I Found An New (Old) Track!

(from the Was I Really This Young? department)

Hi everyone!

I was going through some very old backups tonight - and I found a file from 2003 called "Personal Demos.wav".  

Hmm - that sounds intriguing...

Playing back the file, it appears that it contained some early attempts at doing twin-track recording in my apartment - possibly on my computer or on my DAT machine - or some combination of both.

There are about 4 song fragments in there - so I zeroed in on one that was mostly complete:  a cover of Mannequin by Wire.

Two basic parts:  acoustic guitar left channel - vocal right channel.  Talk about early Beatles! Super Wide Stereo!!

Although it was very raw - it was also recorded very cleanly.  It might take a little work - but there was definitely something there I could work with.

I started by importing the stereo file into Audacity and snipping out the song from the rest of the fragments.  

Next - I split the stereo file into two mono tracks so that I could work on the vocal and guitar parts separately.

First the vocal.  I decided not to compress it or tamper too much with it - I liked the live feel.  Instead - I just boosted the gain by 3 dB using Audacity's Amplify to balance it against the guitar volume.

Now - we need to make to sound like I'm actually in a room somewhere - instead of singing directly into the microphone.  I used Audacity's GVerb to add some ambiance - but kept the room small.

Roomsize: 10m

Reverb Time: 4s

Damping: 0.9

Input bandwidth: 0.75

Dry signal level: 0 db

Early Reflection Level: -22 dB

Tail level: -28 dB

(Adapted from The Quick Fix settings here: https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/GVerb#Instant_GVerb_settings)

That did the trick - vocals sound great.

Next guitar.  After adding the identical GVerb to it, and doing a quick mix panning the vocals slightly right and the guitar slightly left - I realized the guitar needed more work.

Reading thru the GVerb documentation - they mentioned that it was a "mono" reverb.  They also mentioned that by inverting the original signal and summing it with the GVerbed signal - you could isolate just the reverb.  

Viola!!!

So - here's what I did:

• I duplicated the guitar track 4 times, giving me 5 identical guitar tracks.  
• I added the 10m GVerb setting listed above to track 1.  
• I added the same GVerb setting - but with the room set to 20m - to track 2.  
• I inverted tracks 3 & 4.  
• I mixed track 1 (10m GVerb) and track 3 (inverted) and panned it 100% left.
• I mixed track 2 (20m GVerb) and track 4 (inverted) and panned it 100% right.
• I panned the original guitar track - track 5 (dry) - 50% left.

This left me with 4 tracks:

• 10m room reverb (guitar only) - 100% left, 
• guitar (dry) - 50% left
• voice (amplified 3dB) + 10m room reverb (vocal only) - center
• 20m room reverb (guitar only) - 100% right.

All that was left to do was mix it to stereo and make an MP4 out of it!  Here it is!

Pretty neat!  

Cheers,

Paul

Connect The Dots With Wire!

(from the Yeah - this is how my mind works department)

So - this is probably of interest to hard core Wire fans only, but here's the link between the songs on Change Becomes Us and Document & Eyewitness / Turns & Strokes.

If you don't know what this means - this blog post is not for you.  Move along - nothing to see here. (^_^)

The list is arranged according to the track order of Change Becomes Us.  The arrows indicate my best guess as to the original song used to create the new song.  The title in brackets is the album that contains the original.

1. Doubles & Trebles <--> Ally In Exile [Document & Eyewitness]
2. Keep Exhaling <--> Relationship [Document & Eyewitness]
3. Adore Your Island <--> The Spare One [Turns & Strokes]
4. Re-Invent Your Second Wheel <--> ZEGK HOQP [Document & Eyewitness]
5. Stealth of a Stork <--> Witness To The Fact [Document & Eyewitness]
6. B/W Silence <--> Lorries [Turns & Strokes]
7. Time Lock Fog <--> 5/10 [Document & Eyewitness]
8. Magic Bullet <--> Over My Head [Turns & Strokes]
9. Eels Sang <--> Eels Sang Lino [Document & Eyewitness]
10. Love Bends <--> Piano Tuner (Keep Strumming Those Guitars) [Document & Eyewitness]
11. As We Go <--> Part of Our History [Turns & Strokes]
12. & Much Besides <--> Eastern Standard [Document & Eyewitness]
13. Attractive Space <--> Underwater Experiences [Document & Eyewitness]

NOTE:  Although Attractive Space is based on Underwater Experiences, it is arranged much closer to the original demo version on Behind The Curtain, instead of the two (!) versions on Document & Eyewitness.  However - for the purposes of this list, I decided to only use Document & Eyewitness and Turns & Strokes, as originally issued.  This means that the bonus disc of demos on the new version of Document & Eyewitness, which includes alternate versions of a couple of the songs on Turns & Strokes, is also not listed here.

If I have any of these wrong, let me know.  This is a tricky exercise.  Fun - but tricky.

Cheers,
Paul

More April Fools Fun!

