tag:arlingodwin.com,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=1STUDIO LIFE2021-08-19T21:22:56-04:00ARLIN GODWINfalsetag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/67218492021-08-19T21:22:56-04:002023-11-03T20:05:25-04:00THAT TIME I WORKED FOR DONNA SUMMER<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/38cfefcc4c5981ebd8c1bb0efb00c6c930ecc734/original/moment1a.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>
<p>I had a dream last night about someone I used to know. The dream was very weird, as they often are, and I woke up this morning thinking about HOW I came to know this person and how amazing she was while she was here. </p>
<p>This is not the dream. But this is a true story. </p>
<p>Springtime 1994. I’m sitting at a table with super-diva Donna Summer—in an absurdly expensive Italian restaurant in Manhattan. We're both sampling out-of-this-world spaghetti carbonara and discussing, for 2 hours, what I can and can not put on screen in a new compilation music video I am about to begin editing for Ms. Summer and her new record label Mercury/Polygram. </p>
<p>This lucky break came courtesy of having worked on a crew for Black Entertainment Television in the late 1980s and meeting one of the producers who later went on to work at VH1 and then moved over to Polygram Records. </p>
<p>One day he calls me up and says, "Are you sitting down?" </p>
<p>I was. </p>
<p>So, he continues on, "How'd you like to cut a video for Donna Summer? We'll give you $12,000." </p>
<p>I almost fell off my chair but managed to answer in the affirmative, "Uh, yes please!" </p>
<p>So the label sends me a box-set of all her hits...and there were a lot of them...and this is before it's even been released. So on the train, I'm listening to all these songs to refresh my memory but really didn't need to because I'd been listening to her records since I was 14 years old! </p>
<p>When I got to NYC I walked to the building where Polygram was located...I think it was 8th Ave? Took an elevator to the 19th floor. </p>
<p>My pal from back in the BET days meets me in the lobby and takes me back to his office. </p>
<p>No sooner do we get there but he says, "Look I'm tied up right now with this new video we're shooting for John Cougar Mellencamp. Donna's in the conference room over there. Just go on in and introduce yourself." </p>
<p>I was in shock. But managed to do as I was told. </p>
<p>When I first saw her she was trying to push a big fat professional 3/4" video cassette into a VHS machine. I said "Hello". And then I helped her get the tape into the propper player. She seemed grateful for the assistance. </p>
<p>We watched something. I forget what. And then sat for quite a while talking about music, her tracks, her songs, and her hopes for the new deal at Polygram. Later the very well-known writer Larry Flick from BILLBOARD came by and took some pictures and congratulated her. </p>
<p>People have asked me over the years what she was like. The answer is that she was classy, smart, absolutely beautiful, and she told me I could not use any footage from the "Love To Love You Baby" video. </p>
<p>I met Donna Summer a number of times after that meeting and spoke to her over the phone several times. The phone calls happened in the months following that first meeting because there was a problem you see: that problem was that I had to continually keep changing my edit because she couldn't stop changing her music! She would give me a tape. I would begin editing. And sure enough, a week later she's gone back into a studio somewhere in Manhattan and changed the track ever so slightly. But enough to throw off all my work! </p>
<p>This was all done in the days before computers fully took over video editing. In those days it was all still done on 1" tape and if you changed the timing of the musical track that meant you had to alter the timing of the video. </p>
<p>Eventually, she moved on to other projects and I was able to finish and get paid. I remember it being just before Christmas and when I got a big fat check with Polygram's logo on it. </p>
<p>Since then I have many times seen that music video on various cable channels and even in bars. It's called "The Donna Summer Medley". </p>
<p>I was once sitting in a bar in DC and the video came on the screens positioned around the room. So, taking a chance---I leaned over to a total stranger sitting next to me and said "You're probably not gonna believe this but I edited that video for her." </p>
<p>The guy puts his drink down, sits silently staring at me for a few seconds, and then gives me a look like I had told the biggest lie in history. But it didn't matter. I got to work with one of the greatest divas of all time. </p>
<p>And he didn't.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/63813122020-07-09T18:05:23-04:002020-07-09T18:05:34-04:00MORE ABOUT HOW I MASTER MY OWN MUSIC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/b89192fe0522e3bd592ef4773ca21a30f3b64c71/original/screen-shot-2020-06-30-at-9-03-54-pm.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" />You might (or might not) notice, when listening to my music, that I don’t master my tracks as loudly as they could be. </p>
<p>But first things first. You might be wondering, "What in the world is mastering?" </p>
<p>Well, mastering happens after the music is mixed. </p>
<p>A mixdown file or tape or some kind of a recording is put through a final process which, these days, is largely about making the track sound loud. </p>
<p>In typical pop music mastering the signal is put through what is called a “brick wall limiter”. This device forces the music into a narrower range of quiet to loud and that then allows the over all loudness of the entire track to be greatly increased while unfortunately sacrificing dynamic range. </p>
<p>What is dynamic range? It’s just the difference between the quietest moment in a piece of recorded music and the loudest moment. Imagine there’s a point in a track where there is only the sound of a single violin. And then suddenly all the instruments come crashing in. The difference or range between those two states is dynamic range. </p>
<p>Not that long ago record companies and even some artists decided that if they made their recordings overly loud, then the DJs and programmers would notice and tend to play them more. This was the theory anyway. Over time this preoccupation with loudness at the expense of fidelity became known as the “loudness war”. Radio stations could have just turned the volume up. Or you at home or in your car could just turn it up to whatever level you wanted. But things kept getting louder anyway. </p>
<p>Wikipedia describes it like this: "The loudness war refers to the trend of increasing audio levels in recorded music, which reduces audio fidelity, and according to many critics, listener enjoyment." </p>
<p>But lately there's some good news on this front. Many artists (myself included) are beginning to get more interested in maintaining quality rather than just making everything loud. Keeping plenty of dynamic range in my music sounds better and prevents ear fatigue. Yes, your ears can get worn out by all that constant sound. </p>
<p>So, rather than smash my tracks during mastering to make you notice the loudness when you play it back, I use a much milder level of compression and make every effort to preserve transient sounds like kick drums, snares and hi hats and the wide differences that can occur in general between the loud parts of my music and the quieter parts. </p>
<p>For this reason you may notice that my music might play just a little bit quieter on your various systems, especially from CD. This is 100% intentional. And if you as the listener decide that you want the music louder there’s a very simple way to do that: just turn the volume up a little bit. That’s all you need to do. This preserves the fidelity of what I created in the studio and allows you to control the loudness instead of some record company or radio promoter.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/51165832018-03-07T18:21:41-05:002023-06-12T18:57:58-04:00REALLY SCARY: MY FIRST LIVE SHOW [225,000 PEOPLE!]<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/9de03bcc1d5a95e2d307a3200d3a99aaa64207e5/original/rednewad-1024x536.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" />A quarter of a million people is a lot. </p><p>Seriously, a lot. </p><p>A lot a lot. </p><p>Remember that old saying "be careful what you wish for because you might get it"? Well, that applies to this story because — I wished for something big — never thinking it would ever happen — and then I got it. </p><p>It all begins with the first full-length album I ever wrote and recorded — which is called <a class="no-pjax" href="https://arlingodwin.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-life-of-boys-deluxe-edition-album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents='"THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS."'>"THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS."</a> </p><p>The first time I performed any of the songs from that album (which is still my personal favorite of the records I've made) was at the Washington, D.C. Capital Pride Festival. The place was right in front of the United States Capitol building. And the audience was honestly 225,000 screaming homosexuals. They do love music and they treated me very very well that afternoon. </p><p>Nevertheless — I was scared shitless. </p><p>Now first, you might wonder how a guy who had never even sung in a bar got to go on the big stage at this event and sing his own songs in front of that kind of crowd. You are wondering that right? </p><p>Well, the answer is — my manager at that time made it happen. His name was Eddie Parsons. </p><p>[D.C. Pride, U.S. Capital in the background] <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/755dcd8941f6341e51ce31539f4447ff9350492b/original/pride-1.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" />One day Edward comes in the door and says, "So, I talked to the Festival people. You're gonna go on second from the headliner, and you’ll have a half hour on stage. <a class="no-pjax" href="https://arlingodwin.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-life-of-boys-deluxe-edition-album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Better figure out what you're gonna sing."">Better figure out what you're gonna sing."</a><a class="no-pjax" href="https://arlingodwin.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-life-of-boys-deluxe-edition-album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"> </a></p><p>I nearly passed out. </p><p>I had never performed live. Anywhere. Ever. This was going to my first time in front of an audience — and not a small one. The festival regularly draws 100,000 people. Little did I know, the number that year would more than double! </p><p>On the morning of the show, my “people” and I drove down to Pennsylvania Avenue. We parked and walked to the backstage area which was fenced in with chain-link and surrounded by D.C. Park Police and security guards. We showed them our IDs and waited for Sophie B. Hawkins (the headliner) to finish her sound check so I could do mine. She was going to do her big radio hit "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover". But dear Sophie never finished rehearsing. She went on and on wishing she was somebody's lover (and later had a huge fight with her girlfriend back stage and they broke up.) So my team and I drove back home, and Eddie made us some scrambled eggs and bacon. We ate our greasy breakfast, and an hour later drove back to the festival — where by this time, a very large crowd was beginning to gather. </p><p>"Damn I wish you'd get the **** off the stage!" [Sophie B. Hawkins below]<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/7b91cee80c2691d897ce0f5a1fb9a6aee154e25f/original/sophie.