Thoughts on Final Concert

So I thought I'd just comment on the songs that struck me most from the final concert...

"Coathanger" - This sounds a lot like what I've been listening to lately (80's alternative), and I just think it's a very well put together song. There are a plethora of excellent songwriting devices, and nothing ever feels forced or gimmicky. It's a good length too. Ben makes a pretty awesome one man band. Good chance this will make it onto a driving mix.

"Pink Pills" - sax-y

"Easygoing Easy Gone" - everyone who helped me out is a superhero

"Worry Away" - my favorite song of Julie's this year. I just think this is super groovy. As I listen to it more I wonder if the slide guitar was a good idea. Part of me thinks I should've just kept it simple and true to her original, which was so excellently arranged. I love the very Let It Be era Beatles bridge.

"Wild Thing"- A beautiful song. I quite honestly did not expect Julie and Jeremy's collaboration would yield something like this. I stand by my early critique that some of the words do not comfortably flow with the melody - some awkward melisma and cramming. Overall quite impressive.

"Good St. George" - I'm proud that this song came from my prompt. Definitely my favorite Roman song. Beautiful melody, interesting structure, intriguing lyrics. One of Roman's best performances as well. The falsetto is gorgeous. Really, really cool.

"Holy Night" - although the final concert didn't have the same intensity and element of surprise as the original in-class rendition, this cover still remains an excellent showcase for Joshua's skills as a performer. The clarinet is angelic and meshes superbly with Joshua's delicate, weary delivery....... I want Joshua to rock out. Write a rock song, man.

"Ballad of Seamus Taylor" - although not my favorite Ben or Rosalind song, I feel like Rosalind's vocals sound great on this song, especially the first verse. The dark shanty is an excellent vehicle for her distinct delivery. I think she experiment more with edgier or creepier things.

"It Rains on His Heart" - I think I mentioned this earlier, but I love the chord changes in this one. I enjoyed playing on it greatly.

Thoughts On Midterm Concert

1) I think I like my post-midterm compositions better. (Valley Bridge technically wasn't written for the class.)

2) My friends who attended the midterm concert had ideas about who or what was good or bad, and in discussing this with them, I realized that I had an excellent understanding of what kind of sound each person in our GISP goes for. I am able to evaluate every one of my classmates based on their personal style and their improvement, which is a situation I hadn't been in before. It's nice to just focus on songs and be liberated from being biased against someone's delivery or genre.

3) Citalopram really grew on me. That's a wonderful nugget of a song.

4) These recordings sound excellent. It's extraordinary how exquisite these single take performances are. I'm impressed with everyone.

5) It's actually kind of difficult writing about the midterm concert now because I have the final on my mind (which totally blew this show of the water).

6) I wish I had done more collaborating for the midterm concert. I think that's part of what made the final so fun. I suppose it was a lower-key event, but I there are definitely songs here I would've loved to play on, as well as people who I would've liked to have play on mine.

Thoughts on this Semester's Work

-Valley Bridge - wrote it over the summer. I'm quite proud of this song, and I think I performed it well at the midterm concert.

- Arizona - I was a little surprised that his came out of me. I'd been meaning to do something in this general style, so I'm glad that Julie's assignment forced me out of the box. Another song that came out well at the midterm show (although, ahem, it was sung out of order).

- Fjord (w/Jonathan) - surprise success of the semester. Well, maybe not a surprise. What's the expression? Great minds think alike. I was really pleased with how well this song turned out. Can't wait to listen to the final concert recording more closely.

- Dire Straits Copy - a fun assignment. I love Dire Straits and I was glad to have an excuse to rip them off.

- Tell Me That It Isn’t True (Cover) - not too much to say about this one. I think my cover version requires a full band, though I seem to remember the contrary was said about my performance.

- Bridge to Jeremy’s song (As They Seem) - tricky assignment, but I think I pulled it off. I thought a bridge would be a good time to kind of break out and get a little poppy. I like what I did, classic rock-y but not annoying (I hope).

- Easy Going Easy Gone - goes to show that 20% originality and %80 ripoff is exactly what you need to make the majority of people like your song.

- Novel With A Key - love my chord progression in this one. I'm glad I got to incorporate it into the class otherwise I don't know when I would've gotten around to finishing it. To be honest it still needs another verse.

- Ogre Song - mostly silly. I do, however, really like my chorus and plan on working it into a more traditional song.

- If You’ll Climb - probably the most sincere and personal song I wrote in a semester that consisted largely of parody, imitation, and lighthearted ventures.

Assignement: Write based on a hero story.

