July 20, 2007

EmbersOfAutumn · Post by **EmbersOfAutumn** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:04 am

Finally Friday! The one day where everyone leaves me alone at work cause they're all busy. AND I get paid today! This is easily my favorite day of the week!

QotD: What is the oddest inspiration/situation that you've ever thought about writing a song for that you actually did write the song?

Niveous · Post by **Niveous** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:56 am

Hey EoA, put a year on that title.

Yesterday was pretty alright as I am now the proud owner of a Wii. I am not enthralled by it yet but all I've done is box Aurora and play some tennis so far. And make a Mii.

My neighborhood had a big HP block party. I missed a good share of it thanks to my job and a late minute error (on someone elses part) that I had to clean up (because the person who made the mistake had already gone home). But it was hilarious to see my kids walking down the street with big lightning bolt scars.

Yesterday was Aurora's b'day and it was fun. Not only did it prompt the worst pun of all time...

CJ: Time for presents
Aurora: I get presents!

Niveous: (hugs her and kisses her on her forehead) You're safe. There you have presents. Presence of mind.

...But it included awesome raspberry cheesecake and yummy shrimp with orzo.

QotD: Have you ever heard my songs. They are full of odd situations. I think the top two are "Bridget" and "Before a Date with Emily".

"Bridget" by Silent E (yet to be released) is a song about a girl who lures guys to her house and makes snuff films of them. The song is from the pov of her boyfriend who is dealing with his girl's fetish.

"Before a Date with Emily" by Niveous is about a guy wants to understand the meaning of life and believes he can learn through doing dissections. First of a bird, then of Emily.

Other odd themes in Niveous penned songs include:
"Dear Drowner" (Niveous)- a song about cluster suicides
"Buried in the Backyard" (Niveous)- the seedy side of surburan life
"A Town Called Mercy" (Niveous)- a witchhunt (in progress)
"Snow Fort" (XTRG)- inspired by the concept of the Deplorable Word from Narnia
"Some Handsome Hands"(The Cow Exchange)- an infomercial selling hands.
"Xerox"(Zinkline)- a clone questioning his existence
"Like a Sister"(Zinkline)- a man finds a suicide in an alleyway and wishes he could be like her.
"Maybelline"(Niveous)- a prostitute at Armageddon.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:16 am

Niveous has such cheery, uplifting songs!

-bill

EmbersOfAutumn · Post by **EmbersOfAutumn** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:51 am

Niveous wrote:Hey EoA, put a year on that title.

Sorry, still a little new at this.

QotD: The oddest song I ever did was kind of a joke in reply to a news article a friend of mine shared with me. A few years ago, some health-critics were ... well, criticizing Sesame Street for having a gluttenous "Cookie Monster" as a character, so they actually convinced Henson Entertainment to change him to the "Creature who occasionally likes to have a cookie" to be more correct with the times. I was appalled, but still laughed my head off at this turn of events. I decided, as a joke, that some of the other creations of Henson (Sesame Street and the Muppets alike) should also be more modern and politically correct. I wrote the lyrics to a number of songs, but actually got around to writing the music for Oscar the Grouch's song "Sometimes, kids, you might actually end up living in a garbage can."

It actually was quite catchy.

Niveous · Post by **Niveous** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:58 am

HeuristicsInc wrote:Niveous has such cheery, uplifting songs!

-bill

And proud of it. If anyone wants some darker lyrics, drop me a PM.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:59 am

Fridays never really feel good until we're in the car on the way to CT. Which often follows a stressful day of not being in the car yet.

QotD: I was walking on the beach along the Oregon coast on an amazingly beautiful day with my first wife when we came upon a headless sea lion. Apparently the loser of a battle with another sea lion (I'll assume not headless) over a mate. Rather than contemplate how this one could possibly think he'd win (not having a head and all), I wrote a song about it called "A Beautiful Day to Say Goodbye". I think deep down it was more about the pending unraveling of my marriage, but anyway, I ended up writing the entire song (lyric, chords, bass line, guitar arrangement) in my head and kept repeating it over and over for five days, fearing I'd lose it as I didn't have any instruments or recording devices. I eventually wrote it all out but have yet to record it fully.

