Steampunk, Melodicas, and Dub Reggae, Oh My!

Well, it's funny how things turn out, isn't it?

I started this month (well, last month) with the intention of writing three Steampunk-themed songs, and having a grand unveiling upon this very website. However, in attempting to pin down the genre of steampunk in a musical style, I seem merely to have chased it away. Instead, this month has produced two pieces of music that I shall share with you.

The first MP3, entitled "Further", began as a Steampunk piece. I figured that acoustic guitars and organs would have a lot of interplay in times where steam ran amplifiers, and so I set about attempting to create a cathedral-like space in which an acoustic guitar gave way to an almighty organ (fnarr, fnarr). What happened next, I'm not entirely sure - it may have been the fact that I've been listening to a lot of Porcupine Tree lately - but the time signature became slightly off-kilter, the bass became busy and the structure more epic. Add in an organ/electric break and you get something which I'm actually very proud of.

The other thing I want to share with you this month is an experiment, brought on by the fact that I obtained a melodica. Firstly, I love experimenting with the flow of an album - songs which, unless you look at the track number, you aren't certain are new songs. Secondly, melodicas are big in dub reggae.

Yeah, I can tell you're worried now. But it's okay.

Anyhow, this track begins with a hard cut and an Am chord. That means that any other song that ends on Am could, in theory, be hard cut at the last note and segue into this one. To play with flow even more, this track transitions into a straighter rock piece - now that, I'm not finished writing. You get a little taste of the verse riff at the end of all the dubness.

Whew. On to next month - and 50/90!

MP3 1 Further
MP3 2 Dub Experiment

Help Me Be Good

Here's a new one... don't have a recording of it yet, but I'll put up a link as soon as I am able. Looks like the last tune I wrote was Nothin' All Day back in January, so this is a welcome addition. I'm truly amazed and impressed with you all and the songs you've been writing! Keep up the great passion!

Short commentary/introduction:

We're all affected by bad decisions and/or mistakes. The person who makes the mistake suffers, but also the folks in their circle of influence sometimes pay a price. This song thinks a bit about those on both sides...

Thanks for taking the time,
John
p.s. Thanks for all you do with the site, bro...

Help Me Be Good
words and music by John Natiw

He woke up on Sunday and made one last mark on the wall
The last time he lived as a free man he couldn't recall
Since then it's been nothin' but dodgin' these big iron doors
Tryin' to stay out of trouble and settlin' scores

They gave him his old clothes and said 'don't you ever come back'
The rest of his life and a Bible tucked into a sack
Twenty one years to forget all the things that he'd done
He walked through the front gate, his face turned up into the sun

And he said...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin' is help me be good

The day that they took him away she was too young to know
Why a man that she wanted to stay said he still had to go
In the years that have past pain and anger have come home to live
In the place of a man who just didn't have nothin' to give

She thought to herself more than once 'he can go straight to hell'
Then a voice from the front room said 'momma, can I get the bell'
Twenty one long years of thinkin' 'bout what might have been
She turned to her son and said 'go let your grandaddy in'

And she said...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin' is help me be good

[instrumental verse]

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin'... is...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin'
All that I'm sayin'
Please hear me sayin'...
Help me be good

Write Fifty Songs In Ninety Days?!

No. I'm not even considering it. But I thought about it and I think I've found a good middle line.

15/90.

From the people who brought you February's FAWM Challenge (14 songs in 28 days) comes their newest challenge: 50 Songs In 90 Days.

Fifteen songs in ninety days. That might be possible. Yes?
It begins July 4th.

Here's the official website.

Wish You Were In My Space

Here's the latest from one of our contributors (and a fellow FAWMER), Billy Sea.



I have a basic chorus in my head but haven't recorded it yet. (if you remember my music from FAWM, it was mostly country/folk. This is no different, lol) When I lay it down with music it will probably need a little tweaking.

