SpinTunes 25 Round 3 Challenge - 'There's a Song in My Song'

[BoffoYux]

This Big Old Endless Sky - Am I the Ball and Chain?

making plans for nigel's crowning
he lives in a wonderland
every day he wants to be a king
he'll chase that feeling
he's such a simpleton

dear god, is he the ball and chain?
dear god, is he the ball and chain?

all the generals and the majors
are standing ten feet tall
with their senses blowing gauges
they're working overtime
melt the guns, no thugs this time

dear god, are they the ball and chain?
dear god, are they the ball and chain?
dear god
dear god, are you the ball and chain?

stage left
ecstasy
stage left
towering
stage right
satellite

wake up

dear god, are we the ball and chain?
dear god, are we the ball and chain?

dear god, am i the ball and chain?

[BoffoYux]

Hot Pink Halo - Rallied by an Evening Prayer

I am not the same as I was when I was four
And those kids found themselves
At school

Every atom’s been replaced
Over time
And they keep moving through me
As I find ways to
Find my way through

They’ve been at it now for forty years
Saturday detention
Facing all their fears
And I’ve been at it for a hundred songs
Rallied by an Evening Prayer
To right the world’s wrongs

So don’t don’t you
Forget about me
And I won’t won’t won’t
Forget about you
Every one’s the sum of what’s come before
And every one changes
As time makes them more

I am not the same as I was in 95
When Rob was listing
His all time top fives

The orders are rearranged
Forevermore
There’s no one playlist
That can ever keep the score
Still the music keeps moving me
As I move on

Nick writes novels cos he can’t write songs
I read that and I tried to play along
A hundred goes in
Each time it’s brand new
Rallied by an Evening Prayer
The atoms move through

So don’t don’t don’t you
Forget about me
And I won’t won’t won’t
Forget about you
Every one’s the sum of what’s come before
And every one changes
As time makes them more

Don’t don’t you
Forget about me
And I won’t won’t won’t
Forget about you
Every one’s the sum of what’s come before
And every one changes
As time makes them more

Don’t don't don’t you
Forget about me
And I won’t won’t won’t
Forget about you
Every one’s the sum of what’s come before
And every one changes

Rallied by an Evening Prayer

Everyone changes

As time makes them more

Having consulted with the spreadsheets, I realised that this was my 100th song, so I went back in time to my first ever finished song and started there.

31 songs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbook_(Nick_Hornby_book)

The year was 2019. The summer was miserable. I was reading Nick Hornby's 2002 book, '31 songs'. In it, Nick says he had to write novels because he'd tried songs and just didn't know how to do it. "Come on Nick, it can't be that hard," I thought, and started trying. Something I found out this week though: Ben Folds also read Nick's book, and invited him to write some lyrics. They made a whole album together. As far as I can tell, Nick hasn't done it again since.

Evening Prayer: youtu.be/nuUnAAUSgf0?si=KZXVXJ2Gesdsqq7w

We'd also just seen Ezra Furman play live in Cork, and the next day I learned one of the new songs played at the gig, 'Evening Prayer aka Justice', from the album 'Twelve Nudes'. There were no tabs in the internet yet. I could barely play guitar (some may argue that this is still the case...) and I didn't understand how the heck to use Instagram Stories, the newest social media tech at the time. Still, I posted this to an Instagram story, now archived for posterity, and asked Gizo if he wanted to make a band.

www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTQ ... EyNDY3MTI0?

He suggested we songfight. The title that week was The Supper Club. Armed with very little skill, very little equipment, almost no knowledge and some help on guitar and bass from my husband, I pulled together an entry themed around the film 'The Breakfast Club' in two days. Listening back now that American accent I'm affecting can get straight in the bin. Rs? No thank you.

The Supper Club: www.songfight.org/music/supper_club/hotpinkhalo_sc.mp3

So, this song is a song about my 100 songs, playing the guitars and bass and keys all by myself like a real grown up. Even when the songs are done, they never remain the same, because we become more.

