Vignette #1 - Beachcomber

I'd forgotten about this and several other "short stories" I've recorded over the years. At the risk of sounding pretentious, they're basically vignettes that are more or less complete in themselves. Naturally, most of them are utter shit - but there are two others that I think have some merit which I'll upload. They may as well see the light of day....

Beachcomber, beachcomber the tide is turning
Hurry back, the tide is turning
Catch the waves in your open arms
Catch the wind in your heart

Beachcomber the siren's calling
"Hurry back", the siren's calling
She will sell you tomorrow
She will drown you in sorrow

Will you never learn?
Will you never learn?

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posted by MajorDundee (4 comments total)

I really like this. It's among my favorite things you've uploaded. Love the lyrics, and the delivery is kind of solemn and melancholy in a very good way. Could see it working as a great transitional song on an album, not as filler, but as a tone setter.

Look forward to hearing the other vignettes.
posted by edlundart at 8:34 PM on March 5, 2010

Yea, this is definitely my favorite of yours, man. While it's technically right on and beautifully recorded, as always for you, what really makes it great is how personal and intimate it is.

This is a beautiful piece and your voice is perfectly suited for this kind of thing!

(I've suspected this of a couple of other mefites, and I suspect it of you too, that you're really some famous musician/artist hanging around here to see if anyone recognizes you. Hmmm.)
posted by snsranch at 4:55 PM on March 6, 2010

Thanks both. I can assure you, sns, that I'm not some rock star in disguise (would that I were). Although that's immensely flattering - so thank you for that. Nearest I got was a couple of flop indie-label singles in the '80s, an unreleased album mouldering in A&M's vaults and some demos for RCA and a German label called Ariola Hansa. I did a few sessions but that stalled because, at the time, I couldn't drive so it was difficult to be "on call"! After that I got disillusioned with the music biz and pretty much stopped playing, had a family and only started messing with music again when my kids were on the verge of flying the nest. A common enough "career path", as it were.. But, I'm kind of perversely glad that I didn't "make it" back then. I'm pretty sure I'd have been a casualty and wasn't confident or hard-nosed enough to cope with the bullshit back then.
posted by MajorDundee at 2:45 AM on March 7, 2010

I don't think I've heard one of your songs without drums/sequence before, and it sounds very different to your "usual you". You have a very distinct touch with the drums, and I think that is a big part of what I would consider your "signature" sound (not that I can easily explain what would that be), but this is very nice. Unexpected and nice.

And funny to see snsranch saying that. I thought the same thing about you sometime ago.
posted by micayetoca at 1:32 PM on March 10, 2010