Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay! But I'M BACK.
This week's MP3 is a dreamy spacey nice instrumental called "Big Bonus." It was somewhat meant to sound like a bonus level in a videogame. I was planning on using it for Crime Streets but then it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the tracks.
This is just a good example of a really nice riff that I can add melodies on top of endlessly. The only difficult part is keeping it from being TOO overstuffed with counter-melodies until it all sounds like a mess. But I think this came out nice. Enjoy!
This week's MP3 is one of my favorite songs. I was surprised I hadn't put this up yet (I had to google myself to make sure I didn't.) A lot to say about it, so let's go:
It's called "If We Had No Moon." It was based on the title of a scientific and doom-laden special I saw on the Discovery Channel, which basically stated that our moon is slowly being pulled away, and when it's gone Earth will spin out of orbit and kill us all.
Talk about dropping a love song right into my lap! What better romantic metaphor could there be for a relationship ending? Or the idea that a relationship needs the romance of the moon to keep it alive? Le sigh. This was originally going to be a "Sally" song (my side band where a female vocalist sings my songs), but I liked singing it too much.
The 2nd verse in the song is actually based on an episode of The Tom Green Show on MTV. He had a guest on his show who was obsessed with the "face on mars," basically a series of landscape formations that look like a scary sad face in the right light. This man (and many others) say that this face is proof of extraterrestrial life on Mars, or elsewhere.
He was on the show to be ridiculed, and I felt really awful for somebody who was so passionate about something that just was not true and so easily disproved. The idea in general was heartbreaking to me, so I popped it onto the moon song and there you have it, the saddest song ever.
The demo: I'm pretty happy with this demo, though it may be a bit "busy." My acoustic guitar is making little space beeps, the metronome is being used as the percussion track, and I'm proud of the subtle harmonies. No bass necessary, which gives it a more weightless outer-space zero gravity feel. Adding a bass line would have weighed things down a little too much.
Originally my main guitar track was very stiff and boring and "nice," but I realized it felt kind of dead. Inspired by the Rheostatics, I re-recorded it to be a lot more free-form and natural. Some random hits on random strings, not bogged down or sounding like a "scratch track" for people to easily play along with. Again, I was really happy with that.
Here are the lyrics:
These chilly nights make me think I think of you and me, but also other things I think about the laws of time and space and what would happen if everything changed I heard the moon is pulling farther away And soon it will be gone, though soon is far away
And if we had no moon the Earth would not just spin 'round But sideways and upside down And everything would be thrown around
You've heard about that face on Mars? Some people think it's put there By beings very far away I'd like to think that that's the case But evidence has shown that it's just not that way And though the shadows make it look like a sad face It's just not that way It's just a mountain range
And if we had no moon the Earth would not just spin round But sideways and upside down And everything would be thrown around
If we had no moon No times for light or dark Oceans wouldn't know where to start Most certainly we'd be torn apart
This week's MP3 is "Horny Manatee", a song I wrote and recorded in one day.
Back in 2006, Late Night With Conan O'Brien was doing a running gag in their show about a website called HornyManatee.com, and asking for people to submit artwork.
I wrote a song, thinking maybe they'll play it on the show or even invite me ON the show. I was literally a day too late. That night, Conan enthusiastically debuted a band who "actually wrote a song called 'Horny Manatee'!" They sang their song, and I felt awful and annoyed. God fucking damn it! I mean, seriously!
I still sent mine in, with no reply. But I like it a lot. I think the recording is really nice, and the melody and chord progression are interesting. Maybe I'll change the lyrics so it can become a real song and it isn't so retarded.
Lyrics:
This manatee is good enough for me Every girl I know's been wrong for me I'm not a gay, and things are looking gray Get me a big ol' manatee
A big ol' manatee comes to me in my sleep
I've had enough of all this landlocked love I'm heading out to the sea No girl will find me No one will mind me Being away with my horny manatee
My horny manatee Comes to me in my sleep My horny manatee Not half as horny as ---
This week's mp3 is from one of my many "side projects", Proceed To Small Talk.
Proceed To Small Talk is an experimental recording project with my friend (and bass player) Dave Fox. We both do everything on the songs -- write, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, vocals, etc. You can learn more about us on our myspace: Http://www.myspace.com/proceedtosmalltalk
This track is a favorite among our friends, titled "Is It Free?"
The legend goes, we ordered a pizza, and were waiting for a very long time for it to arrive. While we waited, we created this song.
As I can recall, it's Dave on lead vocals and acoustic guitar. I'm on synths, and banjo. Possibly backwards guitar too.
This week's mp3 is a live cover of "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins. Me and my band (Dave Fox on bass, Daniel Matz on drums) performed this at Pete's Candy Store in April, 2006.
We wanted to play a cover that people knew (for once), that was kind of a funny and odd choice, but that we were sincere about. Despite not even being Pumpkins fans, Daniel and I admitted that "1979" did mean a lot to us back in the day, and it still affects us (Dave not so much.)
I was really happy with how this came out, and the audience seemed to dig it. I definitely wanted people to be kind of confused about why we were even covering this song that everybody has heard 1000 times, but won over at the same time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
