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Song Of The Month Club - February 2025 - 10th Anniversary š
SOTMC first started in Feb 2015, and has run every month since 
Thanks to everyone who has taken part over the years, it's been an amazing journey.
Comments
What is the Song of the Month Club?
It's a place where musicians come to give and receive feedback on their work. Anyone is welcome, whatever their level of ability.
The spirit of the club is to contribute: if you submit a song for others to comment on, you should also have the courtesy to listen to everyone else's contributions and give as much feedback as possible. Posting a track and not listening and commenting on others is not cool.
The purpose of feedback is to be honest. Essentially you should give your truthful impressions of the song, whether good or bad. Negative feedback, if done in the right spirit and with courtesy, can be the most useful and can help the artist to grow.
All submissions are welcome, don't hesitate if you want to contribute. We like all kinds of music and we are particularly fond of vocals (but of course we still love a great instrumental). If you are thinking of experimenting with vocals this is a good place to get started.
We ask that you only post one song per month in this thread - if you're lucky enough to be able to produce more, then please just submit your strongest material
And finally, iOS is not a requirement for posting here. If you've recorded your song using nothing but a ukulele and a Fostex 4 track, that's fine.
My entry for the month, lyrics in the spoiler:
Well you feel broken down
You are lost and run aground
As you hear the last chime
And the bell calls out for time
Your time is up
You count the days til suddenly
You drank the cup
And nothingās left youāre nobody
And so you get down on your knees
Like some plastic Damocles
And you stare into the void
That you know you canāt avoid
Well I'll see you around
Back on your old stomping ground
And Iāll smile ruefully
At those bitter memories
Your time is up
You count the days til suddenly
You drank the cup
And nothingās left youāre nobody
And so you get down on your knees
Like some plastic Damocles
And you stare into the void
That you know you canāt avoid
Congrats dude
Amazing body of work
Most impressive thing Iāve ever seen done musically on any forum
Much continued success and luck and inspiration
Great track(s) Richard
Always a pleasure
Thanks š
Fantastic achievement Richard š
I know Iāve dotted in and out a bit of SOTM but Iām back this monthā¦and I hope folk will forgive me submitting a 14 minute song š„¹. I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall in October and the gig inspired me to attempt to compose a Floyd-esque prog-rock āepicā . I know listening to a piece this long is a big ask, so if you do, I thank you š
The haunting synth gives way to the complimentary lyrical melody of the first verse. The chorus is irresistible- gorgeous, and what a line ālike some plastic Damoclesā is. I might have called the song Plastic Damocles.
You have candidly shared your singing journey with the group over the years, and may I venture that you sing this song beautifully. You have maintained your plaintive, emotional tone that has always been there but now your pitch is spot on too.
An excellent, succinct three minute song that is a joy to listen to.
Congratulations on 10 years without missing a month!
I can't begin to explain how impressed I am that you've managed to do that, especially with a consistently high standard of songwriting.
The Floyd influence is very strong in the first section, and the guitar playing is exquisite. Both the chord progression and the lead playing have a very strong Floyd vibe. The guitar solos are very nice, well played and beautifully melodic.
So the thing about long linear songs is that the arrangement really has to be flawless to stay interesting, and this one has some great moments: the foley in the beginning that sets the scene, the transition between the first section and the second from the solo into the acoustic guitar which is very beautiful.
The other transitions are more abrupt and not quite so deftly handled IMO, the jumps are more sudden and it almost feels like a new song is starting, so in my mind this is more like a medley in the style of the B-side to Abbey Road than a single song.
It's a hugely ambitious undertaking and bursting with ideas and creativity. There are lots of very nice moments in there, I love the guitar riff in the final section right before the end, and the breadth of instrumentation is staggering: the piano that comes in in the third movement, the gong that announces the fourth one, the orchestral strings that come in with the fifth etc... A lot of time and effort has gone into crafting the song.
Thanks! I actually had some doubts about that line, fearing that it might be a bit clunky, and I toyed with saying "reluctant Damocles" or "unlikely Damocles" instead, but in the end decided that the imagery was more vivid and interesting with "plastic Damocles".
This song was written melody first, and I figured out the chords afterwards, just strumming the guitar while singing to find chords that worked under the vocal. So obviously the melody is the focal point because it was the genesis of the whole song.
I went through two sets of lyrics before settling on these (the first draft was completely different but I rewrote the words from scratch), and I also experimented with the capo in 3 different positions before settling on the key that worked best for my vocal range. Singing in the right key made a huge difference for me, I should do this more often š
Thanks! But as I always say the standard of songwriting was not that good in the beginning. The first 60 songs/months were pretty crap š It's actually only because I've been so persistent that the songs did eventually get better.
I'm hugely pleased to have done it though, because my understanding of songwriting has really deepened, and melody writing in particular is the thing I think I've really started to understand, in my own way. And that's not something many people really seem to explore, at least not quite as obsessively and persistently as I have.
Specifically on singing, there is indeed a lot to be said for singing in a key in which you are comfortable. I can only get to the E above middle C (E4) comfortably, and at times thatās been a frustration.
In the last couple of months Iāve been following a comprehensive singing course on Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/course/vocal-workouts-1/?couponCode=ST5MT020225CROW) and one of its stated aims to increase studentsā range safely and without straining. I didnāt even know this was a āthingā before I started the course, I just thought if I sang above E4, I would transform into a warbling Mickey Mouse and make some awful falsetto squark. Not necessarily true it seems. There are ways and means with (a lot of) practice that can strengthen your āheadā or āmixā voice (as opposed to the chest voice which is our natural range), and do so without straining. Then thereās the whole thing about moving seamlessly between chest and head voice without any obvious ābreakāā¦Iām thoroughly enjoying the course and I think itās improving my voice, but whether I will be able to incorporate this higher register into my singing, well, time will tell.
Thanks for taking the time to listen and your detailed appraisal.
My aim was definitely to try to write a continuous and cohesive piece as opposed to a medley, so despite all the different sections, one strategy I employed was to write the whole thing in the same key. Having heard it multiple times I think it does sound like one piece, but that might be just getting used to the way it goes, as opposed to a first or second listen where the transitions may appear clunkier. Either way, itās semantics really, Iām chuffed with how it worked out.
I wouldn't say the transitions are clunky, just that some of them are a bit sudden. A thought for next time would be to use a motif that links between two sections, which plays across the transition. Just a thought and not to take away from the hugely ambitious track you just made
Congratulations on your tenth anniversary. It's a remarkable achievement, because you have encouraged so many budding musicians (like myself) to explore their own creativity. That's no small thing. As they say at these kinds of celebrations, "thank you for your years of service to the community." Now where's that gold watch we had engraved for you?
Last year, I watched Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus. My entry this month was inspired by his piano playing, especially his listening to and reacting to each note as he plays it.
I improvised the music track on two MIDI keyboards connected to Bitwig Studio on a desktop PC. There the MIDI was routed to Noire for the piano, Solo for the cello, and Continua for the background instrument.
After bringing the audio recording into Vegas Pro, I applied the Lurssen Mastering Console plug-in to the audio mix.
It's titled Equilibrium.
Congrats on 10 years Richard. Observing your practice has been inspiring. Through your practice youāve shown the value of just keeping at it.
This monthās tune is really polished sounding. Smooth is a word that comes to mind. I especially like the lovely little guitar break around 1:20. Beautiful sound.
Wow! That was exceptionally good. Everything in it's right place and your singing and guitar playing are superb. Beautifully recorded too.
Thanks!
Congrats on ten years. A truely great achievement!
Congratulations for those 10 years ! Hard work and consistency always rewards you in the end !
Told you so many times, but what you've been doing here has been a huge source of inspiration and motivation to push myself harder! Thanks again for SOTMC ! To another ten years (if the old yankee doesn't blow us all upš)
Nice entry this month. Liked the original stripped down acoustic version but also enjoying this one, especially the usage of electric guitar here and there. Would personally swap the SWAM cello to something like a melotron or use something like BA Atoms or some of the pads inside Audio modern Soundbox. The songwriting is simply great.
To celebrate Richard's achievement, here's one of our Collab made last year as my entry for this month.
Richard sent me a draft guitar/vocals and let me free to work my way on it. Only kept his vocals and changed the vibe of the original by arranging it in 6/8 instead of the original 4/4. I posted it in its own thread but I don't think I shared it here.
