Me & J.B.
One day my cousin showed up with these lyrics about DamnYoko™ and wanted some help putting them to music. So I said sure, went off somewhere and returned a few days later with the body of the song. (I believe we both worked on the bridge.)
Although my cousin was much more proficient than me in almost any aspect of music, he was just starting to write his own songs. I’d been doing it from the start. I suppose it is somewhat a matter of focus; a songwriter sees the song as the target and the music as part of the puzzle getting there; a good musician is more interested in the journey, and the nuts and bolts of the jalopy we’re riding in. If I may mangle a metaphor or two.
My cousin wasn’t exactly Noel Coward when it came to writing lyrics, but no nevermind. Obviously a good song with good lyrics is preferable to a good song with bad lyrics (or—and I know, having written many examples of the genre—a bad song with bad lyrics), but I’ve never considered lyrics as a pivotal element of the song; rather as a framework to hang the vocals (which I do consider essential) on.
This was the first time my cousin added backing vocals. Also a few ad-libs aimed at cracking me up.
Note: I usually keep the volume of my computer speakers low, and listen to these (or anything else) with headphones. If you can, I’d recommend doing the same for this song, at least. There’s a truism that you should listen to music at around the same level that it was recorded at. As this would be inconvenient for most rock music (not to mention for your neighbors), producers use compression and equalization to make the record sound smoother at lower volumes. In part because we still hadn’t figured out how to record acoustic guitars, they sound jumbled and undifferentiated unless you crank up the sound somewhat. If the boss starts bitchin’, you can point out this highly scientific explanation.
Since I’ll be busy for the next few days, I’ll just take this occasion to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ll try to be back by next week, but I’m not promisin’ nuttin’.
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Welcome to the December 24, 2007 edition of best of me symphony.
SJ Yee presents 10 Secrets to Happiness I learnt from Andrew Matthews posted at >Personal Development for the Book Smart.
isabella mori presents blog action day: interdependence with the environment posted at change therapy, saying, “this post wonders whether humanity needs to go through more emotional development before it truly grasps the dire necessity to be environmentally conscious – but do we have enough time for that?”
Don Morrison presents Still Cherry Picking Your Leads? posted at Discount Shopping Card, saying, “Merry Christmas!”
Tupelo Kenyon presents How to Live the Life of Your Dreams Through Intuition posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, “Intuition feels good. That should be enough of a clue it’s something that can be trusted. But, our culture has done a thorough job of instilling doubt about the wisdom of following our instincts. Instead, we are taught to think things through and be logical. These mental tools are important, but they were never intended to be used instead of intuition. They work better when used in conjunction with intuition. If we are open to it, we get nudges and insights to move us in the direction of our greatest joys, our most valuable contributions, and our most satisfying life. Those quiet whispers and gentle taps on the shoulder are examples of inner guidance in action intuition. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article all free.”
Edith presents The Last Day of My Life posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..
Joshua C. Karlin presents How Should We Give? posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents No Sweat Divorce posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
200motels presents Have An Asterisk, Son! We’re GIVING Them Away! posted at 200motels.net.
Mike Remer presents Wish Exercise wasnt so Hard? | My Path To Fitness Blog posted at My Path To Fitness Blog.
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