Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Regarding the audio quality...
I just realized that when I converted the audio files from my system last night into MP3 files for distribution on the internet, I converted then to the wrong format for my hosting service for the mp3s at Broadjam.com. So... the sound quality of the songs is unfortunately crap right now... but still sort of listenable. Sorry about that. I will reconvert them this evening and post fixed up ones and a note on the blog when I do so...
cheerio!
cheerio!
Second Song (instrumental)
This is an instrumental; I was inspired by some loops that I found on one of my hard drives, and decided to make a lulling, sedate, hypnotic kind of thing out of the idea. It's not much, just a sketchpad of an idea, but I kind of like the combinations of sounds that I pieced together... hopefully you will find something nice about it too. If not, perhaps it will just put you to sleep... that works too.
Swimming with Sinners
Swimming with Sinners
First Song Posted
Ok, here is the first song I have for my 3-song 45-day and 59-night extravaganza. I decided to go ahead and post this one with the scratch vocals, even though I really wanted to re-sing the whole thing, and still might change a few words here or there... regardless, it's up for review. My censor says it sucks. I say it's a work in progress. You can all say anything you like. If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine too. I just do all this for therapy anyway. In real life, I play a surgeon on TV!
Here's the link:
Say No More
Here's the link:
Say No More
Down to the wire - a wire on fire
Ok,
So Noon is the deadline; and I am at work. I have 1 of the 3 songs more or less done, another one done minus a vocal track, but the complex "sampled politician" project is just too complicated to get done this fast, although it is such fun I will get it posted separately later. Therefore, I stopped work on it and instead decided to do an instrumental with some interesting "loops" and textures I came across while working on another song. So that makes the 3rd, and to be honest, I will just have to finish it this evening after work. But I think I can knock it out.
The long and short of it is this: I will post 3 songs, one will probably be missing a vocal track (though I will post the words in text form until I get a chance to sing and record the vocal line) and I will post the "vocalized" version later. In the next week or so I hope to post a 4th piece, the sampled politician thing.
However... I will not be posting all 3 at noon, but simply some time tonight...
So, technically, I did not get it all done exactly in time. So, shoot me. I am happy to actually get anything at all done. I am not super-happy about the quality of these, but it's all progress (despite what my nagging censor would have me believe).
Thanks for starting this whole challenge, John... At least I got "something" done!
Good luck to everyone else on their challenges, revised or otherwise!
-roy
PS - I may, by the way, be able to post one of these new things from work here if the firewall lets me do that... so I will try to have at least 1 of the 3 posted around noonish by the official deadline.
So Noon is the deadline; and I am at work. I have 1 of the 3 songs more or less done, another one done minus a vocal track, but the complex "sampled politician" project is just too complicated to get done this fast, although it is such fun I will get it posted separately later. Therefore, I stopped work on it and instead decided to do an instrumental with some interesting "loops" and textures I came across while working on another song. So that makes the 3rd, and to be honest, I will just have to finish it this evening after work. But I think I can knock it out.
The long and short of it is this: I will post 3 songs, one will probably be missing a vocal track (though I will post the words in text form until I get a chance to sing and record the vocal line) and I will post the "vocalized" version later. In the next week or so I hope to post a 4th piece, the sampled politician thing.
However... I will not be posting all 3 at noon, but simply some time tonight...
So, technically, I did not get it all done exactly in time. So, shoot me. I am happy to actually get anything at all done. I am not super-happy about the quality of these, but it's all progress (despite what my nagging censor would have me believe).
Thanks for starting this whole challenge, John... At least I got "something" done!
Good luck to everyone else on their challenges, revised or otherwise!
-roy
PS - I may, by the way, be able to post one of these new things from work here if the firewall lets me do that... so I will try to have at least 1 of the 3 posted around noonish by the official deadline.
Monday, October 6, 2008
DAY 42 - Post-Post
I haven't posted the last couple days.
Been depressed for a week or so.
Partly due to creative output or lack of.
Partly due to financial stuff, physical stuff, regular life stuff, trying to eat 'raw' stuff...
I'm still hoping to have the first half of the play (ACT I of 2 ) done on Thursday.
