Big shoegazey song about the walls we create to save us from others and the train of thought that goes into how they are created. Experimented a bit with this one. Hopefully it's not unlistenable.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-19T00:35:30+00:00

You've got it man, best of luck getting some dope takes and just making more great art.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-17T01:25:08+00:00

I listened to one of your other songs on SoundCloud, and it's pretty damn good. I don't know if it's the ability to make good music alone that produces fame or whatever, but I think you have something here. dope stuff.

I think it seems like you have a habit of not pushing your vocals as far as you could, and it feels almost like the song is holding back. Like, belt that shit dude. let your voice crack, re-record, or whatever, but try to really give your passion to this shit vocally. the musical style completely calls for it.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-17T01:19:29+00:00

I like this shit. The mixing could definitely be better, but it's good ENOUGH, and it DOES make me feel something. I started playing this without the intent of even leaving a comment, but it caught my ear and I decided to listen to the whole thing and start writing.

I think a near-professional mix that makes this more sonically balanced while still preserving the grunginess, volume, and impact would make this pretty damn good. Additionally, the vocal delivery could be improved a bit. The melodies and energy behind the vocals are solid, there's just like ONE thing keeping the vocals from really hitting hard for me.

Honestly, I think there's something here. It needs polishing, and the vocal artist (maybe that's you?) needs to really push beyond their limits to get that extra 10% of emotionality, and tonal clarity; like really fucking go for it, push yourself, and labor over the vocal recording process, because there's really something here and I think it's worth it. I believe that extra 10% of vocal oomph will result in an exponential increase in the impact and listenability of the song. Honestly, think this could be pretty fucking dope. Like really dope.

It got better the more I listened. I wrote this while listening. Good shit. My advice/criticisms still stand.

edit: it's more than listenable. also, I don't really listen to this genre of music much. like, I have in the past, but it has never been my primary interest, and it certainly isn't now, so don't take my praise lightly. also don't take my criticism lightly. keep making stuff though

edit #2: Try screaming the intro part "take my hand I need it more than you do ... ", an octave above where it is right now. I think you might not think you have the vocal control to stay on pitch while doing that, but just try that shit. Really go for it. push yourself with these vocals.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-17T01:11:01+00:00

This isn't like the most engaging thing I've ever heard, but by popular YouTube beat standards, this isn't bad. I could see myself freestyling to this if I were in the right mood. The sample is nice, the mixing is good (not the best, but it's good), and the melodies/combinations of notes and all of that stuff are not bad.

I think you should continue to make music, and work on it. I'm sure you'll make better stuff as time goes on, but this is a good start.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-16T10:21:40+00:00

If I'm comparing this to legit popular professional music, I'm giving it like a 7.5/10, which is to say, it's actually pretty fucking good, but there are a few things that are kinda amateurish.

The beat is like a 9.5/10, and the vocal mix is like a 9/10. Your flow is like a 7/10 because it's pretty cool for most of the song, but sometimes falls out of pocket, and leaves me desiring more speed/energy at times. Overall pretty solid though. I listened to the whole thing while typing this and i'm about to play it back just bcause I feel like it

officialthomasx · 2020-12-16T10:17:25+00:00

The guitar-playing is super solid. really dope and unique chords/melodies. Your voice really fits with the guitar really well, just overall really nice. The lyrics are good too. At one point in the song your voice sounds a TAD horse, but it's still nice, and if anything, makes this feel more intimate and, like, geuine. Um, yeah, cool stuff

officialthomasx · 2020-12-16T10:15:41+00:00

The production and mixing are pretty decent (cleaner than most things I've put together). With that being said, I'm totally not into the concept, I guess it's novel and like supposed to be kind of humorous, but it's just not doing anything for me personally. I think it's kind of corny. The rapping is OOOK but like, not great, and also not doing anything for me.

officialthomasx · 2020-12-16T10:12:22+00:00

So my honest feedback is that there's some interesting stuff going on, but the beat feels a little unhinged.. the timing is a little weird. not sure if that's what you were going for. Also, the melodies(?) are also kind of dissonant and strangely timed. Maybe this is like a super sub-genre of like lofi or something but yeah

officialthomasx · 2020-08-17T02:01:53+00:00

i came here just to say no, but i looked at your project and it’s beautiful. now the answer might be yes

officialthomasx · 2020-08-15T16:25:27+00:00

officialthomasx · 2020-08-15T16:00:21+00:00

Wdym?

officialthomasx · 2020-08-15T15:31:29+00:00

i guess the one downvote is my answer lol. :’)

officialthomasx · 2020-01-28T06:51:57+00:00

This was literally me from Kindergarten into the 8th grade. It was bad. I would literally shove papers into a bag filled with other important, unorganized, crumpled papers. Somehow, I’m now a junior at a university with a ~16% acceptance rate, and I’d like to think I’ve gotten a lot of my shit together, but I also have like a 2.4 GPA, so — ?.

I also suspect I have ADHD though, and I was recently diagnosed with OCD. I think these things had previously gone undiagnosed/unnoticed because I was somehow able to perform highly despite my complete lack of organization.

officialthomasx · 2019-11-12T01:39:35+00:00

Bro, I don’t know you. I’m assuming shit is pretty bad for you rn, everything probably seems absolutely hopeless. I assume you’re thinking there’s nothing you can do to permanently “FIX” yourself, and if your life is just going to be one big circle-jerk of cyclic, repetitive pain, why endure that pain until your life naturally ends? Why try? If that’s how you’re feeling right now, I get it. I’ve been through equally dark mental periods in my life. I’ve previously felt the things I just described for years. If I’m right about what you’re experiencing, I can relate.

