WEEK 100: Settle Down (Live, first show, 2002)

Oh my goodly goodness!

This is the 100th post! Not exactly the 100th week, because I don't in fact update this every single week, but the 100th post!!! The 100th MP3!!! THE 100TH CELEBRATION OF MEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee(eeeeeee.)

Well anyway, it took me a while to figure out what song should go here, but this one hits all the right notes with me. You might say it strikes a CHORD. You MIGHT SAY...

So this is from my very first show. August 18th, 2002, Sidewalk Cafe, and my God, this was like 12 years ago. Wow. Well the reason I chose this MP3 is because this was kind of the moment for me on stage that I felt like I found my voice, and that it was working, and that people were enjoying it. 

This was the last song of the night, and a lot of the other songs were pretty rough. A lot of mistakes, a lot of reject songs that no one has heard since, a lot of bad rhythm and awkwardness. But this song is so simple, there's just no way I could have screwed it up. So I am both extra relaxed in this recording but also full of happiness and confidence at completing my very first show, which I had been unbelievably nervous about for like several weeks leading up to it.

This MP3 also has one of my all time favorite off-the-cuff stage moment. The wonderful sound person woman there at the time threw on a giant dose of reverb during my very bad whistle solo. But she accidentally left it on as I sang the next line. She turned it off super fast and me and the audience kind of laugh at the weirdness of it. But then I improvised a lyric change - "we should go someplace where there isn't...so much reverb" (instead of "where there isn't so much stress."), and MAN...The big laugh and applause from the audience just made my night. I knew I wanted to keep playing shows. Not to mention the laughs at other lines, and the laugh after "THE CALM, CALM SEA" part! 

So yeah, this is a special one for me, on several levels. Hope you enjoy it both musically and also as an interesting historical document. 

OH...I didn't even talk about the song I guess? I explain it at the start of the MP3, but it's basically from the POV of a guy who's girlfriend is screaming at him, and he's trying to calm her down. The joke of the song is that there's an implication that the guy is a jerk and she's completely justified in yelling at him, but he's painting her as a raving lunatic. 

Is that funny? I think so. Check out the lyrics, then download the song!


And would you like to settle down for a while?
And would you like to settle down for a while?

You act like all those other people that I hate
Not enough like who I like
Normal people don't pretend to get mad all the time
Normal people don't like to fight

chorus

Tomorrow maybe you'll realize how crazy you were
Today well come to think of it
Yesterday you acted just the same or even worse
and Now you're acting ignorant

chorus

And would you like to take a breath
and nod your head
like you were on a ship at sea
THE CALM, CALM SEA!!!!!

::whistle solo::

We should go someplace where there isn't so much stress
It would be nothing like this
We should go and then your hair won't be in such a mess
Or my hands on your wrists

And would you like to settle down for a while?


DOWNLOAD THE SONG BY RIGHT CLICKING HERE!


Or listen to it here!





Thanks guys! See you soon,

Jordan

WEEK 77: The Usual Way (live with drummer)

Hey everyone!

This week's MP3 is a live version of one of my favorite songs, The Usual Way.

Instead of going into the whole background of the song, I'll mainly talk about this live mp3. Took place on May 13th of this year, at Goodbye Blue Monday in Brooklyn.

That's Will Kastner on drums, from my band Sally. This is officially a Trouble's Afoot performance. Will was a superhuman drum man for this show, learning around 15 Trouble's Afoot songs in like 2 days. This was a new song for Trouble's Afoot, but will probably stick around. Also of note is that we had no bass player for this show.

Also of note is that yes, people are talking about french fries at the start of the MP3. That's the nature of a live recording, folks.

Briefly, the song is about feeling like a disappointment in a relationship, and thus in your relationship with yourself. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

So what if I write a message down?

Not like I can say it outloud

I express myself in the usual way

So what if I wait a day or two?

Not like I'm in charge of when I get to see you

I express myself in the usual way

I'm running out.

I'm running out.

So what if I'm feeling sorry?

Not like you can get it out of me.

I express myself in the usual way.

I distress myself in the usual way.

Download it here!

or:

Sample it!

-Jordan

WEEK 72: Brown Paper Sign (demo)

Woh!

Where did I go all month? Sorry, music things got very very busy, which is a good thing.

This is one of my favorite demos, and it's a song that I have never (? I think) played live. I have no idea if anything will ever become of this song. I can never remember all the lyrics so performing it live stresses me out.

I really like it though...it's way fun. It just needs a real chorus. The demo production is pretty simple...acoustic guitar, fake electric guitars, a bouncy fake bass line (that basically makes the whole song) and obviously fake guitars. The drum beat messes up and loses time once in a while but hopefully that isn't too noticeable. The entire song was based on a little instrumental I made once, which may be interesting to put up some time to compare it to!

The song is based in part on the X-Files episode "Home."


