march 5, 2010
This week's song is called
"He's Just A Boy Who Can't Say Yes,"
a title obviously inspired by a certain Rogers & Hammerstein classic.
So is it a funny song?
ummm ... not intentionally.
Remember this scene from Say Anything:
"I wrote 63 songs this year. They're all about Joe. And I'm going to play each and every one of them tonight."
Bitter songs about an ex are what being a singer/songwriter is all about.
If you don't write a bitter breakup song at least once a year, you lose your invite to the singer/songwriter christmas pity party.
So this week I went in the "Joe lies... when he cries" direction.
Listen to this week's song here.
february 26, 2010
more mini cupcakes!
I mean, mini songs. Thanks to Thom, Kyran, Jon & Nadya for letting me use their status updates.
Listen to the songlets here.
february 19, 2010
After years of resistance, I recently joined the Facebook.
Maybe I shouldn't have been so crankypants about it, because I have found that sometimes people's status updates are funny, poetic or inspiring. Or all three a once!
A few weeks ago I started copying some of my friends' status updates into a notebook with the idea that it might be fun to make little mini songs out of them.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to all five of the friends I contacted, who graciously gave me permission to use their words - even without hearing my song ideas.
Each mini song is about a minute long. Listen to them here.
mini, in cotext
february 12, 2010
This week I used my sewing machine as the foundation for a song. I recorded it and then made up a melody and sang along.
Here is my kitten Chloe, who also finds the sewing machine fascinating.
(I swear I did not choose this particular model because it's also a singer.)
In addition to sewing machine and voice, this week's homemade song features pinking shears and masking tape, and you can listen to it here.
february 5, 2010
this week's song seemed to require the sound of a harpsichord. seriously.
so I used the harpsichord feature on my Roland electric keyboard, a feature I have used maybe once since I got the thing seventeen years ago.
I am hoping that if I neglect to mention the fact that this week's song might sound a little like a 1970's sitcom theme (Mork & Mindy? not sure), maybe no one will notice.
Decide for yourself by listening here.
Jan Miense Molinaer, Lady At Harpsichord, 1640
january 29, 2010
My friend Tanya called my attention to Day Of Amnesty For Unanswered Correspondences (January 28) - a day dedicated to making an effort to return the letters, calls, emails that you've recieved and meant to answer.
I love that idea so much!
I really suck at returning emails.
Of course, instead of answering correspondence this week, I made a song about not answering correspondence.
Listen to it here.
january 22, 2010
Five storms in as many days!
I was compelled to make a rainy day song but I didn't feel much like singing this week because my neck & back have been all stiff and spasmy. So this week's song features my sweet Lester "Betsy Ross" spinet [it's a piano], with a guest appearance by my little glockenspiel. Listen here.
january 15, 2010
Look at my lovely new autoharp!
It's actually not new, of course. I don't know its exact date of manufacture, but it's somewhere between 1910 and 1929. I found it in an antique store last friday and I've been tuning it ever since.
I think it might be like painting the Golden Gate Bridge - as soon as you're finished you have to start over.
In any case, it's unique sound inspired this week's song. To listen, click here.
january 8, 2010
Today I got my piano tuned. Yay!
Please pardon the sound of a sniff here or there in today's song. I am coming down with a cold.
To listen, click here.
january 1, 2010
I am excited to get back to the habit of making songs. Inspiration is nice, but as Nolan Bushnell said, the ultimate inspiration is the deadline.
Ironic that this quote comes from the founder of Atari, because one of the primary ways I distract myself from both inspiration and deadlines is video games.
I really don't want to look back at the end of my life with nothing to show for my time on earth than an impressive score on Yahoo WordSense. Instead, I want to look back on many half-baked, poorly recorded song ideas posted on the interwebs.
Enjoy!
To listen to this week's song sketch, click here.