Category: Song Writing

Sand Trucks and Car Music

I did the first car music of 2022 today. Yippee and Hooray and stuff. I put vocals onto both Record Every Month songs for January and one re-recording of a song from 2010 or 2011 or something. I had to write new lyrics for that one because the original lyrics were garbage. The new lyrics are garbage too, but slightly less garbagey garbage if that makes any sense.

I hate to have to admit this but I have written the same song twice again. I sense a theme for the coming RPM Challenge. One song over and over again. The last time I did it, it was an E minor – A minor thing that I used in two songs. This time it was an E minor 7 – B minor 7 – A dominate 7 thing that I used in the chorus of both songs.

I suck.

I should also mention that the singing was pretty terrible as well. Also, there were two trucks. Ugh. We had snow two days ago and there’s been a little freezing rain this morning. There was a plow and a sander in the parking lot with me. I think the sander covered the entire lot at least twice. He kept driving by me while I was trying to sing and the mic kept picking it up. As if my own voice wasn’t shit enough. The plow… what the hell, bro? He kept plowing little sections of the parking lot even though the snow has been gone for almost two days now. What the hell was he plowing, and why did he have to keep doing it over and over?

No Methuen Center pics today. Instead you’ll have to settle for this one. It was cold out side and very shouty inside. Hence the foggy.

As I was writing this I saw a Tweet announcing that Michael Lang died. He was 77. If you don’t know who Michael Lang is, he was one of the guys who put on the Woodstock festival. If only he’d thought otherwise about Woodstock ’95 and ’99 or whatever the hell years they were. Pretty much the definition of too much of a good thing. Rest in Peace, Mr Lang.

Eight Months

Eight months ago today I turned 50 and my wife got me an amazing birthday present. She bought me a Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s and I absolutely love it. I adore it. It gets me and I get it and we’re besties now and everything is perfect.

I haven’t played any other guitar since that day, even though I own a small but growing army of electric guitars (five, and my teenage self is in awe).

Well… I just broke the streak. I’ve been thinking of a gimmick for the RPM Challenge. Instead of just double tracking all of the rhythm guitar parts (which I always do), why not double track with different guitars? Maybe even different amplifiers? Sure it will make mixing more complicated, but it could be fun. If I do this, I expect the two guitars to be the new Les Paul and the SG Standard that I bought myself in 2018. Unless of course I finally brave the Covid and go somewhere to trade in my Fender Stratocaster for a Les Paul Junior, in which case the Junior would be the other guitar. That’s not likely to happen though, so it will be Les Paul in one ear and SG in the other.

Tonight I decided to break out the SG and use it on a Record Every Month song for January. I’ve got two songs going right now. They both kinda suck, but I’ll finish them. Now the song that has the working title of REM JAN 01 Mac has SGs where everything else since May has Les Pauls.

Music Nook Number One Lives

I was too loud playing in the cellar so I moved back upstairs (for now) where it’s further away from my wife’s office, has a heavier door (our bedroom used to be the garage), and a slightly quieter amplifier.

The bedroom music nook is alive and well. I took the new vibe pedal with me but not the wah, only because I didn’t have any wah friendly tunes to work on.

I redid some guitars on a re-recording while I was in the cellar, and then added rhythm guitars to two more songs once I was back upstairs. I still have one song that I hope to get to tonight, and then I have to write lyrics and melodies for two of them. If I can get that done tonight then there are a whopping seven songs lined up for car music in the morning. Yikes!

Nook Number 2 Fail

I’ve been playing in music nook #2 and it’s bugging the Mrs as she works. Right then, moving back to music nook #1 in the bedroom.

I was afraid of this. I can’t really get the big Bassbreaker any quieter. The Vox might be okay but I’ll try that next time.

For now, it’s back upstairs.

Guitar Pain

I hid away in the cellar tonight playing the guitar. I came up with something new for the Record Every Month thing for January. I came up with something last night but tonight’s is probably a little better. I’ll probably finish them both. The thing I worked out tonight was really hurting my left hand. Lots of cramping (arthritis, maybe?) painful pain.

Next I worked on a re-recording. I hadn’t done anything accept setup the GarageBand file. It’s the same file I used when I wrote the song last February. I pulled apart the mix and left one rhythm guitar track and one vocal track as guides. Normally I replace the MIDI tracks, drums and bass, before I replace the guitars, but this time I started with guitar. Why? Because I just didn’t want to stop recording tonight, that’s all.

I probably should have picked something easier because this particular re-recording took my already hurting left hand and amplified the pain by a factor of 50. Damn, was I hurting. I got through everything, though I am not entirely sure I’m happy with it. I’ll have to live with it for a few days before I decide if I want to do it again.

My hand is still a little sore, but mostly I am feeling better. It was really hurting tonight. I don’t like when that happens. I don’t like it at all.

For the record, here is the already super messy desk I’ve been using, complete with the Bruins game (second intermission, leading 3-2 over New Jersey) on my iPad.

Everything Works

I have used the cellar music nook. I put rhythm tracks on two songs, leads on one, and started noodling some changes for one more.

The new wah and vibe pedals are awesome.

I only used the big Fender amp and only on the lower watt channel, but the only thing that wasn’t sounding sweet was the ugly paneling on the walls, babie.

Boxing Day Mix

So another Christmas holiday comes to an end with the posting of yet another new version of an old song. This one started out in 2011 and has been recorded three times. I am not sure why I keep coming back to it. It’s not very good. This is definitely the best of the three though.

Happy Holidays.

Christmas Mix

I snuck in a mix for a new take on an old song today. This was before our canceled family Christmas was brought back to life.

Written in 2009 for a failed crack at the RPM Challenge. This is really the first time I’ve looked at it since, but it’s always stuck in the back of my head.

Is it a good song? No. No it is not. Not even close. It’s kinda fun to play though.