Johannes Schult

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.

#29 Your Smile

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

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

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.

#28 Badreligion

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

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

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.

#27 Loop Pool

This song is somewhat redundant. I mean, it’s about music I think is pretty redundant. I should rather sing about love, peace and understanding, I guess. But hey, it’s just a 52-second song! No big deal. At first, the lyrics were about politicians. But they don’t deserve such a generalization in my opinion. Fortunately, I started composing my songs at least one day before I record them. So I can still make changes and adjust whatever didn’t work out the first time around.

PS: Look, I made a video to this song!

PPS: Look, I also made a video for last week’s song, “Laundry Day”!

PPPS: I’m actually halfway through this endeavour, hooray! Only 26 more songs left to create.

#26 Department of Redundancy Department

When I turn on the radio
When I turn on the TV
The singers from all those casting shows
Are all I see
Send them to the department of redundancy department
Send them to the department of redundancy department

It was boring the first time around
And it didn’t get better
The plastic faces with their prefab sound
They get more all the time yet they all sound the same
Send them to the department of redundancy department
Send them there or shoot them to the moon

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This is possibly the first song in music history that’s sung from the perspective of a happy washing machine. I’m planning on making a video to illustrate the various actions described in the lyrics. I just have to wait until the next laundry day. It’s six days later: the video is finished and my laundry is clean!

The music was heavily inspired by Irish folk songs. I really like the first chorus. I wish I could have used it more often in the song. But the narrative demanded an ongoing flow and the time limit prevented me from a more traditional verse-refrain arrangement. By the way, the tin whistle in the beginning is a real one.

#25 Laundry Day

I woke up to the sound of coins and got myself a drink
Got ready for the 40 degrees the afternoon would bring
A line of that white powder is all I really need
Now I can feel the power that brings me up to speed

So up and down and around it goes
The red and the blue and the white
So in and out the water flows
And it makes me feel all right

Hooray! Hooray! It’s laundry day
I’m going round in circles
You can feel my bottom rock
I’m going to eat that sock
I’m feeling drunk as I’m tumbling away

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This happened by accident. I was in the middle of recording another track, when I dropped my pick. Said track was giving me headaches so I spontaneously decided to leave the pick lying on the ground and start a new song from scratch. Given the situation I pretended to be Mark Knopfler and assembled this little rock and roll ditty.

#24 Lost My Pick in the Prairie

This one was inspired by NealMorse.com. I had a hard time to come up with the lyrics because there are so many things you might want to bring along “just in case”. Once I had the lyrics written I struggled finding the appropriate musical style. Polka? Country? Pop? In the end I went with a some kind of contrast: quiet chords versus monkey lyrics. Go figure. (Oh yeah, I filmed myself when I recorded the track.)

#23 Do You Have a Spare Monkey?

There are some things that you never know
When you’re going to need them
Like if you see ducks in Idaho
What are you going to feed them
Yeah sometimes it takes more than a towel
So better be prepared

So get ready while you can
And learn the words to “Mandy”
And you never know just when
A flamethrower might come in handy
Yeah sometimes it takes more than a towel
So better be prepared

Do you have a spare monkey?

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This is one of my more pointless songs. I wrote the lyrics on a plane approaching Ljubljana. I did not paint the interior of the aircraft, mind you. In fact, don’t try this at home or in any aircraft, at least not without appropriate permissions.

The two guitar tracks are both first takes. Not that the chord changes are difficult or anything. I’m just glad this weekly song thing is good for something. I’m also still amazed how bad I am at adjusting the drum volume. The rhythm is usually very loud while I’m recording in order for everything to be in time. Eventually, I try to level the other tracks up to match the drum volume. Still, every time the drums remain much too loud. I force myself to lower their volume until I momentarily think the mix is ridiculous. That’s usually when the sound balance is almost good. (The bass became pretty prominent and I’m not sure this is a good thing.)

#22 Painting the Plane

I’m sitting here for hours now
I’m bored and we are still not there
But I have a Biro
And some paintings I want to share

So now I’m painting the plane from inside
As we’re flying through the night
Circles and frames and famous people’s names
I’m painting the plane from inside

So now I’m painting the plane from inside
As we’re flying through the night
Circles and frames and famous people’s names
I’m painting the plane from inside

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This is yet another instrumental track with a title that has little to do with the music. I like how surface tension sometimes appears to be fragile, especially on bodies of water on a windless day. Floating was another thing that came to my mind while working on this track.

I wrote the music right after getting out of my bed on the morning of May 14, 2010. The dialogue between the acoustic and the electric guitar wasn’t exactly what I was aiming for in the first place. Still, I’m quite content with the track and its dynamics.

#21 Surface Tension

This is a piece I’ve recently written for Manticess. I don’t know yet if it will end up in one of our songs. I had made a scratch recording with improvised German lyrics. Eventually, I added some grammar and decided to turn it into a 52-second song. It’s just two acoustic guitars and my voice. It suits the lyrics, I think. Susanne will certainly sing it much better, but you get an idea what our music sounds like in the early stages.

#20 Die Fremde

Langsam wird es Abend.
Die Sonne ist verbleicht.
Langsam kommt die Dunkelheit.
Sie rennt nicht, nein, sie schleicht.

In der Nacht kommt der Schatten.
In der Nacht kommt die Angst.
In der Nacht kommt die Fremde,
Der du nicht entfliehen kannst.
In der Nacht kommen Geister
Und sie singen ein Lied.
In der Nacht kommt die Furcht,
Dass es kein morgen mehr gibt.

In der Nacht kommt der Schatten.
In der Nacht kommt die Angst.
In der Nacht kommt die Fremde,
Der du nicht entfliehen kannst.
In der Nacht bist du einsam
Und du kommst nicht zur Ruh’.
In der Nacht kommen Träume
Und du ahnst, die Fremde bist du.
Die Fremde bist du.
Die Fremde bist du.

(words and music by Johannes Schult)