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The Hellos
Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 4:58 pm
by Giraffes for Wings
I entered my first SF about a month ago, but I only just discovered this thread. I guess I will put a basic intro here if anyone is interested.
I find a lot of joy in writing my little songs. Mostly I just crank out chuggy or bouncy acoustic guitar stuff, but sometimes I write on ukulele, and more rarely, on accordion. In college, I wrote exclusively on accordion, but it’s been a decade since that time. SF may be a good chance to try it out again.
Most of my songs eventually end up as “full-band” numbers with proper production, but I know how to do almost none of that, and since my producer just had a baby, all my submissions for the foreseeable future will be extremely lo-fi (at least I’m using a DAW; that’s more than can be said for my
lo-fi COVID EP, which I recorded on my phone). I guess all I can say is that I don’t necessarily expect a lot of votes, but I enjoy the opportunity to come up with new ideas and share them with a community. Thanks for listening!
I will throw in here that my main influences seem to be John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (that will come through loud and clear, I think), Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, and, philosophically as much as musically, (SongFighter) Jonathan Mann.
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:59 pm
by sleepysilverdoor
jkelver wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 4:58 pm
I entered my first SF about a month ago, but I only just discovered this thread. I guess I will put a basic intro here if anyone is interested.
I find a lot of joy in writing my little songs. Mostly I just crank out chuggy or bouncy acoustic guitar stuff, but sometimes I write on ukulele, and more rarely, on accordion. In college, I wrote exclusively on accordion, but it’s been a decade since that time. SF may be a good chance to try it out again.
Most of my songs eventually end up as “full-band” numbers with proper production, but I know how to do almost none of that, and since my producer just had a baby, all my submissions for the foreseeable future will be extremely lo-fi (at least I’m using a DAW; that’s more than can be said for my
lo-fi COVID EP, which I recorded on my phone). I guess all I can say is that I don’t necessarily expect a lot of votes, but I enjoy the opportunity to come up with new ideas and share them with a community. Thanks for listening!
I will throw in here that my main influences seem to be John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (that will come through loud and clear, I think), Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, and, philosophically as much as musically, (SongFighter) Jonathan Mann.
For what it's worth I know that at the very least, both owl and vom (some regular contributors around here) are huge Magnetic fields fans so you'll find some common ground if you stick around!
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:04 am
by vowlvom
That is accurate. Big Magnetic Fields fan, at least up to "I" - the albums after that are weirdly missing... something, for me.
But anyway, welcome! I haven't really been listening or taking part lately but looking forward to hearing your contributions when I can pull myself out of this rut!
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 4:17 pm
by Giraffes for Wings
vowlvom wrote: ↑Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:04 am
That is accurate. Big Magnetic Fields fan, at least up to "I" - the albums after that are weirdly missing... something, for me.
But anyway, welcome! I haven't really been listening or taking part lately but looking forward to hearing your contributions when I can pull myself out of this rut!
Thanks! Stephen Merritt is kind of weird as an influence for me because I like maybe a quarter or less of his songs (all of
i and a lot of
69 and a lot of
Memoir and then not much else), but the ones I like, I like a whole heck of a lot. It’s mostly reflections of his rhyming ideals that trickle into my own songwriting.
I don’t believe I’ve seen any of your songs in a fight yet, but I will be sure to check some out in the archive.
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 4:27 pm
by vowlvom
Interesting! I haven't really managed to get into 50 Song Memoir yet (although I love the concept). I don't really like the first couple of albums but I love Charm of the Highway Strip, Holiday, 69 Love Songs and I. At his best he's a fascinating songwriter so I totally get the influence thing!
You can hear some Magnetic Fields covers from me and miscellaneous owl over here, if you're interested:
https://prfmonthlytributeseries.bandcam ... tic-fields
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:12 am
by owl
Welcome jkelver! I’m also a big fan of the Mountain Goats (not as much as crumpart/Hot Pink Halo though) and the Magnetic Fields. Two of my favorite lyricists! But my favorites from the Magnetic Fields are more the earlier albums and 69 Love Songs, I never even heard most of Memoir as it was pretty daunting to get through all 50. I haven’t listened to the new fight yet but looking forward to hearing your promised boombox-era Mountain Goats impression.
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:38 am
by Giraffes for Wings
I checked out the tribute album; I liked your contributions a lot. They weren’t MF songs that I particularly remembered, which makes me think I should revisit his catalog to see what else I’ve passed over.
Re: The Hellos
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 5:32 pm
by MicahSommer
jkelver wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 4:58 pm
I find a lot of joy in writing my little songs. Mostly I just crank out chuggy or bouncy acoustic guitar stuff, but sometimes I write on ukulele, and more rarely, on accordion. In college, I wrote exclusively on accordion, but it’s been a decade since that time. SF may be a good chance to try it out again.
Welcome from another accordionist! I haven't submitted in the past year but I hope to again soon and my submissions are usually pretty accordion-heavy. I enjoyed both your submissions; if you do bust out the squeezebox, you will have at least one sympathetic listener.