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /> Now, D.C. in June is freaking hot! It's not uncommon for the temperature to hit 98 degrees or more. </p><p>This year however was very different. </p><p>It was in the mid 60s and overcast. That unexpected drop in temperature more than doubled the turn-out for the show. Instead of a hundred thousand people, there were a whole lot more. </p><p>Just before I walked up the steps to the back of the stage, I looked up and could see helicopters circling overhead. I asked two Park Police dudes, "How many people are out there?" What they said next shot terror deep into my soul: </p><p>"Oh, that's a quarter million according to the chopper report." </p><p>I gasped involuntarily and tried to slow my breathing. I made some excuse, saying I would be right back, walked behind one of the big semi-trucks that had brought the huge stage pieces in and threw up my scrambled eggs and bacon. As I walked back to the steps leading to the stage I kept thinking, "How did I get here? How did this happen?" I could hear the roar of that spectacularly huge crowd coming from the front side of the stage and then, finally — it was my turn to go on. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/46f719ef3324c610075d09d0c9241b4849f4b120/original/prideaudience.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" />I took a deep breath and kind of staggered forward up the steps thinking to myself, "Oh my God! Just keep breathing!" I had never seen so many human beings in one place. </p><p>I looked out at the ocean of people in front of me. <a class="no-pjax" href="https://arlingodwin.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-life-of-boys-deluxe-edition-album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Then I glanced over at the sound guys and my music started.">Then I glanced over at the sound guys and my music started.</a> The crowd stretched for block after block, back West along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House — and I was overcome with emotion. </p><p>I felt like, "Who am I to be here?" I wondered, "Am I gonna be able to do this?" But mostly at that moment, I felt grateful — just knocked out that the people there were being so kind as to cheer me on — giving me their love back. <br>That kind of moment only happens once in a lifetime. </p><p>Ultimately the whole thing was humbling. Truly. You think to yourself, "How come I get to do this?" Then I saw Eddie making his way to the front of the audience, and I realized he was the reason. He did it. He made it happen. </p><p>Bottom line: that first performance turned out amazing. I prepared. I faced my fears. I did it. I had fun. I learned a lot. But as cool as that day was — as fantastic as it was to be out there in front of all those people — there's something that's even more important to me. The real bottom line is people. The audience. </p><p>That's YOU, the listener … because you make it all matter. Without YOU what's the point?</p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/dbc47106493c3a850be9705024dcfca54e627f56/original/on-stage-at-pride.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /> So, I'll stop rambling on. But here's to continuing the journey and to hoping that YOU will be a part of that journey! </p><p>If you want to hear the songs I performed that year at Pride, that's easy. Just click here to listen to <a class="no-pjax" href="https://arlingodwin.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-life-of-boys-deluxe-edition-album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents='"THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS - Deluxe Edition." '>"THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS - Deluxe Edition."</a><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.arlingodwinmusic.com/Album" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents='"THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS - Deluxe Edition." '> </a></p><p>This version of the album has extra tracks that were not on the original release and are not available anywhere else. </p><p>Thank YOU for being a listener and a supporter ... and for making it all matter.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/45774932017-02-05T16:41:23-05:002020-11-18T01:06:36-05:00HOW I SECRETLY RECORDED MY FIRST TRACKS IN THE STUDIO OF A FAMOUS TV EVANGELIST<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/cbc6df41290a7f1725b48bbcebfd2bd431ad714d/original/church-head-shot.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>
<p>I never studied music formally but around the age of 6 I did take maybe 3 or 4 piano lessons from a very elderly and very mean lady who liked to slap the tops of my hands if I didn't hold them the way she wanted me to over the keys. So, I told my parents, "No more lessons because that woman is ruining something I really love." And so the lessons stopped and it didn't matter anyway because I could pick out any music I heard pretty easily by ear. </p>
<p>Later, when I got older, a series of events occurred which led to me secretly recording my first tracks in the studio of a famous Fundamentalist tv preacher who I will call J. (now deceased). </p>
<p>My father had gone to work for the Reverend and as a fringe benefit I was given a job in the Audio Services department — which included a recording studio. I loved electronics and had already received an FCC broadcast license at the age of 14. So I was happy to have a job working in a studio even though I found the religious mumbo jumbo hard to take. </p>
<p>Time passed. I did a good job and got promoted. Then one day the boss walks in and hands me the literal keys to the tv minister's radio empire (yes he was also on the radio). Instantly a plan popped into my head. Think about it — what would you do if you had been writing songs since you were 6 years old and somebody gave you the keys to a freakin' recording studio? Exactly! Without further thought I happily started writing songs of a highly questionable moral nature. Songs like "Boy Seventeen" & "God Damn You're Beautiful".Probably the most interesting aspect of this story is that I was, at that time, a very closeted gay boy working in an environment controlled by religiously fanatical, white, middle-aged, heterosexual males. Yet there I was — a "queer", a "pervert" — allowed inside the gates, so to speak, secretly taking advantage of a heavenly situation: full access to some really cool and very expensive equipment. And all the while nobody knew I played for the other team or that I was writing and recording pop songs that the good Reverend would have described as "the Devil's music". </p>
<p>Of course, the door was locked and I was in complete isolation. But I could work all day on the most sinful song I could think up and nobody knew. And in that studio I actually wrote early versions of songs that I would later go on to perform at huge festivals and sell on iTunes. </p>
<p>When I think back to those early days of learning how to write, produce and record music I get a little nostalgic. It was the coolest and most creative thing I had ever done. Still is. And it was a revelation to a young nerdy gay kid with no friends who was forced to be a Bible-banging Fundamentalist by day but who turned into Freddy Mercury and Elton John at night. </p>
<p>Fast forward — I've had a record deal with INgrooves, worked on projects with Donna Summer, Parliament Funkadelic and Pet Shop Boys. Performed in front of a quarter million people at one time. And these days I get to work in my own studio at home in Washington, DC where I live, just up 16th Street about 5 blocks from the President of the United States. Yeah him. We're definitely not friends but we are neighbors. He spends his days Tweeting---and I make electronic music. </p>
<p>Lots and lots of it. </p>
<p>Arlin G.</p>
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<p> </p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/41608782016-04-30T18:08:32-04:002021-04-21T15:03:57-04:00HOW TO RECORD AN ALBUM IN YOUR BEDROOM<p>These days there's no reason why you can't record a full blown album in your own bathroom, if you know what you're doing. Actually, I wouldn't try it in a bathroom because there's never enough electrical outlets in there. </p>
<p>Use your bedroom. </p>
<p>Below is a view of SONAR's X3 sequencer---this is the software that I use pretty much all the time to make music. Yeah, I know it looks complicated but in reality if you record all the time---you get very used to it and you never really use everything that's available to you because you just don't need to. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/88a41b75169f075fc7cd3e63cb17d3e24b3ab5dd/original/sonarx3-main-630-80.jpg?1462045717" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The software and equipment that's available today is nothing short of stratospherically amazing. Just incredible stuff. When I started recording years ago I had to work on great big multi-track tape machines and THAT was a huge pain. Yes, analog has a nice fat sound but you could work for months on something and then get a little drop out in the tape and the whole thing was ruined. These days it's all digital baby. And digital is definitely the way to go. Specifically the invention of MIDI as a way to control instruments and send signals back and forth from keyboard to computer to synth modules has made creating incredibly complex dance and techno tracks not so difficult. </p>
<p>What is MIDI? Check out <a contents="Wikipedia's excellent page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI" target="_blank">Wikipedia's excellent page</a> </p>
<p>Also <a contents="MIDI Manufacturers Association" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.midi.org/specifications">MIDI Manufacturers Association</a><a contents="MIDI Manufacturers Association " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.midi.org/" target="_blank"> </a></p>
<p>Every track I've ever released has been recorded in some kind of home studio. I have worked in "real" studios from time to time but I prefer to work alone in my own environment and at my own pace. This way I can just freakin' go crazy and experiment until I'm blue in the face. </p>
<p>If I feel like getting up in the middle of the night and recording a track stark naked, I can do it---not that this is a common occurrence. But this kind of freedom makes for a very flexible working method. When an idea strikes, there's no wasted time booking a room at some big, high-priced studio. I can lock myself away for hours or even days and not have to worry about time or money. </p>
<p>t the keyboard. If you're a truly musical person this is all you really need to do to get ideas. Producing the ideas is another matter - but coming up with musical phrases and progressions is automatic for a musical person. For me it's never been hard to think of ideas - it's been much harder to weed out the boring ones or melodies that sound too familiar and work on the ones that are actually good. </p>
<p>Another "method" that has yielded some great tunes is dreaming. As in going to sleep and dreaming music. This happens to me a lot and has for my entire life - even before I got interested in composing music. In the last decade or so I've had a number of instances in which I have gotten up and staggered to the computer in the middle of the night and come up with quite usable stuff. I then go back to bed. Later I check out what I came up with in that dream the night before and if it's good then I'll work it up further and see where it goes. </p>
<p>The keyboard I use the most is an old Roland D5 and nearly half the keys in the upper range are broken. I've banged the shit out of this poor thing for years so it's pretty busted at this point. But I still use it as my controller. Even so, because so many of the keys are broken I have to play everything on the lower octave and a half. If I need something higher I transpose it through the software <br>on the computer. </p>
<p>Most of my tracks originate from this "fooling around" stage in which everything that I play is recorded into a computer. If I hear something that I like then I might stop and play it back and proceed to start adding other parts and developing it further. I almost never start out with lyrics or vocals. Usually I'm more interested in the music itself, and the lyrics (if there are any) will later be suggested by the way the music feels. However, I do write lyrics all the time and keep notebooks of ideas. But only very rarely have I actually sat down with a completed lyric and then written music to go with it. </p>
<p>Techno productions like "About Your Soul" routinely require as many as 80 or 90 separate channels to be recorded. And I have been known to work on some of my songs for months at a time, going over and over every single note until the music sounds the way I want it to sound. Regarding MIDI technology: I think if Mozart or Beethoven were alive today they would undoubtedly be drawn to this technology in some way. They might continue to use orchestras for public performance but for private composing it's hard to beat a computer. </p>
