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Illustration by Scott Blair
Photography by Bryan Adams
(Neither Bryan Adams nor Pamela Anderson are associated with SuperCool-Guy, supercool-guy.com or have given their permission for their photograph to be used in this composition. SuperCool-Guy finds the (entirely coincidental) symmetry pretty cool and amusing but is prepared to remove the image at the request of its copyright holders.)
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It’s difficult to write a good rock song on anything other than guitar. I don’t play the guitar and that’s why even though I’m a big fan of hard rock and heavy metal, the influence isn’t really obvious on most of my tracks.
But once in a while, I’d like to think that I come up with a good rocker, and I think “Today” is one of them. Nothing too heavy, nothing angry, just a fun, uplifting, guitar-based rock track!
I came up with the gist of the song a couple of years ago – I remember it very well: I was on a train in Germany (what I was doing there is another story for another day!). As soon as I got off the train, I sung the idea into my mobile phone recorder. I basically had the main riff, the full verse, the full pre-chorus, and first chord of the chorus, and I knew exactly how it was going to sound. It really felt right and exciting, and over the next few days those elements got really anchored in my brain.
The basis for the verse is this 3-chord riff (A-E-D) – and of course any 3-chord riff is bound to have been done thousands of times. I’m sure “Today”’s is no exception, but at least the parentage isn’t obvious. Plus, the song takes a few different directions from the pre-chorus onwards, so I think there’s enough originality there…
I wanted the chorus to lift up and I found a melody and another 3-chord progression that did that well, but I wanted to keep going up, and keep progressing, rather than repeat that chord progression 4 times and back to verse, which is what most songs would do… So I managed to take the melody up on the 2nd chord cycle and then instead of repeating the cycle a third time, took the chorus to another chord progression and melody. To me, it now sounds natural and obvious and the only possible progression… but getting there definitely required challenging my comfort zone, i.e. always looking for the next satisfying chord/melody, and then taking it up one level to surprise myself and the listener.
After the key changes in the pre-chorus/chorus progression, I couldn’t get back into the verse. So I found a way to get back by inserting a modulated version of the riff (C-G-F) between the first chorus and second verse that sounds really cool in my opinion: the chorus flows naturally into the modulated riff, then the key change back to original A-E-D riff/verse creates an element of surprise that satisfies the ear.
The song structure is very standard but works, I think. There’s no bridge, just a short guitar solo then back to pre-chorus. The final chorus is extended, once again to one-up the listener’s expectations and create some excitement until the end.
Lyrics are always the hardest, but I decided to give it a go on this song. As always, the original melody came to me with mumbles and sonorities that sounded good with the music but made no sense! The first word that came repeatedly was “Baby!” – how original! It sounded good, but you can’t have a song called “Baby”, that’s just ridiculous (well, unless you’re Justin Bieber, sorry Justin, you’re a cool guy!). So I started to think – what sounds like “Baby” but is slightly more original? “Today”. I don’t really know any others songs called “Today” – again, I’m sure there’s a thousand of them out there, but none comes to mind. And I felt the word “Today” went well with the uplifting music: the word conjures up a host of possibilities: a new day, seizing the day, etc. It’s full of hope, opportunities, immediacy and action!
So I told a fun little story about a guy who’s about to take this girl on a date. Today’s the day, and it’s all about the optimism, anticipation and excitement as he prepares for the date and runs the scenario in his head. I tried to make it very pure and almost innocent. It’s a feel-good song and you’re supposed to root for the singer…
The core of the production is the guitars. Ben Treeby played some great parts and I think we got a pretty good sound with just the Line6 Pod, double-tracking and some compression.
For the guitar solos, I usually let Ben do a bunch of takes, and then “compose” the solo but cutting and pasting the best bits together afterwards – that’s how we did it on “Today” and I think it turned out really cool (you can see on the YouTube video where the cuts are!)…
I had a lot of fun doing harmonies and backup vocals – which I guess are one of my production “trademarks”…
Finally the drums… the first version of this track had drums played on the keyboard and using XV-3080 sounds, and it sounded a little limp… So when I bought my new Roland TD9K2 V-Drum kit last summer, the first thing I did was re-do the drum track by actually playing it live. I had a lot of fun doing it and I think it came out alright and pretty “realistic”. I had a really hard time mixing it though, particularly getting a good kick and snare sound. I spent forever on it, and even then we found some problems at the mastering stage. Luckily, Jon Astley came to the rescue…
I think this is one of my best songs. I suppose it sounds a bit like a cross between Kiss, Bryan Adams and McFly (what do you think?)… so I’ll be paying tribute to those guys in my next few blog entries.
