The Song Fight Bulletin Board

C: Nothing Less Than Everything
M: Die For Me
Y: Saint Peter
K: Pasty White Man
Due: Taxday 04/15/05 9:59am pst
optional challenge: all fights
Clearmountain Pause

"Clearmountain Pause"? please 'splain...

second question, pure curiosity: who picks the song fight titles? is that one of perks of being a moderator? i think they've been great; just wondering.

the romantic in me looks at "die for me" and goes "oooh." and then i think, how can i write something that's not cliche...?

"nothing less than everything" reminds me of one of my favorite albums, juliana hatfield's "only everything". wish i had electric guitars to rock out like that.

*gears start grinding* new song. new chords. new lyrics. somebody said it least week: god, this stuff is addictive.

Hmmm... Nothing Less Than Everything.... trying to decide if I'd prefer to write something selfless (I will give you...), or something selfish (I want ...) Or maybe those thoughts are already too cliche.

Thowing pen to paper.

My apologies in advance . . . I may make it into this one. Saint Peter.

I, too, am confused by "Clearmountain Pause". Little help?

I reckon it has something to do with producer/mixing guru Bob Clearmountain?

nyjm wrote: please 'splain...

second question, pure curiosity: who picks the song fight titles? is that one of perks of being a moderator? i think they've been great; just wondering.

someone named deep throat picks the titles. this is a very closely guarded secret.

Clearmountain Pause:

4 parts Everclear
2 parts Coors
1 part Maddog 20/20

Shake with ice, serve up in a chilled cocktail glass with rim dipped in sugar, garnish with a lime wedge

On your suggestion, I went looking for info. I now know a lot of interesting things about Bob Clearmountain (including the fact that he did the final mix for Jonatha Brooke's 10cent Wings and co-produced Steady Pull, both big favorites of mine) and learned a few things that I think will improve my final mixes immensely -- but the only references to the Clearmountain Pause I could find are book reviews saying the book covers it, and someone begging other people in a forum to tell him what the heck the Clearmountain Pause is -- to which I now add my own begging.

EDIT: Dammit, eric, now I'm thirsty.

In.

I'd prefer just the 6.75 parts grey goosee,
.24 parts olive "juice"
.01 parts vermouth... very dry

Shaken, not stirred.

Thanks...
oh, no rimming or wedging please. But two olives might work.

a clearmountain pause is what happens when you're in that little park next to pike market in seattle where everyone hangs out and eats lunch, and the weather is nice and you look up and see mount rainier in the distance. and you think, man i'm blessed to live in such a fine city.

"Die For Me," eh? Sounds like a song for my ex-wife.

*rimshot*

Don't forget to tip your waiters!

i'm torn between 'nothing less than everything' and 'die for me'... really good titles this week... i'll be in one of 'em... let ya know when i figure out which i've chosen... most likely will write the music... and see what fits best... in my own personal opinion... then again... i may go awol... then you can arrest me... tie me up... and do that rim thing everyone keeps goin' on about...

sounds intriquing :-*... j/m...

anyways i'm in... tata

know what they say '32nd times the charm'

Spud, could ou do me a favor and start putting the titles in the first post of each prefight? Here at work I can't access the front page.

I saw your illustration of me in the comic... delightfully unflattering

Sounds like a great idea, Sober. I will try to accomodate that request.

Drat. I love these titles, but I'll be outta town (with no internet) until the end of the month.

Edge of LA wrote:oh, no rimming or wedging please.

The last time I heard that sentence....

I'm working on something for 'everything', and going for the triphop vibe you rockers hate so much. Think Portishead and Massive Attack. Failing that, think of Neil Diamond on barbituates.

I don't know if this is right, but here's my guess at the "Clearmountain Pause". Please correct me if you know otherwise; I don't have a lot of info/examples to go on.

From what I can Google, it's an (exaggerated?) pause (i.e. near-silence) in a song, possibly used to gather suspense and build contrast up to a climax. Apparently this is a common trick for mixmaster Bob Clearmountain.

An example of this would be in Semisonic's "Closing Time", prior to the final chorus (if you have the Feeling Strangely Fine album version, listen to the pause just after 3:14). It lasts 4 beats instead of the 2 beats earlier in the song.

The "Clearmountain Pause" is referenced in that drummer's book, which you can read excerpts of (full pages too, if you have an Amazon account). He mentions it during the mixing process, the video (you know, the seamless two-camera (?) video full of crazy timing requirements), and the audience's reaction to an extended pause at a live show.

If you can think of other songs (especially Clearmountain's) that use something like this, I'd be more than interested. Hope this is on the right track.

Hostess Mostess has a pause in their "Unless I Change My Mind" (around 1:57), though it doesn't come back stronger afterward. Would this count as a Clearmountain Pause?

(let's try this again, NOT posting under my wife's account. Duh.)

Speaking of Hostess Mostess, what's his username? His "Our Love Violates Corporate Policy" ended up on my iPod Shuffle yesterday (yeah, yeah, but I bought it used, so I'm even more of a cheap bastard than you think I am) and I found myself listening to it several times in a row -- wanna tell him how great a song I think it is, several weeks later. Also, my wife heard it come on today and said "I like this a lot. Is this a new album?" Might hit him up for a collaboration, too -- his voice and guitar on one of my songs would make me extremely happy.

As for the clearmountain pause, if that's what that pause is called, then now I know what to do, so... (one two three four) thanks.

Also note: I have written three songs in the last hour. I think they're all terribly clever, but I'm very very tired and will likely throw them all out tomorrow morning. The fact that my wife is already asleep is saving you all from me recording and submitting any of these bad songs. You can thank her later.

Plat wrote: If you can think of other songs (especially Clearmountain's) that use something like this, I'd be more than interested. Hope this is on the right track.

I believe Project 86 does this on their "Hollow Again" song.