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about
CITY OF LOVE
Out now on Bandcamp
Out everywhere else March 2nd.
The Song:
“City of love" is what I call the moment when the lightning strikes between two people.
It's that split second glance from across the room where your eyes meet for the first time, and the whole world flashes in your mind. In that moment, you envision your entire future with them.
Your past lives meet, any dreams you shared, any vows you made.
Your stars cross paths and collide.
The moment your eyes meet, you see your whole life ahead, a new life that you'll spend with them. The vision, the euphoric feeling, the gasp for air, all those things that happen in the blink of an eye: that's the city of love - it's there, somewhere, down a long highway, and you believe you'll reach it with them.
It's a dream and a promise. Sometimes shared. Sometimes not.
What I could never find the words to say, I've put into music in this song. XO
The Process:
Written around 2017, I've recorded several versions of this song. After years of playing it, I came back to the original way it started: at my beat up piano, with a drum loop from the song "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin on a Boss Dr. Sample sampler.
I knew I couldn't use Led Zeppelin's loop - I looked into it, and although other artists have used it, to me it sounded like a nightmare to get the rights. Instead, I researched what equipment was used when it was recorded, the environment it was recorded in, and used the same things in digital form whenever possible, eventually arriving at a sound that was close to the original, but my own making and using my own drums.
“Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and producer Andy Johns coupled the natural room reverb with effects, including an analog echo machine.“
"Its rhythmic magic transcends genre; Beastie Boys, Eminem, Björk, and Massive Attack have all utilized the beat."
When it came time to record this final version of City of Love in the way the song first came through, I sampled my drums; mainly a 22" WFL kick drum, a deep Gretsch snare drum, a set of 70's Ludwig (silver sparkle) toms, a set of dark Dream high hats, and recreated the famous loop I used when first writing the song.
lyrics
City of Love (Lyrics)
Written by Vince Vaccaro
Hear your song on the radio,
Twenty-five, you got nothing to show for it.
Hear it's better on the other side.
In the mirror you look barely alive.
Would you trade it all to be half alive.
Set fire to reason,
Swore we're the lucky ones,
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love.
Set fire believing,
Swore we were strong enough.
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love,
Yeah we were dreamers in the city of love.
Let's hit the night, I'll get us out of here.
It's an old car, but baby I can get it to run.
Throw your heart on the back seat.
Slide in the middle babe, I'm ready to go chase the sun.
Never trade it all to be half alive.
Set fire to reason,
Swore we're the lucky ones,
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love.
Set fire believing,
Swore we were strong enough.
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love,
Yeah we were dreamers in the city of love.
The promise you made,
With a hand over your heart,
You said "Baby, I'm yours...".
Oh....
Set fire to reason,
Swore we're the lucky ones,
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love.
Set fire believing,
Swore we were strong enough.
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love,
Yeah we were dreamers in the city of love.
Set fire to reason,
Swore we were strong enough,
There's a highway somewhere,
You could see the city of love,
Yeah we were dreamers in the city of love.
credits
released February 14, 2023
Written, performed, and produced/mixed by: Vince Vaccaro
Recorded/Mixed/Mastered at Starlight Sound, Vancouver Island, BC.
Album Art/Photo by: Mario Cuadros
Vince Vaccaro is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer based on Vancouver Island. Vaccaro
was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up in British Columbia. He has appeared on stages internationally as a solo artist, performing acoustically and backed up by a five piece band....more
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