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Screamin'
Like an Animal -1/6/04
"We like to swallow graveyards/ we bathe in broken babydolls"...yep, more nonsense lyrics. But I like the chorus and caffienated vibe. Pretty Child Don't Break My Heart -1/9/04 I don't remember too much about writing this, and didn't think too much of it at the time, but I kinda like it now. Girls Gone Wild -1/10/04 Trashy new wave disco music. We added this baby to the live show earlier this summer ('05) and so far it's been a blast to play. People in the audience flash us during this song, apropos of its subject matter. Bad Times -1/12/04 After ignoring this song for a while, it's grown on me a little bit. All the guitars recorded with a tiny, battery-powered amp. Drag Out the Dead Tonight -1/20/04 I like the spacious verses. The main hook is pretty cool, probably won't change the world...or will it? Winter -1/19/04 I'm really proud of this chorus. Overall, kind of a slow-burning, moody song...sounding a bit like winter itself. Stupid -1/22/04 A healthy moment of self-loathing! "Reckless and stupid/ sorry and stupid." Ever felt that way? Fear Breeding -1/25/04 In George Dubya's America, fear is a valuable commodity. But this isn't a "topical" song; it's just about the fear and loathing that pushes humans through their day-to-day lives. Marching Time Armies -1/27/04 More dark ruminating on the human condition: "oh, the horror of the peaceful mind/ the ritual kindness/ the same disguise, sincerity in lies." In the winter of '04, I was clearly not in the mood to write party music. Sorry. Take It All Apart -1/28/04 I normally don't go for the acoustic vibe, but it just seemed to work for this song. As the Iraq war dragged on, this lyric occurred to me: "mothers everywhere/ can never repair/ all the damage done/ by your selfish sons." Anyway, I really like this song -- it reminds me of Bob Mould's old band Sugar. Pete, Sally and Me -2/3/04 I was deep in the clutches of Nirvana nostalgia in winter of '04 and this song amply reflects that. I basically took the song "Dive," threw a disco hi-hat on there, and a thick vocal harmony sandwich in the chorus. I like it. And I don't think it sounds like "Dive." Selfish Wishes -2/4/04 This song was inspired by the gorgeous early-to-mid-80's Cure b-sides. I just love all the space, texture and imagination of those recordings. Listen as the guitar solo gets rudely yanked offstage to make way for the lead vocal (as usual, the lead guitar and lead vocal are on the same track, which means that the end of the solo -- and sometimes the first syllable of the following vocal part -- often get clipped. Keep an ear open and you'll notice this a lot in my demos). Gotta Be On Top of Me -2/20/04 Such a simple song, simple sentiment. It's one of my favorites. We've been playing this one in the live shows since last summer (summer '05) and it's really starting to take shape. This tune wrote itself very quickly. I was probably eating stale Valentine's Day hearts at the time. Here They Come -2/21/04 This is creepy, isn't it? Probably no one but you will ever hear this, but it's a kick to share it just the same. People Only Let You Down -3/10/04 My attempt to write a Chiffons song, but with the lyrical sentiment turned upside-down. Don't hold your breath waiting for this to show up on a P*S*K record. Witness another rudely interrupted guitar solo! My Melancholy Blues -(Queen cover) I recorded this at about 3am with one mic in front of me and my guitar. God, I love Queen so much...but now's not the time to get into that. Anyway, I always adored this piano-bass-drums-n-vocal song from the News of the World album, so I figured out an arrangement for the guitar, played it a bunch of times and recorded it. Forgive the flat notes; it was late! I also performed this one --sans guitar -- at a Queen tribute show at BB King's a little later. That was alotta fun. Baby Let's Burn -4/19/04 I don't know where this song came from but I dig the bouncy, B-52's-ness of it. It is a song clearly filled with the excitement of springtime. "Go-go dancing on toxic afternoons..." sounds fun, doesn't it? By the way, that's not a bass guitar -- just a Strat thru an octave pedal. Most of the songs from this period have that going on; my bass was broken for months. We Gonna Fight -7/04 Another one that has grown on me slightly even though the performance is a bit ratty. I wanted to use more exotic voicings in this since at the time I was immersed in learning lots of far-eastern and middle-eastern scales. When U R Alone -7/04 Obviously a Prince homage; no surprise, since I had just seen the man perform live the night before writing this song. I sure like the way this one came out. Would love to do it live sometime; it's really fun to sing. Would also love to record it right, with the proper orchestrations -- imagine violins doing all those melodies in the chorus. Mmmm! Time Ruins Everything -7/04 A little Massive Attack, a little Prince by way of Outkast. The Big Lie -7/19/04 Again, it's hard not to think about lies and such when you've got President Bush at the wheel of your country's ship. This was a quickie, hard-charging punk song that came out real well, I think. This song may have a future in P*S*K. The Devil's Music -7/20/04 I think this was one of those songs that came out of forcing myself to sit down and write something -- anything. No divine inspiration, just an exercise in forced creativity. Alot of these tunes came out that way. Love Is Taboo -7/21/04 God, the intro vocals are out of tune!! Still, "Love Is Taboo" is one of my favorite recent songs that I've written. This one was influenced by the beautiful simplicity of Marshal Crenshaw's "Favorite Waste of Time" single. Like that song, this one contains only two real parts, a verse and chorus. I can't say it enough: for my money, simplicity rules. P*S*K have been playing this song for a few months now in the live show. I'm starting to learn how to sing it right. Curses from the Stars (Will Follow You Wherever You Go) -8/4/04 Pretty chords. So many songs just get written, recorded and forgotten about, like this one. When I hear it now, it really appeals to me. Maybe you just need some time away from something before its value is revealed. Singing the word "daddy-o" can never be a bad thing. Jump the Gun -8/7/04 This is kind of a by-the-numbers song for me. Nothing to write home about, but it's catchy enough. Victory -10/24/04 A hard electro vibe. Dig this song. For some reason I decided on a classical-sounding acoustic guitar solo. It may be my favorite part! I also think it's nifty how the last chorus gets reinvented. Hotter Than the Sun -10/24/04 Another really straightforward song -- basically one melody carries the whole thing. My singing was inspired by Josh Hommes from Queens of the Stone Age. I love the fragile, ghostly quality of his vocals in many of the QOTSA songs. Lost on a Highway -10/04 I don't remember what inspired this song. I really enjoy the second verse, totally different from the first. The whole thing has a slinky, smoky vibe that I like a bunch. This Is My Song -12/6/04 The chorus lyrics could be used as my M.O. for life: "this is my song/ I know it's wrong/ but it's the only thing that keeps me carryin' on" I like the urgency of this tune. Run With the Dogs -12/7/04 I believe this song came out of one of those, "ok, sit down and write something" instances. Still, it came out pretty cool. A guitar solo that you can hum along too easily enough. |
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