This is a remnant from the time when my computer broke down. At first, I imagined the lead melody being played by a violin. But only on the piano did I find a proper way to continue the tune. This little piece of music is possibly a filler. But it’s one you can use to meditate on life and sound quality.
People came from far to see Old McBiddy’s wedding
Gather in the churchyard to celebrate the day
Oh what a joy it’s going to be: Old McBiddy’s wedding
So when he says, I do, the crowd shouts out, hooray! Now we’re going to celebrate Old McBiddy’s wedding
Hurry boys, do not be late and let the music play
Watch the people as they dance at Old McBiddy’s wedding
Meanwhile Uncle Parker is getting drunk on wine Come on folks, raise your hands at Old McBiddy’s wedding
Toast to the happy couple and their love divine
This is the first proper song I’ve recorded on my new computer. I still have a couple of digicam tracks which I’ll feature here, eventually. I had to force myself rather hard to create this particular song here. Thankfully, Russ chimed in with the suggestion to write about Tropical Heat’s popularity in Serbia. I pieced a few riffs together and assembled the lyrics on the fly, based on a few key words I had jotted down earlier. The whole thing would deserve a more elaborate song. But I only had a narrow time window this week and I was eager to experiment with the new recording software. I hope, however, that the song fits with the other 52-second songs I’ve done so far. (An epic instrumental MIDI-suite is in the works but that’s a different story – related to hybris.)
Želim da postanem poznata u SrbiJa. Ugoditi pomoc mene. Hvala. Ljubav i palacinke!
I don’t expect to become an internet superstar
But I wouldn’t mind a bit more popularity I wish I was big in Serbia
That people recognized me in the street
I wish I was big in Serbia
Just like Tropical Heat
This little tune was written and recorded at an unlikely location: the camping ground of this year’s Headbangers Open Air. I had planned to record more tracks back home. But once I had come up with the melody I liked the sparse sound of the glockenspiel. I recorded the song with my digicam inside the car. I had to close the windows because the first band of the day was already on stage, thrashing away. It got quite hot. So for me it’s surprising how the track sounds nothing like the circumstances under which it came into being.
“Hank Green Learned a New Chord” is yet another example for songs I hadn’t written without the 52-second constraint (and the need for brief song lyrics associated with it). Once again I had to record everything with my digicam, hence the bad sound. On the bright sight, you can watch me playing/recording the song.
It was Wednesday the 21st
Hank played a tune on his guitar
There on the vlogbrothers channel
I almost couldn’t believe what I saw It was like an epiphany
Though the part was rather short
It was plain for all to see
Hank Green learned a new chord
Until that day I had always thought
That Hank was a Horcrux of punk
A way to keep the lore of the three chord songs
Safe from boy-groups and funk It was like an epiphany
Though the part was rather short
It was plain for all to see
Hank Green learned a new chord
Is he about to make the transition from wizard rock
To Slytherin Jazz for the Dark Lord?
Hank Green learned a new chord
This is the result of my overexposure to Star Wars. In a post-”Return of the Jedi” world I can imagine guided tourist tours over the Endor battlefield. Who needs Gettysburg when you can stroll through the ruins of the shield generator? Speeder bikes available for extra charge. Yet, given the vast green forests on Endor it must be raining rather often.
The lyrical idea and the main melody lay around for a while until I figured I’d use my digicam to capture me recording the individual parts. I completed the lyrics in a hurry, scrapping my otherwise favourite line “Like a rainy day on Endor with no fur to keep you warm”. The audio tracks are actually those from the camera, so please excuse the crappy quality. You can see excerpts from all five tracks in the video.
Ein schwarzer VW-Bus hielt vor meinem Haus
Und eh ich mich versah, stiegen schwarze Leute aus
Der erste Vermummte hatte ein Gewehr
Er legte an und schoss und mein Körper wurde schwer
Getroffen!
Der zweite Vermummte griff nach meinem Bein
Und zu zweit hievten sie mich dann in den Bus hinein
Ich verlor das Bewusstsein wie in einem schlechten Traum
Und ich wachte wieder auf in einem fensterlosen Raum
Gefangen!
Dann kam ein Mann im weißen Kittel mit Blutflecken drauf
Er zerrte mich nach nebenan; ich stolperte im Lauf
Ich kann nur schwer beschreiben, was daraufhin geschah
Man zwickte und massierte mich und spielte danach Skat
Man schnürte mich auf Rollschuh und man drehte mich im Kreis
Man kniff mich in mein Ohrläppchen und fragte, wie ich heiß
So ging das viele Stunden und ich war total verwirrt
Ich konnte nicht entfliehen; ich war allein und sie zu viert
Gefangen!
Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, doch plötzlich war es aus
Und müde lag ich auf dem Rasen hier vor meinem Haus
Ich zitterte und fror und meine Kehle brannte
Und dann fiel mir wieder ein, wie der Ort sich nannte
Speckgürtel von Paderborn!
This is the last song I recorded on my old computer. I wanted to approach the 52 seconds of music without a regular song structure in mind. I combined various parts and slowly the track grew into what you hear now. The lyrics had no meaning at first but after tweaking a few lines a vague situation came to life. I also recorded a quick video of me playing the song.
You said goodbye with a hint of regret in your smile
And finally I see that I am free
Because what you meant to me
Won’t bother me no more
It’s all I had in store
And the times we spent
Trying to meet ends meet
It feels so obsolete
And I bleed
I wonder why I liked your smile
Your smile
Your smile
This is the backup song I had kept in case I couldn’t come up with a new song one week. Sadly, the computer I use for recording my music died (after almost ten years of use). So here is “Badreligion”. I had written the lyrics back in the 90s for the punk band I was in at that time. I don’t know if we ever came up with any music back then. Then in 2008 I resurrected the lyrics and wrote a quick punk rock song around them. I recorded the song along with “ANOVA”, “Proof of God” and “My Next Favourite Actress” on 8th-9th August 2008. I had to cut of the first two counts at the beginning to make it 52 seconds long.
Seife ist das Manna
Duschgel die Pastille
Seifenschaum die Bibel Das ist Gottes Wille
Wir sind die Jünger der Badreligion
Das Freibad ist der Himmel und Neptun Gottes Sohn
Quellen sind wie Kirchen
Wüsten wie die Hölle
Baden ohne Ende
Das ist Gottes Wille Wir sind die Jünger der Badreligion
Das Freibad ist der Himmel und Neptun Gottes Sohn Wir sind die Jünger der Badreligion
Das Freibad ist der Himmel und Neptun Gottes Sohn
This is clearly a homage to Mike Oldfield. I started out with the 7/4 measure and the melody on acoustic guitar. It’s not really a melody, just four notes. Then I added several layers of acoustic and electric guitar loops. I also included a few melody lines that are not completely repetitive. Finally, I experimented with keyboard sounds. Only here did the opening keyboard line in 7/8 materialize.