The End of the Line

Thanks for following along with this crazy project of mine. You can download this entire collection of songs for free over at Bandcamp. Follow the rest of my music projects including my podcast and blog over at jakehaws.com.

Song #50: Ethan

This is it! The last song! It's been a lot of hard work but I've had a lot of fun putting these songs together. I hope you've enjoyed listening.

For this last one, I decided to finished a song I'd been kicking around the last year or so. I had the guitar part, the melody, and a few lines figured out but the rest of the words just weren't coming together. I took some inspiration from my 1 year old son, Ethan. These last few weeks, I've had to play mr. mom because my wife started a job. It's been nice to spend more time with my two kids but it seems like they are growing up so quickly. I already wrote a song for Zoe ("Baby Girl" with Adding Machines) so this is Ethan's song and my way of letting him know I always want to be a part of his life.

Song #49: Autumn Leaves

This song is for all the parents who lost children in the Newtown Connecticut elementary school shooting. When I heard about it on the news, I was in shock and horror. How could anybody do anything like that? I went home, hugged my children and hoped nothing like that would ever happen to them.

I started writing the piano part for this when I was a missionary in New Canaan, Connecticut (about 35 miles from Newtown). Connecticut is gorgeous in the fall so I was able to come up the title "Autumn Leaves" along with a few other lines. The song took on a new meaning after the shooting. I finished the words and recorded it tonight. The lyrics talk about the seasons passing and a parent never really able to get through the grief of losing a child. They question God and if there is any justice in the world. Then, the departed child visits the parent in a dream, comforting them and letting them know they in a better place, that the love they share continues and they will be reunited. I hope this song will bring comfort to a few people.

Song #48: Get Out

This is a rootsy folk rock song in the vein of Wilco. I've been a fan of there's for years and one of my favorite tunes there's is "Via Chicago". My song is probably a little more straight forward than's "Via Chicago" but I still think of it as an influence.
The song is about an abusive relationship where the wife has had enough and kicks her husband out. When he later comes back for revenge, she pulls out a shot gun and nearly blows his head off. I played all the instruments, which include an acoustic guitar, 2 electric rhythm guitar tracks (plus another electric guitar for the solo), bass, vocal, and drums (recorded with 2 mics). Hope you like it.
 

Song #47: I Try

This is a song I wrote back around Junior High. I was going for the sound of the Beatles "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away." It's about learning to care about people.
 

Song #46: You Don't Mind

I wrote this in a practice room during my last year in the music program at BYU (2008). I was in a Cold War Kids phase at the time so I tried to write something that sounded like "We Used to Vacation," including the tempo slow down parts. It also has some influence from the Sara Bareilles tune "Love Song."
The song is about a conversation between a world traveler (extreme extrovert) and a hermit (extreme introvert). Basically, the the traveler is trying to help the hermit work out the courage to come out of their shell and see the world. Sort of a metaphor I guess but try not to think too long about it too hard.

 This was a beast to record. As with the rest of these 50 songs, I played all the instruments. The tempo changes meant I couldn't really use a click track so I ended up recording the piano part first, then trying to add everything else on top of it. I took several takes of each part (along with some editing) to get the timing close enough to use. I'm proud of the guitar solo. I think it's pretty rocking.

Song #45: What Am I To Do With You

This is the 4th song I ever wrote (back when I was 15). It's super cheesy and I'm embarrassed by it but I thought I would get it out there anyway, zits and all. The sound copies Jack Johnson.

Song #44: The Way I Feel

This is a fun upbeat song that sat unfinished for a while. I think it sort of has a Beatles/Elliott Smith vibe  with a garage rock twist. It's a bit sloppy with the drums but I think I like it that way.
 

Song #43: Come Back and Stay

This is an oldie. One of my first. I'm not really sure who is sounds like. Maybe 90s post-alternative? Or that song from the Wedding Singer when Adam Sandler goes off about his ex-girlfriend? Recording the last few lines, I broke a guitar string but I decided to keep it in. That's how rock and roll I am.
 

Song #42: Bright Side

I wrote this one around my freshman of college. Originally, I it was written on an acoustic guitar and I had something more along the lines of early Coldplay. When it came to record this, I started trying different things with the piano and drum machine and ended up with something closer to electronica/dub-step along the lines of Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" or James Blake.


The instruments for the recording are a keyboard part (with delay and reverb added), two vocal tracks, a keyboard synth (with phaser added), 5 Ebow guitar tracks put together to make up the chords (with distortion, reverb, and delay added), and an electric guitar part for the solo section. I think it turned out way cool! I love this one!

Song #41: Sunny Rain

This is an oldie I had written back when I was about 15. I was going for something like the Jimi Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower." I had since written it off as a throw away song. When I was going through my notebook deciding what to record, I played it played it more along the lines of Cat Power's version of "Satisfaction" and liked it better.



The instrumentation is pretty sparse: just a voice and an electric guitar.