WEEK 96: Mean To Me (Demo)

Hello everyone!

This is one of my more accomplished demos. In fact, with a re-recorded vocal and some slight re-mixing, I feel like it could be good enough for an album.

Lyrically, there's a lot here to go into. But long story short, this song is based on a brief relationship I had that was very confusing and an all around bad fit in every way. I wrote a handful of songs about this girl (here's one and here's one), because there was just so many things wrong with us together, and so many different angles to approach it from. This song is probably the most direct summary of the whole thing.

Musically, I just love this demo. The back up music changes constantly. Reverb-y acoustic twiddling, synth oboes and woodwinds, organs, lots of cool vocal FX. It's a very old demo, but it feels like I knew exactly what I was doing. Also musically, I like the song. It's got a strange structure, no chorus but lots of bridges. I like the relaxed tempo and rhythm.

Here are the lyrics!

I can't say what you mean to me
Every day it's changing
I see you on my TV
First I scream and then breathe

A sigh of relief 
For I am nowhere near you
Then I'm completely surrounded

There's a face in my school
It looks just like you
Faces move and blur into the wall
But this one stays still

Enough to make out
With that sad mouth
And dazed I stroll down
SMACK into a wall now

Call me, but don't
Cause I really don't
Want to know what you're up to

I hope that it's
Much better
Than what I picture

You're sad
That's too bad cause I'm uncomfortable with that
I don't know what to do with that

I can't say what you mean to me
Every day it's changing
You were pretty mean to me
But you still were pretty


Download the song by right-clicking here!

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-Jordan

WEEK 94: I Am Happy Here, Aren't You My Dear?

Hello!

This is one of my favorite instrumentals, for a few reasons:

1) The title can be perfectly sung with the main repeating melody. "I. Am. Happy here. Are. N't. You my dear?"  It's fun! TRY IT. NOW.

2) When you leave out bass, it becomes all the more startling and even emotional when it comes into a song. The bass showing up at 30 seconds in always moves me...It's a strange feeling that I can't quite put into words, but it feels like everything becomes more significant and also that it's settling down and resigned. Does that make sense?

3) The sllllllurrrrrrrrpppp wooooshhhhy thing that I do with my mouth in the 2nd half of the song. It's not as gross as it may seem. It just really fits the music, and I am just proud of myself for thinking of such a strange but appropriate layer to add on. They don't teach that sort of thing.

4) I feel like there's a lot of meaning that can be inferred from the title. The idea of someone in a couple being happy but not being sure their significant other is also happy. This was written at a time when I had a new girlfriend and I had some of those fears myself. All of these instrumentals I did are all pretty meaningful and specific to me. If anyone cares.

5) I like the little marching drum.

Anyway, enough of this. Check out the song! It's from May 30th, 2003.

Download the song by right-clicking here!

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WEEK 78: Yous Guys

Hello yous guys!

This is one of my personal favorite instrumentals, from way back in 2003.

Not to be overly sentimental, and not to over-explain (being that it's an instrumental), but this was just meant as a happy ode to my friends. A very sweet and sincere "you guys are so great and funny!" exclamation, with each friend being represented by the different melody lines in the song.

This is one of the rare instrumentals that doesn't keep adding and adding elements, it's mainly just the main melody that just changes. Harder to do than simply building instruments (something that I could do on top of this chord progression for probably a million years.)

The ending, with the pretty acoustic guitar strum and some sort of suspended chord is the most glaringly obvious sentimental touch. Hope you like it!

Download it here!


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Jordan

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!!


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-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 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