ALIVE
Sep 20, 2023
alechutson
Stegochorus
Hello, chefs!
What a fun prompt. I fudged a little bit on starting with a chorus… When I started writing the song, the instrumental hook seemed like it would be the chorus, but now it’s pretty clearly not. (Not to mention I included the whole intro before that section even comes in! What a schmuck!)
Primitive percussion was another fun thought experiment. Did it mean using old instruments like shakers and things, or using tribal percussive patterns? I opted to find samples of wood and stones and animal growls. I figure those things have been around for a bit.
The Jurassic lyrical inspiration is that the song basically is about a T Rex who is brought back to life by scientists, and he escapes and starts hunting them while simultaneously facing an existential crisis.
Fun tidbit – I recorded the guitars through a tiny battery powered Pignose amplifier! The drums are a combination of loops from a sample pack that I sliced up and combined with one shots of snares and stuff.
LYRICS:
Looking for feedback on
Does this feel like realistic behavior for a reanimated T Rex?
Discussion
nick September 26, 2023 10:31am
Another astounding vocal arrangement. love this one. but hell yeah, what you’re calling the original chorus is totally sick. and eff it, im happy to call that the chorus. but yeah, i say scratch that schmucky intro and this thing’s platinum. seriously tho, that chorus would make a killer beginning. great job, dude.
alechutson September 26, 2023 10:47am
Thank you! Had to include the schmucky intro, that’s the secret to my primitive percussion 😉
nick September 26, 2023 11:19am
rock and a hard place 🙃
Ryan September 26, 2023 1:54pm
Assignment be damned, that intro is rad. Totally shocked me when the next section came in, so if that was part of your vision for this track, you nailed that.
EliasSZ October 8, 2023 1:59pm
I like the intro too, but kinda want it out of the way. Smacking straight into that chorus would land really well with me – not cause of the assignment, I just think that’s what I wish the song did. Either way though, it’s a cool section.
Ben September 25, 2023 10:46am
this is great. percussion sounds really good, especially when it’s naked at the beginning.
love the aggression of the intro chorus. feedback, then a roar, then a proggy line that ends as suddenly as it started. It’s one of those complex melodies where I’m like, “Ok i need to learn this. it’s so composed and specific. i need to figure this one out and get this under my belt so i can sing along and get the parts right.” Love when i feel this immediately. Maybe the only thing about the chorus i’d add is a slightly more present/trebbly line that stands above the fuzz and adds a little definition? Maybe this is a chorus 2 or 3 thing?
Love the verses. and love the half time at 2:20. that always feels good. maybe some slight tweaking needed of the first bar of the shaker that comes in right after it, or maybe i’m hearing it wrong?
Great Hail To The Thief energy in this song. Love it. Listened to it late last night on my phone in the backyard and it knocked my socks off. Now i’m listening on good speakers. not wearing socks though sadly.
any plans for this song?
alechutson September 25, 2023 1:09pm
RIP your socks 💀
Great suggestion re: arrangement, I think you’re spot on there. In general I think I was little sloppy with the drum loops, but I think it works as a demo.
This song is def going into my live repertoire – sadly it’s a little late to include it in my upcoming album release so maybe it’ll be a single somewhere down the line. Glad you like 🙂
nick September 26, 2023 10:33am
can totally relate to Ben’s compulsion to learn the melody. feels very natural.
Ben September 26, 2023 10:41am
another thought: I think the verse drums are some of your best programmed drums. great ghost notes on the snare. And the swing and feel matches everything correctly i think.
alechutson September 26, 2023 10:46am
The verse drums (and chorus) are actually live drums loops – a while ago I bought a pack of live drum groove recordings at different tempos and have been using them for my demos ever since. Less exciting than programming then properly, but a hell of a time saver. Feels more like painting by mood
Ben September 26, 2023 10:48am
ah, you pair your playing well with it. I’d say my biggest challenge in all of recording is matching the feel/swing of drums with the feel/swing of gtr, and often, the best way to get matching feels is to start with one of them (almost always the drums) and just craft your other feels around that feel.
EliasSZ October 8, 2023 1:58pm
Late to the game, but think Hail to the Thief energy is spot on the money.
Also agree about the melody aspect – something compelling, familiar, but still unfamiliar about it. Like, I can almost expect how the vocals (and I guess the arrangement too) moves, but yet it still constantly surprises me. It’s a killer tune.
agasthya September 24, 2023 10:12pm
that opening riff/instrumental hook is HEAVY! love the tone the pignose gave the guitar. vocals are super duper clean, and the melodies+harmonies are very Alec (in a good way). all in all I would say this is exactly what a reanimated t rex would do.
alechutson September 25, 2023 1:12pm
thanks man! WWRTRD (what would reanimated t-rex do?)
nick September 26, 2023 10:34am
it would definitely call the first person it saw a “snack”, that’s for sure.