Lazlo, Buddy (rethought)

This is a rethink of a song I posted earlier this year.

This is part of a new series I'm thinking of doing in which I rework all of the songs I've written about depression, death, and alienation and gear them towards the largely untapped stairstepping/Indo-Row/aerobics classes of the world. It'll take me awhile to finish.

Actually, and seriously, I like the dichotomy between the two versions. At some point I'll probably add more instruments/layers of sound, but I'm liking this version so far as it is. Feel free to let me know what you think.

melissa may is at the beginning of the song from an introduction to a podcast we did awhile ago. cortex and melissa may are singing backup (I used portions of their original vocals).

Words:

(In honor of all our friends who are really smart, but are a little bit nervous when they have to leave their basement.)

I know that it's hard to care about the world when all you want to do is just stay in bed and watch the shadows on the wall grow all day long. And the village fiddler never takes you there, maudlin to a point with an angel over head. Pirates on dry land never listening. Your tigers of passion beat the horses of instruction almost every day. The bones of the forgotten eat paintings of the spring almost every day. Your tigers of passion eat the horses of destruction almost every day. Waiting on the tornado can bring down anything. The days are constellations waiting for a harvest, but there's no way you can reach them, no clouds that you can stand on, though they gather 'round your head like pillows under night. So you hum an old tune learned from your grandma in those days in the kitchen when the sun would crawl across the floor, waiting for nothing but to be home... your tigers of passion.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by sleepy pete (7 comments total)

The ending is really very cool. I'm listening to that part over and over.
posted by Corduroy at 10:51 AM on December 31, 2007

That's a pretty song. I enjoy the shimmering guitars in the middle of it. Oh, and the original track is really great too. I missed that one the first time around.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 10:52 AM on December 31, 2007

Actually, the whole song is really good. And the lyrics seem to fit very well.
posted by Corduroy at 10:57 AM on December 31, 2007

Ha! I really like what you did with this. Bizarre on my head to hear some of the rhythmic shifts from the version we were playing out months back.

Did Melissa record that vocal intro in the last few days, or was that sitting around on tape?
posted by cortex at 2:47 PM on December 31, 2007

Melissa's bit was laying around and I just happened upon it while doing one of the mixes.
posted by sleepy pete at 6:41 PM on December 31, 2007

This is good, and like Galaxie500 I really like the original too.
posted by snsranch at 5:34 PM on January 3

You got it right. I would have never thought of a shift like this from a song like the original, but you pulled it off nicely (not only throwing the beat under it and changing a couple of things). An unlikely mix of elements, but carried out nicely.

Now, if you wanted us to comment on the negative aspects rather than on the positive ones, don't do it so right next time.
posted by micayetoca at 3:15 PM on January 6