<p>I used to use digital audio tape during mix down but these days I don't use tape at all. Everything is mixed to hard drives and discs. And sometimes after that the songs get put back into the computer and processed for the final CD. It's a long and complicated process that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. </p>
<p>The list of equipment that I have collected over the years is too long to detail here. Plus, some of the stuff I use is sort of like my own personal secret arsenal. I can't give all my secrets away. But I did just buy a Roland MC505 Groovebox and I'm using that a great deal on tracks being prepared for new releases. I also just added a TC Electronics Finalizer Express for mastering. A very partial list of the rest of my studio equipment would go something like this: </p>
<p>SONAR X3 running on a suped-up HP Z-Book 17", ACID for adjusting loops and pitch, Alesis HR-16B drum machine,Alesis 3630 Compressor, Alesis Quadraverb, Alesis D4 Drum machine, a Digi-Tech Vocalist 2 harmonizer-preamp, a Roland D5, Cakewalk A-500 Midi Controller, various Korg samplers, Fatar MIDI Controller, Alesis EQ, Panasonic SV3700 DAT machine, a Tascam TSR-8 eight track half inch machine, HP CD-R recorder and a lot of other priceless junk.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/41608682016-04-30T18:01:47-04:002022-01-07T06:40:35-05:00CREATING "THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS"<p>Long before I DREAM DEEP this article focuses on the first album I recorded in 2001, THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS:</p>
<p><strong>BOY SEVENTEEN </strong><br>The first thing that I wrote in January 2001 - in my new apartment in Southwest DC - was "Boy Seventeen". The music for that song came very quickly and the lyric did as well. This was unusual because most of my songs aren't hatched that easily. Of course, just because I wrote it rapidly does not mean that I finished the studio work as quickly. I didn't. I ended up carrying various mixes of that song around with me on cassette and I would hear things in those rough mixes that I didn't like. So, I would go back and tinker with the original tracks over and over for several months. Much of that tinkering was done during the summer of 2001. I was doing some television work up in the Northwest part of the city near Tilden Street and I would take long walks and listen to that track over and over trying to figure out how I wanted it to end up. It was eventually mixed when I finally got so tired of hearing it that I couldn't deal with working on it anymore. I think it's an interesting track because it combines the sounds of two of my favorite artists: Pet Shop Boys (who I worked with in 1986 in a video capacity) and Depeche Mode. </p>
<p>Also, this song features "the wall of voices" trick that I learned long ago from listening to Lindsey Buckingham records. That is, you record dozens and dozens of separate, breathy, atmospheric vocals which takes weeks sometimes and is extremely boring to do. But in the end you get this huge, ambient "wall of sound" that is just fantastic. I've done this many times because I love the way it sounds and I did it on this song---and strangely (to me anyway) many people think the whole thing is synthesized. As in: created on a machine. </p>
<p>I beg to differ. All those voices are me - overdubbed a zillion times. I really have forgotten exactly how many takes were piled on top of one another but it went on for more than a week, so it must have been a great, great many. Art is pain. </p>
<p><strong>BABY YOU'RE A BIG STAR NOW </strong><br>This one had already been recorded when I moved into my new place. It had even been mixed. But when I decided to put it on the new album I went back and remixed it and even chopped some sections of the original out and shortened it a bit. The club mix version (which might eventually be released) is considerably longer but not necessarily better for the extra length. I have a terrible fear of being boring and overly repetitive so I didn't mind cutting the track a little. The song (if you can call it that) was originally written at Halloween 2001 after seeing my good friend Dan dressed up as Judy Garland. That's what inspired it. And it does have this big, celebratory vibe to it that makes you want to hit the dance floor. The big ending was something I came up with because I didn't want to fade it. I can't remember why. I just wanted to have a big, movie-star ending so I put in the kettle drums etc. and created this really nice finale. It's a fun track. </p>
<p><strong>ROSEMERE </strong><br>This track is just flat out gorgeous if I do say so myself. It originally had lyrics but I finally decided that no lyrics could do that music justice. It's just too lovely to be restricted by words. The name Rosemere comes from a novel-in-progress that I may one day release. In the book the name refers to a huge house that the lead character lives in. I suppose Rosemere literally means roses & water? I have been told that the word "mere" means "body of water" or "lake" I think. Maybe someone can correct me on that. Whatever it means, the track is one of my absolute favorites because it's so beautiful and it pretty much came out the way I wanted it to. I had a guy in Finland write to me and ask if he could put his own words to it. I told him to have fun. Once again, in my opinion, this is really, really gorgeous music - and it needs no words. </p>
<p><strong>NEW WORLD COMING </strong><br>This track was licensed in 2007 by the gigantic NOKIA cell phone company for inclusion on one of their products in Europe and Asia. The song started out with just the part of me humming those ascending 5 notes. That was taken from a completely different song that never went anywhere. It was just a little snippet of backing vocal and I looped it and ended up building New World Coming around it. I think NWC has one of the most outrageously fabulous drum arrangements that I've ever done. It was extremely dense and complicated and I remember greatly enjoying doing it. </p>
<p>It was mostly done on the Roland MC505 Groovebox with some supplemental percussion from my old Alesis D4 drum machine. But there are literally 40 or so percussion tracks before you even get to the other instruments. </p>
<p>If you wonder where this track came from...it reminds me of the vibe of an old Elton John tune called "Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance)". I believe it's off of "Blue Moves". Anyway, it's a cool groove and I like the way it builds until you have this huge thing - which hopefully once again makes you want to get on the floor and dance because the new world IS coming... </p>
<p><strong>SCOTT IN ALASKA </strong><br>This track (and the whole album) is dedicated to a long time friend. He once spent a summer in Alaska. So, now you know. Anyway, not long after I had moved into my new apartment last year, I had a dream right out of nowhere about him being on mountain-tops and seeing glaciers and grizzlies and in my dream there was a little satellite hovering over it all up in space amongst the stars. This track was written that night - after I woke up from the dream and went into the living room where all my studio equipment was set up. I just sat down and played a few basic parts so I would have it down and not forget it - and then I went back to bed. Later I fleshed it out. I dream music a lot and am often disturbed in the middle of the night by musical ideas which somehow enter my brain without permission. Lyrics on the other hand are something I actually have to work hard at. But actual music, for me, is automatic and that's how I got this track. </p>
<p><strong>GLAMOUR & DAMAGE </strong><br>This one has two distinct sections which are easily discernible even to the unmusical ear. For several minutes you get the 'glamour' part which symbolizes for me the experience of going out to the clubs and having a high old time. Then you get to the second part which is the 'damage' bit and that's all about the pain, the paranoia and the destruction of one's health and mental condition because of all the bad things you've done to yourself the night before. The whole ending section with the trumpets and so on was inspired by having just seen Tina Turner in concert. I was trying to "Tina-up" the end of this track. </p>
<p><strong>GET STONED </strong><br>This one is not about me getting snockered. Oddly enough I wrote this track immediately after coming home from seeing Steven Soderbergh's movie "Traffic" which dealt with the whole subject of drugs and the law and politics etc. I thought the film was very good but I thought I could have made the music better. So, I came home and recorded this track just to prove to myself that I could have done a better soundtrack for Mr. Soderbergh. Maybe he'll hire me someday. This track was really just a fluke. I never intended to release it - and it was recorded really quickly. Nevertheless, it came out rather nicely. I remember those drum fill parts were taken from a little Casio keyboard toy which I EQed and flanged to make it sound bigger. It's a cool track. I think my oldest son Neil (yes I have kids) has that old keyboard now. </p>
<p><strong>GOD DAMN YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL </strong><br>This one was written for someone special. I guess the lyric is self explanatory. I thought this person was very lovely to look at and this song was inspired directly by that kind of physical beauty. Of everything on the record I think this one has the best chance at modern rock radio and probably the college stations as well. It has a great chorus hook if I do say so myself. </p>
<p><strong>BLUE</strong> <br>Written for an old friend when he started going to therapy. There are several versions of this song floating around as bootlegs on the Internet. This mix is just a really laid back, ethereal, ambient version. But quite beautiful I think.</p>
<p><strong>ABOUT YOUR SOUL </strong><br>This is a techno-dance track that was issued in a shorter version by 3000 Records on their compilation CD "Listen NUDE" last year. I like this one a lot because it never gets boring. Lots of parts and cool samples. </p>
<p><strong>THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS </strong><br>The title track is about going to the baths. If you don't know what that is Google it. Maybe put the word "gay" in front of the word "baths". Specifically this was about the Washington Club baths - which has been torn down to allow the building of a new stadium in DC. This track was inspired by what could be called "the secret life" of the baths. The lyric asks "Why can't I tell you about the secret life of boys?" Probably because you wouldn't believe me if I did.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/41607782016-04-30T15:57:27-04:002017-01-14T13:10:08-05:00MASTERING YOUR OWN MIXES: IT'S NOT THAT HARD<p>Amongst all the mysteries in the business-of-recording-music there is one that strikes fear into the hearts of musicians and artists the world over to a much greater extent than just about anything else. Especially if you are a so called "indie" musician or artist. That scary monster is called "mastering". As in: what you do with a track after you've recorded it and mixed it and want to put it out. How do you get it to sound "professional" and how do you get that elusive loudness that makes it sound so cool on the radio?<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/204745/3ad47687e4c017cc2b6362137acdebe428d54671/original/ozone.jpg?1462489591" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>A lot of people use something like the Izotope Ozone's brick wall limiter. The purpose of this thing is to put an absolute limit on how loud your signal can get, thus the term "brick wall". In the never ending pursuit of loudness this kind of program has become common. </p>
<p>But I don't use it. </p>
<p>For one thing it's expensive and I already own a couple of pieces of software that can do the job just as well. </p>