Can't you read the brown paper sign?
No one is allowed inside
All these years and still they hide
Giving up but doing fine

You make money you do alright
But you must be very bored tonight
Walk away back to your life
Don't ignore the paper sign

Whenever will they go
People wanna know

Neighbors come and neighbors go
But these folk haven't left their home
If you go near they disappear
Ring the bell they run like Hell

From the window they peak at you
A cracked broken and dusty view
Wandering around their yard
Wondering what left them scarred

In your car you'll drive away
Maybe visit some other day
The radio blaring loud
As they watch you pulling out

Everyone dropping by all the time
No wonder they'd rather stay inside
That must be the reason why
They put up the brown paper sign.



Download the song here!


Or preview it:





-Jordan

WEEK 67: I Know How To Cry (live)

Hey lovebirds

This week's song is a real rarity. I've only played it live...twice? And like 5 years ago.

In early 2005, I had a subconscious sense that my girlfriend of 2 years was about to break up with me. I didn't even want to realize it, but it was coming out in all of the songs I was writing.

In February 2005 I debuted "I Know How To Cry", with her in the audience. A week later she dumped me. And right on Valentines Day too, isn't that nice? Here is a version from later that year, in December (keep listening to the MP3 to hear a joke at the end about the whole debacle.)

Technically this is a really complicated song, and I'm pretty damn proud of my vocal range and performance in this MP3. So hey!

The song is pretty clear. It's about being able to withstand so much pain because you've done it 100 times before. Unfortunately this song just keeps getting more and more relevant. Here are the lyrics. I think the line that tears me up the most is the last verse. Love is when you're smiling and for a brief second you're not thinking about WHY.

Where once you said you love me
Now you say "that's enough"
Where once we'd go to celebrate
Now we walk by and let out a cough

A million things were said that never meant not a thing

A lot has changed
But that's OK
If another one gets away
I'm fine this time
Cause I know how to cry
I know how to cry

There's a lot of real anxieties
Just hanging out by your side
And they may make you nervous
They may make you wonder why

A girl once through the haze of love would ever want to stay

chorus

Cry all night
And then again in the morning
In between yawning

For a long time I would smile
And I wouldn't even know why
For a long time you'd be smiling
and you wouldn't even know why

So long ago, so long ago
So long.



Hope you like it!

Download it by clicking here


Or preview it:




-Jordan

WEEK 58: Honest Guy (live)

Hey guys,

This week's MP3 is a live recording of a rare piano song, called "Honest Guy." It may be better if I don't ramble on about what it's about. Here are the lyrics:

The thing to know
Is I won't go
I've been mean
I've been obscene

I'd like to say
How I've done wrong
But you won't let
Me on your lawn

I've carried so
so much pain
I let it out
It looks insane

Well I've lived here
All my life
I've always been
an honest guy

I've never been
an honest guy
So of course I
was put on trial

The thing to know
Is I won't go
This is my home
This is my home.


I really like this song. I should make a nice recording of it one day. But until then, this is from a 2005 performance at the Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A.


Preview it!




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CLICK HERE



-Jordan

WEEK 51: Swish (live)

Hey everyone!

I haven't been updating this as WEEKLY as I'm supposed to. But anyway:

This MP3 is from my show last week. My friend Daniel requested I perform my song "Swish." "Swish" is definitely an odd one. It's lyrics were basically a flowing poem that I wrote and then put to music, playing a chord progression and not worrying too much about the melody or catchyness. Usually not my style, but I think the song has a kind of directness and raw quality that the others may not have.

The song was inspired by this crush I had on a girl. I was trying to get over her, and then I thought I saw her walking by my house. It wasn't her, but the feeling I felt when I thought I saw her (i.e. having a heart attack) made me realize I was in no way over my crush. These are easily some of my favorite lyrics I've ever written.

Here they are:


Eyes focus through the fence
down at the train station
Some straight haired girl
Stole your whole style
And I looked like a guy who
Had one too many
Too many things on my mind

And they fell out
Fell down
On the sidewalk
Dripped down
And in the stream of consciousness
A cigarette but couldn't help but...
resist

Like a log headed for a fall
it dripped down to the gutter
Underwater tunnel
And down to Brooklyn
Passed under your shoe
I think I hope for once you knew
I think I hope for once you knew
And while you had to STOP
Your friends made fun of your
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH

Thoughts fly like the breeze
Sometimes inviting, but sometimes chilly stinging
I can remember everything
In seconds flat it all comes back
In between 0 and 1
That's all it takes to break it down
That's all it takes to break down

I hate this bridge I'm on.



Preview the song:




Or download it here



-Jordan

WEEK 48: Sarah Epler

Heeeeeey

This week's MP3 was made...yesterday! A girl I've never met named Sarah Epler said she'd pay me a couple bucks to write a song about her.

Why the damn hell not?

So I did. I thought of the melody while I was driving 2 days ago and recorded the idea into my phone. I recorded the song the next day.

I really used it as an excuse to make my first ever recording with my new amp and my new drum program, making this MP3 very different sounding (in my opinion) than all my others. From now on the fake drums in my music will still be fake, but more real sounding.

