this song and i were in the biggest fight this evening--most of this week, really. i've never written anything on the piano. my hands always go to the same old generic spots when i try. this was definitely a challenge. oddly enough, out of all the components of this song i like some of the chord changes the best. go ahead and ask me what key this is in. C with some substitutions. so much for keeping it simple. we learned about quartal harmonies in music theory this week. i had to throw at least one in. i kind of like the effect of holding the pedal and letting "incompatible" notes ring out.
i wrote the first verse early this week and had a really hard time coming up with anything beyond that. today, i was playing this song on guitar and found some chords for a pseudo-chorus. i think the lyrics are the weakest part of this song and had a really hard time with them. in a lot of ways they have taken shape and have meaning for me, but i don't feel like they are concrete enough. the songs i connect to most lyrically are generally an insight into a simple moment in a way that is very personal but innovative (see Josh Ritter's "Temptation of Adam," Feist "The Park," Leonard Cohen "Hallelujah," St. Vincent "What Me Worry"). I lack that here. Goal for next week. Why wouldn't I want to be intensely personal and vulnerable? I think I like to hide behind my words sometimes.
recording this was the biggest pain. i actually got the lights turned off on me and locked in a room up at school tonight at 11:30. if you're quiet enough, they'll never find you. i think i'd be kind of good at being homeless and staying warm. universities are prime spots for squatting. i tried to record the piano and vocals separately, but that proved nearly impossible without a working metronome and reserved vocals. after a few attempts, i scrapped that idea and went for the live approach. i think overdubbing takes away some of the integrity of the performance/song for me. i sound all too rehearsed and stiff when i separate them. that said, i'm going to ask that you ignore some significant lyrical flubs, that weird inexcusable growl near the end, and the excessive vamping drones--all part of that "performance" i spent the last three sentences raving about. granted, it comes with human error and embarrassments, but i appreciate it for being true to itself. and...long live garageband and reverb!
this coming week's goal: SIMPLE. that means chords, melody, words. no more melismas unless absolutely necessary. they obstruct meaning, julia. seriously.
have at this really weird version of me:
julia: piano, vocals, growls
hold me holy
hold me holy
what are you going to do
when your world grows feet?
learns how to run,
to call someone else honey.
who are you going to be
when you're bound by no law?
fists free for swinging,
you want to be broken,
but the laws of motion are long gone.
so you sing out
holy, holy to the valley in her eyes
you cry out
hold me, hold me from the mountainside.
oh inertia, i'm at the edge now with my thumb out,
how about a free ride?
you answer a question with
one of your own,
buying time in her eyes
but they're a piece of map going once,
going, gone.
so you sing out
holy, holy to the valley in her eyes
you cry out
hold me, hold me from the mountainside.
oh inertia, i'm at the edge now with my thumb out,
how about a free ride?
3 comments:
Julia!
Maybe it's just because it's on the piano, but this sounds like a Laura Nyro song, in all the best ways. That melody!
I'm amazed. Orders of magnitude better than anything I've ever written on the piano. I should learn to expect that by now :) really beautiful stuff, friend.
i'd have to say, i think you are hypercritical of and overanalyze your own work... but what artist doesn't? i guess you have to demand a certain level of quality from yourself, but i personally thought the recording was great. i don't think i heard the grunt and i really enjoyed the lyrics. cryptic lyrics always kind of intrigue but intimidate me. i enjoy the pictures you paint with words but I don't always know what they mean, which makes me feel stupid. i think it's nice in a way to be able to make other people feel stupid. it's like you, as the writer, know a secret that no one else does and they all want to. doesn't that make you feel kind of good?
Julia, this is sick. Like I'm going to throw up in real life, sick. And if that doesn't already explain everything in my head, here's a clarification: I love it. I know you probably aren't as obsessed with this goal as we are but you have to do it because you make everyone else happy and that's what's most important. My happiness.
Also, I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one who gets locked in at school.
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