21 February 2004 (Saturday)
bsettles
[01:33PM CST]
Song #10: Jennifer
MP3 Demo - Download Here (1.7mb)
Okay, so this is my crappy tribute song. I spent all week trying to write a song for Alan Turing, the famous mathematician to whom modern computer science owes nearly everything but committed suicide because when the British government found out he was gay they revoked his security clearance, considered him a national threat, and forced him to take estogen therapy to "cure him." Needless to say, with such weighty subject matter I had a difficult time doing it justice.
SOoo... since I'm headed out the door in a few minutes and won't have time tonight to make a tribute song, I wrote a quick ode to Jennifer Connelly, whom I had a major crush on as a kid every since I saw the movie Labyrinth. The tune is kinda reminiscent of real early Lemonheads stuff, I think. I'll write that Alan Turing song someday. More...
MP3 Demo - Download Here (1.7mb)
Okay, so this is my crappy tribute song. I spent all week trying to write a song for Alan Turing, the famous mathematician to whom modern computer science owes nearly everything but committed suicide because when the British government found out he was gay they revoked his security clearance, considered him a national threat, and forced him to take estogen therapy to "cure him." Needless to say, with such weighty subject matter I had a difficult time doing it justice.
SOoo... since I'm headed out the door in a few minutes and won't have time tonight to make a tribute song, I wrote a quick ode to Jennifer Connelly, whom I had a major crush on as a kid every since I saw the movie Labyrinth. The tune is kinda reminiscent of real early Lemonheads stuff, I think. I'll write that Alan Turing song someday. More...
20 February 2004 (Friday)
mhopper
[10:47PM CST]
Song #15 Wayward Prince
Download MP3 Here!
This song is my version of a Bruce Springsteen / Dan Bern type song...I wrote it pretty quickly tonight when I got home from work. I'm gonna shoot for 8 more songs this month. I am also reading a good book called "Songwriters on Songwriting" and I'm only one chapter in...but it's great so far. I need to go out and get some inspiration tomorrow night...gonna go see this band called the Waking Hours at the Brewery...they rock. More...
Download MP3 Here!
This song is my version of a Bruce Springsteen / Dan Bern type song...I wrote it pretty quickly tonight when I got home from work. I'm gonna shoot for 8 more songs this month. I am also reading a good book called "Songwriters on Songwriting" and I'm only one chapter in...but it's great so far. I need to go out and get some inspiration tomorrow night...gonna go see this band called the Waking Hours at the Brewery...they rock. More...
wferenbaugh
[08:31PM CST]
numero 5 - nasty little heart WMA file here
from now on i'm going in order. #8-11 coming right up.
there were little candy hearts in the office last week, and at one point i looked through them (touching almost all of them) for a good message. i put one my pocket hoping it would get all dirty and then i could give it to somebody and have a good laugh. the idea of a nasty little candy heart in somebody's pocket sounded like song material...
More...
from now on i'm going in order. #8-11 coming right up.
there were little candy hearts in the office last week, and at one point i looked through them (touching almost all of them) for a good message. i put one my pocket hoping it would get all dirty and then i could give it to somebody and have a good laugh. the idea of a nasty little candy heart in somebody's pocket sounded like song material...
More...
wferenbaugh
[09:11AM CST]
numero 2 - gilligan's wake WMA file here
hooray. number 2.
i am way behind.
what do you get when you try to record an ill-conceived pogues/gilligan's island song with only a guitar and a vague idea of how to work pro tools? More...
hooray. number 2.
i am way behind.
what do you get when you try to record an ill-conceived pogues/gilligan's island song with only a guitar and a vague idea of how to work pro tools? More...
bsettles
[12:56AM CST]
Song #9: Captain Anagram
MP3 Demo - Download Here (2.3mb)
If you take equal parts Beck and They Might Be Giants, throw in a ton of severe work-related exhaustion and merely a pinch of sleep, you have strange dreams... and write songs like this. It's been ages since I wrote a song like this. Probably for a good reason. That's about all I have to say right now. More...
MP3 Demo - Download Here (2.3mb)
If you take equal parts Beck and They Might Be Giants, throw in a ton of severe work-related exhaustion and merely a pinch of sleep, you have strange dreams... and write songs like this. It's been ages since I wrote a song like this. Probably for a good reason. That's about all I have to say right now. More...
19 February 2004 (Thursday)
mhopper
[09:59PM CST]
Song #14 Getting Older
Download MP3 Here!
