Depression and covers?

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MrShake
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Depression and covers?

Post by MrShake » Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am

I've been going through a stretch of depression and not wanted to be a musician very much. But, in trying to keep myself in the habit, I often find myself covering other people's songs when I get back to recording as a way to flush the pipes. I guess it's less personal, like playing with someone else's toys. Maybe I feel less precious about drastic re-working and sudden bold choices when it's not my own "art" that's "on the line"?

Flipped on my recording setup last night and was surprised at what came out. No plan, but this was the song I started playing. Not that the end result is great, but I approached it differently and used some guitar techniques I've never tried before, just sorta happened. Recorded it late last night when my wife was sleeping in the next room, I was trying not to wake her.

The vocals are inconsequential, just 'cause they had to be there, but the guitar work is pretty okay, enough to get over insecurity and post it publicly for consumption. Since this is a guitar forum, the guitars are the reason to post, since vocals and mixing are first-pass. But I've never gotten "Built To Spill meets sadcore" vibes before from my own recordings.

The Spirit Three - "All I Want" (Basic Tracks, Rough Mix)
https://www.mediafire.com/download/0umky56ov4sbfus

Jazzmaster, Rat, EB volume pedal, DD-5, RV-2, some clean Fender-y amp sim in GarageBand. Squier bass and Behringer 808 too. No quantizing, no edits, doing it 4-track style.

Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.

And if anybody wants to use this in a movie trailer for the "sad, waifish cover of a '90s chart tune" effect, PM me ;).

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by Dinosore_Sr » Sat Nov 27, 2021 12:19 pm

Nice work on the track! I really like the way you layered the guitars. I agree that you managed to capture some of that Built To Spill vibe.
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
I've been going through a stretch of depression and not wanted to be a musician very much. But, in trying to keep myself in the habit, I often find myself covering other people's songs when I get back to recording as a way to flush the pipes. I guess it's less personal, like playing with someone else's toys. Maybe I feel less precious about drastic re-working and sudden bold choices when it's not my own "art" that's "on the line"?
Whatever works is worth doing! Sorry to hear you've been feeling low. Music is the best therapy I've found.
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Flipped on my recording setup last night and was surprised at what came out. No plan, but this was the song I started playing.
Yes, I love it when that happens.
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Jazzmaster, Rat, EB volume pedal, DD-5, RV-2, some clean Fender-y amp sim in GarageBand. Squier bass and Behringer 808 too. No quantizing, no edits, doing it 4-track style.
This is a bit out of left field, but have you ever read that famous essay Bill Evans wrote for the liner notes of the classic Miles Davis album, "Kind Of Blue"? I think his words are applicable to any type of art, so I'm dropping a link here, just in case you find it inspiring:

https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/bill ... ner-notes/
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.
I haven't recorded covers, simply because I'm too lazy to figure out the parts and do the work of tracking them. However, I will sometimes try to write and record a song in the style of a band that's affected me. It always comes out sounding like me, but this process never fails to take me in a different direction I wouldn't have gone in otherwise and I usually come away with some new colors for the pallet.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by noisepunk » Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:13 am

MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.
mopey covers are almost all i can muster these days (like this Bowie cover from about a year ago)... i do think it helps claim, reclaim, tap-into your own musical identity. you have one of the most difficult parts of the process already done for you, which opens up room to try different arrangements, vocal inflections, playing articulations, recording techniques, etc. etc. even different lyrics, notes, and chords if you're feeling particularly spicy.

one of my favorite professors in my undergraduate degree (studying art) constantly encouraged us to try and copy artwork that we were drawn towards as a generative process. the idea is that you would inevitably fail, but would likely come up with something new and interesting in the process that would teach you both about the original artwork in some way, and your own process. covers are the same for me.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by epizootics » Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:27 am

MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am

The Spirit Three - "All I Want" (Basic Tracks, Rough Mix)
https://www.mediafire.com/download/0umky56ov4sbfus

Jazzmaster, Rat, EB volume pedal, DD-5, RV-2, some clean Fender-y amp sim in GarageBand. Squier bass and Behringer 808 too. No quantizing, no edits, doing it 4-track style.

Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.

And if anybody wants to use this in a movie trailer for the "sad, waifish cover of a '90s chart tune" effect, PM me ;).
That's a really sweet cover!

