[Music] I Just Don't Believe

Steinberg Lounge
1

My daughter, Sara, is going to be singing this ultimately. But because she isn’t able to visit until late in December I won’t have her version before then. I put this version (with my vocals) for her to practice in advance of her arrival.

The song is about a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus so he uses that as justification to do whatever he wants during the year. However, at the very end he questions his disbelief.

True to the roots of musical protest, this is a punk song. Everytime I hear this song I think of The Clash so I could not avoid singing with a (poor attempt at a) slight British accent. I’d pay good money to hear Glyn do a proper vocal treatment of this, i.e. sing like you’re a true street urchin.

I don’t wanna be good this year
I don’t wanna be filled with cheer
Cause I just don’t believe in Santa Claus
I didn’t get good grades at school
I really wanted to look so cool
And I just don’t believe in Santa Claus

My Mom and Dad says that he
Puts gifts under the Christmas tree
I don’t believe, no not at all
Because that chimney is way too small
And reindeer flying? Yeah, okay
They’re in Alaska eating hay
And I just don’t believe in Santa Claus

I don’t wanna be good this year
I don’t wanna be filled with cheer
Cause I just don’t believe in Santa Claus
Put a frog in my dad’s shoes
Ate all the cookies, gave mom the blues
Cause I just don’t believe in Santa Claus

They think that they can scare me so
Make me be good but I say no!
I don’t know why they even try
If I’m not good I will not cry
Cause I know there will be gifts for me
Sitting under the Christmas tree
And I just don’t believe in Santa Claus

I don’t wanna be good this year
I don’t wanna be filled with cheer
Cause I just don’t believe in Santa Claus

(Guitar Solo)

I don’t wanna be good this year
I don’t wanna be filled with cheer
Cause I just don’t believe in Santa Claus
I just don’t wanna believe in Santa Claus
I wonder if there is a Santa Claus

I Just Don’t Believe

Guitars and bass are live. Distortion provided by Kuassa.
Drums are Battery 3.

Enjoy!

Release Candidate 1 - See post below.

Release Candidate 2 - See post below.

2

Love the composition! I look forward to hearing an actual bratty-sounding kid singing it :laughing:

But I’m hearing more Green Day than Clash here… I think you should team up with Dave Smith and have him track some big punk guitars ala Green Day, and get some real drums on this. I say this because it’s a really good tune and I actually think with some different production you could possibly retire on it. I’m not joking!

3

:laughing: Thanks! I’ll see about getting some real drums because those are definitely the weakest part of the piece.

And yeah the solo makes me think Green Day most definitely.

4

Hey Larry,

At 1.45 starts a guitar Hook, there the song get’s a boost.
If I had this in my hands I would definately open with that Hook, full throttle, to make a point that this song is going to rock instantly. 1-2-3-4 Hook! Snare on eacht beat, smaching on the ride edge cymbal and a heavy 8th bassline.

Then pull down and start with the first verse.

And yes, it’s absolutely catchy, somehow you menaged to come up with a very simple melody yet it doesn’t sound naief or warn out. Every once in a while a song like this makes it to the charts and then dissapears again for the next round.

And greenday, man if that is the deal…Balls Larry!!! Pump that mix up will ya :mrgreen:

Greetz Dylan.

5

Yeah, it has that cheap (for want of a better word) Clash/Ramones drum sound so I’d be looking to beef em up some. Then the guitars need to be cranked up about 200db :laughing: The composition as a whole is excellent Larry, just go for big and loud and you’re there. Be interesting to hear Sara’s vocals on this :sunglasses:

Cheers
Phil

6

Ok so my question is: are there any specialists here that are willing to provide tracks? If we can turn this around in a week (12/16), I’ll put it up for sale on iTunes and/or CD-Baby and split the revenues evenly with each person involved.

I need…

  • A heavy-duty rhythm guitar like a Gibson Les Paul (the heavier the wood the better)
  • A real drummer
  • A real singer

I’ll still put Sara’s vocals in there for our Christmas tradition, but if we get a real singer then we’ll use that for a commercial release.

7

A couple suggestions:

don’t share the copyright! I’m sure Dave would gladly play guitar on it for free, even if it ended up going platinum. As for a drummer, you’ll probably have to pay somebody

use Sara’s vocal for the release – that idea is 90% of the charm of this tune :sunglasses:

8

I wouldn’t share the copyright since the song is done, i.e. there is no real amount of creative work that would be needed from anyone else. I was thinking more along the lines of revenue split divided equally among all contributors. If I use Sara’s vocals, she’s a contributor too. The revenue split would be valid for a fixed period of time (3 years? 5 years?), after which all revenues would revert to me.

And while Dave may be willing to do it for free, I’d rather pay. I’m not a greedy bastard, and money is always a good way to say thanks to one’s friends.

9

I’m in!

I will give a go at the drums and vocals. (programmed drums, but it’l work I think)

10

Well, Dylan, I was actually thinking of giving you exclusive rights to the remix version. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

11

Hahahaha, and then we all can retire!

12

yes pumped up this could be the next “teenage head” hit single. cool guitar solo, nice one.

13

I know everyone wants this pumped up but short of compressing the hell out of it I don’t understand how this could be done without simply raising the volume on the master bus. I’m a huge fan of Bob Katz’ K-14 standard though so I am loathe to do that.

Clarification please?

Edit: nevermind. I think I got it. Have a listen now. Here are the changes:

  1. Tweaked the drum line a fair amount and regenerated the individual audio tracks for kick, snare, hi-hat, cymbals, and toms.
  2. Tweaked the EQ on the hi-hat so that more hi-end is preserved.
  3. Duplicated the vocal line twice; detuned by +/- 3 cents; and panned each hard left/right.
  4. Routed all vocals to a group channel and tweaked the EQ to give it more presence and less mud around 650 Hz.
  5. Bumped up the rhythm guitars and bass a bit to give them more backbone.
14

I would give the bass more bottom and another db. I might double the rhythm guitar chuggin and spread them a bit, and another db :laughing:

15

I already have the rhythm doubled and spread. :open_mouth:

I’m syncing to my iPod now and will have a listen in the car. That’s always been the litmus test for me.

16

Here are my findings:

  1. Hi-hat was way too loud.
  2. Bass needed more presence.
  3. Vocals needed more presence, though this could be attributed to the hi-hat crowding them out of the mix.
  4. Guitars needed more balls.

The version that is up now is my “I’m a ‘passed off’ Brit” version. The distortion on the guitars was changed to heavy fuzz so this should have a lot more attitude in it without overpowering the listener.

For the record, I did end up compressing the hell out of the master bus. [Sigh] It’s quite noticeable in my opinion, but I don’t know how to really get things in your face without doing this.

17

I’m not really talking about volume per se, but essentially a slightly different approach to the guitars – I’m hearing BIG and overdriven, with drums equally kickin’

Too much compression would actually kill the oomph. On a tune like this, I’;d mix
into some 2-bus compression

18

Unfortunately I think the current version suffers from this a bit.

Explain this. I’ve heard the term 2-but compression before but I don’t know what it is.

19

I have a live drummer lined up. He comes recommended, so I’m cautiously optimistic. I didn’t ask for samples because a) time is of the essence and b) it’s not like I have live drummers beating a path to my door.

20

Hi Larry,

I’m maybe a bit late to the discussion, but the current mix
isn’t cutting it for me. There’s no bottom at all. And though I
appreciate the vocal isn’t the intended one, it’s rather sharp
and tends to emphasize the problems with the bed mix.

Anyway, I know this is part of your annual Christmas ritual,
so good luck with it. :wink: Hope you get a noel mix.