Members Stackabones Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 What has influenced you in the past ... or since the last FIT? * I've been on a major Glen Hansard/Swell Season kick for the past couple of weeks. As you may know, Glen Hansard, along with Marketa Iglova, starred in Once. The title track went on to win a Grammy for both of them. Hansard had also appeared in The Commitments a decade or so prior. I just received The Swell Seaon's new disc, Low Rising. On the disc, the title track is fleshed out with a full band and horn section. This acoustic duo version I'm posting looks like it was recorded a few days ago -- perhaps while on tour through LA. Proof enough that a good song can survive in such minimalist setting and arrangement. [YOUTUBE]GA5pdVoHdDc[/YOUTUBE] Listening to him and thinking about his writing has caused me to dig deeper into my own experiences and look for those uncomfortable places. It's also giving me a hankering to go back and listen to some older Van Morrison. So many of these songs have a structure to them, but they feel so organic and often develop (lyrically and sometimes structurally) down unexpected paths. btw, I'm crazy about their new disc. I don't get too excited about too many new acts out there, but I'm mad about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 20, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 20, 2009 Nice post Stack. I'll buy the disc, I loved the movie and those songs and this ^ is wonderful. Thanks you! This week, my inspiration, the guy I've been thinking about... is Colin Moulding. XTC bass player. Andy Partridge's shadow. It must be really cold in Mr. Partridge's shadow. He's a genius. Ever hung around a genius? Ever tried to ply the same trade as the genius standing next to you? Colin did. Me too. I'm a struggling writer. The different guys I've worked with? Their skill convinced me to put my pen away. PUT THE PEN DOWN. BACK AWAY FROM THE PEN. PICK UP THE BASS AND SING A PART THAT GOES WITH THIS. BACK AWAY FROM THE PEN AND PAPER NOW. Colin didn't. Moulding wrote the more accessible songs generally. The ones that charted too, sometimes. He couldn't get as deep and on point as Andy though. Who could? But I love Colin Moulding's songs too. A lot. I just forget about him sometimes hidden in that shadow... [YOUTUBE]CiZttJA7Srw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]depsFULhqV8[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted November 20, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 Oh, man, I love XTC. Crazy about them. I've heard that Colin has completely given up on music -- wants nothing to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimK Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 Dinosaur Jr and The Flaming Lips and Mission of Burma have influenced me lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 Spent most of the last month working on this: http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=2149819&song=Son+Of+Mr+Green+Genes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 20, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 20, 2009 Spent most of the last month working on this:http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=2149819&song=Son+Of+Mr+Green+Genes When you say "working on this" what do you mean. That's a Zappa track isn't it? Studying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 When you say "working on this" what do you mean. That's a Zappa track isn't it? Studying it? Well, I was going to wait for my birthday thread, but.... http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8363781 Arranged and performed by yours truly, produced and mixed by Blue2Blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 20, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 20, 2009 Well, I was going to wait for my birthday thread, but....http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8363781Arranged and performed by yours truly, produced and mixed by Blue2Blue. Yeah!!! Very nice. I'm not sure why but I kept picturing the Keep On Truckin' dude with the big bell bottoms doing a cool little shuffle dance to this. That's groovy. You channeled Frank the guitarist there for a minute too. Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 Yeah!!! Very nice. I'm not sure why but I kept picturing the Keep On Truckin' dude with the big bell bottoms doing a cool little shuffle dance to this. That's groovy. You channeled Frank the guitarist there for a minute too. Nice work. Blue2Blue really did a great job. I've worked with people who sucked, and I've worked by myself, but working with someone who is actually talented was quite an eye-opener. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A Happy Crowd Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 I've had to really cut back on my record shopping this year, so I was pretty happy to get something new this week. I saw the Hold Steady about six months ago. I was unfamiliar with their music, but they put on a really good show. I knew Craig Finn had a reputation for being a good lyricist and I could tell by watching them that he had a lot to say, but like a lot of live shows, it's hard to understand the lyrics if you don't already know them. I picked up Separation Sunday, their second album. It's a concept album and all of the songs piece together a story about junkie/hooker who becomes a born again Catholic. It's full of clever lines and I'd like to one day write something as cohesive as that. Musically, it reminds me a lot of an early E Street Band. Bruce Springsteen was my earliest influence. I've never cared much for other artists who've been compared to him, but this time it all comes together for me and I've had this on repeat for the past couple of days. Here's a live version of "Cattle and the Creeping Things." If you're listening at work, he drops in the f-word at one point, so use headphones if that's an issue. [YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 life this week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted November 20, 2009 Members Share Posted November 20, 2009 I just ordered the swell season disc. Have you seen this? As for myself, half of my life ago, I comped out of freshman English to go to Nerdvana, a creative writing course at the local college. It was good for me, but as a result, I missed out on all of the required reading, including the mother of all required reading: Romeo and Juliet. I picked it up from the library and just started it. I don't think I would have got much out of it as a 15 year old, but I'm really soaking up the language now. Although some of it is kind of verbal prog-rock (right out of the first curtain, there's the "collier/choler/collar" riff), it's awfully rich and deep in places. I've been working at being more faithful to meter and form, rather than slurring my way out of a tricky rhyme, but if Bill can do it, I can give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted November 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 LOL, CM. I was howling through that one. I guess I need to figure out who he is, right? While I prefer the balcony scene in Cyrano, Shakespeare does an admirable job in R&J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted November 21, 2009 Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 I'm not sure if this works out of context, and the version at the end of the movie (with puppets) really killed me, but here's the not-quite-fictional Dracula musical his character in the movie (and the actor in real life) is working on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dingoist Posted November 21, 2009 Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 I loved the puppet Dracula musical at the end of the film -- it was pretty cool. I really started digging Regina Spektor (stumbled across her after she did some backing vocals for Ben Folds): [YOUTUBE]SGTDRztaCCw[/YOUTUBE] Then going back aways, usually throw on this album when trying to straighten out some stuff in my mind: [YOUTUBE]zsTFCA2zeMI[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted November 21, 2009 Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 Oooh, that Regina Spektor song was on VH1 every day for a few months during the 20 minutes I had the TV on every morning, and I looked forward to it every time. And unlike the Beyonce videos, I even liked it when I heard it on the radio, without the visuals. The album gets a bit to precious in places, but that song is so incredibly perfect--that's a once-a-decade song for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eeglug Posted November 21, 2009 Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 Spent most of the last month working on this: http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=2149819&song=Son+Of+Mr+Green+Genes I was just listening to this yesterday morning (before you posted). I like your chill version - and kudos to Blue for the mix. I love how you actually recreated the sequence of Zappa licks in your solo. It's a little hard to listen to your version without hearing the original horns in my head - and of course you bring the original back in at the end. Good job! Anyway that whole album is great. My favorite track is the one after Green Genes - "Little Umbrellas". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eeglug Posted November 21, 2009 Members Share Posted November 21, 2009 I'm not sure if this works out of context, and the version at the end of the movie (with puppets) really killed me, but here's the not-quite-fictional Dracula musical his character in the movie (and the actor in real life) is working on. Yup, this is so hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted November 24, 2009 Members Share Posted November 24, 2009 I got a question via PM from jxeboy about the drums on "Grandson of Mr. Green Genes", and I thought I would post it here so that Blue2Blue could answer as well. and found a pretty tweaked, cut through setting that emphasized the stick-skin impact in the snare and it seemed to cut through in a good, but entirely different way that gave a good shift between sections. I think the final drum track is a really great example of compression as an effect - it is used explicitly and expressively, instead of just surfacing as collateral damage in the ongoing quest to achieve maximum loudness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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