So the song... I've had the chorus in my head for quite a while but again, didn't really know what to do with it. And once again the inspiration for it came from another great Penny Arcade comic. (I can't actually find the link to the specific comic! Doh)
Simple stuff really; what if you always wanted to have superpowers, then one day you were attacked by a mutant hawk and gained the power of flight? I think we've all run throught that scenario in our head before.
I'll start converting the rest of the songs to FLAC/Ogg this weekend and will redesign the 'Songs' page to accomadate. Have a good weekend everyone!
Its a song about nothing really. But at the same time its about everything....
I guess its about a King of some mystical land. He' a nice guy but as soon as he became King he turned into a bit of a dick. You see, the crown has a power. An evil power. Once its upon your head, as well as granting you eternal youth it also corrupts your soul.
Usually when I'm looking for inspiration I listen to Beck and try to glean some of his beautiful ideas. It makes me realise just how complex, yet at the same time so simple, songwriting can be.
So thats the theme of this week's song: simplicity with a dash of complexion.
Don't worry, it doesn't make any sense to me either. The bulk of the song is recorded already, just need to do the vocals and all the fine tuning.
So yeah, I know I'm posting this very late in the day but I'll have you know its still technically Friday for another hour and a half. Allow me to explain what happened this week:
I've actually had all week off, and was pretty excited about the song. The plan was to really work hard on it all week instead of messing around with my time up until Friday when I panic and rush something out.
It started well, I had a nice chorus written and actually took my time writing the lyrics and forming what I thought was a decent song. Now usually I cast my judgement on a song by listening to it a week after with fresh ears. Its at that point I decide whether the song was good or not. However listening back to what I had done with this weeks' it was very obvious that everything was shit.
Now to paraphrase a certain Penny Arcade comic, I don't mean it was the shit. It was actually shit. Like, from a butt. And it was Thursday night. I was very much running out of time, especially since I was working all Friday.
So what you hear now is the product of approximately 3 hours work. On the bus home I decided to scrap everything I had done this week so far and just start fresh when I got home and see what happened. And what with today being Halloween how apt it is to have a song about a truly ancient and terrifying creature: Deep Crow!
I would have liked to write another verse or 2 but seriously, it was 10.30pm when I decided the song was fit to post and I start work tomorrow at 6am. I need my sleep! Lets make it a game though; readallaboutDeepCrow and write your own 2nd and 3rd verses! Fun!
I had most of these lyrics written before poor old jack got disbarred, so I guess I've kinda missed the boat with this song. But don't worry, I guarantee Jack will be back in some form! Guys like that just don't go away quietly. He thrives on attention, and when he isn't trying to blame every crime on videogames, he'll no doubt grab hold of the next hot potato and run with it.
As for the song, its a mish-mash of various things. The vocals in the verse I admit are a bit lifeless but I'll attribute that to recording them just after waking up. I should really manage my time better and avoid doing that...
The other weekI mentioned to the people in my Facebook group that I have some news to announce soon. And I do! It's coming this week, so just sit tight.
Thought I'd give a quick update on how things are going:
Pretty well! This week's song is turning into a wierd little beast. Started off in one direction and have veered wildly in another now! Should be interesting come Friday.
I've got some time off work next week, and whilst I'd like to take this valuable time and devote it entirely to next week's song, things get complicated when I look at what'd being released this week...
How on earth am I supposed to get any work done when Farcry 2 and Dead Space are out this week!! And on top of that, Fallout 3 drops next week as well. Its just not fair. My time is precious, and these 3 titles will simply eat it up.
I wanted a nice laid back lounge feel this week. Nothing fancy, just something simple and clean.
The story in the song is quite sad, a little bit Flowers in the Attic. Not entirely sure where I got the name 'Suzie Q' from but as it turns out a friend of mine used to be read a story about a little girl named Suzie Q. Quite the coincidence...
So the song... I've had the chorus in my head for quite a while but again, didn't really know what to do with it. And once again the inspiration for it came from another great Penny Arcade comic. (I can't actually find the link to the specific comic! Doh)
Simple stuff really; what if you always wanted to have superpowers, then one day you were attacked by a mutant hawk and gained the power of flight? I think we've all run throught that scenario in our head before.
I'll start converting the rest of the songs to FLAC/Ogg this weekend and will redesign the 'Songs' page to accomadate. Have a good weekend everyone!
Its a song about nothing really. But at the same time its about everything....
I guess its about a King of some mystical land. He' a nice guy but as soon as he became King he turned into a bit of a dick. You see, the crown has a power. An evil power. Once its upon your head, as well as granting you eternal youth it also corrupts your soul.
