Feb 2022 indie-pop duet modernlifeisrubbish
@loveonamixtape: My collab with @vomvorton was a highlight of my FAWM last year, so I knew I wanted to rope him into a collab again, with the hopes of doing a co-write. I had this kind of silly idea for a song with the chorus melody and the "Internet friends/amends" rhyme and was kind of thinking about FAWM and some of the folks I've met through here, some of whom I kind of think of as friends? But then, like...is that weird? Well, @vomvorton being ONE of those Internet Friends, I tossed the idea by him and he was into it, so we worked out the story (as a UX designer by day, I appreciated the importance of UX to our plot, ha) and worked out our verses, and then @vomvorton did all of the heavy lifting with the instruments and arranging and mixing. Kind of like being a UX designer, I only had to provide the ideas for how it ought to work, and then other people do the hard work of making the thing (KIDDING! kind of....) Thanks again for this fun collab, Tom! Also, to clarify, I actually have no idea how Tom feels about anime. Wait...ARE we even Internet friends???
@vomvorton: WAS in the UK and sleeping, quite reasonably... but now I've woken up to a new song with one of my favourite INTERNET FRIENDS! So much fun co-writing with with Ashley, the first verse she provided was great and quickly inspired my part of the story, and I'm really happy with how the song turned out! I'm an extremely casual anime fan, for the record - I've seen a bunch of films but never crossed the line into watching the more time-consuming episodic stuff. I had to Google "kagome", let's put it that way! Anyway, hope to collaborate again soon @loveonamixtape!
I've never seen him in the flesh
But technically we met about 3 years ago
We have the same favorite anime
And every day would comment on each other’s posts
And I only just learned his real name recently
But he'll always be kagomefan321 to me
And I found out he lives in Wisconsin
And I was headed there for a conference
I asked if he wanted to grab a beer or a coffee
Then three hours later he blocked me
How do I make amends
With my Internet friends?
When they've left me on read?
Might as well have left me for dead!
You may not remember this
after all, a good few years have been and gone
I changed my name to hide my shame
after a bad joke earned the wrong emoticons
You were my harshest critic then
I hoped that we could start again, maybe we can?
But your message came out of the blue
And before I knew what I was doing
I clicked ignore, instead of reply…
A message popped up that you’d be notified
How do I make amends
With my Internet friends?
When I’ve clicked the wrong button
will I just be forgotten?
Is it so creepy and wrong, to want to meet in person?
A friendship foiled by bad UX, how do I fix this mess?
And I can’t even ask him without stalking him to another forum!
Could I unblock her and clear these messages before she saw them?
Trying to reach out through a screen
To someone that I’ve never even seen
How do we make amends
With our internet friends?
How do I apologise
when my username feels like a bad disguise?
How do we make amends
With our internet friends?
How can we reconcile
when we’re dependent on computer files?
So much of my life depends
On these Internet friends
But they’re so easily lost
When the wires get crossed
@gm7 Mar 2022
"I asked if he wanted to grab a beer or a coffee
Then three hours later he blocked me"...so funny LMAO.
Great great story. great vocals and production. Winner of a collab.
@plushbaby Mar 2022
Love the story behind the song, a great modern tale, yes being left on read... arrrrggg! Really enjoyed the tale of modern life on the webz.
This sounds light and breezy but is also so full of detail, things are popping off all over the place! I'd possibly pull some things out at a few seperate points, it gets a bit intense :)
The melody on the chorus is lovely, especially on 'internet friends'. I really like the swell towards the end of the track, nice track, loevely!
@kiffa Mar 2022
Aaaagh! This is great! The lyrics are so clever and charming. I envy the places where near rhymes are used instead of perfect rhymes-- something that I tend to shy away from but that is done so effectively here. I love the 'both sides of the story' approach as well. Something tells me these two crazy kids will work it out lol.
@majormajormajormajor Mar 2022
Ah, lovely and genuine, and the way that the trade off in the vocal increases in frequency until it becomes unison, yet in the lyric they never resolve it feels meet cute(though it's not a meeting, in two different ways) and yet true to life. And that last couplet really gets to the heart of it, given further weight by pulling everything else back. Light and fun and with serious undepinnings, just a great balance.
