Link: Green Is So Much Greener Without Blue

Two-minute-something of unsophisticated cliché pop banality.
Just what the doctor ordered.
Short, so you don't have to suffer for too long.

I don't know why many of my love songs are about ended and/or failed relationships.
I'm still happily married.
I'm probably the dark side of Marty.
The Anti-Marty...

The usual answers to all unasked questions:

• My Chief Director of Linguistic Dadaism suggested to summarize the title with "Yellow" and call it a day.
• Don't ask. I myself have no idea why I came up with that intro.
  Probably unconsious springtime fever or something.
• Yes, with that voice you could probably write for a p*rn movie.
• No, I won't!
• The first version had more than twice as many lyrics.
  With every word removed, the song got better.
  So far I've only had this effect with guitars.
  I guess the best song I'll ever write will be an instrumental without guitars.

Feedback (the good, the bad and the ugly) as always highly appreciated.

As always, a BIG "thank you" to Marty for linguistic advice.

Some technical information:
Style: _FACULA.STY

The band:
Bass: 1522
Drums: PopRock8ths
Guitars: 4157, 4387, 4388, 3931
Synthesizers: me, myself and I

Vocals: Natalie + BG vocals Cong

You can find the lyrics in the next post.

Title: Green Is So Much Greener Without Blue

(Verse)
Ah...
It feels so good
It feels so good
To see you leave
And all my grief
Will start to stop

Oh...
Before you go
You gotta know
Life is so much better without you
Green is so much greener without blue

(Chorus)
This is my song that I sing along
To find the place where I belong
The symphony that makes me free
Like a dolphin in the sea

One song every day
Helps the memories fade away
Like a little bird in a tree
I feel free

(Verse)
Ooh...
Without you
I feel like new
All the things you said
That were running through my head
Back then
Were not true

Oh...
I don't know
How long ago
That I realized that these are our final days
Now the little tattoo on my shoulder says

(Chorus)
This is my song that I sing along
To find the place where I belong
The symphony that makes me free
Like a dolphin in the sea

One song every day
Helps the memories fade away
Like a little bird in a tree
I feel free

(Chorus)
This is my song that I sing along
To find the place where I belong
The symphony that makes me free
Like a dolphin in the open sea

One song every day
Helps the memories fade away
Like a little bird in a tree
I feel free

This is a really good rock song, lyrically and musically - it didn't come across as by Anti-Marty at all! I initially thought it was a male vocalist before seeing it was SV Natalie, but I've also heard Solaria sound like a male, though the first time I heard Bif Naked's "Lucky" I thought that was a male singer, too.

Hmmmmmm.

Another classic piece of salacious movie sync license pop!!

Hey, I meant that as a compliment!!!!!

Kidding!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, you are a master of this catchy pop genre. Really well done from start to finish.

The melody for
"One song every day
Helps the memories fade away
Like a little bird in a tree
I feel free"
sounds more open, free and unconstrained than the rest of the song...which works given the structure & narrative.
Cool sounding thing though the lyrics don't really survive analysis, (perfectly pop).

Well, far be it from *ME* to dis "pop", banal or not. Ha! Very fun to listen to and nicely produced. Tres cool!

Well, it just so happens that I'm a huge fan of unsophisticated cliché pop banality!

Seriously I love your productions, always so well done. Love the dynamics! Excellent sounding track, sounds great through the 'phones.

"I'm probably the dark side of Marty"

Thanks Wao for listening and your feedback.
Even though I often use Solaria because she is the most versatile singer, I actually prefer the alto voice, and that's where Natalie shines.

Your write up is worth the price of admission!

“The first version had more than twice as many lyrics.
With every word removed, the song got better.”
Yep, perfection is when there is nothing left to take away … rather than add.

Like you we tend to write failed relationship songs for Janice to sing about “those bad men” (as Hans calls them😊) and like you we are very happily married but those songs are a good challenge.

Natalie sounds excellent and those breath intakes sound so natural.
The arrangement and the dynamics from the band and the singers are very good.

We love this:
“Life is so much better without you
Green is so much greener without blue”

Per always great audio and vid production.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

Thanks David

I never really thought about the consequences of SongTradr licensing one of my songs to a p*rn movie company

No Bad. No Ugly.
Just Good. Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.

fj

Hey Brain,
Even though this really isn't my genre, I can appreciate the effort that went into this. And it was an enjoyable listen.
I don't get pop music anywhere else, only here.

At first I thought, "Wait, these lyrics sound like a female perspective but I hear a male voice singing (probably his voice)."
When the song ended, I scanned some of the earlier reviews and the proverbial light bulb lit, a synth voice is at play.
Then the world made sense again, she underwent a sex change
Good job.

I love this cliche pop music! And you do it so good!

I admire how well you've mastered the synth voices. I doubt I would have the faintest idea how to do them.

Nice!!!

Alan

It's very well done. Good sound, good singing and dynamic.
laurent

WOW That sounded AWESOME !!! The whole production was SPOT ON!!!
1 - How did you get Natalie to sound like a guy? and so Human? Cong? Where did you get that voice? is it English VDB?
2 - Like your lyrics ... excellent
3 - Use of Real Tracks fantastic
4 - Arrangement - Great
Over all !!!!!!

Great song BD! Your productions are always so cool and I loved the guitars in this. The end was pretty cold, but I probably only felt that way because I wanted the song to continue. Really good stuff,

Brad

Brain, that was fantastic.
Really great pop music
Super use of that synth voice.
Great mix.
Loved it.

Very cool song, Brain. We often talk about the lyrics, and I might forget to mention how good the song is. It is. You are the master of those synth vocals. Excellent harmony and the song is so well developed with dynamics. That abrupt ending gets me every time.