Its all in the song.... honestly.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008, 19:23
I'll have what he's having
Usually when I'm looking for inspiration I listen to Beck and try to glean some of his beautiful ideas. It makes me realise just how complex, yet at the same time so simple, songwriting can be.
So thats the theme of this week's song: simplicity with a dash of complexion.
Don't worry, it doesn't make any sense to me either. The bulk of the song is recorded already, just need to do the vocals and all the fine tuning.
So yeah, I know I'm posting this very late in the day but I'll have you know its still technically Friday for another hour and a half. Allow me to explain what happened this week:
I've actually had all week off, and was pretty excited about the song. The plan was to really work hard on it all week instead of messing around with my time up until Friday when I panic and rush something out.
It started well, I had a nice chorus written and actually took my time writing the lyrics and forming what I thought was a decent song. Now usually I cast my judgement on a song by listening to it a week after with fresh ears. Its at that point I decide whether the song was good or not. However listening back to what I had done with this weeks' it was very obvious that everything was shit.
Now to paraphrase a certain Penny Arcade comic, I don't mean it was the shit. It was actually shit. Like, from a butt. And it was Thursday night. I was very much running out of time, especially since I was working all Friday.
So what you hear now is the product of approximately 3 hours work. On the bus home I decided to scrap everything I had done this week so far and just start fresh when I got home and see what happened. And what with today being Halloween how apt it is to have a song about a truly ancient and terrifying creature: Deep Crow!
I would have liked to write another verse or 2 but seriously, it was 10.30pm when I decided the song was fit to post and I start work tomorrow at 6am. I need my sleep! Lets make it a game though; readallaboutDeepCrow and write your own 2nd and 3rd verses! Fun!
Friday, 24 October 2008, 17:24
SONG 28 - JACK ATTACK
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present everyone's favourite general attorney: Jack Thompson! Or should that be ex-general attorney?
I had most of these lyrics written before poor old jack got disbarred, so I guess I've kinda missed the boat with this song. But don't worry, I guarantee Jack will be back in some form! Guys like that just don't go away quietly. He thrives on attention, and when he isn't trying to blame every crime on videogames, he'll no doubt grab hold of the next hot potato and run with it.
As for the song, its a mish-mash of various things. The vocals in the verse I admit are a bit lifeless but I'll attribute that to recording them just after waking up. I should really manage my time better and avoid doing that...
The other weekI mentioned to the people in my Facebook group that I have some news to announce soon. And I do! It's coming this week, so just sit tight.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 18:21
Time off isn't always good...
Thought I'd give a quick update on how things are going:
Pretty well! This week's song is turning into a wierd little beast. Started off in one direction and have veered wildly in another now! Should be interesting come Friday.
I've got some time off work next week, and whilst I'd like to take this valuable time and devote it entirely to next week's song, things get complicated when I look at what'd being released this week...
How on earth am I supposed to get any work done when Farcry 2 and Dead Space are out this week!! And on top of that, Fallout 3 drops next week as well. Its just not fair. My time is precious, and these 3 titles will simply eat it up.
And thats without the added distraction of Football Manager Live launching early next week...
Friday, 17 October 2008, 14:09
SONG 27 - SUZIE Q
Simplicity is the key this week. May I present the ballad of little Suzie Q....
I wanted a nice laid back lounge feel this week. Nothing fancy, just something simple and clean.
The story in the song is quite sad, a little bit Flowers in the Attic. Not entirely sure where I got the name 'Suzie Q' from but as it turns out a friend of mine used to be read a story about a little girl named Suzie Q. Quite the coincidence...
Inspired by the wonderful Jonathan Coulton I have decided to embark on my own epic adventure of recording 1 song each week for the next year.
I've spent too much time procrastinating for the past few years and never doing anything with my spare time, and so this was the obvious solution. By doing this I hope to become a better musician in general, and learn a whole lot about music production.
Whilst I've always been musical I've never studied musical theory for any substantial length of time. Even when playing cello in my early teens I would commit songs to memory, learning by ear rather than digesting the sheet music in front of me.
This continued when I played in various bands as a teenager. I started out on bass and though I had lessons, very little theory was taught to me (although I did learn to play slap bass, for which I am thankful). Ok, so thats a technique rather than theory, but you get the point! I then picked up the guitar, and self taught by doing what a lot of teenager probably do; learn to play their favourite songs. This is all well and good, but when your entire CD collection comprises of nothing but punk and metal, I found myself somewhat limited in my song repertoire. Only in the last few years have I expanded my musical horizons and at risk of sounding corny, its really opened up my eyes. Ears. Again, you know what I mean.
So thats it. A year long voyage to discover more about music, write songs I've always wanted to write, work night shifts as a broadcast operator and hopefully not have a breakdown in the process!
