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What You Believe

from Get On! [EP] by Plaid On Flannel

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*Song Description By Noles*

The music for "What You Believe" was written on March 7, 2015, when I was in the thick of recording Plaid On Flannel's 3rd album Primitive Normative. There's quite a difference between this version of "What You Believe" and the one performed with the band and recorded for the Get On! EP. For starters, there's a guitar riff in the original rendition that follows the post-chorus chord progression and plays octave jumps. I even used my Digitech whammy pedal to jump octaves and enhance the riff. This gave it a garage rock feel much like the style of The White Stripes. The Get On! EP version of "What You Believe" doesn't have a guitar riff and instead has a harpsichord keyboard riff played differently by POF keyboardist Jen Doyon.

The lyrics for "What You Believe" were written on March 22, 2015. It's a song that lyrically addresses self-belief and affirmation. Not taking others' viewpoints on life too seriously in order to follow your own path. Doing what you believe is right for you. And not sacrificing your integrity by conforming to the norms of the people around you. In a world where conformity is held in such a high regard. When individuality is so estranged from a modern society. That's what "What You Believe" is about in a nutshell.

I started recording the Primitive Normative version of "What You Believe" on March 16, 2015, and finished recording the track on April 10, 2015. Another difference between this rendition and the Get On! EP version is the harmony lead guitars during the verses which was influenced by Ty Segall's "Who's Producing You". As well, there are backup vocal harmonies in the 2nd verse of the Primitive Normative rendition. Those effects were excluded from the Get On! EP version. Instead of the "Ahs" after the post-chorus of the Primitive Normative rendition of "What You Believe", there are "Ohs" that are sung on the Get On! EP version. This enhanced the tune as the "Oh" vowels sound better with my voice. The song key of "What You Believe" was transposed from F#m to Em on the Get On! EP rendition.

Now, I will just talk about the Get On! EP version of "What You Believe". As mentioned before, Jen Doyon's harpsichord intro really sets the tone for the tune in it's minor key. Giving it a baroque kind of feel. This harpsichord is used throughout the song, but there is also an additional synthesizer added which gives the tune lots of colour and atmosphere. What was initially a garage rock type song, turned itself into a synth rock anthem. The synthesizer becomes more prominent as the song progresses. "What You Believe" was the first song we recorded as a band that has 3 and 4 part vocal harmonies. Drummer Minas Hatzigiannatzoglou even sang a baritone low octave vocal towards the end of the tune. "What You Believe" is a song I've played in acoustic sets and I feel like it will live on in Plaid On Flannel's live arsenal.

lyrics

Words and music by Nolan Randall

You wanna find out something you don't know
Don't wanna see you let it go
And then your life it moves so slow
Another friend becomes a foe
Figure something out before you're falling out of line
Don't wanna fall too far behind
The things you want are by design
Whatever makes you feel so fine

So many people want an ordinary role
What happened to soul?
You gotta keep on grindin'
Keep your mind in your vision

It's what you do to make it through
Do what you believe
It's what you see, won't you believe in me

Feeling aware of what you believe
Gotta declare in what you believe
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh

A lot of people tell you what to do
You always seem to misconstrue
There's more to what they're telling you
Stay true to your point of view

Falling into a rhythm, something's going on
You're far from gone
With all the people moving, they are soothing, forever

It's up to you to make it through, do what you believe
It's what you see, won't you believe in me

Feeling aware of what you believe
Gotta declare in what you believe
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh

A lot of people want an ordinary role
What happened to soul?
You gotta keep on grindin'
Keep your mind in your vision

It's up to you to make it through, do what you believe
It's what you see, won't you believe in me
It's what you do to make it through
Do what you believe
It's what you see, won't you believe in me

Feeling aware of what you believe
Gotta declare in what you believe
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh

credits

from Get On! [EP], released August 28, 2017

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Plaid On Flannel Toronto, Ontario

Plaid On Flannel is an alternative indie blues rock act from Toronto, Canada. With 80+ original songs recorded since 2011, singer-songwriter Nolan Randall has remained the sole constant member of the band. POF's music is known for guitar riffs/solos, memorable hooks, catchy melodies/harmonies, evocative lyrics, & superb musicianship. While keeping a focus on originality and songwriting quality. ... more

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