Well, folks... it's been three days since the FAWM season officially closed. In those three days, I have been too busy to even think about having a life, which meant my final FAWM blog post was delayed a bit.
But it's here! So join me as I procrastinate on things my neighbors would appreciate, such as fixing the rut I put in my lawn and weeding my garden... this might be a long'n.
First, I'm going to do myself a favor and list my songs, link them directly to their respective MP3 files (so that clicking on them will bring you to the actual sound file), and give a short self-critique. Next year, my FAWM page will be wiped clean so that I can put up more stuff, so this is my own little archive.
1 The Invitation
Loved starting out with a banjo tune, pretty happy with the chorus. not sure about that bridge.
2 The Migration
An arty enviro song. glad I wrote at least one of these. I honestly think I expressed exactly what I wanted to.
3 Little Bird (with jocelyn)
Awesome collab which I really enjoyed. This was the only collab where someone gave a complete set of lyrics which I then set.
4 A Rather Politely Phrased Request From A Fellow Citizen and Motorist
This one was so fun. A good song for the open mic at the bar ^^
5 Invention for Dulcimer
Goin' out on a limb with this one. Instrumental. Not sure this is actually how you play dulcimer, but I actually love the construction of the music. May develop it.
6 The Sun (is free energy!)
An educational enviro song. WITH BANJO! It's very fun and I'm glad I wrote it.
7 Small Town Places
This one was sprung on me. It was never on my list of ideas. But I'm glad it's there. More thoughtful and slow.
8 Irish Platypus (with heyzach)
My first in-person collab. Ever. (Ever!) Instrumental. Our musical ideas are so varied.
9 The Five Stages of Infatuation
Another fun one for the bar, like the traffic song. Just a caricature of the rigmarole of being single. Through-composed, too!
10 Peter (with natrin)
I love them all, but I love this one. The recording's good except for that one note that I'm flat on >.< I really love the mandolin solo. Personalizing the story of Peter walking on water was just fun. Making a video was awesome, which was Michael's idea, not mine...!
11 Jimmy Baker and the Bees
Enviro song, upbeat, educational, fun, funny. It's my inner Shel Silverstein coming out.
12 Crowns
I personally think this is the most beautiful song I wrote all FAWM. I think because it is a perfect encapsulation and expression of what I was dealing with, musically and lyrically. I figured this would probably confuse folks who know me, but I also figured they could just ask me if it was really a problem.
13 Mud Season
I didn't like this one when I put it up. I felt like putting it up was a cop-out. Could be developed.
14 Looking For Words (Tyranny of Complexity) (with shanepalko)
I'm rocking a bassline in this one, and doing some singing. Shane's doing everything else. This one really moves. I find it gets caught in my brain.
15 Por Supuesto
I actually really love Spanish. I really seriously regret that I don't practice it more. But this set of lyrics came to me in Spanish, so I brushed up and wrote it down. I love harmonizing, too ^^
16 Third Grade Music Class (the recorder song) (with wolfeman217)
... I really don't count this one. It's amusing to me because we had three very talented guitarists in a room together and... we write a stupid thing on recorders. Cripes.
17 Space Trash
Michael requested this one months ago. I'm still working on a list of suggestions, but Michael is persistent so I made it a goal to get it done this FAWM. It's pretty silly.
So, overall... I got 4 environmental songs, 2-3 that are upbeat and silly, 2-3 that are more solemn and deep, 10-12 songs that I would feel comfortable bringing up to speed for the stage, and some great collaborations with other artists. I'm really very happy about that. ^^
What now? Now we prepare for the FAWM showcase, I cross off some of my spring goals (yes, I keep an excel spreadsheet of my goals), take a short breather, clean the house, weed the garden, and then get moving again.
It's not easy, it's really not. I will admit that this business of being whatever I am is a lot of work. But I will also admit that it's what I am, and I find fulfillment in it. Not just joy, not just pleasure... fulfillment. I could just ignore music, hunker down, live life like a normal middle-class American and die, but that's just survival. It's more than loving what you do, or pretending that you love what you do (because you force yourself to love it). It's tuning into the voice of your own discontent and allowing it to draw you deeper into the fulfilling stuff that makes no sense to the world or the folks that live in it.
Because ultimately, it makes no sense to do any of this, in terms that the world understands. But God, I can't not.
No comments:
Post a Comment