Song - Wish You Were In My Space

v1
That computer seems to take up all your time
I can remember when your attention was only mine
But now it feels like you've drifted away
And you seem more distant every day

v2
I used to love the way you'd smile at me
Now I only hear your laughter at something on that screen
I'm afraid I'm losing us, I'm afraid that it is true
So I'm praying that my music can still get to you

There's nothing else I know how to do

Chorus
I wish you were in my space
I wish you were with me
I wish that I could break the spell
And I could finally set you free
It's hard living without you here
Together in this place
I wish you were beside me
Wish you were in my space

v3
If my words don't get through to you this time
I'll try again with different phrases, different rhymes
I love you too much to ever give up on you
And I'll just keep at it, hoping one day to break through

There's nothing else I know how to do

Chorus
I wish you were in my space
I wish you were with me
I wish that I could break the spell
And I could finally set you free
It's hard living without you here
Together in this place
I wish you were beside me
Wish you were in my space

(c) 2008 William Crowe

LOL, that was fun, Hope it isn't too terrible :)

Billy Sea (Bill Crowe)

Heartreak

Here's a new little instrumental bit that might sometime become a song.

2008-06-20 Instrumental

The Hard Work of Rewriting

I don't enjoy rewriting. But when I arrive at the better lyric, the more apt phrase, it all seems worth it.

I've rewritten a lyric tonight and I'm much happier with the finished lines.
I'd share it, but it's too fresh and I'm thinking I may regret it in the morning.

We'll see how it pans out.

:)


**EDIT 6/12/08**

Here's the original lyric (and the original song can be found here):

There was a wise man on a hill who once said
things fall apart, degrade and disappear
Now carry me down this hill to your town
I'll tell you why we're all here

So I carried him on my back for miles
As I labored he still carried on
'bout seeds and how one day I'd wish
I had a bucket full of them


How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin' since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That's something I'm hoping you could tell me too


When we got there he sat in a chair
The kind with springs all sticking out
He leaned forward and caught my eye
And then he opened up his mouth

We are diamonds, we are pearls
Lost treasures in this coal-mine world
If we never step outside ourselves
How can we be so sure? **weak melody line here**


How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin' since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That's something I'm hoping you could tell

How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin' since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That's something I'm hoping you could tell me too
That's something I'm hoping you could tell me too




Now, the revised lyric (bold parts have been changed in some way):



There was a wise man on a hill who
once said things fall apart, degrade and disappear
Now carry me down this hill to your town
I’ll tell you why we’re all here

So I carried him on my back for miles
As I labored in the dust and heat
and the questions filling up my mind
like water drops into the sea



How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin’ since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That’s something I’m hoping you could tell me too


When we got there he sat in a chair
The kind with springs all sticking out
He leaned forward, caught my eye and
then he opened up his mouth

We are diamonds, we are pearls
Lost treasures in this coal-mine world
the pressure and uncertainty
that’s all we are guaranteed


How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin’ since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That’s something I’m hoping you could tell

How do we fit into this Earth?
Have we been wanderin’ since our birth?
And once I get there what am I supposed to do?
That’s something I’m hoping you could tell me too
That’s something I’m hoping you could tell me too


The second verse ("we are diamonds, we are pearls") gave me much more trouble. Here are all the other lines I attempted. I'm not saying this song is done yet either, just that I'm happier now than I was before.

These lyrics would replace the spot of "the pressure and uncertainty" lines...

then he stood and uttered one last word
but he whispered so I never heard…



like a bird that needs it’s wings to fly
your questions help you redefine



like a bird that needs the sky above
but first you’re gonna need a shove



I just didn't like the "like a bird" metaphor, so I decided to can it and move on to something that somehow related to the original comparison of people to diamonds and pearls (and coal). Pressure makes coal into diamonds...hmmm...pressure and uncertainty, those things make us grow.

Yep. There's the inner working of my brain. I can't tell you how long it took to do this. You would think a few minutes...

:) More like an hour or two. Was it worth it?

Summer Is Almost Here

When I write instrumentals on the acoustic, inevitably the end up sounding something like this.

I set up two mics, an Sm57 about 1 foot away from my cheap Yamaha guitar, and the M-Audio Nova about 2-3 feet away. Then I recorded several one try passes playing various little chord/solo bits. I ended by layering a pedal-y tone type organ sound on the Casio keyboard.

I'm sure I could make a living as a new age acoustic artist of some sort...

:)

Here's the song:

Summer Is Almost Here

Stupid Laptop Cables!

So, due to issues (namely my being a dork and leaving an important cable behind after playing a gig), I did not achieve my steampunk goal last month. With this in mind, I still aim to complete three steampunk songs by the end of /this/ month instead.

I think before I try, however, that I shall paint my laptop power cable some kind of neon colour to prevent any further mishaps...