WEEK 38: The Holiday Song

Happy Holidays you little devils you!

This week was a no-brainer -- one of the first songs I ever wrote, EVER, was a holiday song. I must have been around 17 when I wrote this thing!!

The demo is a little embarrassing, but this live version is way better. It's a relaxed and casual performance from December 15th, 2005, recorded at Niagara Bar in Manhattan.

Here are the lyrics:

Merry Christmas, Hanukah
Hope you had a fun year
Happy new years everyone
Look back and laugh and cry your tears

For the next few years will be much more fun
Hugs and chocolates for everyone
Songs and sorbets get in line
ONE AT A TIME IN AN ORDERLY FASHION

Happy holidays my friends
Hope you like your presents
If you don't, I'll try again
Next year things will be different

For the next few years will be more organized
Time to relax and think about our lives
Chances to take and cakes to bake
And a holiday song with no mistakes

Merry xmas, hanukah
Hope you liked my little song thing
More to come if you wanna
Hear me proudly badly sing


The first handful of songs I wrote always contained some lyric about the fact that I am singing a song. It was just so bizarre and strange to me that I wrote songs, I had to point it out!

Download it here.


Or preview it here:





-Jordan

WEEK 37: My Eyes In My Hands

Hey Mp3 of the Week-o's!

This week's entry is a weird demo of a weird song I wrote years ago called "My Eyes In My Hands." It was based on an instrumental I made, which I may put up in the coming weeks!

This demo is unfinished, I rewrote the song a bit after recording. I always forget that this song exists. But I think it could be pretty cool with a full band. IT JUST. MIGHT. WORK.

Here are the lyrics.

My eyes in my hands
Not part of my plan
My hands in your hands
My eyes in your hands

My eyes in your hands, ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhh
My eyes my. My eyes my.

You think you know me?
Well you don't know me!
Just cause you have got
My eyes in your hands!
My eyes in your hands, ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhh
My eyes my. My eyes my.

Give me another try.

My eyes in my hands
So glad to have them
My eyes in my hands
A birthday present

Happy birthday for me!
My eyes my. My eyes my.


The recording was done very late at night, so it's another quiet subdued demo. In actuality this song would have to be played very intense and loud.

Download it HERE!!


Or preview it here:





- Jordan

WEEK 36: Diagonal Crossing (live)

Hey everyone!

I took a bit of a Thanksgiving/Birthday break from MP3-OF-THE-WEEK (OK you got me, I forgot to update this), but I have a fun treat for y'all now.

This is a live performance of a weird fun song I wrote called "Diagonal Crossing." It's about crossing the street diagonally (duh) and how you feel like a total bad ass doing it.

Here are the lyrics.

Never mind the traffic laws
I don't buy them at all
I'm on top and everything is pushing to get out

Diagonal crossing

People think that I'm insane
They're just way too tame
Spitting on the face of death with every single step

Diagonal crossing

Old lady waiting for the walk signal grimaces in the sun
Her diagonal days are over
But mine have just begun!

Up and down and left and right
Cross the street, hope to die
Agony to me is walking 90 degrees

Diagonal crossing!


I'm pretty happy with the dia-agony pun there.

This performance is from a live party I played in 2004. This was a damn fun show with a lot of short songs and energy and no mic.

Here it is!

Download it here!

Or preview it:





-Jordan

WEEK 35: Funky Frankfurters by Special Friends (live)

Still no luck on the tooth front. Oh well. On to other things:

This week's mp3 is fucking crazy!

Basically, me and my friend Matt, as our weird on again off again comedy band "Special Friends", played the Sidewalk Cafe open mic in 2002. It was packed. I went on stage and said I found a man named "Mr. Supper" to play a song with me, and we did our amazing song "Funky Frankfurters." Matt Koff on lead vocals, and me on guitar. These are the lyrics:

Hey bitch, don't touch my franks
They're mine, not yours
Hey bitch if you touch my franks
I'll show you the door

DON'T TOUCH MY FRANKS (FUNK FUNK FUNKY FRANKFURTERS)
DON'T TOUCH MY FRANKS (FUNK FUNK FUNKY FRANKFURTERS)



You get the idea. Matt went up there with a big wooden spoon and banged in a pot. It was pretty fun, and you could hear how much fun we were having up there. The audience seemed to HATE US. And we weren't sure why. Our main goal was to be as energetic and fun as possible at a really low key and slow open mic. Everyone sitting there looked angry at us.

We found out later there was some mix up, and Moldy Peaches' girl Kimya Dawson was announced to go on, but for some reason we went up instead (we don't know if it was our mix up or someone else's mix up), and I think people were angry they had to wait 3 minutes to see Kimya Dawson. You can hear in the mp3, the open mic MC says, "right now let's welcome Kimya, FINALLY, to the stage." Some people in the audience gave us a good cheer but if you were there you would have felt the bad vibes.

