undulate underling (demo)

A demo that I later recorded and posted here. I'm posting this as a contribution along the lines of what others have done before me -- providing a window into my songwriting. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if some prefer this version.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by edlundart (6 comments total)

Fantastic. I love this evolution-of-a-song thing. This changed quite a bit, I would have never deduced the other one from this version, which is what makes this concept so appealing. If you can, add the "evolution" tag, so that it will show with the others, and thanks for posting it, I love this kind of thing.
posted by micayetoca at 12:39 PM on July 15

Done! And I'll probably post another one soon.
posted by edlundart at 4:44 PM on July 15

Man, I can't believe I missed the original, which is great, but you're right, I do prefer this one.

This brilliantly showcases your voice, and it's just beautiful in this version. The tempo and overall feel really give this room to breathe and allow me to soak in and experience the lyrics as I'm hearing them.

...everything that founds our home.

Just a really great song, man.

Also, parts of this (and this should come as an uber-compliment) remind me of some of Neil Young's moments, when he's really digging deep and being beautiful.

Okay, I know I said the word beautiful twice. I'm not gonna lose my "punker" status, am I?
posted by snsranch at 5:29 PM on July 15

I'll very happily take any comparison to Neil Young! And, nah, I think it's very punk to say things that could jeopardize your punk status.
posted by edlundart at 6:17 PM on July 15

Thanks for posting this. Your voice sounds really great in this demo. The lyrics keep gnawing at me--underling just isn't a word you hear in a song often. The last section first struck me as dream-like and potentially even romantic somehow, but then I kept mulling over the idea of being someone's surroundings or their underling, and it left a lingering bitter taste as well.

It is interesting to hear the evolution of this tune, because it made me think about how ingrained my preferences in terms of production values are. Maybe it's just that I think the eerie, ambiguous lyrics work better in this version because they are a little less out front, with a lo-fi production that doesn't consecrate the words like I feel the other version does.
posted by umbú at 11:13 AM on July 18

Thanks for a very interesting comment. There is a nice quality to how the lyrics are just sort of in the ether in this recording. Maybe that matches the somewhat unclear writing -- the words paint a hazy picture. The ambiguity is attractive to me.
posted by edlundart at 10:21 PM on July 19