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Category: NaSoAlMo 2008

Independent artists submitted 17 songs for Coverville Idol: Squeeze this year. Listeners were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite three, and my song came in third. Yay! Honestly, it was a total shock to be in the top three. If you like Squeeze or even only remember that one super popular Squeeze song, I recommended downloading the podcast and listening to all the covers. Then go to the virtual tribute album and download your favorites. The tribute album will only be available for a limited time due to licensing issues.

• The podcast: Coverville Idol: Squeeze
• The virtual album: Take Them (They're Yours): A Coverville Tribute to Squeeze

My favorite track is "Hourglass" by Lucky & Generous. A couple other favorites are "Goodbye Girl" by Zapruder Point and "Slap and Tickle" by MC Slap & DJ Tickle. And then ask me on another day, and I'll call a different one a favorite.

Coverville podcast Episode 532 features Coverville Idol which features a song from me! Brian Ibbott invited indie artists to submit Squeeze cover songs for the show, so I recorded "This Summer." One of the cool things about Coverville Idol this year is that all the songs are available for download on a Squeeze tribute album page in addition to being heard on the podcast.

Plus... you can vote for your favorites! Scroll to the bottom of the Squeeze tribute album page for a link to the voting.

Yay!

I finished my National Solo Album Month (NaSoAlMo) album, "Dead BBQ Grill," on Saturday night, a day earlier than the deadline, and spent Sunday working on my Web site in anticipation of releasing it. When I say "working on my Web site," I mean doing maintenance on the whole thing (not just the music related bits). But I think that was pure procrastination because once I finished the album, I kinda wanted to put it behind me since it had consumed me for the month of November. Read: I didn't want to talk about it.

I plan to do a wrap-up post to talk more about the individual songs and the process, but for now, here's Dead BBQ Grill in all her glory. Or most of her glory since the Squeeze cover song I recorded isn't available. You'll have to listen to the Coverville Idol podcast later to hear that one. I'll let you know when that's scheduled.

On my way to work Tuesday, I saw a big pickup truck knock a girl on a bicycle over. It was the girl's fault... she ran a red light because the sun was in her eyes. The guy in the truck that hit her didn't even get out to check her condition. I was taken aback by that. Once she got up off the pavement and rolled her bike out of his way, he drove off. She did wave to him that she was okay, but still... I think I would have gotten out of my car before she even got up off the pavement. I took down his license plate number just in case it was needed. Then I drove around the block so I could stop my car and ask her if she was okay. She said she was.

I've had a headache off and on for three days straight. I hope tonight's the night it goes away while I sleep. I have an album to finish tomorrow. I really have until Sunday night to finish, but I'd like to be done tomorrow. Then Sunday, I can put up Christmas decorations and stuff.

There's just one house on my street with lights up, and a house on a cross street has lights up. I'd do lights, but I'm too lazy. I'll put a lighted star in the front window again this year, though. That always makes me happy when I come home from work and see that.

I took my iPod to bed with me last night and listened to the chord progression of "Red House" over and over. The name that came to me when I first recorded it stuck. There's a story behind the song, but I don't know it fully. There are three people involved. Two who are quietly breaking up at a bar (one of which doesn't want to) and one observant bar patron who watches it happen. The lyrics are sparse.

Tonight, I hope I can do a reality check to make sure the lyrics really work so after Thanksgiving break I can record it and be done with NaSoAlMo for the year.

I previously reported the song to be 2:13, but the MP3 I made cut off at the end, so it will be several seconds longer even if I don't add an intro. Oooo... I just got an idea for an intro if I can find the sounds: The muffled sounds of groups of people talking (like at a restaurant) with glasses clinking.

Today I recorded vocals for "In Defense of Marriage" and mixed it. That just took a few hours this afternoon. After dinner, I fixed some things on "This Summer" (the Squeeze cover song) that I didn't think sounded right. That song doesn't sound right to me as a whole, but I think that's because I'm holding it to a higher standard because I know people will compare it to the original (if they've heard it).

I still had a little time to work after that, so I recorded a chord progression I'd come up with last week. It's a kind of fast picking thing. I put the track in my iPod to listen to while I try to come up with lyrics. I needed 2:13 to finish the NaSoAlMo challenge, and the music track is exactly that. I'll probably make it a little longer with an intro, though. I envision some noises, maybe bass, and some layered vocals with words that don't tell a story.