(from the I should have posted this yesterday department)

Hi everyone,

I posted this to the Wire mailing list yesterday for a giggle. Thought I'd share it with you.

NOTE: I edited this just ever so slightly for the blog - there were a couple of typos and a sentence that didn't make it into the released version.

Hi everyone,

Found this news story on Reuters - thought this might interest some of you.
^_^

Cheers,
Paul

-------

Avril Lavigne announces new remix of "Girlfriend" with 70's punk icons Wire

(from Reuters UK)

Avril Lavigne announced today via her MySpace page that she will be releasing a "totally rad" version of her single "Girlfriend" featuring members of the 70's punk group Wire, with all proceeds being donated to charity. Initially, the single will be released via digital distribution through iTunes, with other formats to be announced shortly.

Proceeds from the single will go to a suite of charities including Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, AmericanCPR.org, Camp Will-a-Way, Music Clearing Minefields, U.S. Campaign for Burma, Make-a-Wish Foundation and War Child.

"Really, I'm just thrilled to be working with them. They're like, the best band ever. Plus - don't tell anyone - but their drummer, Robert, is totally hot!" said Ms. Lavigne via her MySpace webpage. (http://www.myspace.com/avrillavigne)

In London, Wire issued the following statement via their PinkFlag website (http://www.pinkflag.com)

"Lately, Wire has been looking to get more involved with modern media and the Internet. As pioneers of modern music, Wire have always been at the cutting edge of pop culture. Reading thru Avril's Facebook page of her favorite artists and charities, Wire realized a golden opportunity presented itself to create a new form of performance art, fusing abstract pop elements and catchy sing along choruses. We plan on calling this 'pouty rock'."

Footwear maker Doc Martens has agreed to underwrite the production costs of the new single, as well as commemorate the event with a new "Avire" 8-eyelet, cherry red boot design. These boots are expected to reach retail outlets in early May in conjunction with the promotional campaign for the single.

Online response has been strangely muted following the announcement, with some fans of both Avril and Wire reacting in shock and disbelief.

Official Wire mailing list "The Ideal Copy" members staged a revolt by literally burning their copies of Wire's latest release "Read & Burn 03". Ms. Lavigne's fans, interviewed via an on-line poll at Hot Topic (http://www.hottopic.com), expressed disbelief as well. This was summarized best by an on-line post by lolcatz83: "...duh...who are these wir3 guys? OMG Avirl is *so* hotz!!!!1!!!!lol"

"Look - the whole thing is just ridiculous. Wire are supposed to be standard bearers of abstract, minimalist music that only appeals to musos," said Miles Goosens, Ideal Copy list maintainer. "I can't believe our heroes would sell out and record that kind of populist crap. Plus - I can't afford those boots. This sucks."

Single copies of the "Girlfriend" remix - now entitled "Girlfriend (No Warning Given)" - will be released to the press tomorrow, with iTunes posting the song for official download within 48 hours.

Good huh? Note how the first letters of the each of the paragraphs in the main section spell out a hidden message.

Cheers,
Paul

Here it is...again...Wire!

(from the It's Beginning To And Back Again department)

Hi everyone,

So - you might be wondering where the name of this blog - TheIdealCopy - comes from. It's the title of an album by the band Wire.

Wire has an odd history of being very active, then being rather quiet. Their last period of activity ended around 2004 or so. Fans of Wire - myself included - had wondered if, perhaps, this last phase was indeed the end of the band.

Well - we got some great news from their website Pinkflag.com. Official press release follows.

Cheers,
Paul

---

Read & Burn 03 is on its way!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Read & Burn 03—the latest in Wire's series of 'research & development' vehicles—is finished, mastered, designed and in production for a November 12th UK release. Featuring four new tracks—23 Years Too Late/Our Time/No Warning Given/Desert Driving—and with a total running time of over 25 minutes, Read & Burn 03 is both a substantial chunk of audio and significant signposting in the third reactivation of Wire as a recording and live entity.

We will, of course, let you know as soon as we can offer pre-order through Posteverything. Meanwhile, we would be happy if you spread the word that Wire is most definitely back! Please note: unlike previous Read & Burn releases, this item is intended as a complete standalone entity. None of the tracks will be included on the next full-length Wire album, so there will be no excuses not to buy it!

And, here it is again....for the first time!

Hi everyone,

I finally decided to start my own blog. I know, I know, I'm a bit late to the bandwagon. Whatever. :)

So - what is this blog about? Well - a number of things. Mostly music, anime, video games, computers - and oh so much more.

Oh - you meant the blog title? "The Ideal Copy" is the title of an album by Wire. Hopefully, they won't be too upset that I decided to call my blog that.

What does it mean? Well, according to my fuzzy memory - the quote from Wire is "The Ideal Copy is a copy that creates itself" - something like DNA. I'm not sure what it means to me yet - I'll get back to you on that.

So - anyway - this is my blog. Welcome!

Cheers,
Paul