YAY! I've reached the goal and it feels good, you guys are almost there. This is a silly song about what the title hints at. It's not sly or anything, it's just a statement of facts. I just turned 25, Burr just turned 26, we be getting all old...throw a little Lou Reed/Dyan/Ray Davies/Buddy Holly/Elvis Costello in a blender...hit puree...serve it up RAMONES style...this song could be pretty rocking with a band...and a tambourine. More...
Download MP3 Here!
YAY! I've reached the goal and it feels good, you guys are almost there. This is a silly song about what the title hints at. It's not sly or anything, it's just a statement of facts. I just turned 25, Burr just turned 26, we be getting all old...throw a little Lou Reed/Dyan/Ray Davies/Buddy Holly/Elvis Costello in a blender...hit puree...serve it up RAMONES style...this song could be pretty rocking with a band...and a tambourine. More...
mhopper
[08:40PM CST]
Song #13 Success
MP3 Download Here!
I worked all day at Microsoft...I might be their new mail clerk...before you rag on me...let me just say I have NEGATIVE cash flow in my bank account right now. Yeah, so anyway, I'm tired. But I was excited to get home and work on new songs. I have a goal of getting my 14 songs done tonight...so with that in mind I penned this tune called "Success" in anticipation of this little victory. I was like "what is success?" what does that mean to me? what would it mean to my personal life. I just read this Ryan Adams biography and he says pretty much the same thing that every rock star says about it - it SUCKS (well, parts of it anyway)...and how hard it is to be in the spotlight all the time. I got a little taste of what that was like in Alaska and even on a small scale it's not like the funnest thing in the world. Anyway...this is sort of some ramblings about that....here comes song #14. More...
MP3 Download Here!
I worked all day at Microsoft...I might be their new mail clerk...before you rag on me...let me just say I have NEGATIVE cash flow in my bank account right now. Yeah, so anyway, I'm tired. But I was excited to get home and work on new songs. I have a goal of getting my 14 songs done tonight...so with that in mind I penned this tune called "Success" in anticipation of this little victory. I was like "what is success?" what does that mean to me? what would it mean to my personal life. I just read this Ryan Adams biography and he says pretty much the same thing that every rock star says about it - it SUCKS (well, parts of it anyway)...and how hard it is to be in the spotlight all the time. I got a little taste of what that was like in Alaska and even on a small scale it's not like the funnest thing in the world. Anyway...this is sort of some ramblings about that....here comes song #14. More...
18 February 2004 (Wednesday)
bsettles
[10:56PM CST]
Song #8: Shiner
MP3 Demo - Download Here (1.4mb)
This is actually a leftover from last week's "shine" challenge... I was going to try and write two. I got the chorus and the first verse done before that deadline, but never finished it. I think the main reason was that I haven't known anyone whose drinking problem was this violent and this regular, so I couldn't really write honestly about it. But now that it's four or five days later, I almost feel as if this song is complete and real enough as it is. More...
MP3 Demo - Download Here (1.4mb)
This is actually a leftover from last week's "shine" challenge... I was going to try and write two. I got the chorus and the first verse done before that deadline, but never finished it. I think the main reason was that I haven't known anyone whose drinking problem was this violent and this regular, so I couldn't really write honestly about it. But now that it's four or five days later, I almost feel as if this song is complete and real enough as it is. More...
mhopper
[10:31PM CST]
Song #12 Hold On To Me
Download MP3 Here!
I imagine this one with a very heavy sound, and three part live harmonies...crushing drums, walls of distortion...a very bleak, dark song...with a soft ending...
Lyrically, I don't know where this came from...I mean, I'm not feeling bummed or anything right now, but this is sort of from that point of view where things seem bleak in a relationship. More...
Download MP3 Here!
I imagine this one with a very heavy sound, and three part live harmonies...crushing drums, walls of distortion...a very bleak, dark song...with a soft ending...
Lyrically, I don't know where this came from...I mean, I'm not feeling bummed or anything right now, but this is sort of from that point of view where things seem bleak in a relationship. More...
mhopper
[07:12PM CST]
Song #11 Grandpa Louie
Download MP3 Here!
Here is my song for Burr's songwriting challenge. It's about a very personal hero of mine...just this old guy who cared about baseball and hanging out. He was the best. It's how I want to be when I grow old.
The song kind of plods along...I'm thinking I would like to try to do this on a piano and see how it sounds. More...
Download MP3 Here!
Here is my song for Burr's songwriting challenge. It's about a very personal hero of mine...just this old guy who cared about baseball and hanging out. He was the best. It's how I want to be when I grow old.