I left some of her performance on the mp3 to show what people wanted to hear instead of us.

On another note, a guy came up to us after and said he thought it would have been a funnier song if we sang "hey bitch don't touch my FRIENDS, they're mine, not yours." But that's completely missing the whole point. We think it is a lot funnier for a weird character to be angry and overprotective of his frankfurters, rather than a dumb misogynist song about some girl fucking your friends.



Enjoy!!!


Download it here!!!



Or preview the madness here:




-Jordan

WEEK 34: My Fillings Hurt

Ouch. Having a lot of dental issues lately. Just had a root canal. Awful.

This is an instrumental I made in 2005 when I got fillings put in. It's called "My Fillings Hurt." I haven't listened to this in years but it seems pretty appropriate right now.


CLICK HERE to download.


Or preview it here:





-Jordan

WEEK 33: Halloween

Heeeeey!

So it's Halloween. SAY WHAT. My band Trouble's Afoot does a song called "Halloween."

I think you see where this is going.

Our version of that song is over at my website jordancooperlalala.com, but for your enjoyment I am going to post the embarrassing and crappy demo I made for the song many, many years ago. Another pre-tonsillectomy vocal performance where I sound all stuffed up.

Here are the lyrics:
Halloween's my favorite holiday
Everyone listens to what I have to say
Everything seems to go my way
On Halloween

When I see a Halloween cupcake
I get a jack-o-lantern smile across my face
Even though I don't like the taste
The very idea is just so great.

I can't recognize my best friend
I don't know what room he's in
He's not acting like he usually is

He's smiling under his skin
Halloween feelings may not last long
Before Thanksgiving they're already gone.


Download the demo here!


Or preview it:





-Jordan

WEEK 32: RISK! Theme - Country

Hi everyone!

So this week's mp3 is one of the theme songs I did for the podcast RISK!, hosted by Kevin Allison (The State.) They used this song in the 2nd episode, along with some other instrumentals of mine. This is very awesome of them. I am excited. I've made 4 theme songs so far.

Check out the RISK website here: www.risk-show.com

This was actually one of the first recordings I've made with my new mac. I haven't made any music in a really long time due to changing computers, moving, etc, etc. I really like how nice my acoustic guitar sounds in this.


So here it is, RISK!, the country theme song:

DOWNLOAD IT!


Or preview it:

WEEK 31: Punch in the Mouth (Demo)

Heeey!



Boy am I late for this week's mp3. I'll have to add another one in only a couple of days to get back on track.

This MP3 is one of my favorites, a demo of a song called "Punch in the Mouth." I have very few fully worked out song demos, because they're very hard to make. They take me forever. This one came out pretty cool, though.

The song is entirely based on the first time I had to break up with somebody. The lyrics are basically putting across the guilty feelings I had. These are definitely some of my favorite lyrics. I really nailed the essence of the guilty feelings without being too specific or pitiful in the lyrics, I think.. Here ya go.

You lent me everything that belonged to you
Now it's all smashed and broken
Can I make it up to you?

When the sun comes out it's a punch in the mouth
If you don't believe me, stay still so I can punch your mouth

Falling in love's the worst thing anyone can do
You might as well just kill yourself before it happens to you

When the sun comes out it's a punch in the mouth
Just to prove my point let me punch you in the mouth

Hahahahahahahaha
Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey
No no no no no no no

After you left the room we made fun of you
I would feel better knowing that you made fun of me to

When the sun comes out it's a punch in the mouth
If you don't believe me stay still so I can punch your mouth
When the sun comes out it's a punch in the mouth
If you don't believe me...
Stay still.


I really did feel horrible about it, and the memories of the long and painful break up talk still bother me.

Anyway, the demo: I love the bass line, which is probably the 10th one I tried. It's really fun and bouncy and melodic. My friend Daniel helped me a lot in mixing the song, making sure things didn't clash into each other. The fake electric guitars, harmonies, all that stuff. It's maybe a little too tinny sounding. The acoustic guitar is EQ'd so thin that it sounds more like an egg shaker or something. But ANYWAY, I like it.


DOWNLOAD IT HERE!


Or preview it:




- Jordan

WEEK 30: Crashing the Ball (live)

This is a really crazy song. It's probably my most complex musically...so complex I haven't played it in years because I worry I'll screw up. And it's very, very hard to sing! No home recording of this song exists, so here is a live version, from a party I played on September 25th, 2004.

The lyrics aren't my best or anything...it's basically about a homeless guy crashing a fancy ball. Yay? Here they are.