BTW, I have my dark side and you're welcome to it, but still... green is yellow without blue. hehe Did you get my PM about green?

Excellent pop production, BD.
I too thought it was a male vocal but what do we know?

Vic

Good to see you again, Ray.
I hope all is well.
Thanks for listening and for your comment.
I guess since I'm not a native speaker, none of my lyrics will stand up to deeper analysis, but as you said, for pop music it's enough

That 'stop' is effective Angry and/or brazen females seem to be your trademark, I don't have an idea what a psychiatrist would think of what's going on in your brain. but I like the concept "Life is so much better without you/Green is so much greener without blue" is a very good slogan for emancipation.

Good rock production, you have gained routine that works like charm. Strong catchy melody.

And I have nothing to complain about work with Synth V voices, in your capable hands they work in a way that I don't have to think about the used technology, the delivery of the message is the only thing that counts and it is convincing and humanlike.

Janne

So...did Natalie get a sex change?...she's sounding a little masculine...but it works!...your songs (this one included) are technical masterpieces...the tracks are very pro sounding...great rock band...how long from start to finish would a song this well constructed and produced take you?...just curious as I venture into Natalie's realm...top-notch for sure!!

Thanks Ron for your nice comment
Mucho appreciated!

HA!
Now I finally know my target group
Thanks for your nice comment (and the one over at YouTube as well).

B. 'Dark' Thomas
Now you know!

Hi, Brain.

Fun listen. Unsophisticated cliché pop banality is what pop should be.

Nailed it.

Thanks J&B

The original song title was "It Feels So Good", but when I came up with that phrase, I knew it had to be the song title.
I'm a sucker for unusual song names.

Delightful ear candy pop. A fun, fun listen. And would a hit a couple of decades ago.

Thanks Floyd.
Your feedback is, as always, mucho appreciated!

Thanks Thumping Man

To me Natalie doesn't sound like a guy, she sings contralto, the lowest female vocal range, but she still sounds like a female.
But you're not the only one, so I'll probably go up a third or a fifth on the next song, it makes a big difference down there.

This is a very cool song. Super vocal and lyric. Loved the groove Very catchy. Well done

Thanks Alan

It's actually not that hard to get decent vocals with Synthesizer V, and with every song I learn a bit more how to use them.
I'm pretty sure you could do the same.

Thank you Laurent for listening and for your kind comment.
Much appreciated.

Thank you so much, Elliot, for listening and your kind words.
I'm blushing a little right now...

To answer your questions:

• I actually think Natalie still sounds feminine, but of course her alto voice is low to begin with, and I have her sing in the lowest register where she still sounds good.
• At least 80% of the humanity of her voice (or, any voice) comes from the carefully chosen prosody, including the breathing, the time it takes to actually breathe, little breaks and delays and stuff like this.
  I learned most of this stuff by just listening to Floyd sing.
  Floyd has AMAZING prosody!
• May I introduce: Cong Zheng
  She is not a native English singer, but she does her job quite well because she is less intrusive than Solaria or Natalie, both of whom always have to be tamed because they try to claim the vocals for themselves.
  My no. 1 for BG-vox for quite some time now.

Thank's again.
I will frame your reply and put it on my wall

Thanks Brad for your nice words and feedback, much appreciated.
An early version of the song had a 'normal' BIAB ending, but it sounded very similar to one of my earlier songs, so I decided to try something different.
And I like unexpected things in songs

Thanks for listening and your feedback, Mario.
Much appreciated

Thanks a lot, Dark-Marty

Thank you very much, Vic.
As I mentioned above, Natalie sings in her lowest alto range, which is pretty deep for a woman.
I guess young men can sound similar down there.

Simple: I am married to one

Thanks Janne
Your last sentence is actually my goal, that nobody talks about the technical aspects of the vocals, but about the message of the song.

Thanks Dan

I get asked this question every other song, so I started taking notes on the length (and a few other things) of the process.
It took 11 days from the very first BIAB version (March 9) to the final Cubase mix (March 20).
My previous estimates that I work on average about 2 hours a day on a song were pretty accurate, so for this song it's (give or take) 22 hours.

I have a request: So far I have never gotten any feedback on my replies.
If you should read this, do you think it's slow?
Or fast?
Or just as long as it takes everyone else to write a song?
I'm curious because since I'm a one-man band, I have no one to compare myself to.

I know there are some people here who can write a song in a day, that's something I'll never be able to do...

B.D.Thomas

Short and sweet but it is really a great tight sounding production!
I can't get over how great those vocals sound!
I have noticed that all of your productions sound really good!

Take care, TB

Hi B.D.

My gosh! I don't know what to say. This is really, really, really good!
Everything fits snugly together like a well-planned gourmet feast.
From start to finish, I loved what you've done 🥰

Excellent listening!
--Noel

Thanks David.
Finally someone who understands my intentions.
And my capabilities

Thank you, Scott.
Apparently I'm a little (ahem, decades) late.
Such is life

Nice pop/rock tune, B.D.!

I like how the music stops when the singer says "stop," and how the drums were forward in the mix.

A very enjoyable upbeat number with great production!

Thank you Scott for listening and your nice comment.
Much appreciated!

Thanks, Torrey, for listening and your nice comment, especially about the general production of my songs, because I see myself more as a producer than a musician.

B.D.,

You’ve got this sound and genre down cold. I didn’t suffer at all . . . in fact, I loved my listen. Just a great vibe and sound, and once again you excel with the vocaloid. Outstanding in all respects!

Best regards,

Deej

Infectious pop very well produced.
What did you use to make the lyric video?
Excellent work.

Peter