Tag: Rpm Challenge

March Music… In May

When I did RPM this year there were two songs that just came out ridiculously bad. I couldn’t stand them. Neither was that bad, but the recordings were pretty crummy. One of the songs was okay as it was, so I decided to just re-record it for March. It’s better than it was… I guess. I changed the key from E to D, swapped the acoustic guitars for heavier electric guitars, and just sort of rocked it up a bit.

Here is the February version:
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/jen-and-me.mp3%20

Here is the March/May version that I just finished mixing:
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/jen-me-version-2.mp3%20

The Final RPM Challenge Post of 2014

Here it is kids, the (now) annual last official RPM Challenge post of the year.  I have uploaded this year’s stuff to my official RPM jukebox page.

Robert Parker’s RPM Challenge Music.

So there it is folks.  That page has three little flash playlists that contain my three officially submitted RPM Challenge projects.  This closes the book on February 2014.  I had a good time, despite being less than pleased with the end results.  There are a couple of decent moments.  One of the songs that I was really disappointed with is actually getting some love on alonetone.  I find that very weird.  Oh well.

I will keep plugging on more album-in-a-month zaniness, but RPM itself is over until next year.

RPMarch

So Robbie, what’s the deal? When you finished off your February recording project you said you were just going to keep going and do another one in March. You even came up with a clever stupid name for it, RPMarch.

So where are the constant updates that make us, your loyal readers want to claw our own eyes out?

Well here’s one.

I have bass and drum tracks set for five songs. There are a total of nine songs in the plans at this point. I need to come up with at least one more. I have four songs left over from the kids’ Christmas vacation, when I tried to write a few songs for a goofy EP idea. I have one idea that I had during February that I never got around to. I also have two outtakes from Things and Stuff that I want to see if I can salvage. Then there is one song that I came up with a couple of nights ago, and the one Tempest Fero song I want to add to the TF Redux collection. That’s nine. My goal is 10. So far so good.

There you have it. The RPMarch Day Six update. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you are pleased that I haven’t quit on this idea yet.

Yet.

What Next?

Here’s the obligatory post-RPM Challenge post.

Now that my musical month of February is in the past, what’s next?

Well, I think I’m just going to do it again. Not the same songs, and not the longer FAWM based album, but a new recording of either 10 songs or 35 minutes. Call it RPMarch.

I’ve still got four things that I was tinkering with in January, and there was the 15th song idea from RPM that I never got to. There is also the missing Tempest Fero song that I took a listen to this evening. Those six plus four more? There is also the three unfinished things from the 2008 failure. Maybe I’ll save those for April.

Any one else want to take a shot at RPMarch?

Back to Reality

Each morning over the last two plus weeks I presented myself with a question:

You can either shave today, or spend an extra five minutes working on RPM.

Each day I chose RPM.  Well, RPM is over now.  I did not have to pose the question today.  I have finally shaved the shag carpet that was causing my whole face to be an unbearably itchy mess.

I feel much better.  Oh what a relief!  When we go to our weight watchers meeting tomorrow and weigh in I expect to be at least 15 pounds lighter than I was when I woke up this morning.

Ahhhhh!

In the Mail

I mailed my RPM CD today at lunch.  The post office in Westwood is a teeny tiny little corner of a teeny tiny little strip mall and I drove past it twice before I found it, but the disc is in the mail.

Now the question is, what do I do with myself now that I don’t have RPM hanging over my head?

The first thing is to shave.  My face is so damn itchy!

RPM Challenge – Day 28 – FINISHED

The clock struck midnight as I was typing this. My MacBook battery is down to 13%.

The last songs are finished. I even added a new song while I was waiting for the kids to get out of karate. It’s just a really silly 90 second long 12-bar that I probably should have left off the final CD but didn’t.

Here’s the playlist at alonetone. I’ll get it to bandcamp and add it to my music page some other time.

ADDENDUM:
The alonetone playlist is displaying but it’s not playing, so here is the same playlist on soundcloud. This will be deleted eventually, but the alonetone one will live forever (so long as the site stays up).

RPM Challenge – Day 27

Something happened last night that sort of sums up this year’s challenge for me.  I went to bed after finishing the lead guitars on the last two songs.  While sleeping, I had a dream.  I was digging around in my ear for ear wax.  I found something else though.  I was able to grab it and pull.  What came out?  Dust.  A dust bunny about the size of a quarter.  When I woke up my first thought was, so that’s why everything sounds like crap this year.

I mixed two more songs before work this morning.  There are only two left.  I will finish them both tonight if it kills me.  Then I need to figure out a running order, burn a CD, and mail it off.

Here is one of this morning’s mixes. It’s the 7/8 rocker with the terrible leads.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/bad-guy.mp3%20

The other song is in 6/8. It was an eighth note kinda morning. It was supposed to be the big quiet/loud/quiet thing but the loud parts are kinda pointless.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/that-certain-someone.mp3%20

It is February 27th. The end is upon us.

RPM Challenge – Day 26

I have finished recording all of the parts I need. I have four more songs to mix. I’m going to finish on time and have something in the mail by noon on Saturday. It just won’t be all that good.

The music is repetitive and clunky, the lyrics are crap as usual, the singing is worse than ever, and the lead guitar playing (which is normally weak at best) has been at times dreadful. I just don’t have it in me this month. I could probably take four or five of these and combine them with three or for from November and end up with a decent collection of songs, but this one on its own is pretty pathetic.

I mixed two more last night, for a total of 10 finished songs. I’m not going to post one of them because the vocal performance is the worst of my life, and despite recording the whole thing multiple times (dumbing down the melody each time) I still can’t pull it off.

The second mix from last night is better though.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/yes.mp3%20

My hands are too tired to perform, my voice is too tired to perform, and I think my ears are too tired to perform too. Everything just sounds sort of… mushy.

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