So, my RPMrecord is up on Virb
http://www.virb.com/monopolirecordings
and Alonetone
http://alonetone.com/monopoli/playlists/underachievers-anonymous
Here's a track by track description so you have something to read when you get bored listening:
1. Vanilla sex and garlic eyes I tried this method http://www.songmd.com/col_hitlyrics.shtml to get out of my continuing lyricwriting-crisis. At step two of the method you have to write a nonsensical lyric on you melody. In the cas... (4093 more chars)
Well not really, but it's closer than I expected. I wrote an awfull lot of lyrics the past week. I didn't have any past weekend and have 9 songs with lyrics now (and two instrumentals) They are very odd nonsensical lyrics, but lyrics all the same. The record came out as some sort of conceptalbum round the title Underachievers Anonymous. There's some guitarbased tunes, an Italodiscotrack, some very depressing ones and a very stupid but, to me at least, very funny song I only started recording ye... (387 more chars)
So, I still have ten lyrics to write and no vocals recorded yet. I did make the CD label/sleeve though, added some synthparts and have started on writing the lyrics. Luckily I'll have three days off this week, wednesday, thursday and friday.
I'm trying this method out to get the lyrics done:
http://www.songmd.com/col_hitlyrics.shtml
I don't know if it will help me yet (I tend to be sceptical about anything but that doesn't mean I won't try it out) but it might be usefull for other R... (49 more chars)
So I am sort of where I should have been last week (I've had a bad second week of february due to flu) I've got enough tunes, most of it recorded but no vocals and lyrics at all. Still it's just a mild panic I'm feeling now. I could still finish this. Last year I wrote and recorded three lyrics on the last day.
One happy discovery this year was that it's actually quite doable to record electric guitar AND bass through my little 15 Watt Vox Pathfinder-amp at relatively neighbourfriendly volum... (675 more chars)
So, I have been sick (also) the last week.
I started out good enough but I'm seriously behind schedule now. The idea was to make at least 14 instrumental tracks before the 14th and then add lyrics and vocals and mix things up.
I haven't started on lyrics yet and spent past weekend to make some extra new tunes to make up for the lost time of last week.
When you feel that time is running out you have no time to evaluate what you're doing and that means that you might end up, like I did... (231 more chars)
This countdown to February gets on my nerves! It's January the 30th 22:35 here in Amsterdam so in 7h : 25min (like it says on the site now) it definitely won't be the 1th of february. And what is worse; I have today and tomorrow off, but have to work february the first! So it's actually more like 58 hours from now (too tired to count the exact amount of hours really) before I will be able to start.
Anyway, I set out to make a more guitar/songbased album this year. I'll start off the first tw... (436 more chars)
This countdown to February gets on my nerves! It's January the 30th 22:35 here in Amsterdam so in 7h : 25min (like it says on the site now) it definitely won't be the 1th of february. And what is worse; I have today and tomorrow off, but have to work february the first! So it's actually more like 58 hours from now (too tired to count the exact amount of hours really) before I will be able to start.
Anyway, I set out to make a more guitar/songbased album this year. I'll start off the first tw... (436 more chars)
You shouldn't really give explanations and commentary on things you make. They should be able to walk alone. But screw that, here's my track by track comments:
1. To do list...started out as an attempt to make a song similar to Fools Gold by the Stone Roses. I failed miserably ofcourse and it turned into this sixminuteplus funkjam monopolistyle. I didn't want to keep it an instrumental track so I read a hopelessly ambitious to-do-list over it. I do think it makes a good start to the record, ... (3841 more chars)
...but it took me too long apparantly cause I had to log-in again and lost the complete text. The CD is done though, and I'm sending it tomorrow (1march before 12:00 right?, tell you all more about it tomorrow. Really got to sleep now.
Read the descriptions there if you like.
Meanwhile I'm living between hope and fear concerning the finishing of this project. I've got nine tracks now, but four of them still haven't got lyrics and some of them are of questionable quality. I took two days off from work so I hope I can come up with a few ideas that don't suck too much.
I do think this RPM is a wonderfull idea. Shame I only saw it one day before februari and that it came in a slightly depressing time in my dreary life. I p... (323 more chars)
Next to recording two old songs I managed to write the rest of the lyrics for Words are so Overrated, which turned out to be quite topheavy as I had feared; nearly collapsing under it's own seriousness.
So to even things out I decided to write a fluffy poptune. I had seen a video on internet that apparantly Britney Spears shaved her head and they made a big fuzz about it. I though it would make a nice subject for a song where I invite poor Britney over to my place in Amsterdam to escape from... (468 more chars)
Still stuck with the lyrics. Damn! I get into an existential crisis everytime I sit down with a pen and paper. I have no trouble making up music (or pictures for that matter) but words seem to be much more unforgiving. I just can't seem to play with them as freely as I can with notes, chords, sounds, colours, lines, rythm etc. I should be able to do that, but haven't found how yet. (Maybe I should try to write in Dutch, but somehow I don't think that will really help and I'd hate to have to lim... (266 more chars)
I uploaded five "tracks" in de demosection. This will probably be my only update till I finish this project. Can't waste any more time really.
I find it strange that this blog and the demo-section are not linked in any sensible way. Or am I missing something? When I read someones entry I want to hear what they are doing and it's almost impossible
I've got two days off ahead of me. I haven't had two days off in a row in about a month! I plan on writing as much songs as I can with just voice and acoustic guitar and record them later in february. I want to work towards making a coherent album of songs instead of the usual bits and pieces and instrumental tunes I've done lately. Biggest obstacle is coming up with lyrics, but I already tell myself they are allowed to suck a little. I can always blame it on not having had time enough later. An... (399 more chars)