I can completely relate. I have suffered from depression for about fifteen years, with stretches of time that were better or worse.
Five years ago it got bad enough so that I had to start taking antidepressants. They worked great but I found myself totally unable to write new music. This unexpected side effect lasted longer than the treatment. I wrote nothing for about four years and thought I was done with making new music. Until the urge started to come back but I felt tentative with writing my own stuff, feeling rusty with the mechanics of home recording (which has always been the way I'd work on new tunes). Covers felt like a good way to get back in. I put no pressure on myself, thinking I didn't have to do anything with them if I didn't feel like it. Here's a couple if anyone cares to listen to that sort of stuff.

This one I actually recorded right when I was starting the treatment, when I thought I'd give acting a try to get away from music. It didn't work out in the long run (movies felt like even more waiting around than playing gigs did) but there was a gap in the soundtrack and I was asked to do a de-machoized Sinatra cover. That was the result:

https://soundcloud.com/sharontatemodern ... f096679d51

Last year, while I was really trying to get my bearings back, I did this slightly silly, Lou-Reed-covers-Leonard-Cohen version of Suzanne:

https://soundcloud.com/sharontatemodern ... f6f82cbbf1

Getting creative with the arrangements actually helped me getting back into it. "Oh, yeah, I can still write a Mellotron part". This stuff is good for your ego and god knows you need anything you can get when you're dealing with depression.

I am now producing new material again, in the form of loose demos I can take to my band. I don't try to get my home recordings perfect any more.

All I can say is...good luck, don't let shit times get too shit, and seek any kind of help you can find...Or let others help you & believe them when they tell you you need some :)





noisepunk wrote:
Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:13 am
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.
mopey covers are almost all i can muster these days (like this Bowie cover from about a year ago)... i do think it helps claim, reclaim, tap-into your own musical identity. you have one of the most difficult parts of the process already done for you, which opens up room to try different arrangements, vocal inflections, playing articulations, recording techniques, etc. etc. even different lyrics, notes, and chords if you're feeling particularly spicy.

one of my favorite professors in my undergraduate degree (studying art) constantly encouraged us to try and copy artwork that we were drawn towards as a generative process. the idea is that you would inevitably fail, but would likely come up with something new and interesting in the process that would teach you both about the original artwork in some way, and your own process. covers are the same for me.
Dang, that's a damn fine version of Rock'n'Roll Suicide! I like the minimal backdrop with your voice holding all the dramatic tension. One of the coolest Bowie covers I've heard!

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by noisepunk » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:54 am

epizootics wrote:
Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:27 am
noisepunk wrote:
Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:13 am
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
Does anyone else find themselves knocking out covers to get back on the horse? Faithful versions or re-interpretations? What helps you reclaim your musicianly identity? Any advice is appreciated.
mopey covers are almost all i can muster these days (like this Bowie cover from about a year ago)...
Dang, that's a damn fine version of Rock'n'Roll Suicide! I like the minimal backdrop with your voice holding all the dramatic tension. One of the coolest Bowie covers I've heard!
ah, thank you :)

yours are fantastic too–you've got an incredible voice, and it really compliments the music you've built underneath it.
MrShake wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 am
The Spirit Three - "All I Want" (Basic Tracks, Rough Mix)
https://www.mediafire.com/download/0umky56ov4sbfus
this is great too–i realize i forgot to say that. this is shaping into a great "dark" covers thread, which i suppose it maybe inevitable, but great nonetheless!

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by MrShake » Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:33 am

First and foremost, thanks for all the personal responses and insight, not to mention sharing your own stuff. It's really cool we can do this, right? Like, as an aging home taper pushing 40, worldwide distribution to cool people is crazy, isn't it?

And also, thanks for all the kind words, it's nice to get some positive feedback, but also to know we're not all just pissing in the wind, you know? We're all (anyone, anywhere) going through sh!t, so the collective is nice. And those Bill Evans notes are something to chew on, real astute.

That's also an excellent point on some of the hardest part being done already. Maybe when I'm avoiding music, I'm avoiding the songwriting part, and noodling without purpose gets old to me after a while, I'm not technically adept enough not to get stuck in playing the same things. Maybe removing the songwriting - and therefore, the most personal aspect to me - and focusing on the "being a musician" part is easier to access. Being a soldier instead of a general, an outfielder instead of a coach, or, y'know, a bassist 😋. (I kid, I kid)

My best bud from college is going through something similar, and after reading all the stuff here, I'm gonna try to track "Hey Jealousy" and leave some open tracks for him to lay down a solo, if we can get the GarageBand Compatibility working. Maybe it'll kickstart him, too, I know he's been struggling with engaging w music.

