Prophylaktisch habe ich mir ein Twitter-Profil eingerichtet. In welcher Form ich es nutzen werde, kann ich im Moment noch nicht sagen. Heute erscheinen übrigens die neuen Alben von Neal Morse (christlicher Progressive Rock) und Van Canto (A-Cappella-Metal), beide sehr hörenswert.
This is a song about statistics, more specifically analysis of variance (ANOVA) and its possible romantic implications. I enjoy data analysis and dread the day the lyrics become autobiographical. A former fellow student inspired me to the chorus when I visited him early in August 2008. I wrote the lyrics on the train home and wrote and recorded everything a couple of days later. There’s drums, guitars (acoustic and electric ones), keyboards (bass and piano), vocals (lead and harmony!), a few recorder notes, and even hand claps!
Download the song: mp3 ogg (more music)
Sie denkt an die Sonne. Sie träumt von der Welt.
Sie kämmt ihre Haare, wie ihr es gefällt.
Sie lacht mit den Kindern. Sie füttert den Hund.
Sie geht gerne joggen und bleibt so gesund.Sie mag die Bretagne. Sie spielt gerne Skat.
Sie pflanzt viele Blumen und fährt häufig Rad.
Sie kocht Marmelade. Sie schreibt ein Gedicht.
Sie sieht in den Wolken ein weißes Gesicht.Ihn kümmert das alles nicht,
Denn jetzt gerade denkt er sich:
ANOVA mit gerichteten Kontrasten.
Voll Euphorie haut er die Syntax in die Tasten.
ANOVA und dazu dann noch ein Schaubild.
Die Glückshormone tanzen wild in seinem Kopf.Sie liegt auf der Wiese. Sie badet im Meer.
Sie ist nicht mehr 18, doch nimmt’s nicht so schwer.
Sie liebt Schokolade. Sie ist stets auf Zack.
Sie bäckt einen Kuchen mit Kokosgeschmack.Ihn kümmert das alles nicht,
Denn jetzt gerade denkt er sich:
ANOVA mit gerichteten Kontrasten.
Voll Euphorie haut er die Syntax in die Tasten.
ANOVA und dazu dann noch ein Schaubild.
Ein Nudelholz trifft ihn von hinten auf den Kopf.Benommen schaut er in das Licht.
Er traut seinen Augen nicht.
ANOVA mit gerichteten Kontrasten.
Mit voller Wucht fällt sein Schädel auf die Tasten.
ANOVA mit unendlich vielen Sternchen.
Die Engel singen im Chor in seinem Kopf.ANOVA mit gerichteten Kontrasten.
Mit voller Wucht fällt sein Schädel auf die Tasten.
ANOVA mit unendlich vielen Sternchen.
Der Rhythmus schlägt von innen gegen seinen Kopf.(words and music by Johannes Schult)
It’s difficult to find the right words to describe my attitude towards do-it-yourself musicians who embraced the internet and get some exposure they couldn’t possibly have gotten way back when. Sure, the mainstream is still there with over-priced albums and mass media advertising. Just go to your local mall and look at it yourself. No need to write about it. But what’s with the sullen one-man-bands out here? Not all of them are good. Few achieve professional recording quality. None produces an epic masterpiece like Mike Oldfield’s “Music of the Spheres”.
Still, there’s plenty of great artists out there who have realized that locking up the music won’t help their mission. My latest discovery is Scott Andrew. He’s making acoustic pop that, at times, reminds me of R.E.M., yet sounds merrier. Stumbling across his homepage, I found an inviting virtual place. I immediately felt encouraged to check out his music and liked what I heard. The songs didn’t leave me speechless, but the light atmosphere and the charismatic voice sounded good.
I could have left it at that. If a musician offers his songs for free on his homepage he must be stupid and doesn’t deserve any (financial) support, right? Wrong. Scott sells his latest cd “Save You From Yourself” for 8 US$ (if you signed up on his mailing list/demo club). So I just bought it. It felt right. The album arrived today. It looks good, sounds great, and beats 98% of the current German charts.
For the first time some of my music has been featured in a podcast, namely the latest show of Jawbone Radio. (Around 2:30 and at the very end.) Thanks to Len and Nora!
My approach to making music is somewhat reckless these days. I attempt to write one hour songs, i.e., tunes I write and record within 60 minutes. So far I’ve done six songs; the fifth one is actually featured in the previous update. Right now I’m just accumulating these one hour songs. Maybe I’ll release more of them in the future, maybe not.
The format forces me to write rather short songs, of course. Needless to say, I needed between two and three hours for the first bunch of songs, because I was too ambitious, i.e., got stuck with the lyrics or recorded, like, 30 different drum tracks. But I already find myself enjoying it, since I’m no longer obsessing over every little detail. My solo music isn’t that sophisticated, after all.
This little number was (obviously) inspired by LEN TV (and the madness that ensued). Please note that it is actually 25 seconds long. The song was written and recorded on Wednesday, 27th August 2008, while I was packing my suitcase. (Yep, I spent the last week in Bellingham, WA.) There’s drums, electric guitars, an acoustic guitar, a bass courtesy of my keyboard, and my obnoxious vocals on it. (I also tried it with ukulele only, but I don’t think that version is going to be released until someone compiles Jutze archive anthologies.)
Download the song: mp3 ogg (more music)
What’s the baby using?
What’s the baby using?
What’s the baby using?
It’s using 25.
