’ve done the grieving for the mum you used to know. I went through a similar situation a number of years ago and know the stress. In years to come this production and the others you’ve done with the home movie clips will keep her alive in all your hearts.

Gosh you were a chubby toddler! Anyway youngster, enjoy slipping into old age this weekend. :smiley:

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@Rossco01 Jason many thanks indeed. :smiley:
There’ll be plenty to ‘critique’ at a later date, I’m sure! :rofl:

@Helen0609 , aw, what a lovely comment.
I love it when any kind of art changes the way I feel. :smiley: or :cry:

@Avalon426 Jasmine, yes, she has lived many different lives-
Born almost at the same time as Ireland itself; whisked away by visiting Danish lecturer; lived the life of a diplomat in Lebanon/Switzerland/Spain, returning back to Dublin as a widow. She was always very independent and thrived in social situations. She’s on the final chapter now.

@DarrellW
Thank you so much for your support. Never heard a discouraging word from you since I joined so many years ago.
I think I need a lie down now! :laughing:

@DavidP , ah yes, you know me better than most here! :rofl:
Thanks for the kind words as well as the constructive feedback.
Haha, it’s always a bit of a lottery where levels end up, innit?
They seem to yoyo around the place, depending on the time of day, my mood or others’ suggestions, till I finally click ‘save’.
I had just a brief look at the CLA site. Am I right in assuming that most of the things it does, are already contained in Reaper fx, and that it’s primarily the ease of use and available presets that makes it attractive?
Maybe… :thinking:

@franzek Vielen Dank, mein Freund :smiley:
I don’t know why it surprises me that you love Calexico. Probably just my stereotyping of Bavaria :roll_eyes:
They are fab, nicht wahr? There’s another one of their songs I’d like to have a bash at, but not for a while :wink:
Servus

Cheers @Alan_1970 , very kind of you :smiley:
Many people are very reluctant to share personal stuff in general, let alone with strangers online. Perhaps because I don’t think I have many ‘dark secrets’, I tend not to mind :rofl: Glad you enjoyed and ta for the good wishes

@sairfingers Ah Gordon, you old fogey-
Much appreciated :smiley:
I do enjoy your contributions, whether on my threads or others.

You’re right about not needing to go down the tech route to try and sound better, esp with most of us here on the forum who would benefit a lot more with just practicing. On the other hand, it can be fun, which is reason enough in itself.
I’m pretty sure I’ve shared it before, but my ideal sound and performance (genuinely!) could pretty well be summarised by this:

Ps. I’m still carrying the remnants of that ‘puppy fat’
Have a fab day tomorrow :wink:

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That’s a fair assumption, Brian. One may debate the quality of the plugins. I think stock Reaper plugins are generally considered pretty good. From an ease of use, the CLA Vocals plugin gives you three options for each effect and the ability to set the level. Makes it easier than having to understand all the parameters of the effect. Just try the three options and use ears.

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Brian, if you sounded like your chum from China, I’d be offering to pay for your vocal plug-ins. :joy:

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Hi Brian, that was a very moving well produced production. I think your chum for china would be jealous of that vocal performance. Everything fitted so well together to make a great tribute video for your mother which I’m sure you’re family will treasure for a life time. Playing the flute must be like riding a bike, your missus did a very good job considering she hasn’t played in decades. Top stuff all round.

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What a beautiful video, and song, Brian. So lovely to see all the smiles in your memories of your mom.

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@Socio Cheers, James :smiley:
Well, decades is perhaps an exaggeration, but I wouldn’t say much more than a handful of times in the last 10. It probably is a bit like riding the bike though with the muscle memory and all. She used to play in the school orchestra.

@Mari63 Thanks Mari. Yes, Dad loved his still photography, but mum took all the home movies. Every now and again he might pick it up, but would only take shots of her, which made her laugh (and make him stop right away). I was just thinking of you today and wondering how you were getting on, so thanks for dropping by to say hello :smiley:

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Moin Brian :smiley:

No worries, I’m from the north :rofl::rofl:. I live in Frankonia/Bavaria for almost 20 years, haven’t adapted to local habits much, but instead have developed my own stereotyps about the region - very very sorry Andrea, in case you read this :grin::grin:

Oh yes, I’ve seen them live, Mariachi Luz de Luna & Calexico, in 2000, in Bremen. Classy and skilled.

