Archive for October 2010

Jutze 52 #44 – Questions

This song nearly didn’t happen. I had written the first two verses months ago and was somehow unsatisfied and/or hit a heavy writer’s block. Cleaning up some piles of paper on my desk today I discovered the page with the words. This time around I liked the lyrics better and immediately filled in the missing parts. Once the music was written I didn’t even have to readjust the tempo, something I almost always have to do to meet the 52-second deadline. And I even managed to throw in a harmonica bit at the end!

Oh, yes: video.

#44 Questions

Who made your clothes and who wrote the Bible?
And what’s the story of the food on your table?
These are the important questions
We have to answer them every day

Where does the money go that you spend on fuel?
Where does the power come from that makes your AC cool?
These are the important questions
We have to answer them every day

Did you smile a lot today?
And when was the last time you were in love?

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

Jutze 52 #43 – Katy

This song was inspired by Richard Shindell’s “By Now”. I had little and just forced myself to write a song. I filmed a quick video right after writing the first draft two days ago. Yesterday, I switched the chords in the chorus. Just an hour ago I recorded the final version, which features some piano playing that wasn’t there in the first place/draft.

#43 Katy

Katy stands in the middle of the road
Looking for a place called home
Her broken heart is such a heavy load
She takes it everywhere she goes
Oh Katy, can’t you see
That you’re throwing your life away
Just face reality
And find a place to stay
So that your broken heart may heal

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

Jutze 52 #42 – Choral Fragment

This fragment was written and recorded late in the evening of 29th September in a hotel room in Bremen. I was experimenting with the choir voices of my new recording software, using the laptop keyboard as the piano keyboard. Given the slow tempo of the music the inaccuracies of the playing didn’t really matter. I avoided a clear time signature as best as I could, anyway. After maybe a dozen run-throughs I had the chord structure and melody. I altered a few MIDI notes afterwards and double-tracked the whole thing with different voices to give it more width. I could have achieved a smoother ending by speeding up the whole song. But it’s already as fast as I found it still bearable. I was aiming for a majestic anthem, after all.

#42 Choral Fragment

Jutze 52 #41 – Just Like You

This song started with the lyrics, which I wrote in Bremen on September 30th. Due to time constraints I kept the first musical idea I had and turned it into this song. I had to play it rather fast to make it fit the 52-second-scheme. If you want to listen to a slightly slower version, check out the video of me playing the song (without the fancy distorted drum computer).

#41 Just Like You

She looked just like you
But the smell of her hair
Was somewhat different
She looked just like you
But you weren’t there
You know without you
I wouldn’t be here
Where I am now
Is here without you
I wish you were here
Where I am now

She looked just like you
And she stayed for a drink
And then another
She looked just like you
But her fingernails were pink
You know without you
I wouldn’t be here
Where I am now
Is here without you
I wish you were here
Where I am now

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

Jutze 52 #40 – The Queue to the Loo

This song began with the title, which I picked up at Summer School in Cambridge (September 13th, 2010). Once the lyrics were set I got the main structure while walking through the streets of Cambridge. I then programmed the rhythm section and added a few organ tracks late at night in bed. Back in Germany I added a couple of electric guitar tracks to spice things up a bit. The song could have done with a real band and a bit more time, I think. But hey, aren’t those organ samples already awesome?

#40 The Queue to the Loo

This pressure inside is driving me over the edge
The closer I get, the longer the seconds stretch
Time and space are relative, it’s true
When you’re waiting in the queue to the loo

The situation is as tense as it gets
It’s the perfect place to set up diaper ads
You wonder if there’ll be some TP left for you
When you’re waiting in the queue to the loo

Waiting to step forward, there’s nothing you can do
When you’re stuck in the queue to the loo

(words and music by Johannes Schult)