Millions of you reflected in a chandelier
And every mind will wonder what you're doing here
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

Crashing the ball you wanted to go but you're not invited
So you'll just drop in and drop to the floor

What a disgrace to have such a dirty face
Bring in a can of air freshener and a can of mace

chorus

You've got a beard so you don't need a mask
Pouring champagne into your silver flask

Crashing the ball you wanted to go but you're not invited
So you'll just drop in and drop to the floor
You'll stain the floor
You'll break the floor.


So yes. I love this song, mainly for the melody and music (OK, and the beard line.) But damn it's tough, especially that bridge. Hope you enjoy it. Who knows what the future holds for this one.

Download it here!

Or:

Preview it here!


-Jordan

WEEK 29: In The Dumps (live)

Keeping the theme of songs-I've-only-played-live-once going, and keeping with the theme of life being horrible, here is an mp3 of a song I wrote called "In The Dumps."

This is definitely a rare one...I only played it once, and at this show (Sidewalk Cafe, 2005) only 4 of my friends showed up. Something you'll hear at this legendary show is that there was a big group of people talking really loud, right under the stage. They were destroying my self esteem for the first half of the set, and you can hear in my voice how blown away I was by people being so rude, most notably in the beginning of the mp3 :
"Next song is called 'In The Dumps'....yeah....GRRRRR"

I sound so exhausted and defeated because of those people. And the "GRRRR" was directed at them. Maybe next week I'll post the song I made up on the spot about them.

So anyway, this song is pretty simple and basically from the point of view of someone dumping someone. Like many of my songs, it's inspired by stomach sickness and nervousness. Here are the lyrics, which in my opinion are just...OK. The song is more about the rhythm and intensity in the music and singing, that's for sure.

Hey hey, I don't know what
They say, but I know that
You and I are out of luck
For once I'm not stupid
You must not believe it
I know how these things end up

In the dumps, out the door
Under carpets on the floor
Don't think we're growing we've stopped.
And I'm not going to pick you up.

Last time that we met up
Got sick, almost threw up
I lied, said it was the food
I just get so nervous
Don't know how to do this
Don't know how to say we're through

(Chorus)

Sorry sorry sorry I can't give advice
Sorry sorry sorry I can't paint it nice
Sorry sorry sorry I'm sorry sorry sorry tonight

Next time you'll do better
Meet someone who's nicer
You'll have oh so much to say
Tell me now you're happy
Tell me you were crazy
To be with someone like me
OH YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW WE'RE

(chorus)

And I'm not going to pick you up from work.

That's a lot of "sorry"s in one song.

My relationship was doing OK when I wrote that song, but I think I was picking up on signals from my girlfriend and maybe wrote this song from her point of view. I wrote a lot of songs about her breaking up with me in the last few months of our relationship, yet if you were to ask me I would have honestly said we were doing great. Very subconscious, all of this stuff.


DOWNLOAD IT HERE!



Or preview it:





Hope ya like it,

Jordan

WEEK 28: Phone Call (live)

Hey MP3 of the Weekers!

This week's mp3 is a crazy old song, recorded live at the Sidewalk Cafe open mic in the late late hours of the night, back in 2002. It must have been 1 AM, and I think there were 4 people there.

The song was basically about this girl I liked who said she'd call me back, but never did. Here are the lyrics:

What the hell do I do now?
I've had enough of this stuff
I can't try to figure you out
I'm not intact, you're abstract, it's

Not too fair that I'm in the air and I
Can't deny that you are unbearably great

Months go by and not a sound
Just think out loud, you're to proud
It's another singing clown
Fucked around, it's astound...ING

I can see you're not meant for me but if
You can show some decency I'll be
Free to believe that things can happen to me

What the hell do I do now?
I'm waiting for a phone call
Where the hell do I go now?
If I go I might miss the phone call
It's not a good thing that I'm not hearing that
Stupid phone ring and It's amazing that
I can sleep so late
Wake up even later
To an alarm clock playing that song I hate her

What the hell do I do now?
I'm waiting for a window
To turn bright red In my head...
It's simple.

Upon typing those lyrics I think the off phrasing throughout the song is kind of neat -- lines end with what should be the first word of the next verse. It's consistent through the whole song! That's cool. I don't remember planning that.

This is the only recorded live performance of this song, which I like a lot but is maybe more whiny and defeatist than usual, which may be hard to believe. Still I like the end, because I still don't know what it means. And I like the "it's another singing clown" line, because after being at an open mic where everyone is whining, that's really how it felt.

You'll hear singer songwriter Lach on this mp3, who hosted the open mic for many years. He, charmingly, liked to pop in on the song, with vocals, telephone ring sounds, and hand claps. His intense "OH MY GOD" after the performance definitely strokes my ego. It was fun stuff. Then he introduces my friend Dave Fox up to the mic. Weird.


Download it here!!!


Or preview it:




-Jordan

WEEK 27: Frayed

Hello everyone again.