This 45 Day Challenge has been VERY educational. Just because of ALL the stuff that has come up (emotionally, mentally, creatively). Very much worth it.
I've also been 90% more productive than I probably would have been.
I don't know what this funk is I'm going through. Perhaps the morning pages will bring some light to the subject.
I hope you are all having an inspired day!!
John
Been depressed for a week or so.
Partly due to creative output or lack of.
Partly due to financial stuff, physical stuff, regular life stuff, trying to eat 'raw' stuff...
I'm still hoping to have the first half of the play (ACT I of 2 ) done on Thursday.
This 45 Day Challenge has been VERY educational. Just because of ALL the stuff that has come up (emotionally, mentally, creatively). Very much worth it.
I've also been 90% more productive than I probably would have been.
I don't know what this funk is I'm going through. Perhaps the morning pages will bring some light to the subject.
I hope you are all having an inspired day!!
John
Friday, October 3, 2008
DAY 39 - A Day Is A Day Is A Day Is a Day...
I didn't post for Day 38, Oops!
Today is my birthday so I've given myself kindness today. (You should've seen the wrapping!)
I give myself a hug and a pat on the back.
I sit in awe over all that I am.
Today is my birthday so I've given myself kindness today. (You should've seen the wrapping!)
I give myself a hug and a pat on the back.
I sit in awe over all that I am.
One the verge of a great artistic shift
Well. I'm sensing it. A great artistic shift, a monumental breakthrough, is now occurring within me.
Why do I know this? Because it feels like I'm giving birth. I know the seismic upheaval stuff from before. And birth, as we know, is always a painful process.
Entering, working through issues in, or breaking up from an intimate relationship always ignites seismic events in creativity for me. And the deeper the feeling, the more stuff happens within me. Love, as they say, brings up a lot of things from deep within.
But of course it does! When the self - the pure, real self - is touched, then all the masks get shattered and there's a great moment of empowerment.
Touching The Source of Self is much of what AW is about. A lot of the time, we hide ourselves from our true self, precisely because we don't want to experience that pain of growth.
But growth it is - always - at least when it's embraced and recognised for what it really is.
Watch this space.
Why do I know this? Because it feels like I'm giving birth. I know the seismic upheaval stuff from before. And birth, as we know, is always a painful process.
Entering, working through issues in, or breaking up from an intimate relationship always ignites seismic events in creativity for me. And the deeper the feeling, the more stuff happens within me. Love, as they say, brings up a lot of things from deep within.
But of course it does! When the self - the pure, real self - is touched, then all the masks get shattered and there's a great moment of empowerment.
Touching The Source of Self is much of what AW is about. A lot of the time, we hide ourselves from our true self, precisely because we don't want to experience that pain of growth.
But growth it is - always - at least when it's embraced and recognised for what it really is.
Watch this space.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Beating yourself up for beating yourself up
Beating yourself up is one thing. OK - we all do it.
What I'm fed up with is beating myself up for beating myself up - which of course makes my inner champion come along and beat myself up for beating myself up for beating myself up.
I have a cunning plan: to beat myself up next time I beat myself up for beating myself up for beating myself up.
Then, perhaps, I'll get the message.
What I'm fed up with is beating myself up for beating myself up - which of course makes my inner champion come along and beat myself up for beating myself up for beating myself up.
I have a cunning plan: to beat myself up next time I beat myself up for beating myself up for beating myself up.
Then, perhaps, I'll get the message.
The 24 hour film race entry
So here is my entry to the Diesel Film Race, 2008.
My critic says CRAP. No music, not very clever or funny, won't win, won't get placed, no sound, failed to do something brilliant, embarrassing, not something a 52 year old professional actor who rates himself as rather good should be doing at his age, "where's the Oscar - why are you doing this kind of shite?", people half your age who aren't even professionals but part timers who write software full time are doing better than this, why did you give yourself all those credits at the end you narcissistic twat?, where's the REAL movie? and so on...
My inner grateful me says "You tried", some nice shots, you look good in close up, it's a step in the right direction, look at what you learned, etc...
But anyway. Here it is.
It is what it is, no more, no less. Another project birthed from my creative self, to live or die, for better or worse.