[BoffoYux]

The Pannacotta Army - Don’t Be A Square (Funk 13)

Gimme funk guitar
At 13 to the bar
A little hi-hat taste
Then introduce the bass

Now the intro’s done
We get drums full on
There’s a rhodes on board
Playing major chords

Unwind yourself with this chorus of 12 over 8

Back to the verse again
100 BPM
Dig those hammond keys
Turn them up louder please

It’s so much more than those four to the floor kind of grooves
Don’t be a square get up out of your chair throw some moves

Play me some mellow flute
Lay down a synth to suit
A shaker on the side
Then we’ll bring in the ride

It’s so much more than those four to the floor kind of grooves
Don’t be a square get up out of your chair throw some moves

This song is almost entirely self-referencing, while also encouraging those with more typical taste in dance music (i.e. 4 to the bar) to give something a bit different a try.

[BoffoYux]

David Taro - One Hit Wonder

You were a one hit wonder
In the summer, 1985
Your voice on the radio
All the TV shows, it felt like you’d arrived

Oh when the crowd sung, “Oh my, oh my”
Oh when the crowd sung, “Oh my, oh my love”
But you can’t go back
No, you can’t go back again

You were unstoppable
Untouchable, or so the label said
Then when the album tanked
Your fortunes sank and man, they cut you dead

Oh how the crowd sung, “Oh my, oh my”
Oh how the crowd sung, “Oh my, oh my love”
But you can’t go back
No, you can’t go back again

Some days, in the bathroom mirror
You catch your reflection
And wonder was that really me
But every now and then
You still get asked the question
Hey, did you sing that song
The one from long ago
It went “Oh my, oh my love”

You were a one hit wonder
Until the summer, 2025
The kids started playing your song
Dancing along, ‘cause it made them feel alive

Oh now the crowd sings, “Oh my, oh my”
Oh now the crowd sings, “Oh my, oh my love”
And it takes you back
Yeah, it takes you back again

“Oh my, oh my love”

The song in my song is the fictional ‘one hit’ of the title. Essentially, the “Oh my, oh my love” refrain. I’m crossing various fingers and toes that this is within the remit of the challenge!

[BoffoYux]

SEE/MAN/SKI - The Song I Can’t Write

you keep on calling
I won't answer
I've got a stubborn way
of making my excuses

you want attention
I don't notice
so scream it louder
and I snap back in frustration

that's the moment
when it brings me down again
that's the moment
where I can't push back the pin
I don't think there's any song I can write
to express the guilt I fight
for the things I did to you

were you struggling?
was it planned?
were there signs
that I could never understand?

I didn't know you
as well as I should
my only wish
as that I could have been more forward

that's the moment
when it brings me down again
that's the moment
where I can't push back the pin
I don't think there is any song I can write
to express the guilt I fight
for the things I didn't do

when I close my eyes
I try to visualise
when I take the time
to really change my mind

there's the moment
where my wounds healed again
there's the moment
where I try to grab the pen
I don't think there is any song I can write
to express the pride I hide
that I feel
when I think of you

This is a song all about regrets, it is written in 2 halves, the first was inspired by my fears about not being a good parent and upsetting my daughter where I have been a bit brash with her. The 2nd was when the news about Joy broke and I had a overwhelming regret that I didn't actually get to know her and I wish I had.

[BoffoYux]

Jealous Brother - A Guy Like Me

It was April 3, 1990, the first time that we met
You were watching the Tonight Show on a beat up TV set
Jay was on, he was guest hosting, that night Johnny was gone
Leno said he could score a free record from the band that he had on

Then John Linnell, he sang straight at the camera, playing the accordion
I looked at you as you looked at the TV and I felt something going on...

