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Mean by Sara McDonald

From the album

Album Title: This is a single release
Label: Self Produced
Released: 2020

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About the Album

Mean was written in the middle of the night two days before a headlining show at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC. The full orchestration, including vocal line and lyrics, was written in one sitting with the printed charts barely making it onto everyones stands the next morning at rehearsal. The band that this song was written for, The NYChillharmonic, is an 18-piece progressive-rock-jazz ensemble based in Brooklyn, NY. Mean is a sonically massive, orchestral-rock piece that features chugging guitar and bass lines, anthemic vocals, swirling strings and horns, and thrashing drums. The lyrics are written from two perspectives, creating a conversation between the narrator and their own moral conscience. The line "you're so mean to me" is repeated throughout the song, as the narrator's conscience struggles to communicate with her literal self. Mean navigates through a fusion of genres while wildly yet, seamlessly moving from section to section, bounding through the narrative and sonic arc to an emotionally epic finish.

Tracks

This is a single track - Mean

Personnel

Sara McDonald

vocals

Additional Personnel

Brian Plautz: Alto Sax, Emily Pecoraro: Tenor Sax, Gabriel Richards: Tenor Sax, Drew Vanderwinckel: Baritone Sax Allison Philips: Trumpet, Michael Sarian: Trumpet Nick Grinder: Trombone, Nathan Wood: Trombone, Reginald Chapman: Tuba Drew Youmans: Violin, Gabe Valle: Violin, Will Marshall: Viola, Sasha Ono: Cello Amit Peled: Guitar, Eitan Kenner: Keyboards, Adam Neely: Bass, Josh Bailey: Drums

Date featured

May 26, 2020

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company.
It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.

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