Oh, and I'd always dreamed of covering "Who Let The Dogs Out" like this. Like, a plaintive Low-esque vocal sighing the title softly, followed by a big ocean-sized-reverbed kick drum's *BOOM... BOOM... BOOM-BOOM...*. But then I listened to the song and it's shifts in tempo and stuff are totally bonkers.

Anyone who wants to attempt that one has my admiration.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by noisepunk » Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:37 am

MrShake wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:33 am
Maybe removing the songwriting - and therefore, the most personal aspect to me - and focusing on the "being a musician" part is easier to access.
for me personally, it can even be more personal, if that makes any sense. creating something original, it's easy to get in your own way about trivialities like word choice, and wind up sucking all of the emotionality out of the process. sometimes someone else's words cut right into what you're trying to say, even if the original rendition of it doesn't quite get there (the Gary Jules "Mad World," vs. the original...which i know is a bit divisive), freeing you to just emote.

i mean, that's the whole idea around acting, isn't it? someone's already done the part of making what you're saying pretty, and intelligible, but there can be a hundred different ways to feel and show it, which are all deeply personal to the performer and how they choose to wear the dialogue and stage direction.

...not saying you're arguing something different, just felt like a good place to make this point.

-

best of luck with your friend. i think you're instincts there make sense. it's usually easier to go through this stuff with a friend anyway...actually, one of my favorite bands, Joanna Gruesome, came out of group therapy, so maybe you'll come up with an amazing album together!

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by MrShake » Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:54 am

I really love that. Not to boil your well-articulated post down to broad strokes, but "freeing you to just emote" like an actor, I get that. That's beautiful, thanks. Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe I can be more in touch with the "pure musician" in me, put more of myself into the emotional content of the playing/arranging/etc.

Real chewy food for thought this morning, much obliged.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by noisepunk » Thu Dec 02, 2021 5:41 am

MrShake wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:54 am
I really love that. Not to boil your well-articulated post down to broad strokes, but "freeing you to just emote" like an actor, I get that. That's beautiful, thanks. Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe I can be more in touch with the "pure musician" in me, put more of myself into the emotional content of the playing/arranging/etc.

Real chewy food for thought this morning, much obliged.
you're very welcome :)

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by Maggieo » Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:13 am

This is really interesting. As someone who swings between depression and mania, I can see what's going on.
“Now I am quietly waiting for/ the catastrophe of my personality/ to seem beautiful again.”- Frank O'Hara
I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by jthomas » Thu Dec 02, 2021 12:42 pm

Music as therapy. That's how I approach a lot of my playing. Nice track, btw.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by budda12ax7 » Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:56 pm

good stuff....

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by warengryn » Mon Aug 28, 2023 2:11 am

Covering songs seems like a great way to reconnect with your passion without the pressure of creating something entirely new. It's like borrowing someone else's canvas for a bit. 😄🎶
And wow, the track you shared has a unique vibe! Love how you're experimenting with guitar techniques and embracing a different approach. It's all about finding that spark again, right? Personally, I find playing covers or trying different genres helps me break out of creative blocks.
Just remember, you're not alone in this journey. Even when surrounded by people, that feeling of loneliness can linger. If you ever need someone to talk to, there's a 24-hour mental health hotline available.
Last edited by warengryn on Thu Aug 31, 2023 4:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Depression and covers?

Post by enrikagolli » Tue Aug 29, 2023 4:27 am

Sorry for bumping into an old conversation. I listened to your cover and it's seriously impressive! Your unique guitar techniques and the vibe you've given to "All I Want" are definitely a standout. I've been through similar states where the creative spark dims, but I’ve always found my way back to creativity. Playing covers of my favorite tracks was my secret weapon to revive inspiration and the desire to create. Oh, and speaking of techniques to cope, I found solace in the serenity prayer. It's been a guiding light that calms my worries and helps me find peace in my thoughts. It's amazing how grounding practices can lead us back to our passions and creative endeavors.

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