Song #16: Over Me

With this song, I initially had something in mind close to the Beatles song "Across the Universe" when I started recording it. I planned on putting bongos but I didn't have one handy and I couldn't get any of the midi bongo sounds to sound right. So, I started to drift in a little different direction by layering on the harmonies with heavy reverb and adding multiple organ sounds layered. I think the result ended up more along the lines of Panda Bear's album "Tom Boy" with the repetitive lines and drones. I'm think it turned out pretty cool. Any suggestions?

Song #15: Anonymous

This week's song is influenced by the atmospheric Mazzy Star song, "Fade Into You," which is one of my favorite tunes of all time. I could listen to it over and over again and not get sick of it. For those of you not acquainted with this song, it was minor hit in the early 90s. I think it's been on a handful of movies and TV shows since then. The band has recorded 3 albums and kept playing off and on over the years but for the most part have stayed out of the spotlight. They are actually working on a new album this year, which I'm excited about.  
 


I tried to capture the same atmosphere that "Fade Into You" has by having a similar strumming pattern with the acoustic guitar, the same sort of tambourine part, a fair amount of reverb throughout, and a 6/8 time signature. I used the drum set sound on the keyboard for the kick, snare and cymbal. Does it sound believable?

So, what do you think? Any suggestions?

Song #14: Lonely Day

Growing up, I was a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins. Their discography (for better or worse) is all over the place stylistically, which I think has kept them interesting over the years. But this week's song is influenced by the electronica sound of the song "1979", along with some of dense guitar layers and octave distortion lines on the album Siamese Dream (the synth parts are also influenced by Broken Social Scene). While I'm talking about the Smashing Pumpkins, they are also somewhat the inspiration behind this whole project. Back in 2009, they started a 44-song concept album called "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope." They have released songs sporadically (on their website for free) as they were recorded one at a time. I think they are up to like song #12. I liked the idea of a massive project released one song at a time so I decided to put my own twist on it and try this out.

I recorded most of the guitar parts for this song using my trusty Marshall full stack. Killer tones, man! But seriously, although this is a little tiny novelty practice amp, the tones sound surprisingly big, wouldn't you say?!

The background of this song goes back to around 2001. When I started playing it live with Declaration,  it sounded much slower; more along the lines of Pedro the Lion or Low. Not having access to a drum set has caused me to use programmed beats a lot more lately, which has steered many of these songs so far in a new (and I hope exciting) direction. What do you think?

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!