A Song A Day For A Year |
A blog depicting the writing of song after song for 365 days a year. |
The machine rears it’s head and twists from side to side. All systems are rebooted and new software is installed. The machine awakes and takes a look at its new components. The machine attempts to smile, but realising it cannot, finds self-destruction a fitting end. The machine stands at the top of a building and views all below, all life darting round a metal square like lights in a circuitboard. Near to the edge, the machine begins to slide, praying a swift death and exit from this cruel world. Closer the machine grows towards the edge and eternal nothingness. Now about to drop, all inside is shut down and a strange warmth enters within.
‘Stop’ a not-far-away voice says and the machine comes to life.
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In the past week I’ve had some radical new changes in self. Last year I became an agnostic after coming to University, Winchester being a place strong in the Christian belief. But even after many talks with several different Christians and attending the Alpha Course (aimed at asking questions about God) I wasn’t feeling it. So I channeled my energy into the track that got me through Winchester’s round 1 and many a speechless room ‘Give Up The Ghost’.
Five weeks passed and again I set sail for Uni with my guitars smiling, for they were returning to the place where Inspiration came to play often. I began playing ‘Give Up The Ghost’ live at open mics around Shepperton and then later on Winchester and the response I had was phenomenal. What I believed to be a nothing-track was something a of a gem.
I then sat down and pondered over it’s creation. My original intentions were to make a song completely made up of English phrases but I can see back now that the song was to be bigger, I just didn’t know it at the time. The song quite literally wrote itself from then on, I was merely the postman. This songwriting feeling does carry a kind of supernatural sense to it, leading me to my next adventure: seek God out.
To those of you don’t have faith this might be hard to read, to those with it, possibly comforting to know that I did not leave my quest unenlightened. In terms of go fish ‘I got what I asked for’. But anyway, this new found belief became the foundation for many a new song, as you know I’m writing a few this year. Here we go, take a breath and throw all in.
The Songwriting Project Week 5
This week the songs seemed to be pouring out of me like a running of water. These seven songs are the winter warming up, the last look at the forest before taking flight to challenging winds.
In other words, it was the bridge between good and better.
No#29 - All Of You
All Of You decorates the ceremony like a pirate ship that’s spent too many a moon at sea. Echoing with an empty eagerness, it is the hole and the thing to fill it. ‘All Of You’ is a minor key heart cruncher, swooning with backing vox harmonies from the lovely lips of India Roberts (co-writer of the song). Seems fitting that two years after writing the song ‘A Little Of You’ for the My Lament EP (available from me for only £2!) that I finally ask for the big time and with this, I take a bigger step into the acoustic world.
No#30 - Naughty Cats
Naughty Cats, a slight (massive) departure from the acoustic seriousness of the day before. Naughty Cats was written in ten minutes in-between doing laundry and drying. Sounding a little bit between ‘Kung-Fu Fighting’ and something a bit Biffy, Naughty Cats is simple but punchy. The riff claws at you as it leads the song in; it’s fast, it’s furious, it’s uniquely simple.
Time for the pub.
No#3 - The Lottery
What better way to end the month than to watch a crappy movie?
Other Guys, I mean you. You blog killer.
….so anyway! Lottery is a fast paced escape-from-country style rocker and a definite nod to Harvey Dangerfield’s ‘Flagpole Sitta’ (Peep Show theme tune). When writing this one, not many ideas popped into my head. I had played the lottery once and was pretty sure I hadn’t won yet, so there was no real life examples I could draw from.
I ultimately decided to twist it and make the lottery into a real life person; someone bent on winning but always losing. The character starts becoming obsessed seeing everything as a game, believing his winning would make everyone around him happy. The character loses love but gains wealth, essentially gaining nothing, rather losing himself to his greed.
Lottery stands out to me, in most part, due to the rhythm of the lyrics and the style in which it’s performed. The music layers up as each stanza begins, creating a rush when the words flood in. With a tweak here and there this could be a decent live one!
No#4 - Into The Black
So far my creativity for this week had not been at it’s peak. It was the day for viewing houses and seeing where I would be living next year with Grant, Goody and Stuart (the other three members of team awesome). After a tiring day and a belly of chilli I couldn’t see a song anywhere in sight.
Looking through the song lyrics and videos of tracks I had done so far I found the line ‘Into The Black’ perking my cuiriosity. I was also quite conveniently sat in a dark room with my guitar, thus began the noodling process. ‘Into The Black’ became my first very instrumental, a piece of music that tells it’s story without having to use words/vocals. A definite contender for my set, come down to the Railway to see it performed soon.
No#5 - Cousins
Now as mentioned at the top, this week has been a monumental week for me in terms of beliefs and finding for myself a new lease of life. This track stands out most this week because as I finally converted, this tune flew out of me, writing itself. Cousins is a song about opening up, about finding God and quite importantly, family.
The next thing that really stands out to me here is the genre that it fits into. It’s like a melding of two of my favourite rock bands: Alice in Chains and Band of Skulls. This was without even trying to be heavy, the song just took itself there which really shows that the spirit inside of me is a rock n’ roller.
So there you go, Cousins, a song of praise, if you will.
No#6 - Smooth Ride
The day before I left for University I was already rehearsing for the first open mic night I would do at The Railway. Amongst all the hubbub of moving and starting afresh was the beginnings of this song: Smooth Ride. What I had back then lyrically was completely different, but it was the central riff that held my interest as I used the guitar as both melody and percussion.
The vocal melody I placed atop the riff gavea real surf feel without using anything stereotypical of the surf rock genre. Well this is surf acoustic and finally with the idea of motorbikes I can bring this laid back tune to the fore. I co-wrote the lyrics with India (who I have been teaching guitar in exchange for vocal harmonies) who also provides vocals for the track, giving a bigger feel but keeping it’s chilled attitude.
No#7 - I Found You
Much can be said for a person who writes a song in their mates room while there a massive kitchen party upstairs. Well if the song was a grand undertaking in songwriting then yes, this however was designed to be the cheesiest song ever and well, kind of achieves it?
Getting ideas off other songwriters for this has nearly been as hard as the challenge itself. But I was able to squeeze this one out of Kingston open micer James Gould: Cheese. Keeping with my vow of not writing songs about food, I instead proposed to write the cheesiest song I could.
For this I took what I considered the cheesiest elements of my lyrics: I seem to have a bizarre fascination with fire and water. I then thought about making it a cheesy rock song, something the Offspring would write and I tried my best to hit the nail as close as I could on the head.
Well with most end of weeks songs, this song is again played by the lack of calm inside me, due to it being a Friday. This is something I really need to work on and will take note to not write songs after having a few beers. Agreed.
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Conclusiono!
To sum up this week has added a list of new things to my roster which I didn’t have before. Now I can split up my set with an instrumental (Into The Black) or take it down to surf avenue with ‘Smooth Ride’. There’s harmonies to boot in ‘All Of You’ and ‘Cousins’ introduces a whole new spectrum of songwriting.
It’s been fun writing this blog, thanks to everyone who keeps up to date with it, I hope by the end of this year there’ll be something for everyone in the songwriting project. If you have any further ideas feel free to post them to my page @ www.facebook.com/sfmusic or hear my tunes www.myspace.com/sfonline.
Till next time, chou!
