PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase In The City (w/ Janice)

Years ago, I lived south of Philly.
(Jersey, actually, but don't admit that).
Music related trips to north of the city involved the Lindenwold High Speed Line, the Philadelphia subway and buses.
It's how you get around in the city.
On one particular trip, during a garbage strike, I watched a young couple on a bus pointing out things to each other.
Wide-eyed, whispering to each other, omg look at that!, checking the schedule...
I decided to document the trip...

Janice helps me out on this (I think she had fun on this one)
Thank You, Janice and Bud, ...again!


BIAB helps a country boy do some city music...

RealTracks in song: ~~770:Bass, Acoustic, Jazz Sw 110 (B:walking)
RealTracks in song: 1955:Sax, Alto, Soloist TexasBluesRockSlow12-8Mark Sw 060
RealDrums in style: JazzBrushes: a: Brushes Swirling b: Brushes Busier


IN THE CITY


old men eye the young girls
an old woman guards her purse
bus drivers can't be civil
but haven't we all seen worse
drunks sleep it off wherever
blind men beg for change
but nothing ever changes
you get wet standing in the rain
a lot of things don't matter in the city
but don't you worry your bleeding heart
it gets easier not to care

the unions want more money
the police want 'em out of the street
once in a while the push and shove
will knock you off your feet
spray paint on the subway walls
mr. cool, sly, little joe
vacant buildings have no windows
if they ask, well, you don't know
a lot of things don't matter in the city
but don't you worry your bleeding heart
it gets easier not to care

runaways in the alleys
all they own in a paper sack
if they don't like what they find here
tell them to go back
sure you'll see some hookers
and you'll see a crime or two
the cabbies don't care if they run you down
but there's nothing i can do
a lot of things don't matter in the city
but don't you worry your bleeding heart
it gets easier not to care


Have at it.
floyd

You're talking bout my stomping grounds..... South Jersey. Born in Maple Shade, lived in Burlington and then after my father died, we moved to Lindenwold. I went to high school in Pine Hill which was the Lindenwold district. I lived in Lindenwold for several years before leaving home at 19 to join the service. I rode that line a few times when it was absolutely necessary to go to 8th street music. I hated the city of Philly. I'm so glad I got out of Jersey and do not plan to ever go back there.

So... what town did you live in up there in that concrete jungle?


Oh yeah... the song.... kudo's for breaking out of the country genre and giving it a good shot. I like the backing tracks pretty good for that style of Jazz.

I'll say this about the vox.... you sing well, but I'm thinking that this is a bit out of your comfort zone and it ends up being too "clean" if you know what I mean. Your country roots want to come out and that's a jazz song....

Cool tune and well done.

Hi floyd,

Ok. I've picked myself up off the floor now. I was not at all prepared for how different this was going to be from your usual songs.

In addition, Janice just continues to surprise me more and more and more.

At first I was speechless. Then I had a shot of vodka

This song is amazing, awesome, outstanding!!! I reckon if Pat Marr has his WOW-o-meter in action when he listens, it will shoot off the scale.

I don't know too much about jazz from the latter end of the 1950s and into the early 60s but "In The City" reminds me of that period of music. The walking bass and the solo sax certainly have overtones of Henry Mancini.

Firstly, a huge, HUGE round of applause to Janice and you for singing so brilliantly against such a minimalistic backing. With my limited singing skills, I can only sit back and admire such an amazing ability. In addition, I really loved the harmony between the two of you, and the power in your voice is not something that I've heard quite so 'out there' before. The scat singing interplay between Janice and you at the end was a perfect fit and very skilfully done.

I've never been able to write an AAA form song. I've listened and read about songs such as "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", "Scarborough Fair", etc., but it doesn't help. AAA is just not a form that sits comfortably with my head. Now that you've set the bar for me, I'm determined do it at least once in my life!

For me, the the most outstanding aspect of these lyrics is how you throw caution to the wind and leave the last few lines (i.e the refrain) dangling without rhymes. How inspired is that! If you were a painter, that type of brushstroke is definitely more like Picasso than Rembrandt.

Your lyric movement through its rhyme scheme is well worth noting. The first two A-sections are xaxaxbbbxxx while the third A-section is slightly different with xaxabbxxxxx. The lack of resolution that accompanies the non-rhyming lines that end each verse really made me stop and think about what you were saying. To my mind, that's perfect prosody for the lyric content. That the third A-section closed with 5 non-rhyming phrases was, to my way of thinking, an outstanding method of verse development through lyric movement (in addition to lyric content). I've never tried this. You've really piqued my interest!

Overall ... just wow! (as I've heard someone else say on this forum)

Ok ... one more play and a third shot of vodka - it's that kind of music.

I'm so glad that Janice and you assembled this song. You've given me a tonne (we're metric in Australia) of ideas.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Floyd.

Pressure of work is still keeping me off the forum pretty much these days, but I gotta find time to respond to this one.

I think it was very brave of you to run with such minimalist instrumentation - it's never easy to get that sort of backing working, but you've achieved it magnificently. The track is full of atmosphere and most importantly, it suits the mood of the lyrics. I love the way the sax gets busier as the song progresses. It's a clever way of building the tension without increasing the instrument count.

Singing - wonderful by you both.

Mix - Yes, I put it up on the Tannoys and cranked it and it sounded great. The mix seems fairly dry and in-your-face, which gives it lots of punch and clarity. Made it sound very intimate, which I liked.

