Tag: Song Writing

How to Spend Election Day

So how have you been spending your election day? In lock down, I hope.

I rewatched The new Mandalorian episode and a few recent Archers and a South Park. I popped into work for an 11:00 meeting. I played quite a bit of electric guitar. I used my new bluesbreaker clone paired up with the Klon Centaur klone I bought back in May. With both pedals set to really low gain, they add up to a pretty freaking wonderful mid-gain tone. With the Klone gain off and the Blooze Maker set very high it’s… not as wonderful, but still pretty cool. I put guitars on two new November songs and three old re-recording songs. My fingers are screwy now so I’m taking a break in case I need to blow off stress steam later.

I’ve done a little doom scrolling on twitter. Not much. I’ve managed to stay away. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay away for long. The draw of rumor and speculation is strong. Very strong.

Vote out the nazis.

New Pedal Day

I didn’t want to record any guitars for the November music yesterday because I was waiting for this guy to come in the mail today.

I’ve never played a bluesbreaker clone before. I’m hoping this plays really well with the Ryra pedal I bought myself for my birthday back in May. We’ll see!

November Music – Day 1

November is National Solo Album Month, or NaSoAlMo for the cool kids in the know. Every year I talk endlessly about this little writing/recording challenge and almost every year I lose interest after a few days. Will this year be different? Probably, given that I’ve effectively done a NaSoAlMo qualifying project in each of the last nine months. But who’s counting.

I finished Quarantine Tunes Volume 2 yesterday, though I still haven’t decided on a final running order for the playlist. I had planned to spend November working on new stuff but what did I do? I started working on a few more songs that are pegged for Quarantine Tunes Volume 3. I also kicked off two new songs, so it’s going to be one of those months, I think.

Volume 1 had eight songs. They were all going to have eight songs. Then volume 2 had nine. Oh well. If I stick to the current schedule, volume 3 will have 10 because you basically can’t count on me for anything.

Granted all of this could go down the toilet based on whatever happens on Tuesday. If we lose and continue to embrace evil as a nation, I might be too busy finding a new country for musical masturbation. Hopefully things will go the way of justice and light on Tuesday and I won’t have to worry about that. Fingers crossed.

One More Halloween Song

It’s still Halloween for another seven minutes, so here’s another song.

This one was added to the great 2015 re-recording project last month. Why so late? Because I wrote it last month. Seriously. This was song #51 for the 2020 5090. (51st song started, not finished. It was the 40 somgthingth finished)

It’s also the ninth and final song for volume 2. All that’s left to do is figure out the final running order. I can put that off until tomorrow.

Until then, happy halloween again, and happy end of daylight savings. Happy? Naw.

Halloween Music

I still have one more song to mix for the great 2015 re-recording project volume two but I have to do a lot of midi work on it first. I don’t know if I’ll finish it tonight. I’ll try.

Until then, a song originally started in 2007 and finished in 2011 about wanting to go to San Diego and never come back.

Not What I Had in Mind

Yesterday I mixed a song and afterwards my ears were so useless that everything sounded like mush. I promised myself I’d take a day off from mixing and give my head a rest.

Today I rested… almost. I promise I didn’t spend a second working on Quarantine Tunes Volume 2. I did, however, record the MIDI tracks to one song for Quarantine Tunes Volume 3.

Dumb ass.

I’ll mix another song tomorrow. Which should I do? The 12-bar blues from the 2007 RPM Challenge, or the song I wrote last month that I liked so much I was re-recording it about 7 days after I finished the first recording?

Who cares?

Fall To-Do List

Hockey is over and it won’t be back for a while. Baseball is over and it won’t be back for a while. Movies are over and they won’t be back for a while.

What’s to look forward to?

The Mandalorian comes out tomorrow. Season two. That’s something to look forward to. I have spoken. This is the way.

Star Trek Discovery is back. We’re a couple of episodes into season three but I haven’t watched yet.

The first Marvel series on Disney+ is coming out in December.

I have a new guitar pedal coming. It shipped this morning. National Solo Album Month kicks off on Sunday. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Christmas? Thanksgiving? Covid-19 vaccines? That’s all up in the air still.

Election day? I’ve already voted, but I am cautiously optimistic that the fascists will be eradicated.

An Avalanche of New Music

Now that the October Music is complete, I can get back to The Great 2015 ReRecording Project with this little ditty from all the way back in February.

Allow me to add this little note from the alonetone page:

Lyrically it’s fitting to upload this today as we are one week away from the 2020 presidential election where we will do our best to rid the Federal Government of the fascists and their collaborators. This song is about a particular nazi prick. I won’t name names but it’s Bill Barr.

Suck it, nazis.

October Music – Finished

October’s album in a month project is complete. That means nine months in a row I’ve managed at least 10 songs. That is nuts. That is crazy.

This one isn’t really meant to be songs. It’s more like little rhythm exercises, or little harmony exercises. It feels more like a music theory class than actual songs. The first three are okay listens, I think, but the rest are pretty dull, and the last song is a complete turd. You’re welcome.

Here’s the official alonetone playlist link because we all know the hearthis.at thing embedded in the post isn’t actually going to play more than the first song.

Now I have a few days to mix the last five re-recorded songs. Quarantine Tunes Volume 2 will be completed, then next month we do National Solo Album Month again. Something different… an album in a month challenge.

Dig it.