This is an old instrumental from September, 2002, titled "Frayed", for reasons unknown to me. I like it a lot...it has a slow build up, some cool improvised guitar soloing from me (at a time when I can barely do that sort of thing), then things turn all happy and major key, then a subdued ending. I think this is a cool instrumental.

Thinking back, September 2002 was a very, very hard time in my life. Maybe Frayed has something to do with all that bad stuff.


DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

Or preview it:





-Jordan

WEEK 26: I Try To Make It Better

Hello guys. Sorry for the delay. I've been busy trying to write some comedy sketches for National Sketch Month at my OTHER blog, http://jordancooperblablabla.blogspot.com, as well as dealing with awful things in my life. MP3 of the Week will still continue on schedule though.

This week's mp3 is an instrumental from April 2nd, 2006, called "I Try To Make it Better." What need be said that isn't already in the title? I'm a bit emotional about this one. Hope you like it.


Download it here.


Or just preview it:




-Jordan

WEEK 25: Going Up Those Stairs

Hello guys and ghosts.

I'm surprised I haven't put this week's mp3 up already. It's a full length instrumental from 2004, and one of my favorite things I've ever made. It's very simple but I think effective. Acoustic guitar, piano, drums. That's it. The title "Going Up Those Stairs" evokes some sort of haunting imagery for me, the idea of the stairs in your house having so many memories and associations that sometimes it's too painful to walk up them. That's what I get out of it, anyway.

You may notice I have a lot of songs about houses, rooms, furniture, etc. Interesting.


DOWNLOAD IT HERE!!


Or preview here:





- Jordan

WEEK 24: All The Hair

Hello Joes,

This week's mp3 is an instrumental from November 21, 2006 called "All The Hair." I'm debated on whether to spell out the inspiration too clearly, but I guess that's the point of this blog, no? It was based on when you are lying with a girl, and all her hair is in your face, and the nice uncomfortable ticklish feeling going on. It's a good thing. At least, I think that's what it's about. Maybe I got a haircut and recorded it? It's a mystery.

HERE IT IS. DOWNLOAD IT HERE.


Preview it here:




Bye


Jordan

WEEK 23: A.M. (Demo)

Hey Guise.

This Mp3 of the Week may be of interest to some. It's a long lost song called "A.M." I really don't think there's any human being on this planet who has heard this song. I wrote it in maybe 1999, or 2000, though this demo is from June, 2001 (the info I put in at the time says "old song, new recording.")

This was definitely one of the first songs I ever wrote, not just in general, but on guitar. The chords are all made up -- I didn't know what I was playing, I just put my fingers on strings to get interesting sounds, inspired by XTC's methods, probably. I'm still kinda proud of that, it's something I don't do much anymore.

This (EVERY PARAGRAPH STARTS WITH "THIS" AUGHH) is also one of my late night songs about late night stuff. It's basically describing (as poetic as my 17 year old brain could muster) the sounds I hear when I'm up late at night and can't fall asleep. I had sleep problems for a while in high school. Here are the lyrics, which I'm a bit embarrassed by:

It's yellow out the window, and out in the hall
The neon from the clock shines it on the wall
I think I'll let my arm drops, I think my hands will fall

The rain pellets on the roof, the toilet flushing next door
The squeek of the lock, to the footsteps towards their door
The footsteps of the rain, hear the clouds snore

The heartbeat of the pillow, the subtle movements in the mirror
The longer I can focus the shapes become clearer
The farther away the day goes, the more it gets nearer

I wish you were here to sing me to sleep
If I knew who you were I might be put at ease
I promise to dream of you, if you promise to dream of me.


That last verse was probably about my high school crush, or maybe I just threw it in there to make the song about something other than sights and sounds of my room, which seems to dominate a lot of my songs.

SHITTY STUFF: The track skips at one point. The singing is bad because I had big fat tonsils, and I also didn't know how to sing quiet, and I also wasn't sure what melody to sing over certain chords. That last verse makes me cringe a bit.

NICE STUFF: It's kind of a nice, atmospheric little tune, ain't it folks?


Download it here!!!


Or preview it:




-Jordan

WEEK 22: Tent

First of all - FUCK BOLT BUS. BOLT BUS IS BAD. I HOPE PEOPLE GOOGLE BOLT BUS AND FIND THIS BLOG, WITH ME SAYING THAT BOLT BUS IS VERY, VERY SHITTY AND ABANDONED ME AND A BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY EVEN THOUGH WE RESERVED TICKETS. THEN ONLY TRIED TO GIVE ME A PARTIAL REFUND OVER THE PHONE.

Ha, anyway, on to the Mp3 of the Week -




This mp3 is a comforting, adorable, icy warm little mp3 called "Tent." I don't remember making it, but apparently it was done December 22, 2002, which would explain the icy warmness (I swear I didn't know the date when I typed that!)

