Welp, wrapped up the mixes and recording I’ve been doing with Steve’s band Elementary. I’m sharing a couple of personal favorites from the batch we recorded. I’m pretty pleased with the way they came out. If I ever work with the band again, I think I’d like to spend more time on guitar work, get some more varying and complementary tones.
As it is, they have this retro vibe going for them anyway, so like i said, the project came out well. Especially since they’re just using them as demos (I think they could definitely sell them).
Here’s a sweet little song written by Andy Davis. Don’t mind the video, it’s the only one i could find with the studio recording. This is a good example of lyrics that are written very conversationally, but still rhyme and whatnot. Take the first line for example:
“We’ll rent a comedy, rewind the best parts and we’ll memorize the lines
I’ll call everyone and they can come over if it keeps things off your mind”
I’m teaching it to my guitar class currently. I really like it, enjoy:
When I write songs, I consider lyrics one of my weakest points. When I listen to music, I always end up listening to the melody and stuff more than the words people sing. I’ve often gone a long time really enjoying a song without even knowing what the meaning is… sometimes I even learn the words without thinking about what I’m saying!
Anyway, I was talking to somebody about how if a song has really catchy / good (subjective) music but crappy lyrics, it can still be a mega-hit. People seem to care less about the actual lyrics of a song so long as the tune scratches that itch we have in our brain to hear catchy melodies.
Here is my example for today. This song is only in circulation in Japan, but it illustrates my point perfectly. I personally think it’s stupid catchy (that’s a good thing kiddies), but the lyrics are decidedly lacking. I hate forced rhymes… meaning, rhyming two lines without any coherent thought being conveyed. Take this line for example:
“Still I end up in a mess,
Every time I second guess”
Yeah, you can argue that it’s a complete thought, but the way it’s written isn’t natural. It’s forced. A more natrual to say it would be “I always end up in a mess everytime I second guess myself.” Right? But once again, I am not the strongest lyricist, so what do I know? Enjoy the song, ’cause it’s catchy!
I tried to find an example of a song with excellent lyrics but questionable music, but couldn’t think of any. It’s either because I dont listen to lyrics very much, or that I’m right in saying that great music can save a song with crappy lyrics, but the best lyrics in the world can’t save a song that is lacking musically.
I love this commercial. Although it kind of highlights the fact that you hear road noise in the civic, it’s such a clever idea! Space the bumps in the road out so that they create pitches as your car drives over it. Now, granted, the song is a little out of tune, but the rhythm is spot on. I’m sure many of you have already seen it before. Youtube actually has a long series about how they plan and created the idea, do a search!
I’m digging through some old family home videos, putting them on my computer and searching out some of my old piano recitals so I can put together a clip that tracks my progress on piano throughout the years. Anyway, I came across this clip of the GMHS JV Show from 1999. It’s me on keyboards accompanying Sara & Petrea on “When You Believe” from the Prince of Egypt. I uploaded it figuring there’d be more people out there on facebook that would get a kick out of seeing it again. Most of you who read this blog couldn’t care less probably… haha.
At this time, I was 16 years old. Junior year of HS.
I discovered that the tune is actually from Bear McCreary’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower.” You can hear the tune i was talking about in this clip:
I haven’t been updating much, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been hard at work! I’ve been recording a couple of projects, one of which is Stever’s new band Elementary (Steve is from LOTC fame… see video below).
Anyway, if you click on their site, they’ve been very good about blogging the progress of the record. It’s 9 songs total, 6 originals, 3 covers. We did all the tracking over one weekend, and then picked up a few short-sessions the following week to track all the vocals. I’m not in the mixing stage, but I’ll probably post a track or two so you can hear it. I think it’s turning out pretty nice.
Also, here’s a link to a video they posted. They do their best not to show me, but you can see me running around doing my thing…!