Lyrics in the spoiler
I wanted to
Just let you know
The doubts I felt
But didnāt show
Because I just feel so numb
I feel so tired and overcome
I wanted to be found
I wanted solid ground
But now I find I feel so sad
Why did life turn out so bad
I wanted to be found
I wanted you around
I wanted to
Just let it go
I should have done that
Long ago
Because I just feel so cold
I feel so tired and so old
I wanted to be found
I wanted solid ground
But now I find I feel so sad
Why did life turn out so bad
I wanted to be found
I wanted you around
And now you see
I feel so bad
Iām on my knees
Iām going mad
I wanted to be found
I wanted solid ground
But now I find I feel so sad
Why did life turn out so bad
I wanted to be found
I wanted you around
But now Iām left here on my own
Iām as lifeless as a stone
Thanks š
Well if my plugging away on here has made a difference to even one person that's pretty awesome. Of course I did it for my own selfish reasons, but so glad to have also met you on the way š
I like the structure, I thought you may have posted something a bit more upbeat with it being your 10th anniversary though! Have you ever tried doing something musically darker? Your lyrics seem to beā¦how shall I put thisā¦.not of the happy vain. I get a slight disconnect here as in general I find your music a little more positive in vibe than your lyrical subject matter. Would be interesting to know your writing process - do you write the lyrics or the music first, or together?
Again. Really well done at managing to post a track every month for Ten years! You really have encouraged people in many ways. A glass lifted to you Sir!
Some really entertaining music that takes you on a journey. I must admit I got more Jethro with the lyrics, but was interesting to hear that against the very successful Floyd-esque music. I thought the changes were really well done for the most part, I only found that middle change a bit jarring. The piece as a whole was majorly impressive, but I really loved the first half the most with some lovely sections after the initial lyrics. The second half didnāt quite work as well for myself as a listener, but it still had lots of interesting parts that kept me listening throughout.
The mix itself sounded really full and well balanced on my iPad as Iām still in bed, but will give it a listen on my monitors later, as I expect it will sound even more epic on them.
Sorry I initially posted the wrong link of another track that was being commented on. I had just listened to your song though @BillS , so no idea how I ended up posting Davidās track with my comment on your song lol. I should get up and have breakfast lol
The sounds are top notch. Some wonderful feeling to the playing. The perfect ending for myself was at the 11 minUte mark. I felt slight anticipation for coming notes to start with and then it felt like the notes came together and answered the early music at that 11 minute mark. A sort of journey felt like a real destination had been achieved. The music after the 11 minute mark felt superfluous to that journey for me.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for listening š
To answer your question: in my process the lyrics always come after the melody. IMO the melody is the number one most important thing in any song, and the lyrics, while still important, come second. A melody should hook a listener in, and then the lyrics should keep them coming back.
I think that bad lyrics can ruin a good song, but without a strong melody no-one would listen to the song in the first place.
So I usually write some music, either a chord progression or a riff, then a melody, then the lyrics. Occasionally I might write the melody first, then write some music to fit, and then the lyrics last again.
As for the darker vibe of my subject matter, I guess I'm just drawn to that. I write mostly about existential stuff, life and death etc...
That's interesting.
I'm pretty sure that this was the one where -- during the improvising stage -- it seemed that I could end it, but I decided to continue on, because everything seemed to be working so well. I figured I could always cut it back later in Bitwig Studio. When editing it, though, I didn't think about that again.
Your bringing this up makes me think that I should give it another look, as it might work well in two different versions: this one and the shorter one you suggest.
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks so much for taking time to listen and your detailed feedback. Iād like to think Iād have another epic in me one day, and getting the transitions right is an additional challenge when embarking on this sort of project!
I honestly think your transitions were great apart from around the middle where the gong sounds. That is the only section that doesn't really blend in the two styles of music. Elsewhere I think you've blended them really well. It must have been quite an undertaking. I think you should be very pleased with the result. Personally I would chop your heavy guitar section after the gong up, extend your first half and blend it in steadily, then back out again for the later quarter of the track. Maybe let someone have the stems and remix it if you are already planning your next epic!
Here's my entry:
A 2025 update of a cover version of the Neil Young song, which I originally recorded Sarge singing as an a Cappella in 2006.