Tag: Music

Another New Song

Actual, real live percussion. There’s a little monkey drum that I bought at a Ren Faire many years ago, and a pair of finger drums I bought at the Moroccan Pavilion at Epcot Center even more many years ago. It’s the first time since I had an actual real live band in a real studio that I have recorded actual real live percussion.

The lyrics are in first person, but it’s not about me. Some one close to me is being shown an alarming lack of respect at work. This is about that person’s situation.

The guitars are all Strat, and it’s my first time messing with the pitch shifter in GarageBand. Not sure I like the results. Next time I’ll go all Trevor Rabin and shift the leads up a minor seventh. Sah-Weet.

Random Monday Thoughts

Here are a couple of random thoughts for a pre-work Monday morning.

The drive from Methuen to Canton today took less than an hour. We are firmly in the summer traffic lull. Two weeks from now cities and towns will be starting up their school years and the 55 minute drive I made today will take 90+ minutes. I know how bad it gets, but seeing how good it can be (not that 55 minutes is really that good) just makes September through June that much worse.

I indirectly gave my step kids the weirdest compliment they are ever likely to get. I was in my room getting dressed and that cat jumped onto the bed where I was sitting and got all affectionate. I tend to baby talk to the cat when I am petting her. I was saying goofy things about how the kitty loved her mummy and her big sister and her big brother. Then I said that kitty’s sister and brother love her too because they have good taste in kitties.

I told the cat that the kids have good taste in kitties. What the hell is wrong with my brain? How did that sentence even form in my head? Good taste in kitties? Please!

I played a lot of guitar this weekend. On Friday I finished (except for vocals) one song and started another. On Saturday I finished two songs (except for vocals) and started another. On Sunday I started four songs. That’s nine songs worth of guitars recorded. I was not physically prepared for so much playing and today my finger tips are literally on fire. Oh the pain!

Self Motivation

I feel as though I am running out of steam on 50/90. 16 songs are finished and there are nine more in progress. That only totals to me being half way finished. I’m still committed, just maybe not as committed as I was a few weeks ago.

I need to self motivate. (I almost typed, “I need to self motivate myself.” hehe)

I’m not sure when I decided that 2014 would be The Year of Song Writing but at some point it happened. If I complete 50/90, and then continue to play the album-a-month game for the final three months of the year, then I will finish 2014 having written well over 100 songs. Granted they all sound exactly the same and not one of them is worth a damn to anyone but me, but they will exist. That’s all that matters.

As of right now the count for the whole year, starting in February, is up to 61. That’s a ton, for me.

Missed Opportunity

My work schedule is screwy this week. Telecommuting was today instead of tomorrow. I missed my chance to get some serious music done. I haven’t been able to get more then four hours of sleep a night this week and this morning after my wife went to work I just went back to bed. Then during lunch I did laundry.

No musical progress was made tonight. Missed opportunity indeed.

50/90 is Now 34/57

I finished two songs tonight. This one comes from a floridaman story. Read it here.

——-

The second song… I have no idea what it is about. Maybe sort of about not wanting to go to work or something like that.

——–

The music for both of these turd burgers was written while on vacation. I was just out of control crazy like that. Must have been the proximity to the birth places of all three members of Rush.

7/8 and 5/4

The only negative to my 50/90 workflow of starting new ideas using GarageBand foe iPad is the lack of flexibility with time signatures and tempos. You can’t change them mid-song, and there are only three time signatures built in. I could easily work around that, but then I’d lose the cool segment functionality. Fortunately GarageBand for Mac has more flexibility and options.

Hence the two things I pieced together on the Mac tonight that are both in odd times. Ah, a Prog Rock wannabe.

Three New Songs

I finished three songs tonight. None of them are particularly good, but what can you do?

This one was the first idea I came up with for 50/90. I literally woke up, grabbed my iPad, and jotted this down in GarageBand. Why then did it take nearly a month to finish? Well, maybe because I don’t particularly like it. Perhaps.

——-

The second song is only interesting in that it’s in 6/8 time. GarageBand for iOS is pretty limited in time signatures. I expect I’ll be using the Mac version to get myself some 7/8 and 5/4 before long. Prog babie. The lyrics are about a universal topic for those of us in Greater Boston… Traffic.

——–

The third song is kind of about Market Basket. Who would have thought that if you stand by your people, they will stand by you. It’s just amazing to even consider it.

——

There you have it. 50/90 is now 36/62.

Pre-Work Music Update

Today is my telecommuting day, which means I had a nice chunk of time for music.

When we left for vacation I had 10 songs mixed, one ready to mix, and three ready for vocals. While we were away I finished the one that was ready to mix. This morning I finished the vocals on the other three. If I can mix them before I fall asleep tonight that will be fourteen songs from July. That’s three behind the pace for 50/90, but I also have eight additional things that were started after we left for vacation. So maybe I’m really ahead of the pace. I don’t know. It’s too early in the morning for this type of math.

Regardless, I will probably be posting some more bad music tonight. You’ve been warned.