Two guys named John, They Might be Giants playing Birdhouse in Your Soul.
Doc Severenson played the trumpet solo, i remember thinking he was old

I wanted to put my hand in your hand but I barely knew what your name was
I didnt' know what a blue canary had to do with a glowing friend
Do with a glowing friend, do with a glowing friend
I just knew I wanted to be yours

Wearing plaid, nasally voices, glasses as thick as a book
They made you laugh, they got you inspired, as intellectual as they looked
That's when I knew, that's when it started when they sang about bonnets and bees...
If you could love They Might Be Giants then you could love a guy like me

Two guys named John, They Might be Giants playing Birdhouse in Your Soul.
They're gonna tour with a full horn section when you and I are getting old

I wanted to put my hand in your hand but I barely knew what your name was
I didn't know what a blue canary had to do with a glowing friend
Do with a glowing friend, had to do with a glowing friend
I just knew I wanted to be yours
Had to do with a glowing friend, do with a glowing friend
Had to do with a glowing friend, I just knew I wanted to be yours

A song about They Might Be Giants' performance of their song "Birdhouse in Your Soul" on the Tonight Show April 3, 1990-- video available on YouTube

[BoffoYux]

Bob Voyg - So Far, So Hard

trying hard to sing you my song
oh babe I’ve learned all the words
but still I get it wrong
I know my timing’s off
I know my rhythm’s shot
I know the only way to go is up
but baby it’s so far

feels like I'm in outer space
I’m sending signals
but they’re slipping in and out of phase
I got the wavelength wrong
the peak to trough’s too long
I know the only thing to sing's my song
but baby it’s so hard

empires get buried
overthrown
the only things that last
are melodies
and piles of bones
and will we be seen in the seeds we have sewn?

I want to help you hear what I hear
I want to give you a chance
to dance and shed a tear
I’m writing postcards from
my life inside a song
I know the only place to be’s with you
but baby, it so hard

It's so hard
It's so far

Can you imagine what it would be like if being better was easy?

[BoffoYux]

Huge Shark - Wings

You wrote me a song but never played it
and I can hear it right now
Your voice in the darkness low and faded
breaks through the mirror somehow
And no one can see what's coming
And no one can hold you dear
No one could push back the wave and keep you here
that much is clear

Did it have words?
Did it have wings?
Did it have longing, love and all those crazy things?
Did it have all the hours we never got,
where time has lost its sting?
— did it have wings?

You sung for the moon but couldn't hold it
but it is still in my sky
The breath of the night so blue and cold,
we just had to let it go by
I turned up my face to kiss you
The petals fell down like snow
I bent down to try to hear the afterglow
but it was too late, I know

Did it have words?
Did it have wings?
Did it have notes and chords and melody and ring?
Was it all the songs we never got,
in that unfinished spring?
— did it have wings?

You know I never thought I'd hear your voice again
I hear your voice inside my head it sings me home

Did it have words?
Did it have wings?
Did it have lift and light and air and feathering?
Did it have all the skies we never got,
and could it bring you back?
— did it have wings?
Did it have wings?

A friend and I didn't discover that our romantic feelings for each other were mutual until she was in the late stages of dying of cancer, and in another country. We had a few scant months to voice what had been in our hearts a long time, and recorded a few voice messages for each other, including some K left me to listen to after her passing. This was many years ago now, but I have never felt able to listen to them.

[BoffoYux]

Good Guy Sôjàbé - A Song About A Song

I remember
In 2002
A tenacious duo
Rocked us a tune
They played acoustic
But it kicked ass
One man named Black
And the other Gass
As they walked down a road, just two dudes on a mission to rock
(They used “rock” a lot )
And this song that came on it made us laugh our assess off
Hahaha just like that

This is a song about a song about the greatest song in the world

And in this song
About two men
Rocking righteously
One evening
They met the devil
And engaged in song
But what they came up with
They don’t recall
So they lifted guitars to the heavens and sang
Consequences be damned
But this song that they played yeah it laid the devil out
Made him scream and shout
Like a b***h

This is a song about a song about the greatest song in the world

Our song is about the song “Tribute” by Tenacious D, in which our heroes sing about the time they defeated Satan by spontaneously performing the best song in the world (which they subsequently cannot remember):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_(song)

[BoffoYux]

The Alleviators - Song of the Ravaged

Verse 1:
Strangers gathered in the avenue
Faces covered, cardboard signs
Oh, what a tired scene
No fires in war-torn streets
No battle but the one you brought with you
You came looking for a fight



