Johannes Schult

This song is a homage to Johnny and the Hurricanes. I first heard the band when I was a little kid, long before I began obsessing over music the way I do these days. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me so I won’t go into details. Let it suffice to say that the music was fun. I discovered other interesting music, eventually. Still, hearing some old beat instrumentals always makes me smile. Here is my primitive take on the genre. I kept the instrumentation simple. Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboard, bass (programmed), and drums (programmed as well, but shhh). I’m very happy with the way the tune turned out. Let’s dance!

#48 Wild Geese in Texas

This song had to be forced into existence. I wrote and recorded it on Friday, September 17 this year. Sitting in a friend’s living room I experimented with tambourine loops and MIDI programming. Much of the music was constructed rather than written. Once I had the basic tracks I forced the lyrics on them. I had too many lines so now the last melody part coincides with the vocals.

I postponed releasing this tune time and time again. It is one of those songs that lack a connection to what I usually play. Plus, there’s nothing too original about it. I had been afraid that I would end up putting out nothing but songs like these. But I think I managed to make a few rather interesting tracks in between. This is why I now present this piece as an example of mediocrity which thankfully is only 52 seconds long.

PS: Next week’s song is going to be much cooler!

#47 Socially Sad

I’m lying on the beach
It’s 35 degrees
There’s not a single a cloud in the sky
And everybody’s happy
Everyone but me
Because when it comes to holidays I’m not that kind of guy

I’d rather be alone
And not pick up the phone
And travel somewhere far away from the heat
I know it’s really bad
It’s socially sad
But a daily dose of solitude is what I need

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This song is the second song about NaNoWriMo. For those who aren’t familiar with the idea: the goal is to write a novel consisting of at least 50,000 words in 30 days (that is, in November). It’s utter madness. You learn a lot about your work ethics. You learn how it feels to suck. You bond with strangers who have also accepted the challenge. And you get emails with pep talk from folks like John Green, Dave Eggers, and Lemony Snicket.

I wrote this song on acoustic guitar, combining an old lyrical idea with my present NaNoWriMo situation. Thankfully, my word count has exceeded 9010 by now. I did take a screenshot from 9010, though, in case I’ll find time to make a video. While figuring out the beat I realized that I could turn the whole thing into a punk song. I programmed the drums only to find that I had miscalculated the tempo. By now I’m used to it, but at first it sounded terribly fast to me. There’s one bass track (programmed), two guitar tracks, and three vocal tracks.

Update six days later: video!

#46 NaNoWriMo Lament 2

This ain’t the song I wrote in Bremen
This ain’t the song I wrote in Mannheim
This song won’t explain the brain to laymen
This ain’t the song that will blow your mind
But come December I will save the world again
Turn water into wine and enemies into friends
But right now my word count is still at 9010

This ain’t the song I wrote in Cambridge
This ain’t the song that I wrote in the bathroom
This ain’t the song that is going to make me rich
This ain’t the song that makes your heart go boom
But come December I will save the world again
Turn water into wine and enemies into friends
But right now my word count is still at 9010

(words and music by Johannes Schult)

This song is the first of two songs about NaNoWriMo. I’m participating this year. For those who aren’t familiar with the idea: the goal is to write a novel consisting of at least 50,000 words in 30 days (that is, in November). So far, I’m on schedule!

I had written the other song first. So when the idea for a second one came up I was tempted to abandon it there and then. I wanted to have an instrumental track, anyway. But then time ran out and I quickly recorded this song, as well. It has three acoustic guitars along with percussion, bass and organ (all rather low in the mix) from the computer; plus, of course, vocals. I can imagine a full band version. However, no time for a full band version – I have a novel to write!

Again, yes: video. This time I deviate even more from the original lyrics. You have been warned.

#45 NaNoWriMo Lament 1

No time for love – I have to write a novel
No time for food – I have to write a novel
No time for anything, so shut the door and go offline
Say goodbye to all your friends

No time to shave – I have to write a novel
No time to sing – I know it’s crazy but I really want to write a novel this month!
No time for anything but 1667 words per day until November ends

No time for music – I have to write a novel
No time for lyrics – …

(words and music by Johannes Schult)