FAWM: "★4★ mistakes"

★4★ mistakes

2025 by @burrMod

Liner Notes

#LoFi #BedroomPop #Cassette #Omnichord #Ukulele #Mellotron #Llama #Feast

i enjoyed writing a 4-song EP in FAWM week 1. so after a creative drought in week 2 where i hated everything i did, i decided to try it again...

this time i asked 🦙🤖 llama 3.3 (open-source chatgpt alternative) to give me a "roadmap" for a 5-song EP, suggesting BPM, time signature, song structure, chord changes, and which instruments to use (out of a handful of options i provided) in a lo-fi 4-track cassette recording.

amazingly, it mostly understood what i was asking 🤯, so i used its output to guide the creation of these 5 songs.

the original AI output is below, but i did take some liberties. i built these up in a passes (track 1 for all songs, then track 2, then 3+4, then mixing). i'll post them as i finish mixing them...

==== SONG-SPECIFIC NOTES ==== i didn't even entertain the suggested title. when it came time to write lyrics i skimmed snippets from the ones i keep in my phone's notes app. the opening line and "learn from your mistakes" both popped out at me, so i sort of worked in both directions to tie them together. felt a little weird writing a song almost entirely of similes, but whatevs. played shaker along with the mellotron track...

==== ORIGINAL LLAMA 3.3 OUTPUT ==== Song 4: "Fires in the Night" BPM: 100 Time signature: 4/4 Song structure: Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Outro

Chord progressions: Intro: Am−F−G−Em Verse: Am−F−G−C−Em Chorus: F−G−C−Am Outro: Am−F

Track assignments: Track 1: omnichord (backing track) Track 2: baritone ukulele Track 3: vocals Track 4: mellotron

==== ALL THE SONGS IN THIS EP ==== 1 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312138 2 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312151 3 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312163 4 ◉ THIS! 5 ► https://write.fawm.org/songs/312207

Lyrics

like a book through a bandsaw or a demon in a dance off slicing the silence with a side step with my head in a storm cloud in the eye over the underground finding shelter in a shipwreck

like a square out of shape we bend and we break into pieces we know so well like a mangled mixtape can i learn from your mistakes? because i can't make them all myself

i call your name like a question i ask intercession constantly conscious of cowardice yet another dead letter will it get any better is there power in feeling powerless?

like a dream we forsake in the morning when we wake the charm of a forgotten spell like an old record scraped can i learn from your mistakes? because i can't make them all myself

Comments

@peopleofearth 2025

Kind of reminds me of the song Kodachrome

@paulhenry 2025

My favorite thing about this one is the line at the end of the chorus: "can i learn from your mistakes?/because i can't make them all myself".

@betoMod 2025

Another lovely one, I love the bass (from the omnichord) in this one, and the lyrics are amazing. The mellotron build a nice atmosphere, is that from a VST or preset on the Nord?

@squirrelhavenstudios 2025

I had an opportunity to obtain a free omnichord and I passed it up, and now I'm regretting that decision. I really like your arrangement choices here and your initial choice of somewhat unusual instrumentation makes for a really interesting and dynamic sounding track. Your lyrics are good, fully of mystery and some interesting turns of phrase (e.g., like a book through a bandsaw), and your vocals are strong as usual. Nice work! And I loved hearing about your process.

@cloudboy 2025

Interesting to read your process. Tonally it put me in a film noir mood (I don't know what that means). Deep and clever lyrics. Really enjoyed the repetitive consonant work you threw in. And the instrumentation is quirky and fills the spectrum nicely. I didn't realize they were all almost similes until I went back and read your liner notes - fwiw...I enjoyed them. And thanks @burr for all you do for FAWM. 🤘

@jessespillane 2025

I love the sound of the omnichord combined with the uke. The extremely rigid mixed with a very human feel of the the uke. Catchy melody. Really sticks in my head. The melotron fits in really well. Love the lofi aesthetic of it!

@gm7 2025

Very interesting approach to get an EP . Great lyrics and I to love that mellotron?? synth sound.

@katestantonsings 2025

Cool lyrics!! "or a demon in a dance off slicing the silence with a side step". Loving the mellotron and overall vibe. It's chill and unique like Beck.

@namjunerobot 2025

beautifully done! I love the lyrics and the way the beat changes. just great!

@jimdgreen 2025

i think i like this more then I should, the . . . mellotron? . . . . makes the who atmosphere enveloping

@mbmusic 2025

Very nice sound and vibe! Great melody and lyrics. I really like the line: "like a mangled mixtape can i learn from your mistakes? because i can't make them all myself" Good stuff!