i wanted to do a song with just the bass as the main instrument. i started playing this riff last night watching my son play xbox. wrote the entire bassline without an idea of how the melody would go.
monday song #77: sweet sixteen
so i listened through a bunch of early monday songs and was inspired by my earlier “high school” songs: ‘lowe valley high,’ ‘you and only me,’ ‘high dive‘ etc. these are among my favorites. so I wanted to write another one. i felt like i’ve been writing slower spacy songs every week, and i wanted to try my hand at some old-fashioned short story writing.
the result is ‘sweet sixteen,’ and there’s really nothing sweet about it.
monday song #76: fingernails
despite the peppy keyboard, this one is one of the bleaker monday songs. and that’s saying something! essentially a song about depression, though with the customary romanticism removed, and the mundanity cranked up.
monday song #75: stargazing
i’ve had this one laying around unfinished for a few months. my son, cormac, told me if i wrote more songs like this, he might actually like my music.
monday song #74: pass the salt
i went into this one thinking “the white album,” and as with most of my tunes, ended up somewhere else.
the old timey feel of the tune suggested the first appearance of a mandolin on a monday song.
monday song #73: wake
this is the first monday song i’ve posted that wasn’t written entirely by me. this song was composed by my band walrus, where i’m lucky enough to play with two outstanding musicians, christian riley and joaquin spengemann, who cowrote the tune.
monday song #72: inside
here’s something of a love song. i don’t think i’ve done much in this style. i think watching “bobby vinton” last night in goodfellas may have had some impact, though the chords were already in place. it was fun trying to sing old-fashioned.
monday song #71: quiet
this one started as an experiment. bass chords on my new rickenbacker. added piano and a beat from reason. that’s the core.
strings, mellotron and chamberlain saxes to flesh out the sound. improvised melody on a scribbled lyric. harmony. that’s pretty much it.
monday songs video #1: being with you
i’ve just completed a new album composed of songs on this site.the album is fittingly called “monday songs.”
monday song #70: 18 years
this one is for my wife, kristin. sunday was our wedding anniversary, and since she was away with the kids, i had the day to write a song. this is one of the few that was conceived, composed and recorded all in a day. it’s a little loose around the edges, but the structure is sound, and if you put enough love in a song, it tends to win the day, no matter the flaws.
since it’s a monday song, i should share the relevant dark facts: