Creative

Trio: Season Five, Suite #5!

November 19, 2006 by krisis

Trio: Season Five, Suite #5:
Influences (Pt. 1 of 3): Childhood
Like a Virgin (Madonna)
In My Life (Beatles)
Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)

Trio – the original singer-songwriter web session – typically features original songs, but for the first in a special trio of trios I am covering some of the songs that have influenced me and my songwriting.

You can download the entire Trio, or start from a past suite of original songs:

See the rest of this post for chords to all three songs. [Read more…] about Trio: Season Five, Suite #5!

I Slept On Top of the Sheets…

November 18, 2006 by krisis

Having introduced the trinity of my love, my mother, and my best friend, my cast of characters now widens considerably (though it stays predominantly female).

There are former crushes, drinking buddies, and college roommates left to touch upon. However, there is one past character who – even if she doesn’t come up too often these days in blog or in life – had a major impact on your humble singer/songwriter.

She is known as the Queen of Darkness. QoD for short. [Read more…] about I Slept On Top of the Sheets…

Trio: Season Five, Suite #4!

November 17, 2006 by krisis

Trio: Season Five, Suite #4:
Songs on the Topic of Things Left Unsaid:
Not So Bad, Regrets, Under My Skin

Trio – the original singer-songwriter web session – returns for its fifth season featuring my own DIY music. This season each trio of songs will have a loose topic to connect them, which I will discuss between songs.

A sample of what I had to say in this Trio…

Re: Things Left Unsaid
The point is that they were all written about feelings I was having (romantic (or otherwise (in some cases))) about somebody that I didn’t feel comfortable expressing to them face-to-face. I guess in that way songwriting is an ultimate form of passive-aggressiveness.

Not So Bad
At the same time that it’s a little bit scathing to somebody else, it’s a little bit of a pep talk to myself. I used to think things were so bad … and now, not so much. Although, I still get very drunk on the sound of my own voice.

Regrets
It’s another one of those wonderful examples where I named a song something that isn’t in the lyrics at all. But, I think you’ll understand why it’s called “Regrets.”

I’ve actually written a number of songs about that same person … but [“Regrets”] truly exercised her. She’s not in my head anymore.

Under My Skin
If you’ve listened to me at all through my collegiate career then you’ve definitely heard this song. … It’s so dumb simple. It’s so dumb, and so simple. … But, what it is is a very honest portrayal of an emotion. I think that’s why maybe people liked it. I don’t know – maybe they just heard me play it a lot.

You can download the entire Trio , download the single of “Under My Skin,” or start from a past suite:

Trio: Season Five, Suite #3!

November 16, 2006 by krisis

Trio: Season Five, Suite #3:
Songs on the Topic of Hindsight:
Other Plans, This Long (Angry Song), Couldn’t Keep It

A sample of what I had to say in this Trio…

Re: Hindsight
The topic was actually going to be a specific person who I have a lot of hindsight on. … She’s somebody who occupies a lot of negative space in my life, and I couldn’t justify giving her a whole trio. … Even though I’m always going to have these songs about vortex of negative energy girl, I don’t need to group them together and celebrate how negative that time was.

Other Plans
A couple months ago I ran into the person that it’s about … and I came home and I was – of course – singing “Other Plans.” And I was thinking, wouldn’t it be funny if there was actually a tango when I talk about a tango?

This Long (Angry Song)
It’s all about looking back into a relationship and maybe recasting some of the things that happened in the light of – now – the new you that’s remembering.

You can download the entire Trio , or download the single of “This Long (Angry Song).” Or, start from Suite #1: Identity or Suite #2: Elise!

Trio: Season Five, Suite #2!

November 7, 2006 by krisis

Trio: Season Five, Suite #2:
Songs on the Topic of Elise:
Little Love, Wilted, A Little Bit, (and a secret cover!)

A sample of what I had to say in this Trio…

Little Love
There’s a point of some dispute because one line in the song is about somebody else, and the whole rest of the song is about Elise. … The whole conceit of it (if I can say that about one of my songs) is that it’s about the purest form of butterflies in stomach. It’s about having a crush on somebody just like third grade … more than anything you just want to be near them, and share time with them, and share your experiences with them.

Wilted
Being in a very successful relationship … you have to be careful how you pull from it because that song is going to continue to exist, and so is your relationship. And you have to be careful what you’re disclosing to the other person – and what you’re disclosing to the listener – because it might not be any of their business.

A Little Bit
Elise was having a laugh at my expense earlier, because I kept saying all of these songs were the quintessential Elise song, and I finally arrived at this one and she was surprised … What this song came out of is that I was in the last two weeks of college, I was under the gun for everything, and I was up all night … packing to move out of my college apartment and into my first apartment with Elise. I was so frazzled, and everything was difficult, and I had all this school work to do, and I just couldn’t handle it.

So – in the middle of all the craziness – I just stopped and I wrote a song, because that’s how things happen in my life. It’s fun.

You can download the entire Trio , or download the single of “A Little Bit..” Or, start from Suite #1.