Einige Stellen griffen die Mitteilung auf (z.B. der Saarländische Rundfunk) und am nächsten Morgen gab es sogar eine kleine Glosse zum Thema auf der Titelseite der Waiblinger Kreiszeitung (in meiner schwäbischen Heimat) mit dem Titel “Jammern will gelernt sei”. Es folgten Berichte u.a. bei SpiegelOnline.de, Wirtschaftswoche.de, FAZ.net sowie im Ausland DiePresse.com (Österreich) und Cihan Haber Ajans (Türkei). Zu Beginn der neuen Woche folgte schließlich noch ein Artikel auf Sueddeutsche.de.
This song was born during a break at a parking place by the highway on 18th March 2005. The first verse is pretty close to what happened; the rest is fiction. You don’t walk up to strangers, let alone dance up to them, right? The song became part of a 9-minute rock opera I wrote eleven days later. I considered “Now or Never” for my solo album “Heteroscedasticity”, but the context (i.e., the ending of the story) is somewhat missing. Well, here it is, anyway, because I like it and I relate it to two things:
number plates. I remembered the car’s number plate (whose letters were an anagram of the German word for heart, ‘Herz’) and dedicated the opera to its driver. I really wish there was a social network based on number plates. There’s sites where you can rate your teachers (at least in Germany), why not have the same thing with cars? Of course, the potential for abuse is enormous, virtual road rage inevitable. But sometimes I find myself attracted by cute drivers, by friendly people and also by good music coming from the car stereo. Such a rating portal would finally settle the misconception that every considers themselves above average drivers.
moving. The only other thing I remember from back then is that she was apparently moving, or at least transporting quite a lot of cargo. Incidently, I recorded “Now or Never” while I was moving myself. Drums were recorded in Waiblingen-Beinstein on 30th March 2005. Guitars, keyboards, melodica and vocals were recorded in Konstanz-Wallhausen on 10th April 2005. Now I’ll be moving once again next week.
She stood next to her car
She wasn’t all that far
All that far away from me
She had her radio on
Playin’ a Nightwish-song
And in a flash of audacity I walked into her direction
And started to dance along
Even though I cannot dance at all
She waved and said “Hello.”
I asked her “Where do you go?”
She said “I follow you after.”
I told her “You look fine,
But I won’t steal your time,
Just wanna hear your laughter.” She smiled at me and said
“Would you like some tea?
I’m sorry but that’s all I have left.”
Then she gave me her cup
And a friendly hug
I felt like now or never
So I took her hand
“I wanna see you again,
The sooner the better.” She looked me in the eye
And said “Let’s meet tonight.”
“Just name the time and place and I’ll be there.”
This one started out with the lyrics. The idea took form while I read books by Schleichert, Dawkins etc. I wrote the lyrics during a Saturday morning class in Brussels in March 2008 after three hours sleep. The music took shape much later (when I was back in Germany) and I finally recorded it all in early August that year. There’s drums, guitars (acoustic ones for the refrain, electric ones for the rest), keyboards (organ, synth, bass, piano, and the drums in the refrain), vocals, a shaker, and some noises from my record player.
Noah built a mighty ark – therefore God exists
The day is bright, the night is dark – therefore God exists
Politicians never lie – therefore God exists
Life is just and pigs can fly – therefore God exists
Jesus made the blind man see – therefore God exists
They play my song on the MTV – therefore God exists
There is a chip inside my brain – therefore God exists
One day I’ll meet Shania Twain – therefore God exists If God was one of us I would call him Stephen
If God was one of us I would look her in the eye
The Bible says the earth is flat – therefore God exists
It takes one step to cross a gap – therefore God exists
A madman shot John Lennon dead – therefore God exists
I just want Beck in your head – therefore God exists If God was one of us I would call him Stephen
If God was one of us I would look her in the eye
3.14159 – therefore God exists
A quota sample will do fine – therefore God exists
My favourite drinks are cherry smoothies – therefore God exists
Michael Bay makes brilliant movies – therefore God exists
Piper Perabo cut her hair – therefore God exists
May I sit into your chair?
14 wonderful songs about life, love, Michael Owen, God, and statistics
NEW ALBUM OUT NOW! Featuring Graveyard Girl (the ultimate anthem of tombstone tourism), Judy Mary Jane (makes you inevitably shout out yeehaw!), I Wish Natalie Portman Was My Neighbour (don’t we all?), and the Toilet Song (recorded in the bathroom)!
So this is my album. I hope you like it. There a bunch of older, somewhat popular songs, some with electric guitars (7.-9.), two German ones, and a few with a more gloomy atmosphere towards the end. my personal favourite (song, not actress) is “Among Thieves”, an unusual song in several aspects (length, lyrics, brushes). If you consider burning the album on CD, I recommend downloading/using the flac-version, because it’s a lossless format (info) and offers additional entertainment.
All songs are licensed Creative Commons by-nc, meaning you are free to copy it, perform it, and make derivative works, as long as you are not making a profit from your work, and that you properly attribute the original artist (in this case Jutze, Johannes Schult, or www.jutze.com). So feel free to share them with your friends and family, play them in your podcast, and use them for your own personal creative endeavours!
Writing a fan song like this without being creepy is somewhat difficult. I think I managed to avoid the worst. I recorded the song on July 23rd, 2003. Building on a rhythm machine track I added acoustic guitars and some other instruments like melodica and glockenspiel, plus the vocals. Although it’s far from perfect, it still conveys a certain atmosphere. I tried re-recording the song in January 2008, but the feeling was gone. So I stuck with the original version, which DAZZA/NataliePortman.com called “highlight of the day/week/month” back in July 2003.
