Behind the Scenes #9 - Capture One
LINK: DOWNLOAD ‘CAPTURE ONE’
I’m often doubted, or at the least, looked at only in sideways glances, when I say Nirvana is one of, if not the, major influence on my songwriting. This album was kind of in response to that, and though somewhat entirely unsuccessful in that regard, the spirit definitely ‘lives on’ in ‘Capture One’.
Well, I’d hope it did anyway, considering it was written with the 100 percent intention of writing a Nirvana song. I know it’s not fashionable to say so, but no one who ever attempts to duplicate another’s style is ever going to do it, and might even succeed in some other way - so why not? I never understood Oasis and Blur detractors who said both bands were ripping off the Beatles. I mean, it’s not as if the Beatles were still around making that kind of music, and if it’s good, who the fuck cares? If Paul McCartney won’t step up, why not let Noel or Damon? And the Beatles didn’t write ‘Girls And Boys’ or ‘Coffee & TV’.
And Nirvana never threw in a time signature change, followed by a Moog solo. So pfffffft.
The song was written in drop-D, on electric guitar. Probably obvious. I remember the afternoon I was recording the vocals, there was some kind of happening in the flats facing ours, at the time. Loads of little kids were running around, and ’cause I couldn’t get a decent vocal sound in the room where most of the album was tracked, I had the mic set up in the lounge, with its wall-sized window, where I also had the blinds open ’cause it was sunny, or something.
Thinking back a year now, I can’t recall why I didn’t just close the blinds, but the kids kept running up to the window whenever I did a take. That, or the parent(s) would halt sipping on their cigarettes for a few seconds while I mumbled through the verses or sheepishly belted out the choruses, probably fearing for my close-to-birthing partner’s sanity.
Being the kind of songwriter now who barely learns his own songs before recording them, a fact that will provide many laughs should I ever try to play live, I had great trouble in the recording/mixing phase when I couldn’t get the lead synthesizer to mesh with the guitars and bass. It wasn’t until I analysed everything closely that I realised I’d confused the order of chords in the riff, and gotten it all completely backwards. If I was in the Beatles, I’d just have recorded it anyway, and gotten George Martin to fix it up.
Unfortunately, as my own producer, recorder, shit-filter and coffee-maker, I was far more bamboozled than science can calculate.
LINK: DOWNLOAD ‘CAPTURE ONE’
Tags: battletech, behind the scenes, recording