Is there anything I can find to critisize? Having said I like the dryish mix, I might have put a sprinkling of reverb on the sax to sweeten it a bit. At times it felt a little too far forward, but at that I'm having to look really hard to find something.

Really nice to hear you venture out of your routine with this one. More please.

ROG.

Wow. Beatnik Jazz. Like it.

Don't know how this is gonna fit in on the next bootleg CD though.



Way cool Daddyo.


Regards,


Colonel Parker

Lived in Lindenwold. '78-'79 as best I can recall. I had been in a duo. My partner moved to Philly and had some dealings with Cashman and West (Croce's producers - and a duo themselves - they were in Philly) - they showed interest in working with us - so we (my wife and I) moved there as well. That all fell apart, though... My avatar was taken at a park somewhere in Clementon.

I went to Google Maps to "walk down" the White Horse Pike to see if I recognized ANYTHING. The pictures were taken at NIGHTITME! Who's brilliant idea was that?

I was seriously not expecting that. Fearless! Just when I thought I had you pigeonholed you fly the coop. I guess it's easy to step outside the box with biab. The mood quickly put me into a state of mind that was real citified. I got the same feeling as I did when I used to stay up late at night during high school and watch those old black and white movies with Sal Mineo. Always set in the tenaments of the lower east side of Manhattan. I like the idea of you shaking it up to see what might fall out. Great lyrics. I dig the scatting in the end with Janice. Nice job guys. Cool man cool.
Tom

Had to listen 3 times to this one. 'Nothing changes. You get wet standing in the rain'. Beginning reminds me a little of 'Fever'. Sax comes out so nice. Great lyrics and adventurous vocals. Unrestrained feel to a cruisy ending. Yippee! Cheers.

Hi, Floyd !:))

What a step outside the country box indeed !!!:))
I am not surprised, in fact I know that
such brilliant musicians as you and Janice
can do most genrés as easy as that !:))

I hope you will continue on your journey
outside the box and do some more exploring ?:))
I enjoyed this truly much !:))

Cheers
Dani

Hi Floyd and Janice

Well that was certainly unexpected. This is what makes this forum so great. Just when you think you've got everybody waxed something like this comes along and knocks you down to size.

I love the ending "Zum Zum..."etc. Sounds like a subway train. Well sung guys. Love the simple arrangement with only 3 tracks and simple backing vocals.

Hi Janice and Floyd,

really different. The arrangement transported the
mood of the lyrics very well.
My vocaloids applauded when they heard you two
scatting in the end.
That is something special. After listening to your
song I'm sure I don't want to live in Philadelphia.

Guenter

Floyd and Janice:

This has a very cool vibe to it and I like what Janice's vocal add to it.

Nice Job.

John

Noel - SO glad that you got to this one... and glad to knock you out of your chair and leave you speechless - always love your descriptions...and, hey... you had a few shots... a good weekend...

A lot of the vocal "just happened". The style is actually based on stuff that Tom Waits does... but, I did not want to do a "Waits impression"... however, there were a couple of times that my throat got dry and I almost gargled - and it came out like that anyway - so I left it... The scatting at the end sort of "just happened" and I thought "it would be great to have Janice do a counter to this"...

The AAA form just seemed a natural fit for the subject and the idea I had for the song from the start - you can think of it as 3 verses and 3 choruses with a very short chorus - it just kind of bolts on to the back end of the verse. Love that you referenced "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" - I'm sure you recall, I "grew up" on Glen - and, therefore, Jimmy Webb...

Thanks so much for a review as entertaining as any song...

Cool tune. Very jazzy loved the bass run in the background was very cool. Excellent singing and playing

Hi Floyd, or is this really Floyd's twin brother, Lloyd, the urban Jane, the Yin to Floyd's yang?? In all seriousness, this is a very cool song. Loved the unique arrangement-the boys in the box really felt the song (funny how that just happens sometimes). Cool feel, cool lyrics, and great vocals by both of you!! Rumor has it, Janice will be debuted on "THE VOICE" next season. Great work, both of you! Take care. Greg

BTW Floyd, since your a Jimmy Webb fan, I'm guessing you know the "Cry like a rainstorm" CD by Linda Ronstad? Four beautifully sung Webb classics. If you don't know it, I'm sure you'd dig it. Take care. Greg

I love this song and loved singing my part. If I'd had a black beret I would've worn it while singing. You painted a picture so real that it scared me and I agree with others that the sax made It come alive. Also, the beginning of your scat singing makes me smile with anticipation with every listen. In my next life I'm gonna be Ella.

Janice

ROG - Thanks for all of that. I'm quite pleased that you picked up on exactly what I tried to do with this... the sax part was "designed" to reflect what was happening in the lyric as it progressed - getting increasingly more "chaotic" as the city gets grittier... I wanted you to feel like you were being "accosted" by the sax as the lyrics says "..the push and shove..." - and to scream like a siren towards the end...
I've wanted to do something like this for quite some time... and this seemed like the right lyric to carry it. I did, in fact, work with the reverb on the sax - it was a very fine line - any more seemed like "too much" very quickly...
Appreciate your in-depth look at this...

Colonel Bob - I had that same thought - this just won't fit... may have to be a Bonus Track - maybe just the first 50,000...

Tom - Glad this transported you to another place and time... you've been going in some interesting directions lately - just trying to keep up...