<p>One is Adobe's Audition and the other came with my old copy of Apple's video editor Final Cut Pro 7 and is called Soundtrack Pro. <br>While Audition is pretty cool and works fine, and even has a "Mastering" section in its' effects list I prefer, at the moment, to use Soundtrack Pro. Unfortunately STP is no longer being made but all of the major audio recorder, editing platforms work similarly when it comes to mastering. And really STP was meant to be used by folks doing extensive audio for television and movies not music. But that just shows you how these various pieces of software all work very much alike. </p>
<p>Other brands of Mastering software include products like Sound Forge Audio Studio, Presonus, Steinberg Wavelab and Wave Mastering as well as the above noted Ozone. </p>
<p>Despite what people will tell you about how you absolutely MUST have your tracks mastered by a professional mastering engineer---I'm here to tell you that you CAN do it yourself. Here's the basic process. </p>
<p>1. Mix the track to a 2 channel stereo file. I just mix down to 44.1khz sampling rate at 16 bit, otherwise known as CD quality. When you record your mix set the levels to fall around -6 to -12db which will leave you plenty of head room to work on the mastering. In other words don't try to peg the volume all the way to 0db. Leave yourself some room to work. </p>
<p>2. Grab a general all purpose Compressor from your software's list of dynamics processors and activate it. You should immediately hear a noticeable bump up in volume. Probably about 3db or so. <br>The key here is long attack times and long release times. Short attack and release times could induce "pumping" of the audio and you don't want that. </p>
<p>3. Next place an EQ into the chain and make any small adjustments you want to make. If you've recorded the track properly to start with this should be very minimal. You shouldn't try to rescue a bad mix with EQ during mastering. This is just to put maybe a little extra sparkle on the high end (because often compressing the signal lowers the highs) and to pump up the bass just a db or two. Shouldn't be any huge change. Less is more. And you might not need to do anything at all. Be very thoughtful as you listen to your mix: Do you really need to change anything? Why? Have a reason for anything you decide to do. </p>
<p>4. Now place a Low Pass filter after this and cut everything below 30Hz. This frequency and what's below it is pretty much not something humans can hear. You might be able to feel it if you're in a big club standing in front of 10 foot tall speaker grill but your ears don't process signals that low. Not really. Anyway the Low Pass filter will get rid of any rumble or sub-sonics which could make the mix sound muddy. </p>
<p>5. At this point you could add a Multipressor---which is a type of compressor that allows you to individually adjust about 4 or 5 sections of the frequency spectrum. Kind of like an EQ for Compression. <br>Sort of. </p>
<p>For EQ and Compression Apple's Multipressor works great. The thing is it might be too much. You might not need it. But if you do need to go in and make a surgical adjustment this can help you do that. You can adjust the bass separate from the mids and the high end---or not. Again this step is in my opinion possible overkill as you shouldn't need it if you recorded and mixed properly. But lots of artists will screw around with a Multipressor at this stage of the process just because they can. This is potentially dangerous. And plenty of them will ruin their mix at this point. Again listen closely to your mix. Do you really need this thing? If not skip it. Sometimes simple is best. </p>
<p>6. At this point you could also add in an effect that falls into the Spatial control category. Sometimes it's called "Stereo Spread" and what it does is add depth and openness and a more panoramic feel to the track that might not have been there before. The one rule with Stereo Spread effects however is don't apply it to the mids and bass end. Apply it only to the upper part of the audio spectrum. If you use it on the bass you WILL get a muddy bottom end and that doesn't sound so great. </p>
<p>7. The final stage is the above-mentioned "Brick Wall Limiter". Set it so that it's maximum output is -0.1db or maybe -0.2db. Meaning that this is as loud as it can get. Period. </p>
<p>A lot of the old time mastering guys would set this to -0.3 but that's probably not necessary these days. But what this will do for you is maximize loudness while not allowing the signal to clip. When you put this thing into the chain of processors and then look at your VU meters you should see the signal definitely banging right up against the top of the allowable scale. Not into the red but up very close to 0db. It's actually being stopped just shy of that. -0.2 is just shy of 0db. It's a fraction of a decibel. On high energy rock or dance tracks you should see on your VU meters a little bit of bouncing back down off and on to around -6db. </p>
<p>Basically what you've done is take your very wide dynamic range original, unmastered mix and you've compressed it so that the quieter parts get about 3 or 4db louder and the very loud transients such as snare drums are brought down several db and that has now allowed you to bring the whole mix up---but confine it so that it can't go higher than just barely below 0db. You've squeezed it. And it is this audio squeeze effect, which many of us learned to love from vinyl records ages ago, that gives even modern day recordings a sense of professionalism. The compression glues the individual parts and sounds together into a coherent whole. Without the mastering your mix will sound dull, lack punch and will not achieve a professional level of loudness. </p>
<p>The difference between properly mastered and not-mastered is largely that feeling of compressing the signal, removing some of the dynamic range and packing the signal into a more compact space. Then raising the over all loudness. Since you brought those loud, unruly snare drum transients down you now have more headroom with which to raise the entire track's overall volume and thus it gets LOUDER. Quite a bit louder. </p>
<p>For more in depth discussion of these steps commonly used in mastering check out <a contents="THIS ARTICLE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://subaqueousmusic.com/mastering-chain-the-secret-sauce/" target="_blank">THIS ARTICLE</a>. Or this article called <a contents="HOW TO MASTER A TRACK IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS. " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-master-a-track-in-15-minutes-or-less--audio-24" target="_blank">HOW TO MASTER A TRACK IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS. </a></p>
<p>Oh and make sure you have really good professional speakers AND also a pair of shitty ones. Why the shitty ones? Because if you can get the mix to sound great on crappy speakers it will sound amazing on expensive ones. </p>
<p>If you have to mix using headphones (which I very often do because I'm up late at night and don't want to disturb my neighbors) then invest in the open-cup pro level kind. There are closed cup headphones and open cup headphones. You want the open ones because the closed cups will wreck your bass and you'll react by bringing the bass down lower than it should be. Later you'll hear your mix in a car or at a friend's house and you'll be asking yourself why your bass is so low. It's because those closed cup headphones tricked you into thinking that you needed to bring the bass down. Common mistake. </p>
<p>Open cup headphones, on the other hand, actually allow some of the audio to intentionally leak out but they are generally far more accurate. By letting some of the sound escape the bass is prevented from sounding artificially louder than it really is. You want accuracy. That's one of the cardinal rules of mastering. You want is a nice wide (20hz to 30khz frequency response---or thereabouts) and you want that response flat. No areas of over emphasis. Nice and accurate. </p>
<p>I personally use a pair of AKG 701s because they're amazingly accurate and transparent. I highly recommend them. These are not meant for head bangers who just want tons of artificial bass. They are meant to be accurate across the entire audio spectrum. If you use inaccurate headphones you will get an inaccurate mix. </p>
<p>Obviously there is a lot more to this topic but it's nothing you can't learn on your own using Google. <br>I hope this helps the budding do-it-yourself mastering engineers out there. It's really not difficult once you understand what you're doing.<br><br>Now go make some music.</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/41601122016-04-29T21:31:04-04:002016-04-29T21:31:04-04:00OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW<p>The coolest thing I've done lately is upgrade my home studio gear. Out went the 10 year Dell and in came a brand new HP Z-Book Mobile Workstation and an external 20" monitor. I also stopped using the old SONAR 6 software that I had recorded on for eons and replaced that with the latest SONAR X3 program.<br> </p>
<p>The new software is nothing short of amazing. The biggest single change for me is what they call "soft synths" which means all the synthesizers are INSIDE your computer, not sitting in a rack somewhere in the room with a bunch of wires coming out of them. </p>
<p>Computers are now so powerful that you can install these wonderful "soft synths" as plug-ins into the main sequencer software you are using (in my case SONAR X3) and use them to generate all the sounds you need to make a record. What a modern world we live in huh?! </p>
<p>Anyway there WILL be new music. And soon. I'm working a lot on new tracks and I think everyone will be enthusiastically surprised. The new stuff is very very electronic, it has a beat, and you can dance to it. More later. Love. A</p>
<p><br> </p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/41601112016-04-29T21:25:35-04:002023-02-01T16:06:57-05:00YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH: THE INFAMOUS DEADMAU5 POST<p>A lot of Electronic Music people have read the infamous Deadmau5 post which appeared on his blog quite a while back. The other day a friend of mine and I were rehashing it because I’m thinking seriously of doing some “live” shows when the weather gets warmer and that raises questions about exactly HOW I might accomplish these performances. </p>
<p>Deadmau5’s original missive was titled WE ALL HIT PLAY. And in this little article, Joel Zimmerman (aka Deadmau5) openly let our little secret out of the bag---namely that big-time EDM acts pretty much play back whole pre-produced sets rather than risk trying to play live or even remix live. </p>
<p>To quote Mr. Mouse: </p>
<p>"I think given about 1 hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of Ableton and music tech, in general, could do what I’m doing at a Deadmau5 concert." </p>
<p>That got some attention from the pretenders who didn’t want the family business hung to dry in front of the whole world. </p>
<p>Of course, this is not DJ-ing. And Deadmau5 himself pretty much makes that point. The problem is that the public confuses DJ-ing with Composing, Producing, and general studio work. They are definitely not the same thing. </p>
<p>I would say DJ-ing is when you take recordings by other acts and play them back-to-back matching beats and fading one into another. </p>
<p>Being an original music artist on the other hand means you’re someone who works their ass off in a studio setting creating from scratch out of your own brain and then taking that music out on a big stage in front of 15,000 people or so and giving it back to them the best way possible. Whatever that is. </p>
<p>For me, I think it would be having all my tracks there running in sync and being able to remix on the fly. Change it up from the original record version. That would keep me busy and it would be fun. </p>
<p>Deeper into Mr. Mau5's blog post he had this to say: </p>
<p>“I’m just so sick of hearing the “NO!!! IM NOT JUST DOING THIS, I HAVE 6 TABLES UP THERE AND I DO THIS THIS AND THIS” like…honestly, who gives a f**k? I don’t have any shame in admitting that for “unhooked” sets…I just roll up with a laptop and a midi controller and “select” tracks n hit a spacebar. Ableton syncs the s**t up for me… so no beatmatching skill required. “Beatmatching” isnt even a f**king skill as far as I’m concered anyway. So what, you can count to 4. Cool. I had that skill down when i was 3, so don’t give me that argument please." </p>
<p>Joel has a lot of personality! </p>