It is mostly all made up of organ sounds, and it reminds me of my old Ghostbusters tent I used to have over my bed when I was very very little. I would look forward to going into that tent as if it was an amusement park ride, with total enthusiasm. I like this little mp3, and I hope you do too!

Download it here!!!!

OR PREVIEW IT:




-Jordan

WEEK 21: All I Ever Wanted (live, solo)

Hello! This is the first mp3 of the week from MY NEW HOUSE THAT I LIVE IN. I moved two neighborhoods over to Rego Park. First time I've ever moved in my life. FREAKY.

I had a nightmare about stepping on baby turtles and squashing them (a friend of mine was doing it, not me, and I was screaming for him to stop), and outdoor toilets flooding everywhere. It was awful and disgusting!



On to the, ahem, Mp3 of the Week: This week I think it would be apropos to put up "All I Ever Wanted", a song I wrote about my fear of never moving out. I'm not super crazy about some of the lyrics, but the focus is more on the ROCK and the ROLL if ya know what I'm saying, kids. Here are the lyrics anyway. Note: The old lyrics were about a town flooding ("my block is flooded and drowned", but then Katrina happened, and I changed it ("My block is shakin' around"), but still kept the flooding motif at the end ("my block is drying out.") Whatever.

My block is shakin' around
Ringed out, upside down
Everyone but me falls out
Halfway through that last song
I felt so BAD and that's cause
I...can't be trusted

When I was 9, and then when I was 15
and then when I was 18, and then when I was 19, and well

All I ever wanted was a chance, chance to get out of here

All I know comes through the phone
All I own is this moan
All I know is my home
That's the doorknob that I hate
That's the floor that hurts my feet
When it's COLD. When it's COLD.
When it's dusty and cold.

Back in the day when things wouldn't go my way
I'd temporarily stay inside my room all day and well

All I ever wanted was a chance, chance to get out of here

AhhhhhAhhhhhh

My block is drying out
Wrinkled up and flattened down
Everyone but me feels proud

It's bigger than you and it's bigger than me (x4)
And that's what they say when you can't speak up for yourself


There is a full band version on my website, www.jordancooperlalala.com (check it out!!!!!!!!), but here it is in all of it's solo show glory, possibly it's very first performance (which I'm basing on the fact of how slow I'm playing it), from a show at the Sidewalk Cafe on 2/2/05 :

Download it HERE HERE HERE!


Or preview it THERE THERE THERE:





At the end of the mp3 you can hear me tell the audience "I don't have too many moody songs like that, so that's my one moody song," then my friend Yoko proclaims with enthusiasm, "I liked that one." This whole show was very moody, as my girlfriend (who was in the audience) was slowly breaking up with me at the time (three cheers for that!) Just like last week's was clearly They Might Be Giants inspired, I feel like this one is obviously Violent Femmes inspired.

Maybe next week I'll put up the instrumental I made that inspired the song! Ah? AH?!? WOULD YA LIKE THAT BOYS AND GIRLS??


-Jordan

WEEK 20: Don't Watch Too Much TV

Happy Sunday.

My 3 year old niece Scarlett has been visiting from Australia this week. She goes back in a few days. When she was born, I made an album for her called Scarlett Songs: Music For Babies, because I am a nice song uncle. There is a very small crappy webpage for it here: http://jordancooperlalala.com/scarlet.html



Album cover by James Jajac!

Three of the songs are available there, and here's another! "Don't Watch Too Much T.V.", a lesson song that I am a complete hypocrite for writing. The song actually existed years ago, around 2001, in a version titled "CPU", which I think I'm too embarrassed to put up, at least for the moment (requests?). The lyrics were kind of awkward and about spending too much time in front of the computer ("pale skin, square death." Blegh.) I played it live once in 2002 and forgot about it. But I always liked the riff and the bass notes under it changing the feel.

This NEW version is a pretty nifty recording, and with slightly less awkward lyrics. Basically trying to describe what T.V. must look like to a baby ("Bright light, square friend, zigs zag, shapes bend. People, places, pretty faces.") I try not to make my influences TOO obvious, but even I can admit the arrangement and sound of this song has a very They Might Be Giants feel. SO THERE IT IS. I SAID IT. I'm still proud of the arrangement though. Epic.

Download it heeeeeeere.


Or preview it hereeeeee:




- JAWDEN

WEEK 19: Hi Eight

YEAAAHHHH!!

This week's mp3 is "Hi Eight", which was an instrumental that was decent, then smashed with audio from an old hi8 tape, from when me and my friends walked around Manhattan during Halloween (2002? 2003?). I can't exactly describe the feeling of this mp3...the music, mostly made with my acoustic guitar, is relaxed and indifferent, but the audio sample is frenetic and full of energy, and even sounds aggressive.