Ogre Song

in ancient times an Ogre came to Andalucia. It ate the cows. the farmers cried “aye dios mio” and ran to their nobleman. the nobleman sent his warriors to take care of the ogre. the warriors were easily defeated by the mighty beast. The nobleman then sent boy servant to the seer at the top of the mountain. the seer said

you must take the sword from the magic lake

stab it through his heart like you drive a stake

and when the moon is full you must burn the body

the boy servant brought what he had learned back to the nobleman, who passed it to the warriors. The warriors went to the magic lake, but fancying themselves wise men, exclaimed, “a sword at the bottom of a lake will be rusty! let’s spare ourselves a swim and use our weapons.” so they tracked down the ogre in his bloody meadow and…

they took a sword, though it was a fake

stabbed it through his heart like you drive a stake

and when the moon was full they burned the body

but of course the ogre came back from the dead. “He is invincible!” they exclaimed. After his resurrection the ogre wanted a bride. He said, “I want a bride.” “Who shall be his bride?” thought the nobleman and the farmers and the warriors and the townsfolk. Why not the princes, the most beautiful girl in the land? so a mob went and grabbed the princess from the castle as she cried “ay dios mio! papa ayudame!” That night they asked if she had any last wishes. she wished to see the seer. so they escorted her to the base of the mountain and she climbed up and asked what to do about the ogre, he said…

you must take the sword from the magic lake

stab it through his heart like you drive a stake

and when the moon is full you must burn the body

the next morning the princess was taken to the ogre. on the way she said, “I’m thirsty.” and they stopped by the magic lake so she could drink. She slipped out of her princess clothes and skinny dipped into the cool cerulean waters. she swam all the way to the bottom and saw the shimmering blade wedged in the rocks. She wrestled the sword out and returned to the surface, concealing it beneath her princess clothes. When she got to the ogre he said, “ooh la la. oh yeah! I’m a happy ogre.” she quickly proceeded to…

take the sword from the magic lake

stab it through his heart like you drive a stake

and when the moon is full she burned the body

Novel With a Key

my song from the free-for-all week. Just a little something I'd been working on.

Novel With a Key

Your creed,

an amalgamation of the books that you read-

I lived the love you wrote about

but never fleshed out.

Your purse,

a mobile library of classical works.

Could never grasp the narrative

from just our passages.

You’re a novel with a key

and a whiz kid with grammar

coining phrases when you’re hammered

Alexandria

taming lies.

You’re a novel with a key

and ain’t you exemplar

belly dancing in the bell jar?

Alexandria

taming lies.

Arizona

Challenged to write a song in a genre I'd never attempted, I came up with this. I don't exactly know what genre it is (jazz, bossa nova?) but I like it.

Arizona

when I came to I was in Arizona playing bottleneck guitar

whoever’d hit me stole the dollar fifty I was saving for the bar

I was nursed to health by a wealthy widow from Pompeii

when I’m in danger it’s always a stranger who comes and saves the day

she held me close and told me of the oceans and volcanoes from her home

sounds great I said but it’s late and I’d really rather roam

don’t leave she cried I believe we would be happy if you stayed

but she’s in love and I’m rather reluctant so I’m calling it a day

on the slow road out to California I met Poseidon’s son

I told him nep was my favorite tune but he didn’t get the pun

I felt sea sickly as he pulled me quickly underneath the waves

but nothing’s like a bath in the aftermath of such a day

Easygoing Easy Gone

My shot at disney star/billboard 100:

Easygoing Easy Gone!

first there was the time when you went out with all of your friends

came back with a hickey on your neck

did you really believe you could keep me in the dark

then there was the day I was standing out in the rain

while the fog blocked the window pane

so I couldn’t see you making out in his car

We’ll I’ve been

easygoing but I’m easy gone

you had me once you should’ve held on

I’m taking off before you break my heart

call me after school you’re upset about something

you’re best friend said, so much going through your head

and you need to talk to someone you can trust

but I know you found out the other guy’s sleeping around

tough luck and the phone’s hung up

doesn’t feel so good to be left in the dust

We’ll I’ve been

easygoing but I’m easy gone

you had me once you should’ve held on

I’m taking off before you break my heart

(easy going easy gone)

where did we go wrong?

Easygoing easy gone

na na na na

at a party last night I decided something had to be done

you’ve just been treating me wrong

so I’m going out with next cute girl that I meet, yeah!

Final Chorus

VERSE: G F C am F C G F C am F E7

CHORUS 1: am F C G C C/B am F G C

CHORUS 2 + 3: am F C G C C/B am F G am F G C C/B am F G

BRIDGE: C G am F

Semester Retrospect Pt. 1

- Valley Bridge

- Arizona

- Fjord (w/Jonathan)

- Dire Straits Copy

- Tell Me That It Isn’t True (Cover)

- Bridge to Jeremy’s song

- Easy Going Easy Gone

- Novel With A Key

- Ogre Song

- If You’ll Climb

Lyrics Soon 2 Come

Analyze/Write

I've decided to analyze a sound more so than a specific song for this assignment. My three favorite Dire Straits recordings (in no particular order) are "Sultans of Swing", "Tunnel of Love", and "Romeo and Juliet". The songs have a lot in common and I've sought to recreate the sound by taking apart the elements and them piecing them back together.

common threads:

-Key: F major/d minor

- Primarily use of I IV V VI chords

-Speak/sing vocals

-fairly long length

-Lyrics: reference to performance/song, in "Tunnel" and "Romeo" use of dialogue, changing person - use of first second and third

TUNNEL OF LOVE

intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/Solo/verse/Chorus/(quiets down)bridge/outro