The song kind of plods along...I'm thinking I would like to try to do this on a piano and see how it sounds. More...
edistad
[07:04PM CST]
Song #7 Round and Round
MP3 Here 2.8Mb Download
This one came when I was playing around with a partial capo. Check them out here! It was set on the second fret on the DGB strings. (A position) The chord progression popped some words in and basically the rest was FAWMed. It's about cultivating a personal image for the masses.
I apologize for the guitar sound. It sounded much better on the acousting, but because of a tough micing situation, I had to use a pickup, and it ended up not sounding as good that way.
As always, please forgive the vocals... sinus infection and all that. More...
MP3 Here 2.8Mb Download
This one came when I was playing around with a partial capo. Check them out here! It was set on the second fret on the DGB strings. (A position) The chord progression popped some words in and basically the rest was FAWMed. It's about cultivating a personal image for the masses.
I apologize for the guitar sound. It sounded much better on the acousting, but because of a tough micing situation, I had to use a pickup, and it ended up not sounding as good that way.
As always, please forgive the vocals... sinus infection and all that. More...
edistad
[06:57PM CST]
Song #6 Drunk
MP3 Here 3.3Mb Download
This one was inspired by my coworkers. Since I work for a courier company, most of the people who work there are former drivers, and would probably be considered "blue collar", if that means anything. I've overheard several conversations between some of them and the same thing kept coming up. They go out drinking to get loaded on a lot of nights and come in hungover, for no other reason than they can. They don't really have any sorrows to drown or anything like that. They just get loaded because they're bored... every night. One guy was removed from work, because the management insisted he go to treatment or he wouldn't be allowed to work there. He refused. He was fired.
This song is basically about recreational alcoholics, or at least that's how it started out.
This song ended up feeling a bit to Oasis for my tastes, but see what you think. More...
MP3 Here 3.3Mb Download
This one was inspired by my coworkers. Since I work for a courier company, most of the people who work there are former drivers, and would probably be considered "blue collar", if that means anything. I've overheard several conversations between some of them and the same thing kept coming up. They go out drinking to get loaded on a lot of nights and come in hungover, for no other reason than they can. They don't really have any sorrows to drown or anything like that. They just get loaded because they're bored... every night. One guy was removed from work, because the management insisted he go to treatment or he wouldn't be allowed to work there. He refused. He was fired.
This song is basically about recreational alcoholics, or at least that's how it started out.
This song ended up feeling a bit to Oasis for my tastes, but see what you think. More...
challenge
[01:42PM CST]
Song Theme Challenge: A Tribute
Since last week's challenge went over pretty well (we each got at least one "shine" song out of it, even if didn't actually have "shine" in the title...), I thought we'd try something like it again. It could be the muse we need to hammer out another ditty...
This time, choose a personality (beit a celebrity, historical figure, personal hero, whatever) and write a tribute to him/her. I'm thinking along the lines of REM's "Man on the Moon," or Vigilantes of Love's "Skin," or Scud Mountain Boys' "Knievel"... oh, hell, how about TMBG's "Meet James Ensor?" I guess it doesn't have to be too serious. Just a tribute. Let's make the deadline by midnight on Saturday, 21 February. Now, go forth and make music!
Since last week's challenge went over pretty well (we each got at least one "shine" song out of it, even if didn't actually have "shine" in the title...), I thought we'd try something like it again. It could be the muse we need to hammer out another ditty...
This time, choose a personality (beit a celebrity, historical figure, personal hero, whatever) and write a tribute to him/her. I'm thinking along the lines of REM's "Man on the Moon," or Vigilantes of Love's "Skin," or Scud Mountain Boys' "Knievel"... oh, hell, how about TMBG's "Meet James Ensor?" I guess it doesn't have to be too serious. Just a tribute. Let's make the deadline by midnight on Saturday, 21 February. Now, go forth and make music!
mhopper
[04:13AM CST]
Song #10 Brown Pinstripe Suit
Download MP3 Here!
I really felt some writer's block today and it was weird because I came off tour with all these ideas and situations and people to write about, it's just that nothing was coming out...so I went out for a burrito and some $2 lagers at the Westwood Brewing Company and came home and was talking with my roommate and came up with a cool idea for song. Someone likes a girl, but she doesn't really like him back...another guy comes along and wins the girls heart and breaks the poor guys heart...this may or may not be based on a true story...and the character in it may or may not be from possible true story's point of view...confused? Good.
Let's just say I have a nice new brown pinstripe suit. More...
Download MP3 Here!