We could talk about the weather
We could drive to work together
I could feed her dog and maybe
Take it for a walk I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
We could have lunch together
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
I’d live there forever
I could watch her every morning
When I wake tired and yawning
She could take the garbage out
And she could mow the lawn I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
We could have lunch together
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
I’d live there forever
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
We could have lunch together
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
I’d live there forever
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
I would always be with her
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
I’d live there forever
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
We could have lunch together
I wish Natalie Portman was my neighbour
(words and music by Johannes Schult)
Category: Heteroscedasticity |
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My new solo album Heteroscedasticity will be out on Sunday, 19th October 2008 – only two days from now! I locked myself in the bathroom and played some of my songs to celebrate the album release. The second out of four parts is now online: Toilet Session 2008 (part 2). It shows me playing Not About You and the Toilet Song – and stummering as I introduce the songs.
This one started out as a joke. I just wanted to record in a bathroom; great acoustics, you know. September 1st, 2000 saw me visiting a good friend of mine. Armed with my four track machine, guitar and keyboard I installed myself in his bathroom. Writing the song was easy, recording it wasn’t. The vocals took me forever (two hours) and as you can hear they still suck. But people responded to the song. It even helped me seeing Natalie Portman and meeting another great person who shall remain unnamed.
I pulled out the master tape and remixed it for the Heteroscedasticity album. I don’t think I harmed the song’s integrity. It just sounds a little bit cleaner and less distorted, I guess. You see, I still don’t know much about recording technology, and the tape speed kept varying, so I had to mix all four channels on the fly. Who needs hard disc recording, anyway?
Now I’m here alone cos you’re not at my side
You know it’s easier to hide
Away than look it in the eye
In my heart I start to cry Now I’m here and I’m sitting on the toilet
Now I’m here and I’m lonely to the bone
Now I’m here and I’m singing on the toilet
Now I’m here all alone
It’s so hard to tell the truth cos I don’t know
What’s on you mind; what if I show
You what I feel inside my heart?
Will you be mine or torn apart? Now I’m here and I’m sitting on the toilet
Now I’m here and I’m lonely to the bone
Now I’m here and I’m singing on the toilet
Now I’m here all alone
Show me what you feel Still I’m here and I’m sitting on the toilet
Now I’m here and I’m lonely to the bone
Still I’m here and I’m singing on the toilet
Still I’m here all alone all on my own
My new solo album “Heteroscedasticity†will be out on Sunday, 19th October 2008 – only four days from now! I locked myself in the bathroom and played some of my songs to celebrate the album release. The third out of four parts is now online: Toilet Session 2008 (part 3). It shows me playing “If I Could Paint My Feelings” (see previous update) and “Cropcutter” (a non-album track). No ukulele, this time; have fun, anyway!
Category: Heteroscedasticity |
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This one started out as a German love song in January 2002. I replaced the lyrics in August that year with a patchwork of words, some of them invented, most of them real, all of them hopefully suiting the mood of the acoustic guitars. Also the title is beyond metaphoric in an abstract void of syntax, phonetics, and randomness.
The original recording was rather noisy, so I decided to attempt a re-recording in late September 2008. I basically replicated the originally tracks and added a subtle bass line with the keyboard, plus, behold, even subtler harmony vocals in the chorus. The song is supposed to be the grand finale of the album, less jolly than most of the other songs, but hopefully somewhat comforting. There are days I’m convinced this is the best song I’ve written so far. But who am I to judge?
Spirit She – monastic consedation
Spirit She – another rainy night
Spirit She – redemption in sensation
Spirit She – ten thousand tears I’ve cried
Spirit She – in every single hour
Spirit She – no matter where I go
Spirit She – a fragrant yellow flower
You will be a flicker in the glow She’s a wonder of shyness yearning for conation
Waiting for someone in the dead of the night
She’s a number, a feeling yearning for insation
Knowing that no one ever tried
Spirit She – the empty desert highway
Spirit She – the Scarlet Pimpernel
Spirit She – the caladon on Friday
It will be the only revenel
Can you tell me what you see
What you hear and what you feel?
Can you show me something real?
Will you save my Spirit She? She’s a wonder of shyness yearning for conation
Waiting for someone in the dead of the night
She’s a number, a feeling yearning for insation
Knowing that no one ever tried
Spirit She – November days of darkness
Spirit She – November days of rain
Spirit She – no matter where your heart is
I can feel the laughter and the pain
Can you tell me what you see
What you hear and what you feel?
Can you show me something real?
Will your spirit set me free?
Spirit she – my precious isolation
Spirit she – my one and only friend
Spirit she – in every contemplation
I will be the loser in the end She’s a wonder of shyness yearning for conation
Waiting for someone in the dead of the night
She’s a number, a feeling yearning for insation
Knowing that no one ever tried Spirit She – my Spirit She – Spirit She – my Spirit She
My new solo album Heteroscedasticity will be out on Sunday, 19th October 2008 – only six days from now! I locked myself in the bathroom and played some of my songs to celebrate the album release. The first (or rather the last) out of four parts is now online. It shows me playing Judy Mary Jane on the ukulele. (Not that I had rehearsed the song more than once.)
Honestly, I have mixed feeling about posting it directly in the site, because I have always been an advocate of avoiding Flash. Well, here it is; goodbye to you, dear integrity. Speaking of selling out, I included a bunch of older tunes you probably already know. But who knows – maybe some new fans discover my music just now. Anyway, there will be more videos coming soon. And on Sunday the album itself will be launched. Here is the cover artwork.
Category: Heteroscedasticity, Internet |
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