I have 2:13 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:07 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 3: Fandango (done: 3:41 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 4: Sugar and the Supersweet Trio (done: 6:30)
• NaSoAlMo 5: Nine Things That Are Not Other Things (done: 2:01 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 6: In Defense of Marriage (4:14)
• NaSoAlMo 7: This Summer (Squeeze cover) (3:29)
• NaSoAlMo 8: Working Title: Red House (tbd)

I didn't feel like doing music the last few days. I've been so tired after work. I had planned to work on songwriting Wednesday and Thursday, but I went to bed early instead.

Last night, was Rolling Stones Hoot Night with my music friends. I almost didn't go because I knew I'd be out really late and thought it would make me too tired for music on Saturday. I sang "Angie" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." I also helped sing "Paint It Black," and I did the "Bah du Bah du Bop Bop Bah da da" part in "Let's Spend The Night Together."

Despite getting to bed about 4:30, I wasn't too tired to do music today. I got up at 11:30 and started working on music right after lunch. I decide to pursue a song I'd abandoned earlier in the month about marriage. I worked out the music on my keyboard and recorded it. It's going to be about 4:20, which means after that I'll only have about 2:00 minutes left to finish the album. I think that's doable.

I put the new music track into my iPod and went to dinner and worked on lyrics at La Posada while I ate white cheese and green sauce enchiladas. Then I went to Starbucks for a mocha in a mug and sat and finished the lyrics there. It was a little difficult, though, because the music at Starbucks was really loud.

Now I'm going to switch gears and finish mixing the Squeeze song I recorded last weekend. I decided not to commit to submitting it for Coverville Idol because that was stressing me out. I just need to finish it and move on.

I didn't do much with music tonight. I'd planned to start writing something, but found myself in no mood. On the way home, I risked my life by writing things in my notebook. It was a list of things that other people enjoy that I just don't get. Things like:

• Happy hour
• Beer
• Fancy shoes
• "Desperate Housewives"
• "Sex in the City"
• Mandatory fun at work
• Free concerts

I doubt it will materialize into a song.

I played my keyboard for about 5 minutes, but nothing AT ALL was coming out of it that was good. It was disappointing because I thought I was better than that.

I picked up my guitar and found a new (to me) chord. That might materialize into a song and brought me a little hope, but I still wasn't feeling up to much.

So instead, I opened a delicious.com account and started collecting some bookmarks. I remembered I had a delicious.com account before and closed it because it felt like clutter to me. I would add stuff to it, but never once used it to find anything later. I'm going to try again.

The high point was talking to my bgff Shann. She made me laugh, and that was like a french fry to a starving artist. Or something.

I re-recorded the keyboard part that I did wrong when I originally recorded "This Summer." I also recorded some guitar strumming for the bridge, but I'm not sure if it'll really fit because I didn't have much time to work on it given that it's a weeknight.

I'm having a little crisis, though. Since I might submit this song for Coverville Idol, I want it to be as good as it can be. Sadly, I think it's the worst song I've recorded so far. I fear I'll spend too much time trying to figure out how to make it better. I still need to write at least two more songs to finish the NaSoAlMo challenge and if I goof around with this song too long, I'll mess that up.

I should probably try to write on the weeknights and limit recording to the weekends.

Today I started recording "This Summer", a song by Squeeze. It'll be my one NaSoAlMo cover song, and I'll also submit it for Coverville Idol. I got most of it recorded, but I recorded the keyboard part wrong in one spot. It still sounds fine, just different from the original. I'm going to leave it that way, but I need to record the bass in that one spot over again because I recorded the bass part like the original, and it clashes.

There's an instrumental break, and I'm not super happy with the sound of the melody instrument, but I haven't found anything better. I might add more stuff to it, but I really need to wrap it up and start working on the 2-3 new songs I have to write to fill up the last 6:30 minutes of the album.

I'm happy with my progress so far; I just hope I can get two more songs written soon.

I finished recording "Sugar and the Supersweet Trio: a folk opera in five acts" tonight. I use the the word "finished" loosely. If I didn't have other songs to write and record this month, I'd probably add some bass and some random percussion. Maybe I can do that later if I finish early.

This one clocked in at 6:29 because it's really 5 short songs in one.

I have 9:58 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 3: Fandango (done: 3:41 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 4: Sugar and the Supersweet Trio (done: 6:29)
• NaSoAlMo 5: Nine Things That Are Not Other Things (done: 2:01 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 6: Manual Hold Condition (Just an idea that might not pan out)
• NaSoAlMo 7: Squeeze cover song (I think I'm doing "This Summer")
• NaSoAlMo 8: Unnamed (Merely a guitar chord progression I like so far)

After a severe case of PMS with much crying and anger and feeling like it's the end of life as I know it, I recovered and worked on lyrics for the folk opera I'm writing about Sugar, Saccharin, Aspartame and Sucralose. I finished the lyrics and tested them with the chords I'd worked out last week.