Chorus:
You hear that sound?
They’re dancing in traffic
You want tears?
We’ll laugh in your face
And drown you out
With the song of the ravaged
And then we’ll have a parade

And it’s catching on, babe

Verse 2?:
Wait a minute, back up, begin again
It’s innocent, you slipped, you didn’t mean it
You didn’t mean it
Then you repeat it
And they believe it
They believe it

Wait a minute, back up, begin again
It’s “agitated”, “well, it’s like living in hell”
But we’ve heard this one before
Not listening anymore
It’s time that we write the score

Whose army do you think you are?
Sure as hell ain’t ours
(And if you think this is a funeral march)

Chorus:
You hear that sound?
We’re dancing in traffic
You want tears?
We’ll laugh in your face
And drown you out
With the song of the ravaged
And then we’ll have a parade
And we’ll make it so great

Bridge:
We sway with the bridges
And hum with the trees
A chorus of villages
Finding the beat
You don’t know how to hear it
Or what you’ve unleashed
Awakened a city that sings in the streets

We sing for our brothers
We sing for our kids
We belt out the stories you’d rather keep hidden
You try to define us? We know how to riff
Our joy is our weapon, our song to resist

[Instrumental}
Resist

Chorus:
We’re dancing in traffic
You want tears?
We’ll laugh in your face
We’ll laugh in your face
And drown you out
With the song of the ravaged
And then we’ll have a parade
A lovely parade

Outro:
Wait a minute, back up, begin again
You try to spin it
But we’re gonna win it
Wait a minute, back up, begin again
You try to spin it
We’re gonna win it

Gonna drown you out
Gonna win the crowd
Gonna burn it down
It’s contagious now

La la la la la la la la x etc

(Whose army do you think you are?)

[BoffoYux]

Governing Dynamics - Keep Driving (I-70)

I-70 is cruel even when the traffic’s clear
I'm scrawling lists of demands that might have lead you here
My closest prayer for the departed if you’ll hear me for awhile
A bleeding hole in my heart, another 700 miles(1)

There’s static on the airwaves
And thoughts I know you can’t stand
So here’s some messages from strangers
You'll know like the back of your hand (2)

If you could use somebody (3)
Even though it's not really quite your style
I can meet you on the off ramp
Hands open all the while (4)
You're not left or leaving (5)
A warm beating heart still arriving
Just let the tears all fall down
But keep driving
Be awash in the sounds
And keep driving

You Hand In Mine is playing (6)
Like a map of some shared pain
Those strings are screaming feelings
No lyrics could contain

There’s that breakdown in Aurora (7)
A fist full of riffs just to remind you
That you’ve never been so lost
That midwest emo couldn’t find you

So smile like you mean it (8)
And cast aside your doubts (9)
When the devil’s on your back
You shake it out, shake it out (10)

You could use somebody
If you don't know how to let it be, (11)
Well get your fucking hands up
All eyes on me; (12)
Keep the car running (13)
Help! I’m alive (14) (15)
And sing This Must Be the Place (16)
But keep on driving
Darkness, be my friend tonight
Keep driving


Can't linger long on any word you wrote
My voice and my songs just sound a single note
Heavy is the sorrow, like a rotting armored coat
Like Ben Folds said, the past's not dead
If you can smell the smoke (18)

Yeah you could use somebody
Get your fucking hands up
You’re not left or leaving
Just let the tears all fall down, but keep driving
Get lost in the sounds, but keep driving

I get by with a little help from my friends (19)
God, I'm so tired, now it's time to pretend (20) (21)
Where is my mind? I’ll stay under pressure (22) (23)
‘Til I find the world we sang Die Happy together (24)

There’s a world we sang Die Happy together
There’s a world we sang Die Happy together

I’m not sure what I wouldn’t give
If I could make you cry again
If you could use somebody
Well, here comes your man (25)

This song is about a mixtape that was never made, for a road trip that never happened.


Songs referenced.

(1) 700 Miles (Song To Stay Awake) - Governing Dynamics (Spintunes 8 Round 1)

(2) Back For The Funeral - Donovan Woods

(3) Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

(4) Hands Open - Snow Patrol

(5) Left and Leaving - The Weakerthans

(6) Your Hand In MIne - Explosions in The Sky

(7) Aurora - Mineral

(8) Smile Like You Mean It - The Killers

(9) Aside - The Weakerthans

(10) Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine

(11) Let It Be - The Beatles

(12) All Eyes On Me - Bo Burnham

(13) Keep The Car Running - The Arcade Fire

(14) Help! - The Beatles

(15) Help I'm Alive - Metric

(16) This Must Be The Place - Talking Heads

(17) Darkness - Robert Francis

(18) Smoke - Ben Folds Five

(19) With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

(20) I'm So Tired - The Beatles

(21) Time To Pretend - MGMT

(22) Where Is My Mind? - The Pixies

(23) Under Pressure - Queen/David Bowie

(24) Die Happy - My Broken Demo Tape (Spintunes 23 Round 2)

(25) Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies

[BoffoYux]

Flintsteel - Master of the Art

i have heard you in the night
playing sounds i never could before conceive
i do not understand your fright
why in my presence do you shy from those genius harmonies

theres something wrong
i cant define
forever lost in the structure of my mind

and yet a spark
of the divine
accented notes of your own aural design

bring sense to this haze of my life
please now i beg you put an end to this strife

and share your secrets with me
master of the art
play the forbidden melodies

i need to hear them again
your midnight reveries
reserved for specters of the dark
master of the art

i hear them speaking to me
the whispers in the dark
through the window theyre beckoning

drawn inexorably towards
your arcane symphony
the piper or heresiarch?
master of the art

based on ‘the music of erich zann' by h.p. Lovecraft

[BoffoYux]

Sober - On Shenandoah

And if death is part of living
Let me die before the others
For I can’t go on for all the grieving
For my friends and lover

I think on Shenandoah and on Ashokan
On Auld Lang Syne and Carrickfergus
If I’d the mind, I’d write a another
A thousand hymns and dirges

Oh live a life, so full of beauty
So in death, you live again
May you live forever

And if drink could drown I’d have another
Until I sailed a burning ocean
Yet for my tries, I could not cover
Or see my sins forgiven

And so it goes, and will forever
Til the sun grows and devours
I’d give it all to wake that morning
And watch the final hours

Oh live a life, so full of beauty
So in death, you live again
May you live forever

You will live forever

We all obviously have a lot on our minds this week. I was making plans to go to my uncle's funeral when I got the news about Joy. This clearly references the chordal and melodic structure of "Shenandoah," with enough variation to make it its own piece. While "Shenandoah" is about a different kind of loss, it still evokes the same kinds of feelings in me as Ashokan Farewell, Auld Lang Syne, and Carrickfergus. The "live forever" sentiment came to me as I watched Joy's memorial in the airport. So many people who loved her, and were touched by her. That's living forever. Getting through the vocal takes on this was hard.

[BoffoYux]

Wendy Wiseman Fisher - The Song That Opened The Sky [SHADOW]

Verse 1
I left the keys on the counter’s edge,
Pumpkin soft on the porch step ledge.
Now, the boxes stacked like a city of stone,
I shut the door, but I walk alone.

Verse 2
I’ll walk new streets and I’ll breathe new air,
Life my life like an answered prayer.
I’ll ride new trains, I’ll taste old wine,
Linger with music; closing time.

Bridge
I thought the ending was all I’d see,
But one song kept singing, “Begin again with me.”

Chorus
There’s a whole new world I’m ready to find,
The truest self I had left behind, left behind.
A whole new world, and I’m alive.
This is the song that opened the sky.
No.

Verse 3
I cross the bridges I used to fear,
Speak with a voice I can finally hear.
The map is blank but the road feels true.
The voice I follow is mine anew.

Bridge
I thought the ending was all I’d see,
But one song kept singing, “Begin again with me.”