(Most likely worse.)
DAY 36 - What the Funk?
I've been in a funk. (Non-art related.)
And seeing the Challenge ends a week from Thursday, I feel even funkier.
I'm so funky, I'm George Clinton.
(He's the 'Father of Funk' for those who don't know.)
Anyhoo...I'm interested to see how this Challenge thing ends up.
It has been educational, that's for sure.
And I have been productive enough to know that it was worth it on that end as well.
Let us pray...
And seeing the Challenge ends a week from Thursday, I feel even funkier.
I'm so funky, I'm George Clinton.
(He's the 'Father of Funk' for those who don't know.)
Anyhoo...I'm interested to see how this Challenge thing ends up.
It has been educational, that's for sure.
And I have been productive enough to know that it was worth it on that end as well.
Let us pray...
Ten Days
Hello All,
I have been conspicuously dormant until now, but since I have been making small amounts of progress on my 3 songs, and there are but 10 days left in this challenge, AND because my nature seems to (or in the past has seemed to) thrive on pressure, especially the extreme kind, I am starting to feel the need to post my whereabouts and what I have been up to. And, to actually complete the challenge on time, which I believe I will be able to do.
To weigh in briefly on the many email dialogs that have been bouncing around regarding changing one's goals later after declaring them, I feel that each of us must answer for ourselves if this feels like we are "cheating" or otherwise defeating ourselves and our stated purpose in the initial challenge. I know for myself that I will, to a certain extent, "beat myself up" if I don't manage to complete the challenge as I originally stated it. I wanted a certain amount of pressure; in typical fashion I have waited until nearly the last possible minute to complete my self-assigned tasks, thereby increasing the pressure an extreme amount, which in my case tends to work for me (or it has in the past, anyway). But what works for me (or has), is not for anyone else but me.
For the past two years, in the month of February, I have entered a challenge for songwriters called "February Album Writing Month" (www.fawm.org). Simply stated, the goal of this challenge is to write 14 songs in 28 days (or 14-1/2 songs for leap years like this year was). The moderators/creators of the challenge and most of the participants almost unanimously agree that even if an entrant doesn't come anywhere near completing 14 songs in such a short time, that if they managed to create just 1 new song, that is 1 more song than they might have done if they had never entered the competition. So in that respect anyone that enters the competition and contributes anything at all is deemed a "winner". I am of that opinion, too. So even if I only post 1 of my 3 songs for our 45-day thingie, I will still consider myself having made some progress( though admittedly I might still beat myself up a bit). But maybe I won't have to address that. As I write this I am still thinking that I will not have to test those waters, in that I expect to have all 3 songs ready to roll.
By the way, I ended up writing 25 songs in 14 days this year for the FAWM challenge, versus just doing 14 in the previous year. So I know that I am capable of completing this 3 songs in 45 day thing... comparitevely it is a piece of cake!
As for why I am waiting so long to say or do anything at all, I may have mentioned this before, but I tend to not write much music in the summer months of most years... I think it's because I like being outdoors so much, and even though I write mostly late at night, I still feel a different kind of buzz in the summer and tend to spend a lot of time away from the house/studio. (I suppose that just because I have had a certain behaviour in the past, does not necessarily mean I have to continue that behaviour now or in the future, but for whatever reason so far this year I am following that pattern).
Be all that as it may, I have recently been getting some random sources of inspiration for new songs and material, and also felt a desire to redress and finish up one particular song that I had started back in February but never gotten back to. That song, thankfully, except for the final vocal track, is now ready to go, so I suspect I will be able to post it relatively soon, probably by the end of this next weekend. It was one of my "February Album Writing Month" challenge songs, but in the haste that pervades songwriting in that month, it was just a rough sketch of a song back then. Now it is becoming much more polished.
One of the other new songs I am working on will be based not upon my own voice, but "sampling" of speeches or statements from various notable figures (politicians, economists, etc) currently in the media. It will be sort of a "techno-rap" assembly of sound bites and such with my own personal crazy interpretation of current events represented by my choice assembly of these bits. Not sure if it will attempt to be comedic or not, but that is my current thinking on the matter. There really is no shortage of crazy funny stuff being said out there in the media right now, so it won't really take that much effort to make something entertaining out of it all.