I was off work for the holiday, and I should have gotten more done, but it felt like a Saturday, so after lunch I napped away the afternoon.

I'm trying to survive NaSoAlMo burnout. Or maybe I'm not trying. Today, I decided not to work on music because I'm sick of it. I did some housework and watched some TV. But then I thought maybe I could deal with trying to learn a Squeeze song to serve a dual purpose: 1) the cover song for my album and 2) an entry in Coverville Idol.

I tried "Hourglass" with the idea of slowing it down, but after failing to work it out well on guitar or keyboard, I threw that idea out. I quit music again for an hour or so and then once again found myself at iTunes to see what Squeeze songs they had. This time "This Summer" caught my ear. I downloaded it and looked up the chords. Not a guitar song, but maybe I could play keyboard.

Again, I set music aside for a while. I was sitting at the computer feeling a little depressed when I reached over for my guitar and within a couple of minutes found a picking chord pattern that I liked. Maybe that will turn into a song later. I didn't want to do anything more with it tonight.

Later, I took the chords for "This Summer" into the music room to attempt keyboard. I think it'll work out. I have 21 more days to come up with the rest of my album (minus about 3 days for Thanksgiving travel and such). Right now, I don't think I'm going to push myself. I have a feeling if it's going to happen, it'll happen. And if it doesn't, I will have written and recorded more songs in the last week than I have in the last year. Go me!

I recorded my tribute to the movie Fandango tonight. As I was recording vocals, I remembered that technique where I double the harmony to make it sound lighter. It's hard to remember things when I hardly ever record.

This afternoon while the guy was here to fix my heater (which he did without replacing any parts), I tried to work on the lyrics for Act V of my folk opera about sweeteners. I really think I'm going to have to punt on Act V. I can't think of anything to write, so I think it'll be about how I can't think of anything to write.

I have 16:27 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 3: Fandango (done: 3:41 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 4: Sugar and the Supersweet Trio (Lyrics and chord sketches done for Acts 1-4. Act 5 to be written)
• NaSoAlMo 5: Nine Things That Are Not Other Things (done: 2:01 minutes)

This afternoon, I'm waiting for the heating guy to get here to fix the fan on my heating and a/c unit. It won't stop running even if I turn it off at the thermostat.

While waiting, I re-recorded the guitar part for Fandango because after I wrote the lyrics last night, the guitar part was competing with the vocal. We can't have that. It shows what a little practice can do... the first time I recorded it, it took several takes. Today I recorded it in one take.

I also used the Cowbell Plus application on my iPod to add tambourine. Way cool!

And I added a soundclip from the movie to end the song.

I went to lunch at Houstons today. I haven't been there in ages. The prices were high last time I went, but I think they're even higher now. Ribs for $26. I skipped the ribs.

On the way home, I stopped at Starbucks and sat and thought about an idea for a song about the degradation of marriage by the very people who are trying to "defend" it. I got some ideas, but I'm not sure I'll flesh it out all the way. It's hard to immerse myself in that topic. It's different than getting my negative feelings out about a past relationship (like I did last year). That was about moving on. This topic is one I can't move on from because it'll still be a problem even after I write a song. We'll see. Thinking about it also gets me confused. I'm not even sure I know what marriage is about now. What are the benefits? Tax breaks? Maybe that's part of the song.

Tonight, I watched Fandango and wrote lyrics based on the movie. This is for the song that started with a guitar part that made me think of the line "the look on his face" which made me think of Kevin Costner's face at the end of that movie. There are actually a few "looks" on his face at the end of the movie that I didn't remember. They all made me teary eyed.

Tomorrow, I'll record "Fandango."

I have 20:08 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 3: Fandango (written)
• NaSoAlMo 4: Sugar and the Supersweet Trio (Lyrics and chord sketches done for Acts 1-4. Act 5 to be written)
• NaSoAlMo 5: Nine Things That Are Not Other Things (done: 2:01 minutes)

I finished recording a short piece called "Nine Things That Aren't Other Things" tonight. It's another new way for me to do things in that it's mainly bass and spoken word.

I have 20:08 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 3: Fandango (guitar bed done, lyrics in the idea stage)
• NaSoAlMo 4: Sugar and the Supersweet Trio (Lyrics and chord sketches done for Acts 1-4. Act 5 to be written)
• NaSoAlMo 5: Nine Things That Are Not Other Things (done: 2:01 minutes)

Here's a glimpse into how songwriting works for me sometimes.