Chorus
There’s a whole new world I’m ready to find,
The truest self I had left behind, left behind.
A whole new world, and I’m alive.
This is the song that opened the sky.
No.

“A Whole New World,” from Disney’s Aladdin, was one of the most romantic and inspiring things I’d heard when I first heard it as a teenager. I’m in the process of divorcing my spouse, and the prospect of a whole new world with the new freedom I’ve found is sometimes inspiring

[BoffoYux]

▷ - just felt like That [SHADOW]

i decided to write today
i Dunno where the feelin came from
just felt pourin my heart and soul into something useful
cuz iiiiiiii

just felt like That
felt like That
just felt like That
felt like That

you ever get that feeling to write something arbitrarily?
no rhyme or reason just a daw and adhd
and everything comes together so perfectly
and i naaamed iiiiiit

just felt like That
felt like That
just felt like That
felt like That

where am i getting these words from?
i dont know what world im from.
not sure whats causing this guidance
cant explain how all the silence...........

....just felt like That
felt like That
just felt like That
felt like That
just felt like That
felt like That
just felt like That
felt like That

its so overwhelming, i dont know where to begin
its so tiring, it makes Me wonder if
theres any benefits to keeping it all inside
just letting the river flow by
but i couldnt even do That if i tried
letting myself out just felt right


just felt like Me
felt like Me
just felt like Me
felt like Me
just felt like Me
felt like Me
just felt like Me
felt like Meeeee

as i was working on my Gammammannn submissions, i just had the urge to write something completely arbitrary, and i saw it as the perfect excuse to write a song about itself. more specifically this track is about the fact that i felt like writing it, not knowing why the lyrics just kept working and how it all... just felt like That.

[BoffoYux]

gammammannn - Under My Shadow [SHADOW]

Steve is the name for my verses
LYRICS:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
Dear "You Are", while I TOTALLY respect your views, I think they are... unsubstantial and dont change the fact that your music is OBJECTIVELY trash. Perhaps you should really consider a different career over this shit.

[[STEVE]]
I recieved your letter
And I put it right in the trash with all the other shit that you send
Im not reading letters from people like you
Do you think I care?
Enough to hear you out on this "echo chamber" offense
Im not entertaining your crappy excuse

[[PRE-DROP]]
You started yappin like your all phi-loh-soh-phi-cal when I know you're just seething
Just wait till you see it in on your face, yeah.. Yeah.. Yeah.. Yeah.. Yeah..
JUST WAIT TILL YOU SEE IT ON YOUR FACE, YEAH...

[[DROP]]
You are under my shadow
Like a lightbulb gone out
Doesnt matter what you say to me
You cant hurt me! Knowin' you'reeee
Under my shadow
I dont care what you're talkin' bout
Really doesnt matter what you say me
at all

[[STEVE]]
I get to speak before you
And that gives me time to recruit your worst enemy
By pleading to those in the listening party its a-
Nigerian email scam
But its rock so its so much better than the traditional plan
All I have to do is say

[[PRE-DROP]]
Pop music SUCKS rock music is BETTER
You know it to be true!
Just listen to your ego, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
JUST LISTEN TO YOUR EGO!!!

[[DROP]]
Cuz they're all under my shadow
Like a wind thats flown by
Nothing that they say will ever matter
They dont matter, knowing they'reeeeeee
under my shadow
Dont even know what they talkin bout
Really nothing that they say will ever matter
at all

[[LOWER]]
In between you and I
Is a river you dont deserve
You never even tried to put in the work
To be like me, silly guy...
And im not even slightly perturbed
Not even ever slightly disturbed

In between you and I
Is a letter I didnt read
Cuz its hurtful and im- not- bothered
If I didnt reaad your letter...
Then- how would I know about...
Anything that you said?

Okay maybe I diiid read a little bit and-
Okay maybe I read the whole thing and-
Look it- hurt my feelings!
But it doesnt matter!!
Doesnt matter at all...
Cuz now I have all the eyes!
And they ALL SEE ME CRYINGGGG!!

