Song #13: I Needed More

This one is an oldie written back in high school and left unrecorded until now. At one point, I played it with Declaration as a full band with the distortion and full drums kicking in after the second chorus. Keeping it acoustic gives it a little different feel but I think it works. When I wrote it, I had something in mind of the Lit song "Miserable." So, I guess you could call it acoustic/emo/punk? I think it's a product of it's time....
 

Song #12: Hello Hello

So this puts me at about a quarter of the way through this project! Only 38 more to go. This week's tune is influenced by the feel of the Death Cab For Cutie song, "Coney Island" and by the elements of the sound of Portishead (the swung drum machine with the electronic piano - although my voice is not nearly as sexy as Beth Gibbons!). When I first wrote the song, though, I had something more in the mind of Train's "Drops of Jupiter" but as I started recording it, the feel just didn't seem right (maybe it needs a full band?) so it sorta morphed into what it is now.



Lyrically, it's about a fictional plane crash, which causes a shift in perspective about how one views one's life going forward (something along the lines of the TV show Lost). What do you think?

Song #11: Change My Design

This week's song is quite possibly the sappiest love song ever written! I wrote it a long, long time ago (election day of 2000, to be exact)! Although its a breakup song at its core, the lyrics were influenced by the idea of campaigning for an election and how it relates to love and relationships; the idea that the decisions we make during a relationships (our "votes", if you will) can determine what the future course of our life will be and whether the other people will be a part of it. I thought it was appropriate given that we are in the midst of presidential primaries right now.

The music was influenced by the Scottish band, Travis. I saw them back in high school when they came to Seattle and opened for Oasis. I remember liking them so much better than Oasis. I went out and bought "The Man Who", which remains one of my favorite albums to this day. When it came time to record the song, I didn't have a snare drum so I ended up using a shoe box instead! But I think it works.

So, I'm thinking this could be one of those big cross-over country and/or R&B songs ("I Will Always Love You"). Any ideas on who I should try to get to record it? (Unfortunately, Whitney Houston is not around. Otherwise she would be my pick!).
 

Song #10: Fictional Heros

This week's song is influenced by John Vanderslice (along with Postal Service and Beach House). I used an old retro organ for the drum beat, which I think sounds a little lo-fi and quirky but also fits the song. This song has a corny story behind it.... So, one of my friends was trying to get people to come to an activity every monday but no one would come because everyone stayed at home and watched 24. At one point he said something along the lines of, "What's the big deal with 24!? It's just fictional heroes saving cities from fictional disasters!" After he said that, I thought to me myself, "That's it!" and quickly jotted the line down, which then became the basis for this song. In a broader sense, it's about our perceptions of reality and how we sometimes think a situation is worse than it really is, or conversely, we make light of situations that we ought to take more seriously. Enjoy!