The 3rd song for my collection is up in the air. I am currently placing my antennae in the upright and extended position to see what ideas I can extract from the ether of dark matter that heretofore has been undiscovered but is now widely conjectured by most scientists and physicists.
That is all for now. As you were. Move along. Nothing to see here. The red zone is for loading and unloading only.
May the farce be with you.
I have been conspicuously dormant until now, but since I have been making small amounts of progress on my 3 songs, and there are but 10 days left in this challenge, AND because my nature seems to (or in the past has seemed to) thrive on pressure, especially the extreme kind, I am starting to feel the need to post my whereabouts and what I have been up to. And, to actually complete the challenge on time, which I believe I will be able to do.
To weigh in briefly on the many email dialogs that have been bouncing around regarding changing one's goals later after declaring them, I feel that each of us must answer for ourselves if this feels like we are "cheating" or otherwise defeating ourselves and our stated purpose in the initial challenge. I know for myself that I will, to a certain extent, "beat myself up" if I don't manage to complete the challenge as I originally stated it. I wanted a certain amount of pressure; in typical fashion I have waited until nearly the last possible minute to complete my self-assigned tasks, thereby increasing the pressure an extreme amount, which in my case tends to work for me (or it has in the past, anyway). But what works for me (or has), is not for anyone else but me.
For the past two years, in the month of February, I have entered a challenge for songwriters called "February Album Writing Month" (www.fawm.org). Simply stated, the goal of this challenge is to write 14 songs in 28 days (or 14-1/2 songs for leap years like this year was). The moderators/creators of the challenge and most of the participants almost unanimously agree that even if an entrant doesn't come anywhere near completing 14 songs in such a short time, that if they managed to create just 1 new song, that is 1 more song than they might have done if they had never entered the competition. So in that respect anyone that enters the competition and contributes anything at all is deemed a "winner". I am of that opinion, too. So even if I only post 1 of my 3 songs for our 45-day thingie, I will still consider myself having made some progress( though admittedly I might still beat myself up a bit). But maybe I won't have to address that. As I write this I am still thinking that I will not have to test those waters, in that I expect to have all 3 songs ready to roll.
By the way, I ended up writing 25 songs in 14 days this year for the FAWM challenge, versus just doing 14 in the previous year. So I know that I am capable of completing this 3 songs in 45 day thing... comparitevely it is a piece of cake!
As for why I am waiting so long to say or do anything at all, I may have mentioned this before, but I tend to not write much music in the summer months of most years... I think it's because I like being outdoors so much, and even though I write mostly late at night, I still feel a different kind of buzz in the summer and tend to spend a lot of time away from the house/studio. (I suppose that just because I have had a certain behaviour in the past, does not necessarily mean I have to continue that behaviour now or in the future, but for whatever reason so far this year I am following that pattern).
Be all that as it may, I have recently been getting some random sources of inspiration for new songs and material, and also felt a desire to redress and finish up one particular song that I had started back in February but never gotten back to. That song, thankfully, except for the final vocal track, is now ready to go, so I suspect I will be able to post it relatively soon, probably by the end of this next weekend. It was one of my "February Album Writing Month" challenge songs, but in the haste that pervades songwriting in that month, it was just a rough sketch of a song back then. Now it is becoming much more polished.
One of the other new songs I am working on will be based not upon my own voice, but "sampling" of speeches or statements from various notable figures (politicians, economists, etc) currently in the media. It will be sort of a "techno-rap" assembly of sound bites and such with my own personal crazy interpretation of current events represented by my choice assembly of these bits. Not sure if it will attempt to be comedic or not, but that is my current thinking on the matter. There really is no shortage of crazy funny stuff being said out there in the media right now, so it won't really take that much effort to make something entertaining out of it all.
The 3rd song for my collection is up in the air. I am currently placing my antennae in the upright and extended position to see what ideas I can extract from the ether of dark matter that heretofore has been undiscovered but is now widely conjectured by most scientists and physicists.
That is all for now. As you were. Move along. Nothing to see here. The red zone is for loading and unloading only.
May the farce be with you.
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