the best songwriting you've never heard
i was planning a different song for this week, but when i got news pete seeger died, i wanted to write something for him.
i have long considered pete seeger at the top of my list of most admirable americans, a man with a spirit that deserves to be considered in the class of gandhi, martin luther king, and harvey milk, but having the benefit of living his life to its natural end.
Continue reading “monday song #88: moving forward standing still”
this is one of the prettier songs i’ve written. as with many of the previous posts, it’s guitar, plus harmony vocal; tunes for the latest paul n linda record.
when i grew up, we used to visit my grandparents at their farm in northeast new jersey. we called it ‘the farm.’ there were chickens, and sheep, and a big sheepdog named mike o’toole, and for a seven-yr-old, it was heaven on earth.
happy new year.
wrote the tune the 4:30 in the morning after a sleepless night. was shooting for a cole porter style tune, but ended up closer to billy strayhorn.
this is the second of a planned ten in a row that will feature two-part harmony, in an effort to give kristin and i a full set of original music to perform. plus all the lovely (and obscure) 70s covers, of course.
i spent the week thinking i’d do one song, and then it lay there flat. so on sunday afternoon i started messing around with a melody and a couple hours later i had this song.
i started this one last week, but walked away from it. i was tired and i didn’t think the song worked. came back a few days later and was surprised to find a pretty promising tune that just needed to be slowed down a bit. you need energy to hang in there with a sad song.
Continue reading “monday song #82: why do you write sad songs?”
i didn’t have much time this week, so i went with a tiny tune. this is the theme song to the show ‘room 4 rent.’ i wrote this one fifteen years ago and have had it in my head ever since. this is the first time i ever recorded it, so i actually had to figure out the harmonies at the end.
i’ve had the idea for this song for a couple years, though no musical details; just the concept of a guy who’s dying, and in his final moments, his focus is undermined by an annoying song stuck in his head.
the actual tune came together this week. the main section is reminiscent of an earlier monday song, “cattle,” with the minor/major structure, and the arrangement of the harmonies.
Continue reading “monday song #80: i can’t believe i’m dying (with this song in my head)”
i almost finished this one a year and a half ago, but got stuck on the bridge, and let it sit. i was digging through some old files and found this and a half dozen others that once seemed like lost causes. i figure i’ll do some creative archeology over the coming weeks…