DNTMD return with a song about the mystery of where old friends go and if they ever really change. Hopefully, you catch up with them at some point, and hopefully they hold on to all the qualities that made them your friend in the first place. So, a toast ... to our old firend, Steve!
Nothing much special about this, in the songwriter's opinion. Still, an interesting counterpoint to the other contributors, Richard delivers a dirty-sounding song about dirt. Not dirty like 'don't tell your parents' dirty but like 'look before you put it in your mouth' dirty. Ahem. Anyway, enjoy! And don't tell your parents!
This week's SAW represents a number of firsts for Chris. Inspired by the psuedo-retro sounds of bands like Franz Ferdinand, the song is the first he's ever written about sports ... specifically, soccer. Even more specifically, Sunday's MLS Cup game between the Houston Dynamo and the New England Revolution. Instrumentally, you get some Irish bouzouki, some bass guitar (rare in Chris's songs), some retro keyboards and a decidedly Franz Ferdinand-like drum loop. As another first, the lyrics and voc...
Erik is at it again with the digital delay: *Alligator Pan LR* with a bit of distortion. Anyway, this started out as an attempt at some soul flavored R n' B (and still could be, with the proper production) but turned into something more early '70s Rolling Stones inspired.
Like a forgotten track from Springsteen's Nebraska, this number captures the raw emotion of an unfortunate--yet undeniably American--situation. For all the latest from Dick Newhard and the Mad Saxons, visit: http://www.myspace.com/dicknewhardandthemadsaxons
Richard writes a song! Then he plays it! And records it! And it is good! Yay Richard! Go, Richard, Go!
Chris sets a new personal best with this song, cranking it out in slightly over one and a half hours. Don't ask. He's had a busy week. This all-electronic extravaganza owes a debt of gratitude to a lot of the over-the-top synth-pop of the '80s, and was inspired by the recent glut of Republican hooker scandals. At first, though, it sounds like a typical '80s relationship-trouble pop song. Oh, and any resemblance you notice between the verses of this song and the verses of his previous SAW contrib...
Erik scales down the production and goes bluesy (again), but with the added touch of a nice warm delay on one of Mr. Devine's acoustics. (For those wanting to know the specific guitar specs, it was run through a Dean Markley Promag acoustic pickup into the good ol' Digitech DSP 21 Legend -- specifically, preset #24 by Steve Morse: "Morse Chord Snd"). And, like Erik's last submission, this one qualifies for "Song-a-Day" status.
Richard returns with a case study in procrastination. This intricate interweaving of bass, delayed distorted guitars, drums and many-layered vocals clocks in missing more than half of the instrumentation and stealing lyrics from TS Eliot. Other than that and a resultingly lackluster instrumental bridge, it's a great song! Keep it up, Richard!
Our newest podcast contributor returns with this song. Though comical at times, it contains an element of truth ... that is, if you've ever met anyone suffering from this affliction. Nice acoustic flavor!
Yes, it's true! The only member of Haiku Rd. still using only his first and last names returns with a slightly delayed SAW contribution (thanks to new SAW contributor DIck Newhard and the Mad Saxons, who gave all the Roadsters a breather). In keeping with recent SAWs, and in sharp contrast to most of his more recent contributions, this is a stripped-down acoustic number that would fit well in a movie soundtrack -- you know, in that inevitable scene where the hero is sad and dejected and walks ou...
This week's SAW sees Erik trying the Dylan-esque technique of playing and singing live (this was the third take), and only going back to overdub the harmony vocal. This could be good preparation for his upcoming solo shows at the end of the month. See myspace.com/erikhendel for more info.
Our latest SAW comes from a new contributor, Dick Newhard and The Mad Saxons (which is really just one guy from Youngstown, OH). Though this is a rather stripped down arrangement, it captures the power and determination of someone who is, as the song title suggest, afraid of airplanes. Enjoy the lyrics and the great vocal layering.
Richard's labor day plans are scrapped due to the stomach flu. We get to share the joy.
Just for fun, Richard pipes up with a SAW supplemental about... Blood? Something. Could be about unborn babbies. Maybe not. He doesn't think too hard about these things.