<p>EDM tracks run at anywhere from 120 to 150 beats per minute. Many of the parts that accompany the music are broken down into 16th notes. Try playing a couple hundred rapid-fire 16th notes every minute with your hands on multiple instruments over the course of an 8 minute mix. It's not really possible. </p>
<p>That's why we use computers. </p>
<p>No, it’s not because we’re not musical. And yes we can actually play most of us. And to me, that's perfectly fine. I know if I'm watching an EDM act I'm hearing a lot of electronics. I love electronics. I also love the harp. And the banjo. And the violin. A lot. </p>
<p>But I also expect that Deadmau5 (or whoever) actually wrote and recorded their own original tracks back in the studio. That they personally created the music I'm hearing and that's the big thing that separates them from DJs. Not that there's anything wrong with being a DJ. (My weekends would be a lot less fun if there was nobody in all those club booths spinning and...well whatever else it is they're doing in there.) </p>
<p>But I myself have zero desire to go get a bunch of tracks from iTunes and fade them together one after the other. </p>
<p>Not why I got into music. </p>
<p>But then---to each his or her own... Arlin</p>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119852013-09-02T14:08:00-04:002017-01-14T13:10:09-05:00SIGNING WITH MONDO TUNESAfter having been out of the on-line stores for a little over a month---3 of my albums (The Secret Life of Boys, Rush Push, and Remixes Demos & Bootlegs) are back in a big way. Thanks to the fine people at Mondo Tunes.<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZ3yoA9YTac/UiTTDuelliI/AAAAAAAAAWM/N4Xghs_4JPU/s1600/tumblr_m5nsg51R3D1qfig19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZ3yoA9YTac/UiTTDuelliI/AAAAAAAAAWM/N4Xghs_4JPU/s320/tumblr_m5nsg51R3D1qfig19.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>Mondo is beyond any doubt the biggest digital distributor in the world and handle a couple of other artists you might have heard of: Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Black Eyed Peas to name a few. In addition, they handle all of Universal Music Group's artists. And now they handle me as well. <br><br>For a number of years I was signed to INgrooves and they handled my distribution. A few years back I ended that deal and ReverbNation, for a time, took over. But the trouble with RN and CD Baby and most of the other well known "content aggregators" is that every year they want you to pay them more money to keep you in the stores.<br><br>Now mind you we're talking about digital files. Once they are sent to the various on line stores no further work is required...so why do I have to pay over and over again to keep my albums available? This was always a pain in my backside as no shipping or shrink wrapping or...anything else...was needed just to stay in a digital store. They didn't have to do anything more. But they always wanted more cash to keep me where I was at iTunes and Amazon and so on.<br><br>Anyway Mondo Tunes takes a one time fee for each release and after that they leave you alone. They also return 100% of royalties returned by the stores to the artist.<br><br>Theoretically I could drop dead this afternoon and my tracks would go on selling for eons to come. <br>In addition, Mondo puts me in far more stores than I ever was with any of my earlier deals. INgrooves, ReverbNation, CD Baby and those guys get you into maybe 40 to 50 stores. Mondo now has me in 750 stores in 100 different countries. That's a nearly 20 times increase.<br><br>So, if you have some time check me out at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody and hundreds of other stores. Wherever you buy tracks chances are I'm finally there.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119862012-12-24T19:12:00-05:002022-05-09T06:40:53-04:00RETROSPECTIVE ALBUMS COMING IN JANUARY<div style="text-align: left;">So I got the whole process of movie making a little bit out of my system by making a short film called THE MAN IN 813 which went on to screen at the 2011 DC SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL and eventually got me an award for my troubles. It's at home on the mantle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">Film making was an adventure. And I'm sure I'm not finished with film. Still it didn't take me long to start missing the music business and my supporters and all the fun of being able to sit down on a Saturday morning and by the end of the day have a brand new semi-completed piece of music which I could then take with me out to the clubs here in DC where I live and get played while a thousand kids danced unknowingly to what had not existed 8 hours earlier. Yeah that was fun and I missed doing it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j1CZ0Z2ln4M/UNDy9dGy-kI/AAAAAAAAAOI/o5N6N8XvedE/s1600/vault+blog+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/-j1CZ0Z2ln4M/UNDy9dGy-kI/AAAAAAAAAOI/o5N6N8XvedE/s640/vault+blog+image.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="120" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, I'm back doing music and in full battle mode. Ready to get down to work on new stuff while at the same time preparing to release THE VAULT parts 1 & 2. <br><br>The first album (part 1) will go 100% FREE to everybody on my official email list on January 18, 2013. The second part will come a month later and also be FREE to those on my email list. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">There will then be a retail release at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and about 40+ other online stores sometime after the fans get these tracks for FREE. And there might be bonus material on those in store versions. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">These releases will total somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 tracks or so and no it's not new stuff. It's old classic Delphinium Blue and Darkangeles stuff---but many people have never heard these recordings at all. Some of these tracks were never released in ANY form so I kind of wanted to get them out before I launch back into doing new stuff that will be much more electronic. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The track list will feature things like "I Wanna Watch the X-Files In The Rain", "Stereo Porno Groove", "Tears In The Rain", an extended version of "California", an extended version of "Isabelle" and "Budhatronic", "Ed's Place", "Christians For Lions", "Dead", "If Jesus Hasn't Saved You Yet", "Sweet Little Psycho" and never before released tracks like "Thickly Buttered Coffin" which only very close friends have ever heard (hint it's about a 17 year old vampire boy).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fkpklwdbdas/UNjqhKhgoGI/AAAAAAAAAOY/hGigi99TgiE/s1600/mastering+THE+VAULT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="//2.bp.blogspot.com/-fkpklwdbdas/UNjqhKhgoGI/AAAAAAAAAOY/hGigi99TgiE/s640/mastering+THE+VAULT.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">So anyway these tracks were laying around "in the vault" so to speak gathering dust literally so I thought "Let's get this stuff mastered and put it all out there." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">And so---if you are not on my email list go to <a href="http://www.arlingodwin.com/">www.arlingodwin.com</a> OR <a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/arlingodwin">www.reverbnation.com/arlingodwin</a> OR <a href="http://www.facebook.com/arlingodwin">www.facebook.com/arlingodwin</a> and get on the list. And look for the first album of 15 tracks or so on January 18, 2013.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><br>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119872011-12-24T14:00:00-05:002020-07-17T19:56:24-04:00WHY YOU SHOULD SEE THE NEW VERSION OF "THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO"<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652448">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vac045spVYI/TvYfIqqtTuI/AAAAAAAAAME/sl8fDBvJTBo/s1600/The-Girl-With-the-Dragon-Tattoo-remake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="//4.bp.blogspot.com/-vac045spVYI/TvYfIqqtTuI/AAAAAAAAAME/sl8fDBvJTBo/s400/The-Girl-With-the-Dragon-Tattoo-remake.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="166" width="400" /></a><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">MTV has already hailed David Fincher's latest journey into darkness as the BEST FILM OF 2011. A lot of top notch publications have reviewed the movie very favorably. Some have called it "brilliant" or "electrifying" and almost everybody agrees that Rooney Mara utterly inhabits the character of Lisbeth Salander.</span><br><br><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">In general however, reviews for the American remake of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO seem divided in to two camps. One side loves it and praises it for the excellent movie that it obviously is. The other camp flat out refuses to review the movie itself preferring instead to go on endlessly about how the story was a best selling novel and everybody already knows the story and plus there was a Swedish film version so why in the world would you want or need to see the new American version? </span>
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<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524667"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524668"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">I'll tell you why you need to see the American version: David Fincher. That's why.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524668"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_13247503665241143">Fincher is simply put one of the most talented and unsentimental directors working in Hollywood today. The director of SEVEN, FIGHT CLUB, ZODIAC, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON and THE SOCIAL NETWORK makes movies on a technical and artistic level far above the average Hollywood or Swedish hack.</div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524404"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524405"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">But back to my point---the latter group of critics generally don't bother to actually talk about the film's merits at all save for possibly mentioning Rooney Mara's amazing performance. I suspect this is because most movie reviewers have little to no first hand knowledge or experience actually writing scripts or stories of any kind much less any practice setting up lights, putting film in a camera or cutting that film into a serviceable movie later on. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524405"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524405"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">Most critics have never written the score for a film. Much less recorded that score. Most critics have no conception of what it is like to be on a film set or even a lowly television commercial set for that matter so they essentially don't know what to talk or write about. These reviewers are simply ignorant and they show their technical AND artistic ignorance in their reviews. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524405"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524405"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">These opinionated ladies and gentlemen don't have the ability to talk or write seriously and professionally about film-making itself so they make do by blathering on about the violence in DRAGON TATTOO (out of context) or the supposed similarities between the American and Swedish versions. I'm referring to an entire generation of movie critics who probably don't know much about shutter speed, lens apertures, focal lengths, long lenses vs. short lenses, tungsten bulbs vs. fluorescent, film cameras vs. digital cameras, they wouldn't know a dolly from a jib from a Techno-crane. They have no idea how to use Avid or Final Cut Pro to edit a movie. These people have never had to record sound on a set or location. They've never made props or created costumes. They wouldn't know how to correctly apply make up to an actor's face if their lives depended on it. These people therefore, in my opinion, ought probably to be reviewing children's books or maybe food recipes or plants for your garden---not movies.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524468"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524469"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">The negative crowd refuses to deal with the vast differences between the Swedish and American versions, neglecting any discussion of David Fincher's far better script, far tighter construction, better pace, better acting, immensely better lighting, staggeringly better camera movement, better staging of actors (how they enter and leave rooms and where they are positioned in the frame), better production design, make-up, costumes, effects, fantastic color grading (which is now an integral part of all modern movie making).</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524469"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524469">
