composition

This song started as a joke. Mary was making herself an after-dinner drink. “Can I make something for you?” “Sure!” “What would you like?” “Whatever you’re pouring, I’m drinking.” I then commented that that could be tonight’s song. We both laughed that it would be a good country song title, and I flirted with the idea of taking another stab at the style. I had a good time writing I Tried to Feed Her Kale last year, but by the time I got into the studio, my mind had changed. In part, it had changed because I was quickly inventorying … Continue reading

Is there something more opposite than 180 degrees? Could we maybe add a fourth dimension? Because that’s what happened with this song. I had started writing a bog-standard 80s synth-pop song. I had a drum pattern going, worked out the bass line, and was writing the first verse when Piece by Piece popped into my head. I’ve learned to follow these distractions when they’re strong. The first time I did so resulted in ABEND, which a lot of people have said is their favorite track on my first album. Writing the Song When the first verse came out, I thought … Continue reading

Well, hello, what’s this? Certainly not the downer piece I was expecting to write today. Sitting down to the keyboard, I loaded up a lovely Chapman Stick sample, and that opening riff is the first thing that came out of my hands.

I don’t know if this is the same song I started out writing. The words are all there, but somewhere between writing them, testing a web page, walking the dogs, and so on, I lost the melody that I’d originally had. Maybe. This could be it. It works in any case. I do have this weird feeling like I’ve rewritten a song I’ve heard before, but it could just be the inherent familiarities of this style. I also found the beginning of a bridge between the 2nd and 3rd verses, but whatever melody I had for that was long gone … Continue reading