I really felt some writer's block today and it was weird because I came off tour with all these ideas and situations and people to write about, it's just that nothing was coming out...so I went out for a burrito and some $2 lagers at the Westwood Brewing Company and came home and was talking with my roommate and came up with a cool idea for song. Someone likes a girl, but she doesn't really like him back...another guy comes along and wins the girls heart and breaks the poor guys heart...this may or may not be based on a true story...and the character in it may or may not be from possible true story's point of view...confused? Good.
Let's just say I have a nice new brown pinstripe suit. More...
17 February 2004 (Tuesday)
mhopper
[05:06AM CST]
#9 One Foot In the Grave
Download MP3 Here!
Well, this is my second song of the night...I guess I just don't want to go to bed now do I??? It's 3 a.m. This song is about that situation when someone tells you they want to commit suicide....it's like...what do you say to that? I just listen mostly and if they ask for advice I do my best to give it to them...but they don't always like what they hear. I hate how you feel like it might be your fault if they DO go through with their plan...like maybe you could have done something...
More...
Download MP3 Here!
Well, this is my second song of the night...I guess I just don't want to go to bed now do I??? It's 3 a.m. This song is about that situation when someone tells you they want to commit suicide....it's like...what do you say to that? I just listen mostly and if they ask for advice I do my best to give it to them...but they don't always like what they hear. I hate how you feel like it might be your fault if they DO go through with their plan...like maybe you could have done something...
More...
mhopper
[03:35AM CST]
#8 Drag Queen
Download MP3 Here!
Well, I'm back in LA after an a little jog in the southwest...played two shows in Vegas and one in Phoenix recently got in tonight. Feel really behind in my song-writing, but I have lots of inspiration for new stuff so be expecting a deluge of tunes in the near future...this song is up for interpretation...call it my answer to Burr's Challenge...if only because it has the word "shine" in the first line. More...
Download MP3 Here!
Well, I'm back in LA after an a little jog in the southwest...played two shows in Vegas and one in Phoenix recently got in tonight. Feel really behind in my song-writing, but I have lots of inspiration for new stuff so be expecting a deluge of tunes in the near future...this song is up for interpretation...call it my answer to Burr's Challenge...if only because it has the word "shine" in the first line. More...
bsettles
[01:07AM CST]
Song #7: Uff-Da, Wisconsin!
MP3 Demo - Download Here (2.4mb)
I was meditating on Hopper's challenge early on that I write a song on "what I love most about Wisconsin." That's hard, because it's generally unloveable, with only two seasons (a short warm one and a long cold one) and nary an armadillo in sight. But I have to say the beer is worth it. So this is my ode to the New Glarus Brewing Company in particular. I thought about writing a separate verse for each beer they make, but that'd get boring... so I just wrote about the ones I've actually had. I need to tour the brewery sometime.
Note: I was actually finishing off the 6-pack of Spotted Cow I had in the fridge as I recorded this demo (about 6 takes layered on top of each other, trying to get that "sing-along drinking song" feel). Natalie helped with some of the clapping, and she hasn't the best sense of rhythm in the world... but in all fairness, she informed me that "Edel-Pils" is pronounced "ee-del" and the last syllable of "Reinheitsgebot" is pronounced "boat." My mistake. She learned her German in a classroom, and I learned most of mine in a bar near a tent in München. Go figure. More...
MP3 Demo - Download Here (2.4mb)
I was meditating on Hopper's challenge early on that I write a song on "what I love most about Wisconsin." That's hard, because it's generally unloveable, with only two seasons (a short warm one and a long cold one) and nary an armadillo in sight. But I have to say the beer is worth it. So this is my ode to the New Glarus Brewing Company in particular. I thought about writing a separate verse for each beer they make, but that'd get boring... so I just wrote about the ones I've actually had. I need to tour the brewery sometime.
Note: I was actually finishing off the 6-pack of Spotted Cow I had in the fridge as I recorded this demo (about 6 takes layered on top of each other, trying to get that "sing-along drinking song" feel). Natalie helped with some of the clapping, and she hasn't the best sense of rhythm in the world... but in all fairness, she informed me that "Edel-Pils" is pronounced "ee-del" and the last syllable of "Reinheitsgebot" is pronounced "boat." My mistake. She learned her German in a classroom, and I learned most of mine in a bar near a tent in München. Go figure. More...