<span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">Absolutely no review that I've read so far even mentions in passing that the movie was digitally shot (without film) on the revolutionary 4K RED Epic camera system (do they even know what 4K is?) which is changing movie making every day more and more and which accounts for David Fincher's ability to shoot with available light in very dark settings. </span><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">There are some scenes in this movie that are literally illuminated with one bare light bulb! Try that with actual celluloid film stock and you'll understand what a modern wonder digital cameras really are.</span><br><br><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">Also frequently left out is any mention of the Oscar caliber editing of Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter or the stunning musical score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. </span>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524200"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524201"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">But I mean seriously! Come on! We're talking about CINEMA here people. We're talking about an art form that is primarily VISUAL. Still there's a whole world of critics out there completely unequipped to write about cinema in any substantive way. All these people can do is tell you whether they "liked it" or not. And they have little to no ability to really tell you why. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524201"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524201"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">I've even had a few heated discussions with friends who say naively "Well you're interested in those [technical] things because you make films and work in television." I find statements like that to be wildly ridiculous. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524777"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524778"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">What else is a movie made of? </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524779"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524780"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">Aren't these departments and areas of the film-making process exactly what a movie is in the end? I'm interested in all those areas and achievements precisely because they are the reasons why a film is well made or not. They are largely the reasons why a film is "good" or "bad". And don't forget I included screenwriting in my list above of what makes Fincher's version so much better. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524807"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524808"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">I continue to find it amazing that these negative reviewers basically just don't bother to deal with the film as a movie unto itself. They tie it again and again to the previous, inferior Swedish movie---which the knowledgeable critic should know was merely 2 parts of a 6 part made-for-TV mini-series in Sweden called MILLENNIUM. It is true the Swedish films were cut down a bit and then released in America as theatrical movies but their origin was in television and in my opinion the Swedish films look and sound like made for tv movies while Fincher's version looks amazing. Sounds amazing. Is amazing.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_13247503665241015"> </div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_13247503665241016"><span id="yui_3_2_0_16_132475036652471">If you happened to read the book on some beach vacation back when it was first published or on an airplane flying someplace and you want to see the definitive film version then the only one to bother with is the vastly superior David Fincher film. Just my opinion. But then I've worked on real sets, put film in cameras, set up lights, written scripts, scored music for tv and film and edited an award winning short film. What would I possibly know about movies?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_16_1324750366524662"> </div>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119882011-12-03T16:30:00-05:002016-06-03T20:58:21-04:00MAKING MOVIES<div id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514348">
<span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371">In the late summer of 2010 I decided that, after years of being a slightly successful indie music artist who made a steady stream of pocket change from the songs that I wrote and recorded, that I would like to return to making films---as I had done in my childhood. <br><br>Movies had always fascinated me---the ability to shoot something totally out of order and put it together and tell a story was endlessly interesting to me. So with that in mind I did a great deal of research on the latest camera technology and, in short, quickly was won over by the revolution then happening (and now continuing) in the realm of HDSLR still cameras which also featured amazing video technology.</span><span><br class="yui-cursor"></span>
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<embed src="//www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320" height="266" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="flvurl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Da15466cb4ec46230%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dblogger%26app%3Dblogger%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%3Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1467149373%26sparams%3Dip,ipbits,expire,id,itag,source%26signature%3D3A306828F5104A68F874A0E937882C550D4248CA.71CDFB811DE08F59A75F78EA75FBD7C3650B3AAB%26key%3Dck2&iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Da15466cb4ec46230%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DtjcG3z_3ExeWBOsixryJCWXlZe0&autoplay=0&ps=blogger" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514348"><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371">I snapped up a Canon 550D or if you prefer the Rebel T2i as it is sometimes known---and then went looking for good prime lenses to shoot some tests. I wrote a script which none of my friends or acquaintances wanted to have anything to do with (although they were encouraging) and then I threw out that script but kept the core idea and ended up shooting a 3 minute short that was never intended for the festival circuit or even to be seen by very many people. </span></div><div id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514348"><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371"> </span></div><div id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514348"><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371">I just wanted to reacquaint myself with what it felt like to light a scene, set up a tripod, choose an appropriate lens and then shoot something, move on and shoot more and then put it all together in Final Cut Pro and maybe score some music for the track. All of that I eventually did. And it was hard---and also a huge amount of fun. </span></div><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371"><br>That little experimental film became <a href="http://vimeo.com/21242800">THE MAN IN 813</a> and has gone on to become an official selection of several U.S. film festivals including the rather prestigious (Washington) DC Shorts Film Festival. It was chosen from 1,200 submissions to be among 145 films shown in September 2011. The film also went on to win Outstanding Local Film at that festival, something I never dreamed of happening.</span><br><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371"><br></span><br><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371">Now I'm getting ready for the release of my second short <a href="http://vimeo.com/33080371">GO WITH THE FLOW</a> about a guy named Parker Krendall---whose girlfriend has just been visited by "Aunt Flo". As the film opens she is leaving a somewhat angry message on Parker's answering machine saying, "I only wish you men knew what it was like!" Shortly after that Parker's nose begins to bleed. And bleed. And bleed some more.</span><br><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371"><br></span><br><span id="yiv1619935170yui_3_2_0_22_131421102514371">The full short will be out in January 2012.</span>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119892010-04-14T22:37:00-04:002020-07-25T12:22:17-04:003RD FULL LENGTH ALBUM DROPS AT iTUNES<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/arlin-godwin/id350107024?uo=6" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/S8Z8Pmqs5XI/AAAAAAAAAK4/0h_vUqwbqEo/s320/RDB+album+small+cover.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460188205752837490" style=" margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" /></a><br>The 3rd full length album<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">REMIXES, DEMOS & BOOTLEGS</span><br>hit iTunes this week.<br><br>This record has a collection of some old tracks, some new tracks and some bootlegged tracks.<br><br>Everything was completely remastered from<br>scratch.<br><br>Enjoy.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119902010-01-27T22:11:00-05:002017-01-14T13:10:09-05:00BACK IN THE iTUNES STORE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/S2ECSEPi0OI/AAAAAAAAAKw/G6O4is2rcb4/s1600-h/TSLOB+small.jpg"><img src="//2.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/S2ECSEPi0OI/AAAAAAAAAKw/G6O4is2rcb4/s320/TSLOB+small.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431625134985367778" style=" margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" /></a><br>Just a quicky to let everyone know that my first full length album THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS is back up at iTunes under my own name: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/arlin-godwin/id350107024?uo=6">Arlin Godwin</a>. <br><br>If you don't have this record you can now get it at Apple.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119912010-01-20T20:25:00-05:002017-02-05T09:34:38-05:00NO PANTS<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/S1euM4oA2XI/AAAAAAAAAKY/byHNDEk_Ysg/s1600-h/no+pants.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/S1euM4oA2XI/AAAAAAAAAKY/byHNDEk_Ysg/s320/no+pants.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428999412200298866" style=" margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 209px;" /></a>Some of you might have heard of the NO PANTS events that have been popular in cities all over. Recently Capitol Improv (located here in my home town of Washington, DC) participated in their own version of what they call an "international holiday". After the dropping of the pants was over they cut together a video commemorating the event and used my track "METRO" to back it up. Check it out at<br><br><a href="http://www.capitolimprov.com">CAPITOL IMPROV</a> or at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLvYkSpIw4I">YOU TUBE</a><br><br>You can get a FREE copy of the track at the official site <a href="http://www.arlingodwin.com">www.ArlinGodwin.com</a>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119922010-01-03T16:17:00-05:002016-06-03T20:58:22-04:00"AMERICAN PSYCHO" REVISITEDI watched "American Psycho" last night on blu ray. Hadn't seen it in years. The quality was amazing. Sound was excellent.