[[DROP]]
Under my shadow
this is all a distraction
Just to make you feel a little bad
So you help me, and keep them alllllllll
Under my shadow
Doesnt matter what they talkin bout
Really doesnt matter what they say to me
at all

Doesnt matter at all!!!

Sincerely, "Under My Shadow"

i think i should make it clear for both of my tracks this time round that i am NOT writing about the opinions had by spintunes judges or people who just dont like my music. these two tracks are about rock youtuber Rick Beato, and how his videos on how "music has gotten worse" are completely ignorant to the incredible music being made today, talking about ""music"" as if smaller artists dont exist.

Under My Shadow is a letter written from the perspective of the song itself, directed to the song under its shadow "You Are"

this song is my attempt at capturing the kind of person who would listen to Rick Beato's rants about modern music. this person believes that all indie musicians are inferior to the upper classes and dont deserve any praise on the basis that these indie musicians dont pledge to the "greats". this is the kind of person who believes that german composers are "worthy" while black american musicians arent.
im not quite sure i succeeded, but i think i atleast got close, especially in the last parts of the song which are written in a way to appeal to "weaponizing your tears", which is one of the most horrible and manipulative tactics used by influencers who have historically made some of the most bizarrely horrific decisions such as Logan Paul who basically kicked off the concept of the "apology video".

as for the music side of things, i decided to return to my mixolydian roots once more, and also knew i wanted the drop to be some kind of layered thing. so i did that. i also couldnt hold back from intentionally doing some atonal stuff in the Lower. im mostly happy with how this turned out.
i cant lie though, the vocals are kinda funky in some places. this track really grazes the high end of my vocal range, i dont think im gonna be singing this high in the near future since its more work than its worth.

[BoffoYux]

gammammannn - You Are [SHADOW]

Steve is the name for my Verses.
LYRICS:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
Dear "Under My Shadow", while I do believe that you have a right to your own opinion, some of the things you say are damaging independent artists writing songs they truely believe in, all for the sake of nostalgia! Please- stop. We should be lifting each other up instead of burning each other down.

[[STEVE]]
For every nickle you own an angel loses its wings
And everything that you've said is leading the artists down to hell

But through your echo-chambers I can see you believeee
That your echo-chambers can never do you wrong

[[DROP]]
In between you and I
Is a river you've been tryna dry
Tryna preach as if you're always right

As if they cant see all your lies
So your audience all survives
And everyone else dies

[[REDUCTION]]
Can you see that now?
Do you see that now?

[[STEVE]]
The first impression they'll hear is your brainless thinking
Now the spintunes listening party will be biased against my views

And you've locked the judges in a painful twist
To decide whether to count me in the list

[[DROP]]
In between you and I
Is a barrier of the mind
You dont get it so its off the vine

Cuz all you breath is old times
And now you have all the eyes
Its the start of a pipeline

[[REDUCTION]]
DOES IT MAKE SENSE NOW? (does it make sense now?!)
DO YOU GET IT NOW? (do you get it nowww!?)

[[LOWER]]
I am under your shadow
Doesnt matter what you say to me
It matters to the people you fuck over
Or refuse to acknowledge for your peace

Cuz weee're all under your shadow
You intend to ignore us all
You act like we dont exist
Your audience is all in bliss

Theres so much under your shadow
You really have no idea
Perhaps its better this way
You wouldnt like us anyway

So ill hide here under your shadow
And pretend like you dont exist
Cuz why would I communicate with you?
You dont even treat me like an artist!

[[DROP]]
In between you and I
Is a theory of the mind
You dont care about who subscribes

As if we dont live our own lives
Its only a matter of time
Before we slowly dieeeee out

[[REDUCTION]]
Think I get it now...
Think I get it now...

Sincerely, "You Are"

SONG BIO:
i think i should make it clear for both of my tracks this time round that i am NOT writing about the opinions had by spintunes judges or people who just dont like my music. these two tracks are about rock youtuber Rick Beato, and how his videos on how "music has gotten worse" are completely ignorant to the incredible music being made today, talking about ""music"" as if smaller artists dont exist.