16 February 2004 (Monday)
wferenbaugh
[07:46AM CST]
numero 7 - sunshine & moonshine & you WMA file here
the technology aspect of fawm is killing me. as if the songwriting wasn't enough of a problem. i should have 8 by day's end, but only 4 or 5 recorded, and maybe zero mp3s...
i did set up some mics to record to midi in my cabin, which is a fun development.
and i wrote and recorded my first "shine" song on sunday morning. it's a hackneyed sound, i suppose, but i've never written anything like this, so i like it and have fun playing it. that might wear off. More...
the technology aspect of fawm is killing me. as if the songwriting wasn't enough of a problem. i should have 8 by day's end, but only 4 or 5 recorded, and maybe zero mp3s...
i did set up some mics to record to midi in my cabin, which is a fun development.
and i wrote and recorded my first "shine" song on sunday morning. it's a hackneyed sound, i suppose, but i've never written anything like this, so i like it and have fun playing it. that might wear off. More...
15 February 2004 (Sunday)
edistad
[07:00PM CST]
Song #5 Transistor God
MP3 Here 3.4Mb Download
Here is my entry for the Shine challenge. It is sort of a self-indictment. I read an article that stated that as modern youth become more and more dependent on the internet, they do less and less outside of it. It of course had a bunch of statistics and stuff, but I thought about how much I, as a computer guy, don't get out into the sunshine and how I can remember strange details about computer games but sometimes don't remember people I went to High School with (though I doubt I would under any circumstance since I hated High School)
This started as a little guitar riff that I would have thrown away if it wasn't FAWM and went from there. I am not a drummer, but I wish I was, since this thing needs drums bad, but my attempt and slapping a loop on it was fruitless. I did this one in maybe 2 takes and my voice is at it's limit, so beware of some very painful vocal spots. I don't think a retake would have fixed it, since I'm barely able to talk at the moment. More...
MP3 Here 3.4Mb Download
Here is my entry for the Shine challenge. It is sort of a self-indictment. I read an article that stated that as modern youth become more and more dependent on the internet, they do less and less outside of it. It of course had a bunch of statistics and stuff, but I thought about how much I, as a computer guy, don't get out into the sunshine and how I can remember strange details about computer games but sometimes don't remember people I went to High School with (though I doubt I would under any circumstance since I hated High School)
This started as a little guitar riff that I would have thrown away if it wasn't FAWM and went from there. I am not a drummer, but I wish I was, since this thing needs drums bad, but my attempt and slapping a loop on it was fruitless. I did this one in maybe 2 takes and my voice is at it's limit, so beware of some very painful vocal spots. I don't think a retake would have fixed it, since I'm barely able to talk at the moment. More...
edistad
[06:50PM CST]
Song #4 The Muse
MP3 Here 6.5Mb Download (sorry for the size)
Ok here is the 4th song. It is my first ever 7 minute song.. (in retrospect I should have played it faster) It's for my fellow FAWMers. I was feeling the pain of not being able to come up with something and so I wrote this.
Please forgive my voice! The sinus infection and cold has gotten worse and I can't sing worth crap. (I mean more than usual)
This was another 1 take wonder, so forgive the usual glitches, voice cracks, timing issues. The only thing that isn't screwed up is the drum track, which came out of a loop program. This is really just the bed of the song, leaving lots of room for refinement and more instruments, etc.. More...
MP3 Here 6.5Mb Download (sorry for the size)
Ok here is the 4th song. It is my first ever 7 minute song.. (in retrospect I should have played it faster) It's for my fellow FAWMers. I was feeling the pain of not being able to come up with something and so I wrote this.
Please forgive my voice! The sinus infection and cold has gotten worse and I can't sing worth crap. (I mean more than usual)
This was another 1 take wonder, so forgive the usual glitches, voice cracks, timing issues. The only thing that isn't screwed up is the drum track, which came out of a loop program. This is really just the bed of the song, leaving lots of room for refinement and more instruments, etc.. More...
wferenbaugh
[03:10AM CST]
numero 6 - scurvy song* WMA file here
i really hope to put some decent demos up tomorrow, including the challenge song. i started 2 very different shine songs...
valentines day was also winter folk fest day here in fairbanks, and i played this new thing which i just wrote last night... it went very well... if i had a copy of today's performance, i'd post that as my demo, but for some reason they didn't broadcast or record the show (they have in the past). More...
i really hope to put some decent demos up tomorrow, including the challenge song. i started 2 very different shine songs...
valentines day was also winter folk fest day here in fairbanks, and i played this new thing which i just wrote last night... it went very well... if i had a copy of today's performance, i'd post that as my demo, but for some reason they didn't broadcast or record the show (they have in the past). More...