In the meantime, enjoy the song!
TODAY
Words & Music by A. Robin
Produced by SuperCool-Guy
© 2012 – All rights reserved
Today
The sun is out, it's a new day
I'm gonna try and just maybe
Get a hold of your love
Cause baby
I've been thinking of you lately
You've got me, you captivate me
I want a taste of your love
I turn around and there I see
Your pretty eyes keep calling me
They tell me to get there while I can
You won't be waiting around
Chorus:
I'm gonna see you today!
And when I see you today will be the day
For a new beginning
Something true
A special feeling between me and you
Today
Today
I'm gonna seize it, it's my day
You're calling me and I'm ready
I'm so ready for your love
I'll pick you up, we'll drive around
No better time for getting down
The time is now so take my hand
We're gonna turn things around
Chorus
I'll drive you home, we'll kiss goodnight
You'll say "don't go!" and hold me tight
Show me the things you wanna do
When there's no-one around
Chorus
Start a brand new story
Me and you
We'll make it last cause the feeling is true
Today
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My first single – “Whatever You Do” is finally out! Get it now on iTunes and on the Music page, and soon on Amazon, Spotify and all good download platforms.
“Whatever You Do” is the latest song I wrote and recorded, and the latest always tend to be my favorites… The other reason why I chose to release it first is that it is a good introduction to the “SuperCool-Guy style”: very pop, melodic, with positive lyrics.
One day, my friend Viceroy and I were playing each other some tracks we were working on – as we often do. There was one track that he wanted some feedback on: it was an instrumental, it had two sections, and he wasn’t sure which direction to take it into. I immediately flashed on the first section – which essentially makes up the verse chord structure/hook for “Whatever You Do”: I thought it was very strong, very catchy, original, and I immediately heard a melody for it. I pretty much immediately got the idea for the chorus music as well, or at least the general idea.
The combination of chords, melody and structure quickly imposed itself as self-evident
Viceroy ended up taking the track in a different direction, but gave me his blessing for using his original chord structure and make a new song from it.
I made a deliberate choice of starting right off with the verse, without an intro, as the chords are prominently featured during the verse and an intro would have been redundant.
The counter-melody during the 2nd and final choruses also came to me pretty much right from the beginning.
I wanted an instrumental break after the 2nd verse, and the chords came to me as a result of playing around on the keyboard.
Lyrics can be very difficult for me, and I usually prefer working with lyricists. But in this case, they came quickly and easily.
The first line “Looking for something new, in everything you do” came to me from the very beginning and I took it as a starting point. I decided the song would be about a young adult, discovering the world and who they want to be. The song is a message of unconditional support and encouragement from the point of you of a parent or mentor. Hopefully, it is a message of support that can be applied to many situations.
My favorite line: “Beyond every crossroad, a path that leads to you” – in other words: you will become the person you are meant to be as a result of the successive choices that you make in life. Even if you don’t know where you are going, these decisions will take you there.
I sang and played every instrument on the track.
The main synth part is a combination of 3 sounds (Fat Rhodes from Roland XV-3080 + Bellatrix and Softabellum from NI Komplete).
For the drums, I wanted something very tight and simple, kind of like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.
With every song, I like to try something new that I’ve never tried before. With this song, I wanted to try some guitar parts in the style of Andy Summers of The Police. I thought the guitar and synth would answer each other quite nicely. I actually played the parts with RealStrat on the keyboard, with the cheekily-named “Summer Rox” effects from Guitar Rig 4, and lots delay on top. There’s also some crunchy guitar coming in on the 2nd and final choruses, that give the song a bit more edge and energy, also played with RealStrat.
The strings during the musical break are possibly my favorite part in the song.
Viceroy helped me with the final mix, and Jon Astley mastered it.
WHATEVER YOU DO
Words by A. Robin / Music by Viceroy & A. Robin
Produced by SuperCool-Guy
© 2011 -- All rights reserved
Looking for something new
In everything you do
You've got the strength and the power to see it through
Beyond every crossroad
A path that leads to you
Follow your heart and you'll know what you're meant to do
Chorus:
If you reach for the sky
You may fall down low
Pick yourself up, now
Don't you let it go
You know I will always stand by you
I'm with you
Whatever you do
Been watching over you
Sometimes I've guided you
No need for that now, you're strong and you're coming through
(You're coming through baby!)
Chorus x2
[Instrumental Break]
Chorus x2