You Are is a letter written from the perspective of the song itself, directed to the song casting the shadow it lives in; "Under My Shadow"

this song is both the song that Under My Shadow references, its also a little bit of a jab at Rick Beato, as i dont like the way he argues that music these days is boring. he words things in ways that implies that ALL music these days are boring, completely disregarding independent musicians, not even bringing up the concept of smaller artists. he goes out of ways to make videos that- atleast in my opinion, are harmful to independent artists.

as for the music side of things, i chose to write a song in a proper Minor key, and chose a fast tempo to hopefully get across a feeling of intensity. i'd like to thank my friend bucket for the idea of using a "reese bass" in the drops. this, atleast in my opinion, is a contender for my best work. feel free to dispute this.
i cant lie though, the vocals are kinda funky in some places. this track really grazes the high end of my vocal range, i dont think im gonna be singing this high in the near future since its more work than its worth.

[BoffoYux]

bucket - dreammachine [SHADOW]

Moving shadows on the wall
lose myself within the thrall
Close my eyes and then observe
aurora on my optic nerve
Incandescent reverie
I close my eyes so I can see it

Synchronize my alpha waves,
watch the flicker of the rays
Hit the target RPM,
and let it spin me out again.

Mr. Gyson, you were so kind to put these
Stroboscopic images inside my mind
Whenever I want them all I have to do
Is dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
on my dream machine
Dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
on my dream machine
just dream dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
dream dream dream dream dream dream dream on my
dream machine

Strobing lights they hypnotize
Entrain my brain behind closed eyes
Time to turn it on again,
sit up close and watch it spin
Light up my imagination lose myself in pure rotation

Witness to the revolution, further psychic evolution
Reaches me beyond the id,
I count the stars on my eyelids

Mr. Gyson, you were so kind to put these
Stroboscopic images inside my mind
Whenever I want them all I have to do
Is dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
on my dream machine
Dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
on my dream machine
just dream dream dream dream dream dream dream dream
dream dream dream dream dream dream dream on my
dream machine

This song is about the "Dream Machine", invented by Brion Gysin, a rotating cylindrical device with a light in the middle designed to be looked at with your eyes closed. It produces a flicker around 10hz that tends to draw the user into a trancelike state while also inducing mandala type visual patterns. The effect is largely due to brainwave entrainment

Brion Gysin was largely known for being close friends with William S Burroughs. As a further homage to him, I composed some of these lyrics utilizing a preferred writing technique of his "cut-writing": I wrote the lines and determined the order by cutting up the sheet of paper and throwing them on the floor, with the order determined by the order I picked them up blindly.

It fulfills the challenge by interpolating the Everly Brothers' classic "All I Have To Do Is Dream" for the chorus. I also repurpose a line from The Guess Who's song "American Woman", and throw in a reference to the ambient group "Stars of the Lid", whose name itself is closely related to the Dream Machine.

[BoffoYux]

Siebass - Listening to Fish [SHADOW]

Listening to fish? Now there's an idea

They say that fish can't feel pain, but who knows what pain they feel, in their little fishy hearts?

The referenced song is Snorkeling, Snorkeling, by Jim of Seattle.

[BoffoYux]

Nathan Joe Long - Foreshadowing My End [SHADOW]

I've been hiding from my shadow
Since I knew right from wrong
Used to dream about a red light
That showed the devil came along

I used to play with my shadow
Till they beat it out of me
So I named myself Judas
And gave up on recovery

Maynard says
46 and 2 will change you
But 48 and 2
Have revolution on my mind
I need to find
Will to stand and walk through for
Hope to cry kill and die for
Shadowing is my end
Foreshadowing is my end

I'm learning to love my shadow
He feels the ends of right and wrong
He understands the darkness
That keeps the night so long

I see you
Pushing through
I see you
Letting go
So just let go

The Tool song Forty Six and 2 is about Carl Jung's idea of integrating your shadow self to become whole.

This is my response to reflecting on that.