<br><br>I actually think this film is a near masterpiece. It was much, much funnier than I had remembered (time has increased it's humor). It's basically a put down of the excessive decade of Reagan and the '80's and all the crazy clothes and big hair etc. There's much black comedy--yuppies comparing their business cards---the paper texture, the color, the fonts, the engraving... <br><br>Later after Patrick Bateman (a very hot Christian Bale) has killed Paul Allen (a very moist Jared Leto) with an axe in his all-white apartment without getting a single drop of blood on the walls---he sneaks into Allen's apartment to try to make it look like he's gone away out of town...when he first enters, Bale's breathy voice over says something like, "When I first entered Paul's apartment there was a moment of abject terror---as I realized his place was much nicer than mine and has a better view..." That made me laugh out loud. It's that kind of humor all the way through.<br><br>It wasn't nearly as bloody as I had thought and what there is of that is so tempered by the amusing dialog that it's not very bothersome. It's definitely NOT a horror film because the "horror" elements are so tongue and cheek. The scenes of a very naked Christian Bale running down the hallway of his condo chasing a hooker with a chainsaw are so nutty that they're actually funny. <br><br>It was directed by a woman...so that gives it a feminist vibe that I don't think a male could have achieved. And Christian Bale is VERY hot in this movie walking around in his tightie-whities. He's a guy who is obsessed with his physical appearance so there is much skin to take in. <br><br>The voice over at the beginning with him showering while you hear him explaining his unbelievably complex morning face-cleansing regimen is hysterical. The music really took me back too---as Bale's character is obsessed with Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News and Whitney Houston and apparently in the book there is an entire chapter devoted to each artist! But the music and the club scenes etc really brought back the 1980's. <br><br>It's clever and dark and funny. I could even imagine Stanley Kubrick doing something similar with that kind of material.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119932009-12-11T18:02:00-05:002016-06-03T20:58:22-04:00SHIT IS EASY...PERFECTION IS HARDSo after about 3 months of diddling around with a new track called "8 MINUTES TO ORBIT" it still didn't sound right to me this afternoon when I sat down to listen again to my last mix. Frustrating to say the least.<br><br>Every time I work on a track I always do a mix whether I think it's done or not. I don't want to have to crank up the computer and load software and all that stuff later on just to check out where I'm at with a tune. So... I listened off the Alesis Masterlink that I use for recording final mixdowns and even at 96khz sampling rate---things were just not right. This was not a technology problem. It was a musical one.<br><br>Finally it dawned on me that I had become so enamoured with the SOUNDS that I used on this track that I had neglected to obey the general rules of making techno-trance-electronica (whatever that is) which is to say that I really wasn't hearing a solid KICK and a definite SNARE in the mix. One would think that someone with my experience in recording (nearly 30 years) would have noticed this earlier and perhaps I did and my mind just didn't care at that point in the process. I was going for something "different" this time out anyway and the lack of the usual supporting players (kick and snare) gave the effort a vibe that I was not used to. I mistakenly thought that was a good thing. It was not. Rules are rules for a reason. The universe does not change just because I might want it to.<br><br>Well, I spent the afternoon judiciously, carefully, with great attention to delicacy---adding a kick overdub to the drum tracks that were already there. The hardest part of that process is really, really making sure that the new kick overdub is EXACTLY PRECISELY lined up with what's already there---otherwise you get a weird doubling effect that is undesireable in this kind of music. <br><br>Then I added a snare from my arsenal of Roland 808 samples and even though it sounded vaguely "cheap" at first---I quickly decided that it was perfect because the rest of "8 MINUTES TO ORBIT" sounds "expensive" if you get my drift. That cheap little "pppsssht" snare that I used was great up against the gigantic hugeness of the rest of the track. So it seems to be working.<br><br>Why I am telling you this? Because you're a fan of mine. Eventually you will hear this track. And I wanted you to know that I'm making it as PERFECT as I possibly can. I'm a big believer in trying to perfect things for my fans--although I haven't always lived up to it. But this time I won't stop until this track is shere awesomeness and it is already very close. <br><br>It's funny how, when you really start to get everything right in a mix, you begin to hear the whole work in a new way. Even after thousands of listens---when the mix clicks---magic happens. And magic is what I'm after. Nothing less.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119942009-12-06T19:06:00-05:002021-06-10T18:00:00-04:00LET IT SNOW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SxxFrLyc8bI/AAAAAAAAAKI/JeoIo_f1DwM/s1600-h/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SxxFrLyc8bI/AAAAAAAAAKI/JeoIo_f1DwM/s320/snow.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a></div>So amazingly enough it snowed all day long on Saturday. Unfortunately in the city of Washington, DC where I live it just barely dusted the ground. We just haven't had enough cold around to lower temperatures on the streets to point where the snow will stick well. Still it was beautiful to watch it come down---sometimes quite heavily.<br><br>I have a feeling in my gut that DC is in for some serious snow this winter. It's a bit unusual for us to have any snow before Christmas but it's already happened and I think there will be much more to come. By spring I'll probably be begging for it to stop.<br><br>Continued recording over the weekend. With the weather all cold and wet it was perfect for staying in, clamping headphones on my ears and working on mixes for some of the new tracks that are underway.<br><br>Watched No Country For Old Men again on blu ray this time. Those Cohen brothers know how to put a good movie together. Thoroughly entertaining film but very violent.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119952009-11-12T20:46:00-05:002017-01-14T13:10:09-05:00BECOMING MYSELF: NO MORE FAKE BAND NAMES<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/Svy65xSVQcI/AAAAAAAAAJM/KFPO22FWKT4/s1600-h/half.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/Svy65xSVQcI/AAAAAAAAAJM/KFPO22FWKT4/s320/half.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403399154583290306" style=" margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 182px; height: 320px;" /></a><br>So after something like 7 years of being with San Fran label INgrooves---I've decided that it's time to move on and what's more it's time to be myself instead of Delphinium Blue. Feels good actually.<br><br>Of course, leaving your label for greener pastures is also traumatic. I went from peacefully working on new tracks to suddenly having to also deal with a fucking ton of business matters. ASCAP. Copyrights. Licensing. Bank accounts. Email. Photo galleries. Audio files. Promotions. It's enough to make an indie rock star's brain hurt.<br><br>I DO have some really good news for the fans however---This weekend I will be emailing everybody to announce that I'm giving away really high quality 320kbps mp3 files of all the tracks on my best selling album THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS (which is also the new name of this blog and NO I do not intend any slight against the ladies).<br><br>Anyway if you're reading this post then you're finding out ahead of time that the tracks are already up on the Reverb Nation widget that's on the <a href="http://www.arlingodwin.com">www.ArlinGodwin.com</a> home page. You can get them right now if you want. All I ask in return is an email address so I can alert you when stuff is going on musically speaking.<br><br>If you are already on the mailing list then you just enter your address for verification only and then go download the tracks by clicking SONGS. It's pretty easy.<br><br>Of course some of you might be saying, "But I already have that album from iTunes..."<br><br>Yeah, but what you have are the crappy compressed versions that the on line stores sell. There's a reason why those files download so fast. The ones I've put up on the Reverb Nation widget at ArlinGodwin.com are better than CD quality. This is as close as you're gonna get to hearing what these tracks sounded like in a studio setting.<br><br>So...go get em. And enjoy. And maybe tell your friends. Actually you can share that widget on web sites, in emails etc...it's easy to spread the music around. So please do. PEACE.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119962009-11-04T21:19:00-05:002017-01-14T13:10:09-05:00DUBIOUS MIND BOMB: Hot Web Radio<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.live365.com/stations/dubious109"><img src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SvI3mNHUr_I/AAAAAAAAAI4/7la8QxpVMfk/s320/stationlogo276x155.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400440032665579506" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 155px;" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Did you know---there are some amazing people out there who are making radio safe for the masses again? I'm talking about Internet Stations and the incredible people who run them.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:verdana;">I want to turn you on to one really great station out of Concord, NH. It's called </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.live365.com/stations/dubious109"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DUBIOUS MIND BOMB</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> and the station bills itself as </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;">"An eclectic mix of Rock, Alternative, Pop, Dance, Metal, Show Tunes and Standards. Featuring the likes of Queen, Pink Floyd, Barenaked Ladies, Pet Shop Boys, B-52's, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra to name just a very few..."<br><br></span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.live365.com/stations/dubious109"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DUBIOUS MIND BOMB</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> has been playing the latest Delphinium Blue single "Joy" for a while now and to say that I am grateful is a huge understatement. The station is great and the musical choices you're going to hear when you visit them are going to put a great big dubious smile on your face! Check them out! Now.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br></span>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119972009-08-17T22:54:00-04:002020-07-29T15:25:56-04:00NEW WORLD COMING Hits Radio World Wide103 radio stations around the world are playing the single NEW WORLD COMING from The Secret Life of Boys album. Thank you to all the DJs supporting the record.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119982009-07-29T17:11:00-04:002020-10-13T04:08:57-04:00CHICAGO RADIO & the new single<a href="http://www.live365.com/stations/djatomico">CHI-TOWN UNDERGROUND</a> Radio and DJ Atomico are supporting the new single New World Coming. Thanks guys! So far 64 stations have added the track around the world.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42119992009-07-24T16:58:00-04:002016-06-03T20:58:24-04:00POWER DANCE RADIO First Station To Add "NEW WORLD COMING"Just wanted to say THANX to the cool people at <a href="http://powerdanceradio.com/">POWER DANCE RADIO </a>in The Netherlands. They're playing "New World Coming" from The Secret Life of Boys album---and I greatly appreciate their support.<br><br>We started a new radio campaign built around that single, after NOKIA (the cell phone people) kind of annointed that track by placing it on one of their new phone products being released in Asia and Europe---and <a href="http://www.powerdanceradio.com/">POWER DANCE RADIO </a>was the first radio station to add it to their playlist. Thanks guys.