Actually, listening to your song has immediately made me to search for Calexico songs that might be accessible to me!

Tschüssi, have fun tomorrow! :smiley:

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Well… No idea if this song sounded good. I read your intro and saw the first frames. I just can’t. It’s too touching. Against reason I’m hoping that your mother still sometimes has a few fleeting happy moments.

Hmm … Next time something about armed bovines or so? :slightly_smiling_face:

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I do! I don’t miss anything written behind my back :joy:! I admit to be a genuine Bavarian over generations with zero Prussion influence, I live down in the very south of the republic, almost in Austria. I can hardly imagine, that there should be any stereotypes about us :grin:?
Tell. Me. More! And…there must be a reason, why you left the lowlands and never moved back? Being close to Thomann’s? :wink: :joy:!

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I just wanted to tease you a little bit, I hope you didn’t mind… :smiley:

Sure thing :grinning: - it just so happend in the cantine recently that I was asked by my colleagues why I didn’t touch the roasted pork skin, you know, one of those local dishes. Something must have gone terribly wrong with my integration here, they said with a grin :wink:
From that I draw two conclusions: 1. people in the area like roasted pork skin. 2. we share the same sense of humor :grin: :grin:

Love :heart: and job :factory_worker: - in that priority order. Living relatively close to Thomann’s store only comes third :man_shrugging: :grin:

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@brianlarsen
Great performance, Brian.
How good it is when there is someone in the family to support a musician…
You have a great band there.
I give all thumbs up, although the theme is so sad.
Leo

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@JokuMuu Ah well, thank you for giving it a go anyway :rofl:

It’s interesting- although her cognitive functions have been declining steadily over the last decade, it does not seem to have any effect on her emotional state. She seems to have just as many happy/fun times (and also the occasional black days) as she had throughout her life.
The cow song is funny. But dark! :laughing:

Fahndung :rofl:

@crocodile1 Cheers, Leo :smiley:
These projects give me a good excuse to be more sociable than I normally might be :wink:
Thanks for the thumbs :+1:

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Gosh,
The innkeeper has a sleepover and the band comes together! I guess the rates for the night were in line with what musicians can afford? :wink:

I have to agree with @DavidP on his assessment. On CLA, if you remember scootertrash. He once told me as I was cutting my chops on DAW work that CLA was like cheating. It was that good and it really is. For $30 it is a bargain! But even more important is to transition over to some real equipment like an AI, a mic and a bit more. That is if you are not doing so now.

All in all though, to my ears your getting the most of of what you are using as is possible. Nice job all around on vox and play mate!

Keep it up, be well,
LB

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Thanks for the listen and comments, Brother :smiley:
Yeah, I remember a couple of posts from Scooter at the old address…
I might have another think about the CLA when I’m doing my next ‘project’. That’s a fair few recommendations.
My ‘fear’ would be that the vox would not sound much better, but no more ‘mobile phone’ excuses :rofl:

Solid track for the ears and eyes. Well played with videos that harken back to simpler times (or so we would like to think). All the collab pieces fit together well into a nice package. Well done!

Yeah Brian,
Hard to say on CLA if driven by a phone. You do pretty well using a phone, if that is what you are still doing. But if you step up the big leagues ( :slightly_smiling_face:) and want some good vocal treatment. CLA is a great place to start mate.

All the best!
LB

Cheers for the listen and compliments, Clint :smiley:

Ah yes, rose-tinted spectacles… It’s a good job we tend to remember the happy easier than the pain. Here in the UK, there are times one might think society was at its happiest when bombs were falling out of the sky during WWII :roll_eyes: :rofl:

@LBro Haha, I’m still a happy kid playing softball in the little league … and I evolve slowly. My fins have become more muscular and my gills can take the odd gulp of fresh air, but I’m not quite ready to leave the pond yet :rofl:

Brian,
All kidding aside, what is your recording signal chain, or setup?

Ta,
LB

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