Vegetarians (Thank God I Ain't One)

While I'm OK with the lyrics and melody on this song, I think the recording is pretty awful. It's like a bad sandwich made badly from bad ingredients. I was rushing and it shows. I started writing the song around 7pm on Thursday night and finished the recording around 10pm. The song needed to be submitted to baconfest by noon on Thursday, so I had to get it done.

Guitar
I used one mic, an SM57 pointed at the neck of the guitar around the 12th fret. I'm not into this sound. The sound of the guitar at the beginning of "Fifty" is much better.

Drums percussion
They're drum and percussion loops from logic. I didn't spend much time selecting loops that made sense with the song. And I have them dropping in and out at weird times. Sort of disorienting and distracting. Once the drums drop out at the end, I like the track much better.

Vocals
I sang all the vocals into an SM57. I was just too lazy to set up a second mic. I didn't use a windscreen on the lead track and you can tell. There's a nasty mic distortion. This is especially apparent when the guitar drops out at the start of the second chorus. The SM57 sounds OK on the background vocals (where I used the windscreen), I'll probably use it again to give some contrast.

Organ
I wanted something in the bass register so I laid down a midi organ track. The part isn't very inspired, but it fills out the spectrum a bit.

Mix
I think more than anything else it's the mix that bothers me on this track. It's hard for me to put my finger on, but something about it is bad. Actually, this is an area where I need to spend more time and focus. These are three incredibly basic things that I know I need to do:

1. First, I need to get out of the habit of writing, recording and mixing in one sitting. By the time I get to the mix my ears are shot. I can't hear anything with any objectivity.
2. Second, I need to stop mixing on headphones. This really follows from the point above. Because I tend to write/record/ and mix in one sitting I end up mixing very late. I use the headphones because my recording set up is located above my landlord's bedroom and I don't want to wake him.
3. Third, I need to A/B my mixes. This is so basic and obvious. I'm embarrassed to admit I never do it... (hmmm... what should I use?)

Lyrics
I thought about posting this song with a disclaimer, or writing a partner song about vegetarianism. I have a lot of respect for vegetarians, and I have difficulty justifying my omnivorous lifestyle. I suppose I'm just nutritionally reckless at this point in my life. I don't actually thank god that I'm not a vegetarian, and in fact, someday I would like to be one. Or at least make rational decision about what I ingest. . . I'll let it sit for a bit, but I think I owe the universe a second song along these lines.