"Pick Up The Wrapper" - Original by Ted

[Ted]

Pick Up The Wrapper

©2022 Ted Johnson
All things: Ted
Vocals and Ukulele recorded on my phone - denoised in Audacity
Recorded on Micro BR - Three guitar parts plus SY-1 guitar synth part, and bass (with a bit of SY-1 synth)
Mixed and assembled in GarageBand (except for bass)
Drums are GarageBand (Graham)
Bass added on Micro BR (with a bit of SY-1 synth), then...
Mastered on Micro BR
Final Tweaks in Audacity: high-pass filter, compression, normalized, trimmed, fade out

Pick up the wrapper.
Pick up the wrapper.
Put the wrapper in the trash can.
Close the trash can lid,
Or something terrible will happen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Take your plate to the sink.
Take your plate to the sink.
Thank you.

I made up this unsettling thing on ukulele, and I play it to motivate my daughter to pick up after herself. I recorded the voice and ukulele on my phone one day last year while actually pestering her to pick up after herself.

I put the MP3 on my Micro BR so that one day I would work it into a song. It seems kind of psychedelic, so...
Updated with new mix: The crunch guitar in the solo section was too low. Also tweaked some panning and EQ-ing. The new mix was mastered in GarageBand.

[StephenM]

whoa, this is psychedelic madness... I love whispering in songs... and it has a sinister feel...
that guitar sounds amazing (or lectric distort uke)...
cool song structure... kind of like a Beatles tune that never got pub'''d

[Flash Harry]

psychedelic or psychotic?

Scary stuff, like the Muppets on acid...

[SE]

Yes psychedelic goodness, loving that mensing vibe cool stuff love it!

[Greeny]

Having never taken LSD, is this one of those 'bad trips' I hear about, lol? I like the transition from stark, unsettling horror into those lush, expansive (and optimistic) chords. It's very cool and fascinating work. Excellent!

[WarpCanada]

The whispering truly is unsettling and yet, super cool.

Also this is hilarious as a parent.

[BerryPatch]

Totally out there (in a good way!). This gives of so many moods in its short run time, kind of reminds me of Mr. Bungle. I love the big guitar sounds you are getting here.

[hardlock]

Wow, what a trip! Couple chords there reminded me of the Who somehow - Very nice work!

[Ted]

New Mix Alert: During the solo section the crunch guitar (on the left) was too low, so I pulled the bass track off of the MBR and remixed it again in GarageBand. Also did some panning and EQ tweaks.

The new mix is at the top of the tread. This one here is the original in case anyone wants to tell me whether the new mix isn't an improvement.

I love all the feedback.

whoa, this is psychedelic madness... I love whispering in songs... and it has a sinister feel...

Big boys don't cwy.
 

Scary stuff, like the Muppets on acid...

If you listen closely, you can hear my wife yell at me to stop scaring the kid. (Right after I say, "Or something terrible will happen.")

Having never taken LSD, is this one of those 'bad trips' I hear about, lol? I like the transition from stark, unsettling horror into those lush, expansive (and optimistic) chords.

If it reminds you of an LSD trip you've never had, then I guess it qualifies for the "Psychedelic Fest." I wasn't sure. (I have a very boring drug history. Never tried LSD either.)

Regarding the "optimistic" chords: I call it the "thank you" section. The ukulele horror stops when the kid complies with my demands.

Also this is hilarious as a parent.

The other day I whispered "Pick up the wrapper." And she said, "It doesn't work without the music." Good to know, as a parent.

Couple chords there reminded me of the Who somehow.

I bet you mean the transition into the "thank you" section. I'm influenced by the Who, but I wouldn't have said it shows in this song. I was mostly playing with the uke, and trying different harmonic effects that retained the same two notes a the top of the chords (C and B).

[Oldrottenhead]

magic and scary. the first line reminds me of a bill hicks routine, impersonating jack palance saying "pick up the gun". lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIi-HGKlL_0