Archive for May 2008

Hugging Frogs

This song was originally written for my “Beck Strikes the Empire” demo tape back in 2000. From Thy Ashes had released “Harbinger” earlier that year. My friend Neil created the layout of that cd. For the initial draft versions he made up a bunch of bogus song titles. “Hugging Frogs” was one of them. I loved it immediately. Both, the lyrics and the music were created in almost no time. I forced everything into a 5/4 measure to make up for the lack of originality. I decided to re-record the entire song last year in a more focused fashion. So on the 26th September 2007 I locked myself in the rehearsal room commenced recording the drums (using a different microphone than usual, hence the different sound). Everything went smoothly until I realized that I had skipped an entire verse. By then a whole lot of guitars (including electric ones) had been recorded, so I decided to shorten the lyrics instead. Eventually, I added some keyboards and a bunch of layered vocals. I’m aware that one of my fans prefers the original version, but I think that the new recording fits the “Heteroscedasticity” record better. (Edit September 2008: I’m no longer sure if I’m going to include it on the album.)

Download the song: mp3 ogg (more music)

Hugging frogs don’t care
Hugging frogs are there
Hugging frogs won’t stare at your face, but they
Want to change the weather
Want to wear black leather
Want a velvet feather
Want to live forever

Hugging frogs don’t fly
Hugging frogs don’t cry
Hugging frogs will die under your tire, but they
Want to change the weather
Want to wear black leather
Want a velvet feather
Want to live forever

Hugging frogs play fair
Hugging frogs breath air
Hugging frogs won’t stare at your face, but they
Want to change the weather
Want to wear black leather
Want a velvet feather
Want to live forever
Want to change the weather
Want to wear black leather
Want a velvet feather
Want to live forever

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

Yet another reason why Richard Shindell is a cool person

Not only is Richard Shindell a fantastic songwriter and a great singer. He also made a nice move recently, when he decided to finance his new record with a little help (i.e., money) from his fans. I like the wit with which he approached the issue and wait with anticipation for the album to be made. After all, the first four new songs I’ve heard so far sound very promising.