Matthew Nellis

SONG 38 - TOO TIRED TO SLEEP

2009-01-02T19:57:00.003Z

The song would have been up earlier, but can you believe I slept until about 5pm today! Thats night work for you I guess. Quite fitting though given the subject of the song.

Download 'Too Tired to Sleep' [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

I've been listening to a lot of Devo this week and remembering how good they are. I really wanted to do a song like Whip It and so without trying to rip it off completely this is what I came up with. Tried a few new things production-wise and I'm reasonably happy with the result. Let me know what you think!

SONG 37 - ELEVATOR TO SPACE

2008-12-26T13:37:00.002Z

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. This week a song that has absolutely no relation to the time of year!

Download 'Elevator to Space' [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

As you know, I'm fascinated with going to space and the inevitable prospect of living there. I'm just saddened that it probably won't be in my lifetime. Or will it?...

I present to you fine people the LiftPort Group! A terrific group of companies with the sole aim of building a space elevator by the year 2031. How fantastic is that? If everything goes to plan I'll be in my mid-forties by then, so more than able to go to space. I can't wait.

My other option would be Branson's space shuttle, but at $200,000 a trip I don't think I'll be taking that anytime soon.

No Rest for the Wicked

2008-12-24T03:05:00.003Z

T'was the night before Christmas etc etc...

So I was considering giving myself break from the songs this week, what with it being Christmas and all. It was extremely tempting but also a little frightening. I've got so accustomed to working on the song that I have no idea what I'd do without it each week.

Thats a blatant lie, I know exactly what I'd do. Sweet f-all...

But time is certainly of the essence this week. Working night shifts Monday/Tuesday then I'm away from my fortress of solitude for 2 whole days which means no work on the song. Then I'm back at work on Friday night so things are going to be tight. I managed to record a bunch this afternoon before work and pulled a sneaky one by taking my mac in to work to do most of the arranging and mixing. Might re-record a couple of spots when I get home this morning, then some swift sleep, followed by recording some sleepy vocals before heading down to the girlfriend's for 2 days.

I was very close to just uploading an old song and passing it off as a new one, but that wouldn't be fair now would it? Plus my old songs sound absolutely terrible!

Merry Christmas everyone!

SONG 36 - SNOWMAN

2008-12-19T19:41:00.003Z

Just in time for Christmas! Well, at least its not Hallelujah...

Download 'Snowman' [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

Naturally I felt obliged to do a Christmas song, and spent most of the week trying to decide what direction to go in. However most of the comedy angles have been covered and I didn't fancy re-inventing the wheel. I guess I could've written a personal Christmas song, but then my last few Christmases have been incredibly dull due to the fact that I was working.

So I went with a more fantastical angle, the snowman that comes to life. I thought about all the things you could do with a real life snowman and quickly realised that you can't do much. They are made of snow after all...

SONG 35 - THIS IS THE LIFE

2008-12-12T19:02:00.002Z

No one really chooses to be a vampire do they? Surely not....

Download 'This is the Life' [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

For one reason or another I was thinking about vampires this week. Mainly about how they've got a pretty bad deal. I imagine it'd be a rare situation where someone actually chooses to become a vampire. Usually you'd be minding your own business then... BAM! You've been bitten. No real say in the matter. So this song is about that. Kind of...

Just swimmingly, thanks

2008-12-11T18:46:00.003Z

This week has been going much better than previous ones. Having some time off work has let me clear my head a bit and not get too stressed with the song, which is coming along quite nicely. Its about vampires by the way. Good times!

SONG 34 - THE SONG I COULDN'T WRITE

2008-12-05T16:31:00.002Z

So its actually come to this... a song about how I couldn't write a song.

Download 'The Song I Couldn't Write' [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

Things really are getting tougher. I'm at a stage now where I think everything I write sounds terrible, both lyrically and musically. I've noticed trends in my work: A few good weeks followed by utter trash the next and I firmly believe I'm currently in the trash phase.

If I were looking for an analogy I guess its like being a Premiership striker. Score a few games ina row and the confidence is high. Go another few without scoring and everything is different.

Anyhoo, I've got a few collaborations in mind that I really need to work on so hopefully that will bring something fresh to the table. We're getting near Christmas too so naturally a Christmas song is on the way...

SONG 33 - CHILDS PLAY

2008-11-28T14:24:00.002Z

This week, a song to honour the wonderful charity that is Childs Play.

Download Childs Play: [ mp3 | ogg | FLAC ]

So what is Childs Play? Rather than me make a hash of explaining it, here's a little copy/paste from the website:

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 3.5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

This year, we have continued expanding across the country and the globe. With around 60 partner hospitals and more arriving every month, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child’s Play hospitals everywhere. Any items purchased through Amazon will be shipped directly to your hospital of choice, so please be sure to select their shipping address rather than your own.

When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

It really is a terrific charity, and its just a shame there's only 1 participating hospital in the UK. Hopefully that will increase over the years.

SONG 32 - WHIFF WHAFF

2008-11-21T16:59:00.002Z

Who's up for a spot of Whiff Whaff? I know I am!

Download in the format of your choice!

Matthew Nellis - Whiff Whaff (.mp3)

Matthew Nellis - Whiff Whaff (.ogg)

Matthew Nellis - Whiff Whaff (.flac)

He's my major, and I bet you wish he was your major! Boris Johnson is surely a British national treasure. The man is a comedic genius in my opinion, but should definetely not be allowed to wield any form of power. I think he's terrific on telly, but being major of London? Anyways....

His speech during the Olympic handover will surely go down in history. Its pure comic genius and its hard to tell if he's being 100% serious or not. Either way, it cracks me up everytime and I just had to use it in a song.