This song was always odd to me because of that conflict. I didn't have a master plan, I honestly put the audio on it for absolutely no reason. I love the end result, though. At the end, my friend Dave says "Those are the kind of people you want to avoid on Halloween."

Download it HEEEERE!


Or preview it here:




-Jordan

WEEK 18: Rain As Of Late

Happy 4th as of July. This week's mp3 is "Rain As Of Late", an instrumental I made in 2006.

I basically recorded the ambient sound in my room as it was raining, specifically the sound of rain on my air conditioner. Then put quiet music under it. I like this a lot. I wish I made it a little longer, but all of these instrumentals were made so spontaneously without any planning, I didn't even know if I'd like it as I was doing it. Put up the volume looooud on this one so you can hear the pitter patter of tiny rain steps.

Download it here!


Or preview:




- as of Jordan

WEEK 17: Prufrock's Theme

This mp3 is special to me. Special in the sense that there is a lengthy and complicated explanation behind it's existence! So buckle up, assholes!

My 2nd year student video project was a loose (emphasis on LOOSE) adaptation of the poem "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot. It starred Sam Brown (of Whitest Kids U Know fame) in a quasi-serious role, the sensitive J. Alfred Prufrock, but mainly he was playing me. The movie was basically him and a friend going to a party, feeling ignored, lusting after a girl, having a bad time and leaving frustrated. Essentially what every party I ever went to was like for me. And a sort of dumb literal interpretation of the sequence of events that occur in the poem. I think. I haven't read it in a while.

The only music in the video was this, the opening theme as Sam/Prufrock put his tie on, shaved his unibrow and washed his face, preparing for the party.

Now where the music comes from is another story. In 1999, the high school days, I wrote a 27 MINUTE LONG SONG. A song about a girl I had a huge crush on, who had basically crushed my soul after going on a date (my first date ever) and then rejecting me.

Yes. 27 minutes. I didn't have it exactly down, it wasn't some epic masterpiece or anything, but I had pages and pages of lyrics and one night pressed "record" as I played a piano riff and sang the lyrics on top. To my shock and horror the resulting recording was 27 minutes long. I had no idea. I thought it was going to be 5 minutes at the most.

I threw out 26 minutes and kept 30 seconds for the Prufrock theme! The topic of the original high school song made it all the more emotional for me, as this music played under Prufrock/Sam/Me getting ready to have a bad time at a party. Everything came together.

I still may turn this into a real song one day. And I may put the movie online one day too. Enjoy the accordion and the odd percussion. Enjoy enjoy enjoy!


Download it heeeeere.


Or preview it:





-Jordan

WEEK 16: Miss June (demo)

Summer songs (sort of) continues with the demo for my song Miss June!

I won't say what exactly it's about, but it's from the point of view of a 14 year old boy. Kind of based on someone I knew in Junior High.

This is an old demo, from 2004. I like how full the guitar sounds. Often on my demos the guitar sounds a bit thin. I also really like the accordion line that comes in on the last verse. Lyrics?

Hung up and stationed
Illuminated
I am awakened
I see your face and...

Oh, what would I do
Without Miss June

All of my friends and
Me think you're hot and
I've been rejected
Now I'm in Heaven

Oh, what would I do
Without Miss June

Oh what could I do
With Miss June.

You are so pretty
Now you surround me
You must have said "cheese"
I can see your teeth.


DOWNLOAD IT HERE!!!

Or preview it:

WEEK 15: Summertime Her

Hello!

Another Summer song, this is an old demo from 2003 called Summertime Her. A few times in a row I've met someone during the summer. The first time that happened, it ended just as Summer ended. So the 2nd time it happened, I wrote this song begging the universe to let me keep this one past summer. Excited and scared.

The demo was made very late at night and very quick (there are mistakes in it!), but I like the empty trembling intimate feel of it. When I sang this song live I kind of rushed it and played it too fast. Never was happy about that. LYRICS BOYEE :

Summertime
Some hard times
You did fine
Or did you?

Comprehend
the message sent
She came and went
You won't forget.

Someone is
Very cute
Someone is
Very sweet

She can make you so happy
She can make you so happy.

Summertime
Second time.
Please be kind.


Download it here!!


Or preview it:






-Jordan

WEEK 14: A Summer Song (demo)

It's "SUMMER" here at Mp3 of the Week! So this week and the next (AND THE NEXT??) will be all Summer related!

From Wikipedia: Sumarr, a personification of summer in Norse mythology.



Interesting, huh gang?

So anyway, this is an old demo for a song called "A Summer Song." It was written for my side project Sally, where a female sings the songs, currently female-less at the moment (story of my life!) It's basically about a summer fling that ended, and now everything is bleak and empty! Yay!