Another one was based on a story in the World News Report. Rudolph, a pet deer in Anckorage Alaska that attracted holiday crowds, was reported missing. Days later, he was found hanging in the meat locker of a local Waldbaums supermarket. We wrote Rudolph the Venison Sausage inspired by the holiday spirit. And some wine. And that lovely leaf Jack often talks about.

rudolph the venison sausage
he's the finast you can buy
he's tender and oh so wholesome
'snothing better you can fry

rudolph grew up on good things
the forest was a very nice place
now he resides at Waldbaums
hanging in the freezer case

then one bloody christmas eve
poachers came to town
"rodulph with your nose so brite
won't you feed my kids tonight?"

Paco Del Stinko · Post by **Paco Del Stinko** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:45 am

That is a classic, Roymond! A long time ago, I did a song based around a disturbing dream I had. It was about being in a swimming pool that belonged to a guy I knew and his father. I'm in the pool, they are not. Well I look and there in the water with me is a cloth bag, full of feces. And the more I splash at it to make it go away, the closer it gets. While this may sound like ripe material for all the armchair psychiatrists out there, I figured it to be about secrets I thought that they held, not any kind of funny fanny activity. Oh boy. Well, the song ended up being called "Swimming With A Bag Full Of Shit".

Probably a year after that, 1996, I think, I had a basic music theory class. At the end of the term we had to write a song that would be performed for the class. I was the only one that had a title (Hounded By A Duck In C# Minor) and that night in bed I began to think of titles for my classmates' songs. I thought the titles were so funny, I got up and wrote them down. This not being enough, I decided to write songs to the titles. Sound familiar? This turned into more lists, more songs, notebooks full of titles, tapes full of songs...digital...more songs...so when I found Songfight! last year, I was just floored. And it's time to get back to the fights soon, too.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:53 am

Yay, it's Friday... but I'm working 9-5 TWICE today...so...boooo It's Friday. The phones slowed down today so ...at least I have that going for me. Cross your fingers that nobody crashes their car in the D1 and D7 districts of Florida between the hours of 9pm and 5am this evening. (you would not believe how many car accidents occur each and every day in any given city)

qotd: I can't talk about that song in detail. However, there is a song I wrote that was a true but very odd inspiration for. I smile inside whenever I hear it. On the same note, my 'Spring of Teal' is based on a true and odd inspiration of my lucid dreaming.

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:02 am

QOTD: Most of my songs are made-up. A few are taking a real life situation to the max. I'd love to say that 'Don't You' was based on me being a vixen in some seedy nightclub, but it's not. I write songs based on my friends' lives all the time. Teenagers' love lives = awesome song material.

I'm sitting in a hospital administration office, as we're halfway to the XPN music festival and we had to stop so Dad could go to some meeting. The boss of the hospital(president? I dunno) just said on the phone, "Yeah, I like the raisin bran. Just put some butter on it. What about the bolts?" Huh. Oh god, and his receptionist has an unbelievably annoying ring tone. It's like "blippity blip wooooah wooooah" but all computery. Aaaaand she's not picking it up. Hospitals = Weird; why do I want to work in one

Later today I'll be getting my groove on with The Fratellis and Fountains of Wayne, as well as others. Thank goodness I have a friend who will be working the festival, thus letting me meet the bands, woo!

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:35 am

QOTD: Uhhh, all of them are oddly inspired. Though the first two complete songs are special to me, as firsts often are.

"Surfing in the Jundland Wastes" (which has been played at a few SF events) which asks the age-old question: Why didn't Obi-Wan Kenobi off himself after being more-or-less responsible for wiping out the Jedi?

