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