EXCEPT!!! For the cymbal that I found in the GARBAGE, featured on this very mp3. In fact, I find it difficult to determine which is the real cymbal and which is the fake cymbal. Try and guess! GARBAGE CYMBAL!

Since I barely know her, I didn't try to pretend that I did, so the lyrics are (sort of) about how easily google-able she is, which hopefully this blog entry will help reinforce.

Lyrics:

Sarah Epler
I've never met her
But you bet I'll never ever forget her

She's the internet
She's an online chat
She's a jpeg and a profile and an iphone app

Sarah Epler wrote me a letter
Sent her back a letter in reply to her letter

Sarah Epler
I can't help her
But I'm gonna do what I can

Sarah Epler
Gave me a dollar
That I plan on spending on Sarah Epler


DOWNLOAD IT UGH!!!


Preview it AUGH!! :




GET YOUR OWN SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU AT:

Http://www.writeasongaboutme.com

Thanks!


-Jordan

WEEK 47: Horny Manatee (demo)

Heeeeey!

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 ---

(manatee roars)


DOWNLOAD THE GENIUS HERE



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- Jordan

WEEK 44: Marry Me (Live)

Hey! Sorry for the no update last week!

This week's song is from a live show I had a month ago! I explain the origin of the song to the audience in the MP3, so need to ramble over here! All you need to know is I handed out a list of songs, so that the audience can make request. That's what you hear at the very beginning of the MP3.

It's a happy loving marriage song. It also contains one of my only guitar solos. Enjoy!

Here are the lyrics, why not?


Here we are laughing at the same joke
Half an hour and it's time for the next show
For everyone who says that boring lives have no surprises, well
I've got one

Will you marry me so we can go to sleep?
Will you marry me so we can watch TV?
I've spent too much time by myself
doing things that never add to much
I'm one, you're two, and we'll be pooped together

For a time I didn't go out much
I met you and we don't go out much (but it's nice)
For every dollar bill I save by staying home for dinner
We get thinner

(chorus)

Counting down bringing in the new year
All around it's been a pretty good year
A simple resolution is easier to keep
And I'd like to keep you - keep you here



Download it by clicking hyaaaah!





- Jordan

WEEK 42: Posters (Tear Them Down) (live)

Hey punkers,

This week's mp3 is from December 10th, 2002. It is a very rare (and the only) live performance of a song called "Posters (Tear Them Down)."

This song, along with several others, was written as a kind of fake "punk" song, when me and my friend Daniel were set to perform at a punk show and needed some tunes. Daniel described the songs we wrote as "songs for teenagers." Other songs written that week include TV Girl, I Want My CDs back, and Movie Set Girl. These will most likely pop up on this blog soon enough!

So this song was about wanting to tear down the posters in your wall as an obvious metaphor for hating yourself and wanting to change your identity. I actually really like this song. It's in another confusing subdivision of songs that aren't exactly sincere attempts at writing a song but still come out to my liking, magically turning into a real song in the process. Here are the lyrics:


I'm sick of being used to
all the posters in my room
but i'm just too lazy to take them down

All the posters on four walls
with their colors loud and all
sing me a sad song in stereo sound

I'll tear them down
Let the scotchtape rip off the wallpaper
Then put up some more
To cover up the scars

There goes the one with the cartoon face
Smiling at me, taking up space
Now I'm Glad it's in the trash bag, buried alive

There goes the picture from the magazine
Years ago it wad added to the scene
Now I can finally see what's on the other side

chorus

These posters from the past have been up for way too long
I'd rather not stare at the squares that desecrate my wall
I'd rather stare at nothing at all.

All these posters in my room
seems like they've been up for a century or two
Now I know exactly what I have to do

chorus


Download the song by clicking here!


Or preview it:





- Jordan

P.S. Picture stolen from some random guy's website. Nice room.
P.P.S. Yeah that's supposed to be a pun on Glad brand trash bags.

WEEK 41: Never, Ever

Hello mudda, hello fadda,

This week's mp3 is a fancy sounding demo for a song called "Never, Ever." I worked hard on this demo, especially the drums, which were sampled actual drums that I PIECE BY PIECE placed into the song BY HAND. It was insane and stupid but I was experimenting. Every little drum hit or hi hat hit or bass drum hit...all placed by hand as I desperately tried to keep the timing in line.

Upon listening to this now, I'm pretty happy with how this sounds. The guitar is really nice, the arrangement is interesting, with the acoustic guitar also doing a bass line...the harmonies are nice. Nice job, me.

Anyway, I'm not sure I want to say specifically what the song is about, but it's one of those epiphany type character studies I do enjoy ever so much. Also, I was trying to write a Morrissey type line for the end of the song. Here are the lyrics:

Things move so slow
They never go
In the window
She waves hello

Never, ever

The grass is cold
Between my toes
My big new home
My silk bathrobe

Never, ever, never, ever, never

Dirt in a hole
A boy grown old
The more I know
The worse it goes


Download it here!


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-Jordan

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!

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-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 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 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 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 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