It’s using 25.
It’s using 25.
(words and music by Johannes Schult)
This is another song about the moon. I decided to not submit it for the Song Fu #2 competition (see previous post), because at the end of the day it is merely a weak imitation of Jonathan Coulton. I really like the intro melody (originally from a tune called “Last Night I Was the Happiest Man on Earth”) and the story starts out in a nice way. But I was stuck for a couple of days and abandoned this song, eventually. I recorded it, anyway, together with the other song, “The Moon Is Made of Cheese”. First came the rhythm track and a whole bunch of keyboards. On the next day, I recorded some acoustic guitars and the vocals. I lacked the middle-eight lyrics, so I had to make them up on the spot. And I still don’t know how to spell the protagonist’s name properly.
Download the song: mp3 ogg (more music)
His name was Nicolaew
His friends just called him Nick
His boss said, boy, you’re gonna get farAnd he put him into a space ship
And when the countdown began
Everybody had tears in their eyesHis mission was important
His body bent like a spoon
His destination was the moonAnd the earth outside his window looks to small
And the stars, they shine like silver in the night
And he knows his journey will be over soon
Then Nicolaew’s gonna be the first monkey on the moonHis vessel hit the surface
His engine died for good
His crew on earth did what they couldAnd the earth outside his window looks to small
And the stars, they shine like silver in the night
And he knows his mission will be over soon
And late at night he’s dreaming of the first monkey on the moonAnd on the seventh day he ran out of food
And a little later it got colder in his room
Nicolaew looked around
But there were no bananas
No bananas on the moonAnd as he ran out of water
He heard a knock on the door
The rescue mission from the planet of apes had come to take him back home(words and music by Johannes Schult)
This is my entry for the first round of the Song Fu #2 competition over at QuickstopEntertainment.com. It’s 100% werewolf-free, which is kind of remarkable, because the task was to write a song about the moon. Please visit the link above and check out the competition; vote for whoever you think deserves it most – hopefully for me. Note that there are Song Fu Challengers (including me) and Song Fu Masters; you may vote once in each group.
My friend Robert made a post in the NP.de-forum back in 2002, stating that the moon was made of cheese. I had always wanted to turn this idea into a song, so now was the perfect opportunity. I toyed around with some other ideas (some involving werewolves) and I even made a song called The First Monkey on the Moon; but the narrative of that song lacked an adequate flow; plus, the story was (apparently) a lame imitation of (Song Fu Master) Jonathan Coulton. I’ll post that one in the near future, anyway. But back to my actual entry: I recorded it last Tuesday and Wednesday. First came the rhythm track and a whole bunch of keyboard sounds. Next, I recorded some rather heavy electric guitars. That was possibly a mistake, but the deadline was on Wednesday. So I just added some acoustic guitar and, of course, the vocals, before I mixed and posted the song. I’m aware that the vocals are very loud. I made that decision, because the lyrics are an integral part of the challenge. They’re posted below; the Dogma reference was in there early on (as I’m a big fan of former QuickstopClerk Kevin Smith), whereas the Coulton reference came at the eleventh hour. Oh, and I added some handclaps! No ukulele, sorry. But hey, if I manage to move on to round two (i.e., if you all vote for me), I might use it, eventually.
Download the song: mp3 ogg (more music)
Aliens in Nevada, magic crystal balls
Superstitious cargo cults, creepy voodoo dolls
Friday, the 13th, absolution of sins
Some believe that science holds an answer to everythingSome believe in fate and some in love
And some believe in God above
Some believe in cover-up conspiracies
And I believe that the moon is made of cheese
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt about it
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt at allFlying Spaghetti Monsters, a talisman as guide
Santa Claus and horoscopes, love at first sight
Nessie in the water, Catholicism Wow!
Some believe that mankind will survive this all somehowSome believe in blue and some in red
And there are some who believe that Paul is dead
Some believe they know who killed the Kennedys
And I, I believe that the moon is made of cheese
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt about it
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt at all
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt about it
There’s no doubt, no doubt, no doubt at all
No doubt, no doubt, no doubt about it
There’s no doubt, no doubt: the moon is made of cheese
(words and music by Johannes Schult)
These days I’m wrapping up my work for the Master of Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences degree. I’ve begun applying for jobs (as data analyst) in order to manage a swift transition from university to work.
Apart from writing exams, I’ve been travelling quite a bit in the past few months (and now I struggle to catch up with archiving pictures and reports). Now I’m back in Germany and have all my instruments at hand. So stay tuned for some new music (hint).
In meiner Kindheit schaute ich begeistert Wetten daß… und auch allerlei andere Fernsehshows. Seit geraumer Zeit (sprich vielen Jahren) habe ich keinen Fernseher mehr, was mich angesichts der nachlassenden Qualität des Programmangebots nicht in eine Sinnkrise stürzt. Es gibt allerdings noch eine Sendung, die sich wohltuend vom Rest abhebt, indem sie witzig, aber kaum platt, kompakt, aber nicht hektisch, abwechslungsreich, aber nicht chaotisch ist: Sag die Wahrheit (montags, 22 Uhr, SWR). Das Konzept ist nicht bahnbrechend, aber die Be- und die Umsetzung sind äußerst gelungen. Zudem ist die Sendung bestens geeignet, um sie zusammen mit anderen Leuten (z.B. solchen, die einen Fernseher haben) anzuschauen, mit denen man dann selbst diskutieren kann.