i think this is a great thread to keep alive and kicking. rather than forward a myspace link, here's a link to a zip file, myspace references available upon request:
http://www.send space.com/file/rzsbvr
remove the space between send and space...
Here’s a smattering of some of my tunes.
I’ve been involved in a few projects, and have a few active things going.
What I’m sharing here is stuff I’ve done on my own, for me. I called this project ‘cms’, my initials. Pretty creative, huh?
I’ll try to share some of the other stuff in the future.
A bit about each song:
1. The Great Divide – one of my favorite original songs. Pretty simple chord progression with a WAY overloaded arrangement. I was shooting for really modern, almost future sounding pop/rock music. I think I was listening to ‘Stand Inside Your Love’ by smashing pumpkins when I wrote this. a huge synth hook sells the song, from a yamaha synth borrowed from a friend. Neat rhythm cut keeps the chorus interesting, glammy phased guitars keep it swirling.
2. Together – was written on a 12 string, originally intended to be a solo acoustic piece. It got built up with a simple but soulful bass line, and a simple beat thet reminds of ‘1979’ by the pumpkins. Big brother (mrBrau) adds his guitar chops to lift the song from the 2nd verse, his wife lends her voice to the bridge/outro. I think it’s a bit long, but I’m very happy with it. Good song for driving on a summer day.
3. Nightsong – simple song gets complicated theme again. Late night tune about someone moving away. I goofed with a banjo and a snare drum, then recorded a bunch of crickets out my window. Choo choo train roars off in the distance at an appropriate moment. Moody acoustic night-time song.
4. Runaway – another little ballad. I have no idea what it’s about, but I think it sounds like I was obsessed with ‘no surprises’ when I wrote it (ages ago). I was.
5. Light of Day – big rock anthem. A friend from a current band sings backing vocals. Lots of guitars, swervedriver meets the edge style. I like the scripted guitar solo. I’m not much of an improv player, but have stumbled upon a few good melodies in my wankery. I also like the harmonics in the bridge. Earnest tune, maybe a bit much so. Seeing as we’re all u2 fans here, maybe earnest is good.
6. Love Will Be the Law – ok, so it’s a shitty title, and the words are really uneven. But the whole point of it was an exercise to figure if I could make my shitty new Yamaha Keyboard sound like real, or cool synth strings. I learned a lot doing this, and I actually find it to be an enjoyable listen, despite the occasionally cringe-worthy lyrics.
7. We Can Love – this was written for one of my current projects, but I got carried away having fun recording the demo, and they lost interest. I had been learning how to write effective harmonies, and wanted the whole song to be harmonized, not just the chorus or whatever. Kind of like how Slowdive and MBV harmonized through their songs. So I took the shoegaze cue for the vocals and stuck it together with a very American hard rock rhythm and guitar hook, then a big, goofy, rousing chorus. Way cool bridge in this tune. I really dig this song.
8. Beauty Queen – besides loving modern rock, I have a huge power-pop/classic pop sweet tooth. Jellyfish is one of my all time favorite bands. I’ve always marveled at their songwriting abilities (both musicianship and lyrically). I had been learning piano and wrote this nostalgic, catchy descending riff, then dressed it up with TONS of harmonies, some simple guitars and bass to fill it up, and topped it off with tongue in cheek lyrics about self pleasure and obsession with celebrity. A trip to LA and the horrific state of current American pop culture served as inspiration. A rough mix, that I keep meaning to return to and tune up. One of these days…