What the ... ? Chris leaps gleefully off the deep end with this dramatic epic construction of electronics and electric guitar. Widely renowned for his hatred of software for pitch-correcting vocals, he nonetheless makes use of the same, with all the knobs cranked to 11 so that the vocals sound almost robotic. Despite the fact that he feels the track is unfinished (he had many ideas he didn't have time to implement), this is his most elaborate Song-a-Week production yet. Listen to it loud on good...
Returning to some funky, bluesy flavors of his previous bands and musical endeavors, Erik sprinkles this number with a spicy sauce about half-way through it that might just conjure up the sounds of instruments that weren't actually played. The lyrics: there are always two sides of a conflict and nobody wants to be in the middle.
Previously, on Song-a-Week 2007...: Richard turned in a SAW that had been recorded over the course of 5 days, but they were spread out in two groups across two weeks. Alas, some scoffed. So here is 32a, called 'Beneath this Moon', where Richard FINALLY gets to whistle! Yay!
Richard comes in for #32 with a heavily distorted atheist anthem. HOWEVER, while this song was written and recorded in less than seven days, they were not consecutive. Some have scoffed at this supposed bending of the rules (the rules that Richard made, that is, haha), so in penance he will be delivering another SAW in the next couple of days. Enjoy!
Chris is back with a track that started out meaning to be a sort of electric-guitar rocker and then got a bunch of keyboards draped over top (surprise, surprise!). There IS live bass guitar, though, for the first time in a long time. The song is an ode to Phoenix's summer monsoon, and ironically he worked all the way through a rainstorm to complete the song and completely missed it. Oh, cruel fate!
Erik dials up the tempo for this metaphor-filled number and there are lots of musical flavors in this pepped-up, peppery SAW. And if you don’t care for any of those, you can always entertain yourself by counting all the different “-tion” ended words employed in the lyrics!
Richard comes in with a very distorted, bass heavy piece about... Saying please. Richard says that he's pretty happy with the guitar solo and all that, but the lyrics and vocals... Well, let's just thank him that they're low in the mix.
As if he weren't already weird enough, Chris presents another first ... a Song-a-Week tied into a blog entry! Oh, and electric bouzouki. Special thanks, too, to Kathy, the Mac Speech voice. Find the original text at www.haikurd.com/yanli/yanli.html, and follow the link for 'The YANLI Manifesto'. Some of it is total bull, and Chris doesn't even totally stand behind it now, but says it was fun to write.
Erik returns with this slow-burning, blues-inflected number with some ambitious production touches and catchy guitar work. The sort of thing you'd hear from a blues-rock trio at 3 in the morning after the party is very definitely over.
Richard moves to a new house, and in the midst of many boxes, with a microphone held together with a precarious bit of electrical tape, records the SAW regardless. What a show of musical prowess! What skill! What aplomb! What a handsome man! -- (totally written by Richard. PS, he got a kitten.)
Chris thought he'd try something novel and interesting this time around: Actual songwriting! Further, this one's a little more peppy than a lot of his songs. In stark contrast to his last SAW contribution, he's responsible for EVERY note and noise in this one, including the drums. Still not sure what the lyrics mean, though.
We've been sitting on this one for a week -- Overeagerness and miscommunication meant that both Richard and Erik prepared a song for last week's SAW. If Chris had been in town, he probably would've done one, too! So now we unveil Erik's composition, a melodic and instrumentally understated number that features strong, pensive lyrics and a great extended round-robin coda reminiscent of some of his earlier solo demos.
Richard E. Moore throws everyone for a loop with this song dedicated to his wife, Betsey Lamborn Moore. That's right, Haiku Rd.'s itinerant bachelor has gotten married! To celebrate, Richard records a thoroughly sufficient song with vocals, bass, guitar solo, eBow (on the bass!) and original percussion. Now, pray for Betsey... She's in for a wild ride...
Chris stretches the boundaries of what can be called a song and what can be described as his own work with this week's contribution, a pleasant little instrumental chillout number without an identifiable melody, constructed entirely of loops and samples not of his devising or creation. The perfect musical mood for pouring yourself a cold beer and sitting out on the patio to watch the summer sunset!
The song was done on time for a Monday release but technical difficulties delayed its posting till this morning, so we offer apologies to those who wait breathlessly every Monday for the new SAW! Richard presents us with this tune, called 'Falling Apart', which he claims strayed greatly from his original concept but features some truly dig-worthy '80s drums, man!