@sailingmagpie Mar 2022
Brilliant story telling in this fun, little duet. I love how the story takes a real left turn on Vom's verse. It sounds like a huge summer hit in waiting!
@balancelost Mar 2022
I can so relate to these lyrics, like that time I "accidentally" sent a message to Vom asking to netflix and chill. Awkwaaard. Lovely duet though, it all fits together perfectly. The lilt in Ashley's melodies is sweet, although perhaps Vom needs to work in his Wisconsin accent. Instrumentation is top drawer. I expect this to get playlisted on WPKG next month.
@bradbrubaker Mar 2022
Some genuine emotions coming out here in this missed connections story. Relatable content, too. Good tune.
@frenchcricket Feb 2022
This is great. In a way it's a shame there's no web equivalent of the Missed Connections pieces that you used to see in newspapers. But in another way, that's a terrifying idea so maybe not. Anyway this is a winning story, a lovely Meet Qute. The duet is wonderful and I really like that sort of glock sound you can almost hear.
@thedutchwidows Feb 2022
This is great - super sunny feels, and a great summation of the weirdness of that situation and the etiquette anxiety that accompanies it! Your voices combine beautifully and it's a musical delight. Enjoyed this very much!
@adforperu Feb 2022
It's Friday, the sun's out, and this is a joyous indie-pop duet. Massive smile for this one, guys! Love the story behind it, and you're a great musical match. "after a bad joke earned the wrong emoticons" - what gave inspiration for that line Tom? *side-eye emoji*
@owl Feb 2022
Ah this is so cute! I love the storytelling (and the Wisconsin reference lol) and your voices both sound great. Trying to think what it reminds me of, some Rilo Kiley vibes maybe? The production is lovely and jangly and your voices sound nicely balanced which I think can be a danger with multiple lead singers recording in different rooms!
@paulh1237 Feb 2022
Ooh, I love this. A proper duetm not that like that Mel C Byran Adams one where they just sing over eachother. Anyway.
Love the melody and the feel to this. Also, real life dillemas!
@rayboneor Feb 2022
Oh, this is so sweet. Just seconds prior to hitting play I was chatting with my wife about our summer plans, which might involve Ireland, Britain, Scotland or whatever, and I was saying that it would be weird to meet people you know on the internet. And then here is this song.
I had to replay the first 10 seconds a few times. Weirdly enough, I love how the cymbals and stuff continue to ring during that little break. It all has such a big live sound. One of the best fawm songs of all time, maybe, just great jangly pop with that touch of melancholy I love
@sheilerk Feb 2022
What a wonderful blend of voices and talents! I just wanted to say Awwww, at the end, and was really glad that the song was the proof that this internet friendship wasn't actually adrift in the interwebs. A very clever and contemporary write, and a great performance. As someone else said, your voices blend so well!!
@lanasolyluna Feb 2022
Such a cool concept for a song, and I love these lyrics. Vocals and guitar are amazing. Living in Japan, the 1st verse made me snicker a little because a lot of the guys who are obsessed with Japan they know in manga/anime, but actually have never been in Japan...well they're a lot of "fun" on Twitter when I have any less than rosy opinion. Envy Collabs that can come together like this long distance since I really can barely even co-write with my husband. Great work, folks! Sounds amazing.
@zecoop Feb 2022
Fantastic! Great idea, great song, great collaborators... So many wonderful lyrical lines and the music is so happy sounding. Everything mixes together and just makes such an intriguing modern story. Loved this!!
@kahlo2013 Feb 2022
This is such a great song in so many ways! I really love the candid and honest feeling lyric that rings true in that these connections are perilous from so many different perspectives and angles. And your music is lovely! What a wonderful duet. The melody is great and your voices are perfect together!
@jlampson Feb 2022
Ohhhhhh.....this is all so amazing. This is all the best parts of collaboration in one song. The arrangement, instrumentation, vocal melody and phrasing, performances, and clever lyrics with call and response by each other intertwined - glorious!