Thanks so much to anyone who has supported this project thus far by listening on YouTube, giving a like, a subscription, a nice comment, a share, etc. etc. This collection features "Freebee Honey" which isn't available on my YouTube page! This is it's debut! Right here! Give it a listen!
released December 1, 2022
All performance, recording, mixing, etc. by Josh Elstro (AKA CarlsManager)
This is the last song by The Pillows I intend to cover and make a video for. It’s my final love letter to a band that got me through late adolescence as well as middling adulthood in the same place at very different times in my life. I tried to showcase that in the video. Sorry there’s no cool FLCL anime clips. Hope everyone enjoys anyway!
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!!! IT’S PLUG TIME!!
ONE MORE SONG that won’t be released here on YouTube for starters! I’m trying to get the secret bonus song, as well as the rest, on streaming services and or BandCamp. I'll update these notes and the video when that happens. In the meantime, I’ve launched a Patreon where all the songs (including the bonus song) will be available first, followed by more bonus content. Watch to the end for details. That'll also tell you about my new podcast, My Sister, Evangelion, and Me, in which we (my sister and I) watch all of Evangelion, reviewing and critiquing along the way. It’s a way to experience the show kind of as a book club welcoming to total anime newbs and returning fans alike! Sorry for the massive amount of plugging. Streaming and/or BandCamp links coming soon!
Get Better is a podcast of conversations with independently creative people exploring how and why they do what they do in a world and culture that tries to convince us our greatest value is the work we do for an employer. The show digs deep into what jump starts peoples’ independent creative processes and how they stay motivated to follow through. Society demands for most of us, our productive and creative energy will be directed towards someone else's goals or vision in order to pay our bills and our rent; oftentimes contributing to a culture of consumption young people are growing less and less fond of. So finding the motivation to do and make things for just ourselves or our communities can be a small seed of resistance; and dare I say it #SelfCare. By sharing a collective of voices uplifting each other's work and discussing how we can keep growing together, I hope we will inspire more of those seeds to be planted and bloom. That is to say, in a sea of podcasts asking “how much worse can things get?” I want to flip the narrative and ask “how can we all get better together?”
Each episode features a one on one conversation with people whose personal creative endeavors have placed them at all different levels on the ladder of social or financial success. I have just as much to learn talking to someone who sets aside time every week to do needlepoint of birds they see in their yard as I do from someone who got rich and famous selling their own music. I explore what sparked their interest in their creative outlet, what drives them to do it regardless of financial reward, and how they discipline and hone their skill to get better. I’d also love to have discussions with activists and mutual aid workers in different fields… but I’m taking this one step at a time. If you think you or someone you know might be interested in coming on the podcast, tell me! Get in touch here!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-better/id1641343265
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7A7SV76Z8IZkY00Kv0gNdv?si=7bba5f7c66c84adc
I’m reaching the final stretch of songs I have planned for this series of English translations of songs by the Pillows from FLCL. You have to do this one, right? RIGHT?! Since it had a lot less to translate than the others I decided to go a little extra on the video production which took an extra month or so longer than necessary to get done and published. The end result is that I finally made the thing I wish I’d made when I was 22 but lacked the skills and resources. (Granted, it’s still all shot with an iPhone 11 and plain old overhead lighting. Would anyone like to donate to a “get me some nicer gear” fund so I can really get on my Bo Burnham shit?)
I always loved this hook since I first saw FLCL at 18 years old. But I especially liked tweaking the line “Their days are numbered, counting down.” Revisiting the song after all these years I’m letting myself get a little more emotionally involved in it than necessary. As I worked on it amidst all of uhhh… this chaos, I made it a sort of personal mantra and battle cry against the gerontocracy refusing to do anything to stop the planet from being uninhabitable for the younger generations. One of the themes of FLCL is questioning the seeming absurdity of adults and authority when you’re coming of age. Turns out as you get older, those early suspicions were right.
Anyway, I have one left in the chamber to produce. I feel like it’s also an obvious choice. Shoutout in the comments if you know…
All performance, recording, mixing, mastering, video production and editing by CarlsManager
If you like my work and have any production needs visit: elstroproduction.com
Original song and arrangement by The Pillows
This video covers my personal process for fine tuning pitch and timing of vocals using Logic Pro, as well as some tips using the new MetaTune app from Slate Digital if you have that. If you're here as a subscriber who just likes my cover song recordings, this is a slight behind the scenes look at the production of my English cover of "Last Dinosaur" by The Pillows!