Song-A-Day 2022

Spicy Bee

Ever hear a song and think, “What could possibly have made him write that? Did someone dare him?” Well, in this case, you would be right. Actually, it was half-dare and half-threat. And it all came out of a semi-drunken afternoon. The time: Early Pandemic Stupidity Era. The place: my front yard. The suspects: me, Mary (my wife) and our neighbors, Mary and Brian (hereafter inconsistently referred to as “Freighbors.”) When the lockdowns all started and everyone was basically living my beautiful shut-in lifestyle and not working all that much, we would occasionally set up our lawn chairs at the … Continue reading

Repurposed Asset

I’ve wanted to try making a drum and bass (DnB) track for a long time, but thought that it might be too much production time for a Song-A-Day track. This is nonsense, of course, given that I’ve been able to put together some very complex arrangements and mixes in the past. The difference is the style; I’ve never attempted it and am not entirely sure what I’m in for. It’s a little hard to describe where DnB sits in my world. When I first heard the genre in the mid-90s, I appreciated it as an extension of the dance, techno, … Continue reading

Quixotic Intent

Another day where participating in this challenge forces me past that inner slacker who convinces me to give up when I have no inspiration or, worse, my initial experiments just aren’t working. I was already in hardcore procrastination mode, finding all sorts of stupid things to do to avoid opening up that blank page. Like what you ask? Like going back and transcribing lyrics to my older Song-A-Day tracks. Not all of them, obviously, but several. There was some thing in the back of my brain that I was trying to find, and I started poking through these older tracks, … Continue reading

Primrose Waltz

I started out with grand intentions of getting started early and making my first attempt ever at a drum-and-bass track. Somewhat heavy on production, but I like it and, like the Tangerine Dream pastiche, want more than what I have in my record collection. I also love learning the production tricks along the way. Then I had dinner. Then I wrote one of my blog entries. Then two more. Walked the dog. Got a snack. And here we are at 11pm. Blank project. Week three. What now? Let’s try a waltz. (Time goes on and on…) What? It’s 4 am??? … Continue reading

Obverse View

A fairly typical Song-A-Day progress arc in the first two weeks, and this was certainly true for me in the first two or three years, is either a release of pent-up songs that slowly dry up, or starting with nothing, struggling for the first couple, but then getting back into the groove of writing and feeling pretty good in week two. And then comes week three. Panic starts to set in. The well is dry. The filters are down. Part desperation, part sleep deprivation, part tired tantrum, week three bites everyone at some point, but as Hunter S. said, “when … Continue reading