"Paul Newman" Basic paranoia about the Newmanification of all products... here's a verse: His face is on my rubbers/His name is in my dreams/But with his brand of Ritalin/You'll never hear the screams

Niveous · Post by **Niveous** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:11 am

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:"Surfing in the Jundland Wastes"

Need. Mp3. Now.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:44 am

roymond wrote:I ended up writing the entire song (lyric, chords, bass line, guitar arrangement) in my head and kept repeating it over and over for five days, fearing I'd lose it as I didn't have any instruments or recording devices.

at some point i had a thing like this and i actually called myself at home and sang the words & melody into my answering machine to hear when i got home... that worked well, but i totally forget what song it was.

i think many of my songs are weird inspirations... however i got a lot of compliments on my "violet wants it her way" because that was based on my wife's old car - violet was the car. "...in bed" was a collaborative effort with j$, if you look at the lyrics i think it's a pretty bizarre concept.
-bill

Albatross · Post by **Albatross** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:36 am

Niveous wrote:
Rabid Garfunkel wrote:"Surfing in the Jundland Wastes"
Need. Mp3. Now.

I'm wondering if we even have a truly listenable recording of that. RG, perhaps the rehearsal recording from the Spudfest show?

QotD: No question - the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

jack · Post by **jack** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:57 pm

weeeeeeeee.....free friday night concert at the boardwalk tonight.

it's eddie money!

"i got 2 tickets to paradise...."

at least i'm currently 3 sierras in and it's not even 6pm yet. thank god it's only a 10 minute walk. and it doesn't suck that it's beautiful outside right now.

happy friday!

qotd: probably "shreds" by brody, which was written about a fictional rastafarian sub maker who worked at king foot subs on the corner of haight and divisadero in san francisco.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:17 pm

So I ended up not doing any of the touristy things I planned on doing in San Francisco. Mostly I did the job interviews and hung out with friends and former coworkers who have all moved down here. Tomorrow I head back to Seattle and then on Monday I take a crap on my soon-to-be-former boss's desk (perhaps literally).

QotD: my 'violet wants it her way' was about Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. My 'house in my head' was about random floaty notions in my head while sick. My 'husky youth' was inspired by a dream about little dancing lego monkeys (I have no idea how that turned into the song it did, except the little lego monkeys were making the synth line as they danced). But I think the oddest inspiration and recording would have to be "Power Wonder Boy Gets Metal Ebola," my <a href="http://beesbuzz.biz/music/remixes/">remix</a> of Mostly Harmless's "Vishnu Cycle."

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:37 pm

<<<

fluffy wrote:"Power Wonder Boy Gets Metal Ebola," my <a href="http://beesbuzz.biz/music/remixes/">remix</a> of Mostly Harmless's "Vishnu Cycle."

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:55 pm

Last night we saw (heard) Roy Haynes at Dizzy's Club at Jazz From Lincoln Center. If you ever have a night to kill in NYC, check this place out. It's a great space for intimate jazz, though not the smoky cellar joint type place, but it only has maybe 20 tables and a bar that wraps around the back. Great sound and wonderful views over central park. His band was really nice, though not as coherent as I'd like, they sounded like three young upstarts playing with the golden drummer who played with Miles and Coltrane and Monk. Nice date night, though

And great food.

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:24 pm

Niveous wrote:
Rabid Garfunkel wrote:"Surfing in the Jundland Wastes"
Need. Mp3. Now.

Hey Niv',

A rehearsal recording Albatross & I did in preparation for last year's SpudFest show.

The original version, from 2003... pre-SongFight, even.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:32 pm

qotd: Probably my "Martians Are Going to Eat Us" entry. That week Jim was letting his daughter Madi enter a song. Everyone was all excited about hearing his adorable 8-year-old songfight. It was obvious she had won before the fight had even begun. So I decided to let my "retarded" "brother" enter a song he wrote to try to steal sympathy votes away from the other child in the fight. It didn't work. Some reviewers were offended. Yet somehow I received my highest number of votes and haven't topped that number since. That number is a measly seven.