Here are lyrics:

Where did every day go?
I don't really wanna know.
Summer's over and I'm not over you.

I threw out my calendar
Cause every single time I check it
It's the day after the last, and I can't handle that.

Where did every night go?
Where did all of our fights go?
Now it's all too quiet, and a cool breeze has transpired.

No more June
Goodbye July
A black and white August
That was us.

Download the song here.

Or preview it here:




Hope you liked!


-Jordan

WEEK 13: Unzip

Hello bee do bo do bo dooo,

This week's mp3 is "Unzip", a sleazy instrumental that I made after meeting this girl back in 2002. I was fairly inexperienced and innocent, and this highly sexual girl kind of seduced me, and it freaked me out a bit, and I felt very much like...well, how the instrumental sounds. Sleazy and kind of gross, kind of "adult", and also kind of awesome/manly/confident. I tried to capture all that in 45 seconds. And then I called it "Unzip", which you should be able to figure out for yourself.

This mp3 also exemplifies something that I hope people are following, which is that although they are short instrumentals, they are pretty much like diary entries. Very specific diary entries.

Download it here!

Or preview the nasty thing here:



SEE YOU IN 7 BUSINESS DAYS.


-Jordan

WEEK 12: We Will Take A Trip

Hello! It's been singy songs for a few weeks, so let's hear an instrumental!

This is a nice full length ditty called "We Will Take A Trip." I don't have much to say about it that won't sound like self love -- I like the horn section nonsense that keeps interrupting the nice sounding song, which I then reversed for the end. I like the subtle climbing scale bass line, the fake fuzzy electric guitar riff that comes in towards the end, and the general feel of the whole thing. Just a bass drum and hi hat for percussion, which leaves a lot of empty space for other things to happen. Hope you think it's nice.

So come on! Take a trip! Download it here.


Or preview it here:






DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE COMMENTS! It would make me so happy!


-Jordan

Week 11: Stumped (live 2003)

Jumpin' Jesus the weeks are going by fast! This is freaking me out! I feel like I just posted "Folky Song" yesterday.

This week's song is "Stumped", a live performance from September 3rd, 2004, at the Sidewalk Cafe in NYC. This was a "new songs" show, where I only played...new songs. If we do the math (math is fun!), this places the song about 18 months into my relationship, where the problems were really starting to weigh me down. It's a purposefully minimalist song about not knowing WHAT THE HELL to do when your girlfriend seems mysteriously upset all the time. You blame yourself ("are things that bad?"), you try to distract her ("it's time for a movie, then you won't be sad"), you HATE yourself ("why am I stupid?") and you even get angry at her ("why can't you feel good?") Ultimately, it leaves you very very tired ("we should just got to sleep"), and...stumped.

This was kind of a potentially dangerous song to play at a live show in front of her, but I think she was absent at this particular show. I would have played it anyway. I think it's healthy to confront these things, with honesty and humor. Especially in front of lots of people who clap after you do it!

Download it here!!!

Or preview it right here:




-Jordan

WEEK 10: Folky Song

Hellerrrrrooooo.

This week's mp3 is "Folky Song", which is a lame title, because I never thought of a good one for this song since it has no repeating phrases or chorus.

I like this song. It was based on a very specific night. I had seen a guy do songs similar to this, then came home and wrote how I felt all night. Which wasn't too great. I also like the performance in this live demo. Hooray for me! It's slightly underdeveloped, there's a few guitar noodlings and touches that I hadn't though of yet. I'll post a later version some other week! I like the line about "not being vicious." Sometimes you have to be vicious if you want to have a good night.

Download it here

Or preview it:




-Jordan

WEEK 9: I'm A Happy Dog

This week's mp3 is "I'm A Happy Dog", a feel good full length instrumental from 2004. A very obsessively worked out instrumental that took me a million years to record. I went crazy arranging the bass line to fit intricately with the drum part, piano thingies, when the acoustic guitars come in and out, the percussion, everything. I'm pretty damn proud of this. It was a big lesson in learning when to drop instruments in and out, to prevent everything from sounding too cluttered. And of course the lead melody line is my ACCORDION. Say hello!

If you turn it up incredibly loud at the quiet part about 1 full minute in, you can hear that it was raining outside! That may not be true, but I remember it being true. You can also hear that I used my lamp for percussion.

Download it here!

And preview the thingy here:




Have a nice life!

-Jordan

Week 8: I Love You Alien by Three Lonely Guys

Hewwoooooo!

This week's mp3 is dearly special to my dear heart. Me, Matt Koff and Tim Deery got together one day and made up songs on out of tune instruments and taped it with a video camera. I made mp3s from the videotape. We called ourselves "Three Lonely Guys."