Ch-ch-ch changes

2008-11-20T17:39:00.002Z

Well once again I changed my idea for the song mid-week. However this time it wasn't due to thinking the original song was naff, its just that a better idea came up.

It revolves around my beloved major Boris Johnson. The great thing is I literally don't have to do anything to make the song funny. His name alone inspires guffaws from afar...

SONG 31 - SUPERHERO

2008-11-14T19:14:00.003Z

Bonjour! It's Friday night and the song is finally fit to post. Get it down your earholes!

Download the MP3 here.

And now due to popular demand (Ok, so only 1 person has asked) you can now download each song in both Ogg Vorbis format and FLAC!

Matthew Nellis - Superhero (.ogg)

Matthew Nellis - Superhero (.flac)

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!

SONG 30 - THE MIDAS TOUCH

2008-11-07T15:51:00.003Z

Its the big three-o! Enjoy...

Download the MP3 here.

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.

I'll have what he's having

2008-11-04T19:23:00.002Z

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.

SONG 29 - DEEP CROW!

2008-10-31T22:30:00.003Z

Happy Halloween! Here's the song:

Download the MP3 here.

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; read all about Deep Crow and write your own 2nd and 3rd verses! Fun!

SONG 28 - JACK ATTACK

2008-10-24T17:24:00.002+01:00

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present everyone's favourite general attorney: Jack Thompson! Or should that be ex-general attorney?

Download the MP3 here.

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.

Time off isn't always good...

2008-10-22T18:21:00.002+01:00

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...

SONG 27 - SUZIE Q

2008-10-17T14:09:00.002+01:00

Simplicity is the key this week. May I present the ballad of little Suzie Q....

Download the MP3 here.

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...

SONG 26 - I CAN'T DANCE

2008-10-10T18:29:00.003+01:00

Ahoy! 'tis Friday evening and hence another song! Really enjoyed doing this week's song which was a relief after feeling musically lethargic in the previous few weeks.

Download the MP3 here.

This song officially marks the halfway point in this Song a Week adventure. Listening back to my old stuff I think I've made slight improvements on the whole. Hopefully I can push myself a bit further in the next 6 months and produce some songs that I'm really happy with.

Wanted to try a big pop feel this week, and things got kinda funky. There's not really any verses to be honest, and hopefully thats made up for by the big chorus and breakdown which I really like. Anyhoo, let me know what you think.

Moving On...

2008-10-07T01:26:00.003+01:00

Just a quick note to say that I'm in the process of moving web hosts this week. There may be some disruption to the site in the next few days but it should be all fine by Friday.

Been working on the song all of today and its coming along quite nicely. Trying out another different style which is really fun. It's quite pop, a little bit funky and certainly a challenge. Check back on Friday for the final result!

Whilst you were sleeping...

2008-10-04T05:48:00.002+01:00

Isn't starting work at 4.30am on a weekend fun? More fun than you think...

The song went up last night as you know, and already I have a bunch of ideas for next week. One of them includes a collaboration with an old school friend. It'll certainly be different and quite a challenge for me musically so I'm looking forward to it.

Other than that I've been listening to Beck a lot and gleaning a myriad of ideas from that genius. We shall see what happens.

SONG 25 - THIS OLD MAN

2008-10-03T21:43:00.003+01:00

This week its back to the guitar based music that we know and love. I certainly find this kind of song much easier to write and also a lot more fun to mix. However I did throw in a few synths for good measure!

Download the MP3 here.

Its quite a sad song I guess, about the value of the elder generation and what they can offer young folk like myself in terms of wisdom. I did consider going very dark at the end of the song but I reckon it does the job as it stands.

Web Space!!

2008-10-03T21:34:00.001+01:00

Yikes, well I guess I never even considered this before but I've actually reached my allocated disk space for my website! Bear with me whilst I delete stuff and make room for this week's song...

Lazy Days

2008-10-02T20:05:00.002+01:00

Just realised its been a while since I actually did a mid-week update post. I'm sure no-one minded!

This week has been much better in terms of songwriting. It had been pretty grim the past few weeks and hence the songs felt a bit forced and not very good. I'm quite pleased with how this week's is turning out. Still got a few bits and bobs to tweak but its generally there. Its quite a sad song, and different to anything I've done before which is always nice.

Also I'm still getting to grips with my new Mac and all its wierd Macness. Bear in mind that I've been using PCs literally since I was born so switiching to a Mac now is just plain wierd. But also necassary. Its just so pretty!

SONG 24 - NOT BIG ENOUGH

2008-09-26T17:29:00.002+01:00

Carrying on the theme from last week of a more electronic feel, this week's song doesn't even have a guitar in it! Outrageous, I know.

Download the MP3 here.

Well I felt I had to get the synths out of my system this week. I really had nothing up until about midday today and literally had to force this song out. It not one of the best, but at least its a little different, and I learnt a hell of a lot from doing it!

Oh, the song's sung from the point of view of someone who is super tall. I'm talking over 8 feet. I don't imagine it'd be much fun...

SONG 23 - BAD THINGS, GOOD TIMES

2008-09-19T20:52:00.002+01:00

Well, its a lot later than I usually finish the song but its finally done. Song 23 'Bad Things, Good Times'.

Download the MP3 here.

It started out as a song about how difficult it is to tell what things are good for you and what aren't. Now I'm not sure what the song's about. Musically I was really trying to do something different this week and I think I've achieved that. Its the first time I've used synths and boy are they addictive! I really had to stop myself from going over the top. I've never been a big fan of synths, mainly because they scare me. But thats what its all about. Trying new things, especially things that scare you.