Last night, I recorded a new guitar track. It's just some chord progressions that came out of my fingers when I picked up my guitar the other day. I put that guitar track in my iPod.

On the way to lunch today, I played it on repeat. I tried to sing along with it with nonsense words. Sometimes I have to just hum. Sometimes I sing the same lame words I sing every time I do this. (I can't remember them right now, but they come out when I'm trying to write). Sometimes, something unexpected comes out.

The unexpected came out out of my mouth today in the form of "the look on his face." At first, I dismissed it, but then I thought it came out for a reason, so I'd better go with it.

I started thinking of events or movies where a look on someone's face was meaningful. I wanted to think of something in real life. I even switched it to "the look on her face" to see if something would come to me. That seemed even harder.

Eventually, Kevin Costner's face came to me. It was that look on his face at the end of Fandango when he sees the girl dancing. Oh, how I love that movie.

At lunch, I continued listening and tried to come up with the verses and chorus. I remembered a few things from memory from that movie, but decided I really need to watch it again.

I came home thinking I had it on DVD. No. I looked on my old VHS tapes. No. I looked to see if TiVo had it on radar soon. No. I looked at Amazon to see if they had an Unbox download of it. No. I've never figured out bittorrent, and the last I tried, it made me cuss, so... No. I ended up ordering the DVD from Amazon, and even payed more to have it shipped to me by tomorrow than the movie itself cost. That was probably stupid, but I only have a few more days of staycation left, and I'd like to finish the song before I go back to work. So there's how songwriting works sometimes.

I went back to my old formula for songwriting today. I recorded a strumming guitar track so I can put it in my iPod and listen tomorrow to see what lyrics emerge from the music.

I also wrote several sentences that I want to speak over some music or sounds. I don't really know where that one's going since I've never done anything like that before.

I didn't work on the Sugar folk opera today. I need to let it brew for a while.

With three songs in the works, I think I'm doing okay. My staycation is over half gone. It's going by so fast.

I got some partial lyrics scratched out for one song and some guitar chord progressions worked out for another. I wish I'd played my guitar in October to build up callouses on my fingers. Ouch.

I went to Waterloo for lunch, and wrote some notes about a song idea I have about sweeteners. So far, I haven't used anything in those notes. heh Right now, I'm calling the song "Sugar and the Supersweet Trio: A Folk Opera in 5 Acts." I've got four acts done, and have no idea what to do in the last act. I might punt. Or maybe introduce High Fructose Corn Syrup as the villain... I just thought of that as I typed this.

In non-NaSoAlMo news, I went to Starbucks for a free tall (which is small) cup of drip coffee. I've decided I really don't like regular coffee much. I only like frou frou stuff like chocolatey espresso or caramel drinks. I almost bought a Starbucks Gold Membership which costs $25 and gives you 10% off for a year. It would pay for itself in a little over a couple of months. I didn't buy one, though, because you get a free drink when you buy one, and I was already getting a free coffee. It was a good thing... when I checked the mail this afternoon, I had a postcard saying I'd be receiving a free Gold Card Membership for a year because I'm such a good customer. Yay!

I had to record the keyboard part to this in 5 pieces. First, I did the bass line all the way through. Then I did the right hand parts separately (intro, verses, first part of chorus, second part of chorus). I tried to do the right hand parts all in one shot, but messed up one part or another every time.

I played with the sounds on my Korg, too, and came up with a spooky intro.

I'm glad to have two songs done, but I don't have anything halfway solid to work on next. I think I need to sketch out some music next and follow up with lyrics. I usually write music first, but this year, the two songs I've finished so far were lyrics first. Plus I think "The Lake and the Leaning Tree" is the first music I've ever composed on the keyboard. Kinda neat how this project stretches me.

I have 22:09 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (done: 3:54 minutes)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)

This morning, a guy came out to inspect my heating system. It's part of a maintenance agreement. He said the system needs cleaning. It's 26 years old, and I'd like to treat it with respect, so I made an appointment for him to come back and do that stuff on Wednesday. I love being on staycation... I can schedule things like that without worrying about work. I'm really going to love retirement.

I haven't done too much with the writing and recording yet today. I started jotting notes down for a song about sweeteners. I think Saccharine will be the heroine of that story.

I'm headed for the music room to start piecing together keyboard bits for "The Lake and the Leaning Tree." I say "piecing together" because I can't play anything more than the simplest of keyboard parts, and I've written something that's not the simplest. Ben Folds, I am not.

