Grab the lyrics to the new Trio! “Unstrung” was initially written the night i saw Peter Mulvey, though i’ve been chipping away at it ever since. Anything in the Trio that isn’t in the lyrics i posted was ad-libbed (and probably is nearly what will be in the finished version). “Punk” has had official lyrics for quite a while now, but let’s not forget that it made it’s first appearance right here in an early Trio. “Make It Last” has plagued me ever since i first hammered out the lyrics in a blog window, but now that i changed the key it works a lot better than it used to (thought it’s not any easier to play). “Will It Ever Come” was the top-secret song on the demo because no one had ever heard it and the lyrics were tucked into the “relative obscurity of the second week of the page. Now the cat’s out of the bag, but no amount of online performances will truly ruin the wacky version that made it onto my new demo. “Other Plans is the oldie of this bunch; it predates this blog, Drexel, this computer, and lots of other things too. But i still like to play it, so it’s all good. “Other Plans” is the second oldest song on Relief, and only loses that title by a month (to “Bridge“). So, now that i’ve totally overwhelmed you (and me) with links, you ought to listen to the damned Trio so you know what i’m talking about. But, no matter what you’re doing, i’m going to sleep. G’night!
So, wow, look, ftp is actually working. Go figure. Meanwhile, a whacky amplified Trio has been recorded, and will be uploaded later in the evening. It contains three (that’s three) songs that have never been heard before on the website, though all of their lyrics originated on the blog. Plus, two songs i actually know how to play. Ha! As if i really know how to play any of them. But, anyhow, i’ll leave you hanging on that one, but i promise to make it back by X-files to upload. Of course, whether ftp will work at that point… we’ll have to see.
That almost wound up being a song about a lonely cat. It still might be. There was this line near the end “but the neighbors will come and feed you five times a week,” but i chickened out and replaced it with sappy relationship stuff. Wouldn’t that be a relief to hear me singing a song about leaving to my beloved cat instead of one of the random omnisexual characters that appear in the rest of my songs? But, on the other hand, then it would be a song about a cat. Hmm. Either way, i don’t really think it’s strong enough to make it onto an album, or even a Trio, so it’s sorta moot. But, i’m just happy to have completed it.
my suitcase has laid packed in the middle of the floor for two hours stacked on top of two days and i am sitting on the couch thinking it's just either/or as to whether i'm going or staying. it's kind of funny how shit like this goes down all hanging on what is essentially a flip of a coin but what's funnier is that i have found out that it's the only way i'll know where to go i've got my socks i've got my underwear i've got a picture of us tucked away with care between the folds of my memory where no zipper can let it out and that's how we'll stay for now my reasoning seems thin if i examine it too closely but i don't think i can even try to all i need is to hear the sound of the door closing behind me or i'll be in a jam, i'll be stuck in a lie to myself I've got my map of the united states and i've got my path exactly traced but eventually i'll point myself back at you and the sunrise to flatter my eyes i'll have my guitar in the back seat and when i hit the brakes i hear the hum of the strings through the case and i'll know i'm raising the stakes cause i left you behind i wasn't very kind and i'm worried sometimes if you're going to eat at all or how you'll fall asleep without me i've got a pocketful of quarters and i'll be seeking out each payphone on each desolate street corner to sing into the answering machine cause i hope you'll still want to hear my voice but either way i won't give you a choice so my suitcase is still packed lying in the middle of the floor the decison comes down to just a matter of either/or but i hear your key in the door
I think i’m trying to hard too write Ani DiFranco songs.
Let me qualify that. Ani gave some funny little interview in the last year or two where she said that “Out of Habit” is a bitch to play anymore because it has too many chords. All of her newer songs have less chords than “Out of Habit,” and so to make it match them she effectively chopped out half of the chord progression so now it sounds just like “Firedoor.”
It’s important to keep in mind after hearing this that “Out of Habit” only has eight chords in it, and they aren’t especially hard chords. And two of them repeat. The result of Ani’s elimination of 8-chord songs is that her music is much more hook-ridded then it first turned out, but disappointingly simple once you figure out what tuning and voicing she’s been using. Going through Relief the two most complex songs structurally are “Relief” and “Bridge,’ both of which just tack together several easy chord progressions and riffs to make one decent song. Am i becoming boring before i ever got interesting? Should i be striving for more complex and sprawling chord structures? Should i be looking inbetween the lines for the passing chords? Or, should i just stop second guessing what comes out of my head and enjoy it for what it is? One to think about.