This was a song where, as you can hear, we made it up one line at a time. The old Exquisite Corpse game put to music. The song is a bit SILLY WILLY but you won't hear an mp3 anywhere else that has more unrehearsed and genuine joy. There's plenty more where that came from too, many songs are featured on our myspace page, and more will be popping up on this blog!

Download it here

Or if you don't trust me, Preview here:




See ya next week, Scooby Gang!


-Jordan

Week 7: Order in the Funny Court

Hello. This is a small instrumental I made in 2003.

I imagine a judge banging on a gavel, laughing hysterically, so hard that his face is red and he's crying, because something hilarious happened during the trial, and nobody can regain their composure. ORDER IN THE FUNNY COURT! HAHAHA.

Download it here!

And preview it here:



-Jordan

Week 6: Back Of Your Mind (live 2006)

Woooo doggy! Here we go. This week's mp3 is a live solo performance of "Back Of Your Mind." This is from January 24th, 2006, at the Sidewalk Cafe in NYC. I quite enjoyed this particular performance.

This is a fun, short, but special song for me. It was based on a time I asked a girl out, she said yes, then brought her boyfriend along on the "date." It was a whole new shade of uncomfortable. So I wrote this song, the idea being that I'm saying how horrible and cruel her boyfriend is when I don't even know the guy, and for her to call me up when he dumps her. One of my many (many many many) lovingly misogynist songs where I care deeply for a girl for the wrong reasons.

THEN SHE DID CALL ME. Over a year later! She called me out of the blue one day, the first thing out of her mouth being "I dumped my boyfriend," and we had a date. It didn't work out, for reasons I won't go into here, but...the song actually worked! I stayed in the back of her mind!


Download it here!

Or preview it heeeere:




Thanks everyone! Comments welcome!


-Jordan

Week 5: Cat Genius

Ladies and gentlemen,

The famous CAT GENIUS performs for you. A hushed auditorium watches as he rubs his paws together, steadies his sheet music, and sits up on his piano stool. His tail whipping and bending with each note.

And now...Cat Genius.

Listen to his performance here!

Or preview his breathtaking and heart shattering ballad here:




Applause!

-Jordan

Week 4: Dedicated Song

I'm back! Well...my computer died. I had to get a new one, set up all the programs, and transfer all my files from the dead computer to the new one. That kept me away from mp3 of the week. BUT NOW I'M BACK! On with business (or is it...pleasure?):

This week's mp3 is "Dedicated Song."

Some guy online asked me to write a song for his girlfriend's birthday. I was in a wiseass mood, and kind of annoyed at my NOT having a girlfriend to write a song for (which makes you feel sad), and made this. The lyrics:

You're a guy's girlfriend that I don't even know,
And if you were my girlfriend I'd write you a song,
But you're not
So I won't
So you don't
Get to hear
My dedicated song.

It's a small thing that I did very fast, but I quite like it.

Download it here!

And/or preview it here!



Come back next week, lovelies!


-Jordan

Week 3: Czar (live May 2007)

Hello again! So after talking to some friends, I have decided to have both the "preview" of the mp3, and the downloadable link available. THIS will start next week, because the flash player, for some reason, does not like this mp3. I have discussed this with DIVshare. They have not helped me.

This week's mp3 is a live cover of "Czar" by Frank Black (off of his self titled debut solo album.) Frank Black songs can be incredibly hard to cover, due to his INTENSE vocal range and mind boggling chord progressions. And I also forgot the lyrics at 46 seconds. Oopsies. This was from a very, very, very small show I had at at a lesbian bar. It was a very relaxed show, which is why I ventured out on a limb to do a cover of a song I wasn't sure I knew how to play. The show took place on May 29th, 2007.

Download it here! (right click Save As, ya know?)

Come back next week! Who knoooows what the song will be!

-Jordan

WEEK 2: Already A Baby

Week 2!! This is exciting!

This week's mp3 is "Already A Baby." A short, cute (but strange) instrumental written March 13th, 2007. I don't remember what I was thinking when I made it, but I probably felt like I was being a baby. I still feel that way, often.

Download it here!

Come back next week! Hope you enjoyed it! Don't be a stranger! See ya in St.Louie, Screwy!

Also: Do you people also want the flash clickable thingy? I prefer to just have a file that you can save (and put on your ipod, etc), but let me know if you want me to ALSO have the flash player!

-Jordan

WEEK 1: Call Me Please Call Me

Hello everybody!

This is the new MP3 OF THE WEEK page! I am still experimenting with different ways to present the mp3. What do you think? Comments, PLEASE! Using DivShare, it's kind of a hassle if you want to save the file on your computer. But the way you can play it right there on the page is kind of quick and easy and fun. Let me know what you'd prefer!

Anyway, "Call Me Please Call Me" was about a girl I was obsessively waiting to call me. Obviously. I won't say when I made it...because then she may know who she is. Yikes. Please enjoy!