ROMEO AND JULIET

intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse(quiets down)/chorus/verse/outro

SULTANS OF SWING (structurally different)

intro/verse repeats

MY LYRICS:

Ain't No Love at First Sight

out there by the shoreline see the silhouette as she walks away
well I guess the commotion started sometime yesterday

no difference in our words, yknow it gets to be the same charade

and I’m tired of the cut throat playing every night for the masquerade

the one with the glass in her hand and the pretty laugh say

“hey baby how’d you like to dance?”

the circumstances tonight too good to last

as I wander down the dingy streets where I used to play

rhythm guitar with a gipsy band

I wonder if I kept you would we be home in the candle light

instead of searching desperate lands?

the one with the glass in her hand and the pretty laugh say

do you see all the boys there looking your way

said this ain’t no love at first sight

but we can act that way

didn’t think I’d miss you after

a couple drink and some time alone

now I know that real disaster

is that I didn’t turn and walk you home

the one with the glass in her hand and the pretty laugh say

do you see all the boys there looking your way

said this ain’t no love at first sight

but we can act that way

Songwriting Assignment 3: Part 2

Sorry I can't make it to class. Not feeling too hot. Here's my version "As They Seem" by Jeremy Noah, complete with pitchy, sickness vocals.

As They Seem.mp3

Chords to bridge:

A, D, D with C in bass, D with B in bass, Bb, C, D, G, em, C

Lyrics to new section:

I'm like a sound beneath a stone

I was alone until she spoke

alone with ghosts

Assignment 3: Writing Bridge w/a Partner, Part 1

People We'll Never Know (demo w_organ).mp3

"People We'll Never Know" was written and recorded sometime in 2007. It's a series of verses and a closing section, which I suppose I intended to be a repeated chorus originally. I did this recording at home with GarageBand. It could use a bridge as well as a new verse/chorus arrangement. Lyrics and chords follow.

People We'll Never Know

Verse: G / bm / em / D

End section: am / D / G / C x 2

I can't explain why I just took off my coat and slept

I slept through the whole damn day

woke up at 6 and checked the mirror and fixed my hair

I'm expected somewhere at 8

Changed my plans and called up Sam and I guess we'll drive

in the summer's fading light

The town's a bore but we'll explore all the countryside

where my favorite secrets hide

The roads are home to snow white horses and walls of stone

and people we'll never know

Tonight I'll spend

With a few good friends

Laughing at lovers we've had and

We'll have again

Assignment 2: Melodic Profile Study/Replication

what I wrote:

CLiMB iF YOU WiLL

run up the hill

don’t you trust anyone

till you sing

where the word of god won’t dull the sound

climb, if you will,

up this tree and we’ll reach

for the fruit

that will leave us stoned and bruised and lonely

free and lonely

touch, if you must

touch my face let me blush

hold my waist

spin the cloth into the fray

on repeat when I’m sixty-four

507,000 people lying side by side

1 ton of lava in their lungs

voltage in their digits

on the same high wire lullaby that conceived them

a million years ago

ah but you

and the slope of your back

and our flash in the pan-American relief

I’ll scrawl, if I may,

up your side

and I’ll shake down your hide

for to sleep without belief baby baby baby

come, if you will

come

canyons

die

Song:

“When It Began” – The Replacements, All Shook Down (1990)

• Verse starts low, ends high just before chorus. Chorus reinforces the upper register but does not push it further. The bridge is the interesting part. Makes use of minor 2^nd intervals, singer Paul Westerberg delivers highest note of song prior to final chorus.
• I’ve always been a huge fan of melodies in the major scale that leave out the minor 2^nd intervals, but I never really realized this song was doing it. Just another reason why I’ve found this song so appealing. I think I’ll try experimenting with this for my composition.
• The melody also has somewhat of a 2 steps forward 1 step back approach. It compensates for every ascension by going back down again. Definitely contributes to the feeling of yearning the song evokes.
• Overall a simple, but clever melody. Worth emulating.

Assignment 1: Cover Song

Cover: "Tell Me That It Isn't True" - Bob Dylan, Nashville Skyline (1969)

I considered a number of ideas before deciding on “Tell Me That It Isn’t True” off Bob Dylan’s unique 1969 Album, Nashville Skyline. It was difficult for me to find a song I truly loved, but was also willing to change. I played around with some Taylor Swift covers where I altered the lyrics but kept the melody and structure in an attempt to highlight the promise of a song otherwise obscured by it’s silly words, but didn’t find the exercise ultimately worthwhile. I also created a folk version of “Kids of the Black Hole” by 80’s punk legends Adolescents, which was interesting, but not satisfying to play. Finally I decided to cover my favorite songwriter and transform his foray into country into a prototype of my (arguably) favorite genre: power-pop. The Byrds performed a similar action to great success, particularly with their rendition of “My Back Pages,” which I consider one of the first great power-pop songs (alongside Beatles classics “Eight Days a Week” and “And Your Bird Can Sing”). The chords and melody in my version are essentially the same, with the exception of some minor flourishes that help it capture the power-pop feel. The key of the song has also been changed to F major to better suit my vocal range.