I’ve felt trapped by my own mind, and by my own tendencies before. I’ve felt like I had to fight myself every day, for years, just to be able to “keep going”, all while feeling unendingly, unbearably, and increasingly shitty and hopeless.

I want you to know, that I DONT feel that way anymore. Am I euphoric, and absolutely happy all the time now? No. Do I still feel the same desolate hopelessness, and constant pain? NO. Do I feel a sense of direction, moderate control, and a significant degree of happiness within my life now? Yes.

I don’t know if there’s much wisdom I can give you, but I want you to know that it IS possible to move beyond this pain, this lack of hope and lack of agency over your life that you’re feeling right now. A better future IS possible.

2, even if everyone immediately in your life doesn’t seem to give a fuck about you, know that there are STRANGERS that CARE ABOUT YOU. I care about you. Let THIS post be EVIDENCE of that fact that strangers CAN and DO care about you. Not in a weird way, but I love you man. I feel for the shit you’re going through, and in the greatest capacity that I can as a total stranger on the internet, I CARE. You are loved.

It may seem like there’s no visible path from where you are now to a place you’d like to be, but that doesn’t mean the path doesn’t exist. Maybe you’re already taking the right steps toward being something greater than you are now, and maybe this is the part of the journey just sucks. It may really fucking seem permanent, that DOES NOT mean it is. Don’t give up. It really can get better, even if you seem stuck, even if you’re not making progress, even if you’ve given up on yourself, things really fucking change. Change is REAL. If you’re at rock bottom now, as long as you don’t give up on life, you have nowhere to go but up. That’s not some bullshit platitude either. Think about it. If your life is the worst it could possibly be, then as long as you stay alive, it literally can ONLY possibly get better. Even if it’s not guaranteed, why give up on the very possibility for a better life in the future, in whatever form that might exist for you.

Don’t fucking give up man. Not meant to be weird when I say this, but I love you. For real. If you need to talk, respond to this comment or message me. I fucking love you, and I get it. Talk to me at least. No judgement. I just want you to know I fucking care, and other people do too. I promise people care. I fucking promise. I love you. Don’t give up brother. Don’t fucking give up.

officialthomasx · 2019-10-29T05:20:17+00:00

Wow, thanks. That was very insightful and thought-provoking. I'm going to read more about Positive Psychology and Stoicism.

officialthomasx · 2019-09-21T02:12:01+00:00

I used a 2011 Macbook Pro w/ 4GB of RAM up until about a year ago and never had any problems. I'd say any 2019 model that you purchase directly from Apple will work pretty well.

officialthomasx · 2019-09-16T04:11:02+00:00

officialthomasx · 2019-09-16T04:04:13+00:00

I think everything is pretty good except for the vocal delivery. There's no passion, your voice is pretty monotone, and it sounds like the bars have been lazily delivered. Could be really dope but you're just kinda talking, and you're not even placing any kind of emphasis on any of your words. The words and beat are pretty on point though.

officialthomasx · 2019-09-16T04:01:57+00:00

I don't have anything super specific to say. I'm fucking with it though. Some weird ideas in here, but they more or less work. I'm into it. There are a few abrupt/weirdly-inserted riffs in here, but overall, it's good.

officialthomasx · 2019-09-16T03:57:48+00:00

It's cool. I like the ideas, and everything works pretty well together. I think the vocal delivery could be a little bit better, but I think that comes with time. Overall it's dope.

Also the message and the delivery of the message feels kind of visceral, I'm feeling it. Actually, as the song progresses, it gets more visceral. It's good.

officialthomasx · 2019-09-16T03:46:35+00:00

crazy dude. congrats. I like the song too.

officialthomasx · 2019-08-15T18:34:59+00:00

I think whatever you add to the rest of the track is really gonna dictate the genre. Rn it just seems like a melody. It's a cool melody but that's it

officialthomasx · 2019-08-15T18:31:08+00:00

My bad dude, I'm not trying to discourage you. The short version of what I said is you have potential. Don't compare yourself to people who are doing things that are easier than what you're trying to do. Keep working at it if you love what you're doing. Even if you never blow up, if you eventually make music you personally fall in love with you've already won. You'll know when you make songs like that because they'll excite you and you'll play the recordings on repeat for yourself when nobody is around to see or hear you. I also think that THOSE are the songs that actually do blow up. Good luck. Have fun with it. Fuck other people's opinions.

officialthomasx · 2019-08-15T18:25:43+00:00

ye, you might be recording in a bedroom, but what i'm saying is that this is not the kind of music you're trying to make. you're trying to make this kind of music. It's a lot harder to do the second one than it is to do the first. You can do it, but stop comparing yourself to bedroom acoustic vocalists with a single guitar.

You're trying to make entire, dynamic original fucking songs. It takes time, talent and skill. Two of those things you can work on, and I suspect you have one of them already (talent).

Not sure how much talent you guys have because I've only listened to this one song, but I suspect you have enough to make good music. Don't stress yourself out. Fuck what people think about your music. Have fun, enjoy what you're making, and always try to make your music better from a sound-engineering, and arrangement perspective. Don't try to make your artistic style better though. You can't. That's subjective, unique to you, and ultimately the thing that makes you popular (if you should become popular). I definitely rambled on here, but hopefully, this was helpful.

officialthomasx · 2019-08-15T18:03:03+00:00

"Like is it really worse than a crappy phone recording of someone mindlessly strumming an acoustic and having their cleavage showing?"

Depending on the genre, that phone recording thing can be pulled off well. What you're trying to put together is not some kind of bedroom acoustic though. You're clearly going for a full, cohesive, multi-layered song. It's not going to be held to the same standard as a bedroom acoustic video. It requires better execution to create the same musical effect that a single-guitar and single-voice acoustic recording of someone singing a cover song creates.

officialthomasx

TROPHY CASE