Song #3 (though fourth recorded) in my 15/90 challenge. (Info about the song will be there shortly.)
Listen to/Download “Ladies Playing Bridge” at the Internet Archive.
Song number 4 (even though it’s done third) in my 15/90 challenge. (No info’s there yet, but it will be tonight.) Song number 3 is hopefully coming later tonight; I’m putting it number 3 and this one number 4 because I dislike it a lot and so doing it earlier will tend to bury it under other, more recent, songs.
Download/Listen to “Technically a Condom” at the Internet Archive.
Number 2 in the 15/90 challenge. This one’s not exactly about Jesse Helms. Learn more about it at its 50/90 page.
Or, Listen to/Download “For He Died on the Fourth of July” via the Internet Archive.
I’m back. And I’m taking part in the 50/90 Song Challenge, in which people are challenged to write 50 songs in 90 days. I’m not going to do that — I’m going to be moving at the end of the month, and moreover, there’s absolutely no way I’m skilled enough at the instrumentation to have that much output — so my goal is 15. (There’s precedent for that — lots of people have that revised goal.
Anyhow, this is number 1 in my 15/90 challenge. It’s a little song about a goat and a very rare duck who moves into his petting zoo. More details will appear at my 50/90 page.
Listen to/Download “My Name is Chuck”
Hosted at the Internet Archive. Thanks!
Finally!
Listen to/Download “Party at Your House”
(Hosted at the Internet Archive. Thanks, Internet Archive!)
About the Song
The inspiration for this one, I guess, came several years ago. My roommate at the time was a fellow improvisor; we were on a team together but he also had another team. We had a decent-sized living room without too much furniture so both teams usually rehearsed there rather than shelling out $30 for a room through the Chicago Park District.
Apart from the tinge of jealousy at this group playing while I couldn’t, having a rehearsal in my apartment that I wasn’t involved in usually wasn’t an issue; I’d be in my room writing or playing Civ III or I’d head out for a while. Except for one night.
That night I was under the weather, in that sort of “not-feeling-good-but-if-I-go-to-sleep-early-I-might-avoid-getting-sick-as-a-dog” way. “Early” for me is about 9, which would have been fine, since that’s when the rehearsal usually ended. I also had to be at work early the next day.
“Usually” in that previous paragraph is a key word, however. This particular rehearsal, the group decided to have the improv curiosity known as “drunk rehearsal,” in which the participants rehearse, while getting drunk. Bad for improv, but good for team bonding. Also, generally, loud. And also, perpetual.
They did eventually leave. It may or may not have been before midnight. I got to bed angry and woke up full-on sick.
Hopefully, after you hear the song, you’ll see the similarity. If not… oh well, it makes sense to me.
Technical info
Built in Garage Band using entirely premade loops, except for the four cymbal snaps that intro the song. This one, sadly, shows the limitations of that approach a lot more than “Defenestrated” or even “17
Uses for Puke” did. Which is a shame, since I am pretty pleased with the lyrics. In a year, perhaps, once I’ve developed a bit more skill on the keys, I’ll redo the thing.
Other
Bugger, it was tough to record this. Or, more specifically, tough to find a time to record this–still have a roommate, though it’s a different one–and so courtesy (or fear of looking stupid) kind of dictates not using the shared area of the apartment as a recording studio while she’s reading or watching TV or such. Believe it or not, that’s less of a cheesy cop-out than it might seem. (I hope.)
My midweek progress report:
“This Means You”: Conceived March 19, written March 31, and about a quarter of the way done with the arrangement. This’ll be done mostly if not entirely on the keyboard. It was previously known as “If I Can’t Pee in Your Toilet (I’m Pooping on Your Floor)” because that’s a pretty awkward title and because I try to conceal the joke. This’ll be the next one that I post.
“The Flatulent Boxer Named Gassius Clay”: conceived March 24, and about three lines shy of being finished with the writing of it. I’m keeping this title, even though it puts the joke pretty front and center, because I like violating the internal consistency of a post. Probably the next to be recorded, even though the next one is ready.
“Party at Your House”: Conceived March 31 and written April 1. Most likely next after “Flatulent Boxer”.
Others still in the idea stage and likely to get past it: “Middle-aged Women”, “Next I”, “Simple Simple Stupid Man”, “Barprov Baby”, and “I Should Be In Maine.”
Less likely to go anywhere: “Giant Pile of Nerd”, “Insider in an Out Crowd”, and “Escalator Collector.”
Listen to/Download “Defenestrated”
(Hosted at the Internet Archive. Thanks, Internet Archive!)
About the Song
Just a little ditty by a man who happens to be falling from one of the top stories of a skyscraper. The bridge came to me first; I was on an escalator and got tickled by the idea of having a song from the perspective of someone who is fully aware that he’s about to die in a spectacular and messy way, and who’s kind of okay with it.
The humor in this one is dark, dark, dark. Neat!
It wasn’t until I was writing the last verse (which happened to be the last part of the song that I wrote), that I realized that he hates his wife as much as she hates him. It probably says horrible things about me that I was really delighted by that discovery. It’s the kind of thing that I usually know going into a writing project, rather than finding it out at the very end.
Technical Info
Built in GarageBand, primarily using pre-made loops. The wind sound effects at the beginning, and the final sound effect were both produced on my keyboard.
Additional Note
I loaded .mp3 versions of “Creepy Moose” and “17 Uses for Puke.” They were in .m4a format, which is what GarageBand and iTunes were doing automatically, but I figured out how to convert them.
So, if you were having problems listening, try again, and it should work now. (But let’s face it: this is a 1-week-old blog. “You”, at this point, is a theoretical concept rather than actually referring to someone.)
I’ll be contributing to it in some way, so I guess it counts. Recapitulation has just finalized booking a run for Brat Pack: The Musical, an improvised musical homage to the 1980s John Hughes movies.
It’s improvised, apart from the opening song, so we have no idea what the plot or music will be, but they’ll exist. I do know that I’ll be playing the Judd Nelson archetype: the criminal. (With a heart of gold.)
The details:
Thursday nights at 8 p.m.
May 8-May 29.
Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Tickets are $10.
Plus, we’ll be doing a special preview Tuesday, May 6, at the Playground Theater at 3209 N. Halsted, 8 p.m., as part of their improv showcase. Tickets there are also $10. Hope you can come and see!
So much for “Middle-aged Women” and “Insider in an Out Crowd.”
I definitely finished writing them. However, I happened to finish the lyrics on paper rather than my computer, and while I thought that I had input them into my trusty MacBook, in fact, no such luck.
So, unless I find the proper scrap of paper, they are functionally not written.
I did finish writing “Defenestrated”, and it’s the next song I’m working on recording. I’ll be building that one entirely in GarageBand.
