I was going to post on this last night but I had a few sherbets and decided not to.
I agree with Flossie - I really cant understand the comment you have made about iphone recording, off key etc - This is a songwriting website and although you are a full time producer you will always be critiqued on the song first - and in that respect you are very much one of the gang - no better or worse
Sure we all try to present our songs as best as possible, but a good song will always shine through regardless of the off key singing or crap recording
I think you just need to accept that your songs are not as good as you think for the moment and there is plenty of room for improvement.
When I joined this forum I was the best songwriter in my house by a mile, I posted my first few songs on here and sat back with a warm glow and waited for the avalanche of praise that I was certain would follow
Although my songs were generally well received there was plenty of criticism - I remember one spacedogg that particularly stung - at the time I recorded on my ipad mic and he said that my vocals sounded boxy although I might be trying to encapsulate the feeling of entrapment felt by the songs protagonist. It was such a smart arsed comment that it really did hurt. Until I calmed down and realised that he was right - the vocals were poorly recorded. So I improved my set up, I practiced my vocals before I recorded , I didn't accept the first take, I worked hard to capture emotion in my vocal.
Now I put my songs up on here , so its open game what the forum want to say. I have learned over time that I can really benefit from the criticism no matter how harsh. I will challenge a review if I feel it is necessary but I would guess like Schavu has said if more than 2-3 people pick up on the same thing then it probably needs fixing. I want honesty in my reviews not bullshit.
I have grown, learned and developed like you wouldn't believe on this forum and conversely enough now that the confidence is flowing I have never felt so humble.
So James I listened again to the song - the lyrics ruined it even more this time for me and the singing whether put on or not is really airy - I would go as far as to say it would be massively improved by tweaking these lyrics and getting an out and out singer to stand in for you. If you really want to sing I am sure you can work an effect through your vocal or even sing differently to remove the airy sound.
That is my opinion - it is only an opinion - you choose what you wish to do with it.
By constantly defending your position or even introducing your Mum to back up your point makes you look arrogant, aloof and quite honestly ridiculous. My Mum used to tell everyone on my street that my singing used to interfere with her TV reception!
You need to learn some humility my friend - take it on the chin and grow from it - but the points that many have raised need addressing.
I posted a song a while back called 'seabed'. The drums got hammered - I didn't think there was anything wrong with them. But then more people had an issue with them so surely it was worth working on to see if they were right so I asked Paul Vasey to remix the song - It will come back better, I have no doubt about this. People only commented because they cared, because they wanted the song to be better - they cared about me enough to tell me I could improve my song - How amazing is that!!!!
I hope no of this offends, I am being cruel to be kind , if I didnt care I would say nothing - but I think it needs to be said.
Remember how amazing it is that people care enough to suggest ways you can improve your writing & singing!
And a very speedy recovery to your Mum - ask her how her TV reception is
