For the Holiday
Oct 8, 2023
nick
Newfangle
Went for emo punk pop. Really exhausting vocal takes. Had a lot of fun going for it though.
Craft a message on my phone
And let it sit collecting dust
Till I think of you alone
Then I dare to call you up
Ask about the job
Ask about routine
Ask about mom
Ask your answering machine
When you come back up for air
Tell your sister you’re still there
Since you never really say
When I’ll see you
Guess I’ll see you
For the holiday
For the holiday
Won’t be long before the next obligatory meeting
All the cheer is really insincere it’s self-defeating
Ask about the job
Ask about routine
Ask myself why
I won’t ask before you leave
When you come back up for air
Tell your sister you’re still there
Since you never really say
When I’ll see you
Guess I’ll see you
For the holiday
For the holiday
For however many left
Get what you get don’t get upset
For the holiday
Maybe this is fine
Maybe just like this
Until the guilt sets in
Maybe you dont mind
Leaving it
So I’ll wait to
Ask about the job
Ask about routine
Ask about mom
Hope you know what I mean
When you come back up for air
Tell your sister you’re still there
Since you never really say
When I’ll see you
Guess I’ll see you
For the holiday
For the holiday
For however many left
Get what you get don’t get upset
For the holiday
Looking for feedback on
Are the crashes too harsh?
Discussion
stonewindow October 23, 2023 9:35pm
Wow. What a great song. It has some lovely surprises and a hook that keeps on giving.
zoya October 10, 2023 12:55pm
this is the first emo punk song I’ve ever liked
nick October 11, 2023 3:12pm
*black heart emoji*
Ryan October 10, 2023 11:36am (edited)
Um, my dude. This is unbelievable. What a beautiful song. I think it would work in any genre. In fact, I definitely plan to cover it. Lyric sheet is crushing—well done. Melodies, arrangement, all great. Vocal takes are killer. So glad this version of you is committed to record. Crashes are not too harsh. Man, is this chorus beautiful.
Only things I’d consider is cutting something from the structure so that it doesn’t clock in at 4:37. I wonder if you could cut the “for the holiday” section (pre-chorus?) the first time around and go right into verse 2. Could be hot, could be hot. Other thing is I wish the kick were more present in the verse? Is there a kick? How were these drums recorded?
Delivery on “obligatory meeting” is the shit. All the background howling is the shit.
Way to crush the aspect of the assignment where you utilize the genre to address something specific. I can’t stop listening to this.
Ben October 10, 2023 3:45pm
Yeah, i concur. I remember looking at the playback at like 2 minutes and being like “wow we’re not even halfway there. how’s he gonna pull this off?” I think you of course pulled it off great, but i agree with ryan – there’s gotta be a way to shave 20 seconds off so you’re in Round Down to 4 Min territory, not Round Up To 5 land. I think the 4:37 is more intimidating to see on a tracklist than it is to listen to though. Been listening multiple times daily.
Ryan October 10, 2023 4:03pm
Ok actually one more thing, I want think I want thicker guitar tone in the chorus? Maybe that would sacrifice some of the scrappiness that makes this work, though…. Okay, how about just a few additional layers instead of changing the tone? That could be what I want. Obviously, the real takeaway here is that I care.
nick October 11, 2023 3:12pm
hey thanks boys! totally tried keeping it down in time, but ya know, failed there. Went ahead and made a few edits… give it a peep
nick October 11, 2023 3:14pm
drums are a combo of programmed and live kit recorded with a one compressor mic
Ben October 9, 2023 11:16am (edited)
Been listening all morning, and decided to write an additional comment. sam started undeniably singing along in the backseat this morning, and it was really something.
This is so good, and manages to be heartbreaking *and* rocking, while being in a genre that has [rightly, for sure] been satirized, criticized, and mocked for 20 years. The urge to pinch your nose and lean into that nasally “she’s cool! I suck! her friends hate me!” tropes must have existed to some extent, but there’s no hackiness here. Yeah, as @@nurphgun said, it’s more altrocky than Blink 182, which maybe helped you keep it nonironic. It certainly helped me, the listener, to not solely focus on the emo lyrics and performance. I could very easily hear it as a song, not Weird Al. That’s part of the genius of this assignment: UNIRONIC. I feel like the meaning of the song takes full advantage of everything that the genre offers sonicly, structurally, and subject-ly.
Still love that it so strongly has your DNA in it though, even if it’s a genre youve never done before.
The lyrics are heavy, man.
nick October 11, 2023 3:13pm
thanks buddy. was initially trying to make it sound not like me, but gave that up pretty quick. emo was helpful for blunt heavy lyrics.
nurphgun October 9, 2023 10:05am
I love it; beautiful, frustrated, sad, relatable. The Third Eye Blind vibes are palpable – I think the fact that you leaned into the alt-rock end of the spectrum as opposed to pure emo/pop-punk helped make it unmistakably not-ironic/not-a-joke.
Rmal October 8, 2023 9:28pm
Yikes – I think I’m an emo punk fan. I want more. This is Fantastic
nick October 11, 2023 3:13pm
🤘
Ben October 8, 2023 9:13pm (edited)
It’s all fun and games and pop and punk and emo until you drop those 2 chords at 1:10 and 1:12, immediately followed by that floor tom beat, and from then on, I couldn’t help also hearing it sort of an an Emo Elephantom song for the next several bars.
My god this is so rocking. And… so surprisingly… long.
Seriously well done. A lesser songwriter and musician would not be able to do this unironically. This is such a good song, and really hits me hard.
nick October 11, 2023 3:14pm
💚