August 5
08 - last all night - vampire deer
August 4
Magali
This song started as a joke and turned into something quite different. My friend and her husband have a lovely cat with an inspiring life story. During a recent visit, she said I should write a song about Magali, and after laughing about possible lyrics, it turned into a heartfelt song about the sweet, loving bond between a man and his cat. [more inside]
July 31
07 - dirge for briars
July 30
How Far I'll Go
I had the drums and amp mic'ed up anyway, so I decided to lay down this track from Moana.
July 29
beach week
Put together with my niece on a family reunion trip to Mission Bay. Lots of handclaps and arpeggiator (too many handclaps?) Another mostly op-1 track.
July 28
06 - the caution doors - vampire deer
Destination
July 27
05 - may is tumbling over - vampire deer
July 26
to the wolves
This is the only advice I have for new parents these days.
Had to salvage this song from a lost-when-near completed track, so the mixing is what I could work with, but I'm pretty happy with it. Enjoy! [more inside]
July 24
04 - angel sinister - vampire deer
July 23
Don't Be Afraid
Hi All,
Been awhile (years?) since I posted some music here. Wondering what folks might think of the current kind of thing I've been working on. Thank you.
July 22
03 - 6 crows and a pink flamingo
i was driving in almena township and someone had 6 crows surrounding a pink flamingo on their front lawn [more inside]
July 21
Curriculum Vibe
Almost ten years old: Came across one of my favorite songs from my band Big Ghost. One of our first attempts at home recording with drums. It's about backyard baseball, magic tricks, social anxiety and flirting. [more inside]
Citypages
A song about surviving a pretty wild and punk rock youth. I wrote and recorded this under the name Dame Kraft. It will be cleaned up and made better and eventually released.
Falling Awake
July 18
02 - building these blues - vampire deer
July 16
01 - you will not win - vampire deer
Cold Turkey Roll
Classic mash note: Lennon and McCartney stole from each other long after the Beatles split up. A love letter written in guitar riffs. bit.ly/rileyrockindex
July 15
Boy On Holiday
July 14
To be alone with you (Sufjan Stevens cover)
Not sure if I can do it justice, but I have loved this song every since I first heard Seven Swans in my college days. Light, soulful cover of a modern classic.
I've messed with the harmonies a little, so some of the chords are more dissonant (but in a watery, calm way, not a harsh way, if that makes any sense).
July 13
Juju
A cover of Wayne Shorter's Juju using Gretchen Parlato's lyrics from her version of the tune. Done in a sort of 90s-ish trip hoppy style. [more inside]
July 11
gman
With gman's announcement that he's taking a leave of absence, I told him beforehand that, on the day of his departure, I'd smoke something heady and record an improvised freakout jam. Gabe—I hope wherever you landed, they have internet; this one's for you. [more inside]
July 9
Gloucester Street
Echoey guitars and sparse vocals, a cross between Mazzy Star and Nick Drake. This song is what I was crying about on the tube after Pride in London. [more inside]
July 8
I Don't Want to Know
phone monkey
July 7
Get out get out get out
July 5
I don't mean to be mean, but this isn't "Fantasy Island"
July 3
Don't Start
I've got an eyeball
This came into my head after seeing Katy Perry and The Residents, one right after the other. It's part of my new goal of working on vocal harmonies.
June 30
Alight
Deeper Well (Emmylou Harris cover)
I love this song. Cover with guitar, piano. From her 1995 album Wrecking Ball, which Wikipedia calls "career redefining."
Forget About (Sibylle Baier cover)
Cover of this beautiful song by Sibylle Baier. Guitalele, flute/clarinet/marimba/wurlitzer piano synths. [more inside]
June 29
Doodlebug001
June 27
Trial By Fire
Written for a songwriting competition, it's a lofi/funk/power-pop kind of thing. To ensure songs were not written in advance, entries were required to include a siren in their song somehow, so, y'know, that's why there's a siren in the song. [more inside]
June 25
both sides now, now
lofi recording of somewhat didactic relyricization of joan baez classic, prepared around the time of the tiki torch society's march on charlottesville. [more inside]
June 24
The Insertion
Here's a demo electronic track. 505 Drum Machine, Nord Lead 1, Arp Odyssey and a Crumar Stratus though a few effects. It's maybe Daft Punk Tron Soundtrack-esque?
All day
Post of the week! This is a new (and improved?) version of a song I posted quite a while ago (as "Drinking all day"). Light, airy, one-chord country song with moody lyrics. Added second guitar part, violin, harmony vocal.
I think I'm getting somewhere with my recording capabilities--what do you think? Any thoughts on the mix?
June 23
Ventura
A quick demo of a short instrumental that was inspired by, written and recorded on and named after the red guitar I bought the other day and mentioned on the MetaGoodness thread.
June 22
A Cautionary Tale
Colbert sounded like Led Zeppelin in his bit that rides the cusp between humor and a sheer release of pent up indignation, so I added guitar accompaniment.
June 21
This Is Not A Test
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