My Guitar Over HR

My Guitar Over HR is an original song by Mel Brennan, for which I did the mix and part of the arrangements. I also directed and filmed the music video, as well as contributing to the editing and colouring.

To the extent of my knowledge, My Guitar Over HR is the first song produced about browsing LinkedIn: That universal feeling of imposter syndrome that very few people talk (let alone sing) about, but which unleashes a huge amount of frustration in millions of people every day.  In a satirical tone, it describes the overwhelm of coming across countless people with so much talent, motivation, and sophisticated job titles, all claiming they know the secret recipe of success. Mel wonders if all these people, with their impressive qualifications and fancy professions… are really all that content.

My Guitar Over HR is the second single from Mel’s first album, Half Lives, whose common theme is the dichotomy between our personal and professional lives. The idea partially arose from Mel’s other “half life”, in which she teaches Business English. The countless conversations with her students, often stressed, unmotivated and with little time to do what they are really passionate about, were a source of inspiration for this song.

However, as with many other songs from Half Lives, My Guitar Over HR would not be complete without a message of empowerment. And in the end, Mel decides to puts aside the frustration of aspiring to unattainable goals and instead to dedicate that time to what really makes her happy: playing her guitar.