I finished one song tonight. I had trouble with my Roland recorder. There are slots for 8 songs on the recorder. The slot I was recording on stopped wanting to record. I could see the sound going in through the input levels, but it wouldn't record. Frustrating. I had to transfer the song from the Roland to my laptop and back to a different song slot. It's like I accidentally put a lock on that slot or something.

Tomorrow I'll work on recording the other song I wrote yesterday. I didn't have any luck with writing today. I had my notebook with me when I went out for lunch and supper, but nothing came to me. I think I need to sit down with my guitar and come up with some music first.

I have 26:03 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (lyrics done, music sketched)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (done: 3:06 minutes)

It's kind of ironic that I recorded the Saturday song on Sunday because that's what it's about. Things I wanted to do on Saturday, but because of naps, I get them done on Sunday. Actually, I'm not done recording it, but I have the guitar and vocals done. I'll add bass tonight and maybe some filler sound effects. Like barking.

It's going to be about 3:00 long, so after this, I have 26:06 to go.

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (lyrics done, music sketched)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (guitar and vocals recorded)

I woke up at 4:XX a.m. with some notes repeating in my head. I was going to go back to sleep, but then I realized I'm supposed to be writing an album, so I got up to try to replicate the notes on my keyboard. I'm not sure I did, but I came up with something similar. After noodling on my keyboard for what seemed like about 20 minutes, I looked at a clock, and it said 6:XX a.m. and that freaked me out. I thought, "Writing an album sure sucks a lot of time away." But a little later, I realized it was just time for the clocks to change and some of my clocks change by themselves and others don't.

Anyway... the music in my head is going to be the music for the first set of lyrics I wrote yesterday. I thought that song would be in a major key, but the notes in my head were in a minor key.

Getting some music for it also helped me realize I had written verses 3 and 4 differently from verses 1 and 2. Verses 3 and 4 actually needed to be combined into one verse meaning I needed to write another verse. So I did. It's a silly verse.

Before bed last night, I sketched out guitar chords for the second set of lyrics I wrote yesterday. I could start recording those two songs today. Before I do, I'm going to eat some stuffed peppers for breakfast and go back to bed.

Here's the progress:

• NaSoAlMo 1: The Lake and the Leaning Tree (lyrics done, music sketched)
• NaSoAlMo 2: Saturday (lyrics done, music sketched)

Today, I mostly just napped. I started some lyrics at Madam Mams at lunch, but when I got home, I was tired (much like most Saturdays). I watched a biography on Arther Ash and napped on the couch. After a while, I decided to commit to the nap and crawled into bed. When I got up a few hours later, an e-mail from my BGFF Shann (who coined "Nap-O-Almo") inspired me to start some more lyrics about how I just want to nap on Saturdays.

I worked on both sets of lyrics this evening, but don't feel like going into the music room to start the music. So I'll take it easy and watch some football and catch up with Shann. Maybe I'll work on music later tonight, or maybe wait until tomorrow. With a week's vacation staycation ahead of me, I don't feel a lot of pressure to get things done quickly.

Today, the first day of NaSoAlMo 2008, is a Saturday after a full week of work. Yesterday was a day full of multi-tasking at work. I don't do well with a full day of multi-tasking. Even the thought of a week's vacation staycation at the end of the day didn't help because I really wanted to have some quiet time to put things in order before I left for the week. Since it was so busy, I had to bug out of there before something else came up and cross my fingers I didn't leave any loose ends that will screw people up.

All that to say, it's bleeding over into my first day of NaSoAlMo. Despite going to bed at 9:30 last night, I still feel tired and stressed because of work, and now I have a headache.

Hopefully after a shower and some food, I'll start feeling better.

I'd like to establish some good habits this week since I'm in more control of my surroundings. First habit is to drink a lot of water throughout the day.

I'll take a notebook to lunch with me later and see if I can start writing some lyrics.

Last year's NaSoAlMo album is here.

I'm planning to do NaSoAlMo again this year. This time, I'm taking a week off at the beginning of the month to give me more time for writing and recording. Unless things get crazy at work. We're short a Web coder, so I'll have to be on call while I'm out.

• Clear files off the laptop
• Clear raw recordings off the Roland workstation
• Organize the music room
• Go through the NaSoAlMo artist list and subscribe to some of their RSS feeds and tweets
• Play with the equipment and instruments a little to make sure they still work
• Eat Thai Food (okay... that's not necessary for NaSoAlMo prep, but a fat girl needs to eat)
• Check to make sure I have enough paper in the notebook in my purse for those inspired moments away from home.
• Straighten up the house (for the Feng Shui effect)