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120002009-05-05T20:02:00-04:002016-06-03T20:58:24-04:00NEW "JESUS" EP ARRIVES at iTUNESJust a quickie to thank everyone who's purchased a copy of the new 5 track EP<br><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?artistId=4214358&forceArtistPage=1">"If Jesus Hasn't Saved You Yet" at iTunes...</a><br><br>It's selling well which is very gratifying. Thanks to all of you for your support and for freaking me out by making the single track <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Sweet Like Candy"</span> the breakout from the new record.<br>Who'd of thunk it?<br><br>If you haven't got the new release please drop $3.99 and pick it up at iTunes.<br>PEACE & LOVE TO ALL THE BLUE PEOPLEARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120012009-01-30T14:46:00-05:002017-01-14T13:10:09-05:00MOVIES & MUSIC<img src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SYNapJmvHlI/AAAAAAAAAIo/SFe-LzlwHvU/s320/fincher+splash+copy.JPG" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297177249717362258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" />Hey people. What's going on?<br><br>I've been busy working on all kinds of projects. Some of you might know that I have a serious interest in movies - as in writing and directing them some day. I'd love to make a little indie-feature and take it around to festivals and do all that film biz stuff. So I've been writing a bunch of screenplays over the last several years. There are now 5 feature scripts in various stages of "development". When I get tired of one I just go back to one of the others and work on that for a while. It's fun and it's creative and it's difficult. It's hard making something that's really a plan for a 2 hour movie. Each of these scripts is approximately 120 pages in length, give or take a few, so it takes a lot of organizing and deleting and starting over and I actually enjoy all of that frustrating stuff. Plus it gives me a break from music, which I need sometimes. But...<br><br>Having said all that: I am back working on a new music project. The debate right now is over whether this will be a full length album or a Mini-album (they used to call them EPs). The songs are all done so I'm kind of trying to figure out which ones to release. Looking for groups of songs that work well together - that kind of thing. Fun. But whatever it turns into - IT will be out in the spring.<br><br>By the way: if you haven't seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - I highly recommend it. Amazing movie by director David Fincher - who is an incredibly talented guy. The film is long but highly original, has great acting (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) and really stunning special effects which are actually there to help tell the story instead of stick out like a sore thumb. I hate movies where you're obviously just meant to swoon over the effects instead of getting involved in a legit storyline. This is a great film. One of the best I've seen in a long, long time.<br><br>Okay. Enough rambling. It's Friday afternoon. I'm at home trying to decide whether to go out clubbing tonight or stay in and work. At this moment the clubbing thing is winning out.<br><br>PEACE.ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120022008-10-20T22:18:00-04:002016-06-03T20:58:25-04:00CINEMATIC, AMBIENT TRACKShello blue people.<br><br>i have had the most horrid sinus infection going on for the last week. i mean every single day my head is throbbing and my teeth are aching. yes teeth. if you've never had a sinus attack then you do not know what real pain is. it fucking hurts big time.<br><br>anyway in order to squelch the misery i have been staying up late, drinking large amounts of cheap vodka which does the trick of getting rid of the aching and has the secondary effect of causing me to want to write some new music. so i've been working on new tracks.<br><br>hope to have something out in spring 09.<br><br>6 "songs" are complete already (as of today). i put quotes around the word songs because none of these tracks has vocals really. i'm sick of writing pop songs. i find instrumental music to be much more open and interesting. i can do what i want on instrumentals and i don't have to sing and pretend to be streisand...<br><br>also these tracks are, for the most part, kind of laid back - something else that i like. i enjoy cinematic, ambient kinds of things and i think this new album (is that what it really is?) will head in that sort of direction.<br><br>hope you are all well. i'm taking some time off from working in television (my day job) so that i can rest and drink and go out to the clubs. i could have made something up - but that's the truth.<br><br>kisses.<br><br>arlinARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120032008-07-13T17:41:00-04:002022-03-11T03:40:50-05:00THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS Now On CD<img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SJ9yssJTp5I/AAAAAAAAAFs/cwBrOGQxgAY/s320/august+2008_b.JPG" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="197" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233027404117813138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 409px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" width="336" />In 2003 I wrote my first full length album from scratch.<br><br>I called it:<br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Boys-Delphinium-Blue/dp/B001CBBFIM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218390229&sr=8-4">THE SECRET LIFE OF BOYS</a> which was a veiled reference to my own then secret and quite wild life in the gay clubs of Washington, DC.<br><br>Well, that album - which some say is still my best ever - has been picked up for re-release as a physical CD by the fine people at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Boys-Delphinium-Blue/dp/B001CBBFIM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218390229&sr=8-4">Amazon.com</a>. God bless them and WOW it's weird how the record business is changing.<br><br>By the way - by "physical" I mean a real CD that you can hold in your hands. Artwork. Liner notes. That kind of thing.<br><br>It's dedicated to my former manager Eddie Parsons who is connected to that record in my mind in a way that can not be simply forgotten. I met him when it was first being promoted by my label <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">INgrooves</span> and being released on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">iTunes</span>...so when I think of that first project I always think of him. Fun times...believe me.<br><br>Anyway I didn't just turn in an old master for this project. Instead I had an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">amazing</span> time going back to the original <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mixdowns</span> which had been done on what was then the state of the art - DAT (Digital Audio Tape) at 16bit 44.1kHz resolution. This is how all studio work was done in those days. Since then much better recording formats have arisen. So...<br><br>Those original tracks were put into an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Alesis</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Masterlink</span> system - which <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">uprezes</span> them to 24bit 96kHz resolution and allows a level of compression and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">EQ</span> that was previously unheard of. In other words these tracks were tweaked quite a bit. I got to do the stuff I had wanted to do back when I first recorded these songs.<br><br>The end result is really a new release of my first songs and instrumentals that literally sounds far better than they first did years ago. The difference is astounding.<br> <div> <div> </div>If you're a Delphinium Blue fan then this is a release you should have on CD for 3 reasons: it's the first album ever, it's been remastered big time and it sounds way better than those crappy compressed downloads at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">iTunes</span>. Listening to "Boy Seventeen" off CD is so much better than the download version that it's something you have to hear to believe. There really is no comparison.<br><br>Anyway sorry to ramble on - but I'm quite proud of this record and how well it holds up in 2008.<br>I hope you're all well out there wherever you are. When you get a chance get a copy of the CD. It's pretty cool.<br><br>PEACE & LOVE TO ALL THE BLUE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD.<br><br> <div> </div>
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</div>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120042008-04-18T00:50:00-04:002022-01-07T06:32:20-05:00NEW TRACKS COMETH<img src="//3.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/SAgoz75dUnI/AAAAAAAAAFM/yNwf2_7tbGs/s320/blogger_1.JPG" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190443443261624946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" />Hello Blue People: Love and Peace to you all.<br><br>It's been a long dark time since I last wrote but change is a-comin' and I'm back at work on a new album that I believe I mentioned some months ago. In any event, it's real and it's being tweaked as I write this. No more bars for me. No more bad influences. I want to work. I want to be productive. I'm sorry for being bad. Please, don't spank me. I'm just that way...<br><br>Sometimes we get lost and I think I have been for the last several months (years, decades) whatever...anyway I feel like making music again and I'm also feverishly editing several music videos that I hope to have out later this summer. SO...this is a short message, yes. Just to say 'hello' and let you know I'm still breathing...and writing.<br><br>Be patient. New tracks cometh in the heat of the new summer. PEACE TO YOU ALL.<br><div></div>ARLIN GODWINtag:arlingodwin.com,2005:Post/42120052008-02-02T15:14:00-05:002021-12-23T04:24:36-05:00YES, A NEW ALBUM IS IN THE WORKS<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/R6TP1m_AJSI/AAAAAAAAAFE/nmvr1PtVElk/s1600-h/goth+copy.JPG"><img src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/_8j_nssQgSm8/R6TP1m_AJSI/AAAAAAAAAFE/nmvr1PtVElk/s320/goth+copy.JPG" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162479592778245410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Well, it's been quite a while since I've written anything on this blog of mine. I thought it was about time I get back to it.<br><br>By the way---thanks to the gazillions of fans out there in the big blue world who have signed up or on to the DB fan list. You guys are amazing. Thanks for the support and I hope you like the 12 tracks that you get in exchange for joining up. I have been so shocked at how many people are signing up each week. I try to write back to as many as I can to say a personal thanks but there have been so many lately that it's impossible to get back to every single one. Still I appreciate all of you hugely.<br><br>I've gotten a lot of emails lately from fans wondering if I'm dead or dying---I'm not. I'm quite alive and well and working on a new album.<br><br>Oops! I let that out of the bag didn't I? But what's a homosexual musical genius to do all winter long if not work on new material and anticipate dropping another load of tracks on the world sometime in the summer? And so THAT's what I've been doing. Working.<br><br>The next release---I can promise you---will be eclectic. By that I mean it will probably contain my widest ranging set of songs and tracks yet. I don't seem to be able to pin myself down to just one style. There are currently 22 tracks completed and more in production.<br><br>One of the ones I like the most is a re-working (not really a remix) of a track from StereoPornoGroove called "What Heterosexual Males Fear The Most" and I'm enjoying playing around with it again. I always liked the basic music in that one. It was originally recorded way, way back around 1999 in a basement studio in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. I later did the mix that's on SPG and now I'm tinkering with it again---and changing it quite a bit. I will be giving it a new title I think. Something controversial maybe. Perhaps I'll call it "Straight Boys Aren't As Intelligent As Gay Boys"...but then again probably not.<br><br>Anyway I hope you're all well out there wherever you are. Lottsa love to you all. Stay tuned for more info on the new tracks. PEACE.ARLIN GODWIN